Blabber-Mouth

Jackson turns 20 months tomorrow.. ...and he says new words almost daily now! He loves to talk.
He loves Abby and gives her lots of kisses. He can even pronounce her name correctly (he used to say "Ab-boo"). Now he will walk over to her and say "Abby!" or say her name when she's crying. He will also help by putting her pacifier in her mouth (whether she wants it or not). His favorite things of the moment are some foam bath letters that Aunt Meghan got him. He LOVES bathtime and can climb in and out of the tub all by himself. A few letters that he knows for sure are B, Q, M, O, and X. Sometimes all letters are "B" :)

He will point out a ball and say "ball", any kind of vehicle and say "car", bring over a snack and say "cackie" (for cracker), ask for more by saying "more", say "ucky" (for yucky) when his hands are dirty, and say "no" when asked just about anything! Of course there are more words that he says but those are just a few. He is learning so quickly! He also still loves gibberish, and I'm holding on to our "nothing conversations" as long as I can.

He has also become quite the picky eater and nap-fighter, which is very frustrating at times, but then again I guess we are closing in on the terrible 2's so I can't say I didn't see it coming. We still love you Jackson!

Abby is 4 months

Here is a picture of Miss Abby at 4 months: We also got the kids' pictures taken together. It wasn't a very successful photo shoot due to everyone (including Nathan and me) being in less-than-stellar moods, but here is one I thought was cute. My mom pointed out the rooster-like projection that Abby's hair has going on.. but hey, we'll take what we can get! We'll have more pictures done at 6 months, so hopefully those will be better.
At 4 months, Abby:
-can roll over from tummy to back (although she rarely will)
-still wakes up 2 (sometimes 3) times a night
-makes new sounds, including a shrieking sound (it's cute, but loud)
-still loves to talk, gurgle and laugh, and stick out her tongue
-is much better at grabbing at things and holding on tight (especially to mom's hair)
-is better about taking 2 or 3 naps a day (for 30 mins to an hour each time)
-still spits up quite a bit
-is a good sport when Jackson tries to stick her pacifier in her eye by mistake
-still has WILD and CRAZY hair! Nothing will tame it! We have to cut out the snarls.. it's bad!
-weighs 14 lbs (75%) and measures 24 in. (50%)

She is growing so well and is such a happy baby (most of the time) :) I guess we'll keep her!

Back to Nature

April 11th was a beautiful day for some hiking, so we decided to go for it!

Abby had a wonderful time, as she always enjoys her carrier: Jackson and Nathan ready to go with plenty of snacks, water, and a hat that Jackson did not want to keep on Mama leading the way

Uh-oh! Jackson fell down and got his hands dirty...

...and asked Nathan to wipe them off because he does not like to have his hands dirty! (we're working on toughening him up a bit)

He dropped a goldfish cracker and searched until he found it and ate it. Yes, off the ground... we believe in the 30-second rule in our house

Jackson's little legs got tired so Daddy stepped up to the plate!

Gorgeous scenery!

It's a brave new world out there...

Trip to the Zoo

Jackson went to the zoo for the first time! His favorite first exhibit was the bald eagles. It's hard to see the eagle in the picture below, but he stared at them for awhile.Abby enjoyed her visit, too. I wish I could sleep all day in a stroller!
Pointing at the strange-looking anteater..

Taking a look at the giraffes..

We just so happened to be by the elephant exhibit at the right time and Jackson got to pet one! (For the record, they are very dusty and their skin feels like very rough leather)

Some kind of wild cat..

The lion exhibit.. I felt bad for them because they don't really have a lot of room and they looked pretty bored.

Jackson leaning over to see the tiger pacing back and forth. It was probably waiting for a little kid just like Jackson to lean too far over for a snack..

We were going to take him on the carousel but got to it after it had closed for the day. Next time!

Easter weekend

Easter weekend started off with an egg hunt on the base. Jackson and I practiced around the house with his little bucket (I stickered "Jackson" on it) and colored balls, just to get the concept of picking them up and putting them in his bucket. I had my doubts, but he got it just fine! I had to coach him a bit during the actual hunt, because all he wanted to do was pick up the eggs and look them over :)
A few of Jackson's buddies came out with us- here he is comparing loot with Gabriel and Gabriel's dad.

Jacque and me and our littlest men!

And last but not least, Miss Abby in her Easter finery!

Happy Easter!

Abby @ 3 months

Abby at 3 months:

At 3 months:

-she is filling out her 3-6 month sized clothes already, so I am going to have to cycle through them quickly to make sure she wears them all and I get pictures of her in them!

-she is a little over 12 pounds.. about 80%. I guess I don't have to worry about her getting enough to eat!

-she is still pretty happy during the day, and is getting better about taking naps

-she can still make impressive diapers and she ends up soiling at least one outfit per week :(

-she is still not a fan of the evening, although unlike a month ago, she does not require nursing to calm down.. usually just holding her will do the trick

-still same sleeping patterns as a month ago, and still likes the same position, but she has started to go down a little easier at night

-she is close to laughing, and kicks when she is excited

-she loves little colorful toys and if you set them in her lap or hold it in front of her, she will grab for it and hold on tight!

-she can support her body weight on her legs

-she has started to smile for other people than just her daddy and mommy!

St. Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day from the O'Rieber clan :)