Big Brother Help

One thing I do love about E (one of many things, actually) is his protectiveness for his little brother. When someone that E doesn't know gets close to G or if G gets too far from us, he will run over and attempt to pick him up (or drag him) to bring him back closer to us.  Or he will stand really close to G and make sure he is safe.

He really wants G to be able to do things with him, but G is still a bit too little.  However, they love wagon rides together.

I spotted this picture on my camera and it made me smile.  My mom said they were taken the other day.  I love it.  Thanks to E for helping out his little brother.

Growing Up

Little G is now 13 months old!  He's getting bigger and so much so, that we had to change him out of his infant car seat that my mom was using for her car.  (E was able to get a car seat that should last him until he can ride without one and G was given E's car seat from our car.)

It's pretty fun to see how similar and different G is turning out to be compared to his brother.  For example, E was never really into playing with a ball, G loves them.  E is particular about his food, G will devour anything in sight. E has always been a challenge in the sleep department, G rarely wakes in the middle of the night. E would rather play with cars and trucks, G loves to color.

They have the same laugh, are ticklish in the same spots, laugh when they are tired, pick their noses (this is new to G), love milk and water, and love to swing, be outside, and ride bikes.

G isn't talking yet, but he definitely will tell you that he wants something.  He loves to listen to music and will bounce up and down.  I mentioned in another post that G now spins in circles, particularly when we sing "Ring Around the Rosie".

He is always on the go and doesn't like to be contained. Or touched on the head much. Or to be cleaned.  He does like to play chase and climb the steps to our bathtub so he can climb in to play.

I love watching him want to do what his brother does rather than play with toys that are developmentally appropriate for him at this age.  Baby toys, schmaby toys.

 He loves to lay and roll around on the carpet.

Did I mention that this child knows how to get my iPhone screen to turn on?  

Goggle Man and Spider Man Sighting

Play Time

Since Paul gets a chance to play with the boys in the mornings while I'm getting ready for work, I really enjoy the evenings once G goes to bed.  That's when I get to have some play time with E (and so does Paul).  A few weeks ago, E wanted to build a huge train and then used us as a place to build his tracks.

 E looks like such a big kid here!

 Looking at his masterpiece!

Outside

Now that the weather is supposedly cooling off, we are able to go out in during the early evening to play.  Our backyard is pretty shaded after 5:00, so it's nice to take the boys out before bed.

G has been wanting to go up and down the slide with E, and they both love to swing. E still loves to play with water, which might be why we are getting so many mosquitoes. He also tries to get us wet. See?  

My mom helped E build a pinata and he enjoyed whacking it. After a few hits, he decided to ride his bike through it instead.

These two sure make me smile when they enjoy playing with each other.  This was one of those rare moments.

 Sweet, sweet little G.

 E still loves his pedal-less bike!

 My little man.

Happenings

Oh, what a few weeks it has been. I feel as though in putting more time into work than my family and I don't like it. I've been arriving home around 5:15 or 5:30. By that time, G is ready for bed and I'm not able to spend time with him. What makes it even harder is that G doesn't even want to come to me when I get home. He'd much rather stay with my mom. (That hurts.) I really need to refocus my time and energy to my kids and husband.

On the up side, our weekends have been full of family time. E has been taking a sports class the past fee weeks. Last week he had soccer, an the first two weeks of September were basketball. School is going well for him, except on Tuesday they had a fire drill. He told me that he ran out of the "house", was crying and said he wanted Grandma.  Poor little guy. I also attended his first parent teacher conference. His teachers said he's doing well - he is making friends, particularly a little boy named Nathan. They also said he shares well with others and that he is so sweet. In addition, they couldn't believe how articulate he is and when he needs help, he will go and ask the teachers. I mentioned that he was in speech therapy a year ago because he could only say tree words. Thy were shocked! I'm so glad that he has improved so much in a year. I'm just so proud of him all the time! He is such a smart boy and I love to hear what he has to say and what he thinks. He is definitely at the strange where he says everything on his mind, such as "why is that man naked" (when a boy didn't have on a shirt) or "why that lady _______?"

G is still on a roll! He's walking and trying to run all over the house. Today, he has thought it pretty entertaining and funny to spin in circles until he gets dizzy and falls down. The little guy is trying to freed himself with a spoon, but he can't get food on it just yet. So instead, he shovels down his food with his hands. G still eats like the food will run out and will even eat food off of E's plate and ours when his is all gone. I'm pretty sure he eats more than E does right now. G still sleeps a solid 12 hours at night on most nights. He takes on nap for anywhere between 1-2 hours. I love watching G learn and discover new things. He can stack up to three or four blocks, likes to put lids on to their correct containers, enjoys climbing up and sliding down slides, and wants to be outside just as much as his brother. It will be so nice when the weather cools and they can be outside most of the day.

I'm really looking forward to fall break in a week. Paul and I are taking to boys to our friends' cabin for a few days. It will be nice to focus on our family and some cool weather.

Pretty and Yucky

Scene:  I am lying down next to E at bedtime.

Me: "E, your hair smells really good.  You must have taken a bath."

E: "My hair smells good so I can be pretty like Mommy."

Me: "Aww, E, that's so nice!"

E: "Daddy isn't pretty.  Daddy smells yucky."

Me: "Why does Daddy smell yucky?"

E: "Daddy has to take a shower in the morning so he doesn't smelly yucky.  Daddy has to put on a shirt so he's not yucky."

Nursing Gymnastics

For a while now, G has been quite the gymnast when he's nursing.  Lately, he has become quite the yogi by doing the downward dog pose and now he's lifting a leg while doing it.

Family Photos - G's 1 year shoot

Having pushed this session back two weeks, we were finally able to get with my sister to take some photos. She, as always, took some great shots, even though the boys weren't in the best of moods.  G was ready for bed and E wanted to do everything we didn't want him to be doing.

That last one is my favorite.  ;-)

Anniversary Gift

The boys must have planned to give us the most incredible anniversary gift...

they slept in until 7:00 in the morning!  Plus, E slept the whole night in his own bed!  Yahoo! They were both in great spirits too.


Here's G, who couldn't stop smiling this morning.

Anniversary

Yesterday, Paul and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary.  His mom and her husband came to watch the boys for the evening so that we could go out for dinner and drinks.

Paul made a reservation at Elements, up on the north side of Camelback mountain.  The food was delicious! We both had a lobster bisque soup with roasted cauliflower.  For dinner, Paul had a pork chop and I had Chilean sea bass.  We shared a bottle of wine and they surprised us with dessert in honor of our anniversary.  The server even took a photo of us with the sunset in the background.  Unfortunately, it didn't come out as well as I hoped.  But it was still nice!

Our dinner didn't last very long, even though we hoped it would.  Afterwords, we went to a bar close to home to chat and have another drink or two.


It was a great way to spend a milestone anniversary.  I am so blessed to be loved by Paul each day and I love him more today than I did the day I married him.

Happy anniversary to us!

*We've decided that for our 10 year anniversary, we will take a two week trip to Italy.  Time to start saving!*

Accidents Happen

When I left work today, I had 5 missed calls from my parents.  That can't be good.

I called my mom and she told me that everything was ok, but they were at the doctor's office.

Apparently, E decided to fly into the bottom of my parent's couch which has a wooden base.  He flew face first.  They told me that he was bleeding from his mouth and his nose.  The doctor said that his nose isn't broken, his teeth are all still there.  However, the little guy has one swollen mouth and nose.  I have a feeling it's going to look much worse before it gets better.

 You can really see how swollen his lip is below.

On the up side, he was in a good mood this evening and he fell asleep really quickly.  Poor little guy.

A year in a chair: G-unit style

I'm just two weeks behind in posting this.  Paul took G to his one year check up and all is well, minus the fact that his iron levels are still low.  We are increasing his meat and spinach intake, so I'm hoping we won't have to add iron supplements into his diet.  He weighs in at 21 pounds, 11 oz. and is 30.25" tall.  He is walking on his own for several steps at a time and is eager to be able to do it all on his own.



Finally, here he is for his year in a chair!