6 months!

Molly Jane is 6 months old!


six things about MJ - one for each month she has been part of our family
1. Big smiles. Her adorable smile lights up our life. Molly is such a happy baby and her bright smile warms my heart every day.
2. Loves her toes. MJ loves to play with her toes. If she is wearing colorful socks she will chew and pull until she gets them off and then alternate between eating her toes and eating her freed socks. This morning she was wearing pants with elephants on the toes and she managed to pull her pants all the way off.
3. On the move. rollin' rollin' rollin' scooch scooch. She is not crawling yet, but she is quite mobile. It always surprises me how far she can get when you look away for a minute. Especially if there is the proper motivation (sam's balloon for instance)
4. Loves toys. MJ loves playing with toys. She is particularly fond of anything that makes a crinkling noise, any kind of string or ribbon, and just about anything she can put in her mouth.
5. Loves her brother. She keeps an eye on him at all times. She giggles when she watches him. She especially likes it when he is being tickled. She also has complete control of him. If she gets a diaper change, he wants one too. If she is being rocked, he wants to too. If she has a toy, he wants it too. You get the picture.
6. Sweetie! Molly is such a sweet natured baby. She is a great snuggler and has a way about her that just melts your heart.

I love my Molly Jane!

Giraffe Pirate

We use our family membership at the zoo fairly often. It is definitely one of our favorite family activites even in the chilly winter months. We all get bundled up and see the monkeys, lions and Sam's current fave the giraffe pirate.

About six months ago, Sam was in the Health Sciences bookstore where there is a large skeleton. I pointed to it and asked Sam, "Whats that?" He looked at it and thought about it for a minute and then his eyes lit up and he said "pirate!" He recognized the skull from the skull and crossbones pirate flag. When he saw this giraffe skeleton, it became the giraffe pirate. Now this always has to be our first stop at the zoo. It has become even more exciting than the giraffe slide.

Sam and Dad looking at the monkeys.

MJ in the lions den

Any excuse for a party

After a week of the sick, we were ready for a little diversion. And seeing that it was MJ's 5 month birthday, we decided to have a little birthday party. I know parties are not customary for a celebrating that five months have past since a little one entered the world, but I was reading a book to Sam that morning and there was a cake with candles in one of the pictures and one idea led to another. Party supplies were acquired from the dollar store (balloons, cupcakes, and candles- no need to break the bank for this one). And I promise, a good time was had by all!


If I had only known that the dollar store sold race car balloons earlier... You can witness true happiness right here with the release (and the repeated catch and release) of this balloon.

As is customary at birthday parties, we sang happy birthday and blew out candles. Actually we did this several times, and the birthday girl very obligingly let her big brother do the honors.

However, she did not want to give up her cupcake. She lovingly caressed it and then smashed it and happily licked the icing from her fingers. She already has a sweet tooth!

As a birthday treat, we gave MJ her first real solid food - if you can call rice cereal solid or food. After the taste of icing, I'm not so sure she was impressed. But, she is a very independent little one and is already insisting on feeding herself.

PS Grandma, if you click on the collage pictures you can zoom in for a better look :)

Sick Day

Today was a sick day. After spending a sleepless night comforting a sad little man with a temp of 103, two of us were ready for a day of lounging on the couch and watching movies...one of us got to.


MJ did her best to keep her brother entertained. She got a good laugh for this one.

Road Trip

Okay - so I am back from my blogging vacation.

Last weekend we took a road trip to Utah to visit family. It was so fun to visit and get acquainted with all the new arrivals. We were able to visit both of my grandmas and introduce them to our little MJ. It was also fun to break in our brand new family car. (Yes we bought a new car over winter break!! I'll have to post a picture of it later!)
This little cutie is my cousin Kylee. She is 6 weeks older than MJ. They were the cutest pair jabbering at each other and sucking on each others hands. I was so glad I got to meet this adorable bundle of joy and see her family who I have missed so much since they moved away. Ty got out his geotrax train set and Sam thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He has been taling about Ty's trains ever since. He also loved conducting (waving around a piece of spagetti) and singing Karaoke with Cassie. Sam thinks that they are the coolest kids in the world.

This photo just cracks me up. I love all these little cuties squished together on the armchair holding each other up. These are two of my cousins children, Jocelyn and Kaden. Jocelyn is 5 days younger than MJ and Kaden is 5 weeks younger. Their moms (my cousins) came up for a visit this summer and were were quite the pregnant trio touring about Seattle. I think we were all in our third trimester by then.
This is Sam and his cousin Gavin. Gavin was very generous in showing Sam all his cars and trucks. Sam was in toy heaven.
This is my sister Kara and MJ. Aren't they an adorable pair? They really do just adore each other. Kara came to visit me at BYU every year during her mid winter break, and I have managed to go visit Kara every year she has been at BYU. My children adore their aunt and I do too. Love you sis!

If you really need more pictures, there are more Utah pict posted here:

Just a word about grandmas. I love mine! They are both amazing women. I am so glad that we were able to make the trip down to see them. Grandma Jones (paternal grandma) is raising three teenage grandchildren with an energy amazing for a 78 year old! My Molly Jane looks just like this side of the family. Everyone comments on her "jones blues." I was so excited to show my grandma how much she looks like my dad as a baby. There was universal agreement.

Grandma Roush (my mom's mom) and I have always been special buddies. Grandma had major surgery on her carotid artery the week we came to visit. We were a little afraid she wouldn't have recovered enough for us to get to visit, but she is recovering wonderfully and we were able to have a great girl talk visit and introduce Molly to her. I think they are also instant buddies. Love and kisses to you, Grandma.

O Christmas Tree

When the kids and I were finally able to come home to Keenan, (we had been gone about 3 weeks) he surprised us with a beautiful noble fir in our living room. It is by far the biggest most beautiful tree we have ever had. Sam had a great time decorating the tree so we decided to spread out the fun and we let him put a few more ornaments on every night before bed. Molly enjoys staring at the lights. She will sit in her bouncer in front of the tree and babble the cutest stories. I love Christmas trees! They just make me feel so happy and festive!

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