Lazy days of summer

The countdown is on. Only 21 days left of summer vacation for Jacob. I can’t believe we are starting another year of school. And I really can’t believe Jacob will be in 2nd grade. That just sounds so much older than 1st grade. Jacob is excited for school to start. He loves school so that’s a good thing. He’s been begging me to take him out to buy school supplies so that’s going to be our exciting thing to do this week. Well, exciting for him but not so much for mom! He finished up baseball a couple weeks ago. He really enjoyed playing and I think he’ll play again next year but I guess we’ll wait and see. He really improved over the 8 weeks. I was impressed. Now we wait for the soccer season to start. This year they’ll be playing on a bigger field so I really hope he enjoys that. He told me he thinks he’ll get more goals this year because the fields will be bigger. How cute is that. Last year he scored 2 goals, both in the last game of the season.

Little Miss MaKena continues to grow and change every day. She no longer likes to sit and cuddle with you; she has to see what’s going on all the time. When we sit in the chair together she tries to grab the remote. She hasn’t figured out how to push the buttons but I’m sure that day will come soon. I wonder if she’ll be into buttons like her big brother. Just this weekend she figured out how to get up on her hands and knees and she just sits there and rocks back and forth. It won’t be too long and she’ll be crawling all over the place and then we’ll be in trouble. On Friday night she was playing on the floor and I was messing with the camera and I looked over and she was just about sitting up on her butt all by herself. Of course when I had the camera ready she wouldn’t do it again. I just can’t believe all the new stuff she is doing and it all happened this weekend so we could see it. Lane keeps telling her to stop growing up. I think he really wants her to stay 7 months forever! She is such a happy baby. She loves to look at herself in the mirror and she really loves it when daddy is outside mowing and we stand in the window and wave at him. She just giggles. Tonight I was making her supper and she sat up twice all by herself. She’ll be moving in no time.

I have a cute little story………………a few weeks ago Jacob was at his dad’s for 2 weeks. I picked him up at daycare the day he was coming back home and he was very excited to see his baby sister. When he got in the house MaKena was sitting in her bouncy seat in the kitchen with daddy. Jacob came around the island and got down to say hi to MaKena and she just giggled at him. I bet she giggled for a couple minutes. She was so happy to see him. It amazed me how excited she was to see him. It was priceless. Well, I’m off to bed. I have so much more to share but I’ll save that for the next entry. Enjoy the pictures.

Jacob and MaKena

MaKena sitting up all by herself.

Jacob playing 3rd base.

Jacob getting ready to hit the ball.

We took this video of MaKena in the tub last week. She got a case of the giggles. You'll want to turn your volume on so you can hear her laugh.

4th of July Fun!

The 4th of July has come and gone again. We had a fun 4th. We spent Friday at Jason and Jerene’s lake catching some sun and just hanging out with family. Justin and his girlfriend Laura were in town from Chicago. It was nice to spend some time with them. The kids all had fun filling water balloons and getting all the adults wet. The grandmas even got in on the fun. I think they were having just as much fun if not more than the kids. The weather was perfect. I’ve attached a few pictures from the day. Hope everyone had a fun 4th!

Jacob driving Jason's pontoon

(this picture was taken with my phone so its not the best)

Jacob and cousin Emma

MaKena sleeping in her stroller.

Jacob and Mallorie filling water balloons.

Emma and Karisa eating snacks.

Lane and Nate

Justin and Laura

Jerene, Emma and Karisa

Jen, Emma, Jacob and Jason soaking up the sun.

6 Months

Once again we have managed to keep ourselves busy. It’s hard to believe that last weekend was the 4th of July. MaKena had her 6 month check-up on the 23rd of June. We found out she weighs 15 lbs 3 oz (33%) and is 25 7/8 inches long (58%). She’s just a little peanut according to the charts! Hopefully this means she’ll fit into some of her cute 3-6 month summer outfits a little longer. She has also officially started eating baby food. At first she wasn’t a big fan of the fruits, which I thought was odd. But now she’ll eat fruits and veggies. So far we’ve tried peaches, pears, bananas, applesauce, green beans, squash, carrots and peas. I was surprised she ate the peas. They didn’t smell the best! She continues to be a busy baby. She’s rolling over and manages to move around on her blanket. Many mornings we find her on her tummy just talking away to her animals. It’s amazing how much she changes every day.

Jacob is still busy with baseball on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. He didn’t have any games last week because of the holiday. In just a month, he has really improved. When he first started playing it was a struggle for him to catch a ball that was thrown to him. But that has changed. He’s gotten a lot better and catches quite a few when we play catch. I was impressed! I’ll have to get some pictures of the baseball player!

Jacob and MaKena relaxing on the couch.

Jacob pushing MaKena in the stroller.
MaKena with a chin full of drool.
Beautiful baby girl.
Jacob's new haircut.

Big Girl

MaKena has officially started eating baby food. Well, baby cereal. We started her last Tuesday, the 10th of June. It was very interesting. She didn’t know what to do when I put the spoon in her mouth the first time. Her tongue was going in and out of her mouth and later she tried to suck the spoon. But every night she has gotten better and now she can polish off a bowl of cereal like a champ. Here are some pictures from the first night we fed her.

The before picture!

5 Month Pictures

A few weeks ago we had family pictures taken and MaKena's 5 month pictures taken by a friend of mine. She did a really good job. And of course I couldn't just pick a couple to share! Here are just a few of my favorites.

Sorry for the delay in the updates. We’ve been busy trying to sell our house and getting things ready for the new house. Jacob finished 1st grade and is enjoying summer vacation even though the weather hasn’t been cooperating. Soccer and swimming are also done for the year. Jacob really started to come around in soccer this spring. In his last game he scored 2 goals. He was so excited. And I was very proud of him. He really enjoyed swimming lessons again this year. The only bad part was, he didn’t pass level two. I guess we’ll just have to try again in the fall. Hopefully he’ll pass. He just started baseball this week. But because of the nice rainy weather he only had practice on Wednesday. He was really excited about it. Hopefully he likes it. This is his first year playing so I told him to just try as hard as he could. The 1st and 2nd graders are put on teams together so some of the kids have been playing for a few years. I told him we’ll have to practice.

Little Miss MaKena is grown like a weed. She’s 5 ½ months, almost 6 months. I can’t believe how fast it has gone. She is doing so many new things, I just love it. Lane thinks she’s going to start crawling soon. I don’t think so but who knows! She’ll roll over on to her tummy and then she’ll stretch her arms out and kicks her legs up. It looks like she’s flying. She is so goofy. She loves to play in her jumper and her exersaucer. When she sits in her bouncy chair she just kicks and kicks her feet. I have a feeling once she figures out how to work those legs it’s going to be go, go, go. A couple weeks ago we put her in the grass for the first time. I don’t think she really enjoyed it, maybe in a few months. Her next doctor appointment is on June 23rd. After that I believe we can start her on baby food. I’m excited to see how she does. She’s been such a good baby. She's a good sleeper, she eats well and is normally a very happy baby. You can tell when she is getting tired as she starts to get fussy. At night we feed her and then just lay her in her crib and she falls asleep. I love it! We are very blessed with two wonderful children.

Jacob feeding MaKena

Jacob burping MaKena
MaKena rolling
On her tummy she goes!
Playing in her jumper
checking the grass out
Not happy in the grass!
Sleeping away
I'm so tired!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It’s hard to believe it’s the middle of May. We’ve been so busy, but it’s a good busy. Jacob is playing soccer again this spring. They play for 5 weeks and this next weekend is the last weekend. He seems to still enjoy playing. Just over the 2 years that he’s played, he has really grown and has gotten a lot better. He’s slowly starting to get a little more aggressive, which is good. Next year he will play on a bigger field with goalies. Right now they play 4 against 4 on small fields with no goalies. Some days it can be a hair pulling experience but most of the time I enjoy watching him and his teammates. Besides soccer, Jacob is also taking swimming lesions twice a week. So he really keeps us busy! The school year is also winding down. Only 3 more weeks and Jacob will be done with First Grade. He’s been doing really well. I think it helps that he really loves school. We are very proud of him. They have a big field trip on the 27th of May. They get to take a bus to the Wahpeton Zoo. Jacob is really excited for this trip.

MaKena is still growing like a weed. Her last doctor appointment was April 22nd. At the appointment she was 13 lbs 13 oz and was 25 inches long. She also got 4 shots, which she did not like at all. I don’t blame her! Our next doctor appointment is June 23rd. It’s amazing how much she seems to change every day. On the 3rd of May, MaKena figured out how to roll from her back to her right side and then on to her tummy. On the 9th of May she figured out how to roll over to her tummy from her left side. She enjoys rolling but eventually gets mad after being on her tummy for a while and starts to fuss. No more leaving her just lay and thinking she’ll stay put! She’s also figured out how to work her little fingers. She grabs at stuff without any trouble. She has gotten a hold of my hair but she hasn’t figured out how to pull real hard yet. I’m sure that will come. She has also figured out her voice. I think she finally realized it’s her making the noise and she continues to do it. It’s so cute! She is at such a fun age.

On May 8th, Lane and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. I can’t believe we’ve been married 4 years already. It seems like just yesterday we were walking down the aisle and dancing the night away. That was a fun night! We’ve been keeping ourselves busy with house stuff. We are in the process of selling our twin home and moving into something a little bigger. On top of that, I accepted a new job at Black Ridge Financial. Today was my first day. It was scary and exciting all in one. I worked for Bank of the West for 6 years so it was hard to leave but it was a good move and the right time. So all and all we have been keeping ourselves busy and out of trouble!

MaKena chewing on her rings.Pulling on her rings.Jacob at his school program.

MaKena and daddy
A little smile!
Pulling on her bugs
All smiles!