5 months old!!!

Our sweet girl is 5 months old today!! Just one more month until the big 1/2! A few days ago, she was super smiley and talkative all day (and I mean ALL day...she didn't even nap the whole day!). I got some really cute pictures of her on my phone that day. Here are a few.
Even though this one is blurry, I love how she's sticking her tongue out!

Waverly has started to chunk up a little bit, especially in her legs. I noticed a couple weeks ago that she has knee dimples, and I think they're simply precious!
She looks so chubby in this picture (her cheeks)! This is how she sleeps now. On her side, with a blanket over her middle and legs, with her hands crossed in front of her. So sweet! This picture makes me laugh because of her hair sticking up in the back. It also shows her silly hair...still lots of it in the back, but none on top! She's also worn that spot on the back of her head completely bald, so it looks even funnier!
Waverly got to spend an afternoon with her little "boyfriend" Ryan. We met him and his mom for lunch when they were in town for some appointments. Ryan has Miller-Dieker Syndrome like Waverly, and lives about an hour away. It's totally crazy that with how rare MDS is, that there is someone who lives so close with it! We are so thankful for their family and their friendship! Aren't they cute together!
Waverly had an EEG a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully it isn't showing any overt signs of seizures yet, but the neurologist did say that her brain activity was disorganized and immature (what he'd expect), and that there were several "blips" that were pre-seizure kinds of activity.
We have been noticing some seizure-like movements more and more, especially as she's falling asleep. The doctor was a little unsure if it was true seizures or not (and definitely thinks they're not Infantile Spasms, which are the really damaging type of seizures), so we are holding off on medication for now until they start up for sure or more frequently. I have been so scared of the seizures starting, but we know that it's just a matter of time. I am so very thankful though that we have managed to go for 5 whole months now without any major seizure activity or issues. Thank you, Lord!

As Waverly has been growing, she's been able to wear more of the clothes that her big sister wore. This dress is one that I have a picture of K in when she was a baby. How fun! I love seeing Waverly in those sweet little hand-me-downs. She's mostly in 0-3 month clothes, but can wear some 3-6 month size also. However, we still have trouble with pants. They are all loose around the waist! I'm not sure what's going on with that!
Waverly had her first big sickness this month. J had said his tummy hurt for a few days. A couple days later, Waverly spit up, then she started throwing up. She threw up for two full days, after every feed. We finally got her switched to Pedialyte, and she tolerated that a little better, and then we slowly reintroduced milk. We are so thankful that it wasn't worse. We almost had to take her to the hospital, but I think she heard us talking about that and got scared! We're so thankful to have avoided that this time!

A few more facts about our girl at 5 months old:

-we've started actually putting her to bed (instead of keeping her up with us until we go to bed)! I know, it's a novel thought! She goes down about 9:00p.m., when her nighttime feed starts. At some point in time during the night, she usually fusses and then I transfer her to her carseat, where she finishes sleeping for the night. That usually happens around 3a.m., but can be anytime during the night (as early as 11p.m. or as late as 4a.m.). She sleeps until around 8:00 in the morning.

-during the day she naps on and off. She doesn't really have much of a schedule for naps. Sometimes she sleeps a lot, other times not much at all! It really varies from day to day!

-she is still able to eat by bottle some, but we take it slow and only do it when we have time to really stop and focus on it. If she acts like she's uncomfortable or unhappy during the feed, we stop and try again at another time. When she's handling it well, though, she really LOVES to eat, and sucks down what she's allowed to have in no time at all!

-she weighs 11lbs 13oz and is 23 inches long.

-she is usually the most smiley in the mornings, and will flash us some very sweet grins! She also has times where she'll coo at us when we talk to her, and it's about the sweetest sound you've ever heard!

-she doesn't like loud noises...they scare her!

-she still loves to be held, and adores her older brother and sister!

Three Years Old!!!!!!

Our sweet boy turned THREE on Friday!!! Here is a post all.about.him.

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures, taken just minutes after Jackson was born. Can you tell his Daddy was smitten?!?Newborn Jackson, our big boy at 9lbs 4oz!
One big new thing that Jackson has undertaken recently has been preschool! So far he really enjoys it! He's always been a little more cautious than Kathryn about new things so we weren't sure what he'd think about it, but he's done great! I think it helps that his big sister is at the same school and they can walk in together.
This is the morning of his birthday. We got him a mini trampoline for his birthday, because he LOVES to jump! We find him jumping all the time, on the bed, on the couch, etc. So we thought a trampoline may help with that, um, habit. :)

These were also taken Friday morning. A good example of his many faces.
Sweet.
Sweet again.
Snickering.
Goofy.
Trying to listen.
Long eyelashes.
Our boy.
Some other things about our THREE year old:

He can now count to 20! He may miss a number or two in the teens, but one day he started counting and went all the way to 20! Wow! He still doesn't quite know all the alphabet yet, although recognizes several letters, including "J for Jackson". And he is still a little iffy on colors sometimes. However, his favorite colors are always blue and orange (go figure!). Obviously, he loves UVA, and recognizes their logo anywhere. If he sees his UVA shirts, he wants to wear them and asks to go to the football games. He also loves going to baseball games. Again, go figure!

He loves to play ball out in the yard: baseball, golf, soccer. He swings the bat and club left-handed but does everything else right-handed.

He loves to give big, puckered-lip kisses. And only on the lips. He is very sweet and compassionate, and will cry if someone else is upset, especially his big sister. He also loves to snuggle.

He's talking a lot more now too, and will say almost anything, although we don't always understand him. He will often insert "mama" after much of what he says, for instance, "I want one too, mama." And it's a long, drawn out way of saying it ("maaaaamaaaa"). One of the funniest things he says is "WeeWee" for Waverly! The nickname has stuck, and now we often call her WeeWee too! Along with the talking comes more understanding and obedience. He still has his times of throwing tantrums, but he is understanding so much more and with that is coming obedience. We are so thankful to see the Spirit's work in his heart already on that.

Jackson is also really into wrestling. He's started getting into singing, and loves listening to his verses in the car. He loves people. He's potty training and doing so well! We had one week to do it over the summer, and he's done great! We are still working on the #2 part, but hopefully that will come soon! He loves Buzz Lightyear and Cars, although doesn't mind too much of his sister's princess stuff either. :)

Jackson, we love you so much and are so thankful for your life these past three years!!!

Ballet

Kathryn started ballet class through the Y this fall and LOVES it! Isn't she the cutest in her outfit?!?


Jackson wanted in on the photo shoot too!

UVA Game!

A couple of Saturdays ago we all enjoyed our first UVA football game of the season! It was Waverly's first game, and she was excited to be able to go! (For pics of Jackson's first game, see here. And for Kathryn's first game, see here.)

Sandra, Johnny's mom, made matching outfits for all the kids...dresses for the girls, and shorts for Jackson (even though he really wanted a dress like the girls...!). Here are our three little ones! The cousins. (Aubrey wasn't feeling the photo shoot...)
Grandma with her grandchildren!
Grandma and Granddaddy with the grandchildren.
Our family!
Up close.
We had to do another running shot like last year (I don't think I have any pics of that one though...).
On the lawn.

She was asleep, so we just left her in the stroller.
At the game. She did well in the Ergo for a while, then we took her out because it was hot.



"What's going on back there? Did we score?"
This is how you eat, g-tube style, at a football game!
With Aunt Lindsay.
We were so excited to all be able to go to the game as a family, since it's an important part of our fall tradition. We hope to be able to all make it to another game or two (or more!).

First Day of Preschool!

The big kids started preschool last week! So far they are loving it! I of course took the obligatory first-day-of-school pictures! Waverly wasn't feeling it that morning, and just wanted to sleep. Even after I got her up, she rolled onto her side and was snoozing soundly! Ready to go!
Big stuff!

Stinker!
Walking down the sidewalk to go in.
Walking down the hallway to their classrooms.
Finding his cubby. We didn't have to show him, he recognized his name and showed us!
Hanging his backpack.
Posing with his teacher!
Hanging her backpack in her cubby.
Sometimes I can't believe we are old enough to have kiddos going off to school! But they are loving it, and I am thankful for a little bit of quiet time in the mornings! :)