5 months old!

Today Penny is 5 months old!  My how time flies!  We didn't have a well-baby checkup with the doctor this month, but we did want to know how she measures up in size compared to her brother, so we weighed and measured her at home. Penny is a solid 16 and half pounds and is 26 inches long...Cooper was 16 pounds and 26 and half inches long.  I can attribute this to her very healthy eating habits! New this month:  Penny is trying hard to scoot across the floor!  She seems to get frustrated that she can't get very far and David spied her up on all fours once.  Penny can now sit up supported in the high chair.  Though we haven't started rice cereal just yet (the doctor told me not to rush it), we will be very soon. She is on a solid 4 hour feed schedule, which is a nice relief from the 3 hour feed schedule.  She can also sleep through the night, though she doesn't do it every night.  I am not complaining!  I think she is doing great for a 5 month old!  Go Penny!

Old Friends Mean New Friends in this New Year.

This month David and I got to reconnect with some old friends.  The neat thing is our friends now have children as well, which means Cooper and Penny have some built-in friends they (and us) are just getting to meet. We got to see Casey and Kristin, and finally meet their little boy born earlier this year.  A few weekends ago we attended Brent and Brandy's kids' birthday party.  Earlier this week, my friend Kristen came for a visit with her 3-year-old in tow. Cooper had a blast playing with all these kids!  I think it is really cool that our kids can grow up knowing the kids' of our friends. A few shots from the last month:

Coop coming down from a ride at Chuck E. Cheese.  Can you tell he enjoyed the birthday cake?

Running around at the aquarium with new friend Drew.

Penny, the picture of perfect behavior at the aquarium.

Building "sandcastles" in the back yard.

These two wore each other out playing for two days!

Four Months Old!

I know this post is a little late...but Penny turned 4 months old on December 27th.  As it was right smack in the middle of the holidays, it is easy to see why I am just getting around to my monthly Penny report.  We had our four month check up last week, where Penny weighed in at 14 lbs, 10 oz, and was 26 inches long.  This puts her in the 75th percentile for both.  She is one big, strong girl!  Some of Penny's accomplishments over the last month include rolling over from back to tummy and from tummy to back, pushing up with her hands whilst on her tummy, and remarkably, pulling herself to standing! (While in my lap.)  She is also making  "aaaahhhhh" and "mmmmm" sounds and she loves to smile at us and occasionally we get a little giggle.  

Penny is such a happy little girl!

Penny at play...chew chew chew!  Just like her brother did at this age, Penny is already teething!!

Cousins!

After Christmas, we spent a few days in Houston visiting David's side of the family.  Cooper and Penny both enjoyed being with Nonnie and Cooper had fun playing with his cousins.  As I remember how much I enjoyed my cousins as a child (and how much I still like them all), I thought Cooper and Penny's cousins deserved a shout-out on our blog. We hope they can come and visit us soon! Below are some shots of everybody enjoying the park near Nonnie's house. I tried to get shots of the kids together, but they were all too fast!

Cooper on the move!

Nonnie and Penny!

Brayden!  Such a great big cousin!  He liked playing with Cooper and holding Penny.

Brianna!  Such a little mama...she liked holding Penny and Cooper followed her around like a puppy!

Brycen! He shares a love for Thomas the Train, and he even shared his toys with Cooper.

Merry Christmas 2010!

This year we were happy to spend the holidays in our new house, with our new baby.  Hooray for Penny's first Christmas!  She has really brought Joy to our World, and we are so thankful for our sweet baby girl! This was also Cooper's first Christmas to kind of understand what was going on.  He loved to sing the Christmas songs he learned in school, and would always shout, " SANTA CLAUS!" when ever he saw him. We celebrated in our usual fashion:  Chili and tamales with the Grahams on Christmas Eve, then present-opening at our house on Christmas morning, followed by more presents and dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Graham's house. On the day after Christmas, we traveled to Houston to be with the Kirks.  We had a wonderful holiday!

"'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house..."

"Not a creature was stirring...except Mom and Penny!"

As I was saying..."Not a creature was stirring..."

Good Morning...and Merry Christmas!

After the mayhem... 

Cooper loved his new toys, especially Rocky the Crane, Tiny the Dinosaur, and Super Why....yes, I sound like an ad for PBS.  It's all we watch, I swear.

Opening presents is hard work!  I need a nap! (says Mom)

We can go to Grandma's...after I finish this new Thomas the Train book!

Dad and Penny at Grandma's house.

Grandma and Penny.

And last but not least, our nephew Phil....Bah!  Humbug!