Six Months

I can't believe Annie is six months old already. So much has happened in our family since her birth that the time has flown by.

She is just as cute as ever. She is sitting in a high chair to eat food now. And is thankfully eating solids without putting up a fuss. Her favorites are pears, peas, and sweet potatoes She is still breastfeeding and refusing bottles.

This is her smile. We call it the "Cabbage Patch Face." She pulls in her lower lip and smiles. I love it.

Annie is starting to sit up for short periods of time. If she can support herself with her hands, she lasts a little longer. At her 6 month check up she weighed in at 13 pounds 14 ounces (11th percentile) and was 25 inches long (16th percentile). I can't believe I have such small babies. They must get it from the Hall side of the family. Annie has good fine motor skills for a child her age. She is also beginning to mimic our sounds. Her favorite game is to blow razzberries and see who will copy her. She is a little more fussy than Lily was at this age, but she is still a generally content and wonderful baby.

Mission Call

Grammy and Grampy Hall have been called to serve a mission in Honolulu Hawaii. They will be leaving for Hawaii next week and will serve for 12 months. We are so excited for them and this new adventure in their lives.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

If you can't guess what's wrong, I'll tell you..... this photo was taken on April 7th and it is SNOWING! I looked out the window this morning and was determined to spend the day inside snuggled up with my girls. Lily had other plans. She begged for two hours to play in the snow. I finally got Annie settled for her morning nap and went outside to play with Lily.

Look at that face. This girl loves the snow. And what she loves most about the snow is....building snowmen.

She was so proud of our first snowman. She even danced around it and sang "Frosty the Snowman". The conditions were perfect for making snowballs. The snow was heavy and wet. I had fun teaching Lily how to roll snow on the ground to make big balls.

She wanted to build another snowman...and another...and another... We ended up with three and a half snowpeople before she got hungry for lunch.

Here are our two favorites - named Lily and Mommy. Days like this make me glad I have children. Lily was on cloud nine playing with me in the snow. Her simple joy in the moment helped me overcome the dreariness of a springtime snow day. So although I may not have flowers blooming in my yard my "Lily" is growing more every day and the warmth and beauty she brings to my life are beyond compare.

Five Months

Here is our darling girl! Five months old already. Unfortunately she is developing a serious dependence on Mommy. She refuses to take a bottle and cries when we leave her with sitters or let new people hold her. This is a strange experience for us because Lily loved taking bottles and loved being around new people. Every child is different. We're learning to understand that. Annie is starting to accept solid foods. Her favorite is bananas. She still doesn't like rice cereal, but we give her a little every day hoping she'll develop a taste for it. She is rolling like a champ - back to belly and belly to back. She loves tummy time as long as she has her favorite toy to play with. She is interested in books and picking up anything within reach. She especially loves to grab the food off our plates at dinner time. Annie loves getting attention from Daddy. She lights up when he plays with her. She is generally sleeping well - Goes down at 8:30 and gets up around 6:00. Annie loves to play with her big sister and Lily is working on being gentle while they play. They are cute together. We hope they will grow to be great friends.

Peanut Butter Playdough

We had a couple of dreary days and the car wasn't working. Lily and I got a little stir crazy. I made a batch of peanut butter playdough to help us pass the time one afternoon. We had a wonderfully messy time. Here are the recipes in case your little ones need a great way to play:

Peanut Butter Playdough Recipe #1:

- 1 cup peanut butter

- 1/2 cup honey

- 2 cups powdered sugar

Mix ingredients by hand in a bowl and you’re done! Store in an airtight container or plastic baggie with air sucked out of the bag. (Quick tip: Spray your 1/2 cup with oil before measuring your honey and the honey will pour much easier.)

To make this dough more workable, I kneaded it with extra powdered sugar on the kitchen counter until it was the consistency I was looking for. It was not sticky, felt just like dough, and Lily loved the taste.

Peanut Butter Playdough Recipe #2:

- 18 ounces creamy peanut butter

- 6 tablespoons honey

- 1 1/4 cup non-fat dry milk (packet for one quart)

- 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix ingredients in a bowl and you’re done! Store in an airtight container or plastic baggie with air sucked out of the bag. (Quick tip: Spray your tablespoon with oil before measuring your honey and the honey will pour much easier.)

I made this recipe while we were in Utah few weeks ago. The kids liked the taste of this one so much they just ate handfuls of it. It is a little drier and doesn't hold shape as well as recipe #1, but kids definitely prefer the taste. It is also not as smooth since it has flecks of dry milk in it.

Be sure to use powdered sugar on your working surface so the dough doesn't stick. Refrigerate leftovers, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.

Sister Snuggles

Just had to post this because it made me smile this morning.

Baptism Through the Eyes of a Child

Our Family Home Evening lesson was on baptism. Jeremy did a great job teaching Lily and showing her lots of pictures to hold her interest (for five minutes). At the end of the lesson he showed Lily the picture posted above and asked her what the people in the picture were doing. She answered "A high-five!" with enthusiasm. Jeremy was so surprised by her answer (because he was expecting "baptism") that he had a laughing fit. Lily looked at me like "what's his problem?", which made me laugh. The joke was totally lost on Lily.

Upon closer inspection of the picture we saw that it does indeed look like the man is ready for a high-five. We can't wait to see more of our church through the eyes of a child - our child. And perhaps the angels in heaven do celebrate with a high five when each of us decides to repent and come unto Christ. Out of the mouths of babes, right?