Water

Lately, Levi has been very interested in my water. He just couldn't wait to get his lips on my bottle....although he won't take his own. He definitely objects when we take it away from him.

Rainy Day Crafts

Monday, we had unbelievably warm weather. With the 50 degree temperatures came steady rain. We opted to stay inside to play. We played with many of Jude's new Christmas gifts and got into arts and crafts. Jude's coming a long way with his coloring. Gone are the days when he just wants to organize the crayons or markers. He's now discovered that when they come in contact with paper they leave color behind. (He's also discovered what happens when they come in contact with fingers....)

5 Months

Another month has gone by... I can't believe I'm already 5 months old.

This is what I've been up to:

I'm wearing all 6-12 month clothes. I've been packing on the lbs. and roughly weigh 17 lbs.

I still like to challenge my Mommy by waking up once or twice through the night. It's mostly a comfort thing. But crying seems to get me just what I want. Mom isn't really conscience enough to think about holding my next feeding off a bit longer.

My feet are totally fascinating. I look forward to seeing them every time I get my diaper changed. It won't be long until I'm coordinated enough to get them into my mouth.

As far as coordination goes.... I'm able to get most everything that I can grab into my mouth. Watch out... Lately, it's been my big brothers silverware. Who can blame me? They are cool colors with rubbery handles to gum on. I just love that texture.

If only my parents would let me try to put food into my mouth. I've been laying the hints on pretty thick lately. I really would like to try something solid. I watch the food going into their mouths and move my tongue around as if the food were making it's way over to me. But to no avail, I'm still on a strict breast milk diet. They say I have to wait until I'm 6 months old.

Despite my liquid diet, I continue to get stronger every day. It won't be long until I'll be able to sit up all by myself. I don't really like to lay down much because I don't want to miss out on any action. Jude is so entertaining, I just can't wait to play with him.

Often, I let him know just how much I want to play with him by screeching at him. I'm quite loud when I make this noise. My screech is one way to get everyone's attention. It's just a happy screech! Thank goodness he's getting used to all of my racket.

So Stinkin' Cute

There are those days when we're ready to call it a night at 5:00 PM because it's just been that kinda day... but then there are the moments when Joel and I look at each other and just smile. We're able to say that we have the cutest kids on the planet because we are their parents. Doesn't every parent have the right to say that?






So cute right?

Helping Daddy grade some papers....



Watching Jude take some "Big Bites" out of his dinner.... don't worry Levi, you'll get a chance soon enough....



Lately, Jude has been into playing with his baby doll. He's named him Ben. He likes to put him to bed on the stairs and feed him breakfast in his highchair. (This is one way to get Jude to eat his Cheerios in the morning.)

Snow Storm

This week we had back to back snow storms. Monday we had about 10 inches of snow, and Tuesday another 6 inches or so fell. We've been having a blast sledding, snowshoeing, and of course shoveling.

Late Nights with Daddy

Levi's bed time has been getting earlier and earlier. Although he's hitting the hay sooner than he used to, he's usually up later than Jude. He relishes in his alone time with his Daddy!

Sticker Chart

Jude is starting to understand a bit of delayed gratification. He's been getting stickers to put on his chart by using the big boy potty or going #2. (Otherwise, he tries to hold it in...making his chronic constipation worse.) Way to go Jude!

Saturday Night

It was an exciting Saturday at the Hartter's household.... a night filled with firsts.

It was the first time that our new friends the Sessler's came over for dinner. Jude loved playing with their son Owen. They even played trucks together the next morning in our church nursery.



Jude had his first night in his "Big Boy Bed." We turned his crib into a toddler bed. So far so good. He has had no problems falling asleep or staying in bed. Surprisingly, the transition has been a smooth one. We realized on the way home from MI that Jude can easily get out of a Pack'N Play.... any day he could realize that he could crash out of his crib.



Levi enjoyed his first game of Skip-Bo. He was a big fan of the colorful cards. Unfortunately his score for the night was 0-2.

Saying Goodbye

All good things must come to an end.... These are the last of our photos from our trip to MI.

We got one last chance to see Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Eleanor the day before we left.


Here's a picture of Levi with his namesake....

Jude got a chance to show Grandma some of his new cars.

Both Grandma and Grandpa got in on the action....

Grandpa even had a few cars of his own to share with Jude....very impressive. Thanks Grandpa!


Getting our last hugs in....

So sad to go....
Thanks for everything Mom!

Warming Up

i
Jude can only last about 45 minutes outside before getting cold. He becomes frustrated because he's having so much fun that he doesn't want to leave....but on the other hand, he's so cold that his little hands begin to hurt. Such a dilemma....

So, after our sledding extravaganza, we went indoors to warm up a bit. We decided to hit up one of our favorite local burger joints, Ray's. Yummmm "local lunch."

Winter Wonderland

Jude had such a great time sledding at Duncan's Woods that we couldn't resist going back. Grampy joined us for some good 'ole fashioned fun! We all got our turns taking on the slopes....




Just hanging out....
Let's race....





Still hanging out...