Anna Ruth is 4 months old!
Here are her stats:
Head: 16.75 inches (90%)
Height: 24 inches (27%; I was 23 inches when I was BORN, lol. Our kids are short just like their momma...I just didn't grow as much as others!)
Weight: 15 pounds (70%)
The comparison pictures that I look forward to sharing each month are below :)
Anna Ruth @ 4 months
Grace @ 4 months...pretty similar pictures, although Grace's face was more round and plump...Anna's is more pear shaped and plump :)
Wesley @ 4 months...all chunk!
A baby with a bubble beard? Can't get more adorable than that...
Anna Ruth's sweet smile
Grace's sweet smile @ 4 months
Wesley's sweet smile @ 4 months (I think he looks a lot like Anna @ 4 months in this picture!)
Santa baby
Grace ADORES Anna Ruth...both kids do and they always want to hold her. We are grateful for this.
Anna Ruth in the bumbo
Grace in the bumbo
Wesley in the bumbo
Anna Ruth in the jumper @ 4 months
Wesley in the exersaucer @ 4 months
Family Time
Candid...I happened to whip out my phone and catch this one...no staging! She loves her big brother and he's the most tender and gentle little boy with his sister. It's priceless.
Christmas Break and Family Time
Christmas break begins!
Jimmy was able to take Grace out to breakfast over the break one morning.
Jimmy and I at his holiday work party
So, I got the stomach bug and it was TERRIBLE. Just terrible. Jimmy had to go into work and didn't want me going anywhere near Anna (for obvious reasons...if she got it she'd have to be hospitalized), so Grace stepped up big time. She fed and changed Anna and got herself and Wesley basically ready for school. She put Anna Ruth in her car seat and got her things together as well. It was incredibly helpful! Then, a girlfriend came and took ALL 3 kids to school for me. I couldn't hardly stand up. Jimmy was able to get off work early and take care of the kids the rest of the day. He also took care of me because that bug just WIPED me out...I had to take the next day off of work as well. Thankful for my health!
Wesley's adorable rendition of a "wink". Not too shabby, cutie!
Brunch with our family of 5 and Jimmy wanted to snap this photo...I'm glad he did.
We went to Columbia for Christmas this year (separate post) and were able to get away as a family to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens...it was beautiful and so much fun!
My littlest loves
Christmas Traditions
Breakfast with Santa @ Chick Fil A: 2015
Breakfast with Santa @ Chick Fil A: 2016 (Anna Ruth slept through it and we were NOT about to wake her up...so that's why she's MIA)
Baking with my girls :)
Love having Grace actually help me now that she's old enough to do things "solo".
Decorating cookies with Blakers
My Nana's famous butter cookies. I also baked Jimmy's favorite cherry cookies which are a tradition from his Aunt Pat, who has passed away, but we are happy to carry on the tradition in her memory.
Elf Tea Part with the Watkins crew (we did an event last year at the Children's Museum, I believe. They have the best events!)
The Advent Jesse Tree is also a tradition and I didn't take a picture of it this year. It's a beautiful devotion book in which you read a devotion each day and put up a corresponding ornament on a tree to represent the coming of Jesus and why we celebrate his birth. The kids loved it this year and I look forward to continuing that tradition!
Grace's kindergarten class had "The Gingerbread Man" performance and it was adorable! I learned in my internship for graduate school last year that teachers do not have the right to post pictures of students to any social media with out specific consent (the picture forms sent out via school are typically for classroom use or district use only, not for social media) so you won't seem me post pictures of her class...but look at that cute class baker!
Friends
Spontaneous play date at the dinosaur park? Yes...miss these girls having school together!
Happy 3rd birthday, Lorelei!
Grace and Ellory...two peas in a pod!
Lorelei and Wesley...adorable!
Happy (2nd) 33rd birthday? :) It was Diana's birthday and all I had to use was a gingerbread man cookie and Wesley's 2nd birthday candle :) Motherhood will do that to you!
Group picture (minus 3 babies). That's 3 mommas and 9 kids, people! We totally scared everyone away from the playground and had it ALL to ourselves.
Fellowship group Christmas party! We have a new group this year but still did our traditional fondue, food and fun with a gift exchange!
Family Update
Life with 3 kids is HARD. It just is. It's difficult to to anything well like clean, laundry, meals, all of it! I struggle getting all three kids and myself out the door on time most mornings. I find myself losing my patience and getting really short with the kids. The morning devotion time we spend together is so valuable and usually sets me straight, giving great perspective...but not always. Life with 3 kids is hard. Don't get me wrong, it's also beautiful, refining, magical and hilarious...but it's also hard. You see these pictures I post, but you don't get to see the behind the scenes. Everyone's life is not what they portray on social media so I want to make that clear...we are not a perfect family.
In fact, we yell, stomp our feet, pout, whine, choose not to share, complain, compare, beg, and get frustrated way more than we should. That's why we need Jesus, though. This is what we tell our children when they go to timeout and what we pray for WHY they are in time-out. We KNOW they can't be perfect, and we as mommy and daddy are not perfect. That's why we ask for forgiveness and why we NEED Him, every second, minute, hour...Jesus chose to come and die for our sins and his birth is a beautiful thing we celebrate. This advent season helped me to slow down a little and to appreciate family more and I hope that continues into the New Year!
Thank you for praying for us, loving us, and being there for us in this walk of life! Our kids are growing way too fast; I could go on and on about their milestones and other things BUT I hear a crying baby, so see you next month! :)
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