We Made it Half a Year :)

Tomorrow, Jacob turns 6 months old. We've had 3 little ones now for half a year. It's hard to remember our life before Jacob because he just fits in perfectly. I love how God does that, he knits us all together, makes us a family without us even noticing it's happening. This past month is no exception to that. One of my most favorite things, recently, is how much the older boys love Jacob. Any time Jacob is fussy, Curtis likes to stand in front of him, play peek-a-boo with him, or make silly sounds/faces. He reads to him, sings to him. He's such an amazing big brother. Judah is as well. I can leave Judah playing on the floor with Jacob and come back to Judah laying in front of him or beside him, talking to him, loving on him. I love watching them when they don't know that I am because it's so awesome to see how they are becoming brothers.

Jacob has had a big month. We now have 3 teeth. He's started sleeping through most of the night now. He's trying his hardest to crawl, I think it'll be in the next few days that it happens. He's begun eating some cereal and last night tried sweet potatoes. And the biggest deal, he stayed in the nursery on Sunday. It's the first time I've left him since he was just a few weeks old. I was nervous, checking my phone every few minutes to see if I had a text to go get him, but I didn't. He did great and had fun. It's so nice to know that I can now leave him for a little while and he is ok. I'm hoping this will translate into me being able to go for a run several mornings a week once it starts to lighten up again, because I am really looking forward to getting back to running. 

Here's a few pictures from our month. 

 Jacob loves Baxter and Baxter is so good with him. I love watching them play together

 Jacob loves his excersaucer. He hangs out in it while I'm cooking, and during meal times. He's finally really learning how to play with it and bounce in it.

 The boys had so much fun playing in the snow. It's so nice Isaac has a job that let him work at home so he could play with the boys in between calls.

Jacob is 5 months

My littlest little is 5 months old. He has 2 teeth, still teething, but so far only 2. He loves to chew on his hands or my hands or really anything that he can put in his mouth. He's still not sleeping very well, usually up at least twice during the night, sometimes 3 times. During the day, he typically only sleeps 30 minutes or less of a nap, but every now and then, like today, he'll give me a good 2 hours and it's the most glorious thing. There's is nothing like racing the naptime clock to get things done around the house. He's begun rolling all over the place in the last few days, never wants to stay in one place and he's really trying to crawl but can't quite get himself up on all 4s yet, but I think that will be next month. He's so smiley and loves anytime someone is talking to him. He is a very content baby, loves to hang out in his exersaucer or swing, or just lay on the floor. That's very different than the older boys, but much needed as I often have to be doing something with them or doing stuff around the house. 

The month of December was a crazy month. Isaac was travelling for work most of the month, then we traveled for Christmas and New Years. With all that considered, it was a pretty good month. The boys did well and adjusted well when needed. Thankfully, for the most part, it was a warm month, so there was a lot of outside play to get us through the days without Isaac. I learned to let so things go, figuring there were bigger battles to fight, such as nap time and bed time issues. And since then, both times of the day have been much less stressful and everyone sleeps eventually, and honestly, as long as they stay in their rooms, it doesn't really matter, I just need a few minutes with at least just one kid, or none if possible. 

Like most months, God is always working to expose my selfishness, my lack of patience and my need for reliance on Him. I see that the most when Isaac is gone and I don't get a break. Those days are hard, made harder by my complaints and self-pity. But I'm learning that sleep can't dictate my mood, whether I'm sick or not can't dictate my mood, and the boys behavior can't dictate my mood. Every month it's a lot of the same when it comes to things I need to learn, and it always seems God show me a different facet of the same trait. Thankfully, I guess that's what motherhood is for, it exposes the bad and shows me where I need to grow, and keeps me dependent of God for everything.

 I first snow at the house. It was beautiful, the picture definitely doesn't do it justice

 One of my favorite Christmas traditions, making Christmas cookies with the boys. Curtis had so much fun

 This was the only picture I got of the gift opening. It became very chaotic after this and we were all on sensory overload very quickly...except Jacob...who fell asleep nursing

 This dear friend came for a visit from Norfolk. It was so wonderful to have her here! She was such a great help with the boys, as you can see, they love her. And I loved having some of my Norfolk life here in Lincolnton. It meant a lot for her to come visit

 The boys got to see the fire trucks at Taylor's birthday party