July

Jaxon loves his GG

And so does Sierra.  I remember doing this very same thing with my grandma!

Sibling love!

I don't want them to ever get past this stage!

Blueberry picking!

Jaxon was a little too busy eating his toes to help:)

Sierra's ballet class!

Big boy can hold his own bottle.

Olive is so good with her babies!

Farmers market berries!

Fourth of July

Jaxon was impressed with the fireworks

Sierra did not enjoy the loud ones

Otter Beach with Daddy!

Sierra's first sparkler:)

Home Depot little builders workshop

Two of the most beautiful smiles in the Universe

More Otter Beach!

Jaxy takes a break from watching Sierra swim

Philomath Frolic Parade

And Jaxon takes a break from watching the parade

Sweet ZoZo loves

Sierra watching her first Thunderstorm (well the first one she was awake for)

Daddy's birthday project for Sierra!  Fixing up the play structure.

She was so excited!

"Look!  My very own stairs!"

"Thank you daddy!"

So happy she didn't want to leave:)

Sierra 3rd birthday cake made by Grandma Shelly

Birthday festivities

Jaxy sitting like a big boy

It was a busy month!  I took almost 1100 pictures of the kiddos in July, so this is only a small sampling:)  To start the month off, Jesse ended up taking the two days off after the 4th of July so he had a five day weekend!  It was wonderful for all of us!  We took Sierra lots of places and Jess got to do quite a bit of things that he doesn't usually get to take part in because we do it during the week when he is at work.  We took the kids to downtown Corvallis on the fourth to check out the vendors and the parade but weren't terribly impressed.  We did end up getting some delicious berries at the farmers market though.  We also went to the bounce house, Otter Beach, and Sierra got to build a mini truck at Home Depot.  We had a wonderful time and were all sad when Jess had to go back to work.

Jaxon had 3!!! teeth come through this month.  He was really the same happy boy we were used to for the most part but his sleep pattern suffered and he/we had some rough nights.  He also suddenly started talking in ba ba and ma ma's on the 1st of the month instead of in squeals.  One afternoon he just started jabbering out some syllables and never stopped.  He also started reaching to be held mid month.  This is one of the most precious things of early development in my opinion.  When they can reach their tiny chubby hands up for you to hold them it absolutely melts your heart.  He's also working on getting up onto his hands and knees but not usually at the same time and is sitting without too much support by the end of the month.

Sierra started her first ballet class this month.  It's one night a week for 30 minutes.  To be quite honest I dreaded the first class because I had no idea how it was going to go.  She hadn't had her third birthday yet and most of the other girls were 4 and 5 year olds.  The class went okay, she was quite distracted by the other girls and had a hard time listening to the teacher.  But for being almost 3, she did pretty well.  The next couple of classes went so so - and sometimes I think I expect too much of her - but I know that this socializing is important as well as learning to take instruction from someone other than mommy and daddy.

Jaxon started on cereal this month and is doing great.  He opens his mouth for bites and keeps it in his mouth very well .  On the 13th we saw his PCP and even after some formula for the last several weeks he did not go up on the charts.  The Dr said he thought I should switch to formula full time and said, "He's almost 6 months old - a lot of babies get switched to formula at 6 months."  I went home and cried.  My mommy instincts were screaming that this was not the correct answer to Jaxon's low weight "problem" and while I continued to pump and give him 1 to 2 breast milk bottles a day with formula added, I refused to quit nursing.  I scheduled an appointment with a lactation consultant who said that even mothers in other countries that are basically starving themselves can still provide nutrition for their babies.  She said low milk supply is rarely a real problem because within a couple days you can boost your production up by nursing more frequently and taking in more fluids etc.  Basically she said that unless I was taking a medication that was causing my milk supply to be low, that she agreed that going to a bottle was not the right answer.  At this same time we also are in the process of switching to a new PCP that we have heard great things about. 

It may sound crazy to some people that I would go against what my Dr suggested but Jaxon is a healthy happy boy.  He is thin and so was Sierra.  My siblings and I were all thin and so was Jesse.  Breastfeeding is really important to me and I plan to nurse Jaxon until his first birthday just like I did with Sierra.  This doesn't mean that I didn't agonize over what I felt was best for my baby, but most of the time our mommy instincts are pretty spot on!  In a country where obesity is a huge epedemic - I find it frustrating that the kids that aren't chunky are pressured to be so.  This seems like the wrong approach to me.  If Jaxon was sickly or failing developmentally I would possibly think differently about my decision.  But for now I'm going to do what comes naturally to a mommy.  I'm going to provide nourishment for my baby with the boobies that God gave me:)

Sierra turned 3 this month.  I'm not sure how it happened to be honest.  Yesterday she was a baby!  We had a low key birthday party with family and friends.  We didn't go anywhere or rent any fun toys and Sierra had a ball.  She was more interested in playing with her two children guests than eating cake or opening her presents.  She was a super good girl at sharing her new toys and we were really proud of her.  I find myself staring at her with my mouth open these days when she spouts off some grown up concept.  She is such an amazing big sister and I'm proud of her transition every day.  I hope that she realizes how proud I am of her and how much she is loved.   She will be my baby girl always and forever!