Lydia and Cereal

So, I wanted to squeeze this post in before I am overwhelmed with trying to recall the activities and festivities of Christmas

Last week we gave Lydia cereal for the first time. She isn't quite 6 months old, but you know, since the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEDIATRICS says to start them around 4 months, I figured it would be ok to start her a week or so earlier than I did her brother or sister.

Anyways, she wasn't such a fan. She did however enjoy feeding herself (amazing what you will let 3rd children do!!) and we found that she loves to chew on pretzels and toast.

I will try again on the cereal when we return from our Christmas travels and I am sure I will have more humourous pics to post as we transition into solid foods!!

Stay tuned for Christmas posts, but for now, I must get to bed so Santa can come!
The mom.

Christmas Preparation

The last week has been filled with preparing for Christmas. We were in Chattanooga last weekend for The Cousin's Christmas party and Alex's birthday. The Cousin's Party is a girls-only event and I got some cute pics of my girls in their Christmas dresses.

We finally got around to putting our tree up the other day. The kids had a fun time getting the ornaments out adn hanging them on the tree. Their favorite is Harbin's new ornament that is "Rocket" from Little Einsteins and sings the entire theme song. Sadly, this is my LEAST favorite ornament not because to of the music, but because the kids are continually fighting over who gets to hold it- and it hasn't been on the tree since the first time they took it off!!!!

As you can see, it is getting increasingly harder to get a good picture with all three chldren in the frame. I suppose it's good that the process to get a pic is always fun, filled with everything from trying to make them laugh, to trying to get the older ones to stop clapping, tapping, or acting silly like we are to get Lydia to smile. It made for a few good silly shots, but I have still yet to- and may never- capture the "traditional" Christmas photo!!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the pics of some of our Christmas happenings, and that everyone is having fun enjoying the season like we are!!!

The mom.

Hudgens Art Center and Boxes

Last weekend, the kids and I joined a friend at the Hudgens Art Center. The art center has a children's museum and was free until the end of the year. We were upset to find out that they had removed most of the kids stuff and there was not a lot to do, but the kids had a blast playing with the puppet theater and doing stencil rubbings. Harbin really enjoyed the puppets and cracked me up with his "Ladies and Gentlemice..." before each performace.

Over the past week or so I have really been working on packing up some stuff we don't use and reorganizing the stuff we do. The kids had a great time playing in the boxes that I was using. They also enjoyed decorating them by drawing all over them. I guess if we ever do move, we will have the most decorative moving boxes ever!!!

More blogs to come soon!
The mom.

Lydia was 5 months old...

...on Monday.

As usual, this week has been terribly hectic and I am just now getting around to posting. Lydia was 5 months on Monday, December 1st and thankfully she woke up feeling much better than she had been the last few days. She seems to be ver her infection and back to herself.

She hasn't mastered any major things yet, like sitting up or crawling, but does love to "talk" to us, grab a hold of anything in front of her and eat it, and "play" with her brother and sister. She does not like to be left alone in a room and will usually beckon for someone to come back and pay attention to her. She is definitely wanting table food, but I am still holding off a bit longer, trying to make it closer to her 6 month birthday.

She loves her Tigger jumper as you can see in the picture. She will even fall asleep in it at times when she has worn herself out. She doesn't jump as much as she likes to push herself and kid of swing in it.

Sorry for the lack of pics, but she has been ill and I have been ill and the camera has just not been a priority!

The mom.