Two Year Old Cutie

Harry turned two years old on Thursday April 17th!!  It is truly amazing to reflect on the past two years and realize how fast it went by and how much our lives have changed (for the better!) in that time period.  We celebrated by going to play group that morning, visiting our favorite book store in the afternoon, and eating at the Cheesecake Factory that evening!  The day was so nice that we came back home and played outside until 8:30! 

The real fun went down on Saturday when we hosted Harry's birthday party.  We had about 30 people over and I think it went well!  The kids seemed to have a blast on the playset and the weather held out perfectly for us to be able to cookout.  Harry got so many nice gifts!  It always amazes me that the has so many toys, yet we rarely get repeats when people get him gifts for holidays and birthdays.

Happy Birthday to You, Harry!

Trying to get a picture of the kids at the party was hard work!

As if anyone will be surprised by me saying this, we think Harry is one of the 2 coolest things on Earth!  He is so funny and charming and intelligent to boot.  Some things that he likes are going outside to play, going on walks in the stroller, snack time, The Backyardigans, his playset, puzzles, lining things up in perfect order, and reading books.  Some things he dislikes are coming inside from playing (he always throws a huge fit), getting a haircut, being told no, and things dressed up in costumes (mascots at ball games, puppets, Curious George at the museum--hates all of that).  It is so cool to watch him develop into an individual with definite likes and dislikes.  He is also in a fun stage where he is really into learning the basics like shapes, numbers, and letters so he is constantly showing us things wanting to know what they are.  In a nutshell, we love him endlessly and can't wait to see what he will wow us with next!

Both boys have been to the doctor lately for checkups.  First up was Elliot a week ago Friday for his 1 month check.  Here are his stats:

• Weight 9 lbs 4 oz (50th percentile)
• Length 22 1/4 inches (90th percentile)

Harry went today for his 2 year well baby check.

• Weight 27 lbs (50th percentile)
• Height 34 1/2 inches (60th percentile)
• Head 50 cm (75th percentile)

Both of them got perfect reviews!  Elliot got the go ahead for some tummy time, and Harry gets to graduate from whole milk to 1%; like we drink!  We also got some names for some pediatric dentists to take him to...I'm not picturing that going well, but it's something that we have to start sometime!   Thank you God for our precious, healthy, amazing boys! 

Baby Elliot turned 6 weeks yesterday.  He is already so different than his newborn self!  He coos and goos and we've even coaxed a few smiles out of him!  However, I think he smiles at his brother more than anyone!  It's nice to see them love each other so much because I know the fighting and bickering is just around the corner! 

Getting Bigger Every Day!

Happy 1 month birthday, Elliot!!  Even though you've only been around for a short time, we can't imagine life without you now!  We love you so much, little guy!

Our Sweet Boy

We had such an active weekend, I start to get tired again just thinking about it!  Friday night we headed to the bike store to look for Harry's birthday present...a new bicycle!  It is a super cute Trek which had to be modified just a little bit for him to fit on it.  They had to cut the seat post down a bit and put blocks on the pedals so he could reach them and now it is perfect.  He isn't quite strong enough to keep the pedals moving, but I don't think it will be too much longer.  We also picked up a helmet and a bike horn which he also loves.  I thought he would totally resist the helmet, but we told him that he has to wear it to get on the bike and now he is fine with it.  Saturday we went to the Children's Museum for the first time.  Harry had a really good time especially in the Playscape area.  He also liked the merry-go-round after a few minutes of being scared.  I got him started saying "Wheeeee!" and then he was over it.  Sunday after church we headed up to Purdue to see the Backyardigans.  I'll have to say that this production was much better than Elmo.  We got up there early enough to walk around campus, so that was fun to show the boys my old stomping ground.  It was such a beautiful day too.  We took Elliot to the show in my sling and he either slept or was a perfect angel for the whole show!  We had such an awesome family weekend!

Not loving the helmet at first!

This week, especially in the beginning, the weather has been so great!  The boys and I took an hour long walk on Monday, and Tuesday was another fantastic day.  We got our long-awaited swingset installed and Harry was in heaven!  He acclimated immediately to it and can already climb up the ladder and go down the slide himself (with a mommy or daddy hovering over him of course!!). 

Harry is such a ham at times.  I have been making a point of telling Harry the name of the foods we are eating and trying to get him to say them back.  Tonight we had pasta with meatballs.  When I pointed out the meatballs, he said ball!  I said, yes...good, meatballs.  However, he kept saying only the ball part which got Travis laughing, which got me laughing too.  Harry totally ate that up, pointing at his plate, raising his eyebrows, and saying Ball!!  in his cutest sing-song voice.  He is too cute, and he totally knows it!

Harry has started to learn some manners!  He can now say thank you (said something like "kee koo"), and he usually says it without being prompted!  We are so proud!  Elliot, on the other hand, is not interested in learning any manners himself.  He eats when he wants, sleeps when he wants (and it's usually not when I want to sleep), but as selfish as he is, I think we'll keep him! : )  He is starting to be awake more throughout the day and night, but he's still pretty easy to get along with.  I think he is either not as fussy as Harry was as a baby, or I just know how to handle it better.  Not having a good nights sleep for as long as I can remember is wearing on me, but I am actively trying to change my mind and heart about it.  I could choose to walk around being a cranky jerk all day, but what purpose would that serve?  No one would enjoy being around me and I would hate being around myself.  I'm just praying that I can stay thankful and somewhat sane until Elliot is sleeping better.  I find that getting out and about helps to take my mind off of how tired I am, so this morning we attended our neighborhood play group for the first time even though we were running late and I didn't feel like going.  But I felt better and Harry had fun and that's all that counts.  I know everything will fall into place eventually. 

Sorry, Mom, but I'm just too sweet!

Last week was pretty hectic.  My poor dad suffered another big loss...his brother Richard passed away unexpectedly on Easter morning and the funeral was last Thursday.  It stinks so much for his family and my Granny, who at 96 can't really handle a lot of stress.  So in his short little life, Elliot has already attended a funeral.  Thankfully, he slept through the whole thing. 

Last week brought a good first too, though.  We took Harry to his first show, Elmo Makes Music!  He was so, so good.  I still can't believe it, really.  I expected him to want to not sit with us, and envisioned him trying to get down and run wild.  He totally did not!  He watched the whole show and was engaged the whole time, clapping and dancing like the rest of the kids.  I was so proud.  I expected to like the show better...it was even more cheesy and corny than I though it was going to be.  And longer too...it was almost 2 hrs. long with an intermission.  I wasn't expecting that since it was geared for little kids.  It made me think that taking him to movies might not be out of the question for too much longer!  Mom came over to watch Elliot, the first time we had left him!  I bought some formula in case he needed to eat while we were gone, and he ate 2 ounces.  Mom said he took the bottle just fine.  I was a little sad that we weren't the first ones to give him a bottle, but I just had to get over it.  I had to leave her an option to feed him, and it's not the end of the world. 

One little monkey jumping on the ottoman

I can't believe Harry will turn 2 in 2 weeks!  The party date is set, and the entertainment should arrive next week in the form of a playset!!  I hope the weather is nice next week so we can try it out.  I think we will get massive use out of it this spring and summer! 

Some cute new words (for Harry):  four, five, six, eight, wow!, thank you, cookie, cracker, and he also said the letters a and o when I showed him what they were.  And for Elliot..."oooh"!  Could goo be far behind??

Sharing a sippy cup with baby brother