On the move

Austin is into everything these days.  He has been doing the army crawl for a while, but just started truly crawling this weekend.  He has learned he is no longer confined to the living room and can explore the house.  Anytime we open the door the walk in pantry and he is around he squeals and makes a beeline for the door! 



                                                  

Austin found this pail while exploring today and it is his new favorite     toy.  Just goes to show he doesn't need any fancy toys for Christmas!

A day at the Park

We had some beautiful weather recently, so we decided to take the boys up to the park in the neighborhood.  It was Austin's first time in a swing and he loved it!  Aidan starts flag footfall in January, so he was practicing some football moves. 

7 months!

Hard to believe that Austin is 7 months already!  Here's a little of what we are up to these days...it's been a long time, so we have lots of updates!

Jumping, jumping, jumping!!  Austin cannot get enough of his jumperoo these days.  It's often the first thing we do in the mornings, and the last thing before we go to bed.  Sometimes he will jump for an entire hour straight!  We're a little scared what he will do with all this energy once he starts crawling and walking! Here's a short video of him jumping.

Austin has really taken to food.  So far his favorites are sweet potatoes, green beans, peas and carrots.  I started making homemade baby food and he really enjoys it.

Austin is getting better about sitting up.  He still isn't fully sitting on his own but is getting much closer! 

Talking and playing!  Austin talks up a storm these days.  Here are some videos of him.  He is doing great on the floor and although he isn't crawling, he really gets around by rolling and "scooching". 

 

Talking, talking, talking

Austin loves to talk these days.  Here's some video of him from this morning.We hit a great milestone today - Austin rolled from his back to his belly.  I just hope he can do this in his crib at daycare so he start napping on his belly there. 

When we're not talking, we love to chew on our hands.  It seems Austin constantly has his hands on his mouth and is drooling like crazy!  He loves his new Oball.  Here's video of him playing with it.

4 months!

Austin had a great 4 month checkup! He is 14 pounds, 7.5 ounces and 24.5 inches long. He is right on track with everything he is doing for his age.

We got the go ahead to try food anytime between now and his next checkup (6 months).  They recommend starting with rice cereal as most babies are able to tolerate it, and they are unlikely to have an allergy with it. Austin did not care for it at all, so we will try again in a few weeks.

                                              

The doctor and many books say that it's good to read to babies at this age.  Since Aidan needs to practice his reading over the summer, we figured it would be perfect for him to read to his little brother.  It was adorable - Austin was just starting at Aidan and really listening to him!

 We have been so pleased with Austin's daycare.  He has adjusted really well.  They made gifts for Fathers Day which was totally unexpected.  This is a magnet they made.

On our way to 1st grade!

Hard to believe the school year is over already.  Aidan is now officially a first grader!  Here are some pictures of his graduation from kindergarten. He learned so much this year and is doing great on his reading. 


                                                     Class of 2024!!!

                                                           Aidan with his Principal

                                                             The happy graduate!

                                                                      Aidan with his teacher

 Austin is much more active and alert these days. He LOVES to sit up and just look around.  He also loves when we talk to him and make funny faces.  We've even had a few laughs.   I've posted a few videos below of what we like to do during playtime. I couldn't pick a favorite so I posted 3 :) Today while we were out shopping he started making these noises while looking at the toy attached to his carrier.  I just had to laugh - he sounded so loud inside the store!

                                      
  One of my goals before returning to work was to get a highchair so we won't have to rush around when we need one. There were only a handful I was interested in, but didn't want to spend over $100.  I found a great deal on a used one that matches other items we have, but it was across town.  A sweet co-worker of mine who lives in the area offered to pick it up and I met her at the office to get it.  There is a toy that comes attached to the highchair.  This was Austin's first time in there and I went to snap a picture and ended up with this priceless expression!  The toy plays music and lights up and he was so intrigued by it! 

Austin is growing like crazy as you can see in this picture.  His "unofficial" weight is 14lbs, 10 oz.  No wonder my back hurts from carrying all that up and down the stairs multiple times a day! He is no longer the tiny, scrawny baby he once was.  Everyone gets a kick out of the onesie.  We bought it in Savannah on our anniversary trip before we knew if we were having a boy or girl. 

Aidan loves being able to hold his little brother!

                                                        I bought Aidan a superhero cape and mask at the store.  He wanted    to see what the mask looked like Austin - here it is!

                   Another soccer season is over.  Aidan did great this season and had a blast!  If he plays again   he will be moving up to the next league level. Aidan's coach has been impressed and is begging for him to play again because he really understands the game and has developed his skills this season.



                                                    Aidan's soccer team

                                                       Aidan at his end of season soccer party

                                                                    Yum!!!

                                                     

Catching up

Here's a video of Austin from this week.  Nothing too exciting, but just a bit of what he does in the mornings.  And yes, we are only wearing a diaper as we spit up a lot these days, and sometimes it's just easier to wear a diaper after we have already been through multiple outfit changes :) Our latest discovery is our hands, and boy do they taste yummy!  The good thing is when his pacifier falls out at night he will sometimes just start sucking on his hands and be content.

Another big development is we pretty much sleep through the night now!  We typically wake up around 5am for a bottle.  Then Austin will lay in his crib and watch his mobile for about 20 minutes and then go back to sleep for another hour or two.  Mommy really appreciates the sleep!  It's amazing how just 6 or 7 hours of straight sleep can make a difference.  Here are some pictures of Austin sleeping in his crib.  He actually loves his crib.  He screams to go in it for naps and to sleep at night.

Here are some other recent pictures.

                                                    Sitting in my stroller like a big boy for the first time.

                                                          Giving Daddy big smiles

                                                                   Daddy is so silly!

                                                            I love sitting up!