Wiebe Christmas...

I'll start with the Christmas recaps. They are out of order, but as long as I get them up, I consider that a success.

We spent Christmas day with the Wiebes. We ate brunch, then went to church, then came back for more celebrating. A good day as usual.

Henry has learned how to dog pile It's a favorite activity for him right now...

During the afternoon John's Uncle Wes, Aunt Bev, and cousin Lynne (below) stopped by...

These next 3 pictures are my personal favorites. I don't have all that many pictures with the boys since I'm always the ones taking the pictures, and I certainly don't have many pictures of me with my sleeping 2-year old, but these represent both. These certainly won't win any photography awards, but they mean the world to me...



Daddy & Charlie...

Charlie's first Christmas!

John opening his new golf bag, which was MUCH needed (his old one was held together by duct tape!) Although, John is still trying to decide whether or not to keep this bag. He loves everything about it except that fact that it was made with ORANGE piping. A small detail, but he is staunchly opposed to all things orange. Oh John...

Uncle Jay (daddy-to-be)...


Aunt Jill (mama-to-be) and Charlie...

Grandma Sharon & Henry (love this picture!) I like how Henry lined up his new Mater pillow pet (Thanks Aunt Jill!) and his new CARS characters: Doc, Lightning "daqueen", Mater, and Mac. He also got a Guido, which he has already managed to break twice. Grandpa Bob fixed him once, and now he's in Grandpa's hospital again. When he broke the first time, Henry asked me the next morning, "Did Grandpa Bob fix my little blue forklift named Guido?" This boy's vocabulary is hilarious!...

Grandma & Grandpa with the boys...

Week 27...

Now that he's sitting up, there's so much else to see besides mom. I'm afraid my days of getting him to look at the camera are going to be few and far between from now on...




27-week highlights:

• He's finally figured out how to roll around in his crib. He slept on his tummy for the first time last night. He also woke up at 1am instead of his usual 4 or 5am time to eat, so maybe he's not a fan of belly sleeping. I'm not sure.
• His hair is really starting to come in. So far it doesn't seem to be quite as crazy as Henry's was at this age. Although, because most of Charlie's hair fell out between 2 and 3 months, it is all growing in at the same rate, so it looks much more manicured than Henry's ever did. I wonder if we'll have another curly headed boy?
• Charlie's sitting is getting sturdier. His core muscles are becoming quite strong. It won't be long before we start to see some serious movement from him. Yikes!
• Charlie tires of his baby toys rather quickly, so lately I've been giving him some of our old Sports Illustrated magazines to rip to shreds. This is the best way to keep him occupied for long periods of time.
• We moved Charlie out of his infant carseat and into his new carseat. His infant seat went up to 22lbs and he is now...
• 6-month stats: 23 lbs. 14 oz. & 29.5" long! He is completely off the charts in both categories. (For comparison: Henry at 6 months: 21 lbs. 1 oz, 28.5" Henry was only 23 lbs. 8.5 oz. at 12 months! John at 6 months: 22 lbs. 10 oz., 29 1/4" long. John was 23 lbs. 11 oz. at 8 months.)
• Everyone we meet always comments on Charlie's chubby cheeks and thighs. Most people who see him say that they just want to squeeze him. I say the same thing and that's what I do most days, just squeeze my little butterball and give him lots of kisses. I love being a mom!
  

Henry says...

I'm way behind on my blog updating. I'll catch up at some point, but this post is mostly just for me so I won't forget a few things that Henry's said lately...

1. "My best girl that I love is mommy." (This totally makes up for all of his tantrums lately!)

2. "So um, daddy, how was your practice?"

3. "Mommy, you are a good cooker."

4. To Aunt Jill (who is 36 weeks pregnant) when she said she needed to use the restroom before she played with Henry- "Are you going poop? I can bring my Arthur books and read them to you." (Maybe not quoted verbatim, but close enough, I think).

Talking to a 2-year old is never short on entertainment :)

Merry Christmas!

First solids...

Another first for our Charlie-boy (we've kind of taken to calling him that :)!

Week 26...

Week-26 highlights:

• Charlie is halfway to his first birthday. What?!
• Charlie is cutting his first tooth. We can feel it, but can't see it yet. Consequently, he's been waking up more than normal in the middle of the night.
• We started feeding him solid foods a few days ago. He's all over it. So far he's really liking the rice cereal and bananas we've given him.
• Charlie's third nap, around 4 o'clock-ish, seems to be a thing of the past. He's sleeping long enough in the afternoons that he doesn't really seem to want/need it. We'll see if it comes back or if he's done with it for good. I'd be fine if he did without it. I find that third nap to be sort of awkward with my schedule, but we'll see what happens.
• LOTS of rolling these days. He's starting to roll as a form of transportation now. He likes to roll and then pivot around on his belly to get to the things he wants. I was so eager to see Henry become mobile, but with Charlie, I find myself with completely opposite feelings. My life is a whole lot easier with only one child on the move...
• Everything goes in his mouth. Everything.
• He continues to improve his sitting skills. He looks like such a big boy when he sits!
• Charlie loves sitting in my ergo carrier. I would be at a complete loss without it. It is the only way I can run errands and get things done around the house. Best piece of baby gear I own!
  
• He has his 6-month check-up tomorrow, so I'll have to post some stats when I get them.
• Charlie's laugh is just about the sweetest thing. We love this boy of ours so much!
  

Henry's crayon wrap...

...one of the little things I made him for Christmas.

Christmas books...

Our Christmas books have been out since December 1st and boy are we enjoying them.


There is one in particular that is Henry's favorite. We read it multiple times every single day. Good thing it's one of my favorites too! It's called Who is Coming to Our House. I had never heard of this book until I stumbled upon it last year at Barnes & Noble. So maybe it's a new one for you too. Since it's such a short and simple book, I thought I'd share it with you. Definitely worth purchasing in my opinion :)















Isn't it just the sweetest little book? We're big fans over here.

Under the weather...

Both boys have colds. Henry has become quite varied in his snot wiping locations. I am finding snot EVERYWHERE. He wipes his nose on the couch cushions, the pillows, hand towels, blankets, my pant leg, etc. Nothing is safe. If I earned a dime for every time I cleaned up all of his snot swipes and all of his toilet misses, I think I'd be one rich lady. Such is life around here right now.

I've been trying to keep the boys home more than usual in hopes of getting them to feel better. I don't want our Christmas festivities ruined by sickness. That would be a huge bummer!

Charlie's been doing lots of sleeping...


And Henry's been doing lots of video watching (and some sleeping too). I think he's figured out that when he's sick I let him lay on the couch and watch videos...He'll be attempting to use this to his advantage in the future, I'm sure...

Hopefully these colds won't linger!

Week 25...

25-week highlights:

• This cold, dry air is doing a number on Charlie's skin. I'm back to applying lots of thick lotion. At this point it seems like applying it once per day is enough, so hopefully that will continue to be the case.
• Charlie has a cold. His nose is red and runny, but overall he is still happy and content.
• Charlie grabs onto anything he can get his hands on. I put a tablecloth on our table today and realized very quickly that that was a very bad idea. He just pulled on the cloth and everything came towards him. Needless to say, the tablecloth is now gone.
• Charlie loves to suck on our fisher-price play phone and put anything he can get his hands on into his mouth. At this point if he grabs something Henry wants I just have Henry give him a different toy to chew on. Pretty soon Charlie will become more particular about the toys that he wants and we will have a disgruntled oldest child on our hands.
• Charlie was dedicated at church on Sunday. A very special day!
• Charlie is still sleeping well. I still have him napping in his carseat on the floor in the kitchen under the vent. I don't want to mess with a good thing.
• Charlie continues to be a delight.
  

"I am just reading"...

I walked into the kitchen the other day and found Henry like this...

When I asked him what he was doing he said, "I am just reading. I like Curious George." Ok.

Henry's been saying some pretty funny stuff lately. His little voice and vocabulary are just about the sweetest things. Here are a few things he's said lately that made me laugh:

• He went to one of John's games with Grandma Sharon earlier in the week while I stayed home to put Charlie to bed. When he got home I had just taken a shower, so I had wet hair. Before I put him to bed I gave him a snack and we sat together at the table. Neither one of us was talking, but after awhile Henry said to me, "So mommy, how was your shower?" I just started laughing, but he didn't think it was funny, he just wanted to make conversation with me.
• The other day I told him that he was going to go stay with Grandma Gail while I ran a few errands. He looked at me and said, "Yeah, she is missing me."
• John's been working with Henry on thanking me for the food I prepare for him. The other morning I gave him a snack of raisins, cashews, and crackers (nothing fancy) and as he was eating at the table he said, "This is yummy, thanks mommy!"
  

I'm 30 today...

I started out my 20's living with some pretty fun girls in a dorm at Fresno Pacific...

and I've ended my 20's by living with some pretty fun boys at home...

This past decade has been good to me. I can't wait to see what my 30's will bring.