Arynn @ 4 Months

Arynn Lizabeth, you are 4 months old!!!

You weigh 15 pounds and 13 ounces! My you have grown and I think it is all in your thighs! You are wearing mainly 3-6 month clothes, size 2 diapers and are starting to wear a size 2 shoe.

 

You have had your first cold, it started with Momma and it was pretty rough...

But brother helped take care of us!

Momma left you for the first time with Daddy to go buy groceries for about an hour and a half and you slept the whole time.

You are rolling from your back to your belly and you love floor time with Addy Kay.

For the past few weeks, you have enjoyed sitting in your bumbo looking out the front door while everyone else eats breakfast. The other day we found that you had learned to "jump out" of your bumbo. Just one of your cool new tricks.

You are starting to get up on all 4's and are trying hard to scoot. Your hair is starting to thin out and what is left has a reddish tint.

You helped Momma and Daddy celebrate their anniversary.

You are reaching for toys and have already picked out a few favorites. You seem to be more fair skinned than Addy, your light skin reminds me of Ava.

You have made your first trip to the lake and were so well behaved. You enjoyed the water too!

It was just too much excitement for you and you needed your beauty sleep.

 

 

 You are almost always smiling but every so often I get to see this serious face.

I can't believe how fast time is flying. Please don't grow up too fast, we love you precious girl!

Arynn @ 3 Months

Arynn Lizabeth, you are 3 months old!

You are very smiley these days! 

 

I don't have an official weight for 3 months, but I know you are over 12 pounds.

 You can't get enough of these two boys, they seem to be your favorite source of entertainment.

 

 The reason Momma knows you are somewhere over 12 pounds is because they weighed you on your first trip to the ER at 2.5 months. We had a small incident involving your oldest sister, you and the bed. Thankfully, everyone turned out just fine!

You are getting stronger, and spending lots more time on your tummy, you will be taking off too soon!

You are rolling from your belly to your back a lot and are very content to play in the floor for extended periods.

I love to watch you hold your hands, when I nurse you, you get this same grip on Momma's shirt.

 

Your hair is starting to have a reddish tint, I guess this comes from Poppa Kenneth and Nanny Lee. Nanny had red hair as a child and Poppa has red in his beard. I would love a red headed baby!!!

 

 

 So Sweet!

 

Since the incident, you have officially been evicted from Momma & Daddy's bed and now sleep in the pack and play- ALL NIGHT!!! It makes me smile too!!!

Your serious face.

 

You survived a whole week without Daddy (just barely) and helped him celebrate his birthday when he came home from Denver. You also helped Ava celebrate her birthday.

 

 Photographic evidence of the fact that Momma must have recessive genes...

and Daddy has all of the dominant genes!

You are starting to suck your thumb but I'm not too worried about it becoming a habit. All of your siblings did for a short time. You are still wearing 0-3 month, size 2 diapers and you can almost fit into a size 2 shoe. You are growing up too fast baby girl. We love you!




 

Wordless Wednesday

The Zoo

Back in April, (I know this is June!) we went with our friends to the Memphis Zoo. We spent the day seeing some animals, did lots of visiting and then met up for dinner after leaving the zoo. It turned our to be another late night getting home, but we had a lot of good fellowship with our friends. Here are some pics from our zoo trip.

Most of the kids checking out the meerkats.

Austen

Ava was very hungry at this point and not very cooperative.

Aiden

Addy and her Daddy

Ava's holding on tight!

 

Everytime we go to the zoo, we have to get a picture of the kids on the cow.

2010

 

2012

2013

 

And of course, who wouldn't want to attempt a group shot with 17 kids?

 

 

Arynn says, "Enough with the pictures, Let's go home!"



Arynn @ 2 Months

Arynn Lizabeth, you are 2 months old!

 

You weigh 11 pounds 13.5 ounces. You are 24 inches long.

You are sleeping very well at night. Your wake up around 8:00 in the morning, eat and sleep until 9:30 or 10:00. You eat on demand during the day, usually every 1.5 to 2.5 hours. You take naps whenever your siblings let you have a break. ; ) You nap after dinner and then stay awake from 8:30 until 10ish and sleep until you "dream feed" around the time Daddy leaves for work. I feel so blessed to have a baby that sleeps well!

You are wearing some 3-6 month clothes but mostly 0-3 month. You are close to outgrowing size 1 shoes, but 2's are still a bit big. You are wearing a size 2 diaper.

 

Your face is much better, until someone else holds you. So sensitive, I guess perfumes and detergent are going to be a no-no around you.

 

You are very smiley! Laughing out loud and talking to us is your favorite pasttime. You have rolled from your belly to your back a couple of times.

We love you Arynn!

Wordless Wednesday

Arynn @ 6 Weeks

Arynn Lizabeth, you are 6 weeks old!

You weigh 10 pounds 11 ounces. You are in 3 month clothes and size 1 shoe. You are wearing a size 1 diaper. You have been traveling! Memphis, Hot Springs, Little Rock, NWA, and Hope just to name a few places. You sleep very well in your car seat. In fact you sleep well at night too! You are such an easy baby.

 You are smiling a lot these days. You always have a sweet smile for your sisters and brothers. You are awake from 9:00 until 11:00 at night before you nurse one last time. Then you sleep until 5:00, you nurse again and sleep til around 9:00 am. You are getting to the stage where you think you have to nurse to go to sleep. During your awake period before bed, you talk and smile. Everyone else is already asleep so it is yours and momma's one on one time. I look forward to our visits together every night. When you wake in the mornings, your brothers and sisters climb in the bed with you and love seeing that same sweet smile.

 Your face is still broke out and I'm not sure how to fix it. Maybe time will make it better. You went with Momma to her 6 week postpartum visit and Dr. S thought you were adorable. I had to get a picture of you with the Dr. who delieverd you. I love the expression on your face. He said you needed to go on a diet!

You are such a joy and we can't imagine life without you! Time is going by too fast! We love you sweet baby girl!

Date Night

One of the things we learned at our marriage retreat is something we already knew. It is so important to not neglect your spouse so you can take care of your children! Your spouse should always come first!

Arynn was ready to eat!

For a long time now, my sweet husband has insisted we have date night. We are so blessed to have parents who want to watch our babies which allows Jake and I to go out once a week.

Mommy and Arynn

 Jake used to work second shift and we weren't able to have a night out, but he has been on days for about year. Our date night consists of dropping off the kids (nursing babies go with Momma) around 5:30, dinner and usually some type of shopping/errands. When I was pregnant we would buy groceries so I wouldn't have to go during the week with the kids. We try to pick up the kids around 9:00.

Daddy, Mommy andArynn

 I know it is a luxury and most people don't have a babysitter but I encourage you to make time to talk to your spouse. Even if you just have to put the kids to bed earlier and have a date at your house! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband! We cherish our time to talk and the kiddos enjoy visiting with the grandparents.

Easter

Easter Sunday was very wet at our house this year. Usually we dye and hunt eggs with the grandparents on Sunday afternoon, but because of the weather, we just stayed home and did nothing! I have to admit that I am getting slightly spoiled to a Sunday afternoon nap.

 

Mimi has been working on lots of sewing projects for her 3 girls. She made the older girls' gowns for Christmas and Arynn is now getting to wear hers. Mimi is so talented and the girls love to see what she has made for them.

The girls wearing their gowns made by Mimi.

We have "Cinnamon Roll Sundays" at our house and Aiden likes to fix breakfast. Obviously I cheat and buy the cans, but the kids like them just the same. After he got breakfast in the oven, he wanted to hold his baby sister.

Aiden getting some cuddle time with Arynn.

Arynn has been trying out the bumbo and seems to like it. I guess her cheeks just got too heavy and she had to rest them for a minute. :-)

Arynn needed a power nap before church.

Mimi also made the girls' easter dresses. I will have to get a better close up picture, this was taken as we were leaving for church and we were already pretty late if that's believable!

Our little chicks.

Easter fell on 5th Sunday and at our church we have specials during the evening services. Aiden started taking guitar lessons last fall but only got to take them for a few months. He is still practicing and knows 3 chords. At Christmas, he played Silent Night and I sang with him. He wanted to play for 5th Sunday and Ava said she wanted to sing with him this time. Aiden worked on writing down his chords for "Jesus Loves Me" and they practiced together. Austen decided to join in last minute and Addy was not going to be left out. Ava had a bit of stage fright, but Austen was able to carry them through. Addy had a wardrobe malfunction and was without shoes when they started singing. After Nana buckled her shoe, she showed up for her part. This was the video Nana took with her phone. Enjoy!

17 Kids and Lots of Fun!

The Friday before Easter, we had plans to go to the Memphis Zoo with our friends the Tims and Witchers. We woke up to lots of rain at our house and were unsure if we should make the drive just to be rained out. Thankfully our friends suggested the Children's Museum and the drive to Memphis was worth the sweet time of fellowship we had with our friends.

Who knew checkers could be so much fun?
Austen is making big plans.

The first stop was at the checkerboard. The kids were excited to see each other and get some energy out, so no one actually played a game of checkers. It didn't take long for them to make up their own game of making a tower with the checkers.

Austen and his hula hoop.

Madisyn finally got to hold Arynn, I know she was wondering if she would ever get a chance! When they came to visit, I sat and rocked her all day. It wasn't until they left, that I realized I hadn't offered to let Madisyn hold her! You can tell just how much Madisyn loves babies! 

Madisyn holding Arynn for the first time.

I didn't get near as many pictures as I would have liked, but it was pretty hectic that day at the museum. So to see more pictures of our fun day visit the Tims' and  Witcher's blogs. *Disclaimer- My goal is to become as efficient as these Mommas, so one day they can link to my post!!!*

Aiden, Griffin, Ben, Grady, Lee and Austen

Altogether we had 17 kids, ages 1 month to 11 years, and 5 adults. (Mr. Kent met up with us a dinner time.) It is funny to see other people's reactions to our group as we walk by. Lots of people count, some shake their heads in disbelief, but it is such a joy to receive compliments. At dinner that night, multiple people (including the manager) commented on how well-behaved our kiddos had been. We had a wonderful visit with our friends and a great start to our 3 day weekend!