PUMPKINS!!!!

Jayden discovered PUMPKINS a couple weeks back while on a walk with Grandma Dottie and Grandpa Phil. Since then there is no stopping him. I bought him a small one at the grocery store. He cried when they took it to weigh it and he had to bring it TO the restaurant we ate lunch at that day. So, of course, like any good parents would, we took him to the pumpkin patch. Much fun ensued, including a pony ride and a petting zoo. Jayden had a BLAST!!!

"Pony rides are awesome, Mom!"




Checking out the animals!!

"Oh, baby chickens!"



"I love my dad!"

"Hay is fun to throw in the air!"

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!!!







"And, finally, did I mention I love my mommy?"

water, water, water

Jayden is OBSESSED with water these days. He wants to play with the hose outside, in the neighbor's sprinklers, in the sink, etc. Here he is going crazy at the sink. You can tell he is in HEAVEN!!!

so in love

Eli gets cuter everyday it seems!!!! And even though he pukes all the time (note bib and burpcloth in the pic below) and still isn't a great sleeper, we are totally in love with him!!!

3 months!!

Well Eli turned three months old. My, how time flies! It literally feels like yesterday that I was looking down at my HUGE belly saying, "Get out of me!" Hee hee. We are a quarter of the way through our first year already. Praise God!!

So what is Eli doing these days?

• he weighed in at 13 lbs, 7 3/4 oz at the doctor last week. he hasn't gained much at all since his 2 month check-up which is a bit concerning. so we are off to the reflux specialist in a week to see what's up.
• sleeping in longer stretches. he even slept all the way through one night!! 8:30-6:45!! most nights he is up just once which is very nice for mommy. he is also sleeping in his crib in the room with Jayden now. another wonderful thing. mommy and daddy have their room back!
• he has rolled over twice from back to belly. odd, we know. no belly to back yet.
• still eating like a champ (and puking like one, too)
• smiling, cooing, and laughing all the time now. he LOVES Jayden and is very responsive to most people. we love it!!!

All in all, Eli is doing great!!! Just need to get the reflux under control. Will post pics soon. We got some good ones the other day but haven't uploaded them yet. :)

bumGenius tushies!!

cute boys!!

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!