Fun Times!

Jed's Happenings

Mr. Jed has been up to a lot lately! He's been more active and playful, to say the least. Jed likes playing with his toys and putting everything in his mouth as all babies do, and he's been spending time on the floor pushing up and practicing his rolling skills.

Rhymes and more rhymes

Eli has been reciting some nursery rhymes to us recently. He surprises me everyday with what he's learned and memorized. I'm surprised everyday, several times a day!

Here's Hey Diddle Diddle.


Eli's also been trying to figure out rhyming words. Sometimes he'll tell us words that actually rhyme, but mostly, he's asking, "what rhymes with...". It's a work in progress, but I love that he's trying to figure it out!
In the video, John asks Eli to name 3 people he loves, which is a daily question. It changes all the time, so I'm sure he's mentioned your name before!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

I mentioned in the previous post that Jed is rolling. This week, I've noticed that he's never in the same spot I originally put him in on the floor! He rolls from belly to back really well and back to belly with help. Eli likes to "help" Jed roll as you'll see in the second video. Jed also somehow scoots around in a circle like the hand of a clock. He's workin' hard to be mobile! Nooooooo!


You like the pirate music in the background? :)

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!

Bros

Lefty?

Eli's drawing of construction vehicles

Home for Christmas

It was nice and relaxing to stay home for Christmas. I liked doing things with all my boys and starting our own traditions. We roasted marshmallows in the fireplace and had smores on Christmas Eve, opened gifts and stockings Christmas morning, and had coffee cake and egg casserole after gifts. We also had a fancy dinner of rack of lamb, cabbage, and risotto made my my wonderful husband on Christmas night! Here are some pictures and video to give you a little glimpse into our Christmas.



















Checking out what Santa brought


Here's Eli looking in the stockings

Christmas Fun

We decided to stay home for Christmas this year, and it's been bittersweet. It's nice to stay home and not have to endure the car trip to Dallas with two loud boys, but I do miss not being home with family for Christmas. It's a good thing we stayed home since Jed has had RSV and now passed the cold on to me and Eli...John is next! We're making the most of it, however. I'm looking forward to time with just my family in my home and possibly starting some new traditions. All the grandparents have already come to see us for Christmas, which has been lots of fun.







Mammy came last week and we made Christmas cookies. Eli did a good job helping and an even better job making a mess! We usually take some to the fire station for the firemen and give some to our neighbors, but they were too yummy this year...and they are gluten free! We might make more for giving away. : )





We went to The Trail of Lights on Friday night. It's a mile long walking trail decorated with millions of lights...very impressive and a fun Austin tradition. It was 70 degrees or so that night, and we were sweating in our jeans and t-shirts! I think that's better than being freezing, though. I took one picture of the entrance and then my camera died. The exact thing happened last year! Maybe that's a tradition!






Here are some gift-opening pictures:
















Here's what Jed has been doing through most of the activity:

Keepin' up

I can't keep up with all Eli's doing and saying these days! I keep saying that I need to write down funny things he says, but I'd have to keep some paper and a pen with me at all times. I knew the 'why' questions were coming, and now they're here in full force! It's exhausting but I have to remember that he's just trying to learn and figure out his world by asking questions. Eli is non-stop energy, entertainment and questions lately!

Santa Wish List

This video is for Santa.

Breakfast conversation

Apparently I've missing out on some good conversation between Eli and John in the mornings while I try to "sleep in" with Jed. Here are just a few snips of what I hear while I'm half asleep in the next room.

Smiley Face

Jed is officially two months old as of the 22nd. He is smiling like crazy now and even cooing and "talking" to us. Jed is sleeping like a champ, hallelujah! I can actually put him down still awake and he'll fall asleep, unlike Eli as a baby. He is also rolling to his side from his back, and somehow when I put him on the floor, he'll wiggle his way around almost 180 degrees. He's growing so fast!...how many times will I say that?
I finally got some good smiley pictures, so I had to share.

Thanksgiving

Well our Thanksgiving trip was eventful, to say the least! I don't know what we were thinking traveling to Dallas in the car with a 2 month old, a 2 1/2 year old, our dog, and all our stuff! Eli was very excited and had way too much energy on the way up there and Jed was just not happy being in the car seat, which resulted in a loud, stressful car trip. Whenever we got Jed calmed down, Eli would be loud and stir up Jed again, or as soon as Jed was asleep we'd hear, "I need to go potty!". When we hear that, it means Eli needs to go soon, but usually he had to go when it was most inconvenient. Eli did well at holding it, though, and we had no accidents. As soon as we stopped to potty, Jed would wake up, and the cycle started all over again. Luckily our dog is great in the car, so I forgot he was there most of the time. Once we arrived at our destination, we had an enjoyable time. It was just the getting there that was rough. The trip home wasn't as bad because we had two tired boys that slept most of the time. We're re-thinking our travel plans for Christmas...maybe we'll skip the travel part!

The good news is that we did get to spend time with family and had a good visit with them. Jed got to meet his great Grandma, Nana, which was special. Here they are making faces at each other:


My camera ran out of batteries while there and I didn't have a charger with me, so I didn't get any tday pictures with my family...bummer! I did get some pictures from Aunt Lisa that she took at our get together at their house.
The whole clan

Vivian was excited to hold Jed

Uncle Dan and Eli