Christmas 2014

We had a great Christmas this year!  Braden and Logan are old enough now that they were really excited about it.  Of course, it was Kellen's first Christmas and he had no idea what was going on, but I like to think that he enjoyed it.

We started the season off just after Thanksgiving with decorating the house.  The boys enjoyed helping decorate the Christmas tree.

That weekend, our Elf on the Shelf showed up at the front door.  The elf watches the kiddos during the day and then when they are sleeping he flies back to the North Pole and reports back to Santa if they have been nice or naughty.  The boys named their Elf Ninja, of course.  Every morning he would appear in a different location and they had a lot of fun finding his new hiding places and what he had been up to.  Here are some of their favorites:

Of course, they had a visit with Santa...

We celebrated Christmas with my family the weekend before Christmas and it was really nice to have everyone together.  My parents and brother Matt flew in from Arizona.

Christmas morning was a blast in our house.  Here are some pictures and our video from that morning:

We also celebrated Christmas with Kevin's family the weekend after New Years, and here are some photos from that:

Another Month Has Passed - Kellen Is Two Months Old!

Kellen was two months old on Tuesday!  Which means I'm that much closer to going back to work... 

Stats

• Weight: 11 pounds 1.4 ounces (19th percentile)
• Height:  22.75 inches (34th percentile)
• Head Circumference: 39.5cm (60th percentile)

Development

• Has found his hands and tries really hard to get them in his mouth constantly. He is successful sometimes.
• Is smiling a lot now and will smile when he hears our voices and sees us
• Makes noises all the time.
• Follows objects with eyes.
• Turns head toward sounds.
• When on his stomach he lifts his head off the ground and looks around.
• Can roll from stomach to back.
• Nurses every 2-3 hours, depending on the day.  We started giving him formula at bedtime just to see if he can tolerate milk products.  I was convinced he had a milk allergy just like the big boys did at his age, but now I'm not so sure.  This is the one way to find out!
• Takes several naps, usually around 45 minutes in length.  Occasionally, he will nap for a few hours, but not too often.
• Nighttime is a bit of a challenge still.  He goes to bed somewhere between 9p and 1030p, just depending on when he is ready to eat.  He was sleeping for up to six hours without waking up, but the past few days it's been no longer than three hours.  I'm hoping it's just a growth spurt...
• Received his two month vaccinations yesterday.  So far, no bad reactions.

Likes and Dislikes

• Loves to sleep on his back with his head turned toward the left.  This is causing his head to be a bit flat on that side.  We try and try to lay him down on the opposite side, but he hates is and just turns his head.  Only so much you can do...
• Loves the mobile in his crib.  He will lay there and coo at it for a very long time which is particularly helpful when I need to get something done.  Like shower.
• Likes his activity mats and the bouncy seat.
• Enjoys the swing in small amounts of time.
• Likes bath time now.
• Loves his big brothers, especially when the talk and sing to him.
• Continues to hate the car seat.
• Does not enjoy tummy time so he just rolls onto his back.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past month:

Family Photos 2014

We had our annual family photos, as well as Kellen's newborn photos, taken recently by Meredith Johnson of Shutterbugg Images. As always, we had a blast and they turned out fabulous!  In no particular order, here are some of our favorites!

Logan did not like the idea of this picture...

Fall Fun!

Luckily this fall has brought us fairly mild weather!  We had a week or so of unseasonably cold temperatures, but as I sit here writing this, we have our windows open and are enjoying 73 degrees in the middle of October.  Not too much to complain about!    The great weather has allowed us to do some outdoor activites that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to do with a one month old child.  Braden and Logan enjoy anything and everything that is outdoors, so overall it's a win-win.  

This weekend we had two days of adventure.  On Saturday we headed up to Traders Point Creamery for their annual Oktoberfest celebration.  They have food, music, activities, hay rides, pony rides, and pumpkins.  The boys had a blast riding on the tractor and the ponies.  We let them pick out mini pumpkins.

On Sunday we went to Hogan Farms here in Brownsburg.  They have a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkins.  They also have a farm with sheep, llamas, cows, pigs and chickens.  The hay ride takes you back to the barn where you can pet the animals.  They also did a sheep dog demonstration where we watched the collie heard the sheep.  They boys thought that was AWESOME.  They also had a corn maze, but we didn't do that with the kiddos.

If the weather is nice next weekend, maybe we will go apple picking and then the outdoor fall activities will be complete!

Kellen Is One Month Old!

On Saturday, Kellen was one month old!  It doesn't seem at all possible that he entered the world an entire month ago... Time goes by SO incredibly fast!

We are loving every minute with Kellen.  At one month old, he is a fairly easy going little guy.  We don't go back to the pediatrician until he is two months old, so I have no idea how much he weighs or how much taller he is.  However, he feels heavier and he is noticeably bigger.

He is on a fairly consistent schedule of nursing every three hours or so during the day.  Overnight, he usually gives us one long stretch of sleep (around five hours) and then another shorter stretch (about two or three hours).  He is really good about nursing and going right back to sleep, so I actually feel pretty rested most days.  He is starting to be awake more during the day, but usually for no more than an hour at a time before he naps again.

He definitely recognizes our voices and has started to turn toward sounds.  He likes to nap in his swing and likes to play in the ocean activity mat.  He does not like being in his car seat and still screams through bath time.