five months!

My little girl is 5 months old!  How is that even possible?

She is still the happiest baby, and she continues to charm everyone she meets with her bright eyes and her incredible dimples.  And that hair.  Everyone loves that hair!

At 5 months old, she is right about 14 pounds.  She's just a tiny little thing.

She has become so mobile!  If I set her down on the floor, within minutes, she'll be somewhere completely different.  She rolls everywhere, and she can also pivot around on her cute little belly to face the direction she wants to be.  This is great because she can get to toys around the room and play.  It's bad because she keeps getting stuck under the ottoman and under the chairs.  She hasn't started pulling herself forward, so I consider this the perfect amount of mobility for us to all be happy.

She's finally started to laugh occasionally without getting the hiccups or spitting up.  Those two things still happen the majority of the time, but perhaps she's starting to outgrow it!

Is it just me, or does she look like a toddler here, not a 5 month old?  Crazy!

She has become a little mama's girl!  She's fine if other people walk past her without picking her up, but if mama walks by without picking her up, it hurts her feelings, and she starts to cry.  She's happy to interact with strangers, and let other people hold her, as long as she can see me.  She always looks at me as if to say, "is this okay, mama?"  If I'm smiling about it, she's happy to play with others,  I'm not gonna lie, I sorta love this.

She's getting a little bit big for Krew to hold her now.

I am so loving having a little girl.  I knew I would, but there's just something so special about her, and the connection we have.  Of course I love all the pink and the ruffles, and the cute clothes, but it's deeper than that.  I know she needs me, but I hope that someday she understands how much I need her.

the other things we did in january

Having a "nice" camera on my phone, means that I always have a camera handy to capture moments with my kids, even if the event isn't particularly camera-worthy.  I love these "real" pictures of our "real" life.  Here are some from January:

 I "made" the boys paint this picture for me.  It's now on display above the cabinets in my kitchen and I love it.  And apparently Krew has learned to make weird faces when he should be smiling for the camera too.  Again, that's real life for ya!

 One day, we took the whole family out for a walk in the snow.  It was quite, and peaceful.

 Everly got a turn being pulled in the sled by Krew.  I think she liked it!

 This picture includes (besides my baby girl) a dress, puppies, dimples, a cardigan, an oversize hairbow, hot pink, and polka-dot tights.  All in one picture.  Yeah, I like having a baby girl!

 Somebody does NOT like the bumbo seat.  At. All.

 She does, however, like to eat her fingers.

 Bart made his TV debut talking about men's health on the local morning show. He was articulate, witty, informative, handsome, and a natural. He's already been asked to make a second appearance.

 Darth Vader and I like to take selfies with babies.

 My baby has the most stunning eyes, I promise.

 These two love each other.  I promise.

 While Everly and I were in Utah, the guys played hard.  Even a trip to the grocery store is fun with daddy.  I mean, look how much fun Krew seems to be having!  That kid cracks me up.

For their birthday present, Grandma and Grandpa gave the twins (and Bart and I) tickets to a hockey game, along with free babysitting for the younger two kids.  It was a fun night, and it was nice to be able to do something fun with the big kids without worrying about the little ones.  It would have been better if we could have seen either team score a goal.

derby, derby, pinewood derby!

Ky and Kade participated in their second pinewood derby a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure which part is more fun, the time spent making the cars, or the actual race night.  There is usually excitement and tears for both parts.  

 While we waited for all the official weighing-in, and who knows what else, the rest of the family stayed entertained with the camera phone.

 As a mom, I don't necessarily care if my son wins, I just don't want either of them to come in last place, or cry when they lose.  I can say that because I was the child who cried when they lost games, you know at birthday parties.  So, I understand wanting to cry if you don't win at something, but I also understand how embarrassing it is.  So, during the actual derby, I'm more worried about tears than about winning.

 Kade eliminated Ky in the third round, by a hair.  And Ky handled it remarkably well.  We never got to see how well Kade handled the disappointment of losing...

 because he won!  He won every single heat in every single race and won first place!  I'm still not sure how his half skateboard, half car was the fastest, but it was.  Way to go Kade! (And Bart for doing all the hard stuff to make it go faster!)

Ky came in fourth place, and although he didn't get a ribbon, he handled it like a champ.  He did however, win the award for Best Paint Job for his "serpent of speed."  It just looks sort of blotchy in this picture, but we worked together to make it look like scales.  It turned out awesome, and he definitely deserved that award.  (I may be saying that because the paint technique was my idea...)

Overall, it was a great night.  The boys had fun and they were proud of their cars, so I guess we can call that a success!

the rest of my time in utah

Not only was I lucky enough to be able to travel to Utah for my grandma's funeral, I was lucky to be able to stay there a few extra days and have some fun with my family.

 We had to document Everly's first plane ride.

Friday evening after the funeral and spending time at my grandma's house, we all just relaxed at my parents' house.  It was fun to see all my brothers, my sister-in-law and my nephew while we were there.  We just let the two babies play on the floor together, and Jack was fascinated with Everly!

When Krew saw the above picture of Jack touching Everly's face, he was not happy.  He's pretty protective of his baby sister.

Watching the two babies play on the floor reminded me of when I had two babies playing on the floor all the time.

My dad is a wonderful grandpa, and he even likes playing with the little babies.

My mom and Everly.  Okay, I have to say that Everly looks so grown-up in this picture.  I look at this photo and I see flashes of what she's going to be like when she's 6,  Except I bet she'll have blond hair then.

Sunday was filled with going to church with my parents, taking selfies in the mothers' lounge to send to daddy,

and going for a walk in the 55 degree weather.  In January.  It was like medicine for my soul!

That evening, we went to see my Grandpa Joe who has moved to a nursing home since I last saw him.  I was so happy that he got to meet sweet Everly.  As we were leaving that evening, I gave him a big hug and he said to me, "That's a really cute little boy you've got there!"  For a moment I thought it was the dementia talking, but after a second it clicked that he was making a joke.  If you know him at all, you know that's exactly the type of humor he has always had. It made me smile to get a classic grandpa joke from him at that moment.

Sunday night we also said good-bye to my "little" brother, Andrew.  He made sure he got a picture with Everly before he left.  As soon as I took the picture, I was reminded of a few years ago when he met Krew for the first time, and we took this picture:

How fun to have pictures of him with my babies that are so similar!

Of course, while we were there, my parents had to spoil Miss Everly with this adorable Minnie Mouse outfit.  Isn't she the cutest Minnie you have ever seen?

It's always great to spend time at home and with my family.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we get to see them again.