Jack is 3 1/4 today!

Big brother Jack is 3 1/4 today.  It still shocks me sometimes how big he is.  It's getting harder and harder to cuddle with him and give him baby kisses.  I guess all of that stuff is on the way out.  

He is still obsessed with numbers and has taken to numbering everything.  We are currently counting fountains all around Southern California.  He has an eagle eye for fountains when we're driving.  I believe we are up to 38 and they stretch from San Diego to Pasadena.  He knows exactly where they all are.  I was fine up until we got to around #18 and then I had to start keeping a list on my phone so I wouldn't forget where they all were.  He loves them and makes me drive around town to see them sometimes.  

He has grown into an amazing big brother.  He loves Sam and when I'm out of the room I can hear him talk baby talk to Sam and play with him.  It's adorable.  Of course, Sam doesn't yet steal his toys and use his bikes so maybe the situation will change in another six months.  But for now it's ridiculously cute.  And Sam adores him.  His face just lights up when Jack enters the room.

Preschool is still going fairly well and Jack has grown closer to some of his playgroup buddies...two boys in particular.  It's very cute to see them playing well together and Jack having so much fun.  He still hates crowds though and does better in one on one situations.

I love that he loves telling stories lately.  Like his mother, he doesn't tell outlandish crazy creative stories about dragons and robots and princes.  But he'll tell cool little stories about going to Grandpa's cabin or Grammy and Pop Pop's house.  

So, all in all, Jack is good.  He's a cool little kid.  He has his moments of not listening and being pretty bratty, but generally he's fun to be around.  It's a great time for him and for me to be able to hang out with him.  :)

"And...that's enough pictures.  I'm outta here."

Sam is 6 months old today!

Happy 6 months Sam!  Well, we made it through the half of the first year.  Quite an accomplishment.  And it went so fast compared to Jack!  (Comparisons here.)  Man.  It's crazy.

The little guy now has his two front teeth in addition to his two bottom teeth (you might be able to see the tiny teeth in the photo above.)  He's been a bit fussy because of those teeth breaking through but that's understandable.  He seems so so interested in our food and we just starting doing a tiny bit of baby food.  To be increased exponentially I think.  I have just been putting it off because it's so messy and such a pain compared to bottles.  :)

 

He's still pretty darn adorable and is hanging on to those bright blue eyes.  I'm not so sure they are here to stay but I'm enjoying them for the time being.

He is so much bigger than Jack at the same age and so much stronger and into moving.  Just because he wants to keep up with his big brother.  One day soon....

As usual, Jack needed to participate in this photo shoot.  First he read Sam the sign and told him how old he was.

And then it was just time for cuteness.  :)

Easter!

 

This post is a week late but it's never too late for some holiday photos! For the Easter weekend we headed down to San Diego and, as always, Jack had a ball. And clearly Sam did too because he let me take the cutest, most adorable pic of him ever. (see above) Yup, he is starting to sit a little bit. He can only stay up a few seconds but it's pretty cool.

It was very fun to visit with the family and the boys loved seeing them. Sam thought Aunt Leslie was pretty funny.

   

 And Jack enjoyed the cousin biker gang he joined...

 

 

There's was lots of playing with Grandma's toys, swimming in their pool, and then passing out from all the fun.

 

Easter was fabulous. I got Sam dressed in his finest outfit. (Which was not very fine...overalls? But what can I say, I have a boy). And Sam and Amy, the cutest 5 month olds around, took a few photos to humor us all.

 

 

The highlight of the day though was Grandma's scavenger hunt. She made a picture scavenger hunt for Jack, Johnny, and Hank and it was a huge hit! Seriously. I haven't seen Jack so excited about something in, well, forever? He LOVED it! Of course, he was far more excited about each clue than the actual prizes at each location. He would see the picture and squeal that he knew where it was and take off running. It was cute. Of course, each clue/location was numbered so that was exciting to him. He immediately memorized them all so now Aunt Julie's bathtub is #4 and the grandfather clock is #1. He loved the clues so much that he saved them and brought the pictures back to LA where he has reviewed them every day. What a crazy kid. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the fun times!!

 

Sam's 5 month doctor's visit

Sam went to the doctor today and passed with flying colors!  I told her that I thought my kid was GIANT now that he had switched to formula but, lo and behold, he's only the 50th percentile.  He did gain 2 whole pounds though which is quite a lot.  He is a healthy little boy with excellent color, if I do say so myself.  

The doc was proud of me that I finally started putting him down at bedtime awake and letting him fall asleep himself.  She knows how terrible Jack's sleep was the first year and I think she was happy that Sam is sleeping much better.  He falls asleep by himself and then wakes up like twice (maybe three times) throughout the night.  That is AMAZING compared to every hour.  So I'll take it.  She told me he probably didn't need to eat those two times but I'm not going to push my luck.  :)

And now, his stats!

Height - 26.5 inches (75th percentile)

Weight - 15 lbs, 11 ounces (50th percentile)

Yay for Sam!

Sam is 5 months old today!

Little Sam (or BIG Sam) is 5 months old today.  He continues to be one happy, smiley, laid back dude.  

My assistant Jack's blurry hand pictured as well

He definitely still looks like Jack at the same age, but the differences are getting bigger.  And they do act incredibly different.  Jack wasn't laid back at all.  Sam, while he's laid back, is DYING to move.  He exerts such effort trying to sit up and crawl and just generally bounce.  He's pretty pissed that he can't play with his big brother.  

Sam also seems a bit more content with his environment.  Jack was always a bit more curious and inquisitive and, well, a trickster.  Sam seems too nice to be a trickster.  

Sam is GIANT though.  At the same age, Jack actually lost weight because I was breastfeeding and my supply was dwindling.  I didn't really know that or do much about it.  This time around, the doctor suggested supplementing formula with Sam.  We did which quickly led to Sam rejecting breastfeeding altogether and now he's completely on the bottle.  It's actually translated to a better nap schedule, longer stretches at night, and a HUGE weight gain.  I think Sam might have gained three pounds in one month.  Which is crazy.  We will see at his doctor's appointment this week but the kid is chubby.  And adorable of course.  But chubby none the less.  Check out that belly!

Oops.  Can't stretch that far without falling over.  

And here are the brothers.  Jack always insists on being part of this photo shoot so here you go.  :)  Happy 5 months buddy!

Household update

 

 Hi there.  We are all still alive, in case you were wondering.  In fact, we are doing pretty darn well.  It's just that I'm sadly exhausted after putting two kids to bed so I usually go to bed pretty early.  So I'm sorry I'm depriving you of adorable pics of my kids.  Because they are pretty darn adorable.

Sam is just...well, adorable.  Let me think of a synonym...delightful?  Who knew that babies could be this way?!  No offense to Jack but Sam is a walk in the park compared to him.  Smiley at all times, never cries during the day, is dragged everywhere and stays happy.  He will go to anyone and everyone.  And he is super easy to put down at night.  He isn't giving us giant stretches of sleep still at night but NOTHING like Jack.  He wakes up every 2 or 3 hours but if you feed him he goes right back to sleep without much fuss.  It's awesome.

 

Of course, one of the best things about Sam is seeing his big brother interact with him and vice versa.  Jack is a god in Sam's eyes and he is most excited to see him throughout the day.  He can be fussy in the bath but if Jack pops his head in, he breaks out into a smile.  Tired of bouncing in the bouncer?  Just have Jack come up to him and play with him and Sam is no longer tired of being there.  And Jack is just amazing with him.  He loves Sam and is constantly asking about him.  He exclaims that he would like a sandwich but that "Sam can't eat sandwiches!"  And he'll hug him and say good morning each morning at 6am.  They are best buds and I hope it stays that way.  At least for a little while.

Sam amazed by Jack's storytelling abilities

Holding hands

 

 

Perhaps a little TOO much hugging from crazy big brother

But basically we are doing very well.  Very busy with my MOMS Club stuff and all of Jack's play dates.  Sam is a hit with the older toddler crowd so that's cute.  The other day my family came up with so that John and I could get a date night and Sam was, again, great.  And very cute in a cowboy hat.

Jack had some fun too with Grandpa and Aunt Julie.

So we're doing good!  John certainly enjoys having his boys who love basketball and music as much as him.

And I like playing with this cutie while big brother is at preschool.  :)

Sam's 4 month doctor's visit

This is much delayed but about 10 days ago Jack had his 4 month doctor's visit!  The little guy checked out pretty good.  She was impressed with his head and core strength (and his continuous efforts to sit up) and was charmed by his smiles.  

She was less impressed with his weight gain.  It wasn't alarming or anything but he didn't gain that much.  In fact, he followed the exact downward curve that Jack did.  Of course, in the next month, Jack's 4th to 5th month, he lost weight so we are just trying to prevent that with Sam.  After I said that I thought that my milk supply might be dwindling, she suggesting supplementing a tiny bit of formula.  If this had been my first kid I would have balked but, instead, I was like, "sure, whatever."  So now I try to give him a bottle of formula after his last nursing session before bed.  It hasn't gotten us any more sleep but I am hoping it is helping his weight gain.  

Anyways, here are his stats!

Length - 25.5 inches (75th percentile)

Weight - 13 pounds, 10 ounces (30th percentile)

Sam is 4 months old today!

There's our little Sammy.  Four months old today!  Starting to look a little different from Jack, right?

He's a funny little guy.  He seems to have hit a bit of a 4 month regression where he's a little bit fussier and his sleep...well, I'll go into that later.  At home he pretty much refuses to let me put him down.  But he does love to be out and about around a lot of people.  He never fails to give a smile to Jack's teachers or my friends or strangers on the street.  What a charmer.  

But yeah...that sleep thing.  In that way he is JUST like his brother.  Currently waking up every hour or so and that's when he's sleeping on us.  And poor John tries to help soothe him every time but the only thing that will put him back to sleep is nursing.  Soo....  yeah.  We are tired.  We will see what happens. 

There is nothing Sam loves more though than his big brother.  He just adores him.  Lately Sam has been so pissy and it seems it's because he's trying to sit up but can't.  I really think that's what it is.  It's like he wants to move like his big brother Jack but he can't and it's making him mad.  He'll catch up soon though and then they'll be off and running.  :-)