Moving Day

We settled on our new home on September 14th and have spent every day since scrubbing every inch of it, painting and doing a bizillion other things to get it ready for today...MOVE DAY!!

And what a day it was...torrential rain all day long. Our poor movers were soaking wet. Thankfully they wrapped our furniture very well so nothing was damaged by the rain, but "UGH"! We also found out that the front flower gardens turn into a pond which floods our front walkway when we get this much rain. So Ryan was out digging trenches so the movers could use it without walking through ankle deep water. It was a crazy day, but we are in now and have the rest of our lives to get it all in order!

A special "thank you" to our family for spending so much of your personal time helping us fix our place up. Specifically, Hanns and Pat who seemed to work with us around the clock, neglecting their own home for several weeks to better ours. We love you all very much!

I think he likes it!

Mason loves his rice cereal and we have now progressed to some pureed fruits and vegetables. He hasn't turned anything down yet!

Mason's First Rice Cereal from a Spoon

Mason ate rice cereal for the first time from his high chair on Sept 12th and he seemed to take to it pretty quickly, though was a little unsure about whether he really liked it or not! The truly amazing thing is just three days later on Sept 15th he was searching for the spoon and opening his mouth wide for it. We couldn't get it to him fast enough! He's a good eater - as we already knew.

Here is a video of him on Sept 12th:

Here is a video of Mason on Sept 15th:

He's a rollin'

Mason rolled over from his back to his belly for the first time today! He was so happy with himself that he proceeded to do it 4 more times!

Hunter's 2 Year Check-Up

Hunter turned 2 yrs old about a month ago, but since he didn't require any vaccinations we decided to push his visit back so it could be combined with Mason's 4 month check-up.

Hunter weighed in at 32lbs 5 ozs (89 percentile) and 37 inches long (95th percentile). He is a healthy and active boy! In just the last week, he has really begun to climb. We were at the playground and he was watching other kids climbing all over the place and the very next day he was giving it a try himself. It hasn't stopped since. On all types of furniture, obstacles, and people, he seems to spend a lot of time trying to get off the ground. For us, it is both awesome to watch and a bit scary, too.

As far as the "terrible twos" goes, we don't think we are there, or at least not yet. It is true that we get the answer "no" to just about everything first, but many times it is immediately followed by "I do". It is easy to see that Hunter is trying to assert his independence in many ways - specifically with daily habits like eating, diaper changes, brushing teeth and bedtime. But overall, he is a good kid and listens fairly well...certainly better than I would have imagined a two year old acting. Meltdowns are generally reserved for times when he is already tired and therefore a bit cranky. The awesome things he does most definitely outweigh the negative behaviors!

To name a few...

He is talking up a storm, which is incredible. He tries very hard to communicate his needs now and also tells us a little bit about his day and glimpses into what he is thinking. WHAT AN IMAGINATION HE HAS ALREADY! He is very patient with us too. As his pronunciation still needs to be refined, we don't always understand exactly what he is saying the first time out. If we repeat it incorrectly, Hunter tells us "no." and will then either repeat himself (sometimes, several times) or he will act it out or show us, so we understand him. He is stringing anywhere from 3-5 words together at a time to speak in phrases, which is pretty awesome. Hunter loves telling Knock Knock Jokes - he really is just amazing and cracks us up daily. He is very well mannered too and we think it is adorable when he says "excuse me" when he interrupts us to speak and after he burps.

His memory is incredible, as well. We can show him something and name it once and he surprises us by calling it by name several days later or even weeks later. He can also recite almost all the words to his favorite books and songs on command and is getting pretty close to saying his ABC's.

He continues to go pee in the potty when asked and has earned many prizes and much praise as a result. He has tried a few times to go #2 on the potty, but otherwise has no real interest. One other tell-tale sign of his development and lineage is that he now finds burps and farts to be extremely fascinating and usually are the punchline to most of his jokes. Dad is very proud ;-)

We could go on and on and on... but will wait for another post!!

Mason's 4 Month Check-up

At 4 months old, our little Tubba Wubba weighs in at 16lbs 4ozs (77th percentile) and is 26.4 inches long (91st percentile). He has really hit some growth spurts. In fact, we think he is going through a big one right now as he has been eating and sleeping a ton these last few days. He even looks noticeably larger from one day to the next. He is a healthy boy and handled his vaccinations with minimal tears.

He is doing a great job rolling over from his front to his back, and is getting very close to rolling from his back to his front now. He basically rolls onto his side, but because his arm stays under him he doesn't quite go that last little bit to get completely on his belly.

Mason is still extremely loud. In fact, the whole time we were at his appointment he was squealing and squawking up a storm. Dr. D asked if he was always so happy, and when we answered "yes", he said we got lucky with 2 good natured children. (WE SURE DID!)

The 2 nights prior to his check-up, Mason slept straight through from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. What a treat! We hope it continues.

Mason is also very alert now! He seems very in tune with his environment and loves interacting with others. He is starting to respond to his name and still watches mom and dad when they are moving around a room - he will contort his neck all kinds of funny ways to make sure he can follow us with his eyes. He's also starting to use his voice to let us know when he wants something, usually to be picked up or fed. Did we mention he is loud???

His hands are still one of his favorite soothers, he chews and sucks on them constantly. Lately he is also taking a special interest in his feet. He grabs them and pulls them close to his face, but has yet to put them in his mouth. I'm sure that day will be coming soon. With so much action at his mouth, it is no surprise that he gives very sloppy kisses these days.

It feels like Mason is hitting these milestones so quickly...I guess because he isn't an only child, so we aren't watching his every move under a microscope...but it really seems like the time is flying by and he is growing up so very fast. Wonder what he'll be up to next month?!

Here are some of our favorite pics from this past month:

Our New Indian Chief