Life Lately...

We have a lot going on around here and have been really busy! Here are a few snaps of what has been going on around here...

 This girl LOVES the snow! I had to finally go in and watch her from the window.

 Maggie decided to see what this white stuff is all about!

 They have been sleeping in the same bed together. Having their own rooms might be a little harder than I thought! :)

 While I was downstairs doing my bible study one night these characters were sending me selfies! Love living life with these special people!

 Sweetness!

 Getting my boo-boo cared for! She has her "surgeon bag" and when in need we call her. I had a boo-boo and she made sure to take care of it. She also informed Ben that if he gets hurt at work to just call and I will drive her over to the church and she can run in and bandage him. Such a sweet and funny girl!

While I was doing school with Ellie, Quinn decorated her sister with stickers! Mia didn't seem to mind.

 We have been playing lots of Candyland! These girls are OBSESSED!

Views like this do not get old!

First Real Haircut

Ellie got her first real haircut the other day. She got a little trim when she was a baby. My hair stylist told me to wait as long as possible to get her hair cut since once you start their hair is never the same. Ellie needed to just even out the ends since Daddy likes his girls with long hair. Overall, it was not a huge change but cleaned up her hair a little. She did great and had a great time as we turned it into a Mommy and Ellie date. I am trying to get better with rotating one on one time with the girls out of the house. We try to do something special and sometimes combine it with errands. The girls don't care what we do as long as it is time with just Mommy. They are starting to understand that we take turns and they always know whose turn is next. I would like to make it a little more consistent and as we settle here and get our home that will be easier to do.

After running an errand at Target we got a special treat! She was so sweet and thankful. She thanked me for spending this special time with her and told me it was one of her best days ever! (By the way, she has a lot of best days ever, so I am not sure where this one ranks! ;)...)

The Big 5!

Mia hit 5 months old and Ellie is excited that Mia is 5 just like her! ;) She is continuing to develop right on par with her age. She is now 12 lbs 1 oz and is in the 15th percentile for weight. making her about the size of Ellie at this age. She is eating solids 1-2 times a day as well as her milk to try and keep her on the scale. She loves the fruits and sweet potatoes, but hates squash. She is very happy and giggle and smiles all the time. She loves watching her sisters and also loves to sleep. This month she will be starting physical therapy. At our 4 month appointment our doctor noticed that her left side of her head was starting to flatten to the point that her ear was shifted on the left to not be even with the one on the right. We have noticed for a while that she favors her left side when sitting, sleeping and playing. At 3 months we talked to the doctor about trying to keep her off that side and we have worked really hard at always having her up right when she is awake and putting barriers on her left side while she is in the car seat or swing to keep her from laying on that side. She has started to comply with the barriers instead of wriggling a way through to stay on her left. However, after a month there was no change in her head shape. It did not get worse, but there was not vast improvement. Our doctor recommended us to a specialist, which we went to last week and Mia has been diagnosed with deformational plagiocephaly and torticollis. Basically in the last 2-3 months she was in the womb she wiggled her way down in my pelvis to prepare for delivery and got comfortable. Her head then pressed on my pelvis making her neck muscles on the right side stiff making her favor her left side. This has lead to a flattening of her head on the left side. In the big picture this is a very small condition and can be corrected in 2-3 months time in 95% of cases. What does this mean for our Mia? She will need to go to physical therapy for the next 2-3 months. She will go for the next 3 weeks every week and then go every other week to work on stretching her muscles in her neck on the right side and retrain her in favoring that side as equally as her left. We will do our exercises at home all week and most likely she will get a craniocap, basically a helmet, to wear for 23 hours a day for the next 2-3 months. We are taking the next two weeks to work on her therapy and see if we notice a change in her head and if not she will be fitted for her helmet. Prayers for her would be greatly appreciated. The doctors and therapists have been amazing and are a huge praise in this! The specialist even told me that the pediatrician we chose upon recommendations from those at church is the best in the twin cities and is a huge blessing to us. They have assured us that in no way is this having an effect on her brain and that she is completely normal developmentally for her age. It is simply a cosmetic issue. She is at the perfect age to correct this diagnosis. In no time, we are encouraged, that she will be completely healthy and we are extremely thankful that this has been the only serious health concern in our girls' lives. The next couple of months will pose challenges with schedules, exercises and appointments, but Ben and I want the best for Mia and will do whatever it takes to get her that.

She is the sweetest thing! She has also gotten to that magic age where she is beginning to love being with her Daddy. If she follows in her sisters' footsteps, in one more month Daddy is going to be the hero around here for her!

Sold!

We have officially sold our home in Charlotte! We have now turned the last page on that chapter of our lives in Charlotte. It was the first home Ben and I shopped for and bought together. We bought it under construction and were able to pick some of the features. We moved in there with minimal furnishings and just the two of us. It seemed like a huge place with many empty rooms. Seven years later we left with full hands and hearts as we had grown from a family of two to a family of 6, as we include Maggie in all our stats around here. Our home had no empty rooms and in many ways was beginning to bust at the seams. It is a home that saw a lot of life change. It was a home that has many memories and hosted many events in our lives. It is a home we brought all our babies home to and was a place for many firsts for them. It is a home that Ellie will always remember and talks about a lot. We have trusted God in all aspects of moving here and some times I wondered if we would ever sell this home as everyone loved it but the size of the yard was our one hindrance and something we could do nothing about. As always God provided for us and our home is selling at the perfect time. We are excited to begin our house hunt here and are praying and searching for the exact home that we know we are to have!

Our First Minnesota Christmas and New Year's

This year was our first Christmas in Minnesota and was also Mia's first Christmas! We were hoping for a white Christmas but the snow decided to hold off until the next day and we have enjoyed it ever since. We had a very relaxing Christmas filled with new and old traditions. We enjoyed Christmas Eve with our new faith family and a relaxing Christmas Day celebrating the birth of Jesus. This year has been a whirlwind for our family and God has walked with us every step of the way. Our cup is overflowing with all He continually blesses us with and has blessed us with this past year even in the moments of deep valleys He was always with us. This time of year is always a time that as a family we look back and reflect on all that has happened in our year and we are looking forward to this next year with immense excitement. Where we are is such an amazing answer to so many prayers we have had over the years and reflecting on how He has walked with us every step always leaves me in awe each year. Thank you to all who have prayed for us and walked with us this past year in our struggles and joys and thank you for continued prayers for our family as this year brings new friendships, the search for our new home and many firsts including sending our sweet Ellie to kindergarten this coming fall. We pray you all have a happy and healthy new year!

 Christmas Movie Night

 Annual Gingerbread House

 So happy Daddy doesn't have school anymore! This was our first year he did not have school and he was able to help us construct our house. He built the walls and the girls did the decorating!

 One night we went out to see the lights while wearing our jammies!

 Christmas Cookies for Santa!

 Christmas Eve

 Mommy finally broke down and got a bow for one of the girls. I am not a bow person but she was really cute with it on.

 These three! If they only knew how much they make our hearts melt!

 Christmas Jams! Every year I make the girls Christmas jammies and last year Ellie got to pick out the fabric. Unfortunately, I do not have my sewing machine this year as it is in storage, so I bought them some matching jams.

 Santa visited! It is a pretty tall task to find an Anna doll, but after a little hunting Quinn's request from Santa was met!

 Christmas Baby (She wore some red jammies to match her sisters!)

 Stocking time! (Santa, a.k.a. Daddy, found two great headbands for the girls and they loved them!)

 Opening gifts from Franny! My GrannyFranny spoils these girls and they love it! She always sends the best clothes and they immediately start putting them on as soon as they open them!

 Celebrating Jesus' Birthday!

 Our baby enjoying her jumper!

 Doing a little New Year's cooking!

 New Year's Eve Game Night and Ice Cream Sundaes