4 month old sweetness

my baby boy is 4 months old

crazy!

he really seems to be flying through the baby stage

he's a smiley little thing

doesn't take much at all to get a big ol' toothless smile out of him

he smiles w/ his whole face, and it just makes ya wanna squeeeeeeeze him :)

he loves standing…seems to be a prominent trait in my babies

he supports all his weight for quite a while, just holding onto my fingers for balance

he sleeps through the night fairly often, and if he does wake up, putting a soother in his mouth usually puts him right back to sleep

he puts himself to sleep at night, usually crying for no more than a couple minutes, if at all

he won't fall asleep unless he's swaddled though!

he's not an overly happy baby…fussing a good portion of the day, unless he is being held

i sure do miss that first week of his life when he was the most content baby i'd ever seen! barely knew he could cry back then…no question about it now though!

he usually takes a soother, but it's never long until he has his hands in his mouth

4 month stats: 13 lbs. 3 oz. - 25 in. - cute as a button.

2 years old!

this little cutie pie...

turned 2 years old while we were in VA!!!

craziness!

she is such a blessing and such a disaster at the same time ;)

sometimes she is the cutest thing you ever did see

and other times she exemplifies and exaggerates what is known as the "terrible twos"

at two years old, she 

sings along w/ a few songs

counts to 12

recognizes letters, shapes, and colors

loves giving hugs and kisses

is still tied to her soother at both nap time and night time

usually takes a 2-3 hr. nap everyday

sleeps from 7:30-6:30

is quite the little social bug

looooooves going places

swims by herself w/ a little floaty tied around her waist

is always excited about skyping w/ her Mummsy

doesn't share so well

pushes boundaries all. day. long.

loves to do everything "by yourself"

has pronoun problems ;)

brings a smile to most anyone's face

seems to be slightly OCD

(she likes to put things in order, places certain things "just so," and when she draws, she just does these little petite squiggles :)

is a master pretender

(she plays mommy to her monkeys all day long! she feeds them, cleans up their messes, swaddles them, swings them, has conversations w/ them, combs their hair, sits them on the potty, puts them to bed, makes sure they have their soothers, etc.)

at this point, Bump doesn't really get birthday parties because it's just a tad too hectic for me to put something together while we are in VA

on her birthday she got to spend part of the day at Grandpa and Grandma Sonifrank's, and part of the day at Grandad and Mummsy's

she was thrilled w/ being the centre of attention, and was super happy about opening her presents :)

the bday girl:

we love you Bump!

you truly light up our lives :)

Christmas w/ the Sonifranks

here's a look into the time that we spent w/ my hubby's side of the family

i am so blessed to have married into such a beautiful family!

they have done so much to make me feel like i belong :)

Christmas for the Sonifranks is always celebrated back at the cabin

the same cabin where Dave proposed to me :)

we spend the night

the next morning we have a yummy breakfast of sausage gravy, biscuits, and scrambled eggs. 

then it's present time…

Sandra and Al … Wesley and Angela

Angela always gets her nieces and nephews a Christmas ornament
I didn't get a picture of Brighton w/ hers last year, but i'm hoping i remember to do that from here on out.

Asher w/ his little polar bear ornament

Brighton w/ her sock monkey ornament

most of the rest of our time was spent hanging out
it was fun to introduce our little Asher to everyone!
he got lots and lots of lovin' :)

most evenings "Grandma" would light some candles for Brighton

the heat would make the little angels above them spin around

and then she would get to blow them out

she loved it :)

before Al and Sandra headed back to Michigan w/ their crew, i was able to get all the cousins together for a picture.

they wore their monkey hats from Brighton and Asher :)

Trent - Brighton - Brittney - Tyler - Asher

quite the good lookin' gang!

Christmas w/ the Clines

it's fun being married…you get to have multiple Christmases!

here's a peak into the time that we spent w/ my side of the family:

Christmas Eve is always spent at Granddaddy and Grammy's house

(my dad's side of the family)

It's always so good to be w/ all my aunts, uncles, and cousins

the girls painted Brighton's toes while we waited for final dinner preparations to be made

Asher hangs out w/ Dad and Granddaddy…

i missed getting a picture of the dinner spread this year, but it was as amazing as usual!

Grammy takes after Great Grandma Bailey for sure…always making sure that everyone has more than enough good food to fill their belly :)

after dinner is cleaned up, we sit around the family room and sing Christmas songs before we open gifts

we spent Christmas day w/ my immediate family and my dear sweet Grandmother

the day included a yummy brunch,

opening presents, 

playing rook,

and lots of loving on the kiddos.

 i had such a good time being w/ my family again!

i can hardly wait for the day when it becomes a normal part of our lives :)

too late?

is there a time limit as to how far after an event you can post about it?

hopefully not, as these photos were taken well over a month ago :)

i just finished editing all my photos from the month of december

here's a little snapshot into our christmas here in Red Lake

we celebrated on the 21st, and then left for Virginia on the 22nd

pictures by the Christmas tree:

 seconds 1-10

seconds 11 and following...typical :)

 melt my heart!

 "Christmas" morning Dave read the story of Jesus' birth from the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

I can't recommend this book enough! Every story is tied back to Jesus.

Brighton absolutely loves it!

 after story time, it was present time!

their first gift was matching sleepers :) - pretty sure this one is going to be tradition!

Brighton was thrilled to open both her gifts and Asher's

Dave got a leatherman from the kiddos :)

reading new books w/ Dad

couldn't you just eat this lil' guy?

i mean seriously!

looking back at these pictures makes my heart so happy

i have a Savior who came as a baby so i could be free

i have a husband who loves me and our kiddos so so much

and i have 2 precious children

i am blessed :)