SIX MONTH PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS:

Several weeks ago we did a mini photo session to document Joss at 6 months.  Here are a few!

JANUARY:

We've been enjoying getting back into our routine after the holidays.  Last weekend we had a fun Holiday Party for Excel Chiropractic planned by Jake and his business partner, Aron.  They did a great job with every detail.  We had our own banquet room at Wilderness Ridge and everyone was given an award (an"Excey").  After our delicious meal we were picked up by a limo as a surprise to the staff.  We made a few stops around Lincoln and played a fun game.  At the end of the night we were dropped off at home by the limo.  This will be tough to beat next year!

We feel like Jett is growing up really fast lately.  He's especially conversational and sweet at night.  We used to always read 3 books before bed.  Recently we've started reading one book and then having "talk time."  We lay next to his bed and ask him all about his day or tell him a story (something about our family or our childhood).  He loves it and it's a fun way to try to enjoy him a little more at this age.  Now instead of saying "Can we read one more story?" he says, "Can we have one more talk?"  Try saying no to that!

Jett's best friend at daycare is Mady.  She is 6 months older than him and they do everything together.  When I pick him up he always reminds me to say "hi" to her if I forget to acknowledge her.  Last week when I was taking him out to the car he yelled, "Mady, you're my best friend!  Mady, you're cute!  Mady, you're funny!"  He really had a lot to tell her before the weekend.  So sweet!

I can't believe that we live in Nebraska and Jett is 2 years old and he just now built his first snowman!  Check it out people!  A 50 degree day was the perfect time to do it.

Jett is officially potty trained.  I really had no desire to do it after Joss was born.  It just seemed like a very daunting task.  Luckily daycare started working on it about a month ago and then a few weeks ago we started at home.  He's had very few accidents and is doing great.  We haven't really gone anywhere with him outside of home and daycare though so that could be interesting.  Here is his responsibility chart after his first good streak of no accidents!

Joss was pretty excited to join her big brother at the dinner table this month!  When I see them both sitting there together sometimes I still can't believe I have two little kids!

Joss is loving solid food.  She's had sweet potatoes, green beans, pear, and mango.  She's working on her top teeth now and is having a pretty hard time with teething at night.  She's been waking up at least 3 times every night and we are all tired!  She has been trying to scoot (usually to get one of Jett's toys).  She will smile at anyone but her brother and dad always get the biggest smiles.  I definitely think she'll be a daddy's girl!  In the picture below she is of course looking at Jake!

Fun in her jumperoo!

Sometimes we play dress-up!  In the picture below we think she has her Great Grandpa Lyle's smile:)!

JOSS: 6 MONTHS JETT: 2 1/2

Joss is 6 months which seems completely crazy.  She weighs 16 lbs 4 oz (51 %) and she is 26 inches (57%).  She is about 2 lbs less than Jett was at her age which kind of surprises me because she's been looking pretty chunky lately.  He was taller than her though.

I can't believe I've never mentioned her growl.  It is the most common sound she makes.  She growls at people whether she's happy or mad.  Other than that she has two bottom teeth, started eating solids this week (green beans and sweet potatoes), and is getting better at sitting every day.

She has the sweetest smile and loves being talked to.  Her favorite thing in the world is watching and playing with her brother!

Here are a few other pictures of Joss at 6 months:

Jett is 2 1/2 and is finally giving me the cuddles I always wanted.  Unfortunately it is usually right around his bedtime.  He definitely has me figured out!

He gave us a little scare over the weekend when he stuck a dried goji berry up his nose.  He started panicking right away but was able to tell us what had happened.  It was a Sunday and Jake and I were determined not to have to take him to an Urgent Care or the ER.  We could see the berry but it was pretty far up his nose.  We tried everything we could think of.  We shut the other nostril and had him blow, tried to get it out with tweezers, and then we kept trying to suck it out with the Nosefrida.  I've talked about the Nosefrida on here before because it is the best thing ever when you kids have runny noses.  Unfortunately the Nosefrida alone wasn't doing the trick.  After 25 minutes of trying to get it out (and taking breaks to calm Jett down), we finally found a method that worked.  I showed him train videos on my phone to keep him from moving.  Jake used the nosefrida to suck it out WHILE simultaneously pushing the berry down from outside of his nose.  It finally came out and we were so relieved.  No one was happier than Jett.  He kept saying "THANK YOU DADDY!  GOOD JOB! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"  We hope a good lesson was learned that day.

Here is a picture from one of the "calming down" sessions:

Other than moments like the one above, we are SO enjoying this age and wish we could slow time down a little!

HOLIDAY RECAP:

I received this picture of Joss from daycare.  Apparently this was her favorite place to hang out over the last month!

The Holidays were very busy (like they are every year) and we have finally recovered.  The Friday before Christmas we had Georgia, Andrew, and Libby over for a little pre-christmas gathering.  The kids wore their pajamas and the idea was to watch a christmas movie and do a christmas craft.  I guess I forgot about the attention spans of 2 year olds though.  They had a lot of fun playing with all of Jett's toys and Jake and I enjoyed catching up with Andrew and Libby.

My Grandma Marxsen hosted a Christmas that Sunday.  Joss actually cut a tooth while we were there (this was her 2nd tooth in three days).  She definitely wasn't herself but she did good.  The timing was exactly the same for when Jett got his first two teeth.  Crazy how many things are similar with them (but there are a lot of differences too).

Joss was lucky to have her big brother to show her how to use her new toy from Grandma Marxsen!

A few days before Christmas we finally got around to helping Jett write a letter to Santa.  He was pretty excited about it!

On Christmas Eve morning we woke up, Jake made us breakfast, and we opened our gifts from each other.  Jett got a big train table which he is pretty much obsessed with.  Other than that, both kids got some books and and Jett got a few puzzles which he loves.  

We went to the Christmas Eve church service in the afternoon in Lincoln before heading to Wahoo.  

When we got to Wahoo we had appetizers and soups at Jake's parents house with Jake's immediate family.

Later in the evening the entire Torrens family joined us and we had a visit from Santa.  I really wasn't sure what Jett would think of Santa but he really liked him and wasn't afraid.  He thanked him for his gift and sat right by him.

Joss was just a little overwhelmed with all the noise so she and I tried to hang out in the quieter rooms.  I'm sure she'll be ready for all of the action next year.

As usual we all received matching pjs from Mema and Papa.  

It was a great (and fast) night.  The next morning (Christmas morning) we woke up at our house and Santa had come.  Jett got a basketball hoop and Joss got a wooden activity cube.

Late that morning we went to my mom and dad's.  When we got there Jett took a nice long nap which was badly needed and gave Jake and I the opportunity to eat lunch in peace.  Jett woke up from his nap in time to open gifts and was ready to go.  He enjoyed opening his own gifts as well as anyone else's who would let him.

It was a great day with my family and it ended with my favorite activity-A GAME!  I have always loved playing games but it has gotten harder to make that happen recently.  

We had one more Christmas celebration on the 27th.  It was the Foy Christmas (my dads extended family).  It was great to see my cousins since I only see the majority of them on a yearly basis now.  There were a lot of laughs and Jett had a great time too.

After Christmas we all went into recovery mode.  We had all gotten colds over Christmas so we have been trying to get as much rest as possible.  Jake worked Monday-Wednesday but was off Thursday-Sunday.  He has never had that many days off in a row with NOTHING going on.  It was nice. We celebrated New Year Eve at home.  We had a dance party complete with hats, noise makers, and confetti!  We did three different countdowns since Jett loved it so much.  Actually, we didn't count down.  We decided to count up so it wouldn't be too confusing for Jett.  The countUP began at 7:59:).

It has been a great year in so many ways.  Thank you to everyone who has been a part  of it and we wish  you a Happy New Year!  Cheers!