Four Months Old!!

Caroline Jean- 4 Months Old

We are having so much fun with our sweet Caroline!  She continues to be so happy and content- she is truly a joy to be around.  The boys still love on her lots- Henry talks to her in a super high pitched voice and gives her lots of hugs.  Tommy is really good to her too.  She always looks a little skeptical when Henry gets too close, but she lights up when she sees Tommy- he can always get a big toothless grin from her.  I can't believe she is already four months old- it's going by much too fast! 

Caroline weighs 13lbs, 6oz (35%) and is 24.6" long (53%).  Her head was 16 1/8" (50%).  She is pretty comparable in size to Henry at this age.  At four months Henry weighed 13lbs 8oz and was 24 1/2" long and Tommy was 17lbs, 8oz and was 26 1/2" long.  Both boys' heads measured 16 1/2".

What is Caroline up to at 4 months?

-She sleeps from 5pm- 7am (14 hours), occasionally waking up at 5am to quickly eat and then go back to sleep.

-She takes 2-3 naps a day- usually a morning nap from 9am-11:15am, an afternoon nap from 12:30-3pm and sometimes a quick cat nap from 3:45pm- 4:15pm or so.

-She eats 5-6 times a day.

-She loves her activity center and watching her brothers run around.  She seems much more engaged in what is happening around her lately.

-She still sleeps all swaddled up in her swaddle blanket.

-She puts her fingers in her mouth, but can't quite get her thumb in there!

-She is in size 2 diapers and mostly 3 month clothes.  She is just starting to wear some of her 6 month clothes. 

- She is SO ticklish and has the most adorable giggle!

Christmas with Great Grams and Gramps!

On Wednesday we went to Grandma and Grandpa DeVries' house to celebrate an early Christmas.  Grams had a wonderful luncheon and the kids were so excited!  It was a fun afternoon of celebrating and it was nice that the boys got some gifts early- it helped with some of the anticipation!

Great Grams and Henry

The boys both opened new trucks.  They were so excited- they both slept with them in their beds that afternoon!

Tommy opening his truck

The Henrys :)

Great Grams and Gramps with their great grandchildren:  Tommy (5), Caroline (3 months), Andrew (1 month), Henry (2), and Ella (1). 

Andrew and Caroline sharing the bassinet

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We've done lots of Christmas activities over the last few weeks, but here are just a few pictures that I found on my camera.

This picture is hard to see, but Tommy was in the church Christmas program last Sunday.  He is the only angel without a halo :)  He did a wonderful job and we are so proud of him.  His favorite song was Angels We Have Heard on High.

Tommy decided to have Christmas PJ day at home one afternoon so all three munchkins got on their festive jammies!

Kisses for babe (that's what Henry calls his sister!)

Caroline's Baptism

Last Sunday, December 18th, we had Caroline baptized.  It was an extra special celebration because she was able to share it with her cousin Andrew.  It was a wonderful day spent with family and reflecting on the many blessings the Lord has given to us. 

 

  

Caroline wore my baptism dress, a coat that I made for her, my locket, bracelet, and ring.  Her blanket was a special baby gift from her Great Grandma and Grandpa DeVries.

Caroline Jean

In front of church.  Caroline cried during the baptism- she was hungry!  The boys actually did pretty well in front.

Caroline was part of the children's message.

Our gang with Papa and Nonnie Plaisier

The tables all set up for the party!

Grandma and Grandpa Batts with Ellie (8), Tommy (5), Henry (2), Caroline (3 months), Audrey (10), Annaliese (7), Bridgette (5), Madelyn (11), and Andrew (2).

The Batts

The Plaisiers

Four generations- the Plaisier family with Grandma and Grandpa DeVries

Great Grams and Gramps with Andrew and Caroline

It was a long day and this is as good as it got :)  Our Family

Nonnie and Papa with Caroline and Andrew

My little loves

Life hasn't been too exciting lately (which is a good thing).  We've settled into a routine that works for us for right now and that's all we can really hope for at this point in time :)  Tommy's loving school, Henry loves life, and Caroline loves just watching all of the activity around her.  Here are some pictures from the past few days at the Batts' residence. 

Henry is big into doing everything himself.  It takes at least three times as long, but he is determined to assert his independence.  When we get home he removes his shoes, his socks, his coat, and for some unknown reason- his pants.  He won't be told any differently.  So- he spends a lot of time looking like this :)

Tommy built this snowman all by himself the other day.  He was really proud of it and I was proud of him!  He's getting so old!

Henry all bundled up in the snow.

 

Caroline modeling some of her Christmas clothing!

Precious girl

I thought this was cute- I was snapping pictures of Caroline and Tommy wanted in on some of the action.  Look at the difference in the size of their feet!

Elf on the Shelf

 We are doing the "elf on the shelf" for the first time this year.  It is so much fun!  The boys love to run downstairs and see where the elf is each morning and he's a nice reminder for them to behave during the day.  The elf watches the boys during the day and then magically flies to the North Pole each night to report to Santa.  When he gets back to our house he finds a new spot to sit.  Here are some of the places we've found our elf so far:

Three Months Old!!

Caroline Jean- Three Months Old

Caroline just keeps getting more fun each day!!  She is such a smiley girl- she'll smile at anyone who takes the time to talk to her.  It's fun to have a baby that is so quick to show us how happy she is!  The boys continue to love on her and are extremely protective of her.  Henry gets upset if anyone teases about his baby.  We love watching her little personality grow and develop.  We love our little girl!

Her unofficial weight at 3 months is 12.6lbs.  Henry's unofficial weight was 14 1/2 lbs.  I don't have a weight for Tommy at 3 months.

What's Caroline up to at 3 months?

- She sleeps from 5pm- 7am most nights- occasionally she still wakes once around 6am to eat before falling back to sleep. 

- She eats 5 times during the day and is getting much faster at eating!

-She takes a short morning nap, a longer afternoon nap, and sometimes still a third cat nap.

- She wears size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes.

- She loves her activity gym and often lays under it for an hour or so. 

- She will laugh fairly easily for us now- it's cute to hear her little giggle and she is very ticklish!

- She still sleeps all swaddled up in her swaddle blanket and can't fall asleep without it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving was a wonderful day spent with family and a needed opportunity to reflect on all of the many blessings that the Lord has given to us.  We are so very thankful!

Wednesday night we went to my parents for a pre-Thanksgiving celebration and a birthday celebration for Trevor.  Kristina, Dan, and baby Andrew stopped by for a little while and we were so glad that they did!  The size difference between Caroline and Andrew is amazing- it's only about 3 months and 3 pounds, but it makes a BIG difference!

The babies in the cradle.  This didn't last too long- Caroline kept kicking her cousin!

Caroline's first Thanksgiving!

 

Continuing with family traditions, the boys worked on their gingerbread houses after dinner.  Henry actually sat still and worked on his for about 15 minutes and Tommy was really into it this year.  It's always so funny to see how their attention span and abilities change from year to year while working on this project!

Henry

Busy

Thanksgiving afternoon was spent at Nathan's parent's house.  The boys also decorated gingerbread houses there.  Here's Tommy- busy working again!

Henry put about 10 candies on his house and ate about ten times that much!

Thanksgiving night we met up with my dad to go bowling.  We decided to chance taking Henry with and I'm so glad we did!  He had a great time until he got too tired at the end.  The boys had a bumper lane and had a wonderful time!

Yea!!  Henry was really good at cheering for everyone!

Tommy watching his ball.  He decided that he was the "bestest of us all!"

Happy Thanksgiving!!