Photo Series: 5 Months!

Our baby was 5 months on Friday!

This last month was full of Christmas goodness and ringing in the new year! Frank was a trooper with the holiday festivities but was happy to be home for a few days with just Mom. I should be getting those Christmas posts up here soon...

One of the exciting things we began this month was rice cereal. I was a little tentative since I couldn't believe my BABY was already getting to the point of having solid foods! To say I was having a tough time with this would be a bit of an understatement. However, he reaches for EVERYTHING and watches us eat so intently so the cues were there. We have been taking it slow (for his mamas sake) which has been nice. He eats like a champ!

As I said, he reaches for everything, loves to eat his toes, sleeps on his side, is getting ready to roll-over, and loves to stand. Not to mention that he loves to sit-up and it won't be long before he won't need help. (Wow, can this whole growing thing slow down? I feel like I am going to be saying this for the rest of his life!) He continues to amaze us with his progress. Within the past week, he has started reaching for me! Not all the time but sometimes he reaches out for me and that warms my heart. I won't lie and Steve will agree - this little boy is a mamas boy and I love it.

While he is doing great with everything, we still have tough nights of sleep but he is getting better. We also still get "power hours" every couple days. In time, I know this will all get better but it can be tough after a long day of work (for either of us) but we tag team it and it passes. Then we get our smiley giggly boy back.

Kirby and Frankie are two peas in a pod. Frankie lights up when Kirby is around and Kirby loves when he gets Frankie love. We still have to ration the Kirby kisses since Kirby would just give Frankie kisses all day if he could. Although Kirby loves his pet boy, he also cherishes his nights with Mom and Dad. He curls up right in between Steve and I in bed and continues to be a snuggle pup all night. I love it - Steve likes it until he is almost off the bed with no covers. :-)

Here some of the many photos I took this month. It was tough to get photos in the chair since he didn't want to stay sitting and he is too long to fit laying down! We made it work. The best smiles came once Steve was home - he sure loves his dad.

Looks a little rough in this photo but is
showing off his muscles

Dad comes home and out come the smiles!

Kirby was over the photo session

The Boys

 
 

Meeting Santa

We were fortunate enough to not have to wait in mall lines to introduce Frankie to Santa. Our Santa encounter included a yummy brunch, lively music, and family. The MCC has a Children's Christmas Party each year that features a brunch, face painting, music for the kids, and of course Santa. This was the first year we attended and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was low-key and there was plenty of space for the kids to release energy.

Two of our nieces, Madison & Ava, joined us with the help of my Mom, Jim and Nancy. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and the girls loved the music! Although, when Santa came out they appeared like they were going to be brave and sit on his lap but as they inched closer, it was a no go. Frankie on the other hand, didn't care. Santa held him and he just stared at him and then back at us like "what is the big deal?". It was great.

I loved the afternoon and I know for Steve, Frankie, and I it will become part of our family Christmas tradition. Here's to hoping he does as well with Santa next year!

Merry Christmas!

Miss Madison did great getting her face painted!
Although, she stuck pretty close to Grandma the
whole time.

Ava was right after Madison and did awesome!
Both girls had cute sparkly snowmen on their face.

The Grandma's enjoy the music with the grandkids

Both girls loved Frankie

 

Frankie & Santa

 

Grandma with 3/5 of her grandkids

Grandma & Grandpa with Frank

All the kids loved looking at pictures of
themselves on the phone

Steve's head tends to get cut-off in most photos...

Cereal

While we were home over Christmas, I got the highchair out and Steve picked up some rice cereal and we got ready to give Frank his first taste of "solid food". Now, this isn't really solid food - more like milk with a little bit of rice. But, it was a big step! Especially for me. The night before we fed him his first solid food, I was having a tough time with how fast my baby was growing. Good thing I have an amazing husband to comfort me (he always knows how to make me feel better). Plus, I still have my nursing time with him which is our time that I love.

Frank was an all-star with eating rice cereal! At first he wasn't so sure but we never had any big spit ups - I call that a success. We kept feeding him until he stopped showing interest and started to get a little fussy. He made Steve and I proud parents with how he did. It also made us realize that when he is a teenager - we are going to have issues keeping enough food in the house.

Since the first time feeding, we have continued to give him rice cereal every 2-3 days. We are slowly easing into it and not forcing anything. It seems to be agreeing with the babe - and with us. Not sure when we will try other foods but for now, we will stick with cereal.

First taste

Really wants the spoon

SUCCESS! Got the spoon. 

Start of 2014

While 2013 was a wonderful year for this Singer family, 2014 is going to be a fantastic year!

Reflecting on 2013, we were very blessed in so many ways throughout the entire year. It is crazy how much happened - especially since August! While there were some very hard and challenging times during the year, we are better and stronger because of them. In this house, we focus on the positive since life is too short to dwell on the negative!

2014 is starting out with an awesome change! Steve decided to move to the banking world to be a Corporate Tax Specialist. It is such a great opportunity for him and we are all excited about it! This will be the first tax season in over 5 years that neither Steve nor I will be in public accounting - it is going to be odd/great to actually spend time together over the winter months.

Keep checking back for more updates on life in the Singer House!

Oh, and I will get photos and stories from Christmas posted here soon. :-)

Thanksgiving Festivities!

I have only been writing this post for like a month but here it is!!

Thanksgiving is Steve's FAVORITE holiday only slightly ahead of Independence Day. I think what puts it on top is football since there is so much football over Thanksgiving. Why is it Steve's favorite holiday you ask? It has food, football, family, and beer (in no particular order). We definitely fulfilled each of these criteria over a 7 day span.

Thanksgiving 1 was celebrated in Mound with Steve's parents. It was fitting that the Vikings played the Packers that day as Jim is a big Vikings fan and Steve is a die-hard Packers fan. Neither expected the game to result in a tie. Both were a little disappointed. The food was delicious as always! Jim does a great job making the meal with Steve as his helper. Nancy and I took care of Frankie while they cooked. The day was great. Everyone ate lots and the game provided some entertaining commentary between the guys regarding plays and missed calls.

Thanksgiving 2 was spread out over several days. We packed up the Captiva and first made the drive to Marshall, spent the night, then progressed onward to Bonesteel with my Dad to meet up with most of the Herrmann clan. It had been a while since the farmhouse had so many small kids running around (5 5 and under 5!). Despite the let-down that Dish didn't have the Packer game on Fox - it was a fun time. Although, Steve would disagree since he had no way to know what was going on in the game other than the ESPN ticker. The thing about the farm is you are cut off from the world a little bit. No internet, no cell service, but there is satellite TV. It is refreshing to disconnect from the world for a few days.

Grandpa even made the trip from the Haisch House down to the farm to see all of his great-grandkids and a few of his grandchildren. It was great to see him with Frankie. He loved holding the little guy and Frankie enjoyed hanging out with him. As you can tell by the photos below, they just enjoyed each others company. Stephen and Sarah weren't able to make it down to the farm due to moving into their new house in Sioux Falls, but Mom brought Brody and Sophie. Sophie LOVED helping with the twins as well as with Frankie. She was an expert on helping change diapers - it was so cute. Brody is so full of energy and too smart for his own good. Steve enjoyed teaching him a few football receiving routes and the kid caught on pretty quickly! The twins also enjoyed Frankie or "baby" as they called him. Ava enjoyed giving him (and everyone) hugs but Madison wasn't too sure. Mom and Dad attempted to get a picture of them with all 5 of their grandkids but, as you can see from the photo, it didn't go so well. Maybe next time!

Steve, Frankie, Brody, and I ventured out in the cold to show Frankie the farm and see the cows. Clearly, it was exactly what Frankie wanted to do. :-) I loved it. I can't wait to bring Frankie back when it is a little bit warmer and he is a little bit bigger - I think he will really have a great time on the farm.

We only stayed a short while before we headed back to Marshall. Although, we did stop in Sioux Falls to introduce Stephen to his nephew and check out the new place. I am so excited for Stephen, Sarah, and the kids to be closer! Kansas was a little far but Sioux Falls will be a doable distance; hooray for family being close!

Frankie was an all star traveler until we loaded up the car to make the final trip from Marshall to Maple Grove - about half way he decided he was done with being in the car. Which for a 3 month old and probably 14 hours of driving in a few days he did well. So the last 1.5-2 hours were a little tough but we cranked the music and tried to make the best of the situation.

It was such a great first thanksgiving for our newly expanded family with so much to be thankful for! I could list everything but the list would be too long. All that matters is each day I am so thankful for what I have and the people I have in my life. God is good.

Enjoy some photos. :-)

Thanksgiving 1:

My world.

My boys checking out the world

Thanksgiving 2:

Great-Grandpa and Frankie hanging out on Thanksgiving

All the great-grandchildren with Great-Grandpa Don
and Grandma Deb

Sophie making sure Frank wasn't too cold

Grandma Deb & Grandpa Dan attempting to take a picture
with all 5 of their grandchildren. 

Sophie loving up Frankie with Grandma!

Hanging with sweet Ava

Frankie all bundled up to go outside.

Checking out the cows

Visiting Grandpa at the Haisch House