Jacob is 7 Months

Our littlest little turned 7 months last week. With every day, I'm seeing his personality come out more and more. He is such a joyful baby, constantly laughing, smiling and squealing. He does his little army crawl to get anywhere he wants to go, right now he is really exploring everywhere that he can get to. It's been an adjustment for the older boys because Jacob is beginning to want to touch their toys, and play with them. I've had to switch toys around since he puts everything in his mouth and have to explain most days that the toys in the living room are to share, Jacob is allowed to play with all the toys, not just the baby toys. Often Judah likes to take the toys and replace it with a baby toy so at least he's not completely not wanting to share. We've also been working on food and sippy cups, which is really slow going. He is not a fan of food and looks at me every time like I've betrayed him when I put something in his mouth. I pretty much have to force feed him almost everything we've tried. Hopefully soon he will begin to like food. Sleep is still something we don't get much of around here, even on the nights he sleeps well, we're almost always woken up around 5 or even before by our sweet second child. If he's left in his room, he enjoys waking up the entire house, not just us, so we try and quickly get him out of his room before he wakes his brothers. It's become common for me to sleep on the couch for an hour or so while he watches Netflix just to get a few extra minutes of sleep before the day starts. I keep thinking, the older he gets, this will stop happening, but he's been doing it off and on about a year, so he may just be our early riser. But I am looking forward to him being old enough to understand he can't wake everyone else up, and maybe he can read or play quietly, but I think it will be a while before we get there. 

We've really enjoyed the warmer weather this past month as well. Winter used to be my favorite season. I loved the hats and scarves and sweaters, reading by the fire with hot chocolate and playing in the snow. Winter is very different when you have 3 boys because it usually means lots of days in doors. The warmer sunshine has done our souls good. The boys, even Jacob, could spend hours outside and the last several weeks, we have done a lot of that. They listen better when they've had outside time, they are calmer when I need them to be calm and they go to sleep much better. So I am loving these days, loving watching them explore their world, learn how to ride their tricycles, draw silly pictures with chalk, fight each other with sticks (#boymomlife) and pick flowers to bring to me. I love that we've moved to a place where they have that chance, where we can play not fenced in but they can roam and have space to be free for a little while. And I am looking forward to watching how Jacob will fit in to all their play in the next few months as he starts to be mobile. When we're out now, he wants to be down playing with them, so it will be fun to watch.

 His first time in the high chair. He was not a fan of the food.

 Curtis loves playing with Jacob at dinner, entertaining him for me when he's fussy.

 Judah's poor little eye has had issues, first spinning himself into a window sill, then catching Curtis' knee. It's finally starting to get better after about 2 weeks.

 He was definitely done with pictures

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

Jacob is 4 Months

Jacob turned 4 months old today. Like always, it's been a month of changes. Just when things seem to get figured out, they change and we learn to adapt, and then it happens all over again. This month, I have adapted to being up about every 2-3 hours during the night. At first, I thought it was teething or a growth spurt, but then just realized that's his schedule for now. It was like this with Curtis and Judah too. I just keep telling myself I will get to sleep eventually, one day when the boys are older :) I really look forward to that day. For now, I get up with him, snuggle him, nurse him, fall asleep watching whatever show on Netflix and then rewind it when I realize I've missed half of it, then repeat about 2 hours later. Thankfully, the older boys usually sleep through the night, although Judah has learned he can get out of bed and around 4 most mornings, we hear him at the gate in his room wanting to watch tv. This morning, I think I put him back in bed 3 or 4 times before he went back to sleep, hopefully he'll be out of that habit soon. 

The most fun about Jacob this month is how smiley and talkative he is. He smiles with his whole body, his face lights up, he legs kick and his arms flail. He gets so excited when he sees Isaac on FaceTime. Some nights when Isaac is gone and Jacob is fussy, all I have to do is call him and Jacob calms down. For the most part, Jacob is a calm baby. He just sits back and watches the chaos of our life. He seems to really like how loud it is, has a calming effect on him. He loves to be outside and I've learned that I can put him in his chair, sit him outside and he'll hang out for quite a while so I can get some work done. I'm sure things will all change again, but for now, I am loving this stage of his life.

Here's a few pictures of our month, Thanksgiving at my mom's, decorating and re-decorating the Christmas tree, and 4 month pictures. 

Judah is super excited for the "big muffin", the panetone bread that we used for French Toast

 Isaac is singing his less creepy version of Rock a Bye Baby to Jacob

This is our norm for now, and I'm having to learn to be ok with it. They re-decorate the tree every time they see it.

He's pretty fascinated with the lights

 This picture is curtesy of Jacob being awake around 5, not wanting to go back to sleep, so why not take advantage of the dark and get some cute Christmas light pictures?

 I love this smile! It makes the hard days and sleepless nights worth it :)

No Longer 3 Under 4

Last week, we reached a big milestone in parenting. I no longer have 3 kids under 4 years old. I now have a 4 year old. Curtis, my first born, my rules follower, my justice child with a tender compassionate heart, is now 4. These years have flown by that I've been a mom for 4 years plus 9 months. He is such a fun kid. He loves to laugh, knows he's funny. He picks up on so much and says some of the most hilarious things, like all toddlers do. He's smart, although I'm sure I'm biased. He loves his brothers, helps take care of them, is learning to protect them, learning to love them and help keep them safe. He reminds Judah to have "walking feet" around the fireplace and rocks Jacob in his rocker when he starts to cry. He loves helping me with anything that he can. He loves his daddy probably more than anything else, loves to play with him, help him and learn from him. We do have hard days, he definitely is a 4 year old, learning to be his own person and trying to figure out who that is. I'm learning to embrace him for who he is, although some days, it can be very hard. I've learned to live in the loud, in the mess, in the chaos, in the movement. I'm trying to learn to let him be, not to dictate everything he does, but to allow him creativity, as long as he isn't hurting anyone or destroying my house. This part can be hard, because I definitely have my own way of doing things, but I'm learning that he does too, and that's ok. I'm so thankful for this little boy that God has blessed me with. 

Also, last week, Jacob turned 3 months. Every month things are changing with him. I forgot how much that happens with newborns. Nothing ever stays the same. Once you have something figured out, something new comes along. I had actually allowed myself to get used to him sleeping through the night. I laugh when I think about that, thinking that was going to last. This past month, that has not happened. As I write this at almost 2000, I've been up since 0200 because he did not want to be put down. Every few nights, this is my norm. I think he's teething, or at least I'm telling myself that because I feel like I need a reason for my lack of sleep, but it could just be that he's a baby who wants to know his mama is near. I know that's normal, I know him wanting to nurse through the night is normal. And since he's probably my last, I'm trying to not wish these days away, although that part is hard. In the midst of my sleep deprivation, I'm learning to cry out to Jesus. I don't do it often enough. More often than not, I think I can do these days by myself and then I wind up frazzeled, getting upset at the boys for being boys/children, and/or crying because I just don't feel like I can do it anymore. Then I see Jacob's sweet face as he falls asleep nursing, or I see Curtis rocking him, or Judah laying down beside him and hugging him and remember that God gave me these boys to love and to teach and to train to be men of God, men who will change the world. And I have to remind myself of that job, and remind myself that I need Jesus daily, hourly or more if I am going to do that job well. It's a struggle, but I'm learning to struggle well. I'm thankful for these boys God has given me, thankful for his grace every day as I raise them and thankful for new mercies every morning to get a new start.

My silly Curtis, he had a lot of fun with pictures, but then said, "Ok, I'm done now".

 The closest to a smile I could get, for some reason he doesn't want to smile for the camera yet

 The boys wanted to keep him "warm and safe". This was when our AC was broken if you can see Curtis' sweaty head. He didn't need to be warmer, but it was cute.

 Sometimes he enjoys his crib, but not often

 Loving the leaf pile

 Isaac's parents visited last week. Nonno had the magic touch to put Jacob to sleep, it was wonderful :)

 Judah eating a birthday donut

 Playing with legos

 And my least favorite toy, although they love it

 Batman blowing out his candles

 Spiderman got a gift too

 My superhero boys, I love these 2 so much

 The party people

 Real Life, but first picture of all of us

 Finally got a smile, he loves his papa

 My beautiful niece, so glad she and Reegan got to come celebrate with us

 Love my 4 year old