Squish is Seven Months Old!

Happy 7 months, Squishy!

My littlest guy turned 7 months old (ahem--two weeks ago), y'all! Isn't he just the most precious thing ever?

He's doing a great job of sitting up independently these days. Have I mentioned how I'm in no rush whatsoever to hurry up and meet developmental milestones? I'm pretty sure that makes me win at parenting.

He's finally over a bout of yuck where he had a terrible cough and gross nose situation happening. He was super moody and difficult, which obviously is SO not like him. I'm happy to report he's back to his casual, laid-back, mischievous baby self!

He's been sleeping 12+ hours at night and taking a few measly 20- or 30-minute naps during the day. Every once in a while, he surprises us with an hour or more, but that is super not his norm.

While he is usually happy and content (assuming full belly, clean diaper, and well-rested), he does eventually tire of mommy taking his picture over and over and over and over...

Today he was lucky that Big Sis was there to save him from his torturously evil, camera-wielding mother. He sure loves his LO!

He's continuing to try lots of different baby foods... and like *none* of them. I don't know what's up with this kid! He's all about some banana-flavored Gerber Puffs, but actual bananas? Eeeew, apparently. We've got some work to do on the food front, but I'm handing it waaaay differently than I did with the older 3. We're working on some baby-led weaning and offering food from our plates rather than solely focusing on baby purees. It's been a slow process, but the kid still nurses like a champ so I'm not worried. I mean, have you seen the rolls on this kid?? #love

Squish is Six Months Old!

Happy 6 Months, Squishy!

Y'all, please don't hate. I have FOUR kids. Count 'em! FOUR! This, apparently, lends itself to having Z-E-R-O free time nor any ability to manage time in general. Please note today is technically January 9th. Squish was officially 6 months old on December 13th. He will be 7 months in FOUR DAYS, PEOPLE. Four. Time is madness!

Speaking of time... please take note of the horrible photo quality! It's an iPhone pic, guys. I didn't even have the time to take a REAL LIFE OFFICIAL HALF-YEAR PHOTO OF MY BABE! Let's just say our trip to Great Wolf Lodge the second week of December, paired with hosting a Christmas party, the little guy's 6-month well visit, my nephew's wedding, meeting with caterers (plus several dozen other tasks for a little gathering I'm throwing this Sunday), photography sessions, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve, not to mention homeschool back in session from our holiday break... WHEW, Y'ALL! I mean, I know this is typically a busy time of the year, but WHOA! I'm surprised I've remembered to breathe this past month! So hopefully all of the aforementioned crazy will eventually excuse the "poor 4th child" syndrome my little Squish is apparently destined to develop, my extraordinary efforts notwithstanding.

Our sweet little continues to be a ridiculously awesome babe! And he's getting SO big! At his 6-month well visit, which technically was 12/18/2017, he was a big ol' 17 lbs. 7 oz. (though he has since topped the 18 lbs. mark). Just take a look at those legs above! And that belly hanging over the waistband of his pants! I cannot even!

This boy is still not a huge fan of tummy time, but he'll hang out for a few seconds before he rolls over onto his back. He has yet to roll from back to tummy (again, because of that love of tummy time LOL!), and he isn't sitting up independently yet, either. Ask me if I care! Hahaha! With this fella being our final, I can't help but NOT be in any hurry whatsoever with his developmental milestones. Just what you wanna hear from a parent/homeschool teacher! Hahaha!

He has started eating stage 1 baby foods, and is a big fan of pears, butternut squash, applesauce, and sweet potatoes. Basically anything that ISN'T green beans. Bless. He's also had some rice cereal, which he also enjoys. Boy likes to eat, y'all!

He's probably the most hilarious baby we've ever had. Seriously he keeps us laughing all.the.time! He's just so chill and thinks pretty much everything is funny. Balancing a paci on his forehead is one of his many impressive skills. See?

THIS FACE. This is the one that I cannot get enough of! When he gets really excited and can barely contain himself?! This is what you get! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

((My apologies for the iPhone pics today, guys!))

I seriously promise to do better for his 7 month pictures ((in 4 days)). <--- gah="" p="">

Squish is Five Months Old!

Happy 5 months, Squishy!

I love this boy SO MUCH!!!!! And let's just take a moment to let it all sink in... Why, yes! I DID manage to take his pictures ON his ACTUAL month-birthday. Why, yes! I DID manage to edit his pictures on his actual month-birthday! And, yes! I did manage to write and upload a blog post ON HIS ACTUAL MONTH-BIRTHDAY. Can I puh-leaze get some props and high-fives over here?!

Last month on his 4-month post I wrote, "Okay, so I officially promise that I'm going to try reeeeeaaaaally hard to take his 5 month pictures ON or very much NEAR his 5 month birthday. We shall see!" Yay! I did it! I did it!! :)

And really, just in case you were ever wondering who is UNIVERSALLY HANDSOME, it's this guy!

I just can't get enough of those smiles!

Loving the many, many faces of sweet Squishy!

Haha! Mr. Grump McGrumperson!

And of course I cannot forget today's photography helper... thanks, E!!

He loves his tummy time! I'm so glad he's not feeling inclined to do much rolling over yet, though. :)

Check out this sweet boy of mine!

And I absolutely cannot forget these sweet tootsies! Love love love these sweet feet!

Baby feet for the win!

Squish is just the best. He had a great weekend at home with Daddy and his siblings while Mommy was gone for a ladies retreat in Myrtle Beach. He was happy to see me when I got home last night, so that made my heart so happy! I missed him (and the others) so much!

He's still just such a happy and laid-back baby... it's wonderful! Unless he's hungry or super tired, he just relaxes and enjoys being his happy self. As I mentioned above, he's not rolling over yet, which is so totally fine by me! He's discovered his feet, though, and loves having them up in his face. I mean, they're so cute so why wouldn't you want a close-up of them? LOL!

Squish is Four Months Old!

Happy 4 months, Squishy-face!

Okay, so technically 4 1/2 months. Sheesh.

I just can't get enough of this handsome little fella! He continues to be the most laid-back, easy-going sweet baby of all time. And... I'm ecstatic to report we are pretty much on a -- wait for it -- SCHEDULE! Yay! I mean, it's not an exact science or anything, but he's eating every 4ish hours, with some nice 6- to 9-hour stretches at night. Can I get an AMEN!?

I was able to get some great pics of my sweet guy today, but this little gem below was taken by LO! Isn't it great?

Last Thursday (Chase's birthday), I took Squish in for his 4-month checkup, and he's growing like a weed! He was up to 16 lbs. 8 oz. and 26.5" long! The one thing I simply cannot get enough of is this boy's THIGHS! I could eat 'em up! See??

I just love all of the interaction with this sweet boy. He's so happy and smiley! He's a lot of fun and the big kids are just smitten with him.

Our only struggle lately is that our sweet boy seems to be having some allergy issues we can't seem to pinpoint. He will start rubbing his eyes incessantly, causing the entire area around his eyes to turn pink and puffy (as evidenced in the pic below). Poor boy! I'm wondering if he has some of daddy's seasonal allergies... bless.

Okay, so I officially promise that I'm going to try reeeeeaaaaally hard to take his 5 month pictures ON or very much NEAR his 5 month birthday. We shall see!

Love my sweet squishy-squish!

Chase's 8th Birthday!

My sweet, sweet miracle turned 8 today! We are celebrating God's goodness and faithfulness in our family. It's simply astonishing what God has done for us! We cannot thank him enough!

First of all, major props to LO for her creative homemade birthday banner, complete with Pokéballs!

We let Chase make all the plans and decisions for his big day. Of course we started with our family tradition of birthday pancakes! Oh, how I love this boy!

Make a wish!

After birthday pancakes, it was time to open presents! Yay! Not surprisingly, there were lots of LEGO, Ninjago, and Pokémon involved, much to the birthday boy's delight!

FINALLY! The Phantom Ninja! He's been waiting for this book forever!

His coveted birthday wish: The Green Ninja Mech Dragon!

One happy birthday boy!

Of course mommy is economical and bought the birthday boy some new t-shirts. This one? My absolute FAVE. I am always telling Chase that he is the bravest person I know. Without a doubt, this couldn't be more true! I snatched this shirt up the instant I saw it!

Another fun t-shirt purchase: "Be KIND. It's Elemental." We'll be working through the Periodic Table later this year in CC, so I couldn't pass this one up! Chase loves Ninjago, and each of the ninja have a special skill referred to as their "elemental power." Elemental powers are used by Elemental Masters in Ninjago, and include elements such as fire, ice, lightning, earth, water, etc. When I saw this shirt, I immediately thought of the ninja and decided maybe I could convince Chase that his elemental power is KINDNESS. Surely that would only serve to improve sibling interactions, yes? (LOL!)

There were a lot of new LEGO sets today. And bless this sweet guy's heart... he waited so patiently, watching big bro and big sis work intently on their creations.

The birthday boy is hard at work!

Big sis is basically a Master Builder. Look at her go!

After pancakes and gifts and hanging out, I took the four kiddos and headed to the doctor's office! I had already scheduled Squish's 4-month and Chase's 8 year well visits for today, but decided yesterday to call and ask if I could bring LO and E to have the older 3 get their flu shots today. You can imagine Chase's excitement at getting a shot on his birthday. AND a finger stick. It was a major win. Thank goodness we had a yummy cake and some ice cream waiting for us at home!

Speaking of cake and ice cream, someone was super excited (and super silly) while the cake was being prepped for singing and serving.

Cake! Chocolate (gluten-free) cake with homemade chocolate buttercream -- all per Chase's request (well, not the gluten-free part... that's just because I've adapted to being gluten-free and didn't want to miss out on birthday cake!).

Yummy!

Time to sing! Look at all of those candles!!!

Make a wish, my sweet boy!

I can't forget to share this sweet squishy face! Just love him and his super-chill vibe.

We topped off the birthday festivities with dinner at Culver's with all the family! It was so much fun and so awesome to hang out and catch up with our fam! More gifts were opened, plenty of frozen custard was consumed, and a wonderful time was had by all!

I am so so so so so happy and so very blessed and so incredibly thankful for all God has done in Chase's first 8 years! He has been through more than anyone I know, but has such an incredibly sensitive heart, and an unparalleled love for others. I can't believe I get to be his mom! God is so good!

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET CHASE!

Squish is Three Months Old!

Happy 3 Months, sweet Squishy!

Can you believe it? He's already 1/4 of the way to ONE! Waaaahhhhhhhh!!! In true mom2lo fashion, I am a good 9 days behind schedule in posting Squish's 3 month picture. Although, technically, this is an improvement from last month's 13 days behind schedule! Let's call that a win, shall we?

Now, if you were ever wondering what would happen if you were to task your children with styling their baby brother's 3-month photoshoot, this may very well be what you are likely to get:

Who cares that we're a month ahead of Halloween? He couldn't BE more adorable... even as the crime fighting caped crusader! Seriously, this was just too fun! And tbh, I welcomed the help! (This might be the single reason why I was "only" 9 days behind schedule this month! LOL!)

Our sweet Squish is getting much more alert and interactive these days. His giggle is literally the best, Jerry! The BEST!!

He did -- without our approval -- roll over from his belly to his back on September 8th. Thankfully, we haven't seen any more of this naughty behavior from our lil' fella!

We're enjoying the goodness that is our sweet babe. He's an excellent eater, as evidenced by A) his chins; B) his thighs; C) his elbows; and D) his 15 lbs. 5 oz. weight from last night! Sweet little piggy!

Life is adjusting well as we setting into our new routines. I wouldn't use the word "schedule" yet, unfortunately, as we don't really have one of those yet. I wish we did... I suppose I should look into making that happen. Let's see if I can happily mention the "s" word in his 4-month post next month! Fingers crossed!

First Day of CC!

Just a quick post to document that today was our first day at our Classical Conversations (CC) community! We started our homeschool at the beginning of August, but our co-op fun started today! I'm not sure why, but I was nervous about our morning. Lots of reasons, but I'm pretty sure one of them was because this morning was my first time leaving the house with all four kids by myself! Yes, if you're keeping track, Squishy is already 2 months old. What can I say? I have a super awesome hubby! But I wanted to take all of them for our first day, even though it would've been way easier to leave Squish at home with daddy. ;)

I'm excited about the year of CC we have ahead of us! It's going to be awesome! I know God has big plans for my family and I simply adore watching my kiddos soaking up God's Word and learning all about Him and the world He made. Homeschooling is the bomb!

Of course I have pics of the kiddos...

First up? My NEW-TO-CC little BABY boy, E! Can you believe he's already in a K4 program? Oh, my heart!!!

Next up is Chase, rocking out 2nd Grade!

This little beauty of mine is -- get this! -- in 5th Grade! What?!

She loved her twirly dress for our first day!

My sweet little loves!

We arrived at CC (a few minutes early!) this morning so I could take a picture at the church as I have done each year. Let me just add here: All of you AWESOME mamas who get your kids up, fed, dressed, and out the door to school with backpacks and lunches packed FIVE DAYS A WEEK are my heroes. I barely managed this morning. Just ONE morning. And with a VERY helpful hubby. I literally napped for two hours when we got home from co-op. Y'all are literally all kinds of amazing!

Here's their 2016 pic from last year (my apologies for the terrible lighting and lack of editing!):

And their first year at CC from 2015! Look how little!

I'm happy to report that we survived our day! I still feel a bit anxious about our CC year, but I think it's mostly due to the work I need to do with the kids at home this year (LO most specifically). But I trust God, and I know He brought us to this place and that He will equip me to be the very best teacher for my sweet kiddos. I pray for their hearts as well as their minds as we see where He leads us. Now, let's see how much sleep I can stockpile before our next early morning next Tuesday! :)