Aubrey Lane-5 years old

Every year at birthday times, I tend to get a little emotional about my babies growing up. However, this year seemed to be much easier for me.  My Aubrey Lane is at such a wonderful age right now and she is just a bundle of joy. She has (for the most part) gotten over the horrible bedtimes, fit throwing, obsessive about clothes, just plain stubborn parts and she is pure fun!  I don't think you could pay me enough money to walk through those 2's and 3's and a little bit of the 4's with her again! She is was a tough cookie. She took a huge turn for the better around that 4.5 mark and I cannot even begin to tell you the difference a little bit of age and maturity (and lots of prayers) has made. Aubrey is the sweetest, funniest, most thoughtful little girl and I am just so proud of who she is becoming! She makes Christian and I laugh out loud all the time with the things she says. She is extremely smart and loves to learn.  She has this energy and spark to her, where everything is just a ton of fun...she gets so excited about just about everything!  The other day, I informed her that I had ordered some new vitamins and you would have thought I had just offered her a new pony! 

Aubrey is in Pre-K 4 (older 4's) at Broadmoor Presbyterian and she simply LOVES school. She goes 4 days a week and just the other day her teacher sent me a note saying that Aubrey had told her, she was going to start coming 5 days a week!  News to me! She adores her friends and is a true social butterfly. She can make friends anywhere and she isn't a bit shy.  Her best friends are Jackson, Ciel, Emorie and Zachary. She thinks the boys at her school are just hilarious. 

Aubrey is an absolutely amazing sister. She is adored by her brothers and I can't really stress that enough. Weston tells me all the time Aubrey is his best friend and Baylor smiles bigger for Bre than anyone else. It really makes me proud of how much she loves and protects her brothers. This weekend, she went and got something out of the treehouse for Weston and Weston told her thank you. She then told him, "You don't need to thank me...it was my pleasure!" HAHA I just about died laughing.

Aubrey loves to play and dress up. She is into Jake and the Neverland Pirates, PJ Masks, Beat Bugs, and still a little of Frozen. She is so well rounded and can go from princesses to pirates in a heartbeat. Aubrey loves books, puzzles and her leap pad.  She does great at school, although I know we could never homeschool because the minute I ask her to work on something school related...it's like I'm trying to pull teeth. The other day, we worked on her address and it took almost an hour to have her write it 2 times. Lordy Bee, thank goodness for teachers! 

This year for Aubrey's birthday, we did a special day at the mall with her cousins. We did Build-a-Bear, a trip to Claire's, Raising Canes, Cookie Cake and of course a ride on the carousel.  It was a wonderful day. We also celebrated later in the week with just our family with some cake and ice cream.

Aubrey loves to say really silly things and then pause and loudly proclaim, "JUST KIDDING".  It was funny the first 100 times.  Also, when she means something and is trying to emphasize the truth of what she is saying, she will say "for real life mom".  For instance, she came and told me Baylor smiled and cooed at her 5 times...for real life. HAHA. Anytime you say "butt" or "fart" just know that you will be the funniest person in the world to Bre. She is just such a mess. Right before her birthday, we asked her where she wanted to go out to eat (thinking pizza, something simple) and she quickly replied "Stabs". C and I just died laughing. A.) she has never been there in her life and B.) it's a very expensive restaurant and C.) She probably wouldn't like one thing on their menu! It was just too cute though.

We are so proud of our Bre.  She is just an amazing little girl and I am so excited to see her blossom even more in the years to come. We love you Aubrey Lane and are so thankful you are ours!!

4 months old~Baylor Jace

Our sweet Bay Bay is now 4 months old. I am so in love with this little guy, I melt each time he smiles at me. I remember being in the NICU with Baylor, and feeling robbed of so much of his newborn weeks, not getting to hold him, bathe him, feed him, just be with him. However, now I feel like I was actually more richly blessed by Baylor coming early and being so tiny. I feel like I've had a "new" newborn for almost 4 months!  He is just so tiny, he still isn't even where Weston was the day he was born! He loves to be cradle-held and snuggled close, whereas when my other two were 4 months, they were squirming and starting to want more independence and freedom. Isn't that just like God to take something hard and devastating and turn it into something even more beautiful than we could ever imagine?

This picture cracks me up, this is how he likes to sleep!

Baylor weighs 7 pounds, 4 ounces and is starting to really fill out. He wears newborn clothes and size 1 diapers. He eats every three hours around the clock and takes about 2.5 ounces at each feeding. I'm exclusively pumping (with a nursing session here and there)with Baylor which is something new for me. With my others, I was able to breastfeed and nurse, but with Baylor being in the NICU and so small, I haven't been able to do that. I've had to pump my milk and then give it to him in a bottle. Again, at first I was just devastated about this, but now I find that there are benefits to pumping and bottle feeding.  Christian and other family members get the privilege and joy of feeding and bonding with him and it enables me to do more with my other two out in public and feed Baylor at the same time.

Making it work! Gotta do whatcha gotta do!

Baylor is becoming much more aware and responsive. He is quite a ham and loves to coo and smile. He is hilarious when he really gets to laughing. He is starting to grab at toys and enjoy playtime and music.  He still adores Aubrey and she spends lots of time trying to get him to smile at her.

Baylor loves to sleep on my bed (which is where he naps 90% of the time). He still sleeps in our bathroom in his rock and play at night.  He is an amazing sleeper and by far my easiest at nighttime. He hates his swing and mama-roo, but loves to be on the floor on his playmat. He also tolerates sitting up in his Bumbo seat. He still prefers to be in the wrap on me every waking moment, but my back is starting to plead for a break.

We are so in love with this boy and he just brings nothing but delight and joy into our family. He is my sunshine when things get chaotic and that smile can bring tears to my eyes. He really is a miracle boy and I am so amazed at how far he has come. Look out world...this little guy will be a world changer!

It's amazing how much they all look alike. I think Baylor and Aubrey really favor each other. Weston was my chunky monkey for sure!!