Who needs TV?

Who needs TV, movies or any other form of entertainment when you have kids?

Today Mr. B was crawling across the living room while Miss H called him like a dog and attempted to lure him over to her with a can of cat food. Nothing like live comedy in our very own living room!

Here is a short video of Mr. B crawling/dragging himself over to a toy. Of course H had to make an appearance and get in on the action too. Considering he's only six months old, he definitely thinks he has places to go and people to see!

More Milestones

Mr. B is now 6.5 months old and, in the past few weeks he has reached many new developmental milestones.

1. Crawling! Though he will only move forward a few inches at a time and has yet to crawl across the room, he's well on his way. The funny thing is that he loves the plank or push up position where only his extended arms and toes are on the floor and his knees, hips and chest are elevated off the ground. He "rests" in this position between crawling jaunts. Anyone who has ever stayed in push up position for very long knows that it's not very comfortable and requires a lot of upper body strength! Who knows, maybe he'll join the Army when he grows up. Or maybe he'll be a yoga instructor.

2. Sitting. At our six month visit with the public health nurse, she asked if he could sit with support. I could honestly say that, not only can he sit with support, he can sit independently! The kid likes to sit so much that he even tries to get into a sitting position when he's laying down, something even I find difficult with my post-pregnancy abs some days.

3. Eating. Have you ever watched a dog jump up and steal food off the table and gobble it as quickly as possible so he can finish all of the tasty goodness before someone tries to take it away from him? That is what it looks like when Brett eats. He attacks the spoon, he tries to grab the bowl and pull the whole thing toward his mouth and the kid definitely loves to eat. So far we've tried rice cereal and puree/mashed apples, pears, carrots, peas, bananas, corn and prunes. Though he makes the "squint, pucker, shudder and act like you're poisoning me" face for the first few bites when we introduce a new food, he usually proceeds to very happily eat the rest of his meal.

4. Laughing with his big sister. Last week when we were on vacation, all four of us were sharing a bedroom so Mr. B and Miss H had travel cribs right next to each other. During nap time, we put them both in their beds, closed the door and went to sit in the living room while they slept. Soon we heard laughter and squeals coming from the room. Turns out she was standing up in her portable crib, reaching into his crib and tickling him. Both were giving big, happy belly laughs. Hearing this brought big smiles to our faces and warmed our hearts. These two have such a special bond and we love watching their relationship develop.

The thing that everyone notices about Mr. B is that he's such a happy, joyful soul. Though I know I'm partial, he is an incredible little guy. It's so much fun to watch him grow and change!

Made in the Shade

Even more funny than the photo is what Miss H says any time she puts sunglasses on- "It's dark out!" This girl certainly keeps us entertained!

Six Adults, Eight Kids and One House

We haven't updated the blog lately because we've been on a KidCation. No, that is not a kid-free vacation...rather, it's a vacation with a LOT of little kids running around everywhere. The trip was arranged by Hubby and two of his college buddies. One friend and his wife have two children and the other friend and his wife have four children. Add our two kids and the grand total is eight kids and six adults all staying in one house. All we need is a field of crops and some livestock and we could start our own colony!

Miss H is in heaven with little buddies to run around and play with all day long. She is never quite sure if she should play with the "big girls" who are four years old or if she should play with the kids her own age (two boys who are both 2 years old). Usually all of the kids play in one big group which results in a big herd of children running and screaming all over the house and yard.


Mr. B is adjusting well to all of the chaos and has LOTS of big "brothers and sisters" to look out for him (or tickle and poke him). The two year old boys (from other families) keep asking if they can have him and, even on our most difficult days, we are 100% certain that we'll keep him. Even Miss H gives a firm "NO!" when anyone asks if they can have or borrow Mr. B.


We're enjoying friends and fun under the hot Arizona sun. While the house has been a little more chaotic and a lot more noisy than we're used to, we've made some great memories and shared a lot of laughs.

First Meal of Many

Mr. B turned six months old last week and we decided that it was time to offer him his first non-breast milk meal. I started off with a small bowl of rice cereal mixed with breast milk so it would have a familiar taste and since rice cereal is usually the first food recommended for new eaters. Well, the kid is a big "grabber" and insisted on grabbing the bowl and trying to pull the whole thing toward his mouth. Then he grabbed the spoon out of my hand and shoved it half way down his throat. Saying he was excited about eating is a mild understatement!

Since I was also trying to help Miss H eat her dinner (not to mention also eat my own supper) and Hubby was out for the evening, I finally gave up on the spoon feeding for the night and opted for a Farley's biscuit so he could hold it himself and just go to town. He attacked it and acted like he had been doing this eating thing his whole life!

I think Mr. B must get his appetite from his mother who eats anything that doesn't eat her first and who hasn't missed a meal in her 29 years of life. Bon appetit!

Happy Six Months to You, Little Boy Blue!

Our Little Boy Blue (aka Mr. B) is six months old today! Wow, how time flies! Last night I was thinking about how six months ago I was in labor and heading to the grocery store. Yes, that is what some laboring women do...go to Safeway to stock up on a few last necessities and hope the baby doesn't make their grand debut right in the middle of the canned fruits and veggie aisle. Talk about a need for "Cleanup on aisle six!"

Mr. B is such a happy, content, joyful little soul and he has been a wonderful addition to our family. Though Miss H wanted a kitten instead of a baby, even she can't deny her love for him.

To celebrate his half birthday, we'll be serving up some rice cereal with breast milk as a chaser. I probably won't be able to produce his favorite beverage when he turns 18 (though it would be quite amusing if I could pump bottles of beer from my breasts...) so hopefully the birthday boy enjoys his feast.

Next up- first birthday party! I can't wait to get started on his cake!

A Birthday Party, A Baptism, Grandparents and a Gold Medal!

The past week has been one for the record books! Hubby was out of town attending a conference, leaving moi as a single parent. Though we missed him a lot, the time passed quickly and both kids were very cooperative and well-behaved. We had a week filled with play dates, friends and outings.

Last weekend, Hubby's parents came to visit. It was nice to get to see them and they even helped me take the kids to their music classes which was a special treat!



Saturday afternoon we went to one of Miss H's best friend's second birthday party! It was a fantastic celebration and H and her little buddies had a great time together. There was eating (cake!), drinking (milk), dancing and even some piano playing...all the ingredients for a perfect party!




On Saturday evening Hubby/Daddy-O returned home! Woo hoo! We were all very happy to see him and our house felt complete once again.

Sunday morning we attended the baptism of my friend's son. It was a very nice ceremony and he was a very happy, agreeable little guy through the whole ordeal. Our kids did well too and sat nicely though the service. Miss H waved at one of her friends in the pew ahead of us and Mr. B watched the ceiling fans going 'round and round but at least both were quiet!

That afternoon we watched the Canadian men's hockey team play the Americans in the gold medal match. I felt torn and didn't know who to cheer for so I only watched a few minutes of it out of the corner of my eye. Hubby was happy that Canada won and I think I'm happy too, though I probably would have been just as happy if Team USA had come out on top. Any time that Canada and the US compete, I tend to be a little bit fickle in where my loyalty lies.

We had a nice visit with the grandparents, the birthday party was fantastic and the baptism was very nice. All in all it was a gold medal, winning weekend!