Merry Christmas from our family!!

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Christmas Party at Group

We had our Christmas party today in our mommy group! Gymboree came and provided some really fun activities for the babies. Paige had a blast. She enjoyed some tummy time on a mirror, played peek-a-boo with a hot pink scarf, played with a bell instrument while we sang songs, enjoyed some bubbles, and laid underneath a parachute that the parents played with.

Paige was just kicking her legs and moving her arms around the whole time the parachute was moving. She thought it was awesome. Some of the moms commented about how fun it was to watch her because she was having such a good time. Here are a couple of pictures of us with the bubbles.

Some of the moms also think that Paige will be crawling soon because of how well she holds herself up on her arms. She is able to scoot herself backwards, but I wasn't expecting crawling yet...how exciting...or should I say YIKES!

Paige weighs 13 pounds and 14 ounces now. She will definitely be a 14 pounder the next time she gets weighed. Woohoo! She has been slow and steady to double her weight by 6 months.

Birthday Celebrations

We celebrated Neil's 29th birthday today!

Aunt Abby came over to watch Paige while Neil and I went out to eat at Olive Garden. Thanks Aunt Abby! It was the first time that we had gone out to eat alone since Paige was born...it was a little weird but very enjoyable for us.

I turned 30 on Saturday. It was wonderful to know that I have an amazing daughter to celebrate all the rest of my birthdays with (along with Neil). On my 31st, she will actually be able to enjoy the cake with us! We had an icecream cake from Dairy Queen and it was delicious!

First Snow

I got Paige bundled up to go outside in the snow for the very first time today. She looked really stiff in her big snowsuit, so I had to share the pic with you! She was probably wondering what in the world I was doing to her!


It is really cold outside today, but I just couldn't resist Paige having her first snow experience. I tried to sit her in the snow, but she is still pretty wobbly. So, that only lasted about 2 seconds, and I didn't have enough time to take a picture.

When she fell back in the snow, she began to cry...not because she was hurt, but probably because she was not happy about how cold her bottom was beginning to feel. So, I just held her and took a picture with the snow in the background...well, maybe next time she will enjoy it more (if it is a little warmer outside)!

Smiling Beauty

Here is another beautiful close-up of Paige. I know we are biased, but we think she is just absolutely darling!!

Playing With Her Ball

A while ago, Grandma Loethen got Paige a Cinderella ball. Paige didn't show interest in it for quite some time, but now she seems to love it. She likes to watch me play with it right above her (she laughs and reaches up to grab/pat it), or she likes to hold onto it herself...she uses her hands and feet for this. She is a joy to watch!

Bottoms Up!!

Since Paige now sleeps on her belly the majority of the time, she recently began sleeping with her legs tucked and her bottom up in the air. I think it is just adorable!! Sometimes she even has her arms tucked under her body too!

Visiting Friends

My friend, Amber, came to visit us from Indiana! She brought her daughter, Lydia, and her son, Judd, too! It was really fun to have three kids in the house! It was definitely a lot more lively! I didn't have to do much entertaining for Paige while they were here because they were just a barrel of fun!


Judd is being silly with Neil's furry hat!


Playing in and around the exersaucer!


Paige is wondering...how does Lydia sit up so straight! That is hard to do!

Neil with the girls...I think he has a soft spot!

Five Months Old

Here is Paige as she woke up from her morning nap at 11:20 today! She was all smiles! She has become quite accustomed to sleeping on her tummy now. Whenever I put Paige in her bed, she automatically rolls onto her tummy. She really only had trouble that first night. She seemed to quickly figure out that sleeping on her belly is something that she actually prefers.

It is amazing that Paige is already five months old! She weighs 13 pounds and 10 ounces now! She is talking a ton, and we love to hear her giggle...it is such a treat!

Rolling Over, and Over, and Over!!!!

So, yesterday I was trying to help Paige learn to roll over. She had done it a few times but only like a total of three (on her own). So, I thought I would help her get better by practicing with her. Well, I think she was just holding out because last night she showed me that she didn't need any help at all!

In the middle of the night last night (about 10 times), Paige kept rolling over in her crib. I assume that she was even doing this in her sleep. However, after she rolled over, she proceeded to wake up and cry. She just didn't know what to do with herself...she has never slept on her tummy, so she just pushed herself up on her hands and cried. The funny part (now it is funny, but it wasn't funny at 3 am) is that we would turn her back over onto her back, return to bed, and just as we pulled the covers up...yeah, you guessed it...she would roll over again! And I thought she needed help practicing...

Gift Wrap!

Paige received a few Christmas presents when we were in Terre Haute. It was exciting to see her unwrap her first gift (ever). She seemed to enjoy ripping apart the paper. Inside was a crawling Winnie the Pooh! He talks and crawls...how fun! Thanks Bernice, Allen, and Megan!

Thanksgiving

We traveled to Terre Haute for Thanksgiving. It was so great to see my side of the family and show off our little angel! Paige did great traveling this time...we traveled at night because we thought she would be less stressed about the drive (because she would sleep). It worked...she only woke up once on the way there, and on the way home she slept the entire time. It was so wonderful to not hear her cry the majority of the way (like last time). I felt so terrible about that...she has no understanding of why I won't just get her out of her carseat and hold her when she's crying, so we were happy to avoid that this time.

Paige got to spend some time hanging out with her second-cousin Megan. Megan was nice enough to lend us her bedroom while we visited! She is such a sweet girl!

Here is Paige with her Aunt Ashley!

Paige finally got to spend some time with my Aunt Rhonda's children (her second-cousins). They are usually at their dad's when we come to visit, so we were really excited to see them. In the first picture Paige is with Kobe and Kirsten. In the second picture, KC joined in! (He was being a bit dramatic for the camera.)

Here we are singing The Wheels on the Bus...Paige was with her daddy, so she is not in this pic! Pictured is Keaon, Kobe, KC (he is holding Sarae), Me (I'm holding Samya), and Kirsten.