5 Months and 2 years and 9 months

Ty is now 5 months old! He's growing up way too fast! And it's not just becuase he's my second, he is already pushing up on his hands and knees and bouncing back and forth. He's been doing this since 4 and a half months. He's so happy and such a good baby! He's very content and has made the transition to 2 pretty easy. He's very different than Libby. He doesn't have a set sleep schedule, while Libby by this age was very scheduled (not because of me, she just is that way). He's still not sleeping 12 hours (although he's been doing better the past few nights).

He's such a lovable baby boy and I can't imagine our family without him! He's been smiling since Day 2 and cooing since he was a couple weeks old.  Here is the closest link to Libby being 5 months that I could find. I guess I didn't do a 5 month post on her. Ty's 4 month check up showed him to be a little guy. Staying in the 15-20% weight and average height.

Here he is trying to crawl already! 

 He loves to pose for the camera. He held his hands together and crossed his legs like this all on his own. Then looked into the camera and gave me one of his melt-my-heart grins. Love this boy!

He's been eating rice cereal mixed with fruits and loves it! He loves to eat! And now that he's tasting food, he thinks he should be able to eat or drink anything in front of him. Held a piece of pizza a little too close while I was at the Duck Duck Goose consignment and he grabbed it and put it to his mouth so fast and strong, all I could do was laugh. I didn't let him eat the pizza, by the way, but not for his lack of trying.

He's been eating great since the beginning. Didn't take any time at all for him to learn to chew and swallow. Hardly ever spits it out...

Until he tried veggies. He did NOT like green beans! He was making to funniest faces while I was feeding it to him, but the camera died before we could get any good ones. This is the only one we got:

Libby is now over 2 and a half years old and quickly approaching 3. I can't believe it! I keep thinking she'll be turning 2 this December.  She is finally getting the whole potty training thing down. She's gone 2 days in panties only (no plastic panties or pull-ups) and stayed dry. I haven't changed her dirty pants in over a week now. I think it finally clicked and I'm so glad for it! It'll be great to cut down to 1 set of diapers both for expenses and for my sanity. :)

She's definitely in the training stage and I have to work on my laziness to not let her get away with everything. She tests everything to see if she has to obey or not. She is very sweet and takes discipline well. I hope she's learning, but I've found out I have a LOT to learn in the process!

She's got a great memory and already knows 3 Bible verses and 4 or 5 worship songs! I love hearing her sweet voice singing "Holy God" (the Gospel Song) as I put her to bed at night.

As I mentioned before, this girl has always been scheduled and I have to be careful what things I incorporate into our nightly routine. It only takes a couple times in a row for it to stick! She now gets a book read to her, we sing the Holy God song and then pray while I rub her back when she goes to bed. She doesn't let me skip a thing. And now she wants to have a cup of ICE water next to her bed. Has to have the ice in it, too.

She loves to color and has actually figured out how to stay in the lines (mostly). She also loves her baby doll and it's so sweet to see her taking care of it. I can definitely see how much she's watching me just by watching her with her baby. She replicates everything, including taking her baby to the bathroom to have a "talk" with her.

I finally got around to trying out my new camera lens, but I have a lot to learn about it. It's a 50mm lens, but doesn't auto focus, so I've got to figure out a few more things about it.

Here are some shots I took of Libby while practicing:

  

 Love those beautiful eyes and eyelashes!

 Her baby doll (which she's had since she turned a year).

Rose is getting on in years. She'll be 12 in May if she makes it to her next birthday. Not sure if she will or not, but I'm trying to hold out for the kids' sake. Libby asks if Rose can sleep in her room almost every night now. Ty loves watching her walk around while he's laying on his playmat. She's been a great dog and still is, she's just starting to lose control of some of her bodily functions. I sure will miss her when she's gone and can't imagine a house without a dog!

  

So there's a quick snapshot into our lives right now.

Oh, I didn't even mention the fact that Matt's now back in school getting his Master's degree in business while still working full time. We don't see him much and life's already gotten a lot tougher in just the month and a half that he's been doing it. He has till NEXT December before he finishes and I'm already looking forward to that day! The evenings are now exhausting without the help of another set of adult hands. I didn't realize how much it helps, especially around dinner to bed time! By the time the kids are in bed, I'm ready to crash as well. It's not going to be fun not having him around as much, but it will totally be worth it in the end for him to have his Masters degree. (I hope:) )

He only has classes on Saturdays and Tuesday nights, but his homework and projects keep him busy most of the other evenings and weekends. I'm so glad he has this opportunity, but I miss our time together already!