Six months

Ben turned six months while we were in California visiting family. This was as good a photo as I could get--he just kept lunging for the paper!

Evan says, "Ben is nice. He likes to play with me. He doesn't eat my toys. He sleeps. And plays. I laugh and it makes Ben laugh. Ben loves me." I second all that.

At his six month check-up, Ben weighed 18 lb. 15 oz. He was 28 inches long. Doc said that's 50-75% for weight and 95% for height. She had some concerns with his head shape, so he's having a CT scan next week. Yuck. They'll have to sedate him, which I'm nervous about. We're hoping everything is good, of course.

April so far

Every April 1st growing up my mom would make a special breakfast for us--eggs on toast. I decided to follow her example for a good, healthy breakfast. Evan was not excited--he's not an egg fan. But once he tasted it, I think he was converted (cake, whipped cream and an apricot half). (Evan has started taking after his Aunt Amy--it's rare I can get a pic with his eyes open!)

We've been working on making letter shapes. E made his name from pipe cleaners.

Here are my boys on Easter Sunday before church.

E enjoying a community Easter celebration.

I call this one "Cute Boy in Crib."

One of our favorite games lately is taking turns telling stories. I thought this one during breakfast was sweet.

E started preschool the other day. He's growing up so fast!!


And finally, Evan's new favorite song;

Lately

My parents love a good project. When they were here for Ben's birth, my dad built us a raised bed for a garden. They filled it with good soil and even planted a few plants that could last through the winter. Now that it's warmer, Evan and I put in lettuce, spinach and carrots. Evan was very excited, and he loves checking on the plants that are sprouting. Good dirty fun.

We had a full day of crazy rain, and our backyard completely flooded. So Evan went puddle jumping, and had a blast!

It was a bit cold in all that water, so we followed it up with a bath, where E got to paint with colored shaving cream.

Evan is now 100% potty trained! He has been for months, but wouldn't #2 in the potty for some reason. He always asked for a diaper when he had to go, did his business, then got his undies back on. And I wish I could say that something we did caused his change of heart. We tried EVERYTHING. But it was all him--one day he just decided to do it, and hasn't looked back since. This was his potty training prize. (I wish that jack on the side was for headphones, but it's worse--it's for a microphone. He loves to yell "HELLO!!" into it. Loudly. Repeatedly. Did I mention that he yells?)


We've been taking advantage of the much warmer weather with trips to the park and picnics. Hooray for spring!



What cute boys I have.

I scream, you scream...

We had a little dance party for our FHE activity Monday night. Afterward, for treat, John broke out the gigantic tub of ice cream and he and Evan went to town. E was thrilled to be able to eat out of the container and took full advantage of Dad's generosity. It was pretty cute.



"Toasting" their spoons.

Four Months

I can't believe how fun this little boy is! I am in love with his big toothless grins. Here are his four month stats:
Height: 25"
Weight: 17 lb 7 oz

We've been seeing a specialist for his liver enzyme issues, and haven't really gotten any answers. He's had lots of blood work, and his levels are slowly going down. An abdominal ultrasound came back normal. So we're just not sure what's going on, but we're less worried since he is moving in the right direction. We'll meet with the specialist once more next month, and then I think we're good.

He's a happy, good natured little boy who is (thankfully!!!) a good sleeper. More of an Allen in the looks department--several people have told me he looks like my dad. He enjoys dancing, chewing on his hands (pretty sure some teeth are just around the corner), smiling at his brother, trying to grab any and all food, sitting up, and being snuggled. We adore him.




Love that ginormous smile!

Two month stats

Ben had his well check last Friday, and here are his stats:
Weight: 13 lbs. 11 oz.--90 to 97th percentile
Height: 23 in.--50 to 75th percentile

They didn't write down his head circumference for me, but told me it's in the 75th percentile. Big boy. Guess I don't need to worry about him not geting enough milk!

He has developed some jaundice over the past few weeks so they did some blood work. It showed his liver enzymes are elevated, so they are trying to get us an appointment with a gastro specialist at the children's hospital. Hopefully we'll know something soon.

He's a happy boy, always ready with a smile!

Brotherly love

Evan has been such a good big brother. While he definitely seems to be going through a rebellious, defiant stage, he never fails to want to love on Ben. He's always trying to snuggle him, rub his head, pick him up (!!), or rub his face on Ben. He is forever grabbing Ben's hand or foot, or whatever he can reach. When we get on to him about it (mostly about being too rough), he says, "He's just so cute, I want to touch him!" How can you be grumpy with that?


The other day I walked out of the kitchen to find this. :)

I finally got a pic that shows Ben's eye color. Probably still changing, but definitely going to be blue. Just like big bro and Daddy.

And here's our little guy at two months! How the time flies.

Maybe someday I'll be able to dress both kids in something other than PJs. And myself too, for that matter.