Janie is 3 months!

At three months old, our lil' Gem Baby is so much fun! She has changed so much since joining our family and while we are sad to see the newborn phase pass so quickly, she is getting into an amazing stage of development. She loves interaction and is such a smiley kid! She even has started to giggle when tickled under her chin or when Mommy or Daddy make silly little sounds. Right now a breathy"hea" gets her going. She kicks her legs a lot and enjoyed playing with the toys in her baby gym. She will reach out and touch things attempting to bring them to her, which is a big change from just a few days ago. Janie will ride in her swing watching the mobile and lights for short periods but still prefers to be snuggled. She likes a pacifier but also has recently realized just how much fun she can have with her own hands in her mouth. Tummy time (longer than a few minutes) and putting weight on her legs and "standing up" seem to be her least favorite things to do.

Our sweet baby remains to be a good eater and sleeper. Once she shows us her sleepy signs, she goes to sleep easily when swaddled. She will sleep after around 2 hours of wakefulness (some short and some longer naps) and continues to sleep through the night. Mommy and Janie go to sleep around 11:00 and she wakes up around 6:00 to eat and then will typically go back to sleep until 8:00! What a blessing this is since I need all of my energy to keep up with Sister Clara. Without a doctor visit this month, we do not know how exactly much weight Janie Bug has gained, but the rolls and double chin she has attained are fitting of her love of feeding.

The best development of all seems to be her continued interest in her big sister. She eats up all the attention Clara gives her and always is interested in whatever Scout is busy doing. Clara is always so gentle and kind with Janie. At times she ignores her, but at this point all of the attention she does give is positive and very helpful. She will recover her when Janie kicks a blanket off, give her a pacifier when she fusses and go sit and talk to her or show her a toy when she wants to be entertained. Our sweet girls are such blessings in our lives!

Christmas Dresses

Santa & Christmas Party

The Michael Family with Santa at the 2010 Issaquah Mom's Group Christmas Party

Our first opportunity to see Santa this season went better than past years. Check out these links for a good laugh: 2008, when she freaked out, and 2009 when she wouldn't get close to him without clinging to Daddy). At first, Clara was fairly apprehensive about hanging out with the jolly ole' elf...

Luckily he was patient and took his time to make her feel comfortable.

And before long she allowed him to pick her up - Hooray!

Janie was not phased at all by hanging out with Santa, but she was far more interested in watching the children run around and play at the party.

Holiday Pals

Davis came to play today and the kiddos made Christmas cards with their photos on them. Both are such angel faces!

When I asked to take a photo of the two of them together, this is how they posed on their own. At playgroup this morning, when we stood up to sing some of our action songs they started holding hands and dancing in circles together - really wish my camera was ready then!!

Eventually I was able to get this posed shot of them... So precious! They are such great pals!

Decorating Their Tree

One of Clara's new favorite "princess dresses" that she likes to dress up in during the day is this jumper of mine that my Grandma Wanda made for me when I was around Clara's age. Since she was wearing it (proudly) the night we planned to decorating the kiddo tree, we put Janie Bug in her little jumper from Grandma Carol too!

It is SO hard to get a decent posed picture of both girls. If we can have them both awake and happy at the same time to even try, it is a struggle to get Clara to hold still somewhere near her sister, let alone to look at the camera and smile. We have depleted our tricks and bribes and have resigned to the fact that photos like the one above are about as close as we get for a while.

Last year Grandma Wanda gave us some ornaments she no longer uses for Clara to decorate her tree with. There are of fun soft felt and fabric ornaments that Scout loves to pick them out and hang all by herself. We have decided to make this part of our family holiday tradition as an advent surprise.

Even at 11 weeks, little Janie gets to participate in the process as Clara tells her about some of the decorations she has picked out. Janie, fascinated by her big sister already, watched Clara with wide eyes and shared some sweet smiles. It is amazing how fast these sisters have fallen in love with one another how much interaction really is taking place. Clara is so protective and helpful with Janie. Recently a friend of mine was holding Janie at a little party and after a minute of two Clara politely asked, "Can we have my sister back now, please?" So sweet!

~ Christmas Baby ~

What a smile... We are so smitten with our lil' Gem!

Janie in her sweet little snowflake dress from Kevin's cousin Brenda and her husband. I was so tickled to capture this sweet smile from our little girl!

"Can I open a box, Mommy?"

As we celebrate our third holiday season as a family, we have begun to realize that we are creating our own holiday traditions. This year we welcomed "Twinkle" our Elf on the Shelf who watches everyone in our household and reports back to Santa and we found this fun advent calendar for the girls.

It took Clara a while to figure out the concept of only opening one door a day, so several times a day we were hearing the big question, "Can I open a box?" We have tried to change up the surprises from sweet treats to fun activities. Watching Clara enjoy this new tradition feels like just as much of a treat for us as it for her. I imagine Janie will love this just as much in years to come!

Sharing Some Janie Cuteness...

Janie received this sweet flower headband from a friend of mine from high school (Julie) and we had to create a coordinating outfit to take a few photos. Just too cute!!

Apple Cup 2010

Husky Girls on game day! Some of the MANY outfits from Auntie Michele!

We had a small gathering at our place for the Apple Cup game, including some Coug fans! It made for a lively game and of course the Michael Family was happy with the outcome... a UW win!!

Janie and Jack don't let the rivalry impact their friendship!

Hayden & Logan Fisher later in the night in their adorable footie jammies.

Apple Cup Playdate

Scout and Gem say, "Go DAWGS!!"

To celebrate the Apple Cup, Clara, Janie and Mommy hosted an Apple Cup themed playdate with the Issaquah Mom's Group the Friday before the big game. We had other 5 families and a total of 12 kiddos, all of which happened to be Husky fans!

Wish I would have remembered to take photos earlier in the playdate, but it was fun to see everyone in purple and gold!

We had a few Apple Cup themed snacks.

UW Babies: Janie and her pal, Tysen

Clara and her pals Morgan and Makenna cheering for UW!

Trimming the Tree

When we got home from Chehalis for Thanksgiving, Clara was excited to meet our new friend The Elf of the Shelf, that Mommy had told her about. We decided to name him "Twinkle" and

enjoy the game of finding where he hides every morning.

Clara was excited to get the house decorated for Christmas. We were too, because lil' Scout has still been a little hung up on Halloween and we thought if we transformed the house and started getting in the Christmas spirit, her seasonal orientation would change gears as well.

At this age it is interesting to find out the things Scout does and does not remember from a year ago. For instance, surprisingly she still remembers going to Great Wolf Lodge with her cousins last Thanksgiving, but we have to re-explain about the Christmas Tree and ornaments. She does remember Santa, but forgot all about Rudolph. And it is no surprise that Clara knew just what to do with the candy canes!

Putting ornaments on the tree with Daddy!

We put all of the plastic ornaments in a bin and let her put them on the bottom of the tree wherever she liked. She was delighted and would say, "How about right here!" Most of the ornaments were clumped in one section and Mommy couldn't help but spread them out a little after bed time.

Busy gal

Once Clara was asleep, Miss Janie woke up and we put on her Baby's first Christmas ornament. She seemed to enjoy looking at the lights and sparkles from the tree and garlands.

Daddy & his little girl


Mommy & Janie Caroline

Once we had the ornaments hung, Kevin placed the star on top on the tree to finish it off. The tree is very similar to last year's tree, but it still turned out beautiful and makes our home feel cheery and festive!

Janie's first visit to G.G. & Papa Bob's

While Daddy went fishing with Papa Mark, Ryan & Matt (and he brought back this 14 lb. steelhead), Mommy and her sweeties took a visit to Grandma & Grandpa Swanson's, marking Janie Bug's first trip to their home. Clara took a nap for most of the visit, which allowed them some time to get to know little Miss Janie.

She enjoyed making faces with Papa Bob...

...And found Grandma Wanda's arms cozy and perfect for a rest!

Thanksgiving in Chehalis

~~~ SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR ~~~

The snow started to melt and on the morning of Thanksgiving we were able to get out of our neighborhood (after 5 days of being cooped up inside) and take the trip to Chehalis. This was our first mini road trip since Janie's arrival and we had some apprehension about traveling with a newborn and a recently potty trained child in the inclement weather on a holiday weekend, but the trip went far better than we expected!

When we arrived, Grandma and Grandpa Stevens were really excited to see the girls. And Clara was really excited to go in and play with all of Grandma and Grandpa's toys! Soon Taylor arrived and after lots of hugs, they both enjoyed the toys together.

Big Hugs!

Janie Caroline in her special 1st Thanksgiving bib.

The newest reasons to give thanks:

Cousins celebrating the first Turkey Day together!

Mommy & Clara Natalie: Being Thankful!

It wouldn't be a Stevens holiday without football!

Our Bird

Mmmm.... Clara enjoyed her meal.

So did Uncle Matt!

Kevin and Grandma Wanda!

Matt, Ryan & Danielle

Grandma and Grandpa Swanson - I was thrilled to capture this tender moment between the two of them. They truly are an exceptional couple!

Brendan taking out Uncle Ryan!

Grandma Jan bought all of her grandkids Christmas PJ's and we decided it would be cute to get a photo of them all together. What a feat that turned out to be!

These are the best shots we got...

Even with all of the kiddo chaos, we all had a wonderful day together and are reminded of just how much we have to be thankful for. A healthy, happy, loving family is the best blessing of all!