Gibson - 8 Months Old!

8 Months Old

(A.K.A.  Milestone Month)

And happy as can be...

This month, he started sitting up

pushing up on all fours

Getting into a crawling position and rocking

(I'm actually a little shocked that he ISN'T crawling yet!!)

babbling - says "Thba, thba, thba"

feeding himself Puffs, 

and pulling up in the laundry basket.

He went on his first plane ride and did perfect! (no crying or fussing whatsoever on a 2 hour flight!!)

He had his first "big boy" bath

sat in a high chair for the first time

got his first tooth (bottom, right)...if you look REALLY close in the pic above, you might see it!

He went on his first 4-wheeler ride

and had his first sippy cup, which was pretty hilarious!

He also had his first boat ride

and we lowered his crib. 

 He just SUDDENLY went from infant to big, sitting, self-feeding baby!!

He loves to practice standing and balancing all by himself...can only balance for seconds.

He is finally sleeping thru the night...on occasion...but I'll take it!

He usually wakes between 5:30 and 7:30.  If we wakes before 7, he'll usually take a bottle and go back to sleep until around 8.

 He did a little travelling this month...went to Colorado with some friends of ours

And also went to Hot Springs for our annual family vacation

He logged some serious cousin time

 as well as great bonding time with aunts and uncles!!

He celebrated his first fourth of July

 by watching a parade and hanging out with his BFF, Aubrey Wyatt

He didn't quite make it to the fireworks, though!

These days, he's mostly into playing with toys by himself

 being entertained by and hanging out with his sisters (who ADORE him!!)

or watching the Baby Channel...really into TV!!

One other thing I want to mention about him right now is this new thing he's been doing...

He makes this face (similar to the one above) and starts breathing rapidly thru his mouth?!?  It's so funny!!

This kid has so much personality and so many different facial expressions!!  Just CANNOT get enough of little Gibson!!

My brother, Brady, actually said that Gibson has crazy cartoon lips???

He said, "You know, like they just go everywhere?"

I'm thinking, by that, he meant that G is expressive.  =)

Just wish we could get him to smile every once in a while. ;)

We love you, little G man!!  Happy 8-month birthday!

Brooklyn is 5!!

5-Years Old and Such a Special Child!

Stats

Height:  44 3/4 inches...88%

Weight:  38.4 lbs...48%

Still tall and skinny!

Her Favorites Right Now:

Color:  Pink (and black is #2)

Animal:  Sheep (what?!?)

Drink:  Milk

Food:  Hmmm...tie between PB&J and Cheese Quesadillas

Word:  Diaper (She thinks this word is hilarious.  All her friends/family/cousins know this about her so whenever she comes around, they will all start saying it before she says a word.  So strange.)

Game:  Memory (Matching game and she's ridiculously good.  Beats most adults even when they are trying their hardest)

Show:  Sophia the First

Activities:  Soccer, Swim, T-Ball and Dance

 (Her precious face after scoring her 1st soccer goal)

Her certificate for moving up a level in her swim class.

This child has NO FEAR of the water!! She can hold her breath forever and even when she is in trouble, she never panics...just comes up calmly and asks for help.  Brave or Scary...that is the question...

Brooklyn still has blue eyes and curly, blonde hair and she LOVES and is proud of her curls.

We still battle eczema and it gives us a lot of drama.  Poor thing.

She is VERY sensitive and CANNOT handle being in trouble or thinking that someone might be upset with her.

She is still an awesome sleeper and is very dominant left-handed and left-footed.

 She loves projects...the longer and more tedious, the better

 Check out this dog she drew and painted ALL BY HERSELF at a birthday party!

She also LOVES to be a helper!

 This year she helped me pick presents out for little kids in need and helped me wrap them to send off.

 She's always happy to help me bake!

She does dishes on occasion and unloads the dishwasher everyday.

She's also a GREAT sock matcher!

 She's adventurous.  A bit of a daredevil!

 Loves to try new things.

 And very silly.

She LOVES to laugh!

Love this picture Chan got of her when they got ahold of my phone when I was not in the room.

This is exactly what her laugh looks like and I can never catch it on camera!!

She is SUCH a good big sister to Gibson.

I don't think she's ever really thought of herself as a big sister to Chan...think that she thinks they are more like equals, but she is SO helpful with this little fella

 She adores him.

 And he adores her.  She can make him laugh when no one else can and she also "watches" him for me when I go to the bathroom or while I'm putting Chan down for a nap.

Accomplishments to date:

She can swim by herself.

Write her name with appropriate uppercase and lowercase and writes it neatly on lined paper.

Knows some sight words and LOVES to sound out words and read.

Can work a puzzle like nobody's business!  She doesn't get frustrated and has done up to 100-piece puzzles all by herself

Knows all of her letters (upper and lower case) and sounds (she gets lower case b and d mixed up, though)

She can almost shower by herself and loves to "practice" fixing her own hair

Think I'll keep fixing it for now, though =)

Quirkiness:

She is VERY black and white. 

She's been told not to get out of her bed, so she won't.  Ever.  Not even to pick up a blanket that she has dropped or to go potty during the night and would never dream of getting out of her bed in the morning when she wakes up.  Right is right and wrong is wrong with this child.

bandaid = bandan

all gone = all garn

lasterday = any day in the past

Almost everyday she asks if she has to take a nap, if I say anything other than "no", she says, 

"How about you just look at my attitude?"

She will NOT sleep in our bed with us...even when she is sick.  She says our room is too cold and our covers are not soft enough.  She loves her sleep and wants to be alone in her own bed...has ALWAYS been this way.

When we go for walks, I push the little ones in a stroller and she rides her bike.  She NEVER gets tired.  It doesn't matter how far we go.  She loves to exercise and has such a determined air about her.

The thing I ABSOLUTELY love the most about this little girl, is her expressiveness.  It is so fun to give her presents because she gets so excited and is so thankful!  She also thanks us almost every night for her dinner.  The littlest things (like staying up with just Mom and Dad after the littles go to bed, sprinkling poison on ant beds with her Dad, dessert after dinner) make her SO happy and you just see it all over her face.  Someone told me once this year that her "excitedness" is immature, but this is one thing about her I hope she NEVER outgrows.  Her pure, innocent, transparent joy is contagious and makes it SUCH A BLESSING to be her parent!!

Happy 5th Birthday, B!  Your Daddy and I have learned so much from you and you make life so much fun!  We love you the MOST, MOST EVER in ALL the land!