Growing Babies - Two Years & Four Months

Our babies are getting big - I can't believe we now have a two year old (although based on yesterday's awesome meltdowns revolving around having to wear a green shirt and not getting to eat off the orange plate, it shouldn't be too hard to believe). And speaking of big… Jonathan is one big boy! I didn't realize how big he was until we learned he outweighed his nearly one year old cousin… at four months!

Since I really don't love blogging right now (I wish I did, but when I have the choice of blogging and most anything else, I usually choose the anything else), I am combining these two milestones into one looong post.

We'll start with the latest from Caleb:

• His speech has exploded! It felt like he went from a handful of words to repeating nearly everything in the matter of a couple months. It's so fun listening to his little voice try to sound things out - especially words like octopus and cock-a-doodle-doo.
• Caleb thought his name was "you" for a solid two months. And it was even better that he couldn't actually say "you". When asked to point everyone out in a picture, he would exclaim "dada… mama… YO!"
• We're still milking the crib and will continue to as long as he'll stay in it. It definitely helps that he only gets his pacifier and blanket in his crib. 
• We feel a little in over our heads when it comes to discipline. Timeouts and taking things away work half the time. It's looking like we may need to see how he handles spanking. I'm not necessarily against it, but we want to exhaust all other forms of discipline first. I just know that if he doesn't learn how to stop when we say "stop" and come when we say "come" ASAP, he is going to get hit by a car one of these days. I'd much rather endure a spanking or two and see Caleb live another day than the alternative. 
• This boy has opinions!! Very strong and particular opinions… opinions about what shirt he wears (you might have already caught that in the first paragraph), how his trucks should be lined up, what we call each vehicle (contrary to popular and correct belief, it's a "truck", NOT an ambulance), what book we read, when we hold his hand, when we let him run, what he eats… get the point? 
• Today was the very first day that he did not take a nap. Up until now, he has been sleeping anywhere from 1.5 - 3 hours every afternoon. PLEASE Lord do not take this away yet! I'm not ready! 
• Even though two has brought about new challenges to tackle, it is such a fun age. I love that he is so rambunctious, curious and adventurous, but will still cuddle up in his onesie PJs with his pacifier and blanket while we sing and rock before bed. I'm trying so very hard to cherish and remember moments like these so that the not-so-good moments seem minuscule in comparison. 

And now for Jonathan's latest and greatest:

• We stopped swaddling Jonathan 3 1/2 weeks ago as he was breaking out of it anyways. He handled it like a champ.
• I cursed myself when I said he was sleeping through the night at three months… it was literally the very night I posted those words that he stopped "sleeping through the night" and has since been waking between 11:00-12:00 most nights and again around 3:30-5:00. The saving grace is that he quickly nurses and then goes right back to his crib within 10-15 minutes (so vastly different than the 60-90 minute night feeding sessions we endured with Caleb). 
• Up until two week ago, Jonathan had never slept in his crib - like never ever. We used the Rock n' Play for the first 3 1/2 months, which was awe-some! I wish I had had this for Caleb. The best part was that we could rock Jonathan until he was drowsy then place him in the Rock n' Play and gently rock him to sleep. This meant he hasn't grown accustomed or depentent on falling asleep in our arms. I still remember spending hours in the middle of the night with Caleb, rocking and re-rocking him to sleep then holding my breath as I set him in his crib, and finally cursing aloud as his eyes would dart open. 
• Because Jonathan is such a tank, we decided two weeks ago that he had finally outgrown the Rock n' Play and moved him to the crib. This night had been looming over my head for weeks as I was terrified that he would refuse the crib and we'd be back to zero sleep and angry mom. Once again, he took the transition in stride! 
• Naps are hit or miss. He usually catnaps in the morning since we're on the go and then takes a glorious two to three hour nap in the afternoon.
• I forgot until rereading the previous five bullet point how much of a baby's life revolves around sleeping - or maybe it's the mom's life that revolves around the baby's sleeping. 
• At four months, JD weighed in at 17 lbs. 14 oz. (90%) with a height of 26.5" (95%) and head circ. of 17.5"(95%). I told you he was a tank. 

Enough with the words. Here are the pics… first from Caleb's birthday:

We started by celebrating with my parents who came in for the weekend:

Birthday dinner at Macaroni Grill.

The boys reading with Gramps

Our "low key" choo choo party with a few of Caleb's buddies 

'

Send a dad to Party City alone and he comes back with a giant Thomas balloon.
Tim: "Look what I got! It only cost $10"
Me: "You actually spent $10 on a balloon?"

His family and friends sure know this guy - our house is full of new trucks, trains and sporting equipment

 And now for JD's four month photos:

 So I wanted to show that JD can kind of sit… kind of being the operative words:

Okay, so maybe he can't sit yet

And now for a few of my recent fav pics:

This is what happens when you face plant in a giant puddle at the zoo :(

Stud Muffin is Three Months

The fog is lifting as we've reached the three month mark with Jonathan. Here's what's new with the second March little:

• JD is a much happier babe that he was just a month ago. We suspect it has something to do with me cutting dairy out of my diet (excessive fussing and eczema lead us to believe he's sensitive to milk), but who really knows? I just can't get enough of his sweet little smile though!
• He caught on to the earlier bedtime going from 11:00 at month two down to 7:30/8:00ish now. It's so nice to have a little breathing time at the end of the day to hold a somewhat coherent adult convo with Tim. 
• He "sleeps through the night". And by that I mean he still wakes somewhere between 1:30 and 3:30, but I guess this counts since he went to sleep at 8:00. I've read and been told that a baby just has to string 5-6 hours together to be considered "sleeping through the night". Ha! I really think some mom made up this criteria to make herself feel better. I'm definitely not complaining about only having to wake once (sometimes twice) at night, but I am looking forward to getting an actual full night of sleep someday. 
• He has yet to suffer a major injury at the hand of his brother. I consider this a success considering how wonderfully spaz-tastic Caleb is. 

Here's the little stud:

He loves chompin' on his fingers

Look at those thighs! He's such a chunk :)

Here are some other fav photos from our winter exile:

The boys' first bath together. Caleb was very intrigued with J's "boat"

So much so that he had to jump in with J. How cute, right? . . . 

And then this happened. Please note that my hand is on its way to stop the shenanigans while Tim takes the photo - the second child already has to put up with enough, should he really have to endure prolonged drowning just so the 'rents can get a good pic? 

Caleb's first ride on a choo choo - he couldn't get enough.  

Went to visit Tim at work… I think he has a future in the bond world. Or sales -
 he isn't afraid to pick up the phone and say "Hi".

I absolutely adore Caleb, but I'll be the first to admit that his hair is ridiculous! The top is always sticking straight up and the front 1/4 has yet to come in… good thing he has such a cute little face (in my humble and completely unbiased opinion). 

Two (+) Months!

I can't believe we've already made it through 2+ months as a family of four. With all of the holiday festivities (starting with Thanksgiving, then Christmas and New Year's), these past 10 weeks have flown by. So fast, in fact, that we sailed right past Jonathan's two month mark last week! I'll give the updates from the actual two month perspective, with a few notes of how things have changed even in the past eight days:

• Hard to believe, but Jonathan is still outpacing his brother in the weight category, coming in at 14lb. (compared to Caleb's 13 lb. 7 oz. at two months). Our little chunky monkey is also 24" tall.
• After a six week growth spurt where we were up every couple hours throughout the night again, he had started stretching to six hours (and even eight on a couple occasions) throughout the night.
• Sadly we have totally regressed since the two month mark. A nasty cold with a lingering cough is waking us all up many times throughout the night again... we're so tired! My new mantra is "this too shall pass" 
• It  seems Jonathan may be sensitive to dairy (not necessarily lactose intolerant) but he seems to be way more gassy and uncomfortable after I've eaten a significant amount of milk or cheese. Since cutting back the fussing has definitely lessened and he is eating better. Maybe it's all coincidence, but we'll go with it for now. 
• He's smiling and making eye contact more and more. I forgot just how awesome it is to look down and see his face beaming back!
• He's rolled from stomach to back a few more times, but I'm really bad at enforcing tummy time, so his opportunities are scarce. 
• Just this past week we left him in the nursery at church and bible study for the first time. He didn't seem to miss us too much. We also had a non-family babysitter for the first time since JD came around - never mind that we had already put both kids down for bed and were gone for one hour... baby steps!

Our two month photo session quickly morphed into a Caleb & Jonathan show before moving to a whole family shin dig:

Caleb: "Okay, this is waaay too much attention on someone other than me"
Jonathan: "What is he doing in my photo?"

Seriously? How cute are they?

Brotherly Love

We had a little photo shoot of the brothers yesterday (the first successful one). I just adore these two!

Not the best of Caleb, but look at J's face!

J's not sure what he thinks

I think they look so alike here

I couldn't resist taking a two minute break from reading books to snap a few of the three of us:

Caleb was supposed to be making a "surprised face" but mine was just too mesmerizing

JD takes an elbow to the nose, thus ending our little photo session

And a couple more just because I like them:

Tummy time. I could eat those cheeks

 Chowin' down on his favorite pizza while reppin' the TC hat like dad
(which stands for Traverse City if you ask my side of the family)