16 months! a few days late

Well 16 months have come and gone since Jayden entered our lives. Hard to believe. I didn't take any pictures on his 16 month birthday that were specifically for that purpose although the pictures with Grandma Gayle were that day. There's not a whole lot of new news around here but here are the cool things he is doing.

*he has started running now and can get places FAST
*is sleeping 12-13 hours a night and taking one long nap everyday (Mommy is LOVING one nap life)
*wearing mostly 18 month clothing like a big boy!
*talking up a storm still. his words include: ball, kittie, trash truck, off, on, daddy, papa, ba-PA, mama, mommy, baby, Eli, outside, car, hot dog, banana (nana), Stephanie (nef-nee), uh-oh...that's all I can think of for now. he is coming up with new ones everyday!!
*eating like crazy all the time. recently his favorites are hot dogs and chocolate chip pancakes!
*still just 6 teeth. he keeps acting like more are coming, we think see them on the way but NOTHING. so we're waiting.
*so so so so active. i would be exhausted if I just had him to keep up with! he is into everything all the time. phew, we're tired!!!

Basically, he's doing great. Growing like a weed and filling our lives with smiles.

such fun with Stephanie (a.k.a. "Nef-knee")

For those of you who have been around our house, you know its full to the max. One of the reasons is our dear friend Stephanie lives with us too (really, she's family these days). Jayden is IN LOVE with her. She can make him laugh and smile like nobody's business. One day, she was swinging him around in a bin full of clothes. You would have thought he had died and gone to heaven. We love you Stephanie!!!

ouch!!

On Saturday, I looked over towards the front part of the house just in time to see Jayden come flying into view, landing head first on the corner of the piano. Screaming ensued. When I scooped him up, this what I saw, except even more swollen.


But since he wasn't seeming sleepy and there was no vomiting, we decided he was fine. As you can see, it didn't bother him too much after the initial bonking.

sweetness

Jayden is such a sweet big brother these days. He stops to snuggle and kiss Eli many times throughout the day. We sometimes have to remind him to be gentle but for the most part he is 100% sweet with him. We never would have anticipated such tenderness at his age towards his little brother. But we call him our "sweet boy" for a reason. He is full of love for everyone...hugs, kisses, snuggles. We are excited to see how God uses his tender and affectionate heart for His kingdom!!

"helping"

We love Grandma Gayle!!

Jayden and Eli's Grandma Gayle comes and spends the day with us every other Wednesday! Such a treat! Here she is with Jayden. You can tell he's a fan!! Oh and don't worry, this is not the only time we see Grandma Gayle, just our guaranteed day of fun every other week! :)

hair!

Jayden has so much hair these days, we can't resist a little post-bath styling. :)

comparison

So we've had a lot ofpeople tell us how much Jayden and Eli look alike. We're not so sure. ;) What do you all think?

This is Jayden...












and here's Eli...

major cuteness!

Ba-PA!

Jayden LOVES his Grandpa Phil these days. He calls him "Ba-PA." Here's him checking out what Grandpa is doing. :)

2 months!!!

Well Eli turned 2 months old on Tuesday! Sorry we're a little behind. Things are crazy around here! We saw the doc on Wednesday. Here are his stats:

• 13lbs (90th percentile!)
• 23.25 inches (50th percentile)
• head size: 15.5 inches (50th percentile)

So he's a big boy, which is incredible considering how much of his food ends up on us, burp cloths, the floor, etc. Speaking of, our pediatrician is sending us to a specialist for Eli's reflux. At the appointment I asked about other medications we can try to help keep the food down and he said at this point it would be best for us to go ahead and see a specialist. So off we go.

Let's see. What is Eli up to these days?

• starting to smile and coo quite a bit, which of course we love!
• is showing an interest in brightly colored toys and enjoys the mobile on his swing and in his crib
• sleeping one 5-6 hour stretch most nights
• still breastfeeding like a champ
  

I guess that's all for now. Watch for new pics in the next couple days!

Jayden and Eli...together at last!!

holding hands :)


Jayden giving a "snuggle"

And a little pat on the leg

if only Eli was looking at the camera

some more "brotherly love" for eli

our two cutie pies!

new toys!

A trip to Target with Grandma Dottie this week brought home new toys for the boys. Jayden is OBSESSED with lawnmowers so he got his own version. He LOVES it.


And Eli got a fun playmat that Jayden also enjoys, as you can see. :)

"I want everyone else's food!"

So Jayden has always been a good eater. Lately, however, he has decided that while his food is satisfactory, everyone else's food is INCREDIBLE and IRRESISTIBLE. I often will make him pancakes in the morning and he'll eat some. But then later if he sees Mommy snacking on her tasty chocolate chip pancakes, he MUST have some.


And for those of you who know Jayden, you wll recognize this face. For those who don't, this is a CLASSIC Jayden face. :)


And the above principle regarding food applies to Daddy's cereal, Grandma and Stephanie's protein shake, everyone's coffee, and even the drinks of the parents at the playplace at the mall (ha ha).

cute boy!

outside!

Jayden loves loves loves to be outside. Thankfully my parents have a big backyard he can play in. My parents are gone on vacation in Tahoe so I've been doing all the watering. Here's our little man "helping." :)


Stephanie has taught Jayden how to smell flowers. Its pretty stinking cute. Here he is checking out some of Grandma Dottie's flowers. :)

Eli, our chunk-a-lunk

So even though Eli seems to throw up almost everything he eats, he is somehow packing on the pounds! At 6 weeks he was 11lbs, 13oz and in the 90th percentile. Jayden always was, and still is, pretty skinny. So we are not used to all these rolls and fat! Its kinda fun! :) Here's Eli chilling in just his diaper (its a fitted fleece Happy Heiny for you cloth diaperers out there...the cover went on very soon after this photo shoot!).

Striking his model pose

Such a happy boy (not really, but this picture makes it look like it!!)

Look at those rolls!

15 months old!!!

Jayden is 15 months old! Its funny. The months go by so much quicker these days. Jayden has become such a little boy now, there is no baby left it seems. He saw his pediatrician last week who hadn't seen him since he was 10 months old, and he said, "Wow, you're a little man now!!" So true. Jayden seems to learn something new everyday. Watching him grow, learn new words, discover new things...it is too fun. I love being the mom of a toddler!! Jayden is such a happy boy still for the most part. Full of smiles for everyone he meets, and lots of hugs and kisses for those he loves. We are seeing definite signs of toddlerhood, though. He will CRY and SCREAM when we tell him no. He is easily redirected and distracted but his happy go lucky self is not present as much anymore. Our boy is such a sweetie pie, too. He worries when Eli cries too much, and doesn't like to see either of us upset.

What else is he doing?
- he has 6 teeth, the same amount he had at 13 months. he has shown signs of teething for weeks now but nothing is coming through
- last week at the doctor he weighed in at 21lbs, 13oz. we think he may have actually lost a little weight. but he is growing lengthwise so we're not too worried.
- he is now down to one nap. praise God! he sleeps anywhere from 2-3 hours once a day. i love the long break from chasing him around!
- he is into everything "boy". he is obsessed with the trash trucks, cars, things that make noises. every Friday morning we stand on the porch (or our neighbor's porch..they have a son Jayden's age) and watch the "tash tuck" do its thing
-he has tons of words: papa, ba-PA (grandpa), mama, hi, bye, baby, trash truck (tash tuck), car (KA), kittie, key, teeth, dog, bible (by-u..long story), Eli (i-li), Jayden (his FAVORITE word), basketball (ba-ba-ball), volleyball (va-ba), baseball (ba-ball), cracker, graham cracker, Butt Paste (bu-pase)
-he now understands so much more of what we're saying. I say, "Jayden, time to get a new diaper" and he heads for his room. We say, "Want to go on a walk?" and he heads for the door. We say, "Jayden, where are your shoes?" and he goes and finds them.
-he knows where his nose and hair is. too cute!!
-basically, he fills our lives with joy and laughter!

Here's a couple shots of Jayden and Mommy from his 15-month birthday!

the world is my playground!

Jayden has started climbing INTO the end table!! Too funny. Then he gets stuck, can't figure out how to get out, and starts crying. Ah, toddlers!!! :)

first smiles!!