Nona

Well, I more than missed a 4 month post about Nona. Now that she's nearing 5 months, you're probably all wondering what she's up to!

She is such a smiley girl, especially when she wakes up in the morning. She is quite good at playing independently, but is much happier to interact with people (though she does already have fear of new people).

On the plane ride back from Michigan, Nona found her feet! Since then, she is very busy grabbing them and putting them in her mouth. When she's in cloth diapers, she can't get them in her mouth, so I think she prefers being naked or in disposables.

Watch out world! I think we have a strong little girl! She can sit several seconds propped on her hands. I definitely don't leave her like that (except for this picture) because she falls over a lot, but I think she's quite strong. She also brings her legs underneath her at times when she's on her tummy. One time she even moved forward! 

Her smile just melts our hearts!

"I just love my feet!"

"Hello!"

• At her 4 month check-up, she weighed 12 lbs 14 oz (40th percentile), was in the 15th percentile for height and the 75th for head circumference. 
• She was sleeping through the night between 2 and 1/2 months of age and about 4 months of age, but since then she's been getting up 2 times a night. I don't know why the shift, but it did coincide with us making her nap in her bed rather than the swing. I think she's getting enormous now with her extra night eating.
• She usually takes 4-5 45 minute naps a day and screams every time she goes in her bed. Sometimes it's only for 2 seconds, sometimes for 5 minutes, but she doesn't seem to be able to fall asleep without screaming. We're hoping that as she gets older and consolidates her naps that they become longer. Right now it feels like she's in and out of bed all day.
• She likes to giggle
• She can roll over back to front but doesn't do it that often (she's been rolling front to back for over 2 months)
• Her eyes are still blue (yay!). 
• Her hair is growing back in and is very similar to the color Jude's used to be (his is getting lighter now). 
• Most people who see her say she looks just like Noel.

I think I'm starting to understand the phrase "they grow up so quickly" with Nona. That was not our experience with Hazel and Jude. Every milestone was so much work and changes seemed to come slowly at first. But, Nona just does the things she's supposed to do without a whole lot of work on our end. She's growing like crazy and changing every day and sometimes I just wish she would stay her baby self. 

The Powells visit

Once again, sorry for the weird order of the pictures. I need to figure out what's going on. Anyway...

We were so happy that the Powells came to visit us for a week!!!! We had such a good time and it was so fun getting to know Madelyn and Audrey a bit more. I loved seeing the kids interact, having time to hang out with Emily and Jason, and have our kids get to know more of their family. It was such a great week.

 Hazel actually let go of my hand to hold Madelyn's hand. If you know Hazel, you know that that's amazing! She's very clingy. 

 On the ferry to Port Townsend. We've been wanting to go for a long time, but it's hard to find time with all that's going on. Thankfully, having family in town encourages us to get out more too!

 We found a little park in Port Townsend. Hazel loved the slide!

 Jude loved the steering wheel...

 ...and the slide.

 Jude was very tired and actually fell sleep in the stroller after playing at the park. This is a very rare occurrence. 

 The cousins having a picnic in Hazel's room.

 Hazel loves the water and doesn't care at all that it's freezing cold. She would've walked right in if I would've let her.

 Emily and Audrey at the beach.

 Madelyn, Jason and Jude.

 Taking a snack break.

 All the black shells along the water are mussels. Whoa. 

 Audrey was having a rough time here. That's what a time change and cutting a tooth will do to you!

 Hazel and Madelyn.

 Madelyn and Audrey were great with Nona. I loved that they liked to entertain her so much! 

 Jude learned to smile for the camera. Woohoo!!!!!!!

 Silly Madelyn.

 "This ferry ride is so fun!"

The kids loved riding on the ferry and I'm so glad we finally went to Port Townsend. It'd definitely be easier to navigate without 2 double strollers, but it was fun nonetheless. I am looking forward to going back without kids someday. That's a big someday. :)

Thank you Powell family for taking the time to visit us. We loved having you and can't wait to see you again!

Michigan Trip Part 4

We spent 2 days visiting the Snyder's new home. What a nice new place!

 Hazel and Jude were fans of the swings at Nana and Papa's house. 

 Trying to get a good Dykema cousin picture proved to be quite challenging.

 Grandma with all her grandkids and great-grandkids! How special!

 Unfortunately, Jason had to work this day and Brian took the picture, so we are missing 2 key people in this photo. Other than that, it's a great photo (thanks to Brian)!

The day we flew out, I was able to meet up with a few of my college friends. It was SO hot, but I'm so glad we were able to make it work! The 4 of us live in 4 different states, but we all happened to be around at the same time. This was definitely a highlight for me. 

Though the traveling was very difficult, we are so glad we were able to make the trip. We packed a lot into 2 weeks and did lots of things I forgot to even take photos of. I saw high school friends and their kids, lots of family, college friends, spent time at the beach, the museum, and more. And we even managed to sneak out on a date (well, Nona came with, but it was still fun)! The weather was incredibly hot, but we didn't even mind since it's rare to have a hot day in Oak Harbor. 

We miss all of you and apologize for the photos we forgot to take! 

Michigan Trip Part 3

We spent one morning at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum with the Powell family. 3 of the 4 kids had a good time. Jude was struggling with exhaustion.

The bubble table was a hit with Hazel, Madelyn, and Audrey!

Jude is nearly sleeping on Aunt Emily.

Playing around at Grandma's house.

"I'm ready for the beach! I have my hat and my calculator!"

"Hello!"

We were able to meet up with Joey and Katie Novak, our dear friends from Pasadena who now live in Michigan, for an afternoon at MSU and dinner at Panera Bread. It was so fun to meet their newest addition, Calvin, who was born just 4 days after Nona! See below for another picture from this day.

It was great to be a part of a baby shower for Hillary while we were in Michigan! Now we're just waiting anxiously for the baby to be born.

Jett enjoyed being a part of the games at the shower.

Our other dear friends from Pasadena, Tony and Christen, now live in Michigan and we were able to see them a couple of times and meet their adorable son, Samuel!

Hazel loved playing with the ball at Tony and Christen's house.

Jude's gearing up for the beach with a little r & r.

I'm not sure why these pictures are so out of order, but here are the kids at the museum again. Jude at the wheel? Scary.

This was pretty much the only thing Jude didn't cry at while we were at the museum.

"Hey! We have one of these at our house too!"

It was so great to have Grandma and Grandpa Dykema finally meet our kids! We were glad to be able to see them a couple of different times.

Out of order again...Hazel playing with Samuel. They're close to the same size, but Samuel is a year younger.

Katie and me with all the kids. She has Eli and Calvin, the oldest and youngest of the 5. That means we had 3 kids between their 2. Crazy since theirs are only 2 years apart!

A highlight of the trip for us was being able to visit Holland State Park. The weather was so hot, so the beach was great! It was still hot there, but the water was freezing!

Jude is always trying to grab my hair or sunglasses.

Yay for a family day at the beach!

Hazel and Jude weren't even scared of the cold water. They may have been if they went all the way in, but they enjoyed getting their feet wet.