She's 6!

Jaclyn turned 6 today! She's getting so grown up, I just can't believe it. She is really growing and learning this year, becoming such a responsible young lady, but yet still so young. She has moments of being so independent and very helpful, and then other moments when she wants to be a baby again, rocked in Mommy's arms. Funny how she is so grown up and so little at the same time. I'm sure this is the beginning of many years of this teeter-tottering, where she's figuring out what it means to grow up, while wanting to be little at the same time.

I was able to take her lunch and visit her at school today. It was fun, and very special for Jaclyn. It worked out that I could take Kendall and put her down for a nap in the church nursery, so I was really happy about that. It allowed me to stay longer in the classroom.
We bought Jaclyn some rainboots and an umbrella this year, and then Aunt Jill got her the matching rain coat, so Jaclyn was very excited to have the matching set. It will be hard for her to wait until Spring!

My mom sent her this costume, so she and Ashlyn had a lot of fun playing tonight, pretending they could fly.

Yesterday, we had her birthday party. It was a pajama party, but with an Ariel cake, so we had multiple themes going. It was so much fun for Jaclyn to have all of her girl classmates and friends there. I think she hardly slept for about 4 nights before the party. We're all a little tired. :)

Jaclyn has really been a big help for me with Kendall. She just LOVES being with her, making her smile, feeding her the bottle, and anything else! I came in the room one day last week to find Jaclyn sweetly reading to Kendall. It's so cute to see them interact. Kendall loves Jaclyn too. She's actually calm and comfortable when Jaclyn holds her and carries her. Pretty sweet.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie.

Another Talker!

Kendall is fitting right into our family! We didn't really need another noise maker, but now that we have her, we wouldn't trade her for anything.

Here's a little video of her new found voice.

Our sweetheart is now 3 months old and is really beginning to be a lot of fun. She's pretty much figured out how to get her hands to her mouth and is still earnestly working on getting a toy in there too. She definitely prefers sitting straight up rather than laying down, so she can watch what her sisters are doing, and she has a ready smile for most anyone that makes eye contact with her (if she's in a good mood).
I am also doing well because Kendall often sleeps through the night and is now more content during the day. This is the beginning of the age span that I love. The time where they learn so much and seem to change and do new things every day.
Wow, she's growing really quickly!

Sweetie!

Here's a little update on our sweet Kendall. She is now very close to 3 months old, and we have made it through the hard, newborn stage! While I can't totally say that she is "easy" (none of my babies could really be called that), we have developed a good little routine, and with the right combination of naps and food, we have ourselves a very pleasant little one. (Mess either of those up and she'll have something to say about it.)

She is now pretty content after she eats to sit in her bouncy seat and watch all the commotion around her. In fact the other day, she started fussing 'cause no one was paying attention to her. So, Jaclyn promptly went over to her, and Kendall flashed her a huge smile!

She fits right into our family, and we are so blessed to have her.

On a side note, I found the older girls watching t.v. the other day with their arms around each other, so I had to take a picture. I love it when they love each other. (It's not always like this.)

Our Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope it was filled with laughter and meaning for all of you. Ours was great, but a little busy this year. We headed down to Kansas City again this year to be with my family, so we did our own little Christmas at home before we left. It felt a little rushed since we fit it in between Craig's volleyball practice and my preparations for the trip, but the girls still enjoyed it. I keep hoping that one of these years we can start making some traditions of our own at home to make the day extra special, but I never seem to have time to plan any extra little fun things, so we just end up opening presents and then rushing out of town. One of these years I'll figure something out.

We had a great time with my family and all the cousins! The girls just played and played and played! We also had time for a family music recital (all the kids played their instruments) and Nana's annual Christmas story.









On Christmas day we had a blizzard hit the entire midwest, so we ended up staying in Kansas City for one extra day. The drive home was slower than usual, but we made it safely home on the Saturday after Christmas. Then, on that Sunday, I got the call that my grandfather had passed away. He had celebrated his 90th birthday in October and was really struggling, so it is a blessing that he is now in Heaven, fully healed. So, that Tuesday we packed up the van again and returned to Kansas City for the funeral. I was more concerned about the 2nd trip since the girls (especially Kendall) were still tired from the first trip, but they all did very well. Kendall did especially well, which was so great since I was busy with family (AND I got a stomach virus, so I was throwing up the day of the funeral!). It was pretty crazy, but we made it and enjoyed being with family to say goodbye to my grandfather.

Here's my dear Papa, 3 years ago with Ashlyn.

We love you, Papa.

Look Who's Smiling!

I love it when she flashes that smile at us! It's starting to happen a bit more frequently now, and it is fun. Kendall is doing really well. We still struggle with her needing to be held any time she's awake (she's not really content to just sit and watch yet), but she's doing fantastic at night, which is a huge blessing. It'll just get better and better from here. Within the next month or two she'll hopefully start interacting with us more and more, and then the girls will LOVE playing with her. They already smother her a bit. :)

Snowed In!

Winter is definitely here! Today is our 2nd snow day! We received 10 inches of snow, blizzard like conditions, and now sub-zero temps, so we're staying in. It's been a blessing for me cause I had a lot of projects to get done, and having Craig home has allowed me to work on some of them (like updating this blog!)

One of the projects that we tackled this year was to make some Christmas goodies for our neighbors. Craig and I still ended up doing most of the work, but the girls helped out a little bit, and really enjoyed eating them! That's all you need...a sugar high when you're cooped up in the house! What was I thinking!

Little Miss Jaclyn

I have been amazed at how much Jaclyn has learned this year in Kindergarten. It's like she hit a certain point of development, and her reading and writing has just taken off. It's really neat to witness her learning. She's reading all sorts of books and enjoys writing, just for the fun of it. Her teacher has done a great job of getting them to just sound out the words and write them as they hear the sounds (not necessarily correctly at this point), so Jaclyn has really taken to writing. One day last week Jaclyn had a little fever and woke up not feeling the best, so she wrote her Daddy this little note:


Jaclyn also had her first piano recital last Sunday. She played Rejoice in the Lord Always, God Is So Good, and the B-I-B-L-E. She was the first one to perform and when it was her turn, she walked right up there and started playing (no drama, yay! You never know what you're going to get with a 5 yr old). She played very well, and when it was done and people applauded, she flashed a huge smile and then curtsied. It was very cute. (Of course, Kendall decided to have a major blowout about 1 minute before it started, so Mom got to hold a stinky baby until Jaclyn performed. Yes, it got on me. Yuck!)