Showing posts with label jaelyn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jaelyn. Show all posts

4.20.2010

quite the little girl...




last week, i took jaelyn to our pediatrician for her 18 month well check.
jaelyn is doing great!!!
what a blessing for a completely healthy and happy baby girl!



jaelyn is still a little peanut...
weighing in at 21 pounds (under the curve, guess it is like the 0%)
but now worries because she gained a pound since her 15 month check up!

and she measures 32 inches long (50-75%)

jordyn loves to dress her up!
excuse the wild hair - it was just one of those days!


jaelyn loves to talk on this old cell phone!
so sweet!
she is quite the talker, she says lots and lots of words.
and repeats everything too!!

4.06.2010

one and a half...

seriously, this momma can not believe that
her sweet baby girl is eighteen months old today.




one year ago



this year



jaelyn is growing and changing so much,
many days, i hear myself asking,
"where is my baby girl?"

it surely is bittersweet.




jaelyn is such a busy bee these days. she is all over the place and into just about everything that is in her sight and in her reach. i spend most of my days chasing after her!

and she spends most of her days trying to keep up with her big brothers and big sister. gone are the days when she would just sit and play.

as if three loud and vocal kiddos were not enough, we have been blessed with another talker!! yup, jaelyn talks so much and has a word for everything. it is super cute to hear her talking.

jaelyn has started climbing! she climbs up on the little chairs and loves to "sit-sit". we found her sitting in jordyn's loft bed, she climbed up the slide and made her way into the bed. crazy, i can not take my eyes off of her.

she is a pretty good eater and is a great sleeper. she is still taking two naps a day! it is crazy to think that when she was a "baby" she gave us such a run for our money and was so hard to get to sleep. now it is a piece of cake! we put her in her crib and she goes to sleep. honestly, sometimes i miss her getting up and rocking her. i can't believe i am saying that!


jaelyn is such a sweet baby girl!! we could not imagine our lives and our family without her. she is such a blessing and every day i could just eat her up!!






















2.15.2010

little mommy...

jaelyn turned sixteen months old on february 6!
since it was not so long ago that i did a 15 month update,
i am going to share this sweet picture and little story!




at sixteen months old, jaelyn loves to carry around baby dolls and purses!
oh. my. it is so stinkin' cute.
she will say "bay-beee" and hold the doll and be super sweet with it!
it is so cute to see her acting like a little mommy.
she is a girl after my own heart.


a lot of people are telling me that she is looking more like me.
so what do you think?

2.12.2010

two valentine's, two surprises...

in honor of valentine's day, i am reflecting back on two special valentine's days that jamil and i have celebrated. each of them were surprises! one year he surprised me and the other one i surprised him! i am also linking up to kelly's show us your life valentine's dates and memories! so welcome, if this is your first time stopping by! read a post or two or three and leave a comment and let me know you were here!

Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner

his surprise to me...

i wouldn't say that jamil is the most romantic man as far as planning surprises and gifts. but this year he planned such a special surprise date that i have always remembered. i do not like surprises at all. especially if i know there is a surprise coming, i would rather just know. but this day, he totally blew me away and i did not see it coming. he put a lot of thought and detail into this special date.

it was valentine's day 2003, i was about 4 months pregnant with jordyn. at that time our life was pretty stressful. jamil was working a full time job with not so good benefits and working three small part time jobs on the side. jamil has always worked super hard to provide for our family so that i can stay home with our kids. one of his part time jobs at the time was serving tables at a restaurant. so of course he was scheduled to work that valentine's weekend! i was sad that we wouldn't be able to do a date night. but little did i know he had planned a surprise for me.

it was a friday morning and i was at a ladie's bible study. as we were wrapping up our study, one of the ladies who was hosting the study was closing in prayer and began to pray for me and for the baby (jordyn!) i was carrying. she also prayed for my husband. she closed the prayer and then began to read a sweet letter to me that was written by my husband.

in the letter he shared his affection for me and then told me that he had a surprise planned for me that day. i was handed a rose and sent on my way home with directions to go home and get dressed up. when i arrived at our house there were balloons decorating my front porch. another letter inside of our house said that childcare was arranged for josh and that i was suppose to get ready to go on a lunch date. i would be told of the location later. after josh was settled in at my mother in law's house, i received a note from her that was from jamil giving me directions to my destination although i didn't know where it was. as i started driving, jamil told me to meet me at an italian restaurant. when i arrived, he was there waiting for me with a dozen roses. we then had a special lunch date together.

even though i don't have any pictures to share, (i probably have the letters somewhere), i will always remember what time and thought jamil put into that special date.


little did he know five years and 3 kids later i would have a surprise for him...

my surprise to him...

i had the "baby itch" for a long time, when jamil told me that he was ready to consider adding a fourth child to our family. i was so excited that we were finally on the same page! in january 2008, i had every sign, symptom and feeling of being pregnant. but to my sadness, i was not. just one month later, i was barely late, and decided to take another pregnancy test. i thought that i could be pregnant but after going through such immense disappointment the previous month, i didn't wan to get my hopes up. when the test showed a very faint positive, i was so thrilled. but because of that faint (really faint) line, i didn't get my hopes up too high. after taking a few more tests and seeing the positive sign, i knew i was. i never keep secrets like this. i am the most loyal person if someone shares their secret with me. but when it comes to my own, i can not contain myself.

i received the positive tests just a few days before valentine's day. so i decided to surprise jamil in a big way. i bought him a new bible and then found several scripture verses that had to do with having babies, new life and multiplying! i cut out little hearts and wrote the scripture reference on each one and stuck them inside of the bible like bookmarks. i gave him the bible. he read the verses and kind of just looked at me and said, i know, i know you want another baby, i guess that is what you are trying to say. after he said that i handed him his own copy that he got when i was pregnant with josh, of "she's having a baby and i am having a breakdown". and that is when he got it and said/asked, "you're pregnant?" he didn't really believe me until i showed him all three positive pregnancy tests, even though they were faint lines, i reminded him a line is a line, it doesn't matter what intensity of color!! you can also go here to read about it, when i posted it two years ago!!


that brings me to this year, i am pretty sure that there will be no surprises from either of us. i know for sure that i am not planning one this year, maybe next year though ;) we have plans to go out tonight on a "shopping date", but i just heard that they are calling for more snow again in charoltte, so we will see.

happy valentine's day and thanks so much for sharing these special memories with me!

1.31.2010

fifteen months old...

jaelyn turned fifteen months on january 6. so she is actually closer to sixteen months. but since we had her fifteen month check up a few weeks ago. i wanted to share an update about her sweet little self! i have included a few pictures, i have been really bad about not taking pictures this month. that will have to change!

her well check went great!! she continues to be so healthy!! no problems or complaints, although she didn't like getting her shots this time at all. she did that silent scream and cry, mouth wide open that just breaks your heart - yes, that one. but i was able to easily distract her and it didn't last too long.

here are her stats...
weight 19 lbs 4 oz 0-5%
height 31 inches 75%



she is a little peanut, weighing barely anything, only nineteen pounds! her growth chart continues to go up each time so our doctor has no worries! she is just tiny... and tall!!! jaelyn's carseat is still rear facing because of her being under twenty pounds! and in this picture above she is wearing a little buzz lightyear costume that belongs to one of jesiah's build a bear pets! ha!!



jaelyn is a busy bee! she is all over the place and into everything. i can barely get her to be still enough for a picture. so that is her above taking off down the hallway!!! i see a lot of that these days! ha!!!



although when she feels like it she will pose and say cheese!!



she loves to eat and is usually a pretty good eater. she loves bananas!! calls them "nanas"

jaelyn is a great talker. she says close to 40 words already and is learning a new one each day. she learned this over the weekend...







snow!

isn't her voice so stinking sweet!!!???

jaelyn is such a happy baby girl! even though she is more like a toddler, i am still calling her my baby and will for awhile!!! she continues to bring so much love and joy to our family. i am so thankful for her sweet little self!! i can't believe she will be sixteem months in a few days!

1.13.2010

cloth diapering revisited...

it's something i like to talk about.
a lot.
almost as much as birth stories, pregnancy and little bundles of joy.
almost but not quite.
...and i have had several people ask me about our cloth diapering experience as of late,
so i thought i would give a little update.

we have been using cloth diapers (bum genius 3.0 and happy heiny's) for about nine months.

we have fifteen diapers and that has been a great number of diapers for us. i think we started with twelve and added three. i had planned to work my way to 18, but never did.

we started this adventure when jaelyn was six months old. i have really really liked doing it.

when we started, i was nervous that i wouldn't stick to it. but after the initial investment, i couldn't turn back. i never even thought about it. really i didn't. ok well maybe on that one day when i had no clean diapers in the house and was afraid to put jaelyn in a disposable.

jaelyn's awful diaper rash that started this whole thing, completely healed and never came back. oh except one day when i did put on a pampers diaper and her bottom broke out within two hours of wearing it. i was bummed!

over the last two months or so, we did started using disposable diapers (huggies) at night because her diapers were leaking and waking her up. i did get the leaking under control by stripping the diapers (soaking in cold water and dawn dish detergent) and adjusting the fit and number of inserts. but i have continued to use the disposables at night. i have also started using them when we go out, because i can fit several more disposable diapers in my diaper bag than cloth. and also, if she were to have a number 2 out in public or for our sweet nursery volunteers - oh. my.

i must say cloth diapering and solid food number twos are not the greatest thing. that is pretty messy. but that would be the only negative. the extra laundry hasn't even really bothered me. i am at the point now where i am never caught up on laundry so what is a few extra loads in a week. this is my washing routine; i wash every two or three days now. i use country save detergent and have loved it! i bought a box when i started and am just now ready to buy another box. i start by doing a cold rinse, then i wash in hot with 1/4 of a scoop of detergent and rinse in cold. if they diapers need a little extra "cleaning, stain or scent removal" i will add a 1/4 scoop of oxy clean - works wonders! and then i do a final cold rinse. i do dry them in the dryer. if it is a nice day i will hang them out to dry. we haven't had too many nice days though ~ frozen cloth diapers wouldn't be fun!

so, that's where we are with our cloth diapers. still doing it and still loving it! and jaelyn is doing great with it too! i plan to continue until it is time to potty train her.

you can revisit my first few posts on cloth diapering here, here and here,

oh and if i didn't answer a question you had in mind, leave a comment and i will be glad to give you the best answer i can!

1.09.2010

a big milestone...

in early december, jaelyn took a few steps to me a few different times and then just like that she decided she didn't want to walk. every time i would encourage her to walk, she would just sit down and not even try. oh well i knew she would do it when she was ready! that is one thing you learn about your child especially after having four of them and they are all different and learn things in their own time!

on the day after christmas, we had moved the coffee table and some furniture out of the way so the kids could play the wii. and just like that she started letting go of the couch and walking toys and took a few steps. then jamil and i had her walk to each of us a few times. and then before we knew it by that afternoon she was completely walking with no assistance all over the living room.





(i took this video a few days after she started walking, we didn't tell my parents or grandparents and when they came over she "surprised" them! oh and please ignore my obnoxious voice - wow!)


this is what i call a new kind of busy! wowzers, this sweet baby girl is keeping me on my toes. she is as busy as ever and into everything. this is honestly one time i am so thankful to have a one story home! i don't have to worry about her being around stairs. i do have to make sure that all of the doors to the bedrooms, bathrooms and the laundry room are closed. that in itself keeps me busy, because the bigger kids are in and out and forget to shut them!





(this video i took when we went to discovery place last week, she was walking everywhere with my phone in her hand! ha! just like mommy!)


so there you have it, my sweet jaelyn is officially a toddler! i am so thankful for her and for how healthy and how active she is! i don't take running after her for granted at all. i am blessed to be so tired at night!! she turned 15 months a few days ago, and i am telling you the last 15 months although hectic and with a lot of adjustment, have been so full of joy because of her!

oh and a huge milestone for me...these are the first hom videos i have posted on my blog! i figured it out! wooo hooo! my new flip camcorder made it way easy!!! i love that thing!

12.08.2009

14 months old & more...


so, it is just 17 days before christmas, how are you all feeling about that? wow!!! i have so many plans and so much to do, but things are slowly getting removed from my to do list if they don't rank in the top important things to do - ya know?

i know i say this a lot, so much that you are probably tired of reading it. but i just have to say it again, where does the time go? yesterday, went by at super sonic speed. i was talking to amy and she was saying how she had fed her girls lunch and i was thinking wow, its like 10 am she is feeding them early. then i looked at the clock and it was almost noon. and the rest of the afternoon flew by too. i met jamil at our church office so he could take the kids home so i could go in for a meeting. and then jesiah had his first basketball practice last night. he took josh along too, so my sister stayed with the girls until i got home. a lot of juggling. and we even missed jordyn's dance class because she was home sick yesterday. how would i have done all of that?

i kept jordyn home from school, she has a cold. she is somewhat better and does not have a fever so she went today. i thought yesterday she may end up running a fever like jesiah did the day before, but she didn't. but now i have a cold too! it just doesn't seem to end. and i just can't get sick we have such a busy busy schedule. we usually don't jam pack a month like we have this month, so i know it is short term, but wow, my head is spinning.

there is so much great stuff going on, and there is some stress surrounding it all. although, i am truly trying to focus on the season and the true meaning and not on what i have to cross off my list! even keeping it simple, there are still things i desire to do to celebrate the season. i wish i could just wiggle my nose and it all get done!! i am sure you do too!!!

almost looks like jaelyn is wiggling her nose for me!!

who knows how much time will pass before i can post again! but before the day goes by, i have to tell you about my sweet baby girl. she turned fourteen months on sunday, here are some pictures and a little bit about what she is up to this days...
so on sunday, even though we couldn't go to church i put her in this cute dress so that i could take a few pictures on her 14 month birthday! i took a few shots and then my battery died, but i have 2 to share!! this one and the one below are my favorites!!



jaelyn is such a super sweet, super smart, super adorable baby girl!
she is sleeping pretty good, still taking two naps during the day and sleeping mostly through the night. we still have a few nights when she will wake up but overall sleeping great!

jaelyn's vocabulary is increasing, she is constantly learning and saying new words. in addition to momma and dadda, she can "say" all her siblings names! she also says pop-pop for her grand daddy, we are working on "meemee or grandma" and aunt julie! she points to things and tries to say what they are. like cup, cracker, ball, baby! it is looking like we will have another talker!! that's four out of four who love to talk!!!

jaelyn is starting to stand on her on a little bit more. she has started taking a few steps here and there. but she is still a little unsure of the whole walking deal. which is ok with me! she does like to walk if you hold her hand or give her some light support. but on her own is a different story right now!

jaelyn likes to eat for the most part. she easily tries new things. sometimes she can be picky and throw things she doesn't want on the floor. she doesn't have a huge appetite right now. but i anticipate that will change. i think she may be working on some new teeth. and we are continuing to work on her manners, talking or signing instead of screaming for more! she still takes one bottle at night as part of her bedtime routine. i know she is over a year and my other babies were fully weaned at one. but i love the sweet time with her!

jaelyn continues to be a mommy's girl! but daddy sure does run a very close second!! and she is fascinated watching her big brothers and sister! she generally does not have seperation anxiety. she easily goes to most people, especially those she knows and loves! sometimes she will cry a little when i leave her in the church nursery, but i know she is in good hands and she will not cry long! they love on her in there!!!!

jaelyn is a busy girl!! for her first birthday she got the fisher price walker/baby stroller, which is in the picture below. she loves to push that around. we also have a big girl stroller that is jordyn's and she loves that too. she pushes them both around all over the house.



we have to keep all of the doors shut in our house, or she will escape and get into all kinds of things! i try really hard to keep our living room/dining room/kitchen (all one open area) as baby proofed and friendly for her. it is so hard with the big kids and all the little pieces to their toys and games. it gets really tiring keeping up with all of that. i have been trying to teach them, but they aren't so good about keeping those little things away from her. i get frustrated. but we will continue to work on that. anyone have any suggestions on what works for you? the big kids keep their toys in their rooms, but somehow end up in our main room way too often!



it's hard to believe that my baby is becoming a toddler! she is so sweet and i enjoy every single second of her! i could eat her up! everyday i look at her and hear her sweet voice i just melt and am reminded of how good God is! she is such a blessing to us!!!

11.25.2009

almost wordless wednesday...

outside talking & playing...



inside watching & wishing...

11.14.2009

three little piggy tails...

what happens when you take these three pretty girls...

jaelyn

merideth

mallory


and you add a brush along with some little tiny elastic bands....




you get three pretty girls with some really cute pigtails...






it is so fun to be a mom (and an aunt) to these three girls!!

merideth and mallory are my best friend amy's twin girls,
they are 18 months old today!!



here are a few more pics of jaelyn with her pigtail!!!


11.13.2009

reminiscing...

it's hard to believe that about a year ago,
jaelyn looked like this...

one month old


i think back to holding her when she was this tiny. it takes me to such a sweet time in my life. i loved every single minute of being her mommy. and i still do! the days look a little different caring for her today. and she is a little bit (ok a lot) bigger now. but one thing is the same, the days went by just as fast then they are now. i long to cherish and capture every moment with her. i beg time to slow down. babies just don't stay little long enough for me!

11.12.2009

thirteen months old...

my sweet baby girl is growing up so fast!
oh, if i could just get time to stand still...



so i could just love on her and eat her up
before she gets any older!


i am really enjoying this stage!
i do miss having a tiny baby around,
but it is so fun to watch her grow and learn new things!
she is communicating more and loves to play!!





jaelyn is one busy little girl.
she continues to be happy and so sweet!
she is starting to say more words and
she is trying to stand on her own a little more.
jaelyn is getting a little more daring by cruising
from one piece of furniture to another
and not holding on!




as for walking, she is quite content to crawl,
because she can get where she needs to go pretty fast!
and that is ok with me,
i know once she starts walking, life is really going to change!
i'm good with keeping her a baby just a little longer!!

11.03.2009

plan b...

plan a...
one day last week our plans fell through. bummer. my friend, marybeth and i had planned to get together for coffee and pumpkin spice muffins (from dunkin donuts, ever had one? she loves them and i have never had one and dying to try one) but due to my cold and her daughter's cough we felt it was best to reschedule.

plan a...
it turned out to be a good day to be at home. it was overcast and rainy here. and it felt good to be at home! so i set out to conquer a few things on my to do list. only i chose to do something else that wasn't on the list. do you ever do that? (you can bet i will add it to the list just so i can cross it off ;)

my plasticware is stored in a cabinet underneath the island in my kitchen and it was a disaster, i could never find anything in there.

here is a peek:

what a mess, i know!

while i was thinking about how i could make this space a little more efficient and a lot less of a black hole full of plastic stuff. i remembered i had this out in the garage (empty):

i knew it would fit underneath, because i had used it there before to hold our collection of sippy cups and lids. so i retrieved it from the garage and began to organize my little heart out!!!

so this is what it looks like now:

so much better now!!!!







little miss busy playing with all of the odd pieces that i am going to get rid of!!


now. if i could just get this task completed!
remember that? well it looks even worse now,
and i would die before posting a picture of it!
it is still a work in progress and on the top of my to do list after all of these months!

10.15.2009

jaelyn's party...

better late than never, here are a few pics from jaelyn's first birthday party!
i still can't believe my baby girl is one!




so, last weekend we celebrated jaelyn's first birthday
with a pink & brown cupcake theme party.



jaelyn like opening the gifts, she had lots of help
from her siblings and friends...



i think she may have enjoyed eating her cupcake the very best...








she was a messy girl after devouring her yummy cupcake...





after mommy cleaned her up she got to put on another birthday outfit...


jaelyn with mommy and daddy on her big day...




our family and a few close friends came to celebrate with us.
this is an attempt at trying to get four babies (all born in 2008)
to sit together for a picture. ha!



here they had no choice...
on the laps of their mommas
my dear friends
amy with her twin babies merideth & mallory
chelsea with ashton
and me with jaelyn



aunt julie and me with jaelyn...
what do you think, do you think we look alike?
we often get asked if we are twins, we are not.
she is older ;) wink, wink!



here i am with my best friend amy,
also known as aunt amy around here





jaelyn with jamil's mom and step dad
grandma 'nessa and papa norris




jaelyn with johanna, our sweet and favorite babysitter...


jaelyn with my parents...
grandma 'retta and papa earl



my grandparents, my kid's great grandparents...
grammy & poppy




we had a fabulous time celebrating her big day!!!