I took August to the nursery for the first time for the last half of church today. We both survived. :)

six months!

Dear August Rose,

You are SIX MONTHS OLD!!

I know. I can barely believe it myself.

I'm writing this letter about your half birthday two weeks late, but no worries. I remember your sixth month very well. But first...

Let's review.

Ooohhhhh that one-month-old pic. I can barely take it. Where did that tiny baby go?

At your 5 (and a half) month appointment you weighed 17 pounds (82%) and were 26.5 inches long (88%). You got a couple of shots, and you didn't cry one single tear.

Dr. Davis gave us the go-ahead to start you on cereal, so we tried it out right away. Merit got to help feed you the first time, and she thought that was the greatest. You liked it okay!

You went on another couple of plane rides to and from Texas this last month and did wonderfully.

You are sleeping through the night most nights, but still wake up a time or two some nights. You no longer sleep until 10am, but instead get up around 8am and then go back down for a nap an hour or two later, taking 3-4 naps throughout the day. I still LOVE to watch you sleep. You are just the sweetest little sleeper!

You are sitting up like a champ now. Although I don't think you'll be crawling too soon, you are pushing up off your stomach pretty well, and you like to roll all over the living room. You are very content to sit and play with toys all by yourself. Your sister likes to sit and take your toys play with you. You are usually pretty quiet, but when you get to talking, especially when sitting and playing with your toys, you have a lot to say!

Your new trick is to blow raspberries, and it is funny to me every time.

You and Merit already love each other so much. You've started taking baths with her, and she makes you laugh like no one else. She loves to make "palettes" for y'all to lay on in the living room. There's no telling what I'll be reporting about you two a year from now. How blessed you are to have a big sister to grow up with.

Baby girl, half a year has gone by since we first met you. I know I say it all of the time, but the word "sweet" just fits you so perfectly.

You are rarely fussy, you love to cuddle when you're tired, you give the best smiles to us and strangers alike...I just have very few complaints about my newest baby. (Get rid of the 3-5am wake-up calls, and I'd have none!) ;)

Recently your awesome Daddy brought me some roses, and I was telling him how they made me love your middle name even more. Usually people give roses to others for a couple of reasons: to make them happy and/or to tell them that they love them. Every single day I think about how much happiness you bring to our family, and you were, without a doubt, sent as a reminder of how much God loves us. My pretty little August Rose. What a special gift you are.

So, Happy Half Birthday, Augs! I hope you already know that you are so very, very loved.

much love,

your mama

It's not Valentine's anymore. Not quite my birthday. But I've had a bit of a long week here, and someone noticed.

 Thanks, Kev. I love you so much.

happy birthday, kai!!

Happy, Happy 1st Birthday to our favorite little man, Kai!

We love you so much. You are definitely one to be celebrated!

(Meeting Kai last week was surreal. More on that later!)

August's first time to ride in the cart at the store. She loved it.

sun, snow, stress (recent TX trip, part two)

The Sunday after Kasey's wedding, my mom flew into San Antionio from Denver. While waiting on her flight to arrive, my dad took us to a park for a picnic and to let Merit play. It was sunny and close to 80 degrees...just perfect. 

 (i like the bird at the top of this pic.)

After we picked up my mom from the airport, we went back to Abilene with them for the week. Where we were snowed in for four days! We ate a lot of snow ice cream, played with cousins, and had a fun time!

 

The trip ended with another flight, but this time Chelsea was not there to help me. I had to go it alone, and althought it was a tad stressful, we made it. The best part was that there were empty seats, so I got to take August's car seat on with us. She fell asleep right before takeoff and woke up a few minutes before we landed. It was nice to not have to worry about her at all during the flight, because I had a busy, busy almost three-year-old to keep entertained. I've never been so relieved and grateful for a plane to land in my life!

Thank you, Nina and PaPa, for a fun week!

mr. and mrs. pope! (recent TX trip, part one)

A couple of weeks ago, the girls and I headed to San Antonio to attend the wedding of one of my very best friends, Kasey. Luckily, on the flight there, Chelsea was with me to help with the two babes and all of our stuff. Merit was excited for her first flight with her very own ticket and seat. She did great on the way there with Chelsea and Chelsea's "big phone" to entertain her. (The way back - without Chelsea - was, well, not as easy, but we made it.) 

My mom went to Denver to be at the airport when Matt, Nikki, and Kai came home, so my sweet dad came to San Antonio to babysit the girls while I went to the rehearsal dinner and also during the reception the next day. He was a rock star, and I was so thankful he was there. He took Merit down to breakfast each morning, took her swimming, took naps with her, while also helping me keep August happy and entertained. Thank you, thank you, thank you PaPa!

I loved being with my friends for the weekend. We don't get to be together often enough. This was the first time that (almost) all of our kids were with us. 

I love this picture.

The rehearsal dinner and wedding were both just perfect. I was so thankful to be able to be there as Kasey married Nathan. Merit thought Kasey was a celebrity ("She's a princess!") and was just in awe of her the whole evening. The rehearsal was in a train depot downtown and was so much fun. 

rehearsal dinner

wedding!

HA!

Yay for the Popes!