and he's 5 months

What a joy this little Kellen kid is.

Loves to chew on his feet.  Loves to chew on anything really.

Still scooting around on his back.

Rolls both ways.

Enjoys playing on his tummy.  Unlike any of the others.

Loves to sleep on his tummy.

Still sleeping next to us.  In a pack'n'play.  Outgrew the cradle about 2 months ago.  The others slept in it for about 6 months...

And sleeps throughout the night about 4 times a week.  Otherwise gets up around 4-6ish for a feeding.

No solids yet.

Not too crazy about sitting in the walker thing, but will hang out in it for a bit.

Still adores his siblings.  Mostly.

Loves attention.

And I realize that I never posted his 4 months stats...so this is what he was at a month ago...15 pounds (45%) and 27 inches (90%).

 

Turned in his cradle. Back in July....

Chewing on his feet.

With my brother Garrett.  (Crawford, Co)

With Joe's brother B.J.  (Sheridan, Wy)

With Joe's dad, Grandpa Dave.  (Sheridan, Wy)

With Joe's mom, Grandma Jean, and his sisters.  Christian was throwing a fit on the floor next to them.

christmas overload

Meeting with the Big Guy. And *adding* to their lists....

My new tree skirt. Last year's clearance.

And my festive black, red and green wrapping. I love it!

Our newest ornament. Courtesy our Home and Visiting Teachers!

At Grandpa Dave's. Playing with the dog's toy. All the kids' favorite - a rubber chicken.

Disobeying and sliding down the stair wall.

And it didn't take long to find the colorings.

Christmas Morning.

Look what Santa brought!

A Barbie Horse (and Barbie clothes).

A Barbie Horse (and Princess and the Frog toys...she asked for the actual movie-even Santa isn't that good;).

Candy!!!

Let 'er rip!

New shirts! I needed these!

This is boring. Can I just eat my candy now?

But wait! What is this?? A new trike??

Ah, that's better.

Grandpa's creative wrapping. And Marryn's creative unwrapping.

And a kiss for the Princess. Or would that be for the Frog....

Finally, double digit weather. Time for some sledding.

{I still bust up laughing when I look at these!}

But what a good sport (surprisingly). She hopped on again.

Some fast sledding with Dad.

Grandpa showing them how to make and throw snowballs.

Making snow angels (and of course she picked out a spot right next to the mailbox post...).

**********

Okay, so does anyone else have problems with Blogger and how it annoying the spacing of words and pictures can be??? I've been working on this post waaaaayyyy longer than I should be and it's still not how I want it!!! Grrrrr!!!

christmas 2008

Another great Christmas! We traveled up to Sheridan, WY to spend the holiday with Joey's Dad and family. This is our first trip up there since we moved to Colo Springs and added another carseat to the car, so it was a little longer (about 9-10 hrs, thank goodness for the DVD player!) and a little tighter. But despite the howling winds-both ways (we saw 5 semi trucks tipped over on our way back, 4 of them just south of Cheyenne) and frigid temps (Sheridan had highs of below zero for numerous days-made the 30 degree weather we came back to feel like a heat wave) we really did have a great time! Oh and FYI, we got gas for $1.23 and later saw it for $1.17....

Well, Santa came! Must have followed the reindeer food we sprinkled out in the snow.... Ate ALL the cookies but only drank some of the milk. Left the girls just what they wanted. A Barbie Townhouse and a Mickey and Minnie (yes, "Santa" had to scramble when Reganne suddenly started saying she wanted a Mickey from Santa...) and lots of fun stuff in their stockings. They got lots of other neat stuff from us and Grandpa and Chris (Dave's girlfriend). A little too much for Reganne. She still had a few presents left when she decided she didn't want to open any more and wanted to "just play."

As for Joey and me, well.... We sat around and ate and ate and ate. Just before leaving I reached my first weight loss goal of 10 pounds and got my hair cut! Good thing I cut it then, because I honestly gained 5 pounds in just the week we were there! Uh, yikes! But who can resist rib eye steaks and prime rib with horseradish sauce and a smoked turkey (all cooked by Dave)? Uh, not me! And then all the baking Chris did.... Add that to temps so cold the package of wipes I had in the car that was in the garage froze solid (in addition to our emergency jug of water) and well, you get a bunch of lazy snackers just hanging out. Although, I did get a really nice spa massage while I was there. And Chris and I were going to go to Billings, MT the day after Christmas for some fun shopping, but we got hit with another snow storm so that didn't happen. But the time just flew by. Before we knew it, it was time to go. And we even stayed an extra day!

We made it home last night and one of the first things we did - put together the crib for Christian. Yes, he is closing in on 6 months and is still sleeping in the cradle next to our bed. That isn't such a big deal, but after bunking in a room with him in a crib, Reganne in the Elmo toddler bed and Marryn in a sleeping bag on the floor, we were ready for a peaceful night's sleep. I never realized how noisy the kids sleep. They'd wake us up, wake each other up. It was a little rough some nights. So last night was the first night in almost 6 months that it was just Joey and I. But I have to admit, it was a little bittersweet. Christian slept great though. The crib is crammed in with the guest bed (we have some more organizing to do with the rooms still) but he didn't get up until 6:30ish. And Joey, the good father and husband that he is, was the one to get him (he actually always is the one to get them...I tend to sleep through their cries...). And since we've been putting Christian to bed earlier, as in 9ish not 12ish, he's been getting up earlier...but he always goes back to sleep with me after I nurse him-we both do, so I can't complain too much.