Well, That Went Fast

I kept meaning to post more regularly, but clearly that didn't happen! All of sudden Halloween was over, then Thanksgiving, and now here we are, five days away from CHRISTMAS! My boys have grown and changed so much in the last few weeks. Poor Luke has been sick since Halloween, poor baby. Just coming down with virus after virus, he can't catch a break. He and JJ have both grown and are the funniest, most handsome little gentlemen. Anyways, here is a disjointed but fairly detailed update on my guys and all of their crazy cool accomplishments and hilarious antics since September!

Luke...

...started pulling himself onto his knees using objects and our hands (November 26, 8 months old). He's not pulling to a stand yet, but I'm wondering if he's a little behind on a couple things because he's been consistently under the weather since the end of October.

...is sooooo wiggly, and into everything. That child is never still. 

...cries just like Jace did as a baby. Instead of a typical “waaah” type wail, Luke's little mouth shapes into an "O" and he cries “oooohh” with his eyes and nose crinkled shut. He also has a fake little whiney cry that he's picked up recently, and I happen to htink it's adorable.

...cut his first tooth at 7.5 months cut his first tooth (bottom)

...started crawling the week he turned 8 months old, and he is FAST, especially when he hears us open the dishwasher or pull out the vacuum.

...loves to play with the wheels on the big fire truck (like his brother)

...is an extremely distracted eater while nursing. Any noise, movement, or object causes him to pull off every few seconds so that he can investigate. Sometimes, even my neckace is too distracting and I have to hide it to get him to keep eating.

...has found his voice. We privy to major shrieks and squeals, and he is delighted every time

...is my little shadow. He follows me everywhere, and when he wants me to hold him or he needs a little attention, he rubs his head against my leg like a cat.

...looooves his food! Peas, peaches, blueberries (his favorite), pumpkin (also his favorite), potatoes, butternut squash, apples, oatmeal, chicken, peas, cheeriohs, bananas, applesauce, green smoothie of spinach and blueberries and water, peanut and almond butter, oranges, riced cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper...he love them all!

...enjoys his wagon rides, walks, and being out and about. He's so sweet and content when we go out, exploring or sitting quietly in my lap and observing.

...has been able to sit up for awhile now, no hands!

...loves looking at himself in the mirror, being talked to, reading books, and picking on his big brother. Whenever Jace is having his diaper changed, Luke crawls over and starts pounding on his face and trying to pull on his hair. Jace is a good sport about it, I think he realizes it's all in love. Jace is not such a great sport about Luke trying to take whatever he's playing with at the time. Luke wants to do everything JJ is doing, and Jace isn't so much flattered as he is irritated by this.

...is sooo sweet and friendly, and loves smiling at everyone he sees.

...licks his lips when he’s hungry

...has started making a face when he's displeased: His eyes get squinchy, he wrinkles his little nose, and he lets out this fake sounding, soft little whine. It’s the cutest.

...has radar or some sort of built-in alarm that sounds off when someone walks into his room. He is sound asleep, and we are quiet as can be, but no matter how silently we enter, his tiny head pops up immediately, searching for the intruder. It's impossible to check on him without waking him up. I do love seeing that round little noggin peeking over the railing of his crib, though, especially when I turn on his lamp and he smiles his big gummy grin. 

...loves anything that goes. When we go to the library or dump out toys in the living room, he goes straight for the cars or toys with wheels, just like his big brother. 

Jace...

...has such a great sense of humor. He has his own little jokes, like pretending not to know the answer to something, or saying the wrong answer on purpose. He makes up his own games, like  “Mama’s Piggies?" He also has this forced laugh that he does at random times, like while we are driving in the car, or while he's eating a meal. It cracks me up. He also laughs when others around him laugh, like he wants to be in on the joke.

...clears his dish after meals and takes it to the sink without being reminded. He's also really great about taking off his shoes before going into the house. Such a sweet helper.

...talks so much, and is saying some rather hilariously adorable things. Some of them are novel and come from his own mind, and others are quotes from movies or things he's heard us say and repeats out of context days later. Some new Jace-isms include:

-"Doctor Pepper?” (Mommy's drink) 

-“Sliced bread?” (I tell him he's the greatest thing since sliced bread everynight at bedtime)

- “Good night, mama” 

-“I hurt mine bum bum” 

-“A hold you, mama/daddy?” 

-“Deal O’Neil!” 

-“Thinkin, blinkin” 

-“Check it out!” 

-“Keep your bottom on the bale!” (from the pumpkin patch)

-“Love you in the mornin’” 

-“Give me the child!”  (Monsters Inc quote)

-“Wind the frog!” (Toy Story quote...we watch a lot of movies)

-“Let’s do it to it, my dudes!” (When he says it, it sounds like "Do it en me dudes!") 

-“tickle a tootsies?”

- “Goodnight, sweetheart” (while closing the door to Luke's room while Luke and I were in there)

-pushing his drink or his food towards me and saying “Here you go, Mama. Merry Christmas.”

-Starting to tell me things are the "best ever!" For example, I got him a cup of hot cocoa and took him to the park, and he was sipping it and exclaiming: "Is the best hot chocolate ever!" Or while he was coloring this morning, he kept repeating: "Best Christmas ever!"

...likes to give very romantical kisses on the lips

...has had lots of mega-tantrums lately, especially upon waking up from naps or in the morning when we try to go get him out of his crib.

...loves to glue things. We made some fun crafts, including a Thanksgiving turkey and a Christmas tree.

...asks for Eskimo kisses ("Est-o tisses?") and butterfly ("Buh-sye) kisses. And every night, just before I'm about to leave his room after tuck-ins, he asks me: "Mama, one a more tiss?" 

...reads Brown Bear to us before bed, word for word.

...has started biting his nails. 

...was dinking around on the bench at dinner and half fell off. One leg went off the front, while the other was still on the bench. He started to cry, and through his tears he announced: "Hurt a wittle bum? Hurt a wittle bum?” Oooh, it's so hard not to laugh.

...loves to play family Hide and Seek with the lights off. He can rarely wait to be found, however, and he always comes running out of his hiding place shouting “Hi, Mama!”

...is starting to relay past events to me, like when he got nervous when Daddy left him in nursery, and Jace opened the door and ran out to find him. He told me later: “Where Daddy go? Open a door, ran out!” He has some seperation anxiety these days.

...always gets in our car on the same side as Luke. Jace climbs in first and climbs to the far side of the car where his seat is, and then I put Lukey’s seat into his insert in the middle seat in the truck. Jace likes to wedge himself between Luke’s seat and the front seat, which drives me crazy because I have to walk around and pull him out, then stick him into his car seat. When I do this, he always says something about “rabbits house” but I never understood until just recently, when he told me “stuck like pooh bear, stuck in rabbits house!” There is a scene in Winnie the Pooh where Pooh Bear eats too much honey and gets stuck in the entrance of Rabbit's burrow, and nobody can get him out. Such a funny boy I have.

...is bestowing lovely compliments. I just organized our craft drawer a couple weeks ago, and Jace wandered over and said: “Wow, that’s amazing, Mama!” It's nice to feel appreciated.

...is such a great helper, an awesome listener, and tries so hard to do what we ask him to do. He has his moments, of course, but he's such a good boy and I'm so proud of him. 

OTHER NOTEWORTHY EVENTS:

1. Halloween: Jace was a fireman, Luke was a bear, and both refused to don the headwear that accompanied their costumes. Colt and I were in charge of the ward Halloween party, so we didn't get a lot of pictures, unfortunately. We also were able to go to my parent's ward Halloween party that weekend, so we didn't feel too bad about staying in on Halloween night, eating treats, and watching Monsters Inc.

2. Thanksgiving: We headed to PDX and celebrated with my parents in Oregon. We had a blast, as we always do with Mimi and Papa. We were also able to take Jace to his first movie! We went and saw Coco, but didn't make it all the way through, due to an agonizingly long "short" before the actual movie began. Jace loved the experience, though, so I can't wait to take him again.

3. My 30th Birthday: I turned 30 a few days ago, and Colt gave me a Harry Potter themed weekend. I got Potter socks, my letter from Hogwarts (finally), a box set of the entire series so I can read them to our future Potterheads, and a beautiful new watercolor sketchbook. He made me the oreo ice cream dessert, and we took the boys to a really neat children's museum in Everett. I am spoiled.

Snapshots

Luke

...Turned 6 months old today. I forget how big he is, and new milestones always surprise me, because it seems like he was just born a few weeks ago.

...Loves to be smiled at, and is extremely interactive and friendly. He smiles at everybody, including complete strangers. 

...Tends to be more sensitive and reactive then I remember JJ being as a baby. He cries longer and harder when something scares him or he gets hurt, and takes a little longer to calm down
...Wears 12 month jammies to accommodate his long legs and big feet.

...Rolled from tummy to back at 13 weeks 6 days, and at 14 weeks rolled from back to tummy...and has not stopped rolling since. He rolls everywhere. It's like he's on autopilot; as soon as I lay him on his back, he rolls right over-changing his diaper is like trying to wrestle an alligator. He can't crawl yet, but he somehow manages to wriggle and roll several feet in very small spaces of time. Occasionally, he'll roll over consecutively, one after another. I'm a little nervous for when he really gets going!

...Is a full-on, almost exclusive tummy sleeper. He has been ever since he figured out how to roll over.

...Likes goodnight moon, patty cake, and trying to watch Monster Trucks with his brother

...Loves books

...Likes the toys on his bouncer and play mat a lot more-he gets laser vision and a look of pure determination as he bats at them tries to grab them. Very cute. Then he loses interest and rolls away

...Can sit up, but doesn't like it. He prefers to be on his belly. And when he's buckled into his bouncer,he pulls himself upright and launches himself forward, like he's trying to propel himself out of his seat.

...Tried his first foods in Colorado, alongside his twinner cousin (rice cereal and avocado). He didn't love it.

...Favorite foods include beans (especially refried), banana, baked sweet potato, softened carrots, bell pepper sautéed in olive oil and garlic salt, tomatoes, boiled apple, and French toast. He also sucked enthusiastically on a slice of cucumber and an apple slice. Least favorites: containers of baby food in any form, and avocado. 

...Is super strong. His Mimi and his Grammy have both told me they think he's going to crawl early-he gets his belly and hips off the ground, and just pushes off those little legs like he's trying to take off. He's going to keep me on my toes, I think!

...Loves looking at himself in the mirror, and I love watching him look at himself in the mirror. He smiles so big and squirms with joy. I would too, if I was that cute. 

...Still loves music. He's especially partial to the acoustic stylings of the late 60s and 70s, like James Taylor, Kenny Loggins, the Beatles, Bill Withers, etc

...Will lately fall asleep on everyone's shoulder at nap time except for mine. When I put him down, he just always tries to nurse. I am the milk-maid. 

Jace

...Some new Jace-isms:

"Pay wonger?" (Play longer)

"Too buggin!!" (When his clothing, such as socks or shoes, are uncomfortable to him in some way and wants them removed)

"Weee mad!" (Reaaallly mad) 

"Diggles!" When he has the giggles

"Wish-iss!" (Delicious!)

"Helmet on?" "Turn around?"

"A kick snuggle?" (A quick snuggle?)

"Dance a me?" (Dance with me?)

"Bye, have a nice day!" 

"Bak-man" for the movie Ratatouille 

"A hold you hug?" (When he is feeling snuggly or clingy and wants to be held)

...Is learning all the emotion words: happy, sad, angry, mad, frustrated, bored, and proud are ones he knows and can identify in pictures. Now, we are working on learning to identify them in himself and others and using those new words instead of screaming! 

...His language is exploding-up to 8-10 word utterances, including articles/prepositions/copula "is". He's also repeating everything we say, and he's memorized most of his books, including long phrases from books (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, his books about ambulances and tow trucks, If You Give a Dog a Donut, Going On A Bear Hunt, and The Little Mouse, A Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear)

...Pointed to a word in his book and said "letters!"

...Is starting to get really social. He wants to play with kids sometimes, and not just next to them. He loves his cousin Bentley, and while he was playing with kids at the park, I overheard him say "thank you," "excuse me," and "sorry." He wanted to be involved, and I even caught him pretending he was stuck while climbing on the jungle gym so that they bigger kids would stop and help him. Genius.

...Has been super into his sandbox lately. He rolls around in it like a puppy, takes all of his trucks and diggers in there...and yes, eats the sand.

...Loves to go "simmin!!" He's a total fish and can swim on his own with his new floaties. After an afternoon swimming at Lake Tye, he kept telling Colt and I that he had "a sun (fun) day!"

...LOVES to visit the fire station! The front desk lady knows him well, and they are always super nice. He was finally brave enough to climb inside the vehicles this time (he's always been too shy before), and he was pointing out the "scene lights!" and the "marker lights!" on the ambulance...this kid knows his stuff.

...Has been asking for cupcakes. We don't eat a lot of cake at this house-we are more cookie/brownie people. But all of a sudden, he knows what they are and talks about them a lot. I guess I'll have to bust out a batch of cupcakes one of these days with my tiny helper by my side!

...When we are waiting in line, or at a red light, he is always asking us to "Move, please?!" Often, he gets pretty upset. So we've been explaining the concept of patience and how it means quietly waiting for our turn, and he's started to remind himself by saying "Patience...patience a turn!"

...He's starting to give up naps. He still needs one, but it's getting later and later in the day, and sometimes he ends up not taking one at all. Those days can be tough. 

...Strokes my hair very softly. Sweet boy. 
...Calls corn "yellow beans"
...Calls me, Colt, and Mimi "honey bunny," even when he's angry or whiny. 

...Has started to sing to himself!! He knows a lot of songs, including 5 Little Monkeys, Patty Cake, Happy Birthday, Apples and Bananas, and various primary songs. He also recites big sections of books we've been reading. He'll be driving his trucks on the living room floor, just talking to himself: "One piece of chocolate cake, one lollipop, one slice of Swiss cheese..."

...Still loves Pooh Bear, and has adopted some of his phrases, such as  "Oh bother!" and "Think, think." He giggles every time he says a Pooh Bear phrase.
...He knows about so many things I didn't realize he was aware of, like Santa Clause, tunnels, cupcakes...I guess he really has just been soaking in every single thing everyone says over the last two and a half years.

...Randomly decided his brother's name is Bobby. Then, the next day, he informed us his own name is also Bobby. We don't know anyone named Bobby. I guess I do now, as Jace currently refers to himself as "Jace-Bobby."

I Love my Bobbies.

6 Month Outtakes

I had to post these. How could I not? All eyes and smiles, that's my Luke.

And because I know you are wondering: Yes, his little noggin is as perfectly round and fuzzy as it looks. And yes, I absentmindedly stroke his head about 50,000 times a day.

Apple Picking

We went apple picking at our favorite farm on Saturday. It was a quick trip (see last photo). We filled our bag with crisp, crunchy apples, paid, and spent the ride home thinking of how we are going to use up all the apples we picked! I've already made a batch of apple sauce, and I think I might just see an apple cake in our future...

I wasn't sure I was ready to say good-bye to summer. It went so quickly, as the summers in the Pacific Northwest tend to do. But we had our last heat wave the first few days of September, and then we woke up one morning last week and the air felt fresh and brisk and it smelled like autumn. And just like that, I welcomed fall back with open arms. Yay! I love this time of year.

Summer Adventures

Jace had not one, but two chin incidents while we were in Denver! Poor babe. And he still hates bandaids, turns out.

The first week of August, we were able to fly to Colorado to spend a week at Grammy and Grampy's house! All of Colt's sisters and their families were able to be there, and we had so much fun spending time with cousins. Luke and Corbin met each other for the first time, and Jace had such fun with his cousin Bentley. They dug in the dirt together, played next to each other in the play room, and chased each other around Grammy's house giggling like madmen. 

Our little niece, Bailey, was so sweet with both babies. She wanted to hold Luke, give him his binkie, and play peek-a-boo. When I needed to go help in the kitchen, she would sit right next to Lukey in his bouncer and talk to him, sing him songs, tickle his toes...she was such a mama, and a huge helper! It was really sweet to watch. She left with her parents and brother the night before we flew out, and she was sobbing that she had to leave her baby cousins. It was heartbreaking. 

We love our family, and we don't get to see them nearly enough! So it was nice to be able to spend some time catching up, visiting, and watching our kids play together. There's never a shortage of fun and excitement when cousins are involved!

The Big 3-0

This is the only picture I have from Colt's 30th birthday party. Ha! I have a couple of videos, but clearly, taking pictures was not high on the list of priorities that day. 

I had a tough time deciding what to do for my babe on this milestone birthday. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, because he's such a great dad and husband; he deserved something different and special this year. On our anniversary in June, we had a family birthday party, and Jace had a blast. Colt kept mentioning how much he enjoyed that day, and how happy it made him to see JJ having so much fun...and thus, my idea was born. I decided to throw another birthday party, complete with decorations, a cake, and piñata! I even chose a theme: Construction Zone! Colt and I aren't typically "party people," but I thought 30 would be a good time to stir up some childhood nostalgia and take him back one last time to the birthday parties of yesteryear, before he had to dive headfirst into middle-age. And I knew Jace would love to have another birthday party.

I made all the boys a special breakfast of Mickey Mouse sprinkle pancakes, and Colt opened a couple of his gifts. We took Jace to get a haircut, picked up some lunch at our favorite burger joint (Nicks' Jr), and took our food to Payne Airfield to watch the airplanes take off and land. When we returned home, we ate a special birthday dinner and dessert (Colt's favorite custard trifle), and then busted out the main event: the construction truck pinata! Jace had been eying that pinata all day, but when it came time to whack it with the baseball bat, he was a bit hesitant. After we showed him what to do, he was more enthusiastic and took a few solid swings before we gave up and pulled the tassels to release the candy.

This year, I had Colt's closest friends and family all write him a personal letter, then I bound them all in a book and gave it to him on his birthday. He also got some money, and he's thinking he'd like to spend it on a few wood-working tools so he can learn how to build awesome things like a kitchen table for his wife. ;)

Happy Birthday, Colt! You are the peaches to my cream, the honey to my bee, and the cheese to my macaroni. Yum. I'm hungry.

4th of July

I really let blogging get away from me! I'll keep these entries short and sweet, but I wanted to make sure I recorded our summer adventures, even if it isn't as detailed as it could have been if I had managed to write more regularly. Both our boys have grown and changed so much over the last couple of months, it's crazy! Jace is talking more than ever, and Luke is almost crawling...he's got a big brother to chase, after all.

Our 4th of July was really low-key. We went to a barbecue at our neighbor's house in the afternoon/early evening. When we came home, we lit sparklers and threw poppers in our driveway. I think by next year, the boys (or at least JJ) will be able to stay up late enough to see the show, which will be so much fun. But this year, we decided we'd rather have sweet little boys than cranky bears the next morning.

Around 11:30 pm, one of our neighbors decided to start setting off HUGE fireworks, the kind that sound like a bomb and rattle the windows. It woke Colt and I out of a dead sleep, haha! Scared me to death. Ah, well. 'Tis the 4th!

Also, I recently discovered that my phone makes these awesome little memory movies out of the pictures and videos on my device! I love them. And I think they  will come in handy for quick recaps here on the blog!