Never a Dull Moment

Having a 4-year-old can be quite challenging. There's never a dull moment in our house with Jace. He keeps us on our toes...well, at least me. He seems to behave a little better when Lance his home. I guess mommy's the one that has taken it more easy on him and he thinks he can get away with things easier with her. Something I need to work on, I guess. That kid likes to make mischief. I can't keep up with him!!! It can be overwhelming at times finding his messes. And usually, I don't even hear him doing it. That's what boggles me. He's so quiet and sneaky. And he's fast too! He usually makes these messes while I'm feeding Ariana or something quick like that. Here's what I mean:

The other day, while I was feeding Ariana, Jace came running into me telling me he had cleaned his floor. I was shocked he could do that because his floor was not exactly clean. Where did everything go I wondered...oh...here it is! In the bathroom. I screamed when I saw the mess, and then I laughed, and then I cried a little because I knew I would have to help him clean it up.

Today, I was in the bathroom getting ready and walked out to find all of his toys lined up outside the bathroom door, toys that had been downstairs. Somehow, he managed to carry his toys from the basement and get them upstairs before I got out of the bathroom. There weren't just a few toys. There were about 20 different cars, 2 racetracks, a toy piano, etc.

How does he do it??? Let me tell you....being a mother can be a little overwhelming at times. I get really frustrated and wonder how I can do it, but I just keep trudging along because I am reminded daily from my little boy that he loves me and those are the moments that I love the most.

I just have to post this as well because I love it. About a month ago, Jace had a pen and paper and I managed to get him to write his name.

I can't get over it! I love it. Then, today, I brought him into my work for a little while where we met Lance. I looked over at the board to see this:

This is honestly the first thing he's ever drawn that you actually know what it is. It's a picture of his daddy. The little scribble on his head is his hat and he also gave him a little beard too. Is that not cute? I love my kids!!!

6 Months!

Ariana is 6 months old. Did I really just say that? Can it already have been 6 months with her part of our family? Time goes way too fast! These have seriously been some of the best 6 months in my life. I absolutely LOVE having a daughter. I love having a son too, of course. There's just something so special about this little girl though. Here are some things about this little girl that I would like to remember at 6 months.

*She's sooo happy. The only time she cries if she's really really hungry or if she gets really tired.

*It took 5 months, but she has finally turned into a binky baby. It has been seriously the GREATEST thing! I don't think she is attached to the binky, but if she gets really tired, all I have to do is stick her binky in her mouth and she's out like a light.

*She loves to sit up. As long as someone is holding her, she's pretty happy.

*She loves to nurse, and I honestly love nursing her, but sadly, I think my nursing days are about over. I nursed Jace up to 6 months and I couldn't do it anymore. Sadly, the same thing is happening with Ariana. I don't think I'm destined to nurse past 6 months. No matter how much water I drink or what I do, my body just stops producing enough milk at 6 months. It's been an emotional time thinking of stopping with her because I've nursed her since birth and I love it.

*We're still working on solid foods with her, but so far, it still hasn't been going very well. I've been adding breast milk to her cereal and I think it helps maybe a little, but she still isn't too interested in it. So far, I've also tried feeding her sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peas, and even bananas and she hasn't really gone for it. She spazzes out everytime I give her a bite. I think it might be a texture thing rather than a taste thing. We'll just keep working at it.

*She has finally rolled over once from tummy to back and once back to tummy. She still just doesn't understand it very much. She's just kind of a slowpoke at picking up on it.

*She sleeps through the night and has been for awhile. She wakes up pretty early in the morning, but after a feeding, she's back to sleep until like noon.

*She's my cuddle bug. Jace would only go to sleep in his crib as a baby. With her, I can wrap her up and give her a binky and she'll fall asleep in my arms. I love it!

*She's still ticklish.

*She loves blankets and dresses, whatever she can grab and pull up over her. I put a dress on her for church last week and the entire time at church, she laid on the floor with her dress pulled up and nuzzled to her face. Everyone was so concerned about it, but she was happy as could be.

*She lights up whenever someone walks into the room. When daddy gets home or Jace gets home from school, she gets so happy to see a new face.

*She's getting really close to sitting up on her own. She doesn't quite have it, but we're working on it everyday.

*She's still my little chunkeroo. Her 6-month appointment isn't for another month because she had her 4-month appointment so late, but I know she's chunky. I took her to the doctor for eczema a couple weeks ago and she weighed I think 18 3/4 pounds, something like that. I don't know the percentage of that, but I'm pretty sure it has to be in the 90's at least.

*She currently has no teeth, but I know she's teething. The way she drools and chews on things constantly, I know a tooth has got to be popping up sometime soon.

I have a girl in our neighborhood taking pictures of her this week, so hopefully I can post those soon after getting them taken!