PAIGE: Five Years Old

RICHLAND, WASH. -- Oh my little Paige. I can't believe she's five and old enough for kindergarten. Her birthday was just a few days before the cut-off... and we debated whether we should make her wait another year to go to school. But Paige is ready. So ready. We are doing online school indefinitely here in Washington due to COVID and it makes my heart ache thinking of how much more magical kindergarten would be in a school classroom instead of on a Chromebook at home. 

I wish I could joke around and play with this cute girl all day long (her little sisters are demanding, or I totally would). She is such a ray of sunshine. She loves to laugh and to make people laugh. She's a big goofball and loves to play and is always up for an adventure. She's starting to read pretty good, if only her 30 second attention span wouldn't get in the way. She loves to dance and play dress-up and play dolls ALL DAY LONG with Marin (and sometimes Britta).  

RAEGAN: ONE YEAR OLD

RICHLAND, WASH. -- My baby is one! We celebrated by going to a park and playing all morning. She had chocolate cake to kick it all off... of course she loved it. 

TWELVE MONTH STATS: 

• It's September, and she still hasn't had her one year appointment (I had it scheduled, and the doctor canceled it). 

EATING: Is still the MESSIEST eater. Has a sweet tooth, just like most of her sisters. 

SLEEPING: We are down to one nap a day. She usually sleeps for a solid two hours, sometimes longer. 

WEARING: Twelve months and 18 months. 

INTERESTING TIDBITS: She runs on her tippy toes with her hands in the air, and her knees kick way up high, like she's trying to be a prancing horse. It's the cutest thing.

She is a mama's girl through and through. 

She has been a cranky-pants the last few weeks with teething and getting her one year old molars. 

She is generally happy and loves to smile and laugh. Paige and Isaac can tickle her better than anyone and make her laugh so hard. 

Britta likes to "play" with her which generally ends with Britta pushing Raegan to the ground. When she's too rough with her we tell her to be nice and she'll respond, "But I love her!"  

Loves reading books... especially interactive books like pop-up books or books with tabs that lift. Her current favorite is Wheels on the Bus. 

When she doesn't get her way, she throws whatever is in her hand and often throws herself backward (sort of like a back head butt). I've gotten a few fat lips this way when her head collides angrily with my face. 

RAEGAN: ELEVEN Months Old

RICHLAND, WASH. -- My little baby is turning into a little toddler right before my eyes. She's practically ditched crawling for her new confident method of getting around... Raegan is a WALKER. She walks everywhere and so proudly and confidently. She looks like a little drunken sailor, teetering and wobbling, and it's so cute. 

ELEVEN MONTH STATS: 

• None this month

EATING: Is the MESSIEST eater. I guess that's what I get for just putting food on her tray and letting her eat herself. Sometimes I wonder if she gets any in her mouth. She has this new thing for loving ice. If we give her a drink of water, she likes to reach into our glass and take out ice cubes. 

SLEEPING: Sleeps through the night. Two naps still, but some days just one when I can get her to last that long. 

WEARING: Twelve months. 

INTERESTING TIDBITS: 

Points to her mouth, eyes, nose and ears and says what they are. It's very cute. "Ahs" for eyes, "Is" for ears and "Muh" for mouth. 

She has started to copy a lot more the things her sisters do or say.... for instance, Britta was playing in the curtains with her today and popping out and saying, "BOO!" And Raegan instantly started saying "Boo!" too. Marin was singing some tune in the car today and Raegan started voicing the same melody. 

She likes to shake her head no when we offer her something and sometimes even says, "NUH!" 

Loves reading books. 

Such a mess. Every meal. 

RAEGAN: Ten Months Old

RICHLAND, WASH. -- Raegan has gotten braver this past month and has been taking steps. She's doing great!  She took her first boat ride too. I thought for sure she'd zonk right out or hate being in a life jacket, but she stayed awake and loved it. 

TEN MONTH STATS: 

• NO STATS THIS MONTH

EATING: Loves food. Makes a massive mess every meal time. She reminds us of a puppy sometimes... if she sees us eating food, she'll come right over to us and stare and point until we share. She also likes to crawl on the ground and search for crumbs. 

SLEEPING: Sleeps through the night. Still has two naps a day-- a morning nap around 10:30 and an afternoon nap around 3:30. 

WEARING: Twelve months

INTERESTING TIDBITS: Loves to be outside. Hates being in the car. During all this COVID-19 lockdown, we haven't gone many places, so she's gotten used to not being in the car for longer than about 10 minutes. If she's in there longer than that, she let's us know (through tears and screeches) that she's not digging it. 

Loves being silly with Isaac. Isaac reads to Marin and Paige in their room every night, laying on the ground, and Raegan likes to crawl all over him and play games where she falls backward on him-- waiting for him to tickle her. 

Loves to explore anything and everything-- every nook and cranny of the house, every cupboard, every little item left on the floor... she is so curious. 

Britta likes to give Raegan some tough love. When Raegan ends up in tears, I'll tell Britta to tone it down or to stop, and Britta will say, "But I LOOOOOVE her!" They have a funny relationship that is fun to watch blossom. 

She is definitely a mama's girl. If Isaac takes her away from me, she'll cry in protest. 

First boat ride

I think this is her "you caught me" face. 

RAEGAN: Nine Months Old

RICHLAND, WASH.-- Oh, sweet Raegan. I swear she just keeps getting cuter and cuter. How is that possible?  We all love her so much.  She's standing up so confidently. We keep thinking she's going to take a step any day now, but it hasn't happened yet. This COVID-19 stuff has thrown us all for a loop. But it has been so nice being home all day and not having to wake her up from a nap to pick up anyone from school. Raegan has been in heaven having 24-7 access to play with her big sisters-- they all smoother her with kisses and attention ALL DAY LONG. 

NINE MONTH STATS: 

• 18.62 lbs (61st percentile)
• 29.5" (98th percentile)

EATING: Loves eating real food. She especially loves to eat all by herself and is loosing interest quickly in baby food and us spooning food into her mouth. She just wants to grab it off her high chair and down it. 


SLEEPING: Sleeps through the night most nights. Still has two naps a day. A morning nap around 10 and an afternoon nap around 3:30. 

WEARING: Nine month and twelve month


INTERESTING TIDBITS:  So far she says: Mama, Dada, Book (sounds like Buh), Ball (Bah), and other things that aren't always so discernible.

She got pretty sick at the end of March (I was worried it might be COVID-19). After a few days of really high fever, she broke out in a rash, and then we realized it was roseola. 

Got a much-needed haircut. After several comments from people about her unruly/uneven/long hair, I realized it wasn't as cute to anyone else as it was to me. ha  So, Isaac gave her a cut and it looks a billion times better. Sadly, it took away all her pretty dark hair (I love dark hair) and now her hair is a light brown. 

She does not like grass. If we sit her down on the ground outside on grass, she immediately sticks her feet straight up in the air so she doesn't have to feel the grass blades on her feet. It's pretty funny.

LOOOOOOOVES to swing! 

First Easter

First Easter, posing on the front porch 

Loves having baths with her sisters

This is the position she takes as soon as we set her on the grass. 

RAEGAN: Eight Months Old

RICHLAND, WASH. -- What a difference a month makes. This girl is rapidly growing up! She has two new teeth-- these ones are her front top teeth, she crawls like a champ, pulls herself up and cruises on everything and can even stand for a few seconds by herself and... this might be the death of me... but she's trying to go up the stairs. Heaven help us. She even got a new haircut... her long, stringy locks were getting pretty bad looking. So, in an effort to make her not look homeless, Isaac cut off all her shaggy hair. 

EIGHT MONTH STATS: 

• NONE THIS MONTH

EATING: Loves eating real food, and downs baby food like nobody's business. Gets excited to have any food in her hands to pick up and devour. 


SLEEPING: Sleeps through the night, but sometimes wakes up REALLY early... you know, 4:30 or 5. Thankfully she'll go back to sleep for a few hours. 

WEARING: Nine month and twelve month


INTERESTING TIDBITS:  

Started crawling at the beginning of March. Just a few days later she started pulling herself up on things. First on me while I was sitting or laying down on the ground, and then on anything and everything she could grasp onto. 

She loves our playroom... particularly standing up and pulling everything out of the dollhouse. 

She is a busy, busy girl and puts EVERYTHING in her mouth and likes to rip up anything she can. 

Her sisters are all little mothers to her. Marin wants to carry her everywhere (ugh), Paige likes to sit down with her and pull her all around while in her lap, and Britta likes to feed her as well as tell her what she should and should not be doing. 

She got sick last week. She had a fever for two straight days and nights. One night it got up to 102.4. She was miserable. After the fever went away, she got a weird rash up her tummy, back and neck that lasted for a few days. Isaac thinks it was roseola. 

This was one of those days she wasn't feeling too hot. Poor girl. 

RAEGAN: Seven Months Old

RICHLAND, WASH. -- We sure love this girl! She got her first tooth-- her first two teeth, actually. Right on the bottom. Is starting to rock back and forth getting ready to crawl. Can now sit up from laying down, all by herself. 

SEVEN MONTH STATS: 

• No stats this month

SLEEPING: Solid morning naps, solid afternoon naps. Most days. Sleeps pretty well at nighttime. Wakes up once in the middle of the night sometimes, but not every night. Is usually awake by 6 or 6:30, but will go back to sleep for another hour or two usually. 

WEARING: Some six month clothes, some nine/12 months too. 

INTERESTING TIDBITS:  Rocks back and forth on her hands and legs, wanting to crawl so badly. 


Loves looking at books-- and tearing them if they are tearable. 

She gets so excited when she sees me, it's still my favorite thing. Big huge open mouth smile, and wildly waves her arms and legs. 

Cries when I set her down to play and walk away (usually to get something done). 


EATING: Loves food and drinking juice (or water) from the water bottle. Gets really excited when she knows she's about to get some food to eat.