Weekend in Salem

Just as the title suggests...we spent the weekend in Salem. Saturday morning all the grandparents were busy with things at church and Jared and Alex went golfing, so Abby and I took the kids for a walk and to the park.




Abby and Ethan playing on the monkey bars.




Nora and Max chilling on the blanket

Saturday evening we met up with the Collier side for the 'Collier Family Shin-Dig'. It was a nice get together and there was plenty of room for the kids to run and play. I'm in a little bit of denial here since Ethan is one of the older kids. How did that happen?!? There have been several babies born in the Collier extended family in the last year.




Aunt Doss showing Nora off to Grandma Collier and Aunt Deb


Getting a little cuddle time with Nora


Jared showing off his form in a friendly game of HORSE


Quick! Take a picture! Grandpa and Grandma Karen with Ethan and Nora


Ethan sharing with his cousin, Landon.


They both look a bit ornery...



Shooting some hoops with Grandpa!

After the 'Shin-Dig' we headed back to my parents house for bath and bed!



Getting ready with Grandma Terri, for her fist bath in a big bathtub!


She seemed to do just fine! And, yes, I played with those bath toys when I was little too (they're vintage!)

Six Months

How has it been six months already?!?  Nora is 6 months old today, and so much fun!

She is sitting up by herself. (With a crash pillow close by, just in case)
She is 'talking' a lot.  She says 'Dada' and I'm pretty sure I've heard a 'Mama' a time or two.
She got her first tooth yesterday! (Lower left incisor) :)
Smiles and laughs all the time.  Ethan can make her smile almost every time he talks to her.
She is becoming very 'grabby'!  She wants anything in your hand or your hair, or your nose, or your neck!
Her usual bedtime is between 8:30 and 9 pm, and usual wake-up time is between 6:30 and 7 am.  (I'm hoping this stretches to 7-7:30 someday)
She is nursing 4 times a day.
She is eating cereal for breakfast and baby food for dinner. (And we'll add in lunch sometime soon)
So far she has had...peas, green beans, sweet potatoes and carrots.  (All made by me and my handy dandy magic bullet.)
She is a very happy baby and is content most of the time.  She gets the most fussy when she is sleepy.

Her 6 mo check-up is on Monday, so I will post her stats after that!  Until then, here are more pictures from our 6 month photo shoot in the yard!  Oh and, I could not get this girl to smile!  I tried and tried and looked like a fool and she wouldn't crack one.  So, here's the serious side of Nora :).  (I think it was sensory overload)

Getting a feel for the grass

She likes her tongue!

We love you sweet Nora!  Happy 1/2 Year!

Pancakes and Puffs

Ethan absolutely loves pancakes and thinks that Jared needs to make them every weekend we are home.  We usually oblige since it's not too difficult and a nice Saturday morning treat.  He usually wants a Mickey Mouse shaped one, but this week, Jared was creative...

He has been writing his name a lot lately, so he thought this was pretty cool!

On Saturday evening, when I picked Nora up from the nursery at church (we've been attending the Saturday service lately) they told me 'she had snack with us!'  Nora hasn't had any 'snacks' yet.  I wasn't sure if she just sat at the table with them or actually had some.  (Either way, no big deal).  I just thought, if she's getting puffs at church, I should give her some at home and see how she does with them.  She did really well picking it up and getting it to her mouth.  I was impressed...

PlayDate!

We joined a small group a few weeks back and have really enjoyed it and getting to know everyone.  This morning, we met a new friend, Erin and her 3 adorable boys.  She has Brennan (4), Chase (2) and Kullen (8 mo).  We had a great time talking and the boys ran all over, played in the dirt, threw rocks and mulch (to which we firmly discouraged), played on the playground, played around/in the water fountain, and ran some more!  I was tired just watching them.  The babies were happy in their strollers or on a blanket playing.  We had a beautiful morning full of sunshine and warm temps, so the weather was perfect.  Something we will definitely do again!  I took a few pictures, but as you will see, they weren't too into looking at the camera!

I'm thinking they didn't intend for this tree to be a sand/dirt box.  But...boys will be boys!

Brennan and Ethan playing in the water fountain

Such a fun morning!

 

Window Project

A few weeks back, I picked up 4 old windows on the side of the road.  I wanted to do something creative with them, but wasn't sure what.  So, I did what anyone else would do when looking for ideas...I surfed Pinterest!  And I called my crafty sister, Abby.

The before pictures...

It took more scrapping, sanding and chipping than I was expecting.  And, we took the glass panes out to clean them.

The afters...

Ethan enjoys the iPad time

My plan was to paint and then just put the black wall decals on the glass and I mentioned that to Abby and she suggested putting the decals on and then using glass frosting spray and then taking the stickers off.  I really like how they turned out!  I got the decals ($10) and glass frosting spray ($5) at hobby lobby, the paint was free (thanks Abby) and the windows were free!  Not too bad for some custom wall art ;)!

PlayTime

Just as the title implies...some playtime pictures from the past week!

Nora was eyeing this laundry basket, so I decided to put her in it with some toys.  She was happy...for a little while. 

Playtime in the basket

 I got the water/sand table out this week.  It was given to us by Ethan's old babysitter (Arika) before she moved.  Ethan had a wonderful time playing in it when the weather cooperated this week.  It has 2 compartments, one for water and one for sand or whatever else you choose to put in it.  We decided on beans.  Ethan picked out 'red beans, white beans and brown beans'.  I never knew a kid could get so excited about beans!  I don't have any pictures of him with the beans, but I'll get some.  He just scooped and poured and filled until we made him come inside for dinner.  He was so busy out there (while I was cooking dinner) that he dropped his drawers and peed on the deck.  (FYI...this is NOT something we encourage nor condone!)

Not really wanting to stop long enough to look at the camera and smile...

Pouring some water.

 And, yesterday, we went to play group at our church.  This was the only picture I took but there were other kids and  moms there to play/visit with.  We had a good time and all the kids loved this trampoline.

Taking his turn jumping!

This & That

Friday was opening day at Busch Stadium for the Cardinals and we were in full support here!  (Even if it didn't help for that particular game.)  Here are our cute Cardinal fans!

I had to get a few pictures of Nora in the grass for the first time.  She loved it and just wanted to sit there and pull the grass out!  She is starting to sit pretty well.  We still stay pretty close to catch her when she topples. 

Children's Museum

We have lived here for almost 6 years and have never gone to the children's museum.  Well, actually, Jared went there with our nephew, Tyler, several years ago.  Yesterday, I decided we needed to GET.OUT.OF.THE.HOUSE!  It was too chilly to go to the zoo or park, so I decided on the children's museum.  It was perfect!  Ethan had a great time and it was small enough that I could hang with Nora and still see him as he played.  As we got there, so did a school field trip... Oh well, Ethan had fun anyway!  You will see from the pictures, that Ethan was too busy to really look up...

This was his 'cheese' before he took off again.

There was a 2 story climbing thing that he loved!  And he went all the way to the top!  I was about to go in after him to bring him back down. 

Gardening and very excited about that carrot

His favorite thing... One of those things  with the 'needles' that make an imprint (sad description, sorry!) 

Just scooping some ice cream

Painting on the windows

Building blocks

Easter Weekend

This was our first Easter at our home.  It was a little weird and quiet, but very nice!  Jared had Friday off and we basically spent the whole 3 days just hanging out and being together as a family.  Friday was opening day for the zoo, and for Christmas, we got a family pass.  So, we went...as a family!  It was nice and not too crowded.

They have made some improvements over the winter!

The goat whisperer and the cow :)

Zebra boy

Nora enjoying her ride at the zoo

 
And Saturday was just spent playing and hanging out together.  Ethan sang at the Easter service on Saturday night.  It was his singing debut and we had practiced a lot.  He knew the songs and the motions that went with them.  But...stage fright got the best of him and he stood up there looking terrified.  Cute, but terrified :).  Grandma Karen made the trip up to see Ethan sing and have dinner.  It was great seeing her, and she brought Easter gifts for the kiddos...which they appreciated very much!

Can you say...Deer in Headlights?!?

But look how cute!

Grandma Karen and Nora

 
Since we went to church on Saturday night, we had all day Sunday at home (which was also weird).  Our "Easter Dinner" was breakfast.  I made a breakfast casserole (first time for that), and it turned out pretty tasty!  The rest of the day was mostly spent outside doing yard work and playing.

Scarfing down 'Easter Dinner'

Finding his Easter basket

He got a fishing game!

Happy Easter from Nora

Smiley girl!

We trust that your Easter was wonderful and full of praising the RISEN Lord!