Christmas Day...Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning our parents wanted to take a picture of us in our Christmas dresses before we could open up our presents. Don't we look pretty?

Here we are in another pose our parents made us do...they like to see the size difference between us. I'm 8 months old, Lexi is 4 1/2 months old, & Elisabeth is 1 1/2 months old.

Here I am opening up a gift from Grandma & Grandpa Byeman...

...I got my first doll!! I really like her a lot...so much that I already have given her lots of kisses! She even likes it when I chew on her hat!

"Wow, Grandma & Grandpa...thanks for all the gifts!! I'm loved so much!"

We had a great 1st Christmas with Jaelyn~although more tiring than any other Christmas! I think I was in bed by 8pm!! So much fun, though!! I can't imagine life without her!! She is such a blessing...love you! :)

My first Snowman!

Here is a look at my very first snowman! Along with my Uncle Brad & Aunt Suzanne, my Mommy & Daddy built this huge snowman for Lexi & I! Supposedly the snow wasn't the greatest packing snow, but they found some good stuff by where the deer come & eat (thanks to Grandpa setting out some food for them).

Here is Lexi with her older brother, Brutus. He's just a little bigger than she is (ha!)!

Up at the cabin

It was off to Grandma & Grandpa Byeman's cabin for a little time in the mountains. A white Christmas was a must for the 3 girls' 1st Christmas! We had to take advantage of this family photo op...it was absolutely gorgeous! There was so much snow!! Doesn't it look like a fake background? :)

Daddy & the two girls...Jaelyn always has a big smile to give for the camera!

Jaelyn is such a big ham when the camera is pointing her way! Do you see her two pearly whites?!

Thanks to Daddy, this is what Jaelyn wants to do ALL DAY long! Thanks for walking with me, Grandpa!

Me & Lexi had some good bonding time together!! It will be such fun to play with each other when we get a bit older! So, for now our parents just plop us next to each other for pictures!!

Jaelyn's 1st Christmas!

Our first Christmas as a family of 3!! We had such a fun Christmas with Jaelyn!! We had our "little" party on Saturday morning before the Lynden Christmas. I'm sure next year will be even more fun when she'll be able to open up her own gifts!

Had to get our 1st Family Christmas photo in front of the tree!

Here is Jaelyn opening up her first present!! She was trying to climb inside the box!!

Daddy & Jaelyn opening up another present...she is so excited to see what it is...ok, so she's probably just as excited to eat the ribbon!

Thanks Grandpa Post for the cool books & chair! I will have lots of fun loungin' in it & reading lots of books with Mommy & Daddy!!

My tooth and Cherrios!

Can you see my first tooth? It's that little white thing on the bottom..it's amazing how much pain I had to go through to get it!

Yummy...cherrios! It's much easier if mom puts them in my mouth at this point...but I'm working on using my fingers to get these little buggers into my mouth. It's fun to be eating something other than rice cereal, veggies or fruit.

It's Snowing!!!

This was the scene yesterday afternoon at our house...our first snowfall of the season! We quick put on Jaelyn's new stocking hat (thanks Uncle Dan & Aunt Kim!) and brought her on the deck so that she could experience snow for the first time! There was some accumulation, but it soon melted in the evening thanks to the rain.

Isn't this child the most precious looking kid out there?! :)

Jaelyn wondering what all this white stuff is about!

My future Calvin roommate?

Me & Lane Borchert. Laney is about 4 months old...wish she lived in WA so that we could play together! Thanks for letting me chew on your toy! She lives in Michigan...so we only will get to see each other once a year. Our Mommies say that we are going to be roommates at Calvin & play on the soccer team together (just like our Mommies did)...we'll have to see about that one!

Here is the clan minus Sara's twin boys & hubby, Pete. We have such fun together when we are all in town. Good friends!

Me and my cousins!

Here we are together for the first time! Grandma & Grandpa Byeman wanted us in their Christmas picture...don't we look cute in our "ho, ho, ho" outfits? We all did ok with getting lots of pictures taken..but then I got tired of it (& hungry!) and started to cry. I think my cry was kinda contagious because both Lexi & Elisabeth started in on it too. Hopefully they were able to get at least one picture that worked!!

Are we done yet? I am tired of this, Mommy!!

Look at Me!

Here is my latest trick I've mastered! I can't be totally trusted sitting on my own for any length of time because I tend to topple over...but I'm getting better as each day passes. Yeah for me! I like this perspective a whole lot better then laying on the floor. Another new thing I've done in the last week or so is rolled over from my belly to back. I've been able to roll from my back to belly for a couple months..so this is great fun for me. I am mobile!! I've been known to roll around to get my toys on my own...freedom!! Watch out Mommy & Daddy...next up: crawling!

Jaelyn and Elisabeth!

It's "girl power" for the Byeman clan...three granddaughters in the span of 6 months! Here is Elisabeth Anna..Tom & Sarah's little one! Isn't she adorable? She weighed in at a whoppin' 9 lbs 6 oz and was 22 inches long! She's got great pinchin' cheeks!

Jaelyn is starting to give kisses...here she is showing her LOVE to her new cousin! We've still got to work on the technique a bit...but oh so cute!

Jaelyn going in for another one...poor Elisabeth...she couldn't get away from all the slobber! Daddy had to hold back Jaelyn's hands or else they would have been all over Elisabeth.

Our little Pumpkin!

Isn't Jaelyn the cutest pumpkin you have ever seen?! We took Jaelyn to BCRC's "Light up the Night" event. If was fun...but more fun for Marcus & I....thanks to her we got some candy!!

Here are some of her pumpkin friends at church: Emily is 12 days younger than Jaelyn and Levi is Emily's cousin (he's 1 yrs. old).

I'm surprised that she didn't mind having the hat on her head...what a trooper! In a couple years she'll really have fun at this event...lots of stations for crafts & carnival like games...plus a bouncy house to play in!!

Random Pics...

"Why does Daddy think it's fun to put his hat on me?"

"Goodness Gracious aren't you Sweet"...that's what Jaelyn's shirt says....and of course I would have to agree! And of course her thumb is always close by if she needs it!

That's our daughter...ALWAYS smiling & giggling! You are such fun, Jaelyn....even if you are teething!! :)

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Jaelyn!

Wow...I can't believe it's been 6 months already! Where has all the time gone? It seems like it was just yesterday we were bringing Jaelyn home from the hospital! In 6 short months, Jaelyn has become quite a little person! It seems within the last couple days she has really become a jabber mouth~and I thought she was a big talker before! She is definitely practicing her vocal cords and seeing what they can do. You can really tell what emotions she is feeling by the way she sounds...happy, frustrated, mad, tired, etc. She is still a thumb sucker & always has it close by if needed; loves to play in her jumper or stand on her activity gym (with mom or dad's help); rolls over from back to belly, but doesn't like being on her belly for any length of time; favorite toys: crazy looking giraffe, monkey, links, and rattle; still sleeping ~10-11 hrs each night (going to bed between 7:30-8pm) and taking 3 naps during the day; trying to figure out the whole rice cereal thing, but loves sitting in the high chair; continuously drools; is a stinker when it comes to trying to watch TV; is such a social bug-she can't nurse if someone else is in the room making any sort of noise...she has to know what's going on; still covers her eyes with one arm while she nurses; loves the bumbo seat; gives full belly laughs when daddy makes a certain noise; smudges and/or takes daddy's glasses off; still sleeping on her back in her zip-up sack with a fan blowing for white noise.

Jaelyn's stats at 6 months:
Weight: 15 lbs 11 3/4 oz
Length: 27 inches
Head circumference: 17 inches

Whew...a lot has changed since we brought our little bundle of joy home 6 months ago! What a precious gift from God! We LOVE you, Jaelyn!

Remlinger Farms

This afternoon we drove to Remlinger Farms to go to the pumpkin patch. It was such a beautiful Saturday....the sun was shining and the temperature was in the upper 60's! It almost seemed a bit too warm to be fall! The leaves on the trees are gorgeous...such vibrant colors...and with the mountains in the background it was beautiful! As you can see from this picture, Jaelyn is getting so strong~she LOVES to stand if she has something to hold herself up with!!

Jaelyn is sporting some shoes for the first time...she didn't seem to mind having them on. She enjoyed being carried by Daddy in the bjorn while we were at the farm~but once we got back to the car & put her into the car seat, she was fast asleep. What a trooper!!

The pumpkin patch was over 1 acre! There were so many pumpkins to choose from!

Yummy...Rice Cereal!

Here is a look at Jaelyn's first experience with rice cereal yesterday! Not a whole lot got in her belly, but she was definitely curious about what was going on & opened up her mouth real wide for the spoon! She loved sitting in her high chair. I'm sure she will get better at it as we both figure out how to do this together!

Hmmm....not too sure about this stuff, Mommy!

Jaelyn's 1st Pumpkin!

Grandpa Byeman grew this pumpkin in his garden! It weighed 75 lbs!

Always smiling! This is so cool, mommy!

Jaelyn loves to stand...even on a pumpkin!

More smiles!!!

Oh, boy....I don't know about this mom. I think you are enjoying this a little bit more than I am!! Daddy, thanks for carving my first pumpkin! :)