6 months!

My baby is six months old! It's absolutely crazy to me how fast the time is going by. It's amazing how much a little person changes in their first six months of life - it's such a miracle and only makes me marvel that much more at our awesome Creator.

Taylor is doing well. He's still nursing and I haven't figured out when to be done. I thought I'd try to quit at six months, but I'm not ready. It's going well and I believe it's the best thing for him, so I'm trying to hang in there even though there are days that I *really* want to be done. He's doing great with rice cereal. We're mixing it with fruits and veggies and so far he's had bananas, apples, peas and sweet potatoes. You should have seen his face when he tasted peas for the first time! He absolutely shuddered and looked at me as if to say, "What on earth IS this???". I laughed so hard. After he got over the initial shock he ended up eating all of it! =)

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He is sitting on his own now and I'm absolutely amazed. Just a couple weeks ago I had said to Andy that I thought it'd be awhile before Taylor would sit because he was just *so* wobbly. But seemingly overnight he was more steady and could do it for 20-30 seconds at a time. And then day by day he did it for longer periods. And now he's a pro!

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His sleeping habits are still very interesting. He's going to bed at about 7:00 every night and goes to sleep really well on his own. And for several weeks now he's *usually* asleep until 2 or 3 am when he wakes for a feeding. But every few days he's up to his old tricks and wakes several times before then. After that 3 am feeding your guess is as good as mine! Sometimes he stays asleep til 7 - other times he'll wake a couple times. Every night is like a "fun" little surprise! And I am a sleepy momma.

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He is just a dear baby and I can't get over how sweet he is. He's more snuggly than Lily was and I swear he gives me hugs! =) He still loves me best and is so happy when I enter the room. He loves to be held and so I do carry him around most of the day while doing things around the house with one arm - including transferring clothes from washer to dryer, vacuuming, loading the dishwasher, etc. My arms are getting super strong. Don't be jealous. =)

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Lily is doing well. She really loves Taylor (he loves her too) and she's very sweet to him. She still doesn't want to poop on the potty. It's a long story!!! She did have success a couple nights ago. Andy stayed in the bathroom with her for close to an hour and she finally did it. But she simply does not want to do the big job on the pot. We can't find a reward that she cares about. We have literally offered to take her to Toys R Us if she would poop on the potty and she says, "No, thank you" and walks away!

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She is in a major coloring phase right now and probably spends an hour each day coloring. Not all at once, of course! But through the course of a day I find her several times sitting at the little table in her room and coloring in one of her plethora of coloring books. And once in awhile she invites me or Andy to join her.

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It's has been COLD here for many weeks. This winter has been long already and I'm feeling very couped up. Today it's finally in the low 30s and feels like a heat wave. But we've had many days below zero and school was even cancelled Thursday and Friday because of the dangerously low temps and wind chills. If you knew the school districts around here you would be impressed. They NEVER close - it takes MAJOR cold or an absolute blizzard for them to close. We've stayed pretty close to home - some days not leaving at all. It's just too much work to bundle them both up and try to go anywhere. So I'm a little stir crazy. And winter is hard on me anyway because I miss the sunlight! Praise the Lord that our vacation to Florida is just weeks away! I am SO excited!!! We leave February 5th!!!

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Today is a big day for our country and my emotions are so mixed. It's such a thrill that history has been made and we have our first African American President! And it's such a bummer that he's so wrong about some things. I am praying for him and I encourage you to do the same. And pray for America! It's astonishing to me that "we" elected somebody with so few accomplishments. What has he actually done? And why is it okay that he doesn't "know" that life begins at conception? More than 50 MILLION tiny Americans have been killed since R*e v. Wade and this President isn't bothered by that in the least. Very sad.

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Here are some new pics! Enjoy!

Lily and Daddy coloring together at the kitchen table

A Baby Burrito

Taylor (almost 6 months) and his friend Nicholas (2 1/2 months!!! He's huge!!!)

Yes. This is my daughter. I'll claim her. =)

This outfit was all her idea. First she wanted her princess dress on. Then she went to the kitchen to get her rainboots and winter hat. She came back upstairs lookin' gorgeous!!!

6 Months Old! January 15, 2009

What else? Coloring!!!

She asked to feed him his bottle. She gave it a try and then wanted to be done.

My handsome boy with one of his favorite toys - a Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa Becker

27 weeks old - January 20

Isn't he a ham?

Such a happy baby

Lily and Daddy 'nuggling and reading together