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Little J turned 10 months old last week. Really? 10 months already? He is officially cruising furniture now and loves to walk with our hands. He stands and lets go of things for quite awhile too. New sounds are starting to emerge including mama, dada and baba. Last night, er, well, this morning at 2 a.m., to be exact, he woke up screaming with a fever. It was low grade, so I gave him a little Tylenol and we rocked until 4:30 when I put us both back to bed. I took him in this morning and both ears are infected. So we made a quick trip to the Walmart pharmacy-thank you $4 prescriptions-and we are back home. He is still in really good spirits despite being uncomfortable. And luckily he is napping again. He really is the happiest baby. He's becoming quite a mama's boy and really doesn't like being out of my sight. Which, of course I don't mind. He's still cuddly and squishy and it melts my heart when he puts his head on my shoulder.
A few stats: he weighed 21 lbs., 4 oz. with clothes on at the doctor's office today. He is wearing a few 9 month clothes, but a lot of 12 month clothes. They are a touch long, but fit everywhere else. He's in size 4 diapers. He had been waking again once at night to eat, but seems to have stopped that again. He eats three meals a day, including banana, cereal, bread or oatmeal for breakfast, chicken, vegetables and fruit for lunch and whatever dinner we're having. He loves mandarin oranges, is drinking water from his sippy cup really well now and is using his pincher grasp to pick up food. He loves to laugh at his sisters because they are super silly, but isn't afraid to let out a wail if one of them holds on too tight. (I'll give you one guess who that might be. :) ) All in all, it's been a great 10 months, but I sure hope these next two don't go by as quickly because I'm not ready for my baby is be getting so big!
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Last weekend Josh was gone again to the Hereford show in Reno so the girls and I cleaned the house and put up all our Christmas decorations. It was a lot of fun for them. They wanted to help with EVERYTHING! At first I was getting a little annoyed as they have little patience when they know it's time to help with something. But I then reminded myself that this is the only Christmas they will be 6 and 3. I only had to tell myself that once because that alone is enough to make me want to stop and freeze time right now. As we put together our tree, MJ said, "This is so much better than going to find a tree Mom. We just have to put ours together!" Good perspective honey! And over and over she kept saying this is so fun Mom. I love decorating the house. The highlight was her and Emma hanging their ornaments on the tree. I let them put them wherever they wanted and besides the very back and top, they covered most of the tree with just theirs. MJ pointed that out too that for two little girls she and Emma sure have a lot of ornaments. I love that they each have a collection started. My ornament collection brings back many memories for me too. I have handmade ones from school, ones handmade by someone else and ones that were gifts from family who have gone before us. Each one is special and it's always fun to sit down and remember the significance of each one.
I didn't realize how many Christmas decorations I have. We were able to put some little holiday cheer in almost every room in the house! And while decorations and trees and all the stuff that goes with Christmas isn't the most important thing this season, it is kind of fun to see the house with a little more greenery for a change.
It seems the month is already zooming by, so daily I have to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the minutes. Even though we deal with daily stresses that come from raising children, our jobs and life in general, we are truly, truly blessed. We know this holiday season is hard for many, so we will be finding ways to help give back a little to those less fortunate. Instilling a sense of gratefulness and generosity in our children is very important, so it was a sweet reminder of that the other day when MJ asked if she could pick a name from the Angel tree at the store. She was very excited to pick out a toy for another little girl about her age and to help someone else have a special holiday.
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I hope to have some new pics to post soon too!
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Oh, and winter weather has definitely set in. We have had a few snow flurries, but mainly just cold, cold weather. Tomorrow's low-2 degrees! Yikes! I've been enjoying some pumpkin spice and vanilla chai tea in the mornings. Love a cup of something warm to start the day!
