A Word from Mommy

posted by mommy

i meant to write all of this with everett's 5-month picture, but just didn't have time right then. i wanted to give you more of an update regarding where we are with our chubbers. just like with owen, i can't believe 5 short months ago, ev was a tiny, 8-pound newborn who slept all the time and loved being swaddled. now, he's rolling over, learning to sit up, chewing on everything he can, and still having sleep "issues". and still growing sooooo big!!!

as you can tell by his pictures, he continues to grow (50% for height and 90% for weight!) and loves to nurse. he rarely lasts longer than three hours during the day between nursings and continues to wake 2-3 times a night. he did go about a week only waking once during his 12-hour nighttime sleep, but then decided he "needed" more than that! i figure who am i to say what he needs and what he doesn't. he'll let us all know when he's ready to go all night (which i'm assuming is still a long way off if his brother's sleep pattern at the same ages is any indication). in favor of better sleep, though, we did begin having ev sleep on his tummy pretty early on (around 2.5-3 months?) and moved him to his own room and crib in early january (after transitioning o to his "big boy bed"). ev still sleeps in our bed from time to time, but generally does much better on his own.

naps are still not super dependable either. generally, he wakes each day around 8:30 ready for the day, takes his first nap around 10 (sleeps anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours), takes another nap around 1:30 (depending on length of earlier nap, and sleeps anywhere from 1-2 hours), then takes a cat nap around 5-5:30 for 30-45 minutes. remember, i said "generally". still nothing to count on. so basically, we are bound to home at this point as there seems to always be someone sleeping (owen takes a nap from about 1:30-3:30).

ev is growing stronger every day and able to sit on his own for longer periods. we spend time each day in his bebepod, sitting on a quilt propped by the boppy, or "standing" in the exersaucer to help him develop a good strong core. he only enjoys each of these activities for 10 minutes or so before he yells at us to pick him up or move him on to something else! he is definitely not as chill of a baby as owen was.

but i'm glad to report he finally seems to be warming up to his car seat and being in the car. whether it's because of being tucked in with the luxuriously fuzzy blanket he got from umma and uppa for christmas, or just because he's getting older and more aware of what's going on, he has seemed to settle a bit in this area. it's been a while since i've had to drive panic-stricken because my infant is screaming his lungs out in the back seat!!

we're not sure about teeth yet. the way he drools and is chewing on everything would seem to indicate the impending appearance of a tooth, but we still don't see the telltale white beneath the gums yet. he does, however, love to suck his fingers/hand/sleeve/arm - whatever he can get into his mouth. he dropped the pacifier a while ago in favor of his own fingers which we are glad for as it means we don't have to keep getting up to give him the dropped paci at night and he will be great with soothing himself just like his brother (i know, i know, we'll have a harder time dealing with how to "take it away", but we'll deal with that when the time comes!).

happy five month birthday everett!

posted by everett

thursday was my five month birthday. i'm now starting to sit up, be more vocal, sleep better at nights and enjoy pulling on mommy's hair.

sitting up...with a little propping

posted by everett

please, no snide remarks about my chubby rolls.  i'll have wrists and ankles someday. 

modeling for our mommies...again!

posted by owen

as our mommies keep making cool hats and shirts, eliana and i continue to model the clothes. at some point we get paid for this right? it was nice to finally get a break in the cold weather and have some fun outside.

i don't go anywhere without my trucks

your mommy made you do this too?

no eliana, the plane is that way!

either we put the "o" and "e" in love, or i'm just tired of fighting it

another cool hat made by mommy

playtime

posted by everett

i'm becoming more content with hanging out in my exersaucer. of course i have no problem letting mommy and daddy know when i've had enough.

fashions from lula & mo & the gang

posted by owen and everett

for christmas, lula & mo and our cousins got us new outfits and gave mommy a cool scarf. the only outfit missing is everett's "i love my auntie" onesie. thanks lula & mo & the gang, we love you!

mommy and her boys

sneaking a kiss from mommy

thank you lula & mo & gang!

one stylish family

laughing with grammie and gampa

posted by everett

while spending christmas in albuquerque, i got to have fun with gampa and grammie. they both did a terrific job of making me laugh.

a new year, a new room

posted by owen

mommy and daddy decided that the new year would be a good time to finally move me to my big boy bed. last night was my first night and i slept in it all night long all by myself. i even stayed in it until 8:00 am when mommy came to get me out (even though i really can get out by myself). daddy says mommy cried looking at my old room and empty crib last night since that has been my room since i was born. but now i get a bigger room and everett gets to enjoy the room i called home for the last 2 1/2 years.

ready to go nigh, night

i finally did it

posted by everett

after weeks of turning half way, i finally got over my chunky arms and turned over from my back to tummy.

good mornin'

posted by mommy and daddy

happy new years!

posted by mommy and daddy

we celebrated new years with some good friends of ours. for the first time ever (and hopefully the last for quite a while!), owen actually stayed up until 11:30 playing with his friend. we ate some yummy korean food, played games and acted plain silly throughout the night. we are so blessed to have them in our lives and look forward to many more fun times together as our boys (we each have two) get older. each of us had our first boys 5 weeks apart, then in 2012, we had our second boys 6 weeks apart.

mommies and first boys then (april 2011)...

and mommies and first boys now (dec 2012)

the many faces of everett

posted by mommy and daddy

interest

joy

baffled

flirt

pensive

some more fun in albuquerque

posted by mommy and daddy

while in albuquerque for christmas, we got to do quite a bit. everett got to experience the fun of christmas with grammie and gampa, mommy and daddy got a much needed date night, and owen rode on another train.

gampa had fun with everett...

...and everett enjoyed every minute of it

grammie enjoyed cuddling her newest grandson

owen loved the train ride to santa fe

of course he had to make sure his lovey had a good view

one of the few calm moments (it was past naptime!)

owen loved all of grammie's stuffed animals, especially big doggie

christmas in albuquerque

posted by mommy and daddy

we spent christmas in albuquerque this year and had tons of fun. we got to wake up to grammie's sausage cheese balls, dig into our stockings, and see what fun gifts were left under the tree. owen was especially excited to open his gifts and even got to open a few of everett's as well.

grammie and gampa's beautiful dicken's village

nothing beats grammie's sausage cheese balls

a slinky!

mommy got to help owen with his stocking

daddy got to help everett with his

fun gift from umma and uppa

everett's first christmas

take a wild guess who this hat is from - thanks gampa & grammie!

owen got a pair of lightning mcqueen house slippers from his brother