Where has the time gone?

Well Mr. Jed is now 4 months old! I can't believe it! He had his 4 mo. appt. and here are his stats: 15 lbs. 13 oz, 50-75th percentile; 26 inches long, 75th-90th percentile; 43cm head, 50-75th percentile. Eli was always off the charts on everything. Jed is still on the big side, but smaller than Eli. Just right as far as I'm concerned. He's doing so much now. His main interest right now are his hands. He's discovered that he can grab for things and actually touch them and hold them. Eli likes putting things in front of Jed and getting excited and cheering for Jed when he actually grabs them. At 4 months old, Jed can't help but smile at everyone. I love it! He's also laughing, too. Eli is the best at making him laugh. I love watching Eli and Jed interact more and more. Jed's also rolling over. I think it's back to belly, but honestly I can't remember. And the drool is in full swing, so bibs are a must! Hopefully we have a couple more months before we see any teething. We are still working on trying to get Jed to take a bottle. He doesn't like the pacifier either. I don't mind if he doesn't like the paci, but I would really like him to take a bottle. All in all we are enjoying our little Jed!

Superman

Here's Eli wearing his Superman cape and showing his Superman muscles. His cape is my nursing cover called the Hooter Hider. I guess it has more than one purpose!

Fun with Cousins

Grayson and Garrett came to visit a couple weeks ago, along with Aunt Brynn and Mammy. Eli absolutely loves Grayson and Garrett and wants to do everything they do. They were only here for one full day, so we packed it full of activities. We went to The Austin Nature and Science Center in the morning and dug up dinosaur bones and looked at the animals. Then we headed across the street to the Zilker park playscape and played and had a picnic lunch. After naptime, we decided to go to Goin' Bananas, which is a warehouse filled with jump houses. And finally ended the day with dinner at our favorite pizza place, Craig O's...they have gluten free pizza! We were all worn out, but it was worth it. I wish we lived closer so we could have more time together and more days like that one!
Checking out a snake and digging for dino bones:


Going down the big slide at Goin' Bananas

Big Little Boy

When did Eli become such a big boy capable doing so many things? He is definitely discovering his independence and wants to do mostly everything himself. The thing is that he really can do many things by himself. It still surprises me because he is just growing up so fast. He can get dressed by himself with only undies or pants on backwards occasionally. I finally moved all his clothes where he can reach them, and he's loving it! He goes to the bathroom on the toilet with no little potty seat, just regular toilet and a stool to get himself up there. We don't have to remind him or ask him or help with pulling up pants, he just goes in there and does his thing all by himself. Eli's been doing several chores lately, too. He likes to help, for sure. He puts away his dishes in the sink, feeds Boone, puts away his clean laundry, helps put away clean dishes, washes his hands, brushes his teeth, gets food for breakfast before we get out of bed in the mornings, and more. Eli can even ride a bike! It's a special bike called a "Skuut". It has no pedals, but two wheels like a bike. Apparently it's supposed to help with balance and when he gets a big bike with pedals, he probably won't need training wheels. Eli loves this bike and rides it like a champ! I have a hard time keeping up! I know this growing up thing is bound to happen, but I think some of it is due to the fact that I really do need him to help me do things while I'm caring for Jed. I'm just glad Eli's willing to help most of the time! Either that or he's forced to do things for himself when I'm busy with Jed. He surprises me with what he manages to do by himself nonetheless! John and I have to remind ourselves that Eli is just 2.75 years old since he acts and looks a lot older than he really is.

Imagination!

Eli's imagination has really taken off recently and continues to grow! We usually tell him stories before nap and bed time, which usually include the usual ones like, 3 Bears or Jack and the Bean Stalk. But lately, Eli's been requesting his own stories that we have to make up. For example, the other day he wanted me to tell him a story of "Shooma" the giraffe. Sometimes we imagine before bedtime, too, like imagine he's a construction worker, or a bee, or a penguin. It's very fun to see his little creative mind in action! One not so fun thing about this growing imagination is that Eli's been having bad dreams. He has told us a couple times that Yoda came to see him in his room, and then he hid under the covers. Eli hasn't seen Star Wars, but he does have some shoes with Yoda on them. Yoda is pretty scary looking if you think about it, but we're trying to tell him that Yoda's a good guy. It's kinda cute, but I know it's scary for him. I'm also seeing the creative mind at work when Eli plays. There is definitely more pretend play going on. Yesterday, Eli was a pirate who has a broom for a sword, a fireman hat for a pirate hat, and an empty rice container on his foot for his peg leg. It's fun to play along. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!