Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! The night before, we made Christmas cookies and decorated them to leave out for Santa. John and I heard the girls start to talk and giggle around 4 am. I think they confirmed that our house had been visited by Santa and then they went back to sleep until 7.

JT was still sleeping, so we let him be and let the girls get going on their stockings. My thought is let sleeping babies be unless absolutely necessary. No need to wake him this year, since he doesn't have a clue what opening presents on Christmas morning means. JT woke up about an hour later and we finished the girls stuff and then ate a nice breakfast.

Then our little man finally was allowed to open his gifts with all eyes on him. The girls arranged his presents and Lindsay let JT use her Christmas blanket to sit on to open his gifts. To our surprise, JT really enjoyed grabbing and ripping the wrap off! So much of JT's enjoyment of this morning was his ability to make noise with the paper, put every single gift in his mouth while still wrapped, and have his family OOOOoooo and AAhhhh at his every move.

After a wonderful Christmas ham dinner, we had a little photo shoot of JT in a Santa hat and nothing else! It was so cute. I just love the soft baby skin and all of his little rolls that go along with that sweet smile. Merry Christmas!!

Giggle Time

JT is at the age where some of the most simple things crack him up! I love the pure enjoyment of life that little ones express. Here is Courtney playing cars with JT:

6 Months

In getting caught up with the business of the Christmas season and life, I have not made enough time to make JT's official 6 month post until he is almost 7 months! Bad Mommy-LOL! I think he will forgive me though.

JT is now half a year old and John and I often say, where is the time going? He's growing up so fast! I look back on the photos from a few months ago and he has grown so much. He was so little! I know that he's still little by all accounts, but the growth he's had in just 6 months amazes me.

He has tripled his birth weight, now just a hare under 19 pounds, grown more than half a foot to just over 26 inches, and now can eat fruit,veggies, and nibble on the occasional finger or two :) JT is now sitting unsupported. Being able to do this has been a big milestone for his happiness. He can now happily play with toys circled around him while I do something like prepare dinner. Before he was stable, he wasn't very happy lying on his back or tummy for long periods of time. He was by most accounts, a "momma's boy"- he was most content being in my arms or sitting on my lap. Something I am very happy to do most of the time, but I do have 3 other children and a husband- let alone myself- who have needs that need to be met!

Some of JT's favorite things to do right now are playing with his feet! In November, I was telling John, " I wonder when JT is going to notice his feet?" I had tried getting his attention with them, playing foot games,etc. but JT couldn't have cared less. Now, it seems God heard my little request, and JT LOVES FEET! Whenever he has the chance, he is chewing on his toes, trying to pull off his socks, and chewing on his socks as well. When I change is diaper, up the legs go and both hand grip tight to his little feet :) It's a cute little stage to enjoy.

This month I have also found a food JT isn't in love with- green beans! He has had green beans several times and every time I have given them to him he fusses and expresses displeasure with me serving this veggie. I decided to be a nice Mom and I am giving him a bit of a break from eating them this month, but plan to keep trying every few weeks. They say you have to sometimes eat something as many as 10 times to "appreciate" the taste. I hope he comes around and like the green beans as they are my favorite vegetable- but I didn't start liking them until I was in my twenties. So I won't push too hard :)

All I want for Christmas...

is my two front teeth! I'm sure you all remember that song from your childhood, I sure do! Well, JT is the perfect image for that song this year!

A few weeks ago his first two teeth sprouted up through his gums. It was a slightly painful process for him as they both decided to come up together. A little Tylenol, lots of chewing toys and many drool bibs helped the process along.

I have been trying like crazy to get some pictures of his new teeth to post, but up until a few days ago he wanted nothing to do with my request. Now, he has begun to smile this goofy smile and proudly displays his two front teeth :)

JT's time of being out of misery from teething was short lived as his top 2 are heading on down. His poor little gums are swollen and you can see where one corner is trying to break ground. Poor little fella! Enjoy JT's cheesy smiles!

Special Sunday

This past Sunday was a special day for the Apedaile Family. We had JT's baby dedication at church. What this is, we as parent's dedicate ourselves to raising JT in a home that will focus on teaching, loving, and serving our lives to Jesus. A tall task indeed, but one Christ has called both John and I to do so with His grace, mercy, and direction.

There were many families also doing the same thing at this service. One great thing was 3 of our close friends were also dedicating their babies as well. JT's friends, Finn, Micah, and Abby were dedicated on Sunday. The service consisted of the parents pledging to raise their children in a Christ centered home, prayers for the families, and a small photo slide show of each of the children being dedicated that day.

As remembrance of this day, the church gave the Mommy's roses, Dad's a New Testament Bible to present to their babies/children, and a certificate noting this important day. As Psalm 127:3 states, "Children are a gift from God;they are His reward."

Lindsay's 12th Birthday

The last year before Lindsay Marie turns into a teen! My, the time goes by so fast! I remember when about 10 years ago most of what we heard Lindsay say was "mine!", or refer to herself as "Beezy Apedaile". Why she was able to say her last name so clear but had a hard time with Lindsay still makes me laugh :)

Lindsay still has quite the creative soul as you will see her turkey creation made out of Lego's below. She decided to make this Thanksgiving/Birthday morning getting inspiration from a turkey picture she did in math on graph paper. I was quite impressed to see her work- I don't think I would be able to come up or create this even now! Also, I have a picture of her penguin pillow she made in teen living. She again loved making this and enjoyed learning how to use the sewing machine at school.

Lindsay especially enjoyed having Thanksgiving this year land on her birthday. This hasn't happened since her 1st birthday. We did all of her presents before the meal and let her choose her dessert- Oreo chocolate pie we made together- to accompany the pumpkin pie. It was a great day to celebrate Lindsay's birthday!

Thanksgiving

Well, it's almost a week late, but better to post than never at all! We had a great 1st Thanksgiving as a family of 6. We had a double celebration as it was also Lindsay's 12th birthday as well, but that will be another post all for her :)

We enjoyed the day together doing some of the things we typically do each Thanksgiving. We made cinnamon rolls and watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade, tuned in for some football, and had a fire. This year we also played a family game of Risk. JT observed as Mommy and his sisters tried their best to fight off John, who has much more experience and mad skill in world domination.

We had a great feast of turkey, stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, among other yumminess! John and I made the Apedaile double layer pumpkin pie and also had Lindsay's request of chocolate Oreo pie that she helped prepare. JT just had some baby food of sweet potato and bananas. I did give him 2 finger licks of mashed potatoes, but didn't give anything else so I didn't give him an upset stomach from uncharted territories food wise.

We have much to be thankful for each and every day. The Lord has blessed us with such wonderful children, a great marriage, church, and friends to share life with. On Thanksgiving we just take a special pause to recognize these gifts that we thank God for each and every day.

Musical

Courtney has from an early age had more of an appreciation or gift towards anything musical. Maybe her abilities are something she gets from me, as I played in orchestra from 4th-12th grade and played violin and viola. She has always loved singing, performing, and dancing. She is easily the best dancer in the family, and for the past year, she has been involved in the music program at her elementary school.

Here in middle Tennessee, its different than in Clovis Unified where I attended. Music classes with instruments aren't offered until middle school. Back in the day when I was in school, we were able to play starting in the 4th grade. So that stinks a bit, but its what it is :) So what they do at Courtney's school is something called Orffestra. No that's not a typo, its from composer Carl Orff, which devised a way to help younger children develop musical ears and have a positive musical experience. They use a lot of percussion instruments and recorders to perform these songs.

Courtney has been playing her recorder since the 3rd grade and has been in Orffestra since last year. Its an honor to be in this group because the music teacher selects the students by invitation only. Courtney practices after school with the group and works at home on her parts.

This past month, she has had two performances. The first, she played a big drum for families and kindergartner's at their Open House and then she played her recorder for the 1st grade play for Thanksgiving. Courtney did a great job at each performance and we are looking forward to more!

Friends

JT might be young, but he already has some friends. He doesn't have a say right now, but we are making wise choices for our son right now :)

Over the past week, JT has had 2 friends come over to the house and spend some time with him.

Last week, our friends Joel and Elizabeth were packing their moving truck as they were getting ready to move to Ohio. While John helped load up, I took their little 3 month old girl, Amelia, back to our house for a few hours. This way everyone was able to fully focus on getting packed and loaded and Amelia would be safe among the men moving.

Then yesterday, we had Finn, 2 months, over for the day. His Mommy. Erin, is a dear friend of mine and we teach Sunday School together to middle school girls. Erin is an awesome lawyer for the State of Tennessee and she needed to go kick some legal butt! Once Erin returns to work full time after the holidays, Finn will be spending some time with us during the week. So this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship for JT and Finn!

The boys had a great day. I took some pictures when they were up at the same time to capture the moment. JT looks like a beast compared to Finn! Crazy to think in a few years how this small difference of 3 months will mean nothing developmentally. Right now though, JT looks like a giant about ready to gobble sweet baby Finn. Cheers to new friends!

High Five!

Another milestone of reaching 5 months has already passed for the youngest Apedaile, JT. He's nearly 5 1/2 months since his busy Mommy doesn't make time to sit and write in the family blog often enough!

Everything continues to be going well for JT. He is still rolling over, though he's still a bit slow to do the tummy to back roll. He's done it, but not like he rolls from back to tummy. What's frustrating for him is when he's sleeping, he will roll on to his tummy and then wake up and not be very happy about it! He will proceed to cry, "snuffle" his face in his blankets, and call for help until I come to his rescue and flip him over. I'm careful to let him try to do it himself for a bit- making sure he's safe first- so he doesn't grow accustomed to needing help.

He continues to love his solid foods. He has had sweet potatoes and squash. When he has had these for the first time, he gives little to no reaction. For me, one of the things I look forward to with introducing solid foods and new tastes is to see that "sour" look on his face. I remember so clearly each of the girls doing so with their firsts, but JT apparently doesn't want me to have that memory of him. He is one cool dude I guess :)

In addition to him gaining some great strength in his tummy and starting to sit with support, our little boy has started teething! Poor little guy has been drooling like nothing else the past few weeks- to the point of needing to wear a bib or changing his clothes-, chewing on anything and everything, and just this week getting fussy at times. JT is also loving being able to sit in his exersaucer that Grandma and Granpa C. got for him when they visited this summer. A few days ago I was able to see the first hints of 2 little white "lines" of his lower teeth though I can't feel them through his gums yet. We have had a few issues during nursing of not treating the source of his food like some rag to clamp down on and pull on-OUCH! One of our new best friends is teething toys, Tylenol, and Orajel.

Happy Halloween!!!

Our family had a great time celebrating our 1st Halloween as a family of 6! This year was quite a bit different than previous years festivities. In the past 2-3 years the girls have been able to dress up in a themed trio. Examples are 3 blind mice and 3 little pigs- so cute! This year there wasn't a big focus on that especially since JT isn't really into getting dressed up. What ended up as the final product was JT was a little Tigger, Courtney decided on a Hippie, and Sarah and Lindsay did a duo of Thing 1 and Thing 2 from "The Cat in the Hat".

For activities we did again a variety of things. The weather forecast was looking pretty grim with a chance of rain and cool temps for Halloween. We saw that a local big church was doing a fall festival on Friday evening inside and we decided to go to that in case Saturday was a bust with weather. The kids all had fun with tons of inflatables, games, face painting, and candy. Then on Saturday, though it was soggy from earlier rain, it was clear! We started off going to Moss Wright park and walked this walking path that local businesses and churches decorate with themed tables and pass out candy. We met up with some close friends of Sarah and Lindsay there and walked the path together. Afterward, we dropped off the girls at their friends house and they went trick or treating in the neighborhood.

John and I decided to come home with JT because for some reason, he had only napped for about 2 hours during the whole day and he was one grumpy Tigger! It was quite cool out and those two things mixed together don't make for a pleasant experience for parents or kids. It felt so odd being back at the house before 8 and with only the baby. Though JT was sure happy to get into cozy PJ's and zonk out! The girls came home a few hours later with a ton of loot! They did get a few non-candy items that were a little odd: chap stick, mini quirt gun, a mountain camping style clip/key chain, and microwave popcorn. I hope this candy gone quickly and not in my tummy!!!

Wacky Wafts

A couple of weekends ago, Sarah and 3 friends of hers entered the Wacky Waft race in Hendersonville. They are a part of the Interact Club at Beech High School- what that stands for I can't say :) Great Mom I am, huh? I know they do a lot of community activities and work to help people and animals, so that's a good thing!

What the kids had to do was construct a raft created out of whatever they wanted, then attempt to float it in the marina part of the lake with the 4 people, and then race against 2-3 other teams in different heats. Eventually it get to the top 4 teams and they then race one final time for the Official Winners.

The night before the kids decorated the raft with various sayings,drawings, and quotes. I wasn't sure if it was going to float or not with 4 adult size "kids" inside. That along with a cold front coming in with cloudy conditions and temps around 55 sounded miserable if they happened to sink. Sarah prepared with wearing warm clothes, bathing suit underneath, and a change of clothes waiting with me on the sidelines.

So the day of the race comes and their raft is in the 1st heat! The raft is pushed into the water and so far, so good- no water! All of the kids got into the raft and again, no water! Great!! They paddle out to the start line and Bang! off they go! They stroked and stroked and 'lo and behold they won the heat!!! So they wait a bit for the other heats to finish and they got to compete in the final heat against 3 other teams. The competition was fierce- last years champion consisting of 3 strong grown men, another all men's group with a really cool raft and then another I can't remember! The final race begins and the 2 men's teams just take off- nothing like strong men against a team of 3 girls and 1 boy. Their team ended up winning 3rd place easily and they won $50! They are going to use that money for another project for the club.

Afterward and they paddled back what do they do? They begin splashing each other with the cold lake water of course! So while their raft floated beautifully, Sarah ended up drenched and very cold. We dried up and got to the van to heat her back up. Here are some pictures from the event:

Feeding in Action!

This blog has been giving me a bit of grief these past few days while I tried to add a video of JT eating his cereal. Finally I was able to get some uploaded that I took with my cell when Lindsay fed JT earlier this week. So happy to get it up here! I know its nothing life changing, but I know JT's Nanny,Grandma and Granpa C. along with Aunt Cathy, will enjoy watching this :) Time to Eat!!

Fall Pictures

It is so beautiful here in Tennessee with fall colors and leaves on the ground. The girls have been off since last Thursday on Fall Break. We have enjoyed spending time together, raking leaves, playing outside when it wasn't raining and taking some pictures. Here are a few of my favorites from the Fall Photos we took at our house.

First Food

JT has begun a new chapter- eating food! Well, not food like we know it, but oh so yummy rice cereal that is pretty thin so he can get adjusted to having something with more substance in his mouth. He gets to have this twice a day for a few weeks, then we get to introduce orange veggies one at a time.


The Dr. said that the rice cereal might help with the reflux a bit, but so far all I see is thicker spit up! LOL!!! Though I do think he's not spitting up as much, so maybe it is helping a bit. Here are a few pictures from his first feeding.