I never want to forget these things...

I need to start a little journal to write down a the little funny things that Ian (and someday Sean) says and does. Here are two from yesterday and today:

We're driving in the van to the farm to drop Ian off on my way to work. Sean is crying (of course). All of a sudden, he just stops. After he doesn't start up again, I turn around to see what's going on and I see Ian leaning over the side of his carseat holding Sean's hand. They were just holding hands the rest of the car ride! When we stopped and I was getting Ian out, he was still holding Sean's hand and I told him he had to let go so I could unbuckle him. He said "Hold hand so Sean no cry."

Today Ian was being sassy at lunch. He threw a big fit when he saw a piece of chocolate and I said he couldn't have it till he finished his lunch. I said, "If you're going to cry, you can get down from the table." So he did. 5 or so minutes later I asked him if he wanted to try lunch again. He said "Yes, no crying like baby, no crying like baby." over and over as he climbed back into his chair. Then he ate his lunch and got his piece of chocolate.

6 months old!

I'm wayyy behind. I'll blame the holidays :)

On November 30th, Sean was 6 months old! A whole half year! How did that happen already?! At 6 months, Sean is:

* (once again) sleeping through the night

*sitting up on his own

*starting to army crawl

*laughing a LOT

*becoming afraid of strangers

* very distracted when nursing

*has TWO teeth

*eating a few pureed foods (but giving us a heck of a fight!)

*really starting to enjoy watching everything that Ian does

*loves the "ABC Song" and we have to sing it to him at every diaper change to keep him from wiggling too much

*still hates riding in the car unless we've timed it perfectly with nap time

*taking 2 long naps and occasionally a 3rd catnap

*wearing size 12 month clothing.

At his 6 month appointment, Sean was:

18 lbs 11oz

26 3/4 inches long

Ian's 2nd Birthday

We had Ian's 2nd Birthday Party on Saturday, November 7th. It was so much fun! We had family and friends come over for a tractor/farm themed lunch and cake. Ian got so many fun gifts and lots and lots of tractors! Here are a few pictures from the day:

2 Years Old!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ian!!!

just born...

1 year old...

2 years old...

Pictures from his party to follow soon! We're still recovering from the long weekend. Charles was off work today so we could celebrate Ian's special day as a family!

Last dinner as a 1-year-old...

Last bath as a 1-year-old...

I can't believe my baby will be TWO tomorrow!!!

My handsome boys!

Photos by Rebekah Waege

5 months old!

On October 30th, Sean was 5 months old! Weighing in at about 17 1/2 pounds, Sean is always smiling and laughing, is best known for his spiky hair, can roll very easily from belly to back and back to belly, can sit unassisted for short periods, just cut the tiniest little ridges of bottom teeth, has very good hand-mouth coordination, thoroughly enjoys watching his big brother play, eats his toes like they are candy, can put himself to sleep (most of the time!), still absolutely HATES riding in the car, and has the sweetest, most excited little personality!

From the Mouths of Babes

Charles was home sick today and Sean was napping, so I took Ian to run some errands with me. We went to the post office, then on a special trip to Farm & Fleet to look at the Toyland tractors. I love chatting with Ian, he's the funniest little dude. This is part of the conversation we had.

Me: Ian, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Ian: A tractor!

Me: That sounds fun. Who do you know who is a tractor?

Ian: John, John Deere.

Me: Oh yeah? Who else?

Ian: Allis, Allis Chalmers.

Can you tell he is obsessed with tractors? Good thing we changed his birthday party theme from trains to tractors! He's going to fall over when he sees what we got him for a gift :)

And on a totally separate note, how cute is this guy?!

Gro Baby!

It's been nearly 2 years since I've started cloth diapering. I've tried dozen of different diapers, but one that I've been eyeing up is the Gro Baby! It's an AI2 or hybrid diaper that you can reuse the shell over and over and use either reusable soakers you can wash or you can try the new Bio Soakers! They come in a variety of awesome colors and recently just came out with some adorable prints! Since working at Nicki's, I get questions about what kind of diapers I use all the time! I think people like to hear what works for others and why. I'm looking forward to getting a free trial of this diaper and letting you all know what I think!!

4 months old!

Sean is 4 months old, where has the time gone?? At 4 months old, Sean is belly laughing, pushing up on his hands while laying on his belly, doing a whole lotta chatting aka cooing, drooling up a storm (cutting a tooth!?), having a 4-month wakeful period, still eating every 3 hours but staying awake longer during the day, enjoying tummy time much more, bringing toys to his mouth (or handfuls of my hair, blankets, burpcloths, really anything within reach!) and getting very close to rolling back to belly.

According to the scale at work, Sean is just shy of 16 pounds. We'll get a weight and height check for him next Monday at his 4 month appointment. Ian was 16 pounds 15 ounces at 4 months, so I think Sean will be pretty close.

Best new of this month... Sean is taking a bottle!!! We are using Playtex bottles with a latex nipple and that does the trick! I even left him home with Charles when working the Nicki's Grand Opening and he took it like a champ! Such a relief :)

Promoting the store and Sean's big debut ;-)

Here is the nbc 15 Family First news report on the new Nicki's store that I work at in Madison! You'll see a quick shot of me holding Sean and then Sean's diaper butt :)

VIDEO

Just a bit more info about our Grand Opening for those who are local and would like to come check it out...

Nicki's Diapers is having their Grand Opening Event this weekend- 9/26 & 9/27! There will be free food on Saturday from Crema Cafe and over $1000 in product giveaways throughout the weekend from BumGenius, Ergo, Happy Heiny, Moby, Klean Kanteen, Planet Wise, G-Diapers and more! We are very excited to offer the largest selection of cloth diapers, baby carriers, and breastfeeding supplies in Wisconsin. On Saturday from 11am-12pm we are offering a FREE Cloth Diapering 101 class and from 12pm-1pm we are offering a FREE Babywearing 101 class!

Store hours are Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 12pm-4pm. Extended store hours starting October 1st. For more information visit our website at www.nickisdiapers.com or email us at madison@nickisdiapers.com.

We are located on the west side of Madison at 739 N. High Point Rd in Sauk Point Square (corner of Old Sauk and High Point next to the Alicia Ashman Madison Public Library).

They grow too fast!

We went up to La Crosse on Sunday and spent the day with Brooklyn and Kristina! It was so great to see "Brooke", as Ian calls her, again! I haven't seen her since the day she was born!! I can't believe how fast the babies are growing! Here they are on the day Brooklyn was born and then here they are on Sunday, 3 months old!

He does his best thinking in the tub.

Ian's professional opinion of the NFC North division. Yes, he's saying "suck". Don't judge.

3 months old!

Sean is 3 months old today!

At 3 months old Sean is "talking" to us with cute little coos, smiling ALL the time, pushing up on his elbows when on his belly, rolling from belly to back, nursing every 3 hours, putting himself to sleep when he's put down drowsy, just started sucking his thumb, really enjoying kicking around in the tub, supporting his weight when he "stands" and holds our hands, reaching and grabbing toys hanging in front of his face, and really noticing the world and people all around him!

Sean is a much better sleep at this age than Ian was. He sleeps through the night about 5 out of the 7 nights of the week and on the other 2 or so he'll wake up at 4:45ish to eat and then goes back to sleep till 8ish.

According to the baby scale at work, Sean is just over 14 pounds, so he's put on almost 6 pounds since birth! He's wearing some 3-6 month clothing and some 6-9 month clothing. I'm not sure what diaper size he's in because he hasn't worn a disposable in over a month, but he's outgrown his size small Fuzzi Bunz diapers and is fitting into most of Ian's one-size pocket diapers.

Our little stinker is still refusing a bottle. Not just refusing to drink from it, but all out screaming, crying, pitching an absolute fit, refusing. It's quite frustrating, but we'll keep working on it.

A visit from far away friends!

We were lucky enough to get to spend time with our friends, Andrew and Kelsey, yesterday. They are in town from San Diego for a wedding and to continue planning their own wedding! Ian warmed up to them so quickly, which for him is pretty rare. He's usually quite shy around new people. He was showing them his truck and all his toys within minutes of them arriving! Kelsey kept him laughing by chasing him all around the house and Ian even asked Andrew for "hugs". It was very sweet. They met Sean for the first time and Sean loved smiling at them!

Thanks for taking time to come down and see us! We look forward to June 12th next year and Ian can't wait to be your ringbearer!

Mow Mow

Doing what the boy loves the most, and perhaps Dad loves the least...mowing. Gotta do watcha gotta do though.

Tubby Time!

There's no part of the night than Ian enjoys more than tubby time! Charles gives him a bath everynight but tonight he was wearing Sean in the Moby wrap so I took a turn, and took pictures, of course!

What I wouldn't do for beautiful eyelashes this long and full!

And the tantrum that ensues when it's time to get out!

I forgot...

...how much easier it is to take pictures of a baby rather than a toddler! So if you think I'm neglecting taking pictures of Ian, I'm not. Sean's pictures turn out like this:

while Ian's pictures turn out like this:

Another conversation with Ian...

Me: Ian, what happened?

Ian: Bubbles

Me: Where are the bubbles?

Ian: Mouth

Me: Then what happened?

Ian: *gags*

This conversation took place while Ian was in the tub having vomit washed off himself.

STTN!!!

I feel pretty confident to tell you all now (without jinxing it!) that Sean has been sleeping through the night for over a week now!!! Ahh... sleeeeeeeep!!!!!!

Little House on the Prairie

Backstory: We move into a house, figure that we need a lawnmower and low and behold, Charles' dad says, hey I have a mower that's never been used, you can have it. Awesome. So we get said mower and Charles does his lawn maintenance. You should also know that Ian LOVES mowers and mowing and anything that resembles a lawnmower. He could watch someone mow their lawn for hours. Since Ian loves it so much, Charles puts Ian in the Ergo and wears him on his back when he mows the lawn. This is probably Ian's favorite thing ever.

Two or three weeks ago, Charles is getting all ready to mow the lawn. I get Ian in his grubby clothes, put a hat on him and bring him out to Charles. I strap him on his back and assume their on their way. 5 minutes later Charles comes in with gas all over his hands. Excellent. Without getting into all the details, it turns out our mower was recalled a few years ago and the part that caused the recall broke on our mower. So we have to order that part.

Current story: Here we are, two or three weeks later and we have the longest lawn in the neighborhood. Every night when I'm putting Ian to bed we talk about what he wants to do the next day. Every night for weeks now, this has been our conversation:

Me: Ian, what do you want to do tomorrow?

Ian: Mow mow, fix.

Me: Yes baby, I know we need to fix the mower. Then you can mow with Daddy.

Ian: Back?

Me: Yes, you can ride on his back.

Ian: Hat?

Me: Yes, you can wear your hat.

What a funny dude. I love his little conversations and I can't wait till he's speaking in full sentances! The great news is that we got the call that the part came in today! Charles will pick it up tomorrow and he'll be mowing on Saturday!

I'm one lucky mama!!

How gorgeous are these two boys, seriously?!

Packer Training Camp 2009

On Saturday, August 1st, we made our annual trip up to Green Bay to watch Packer Training Camp! It was the first day of training camp this year AND it was the dedication of the new Ray Nitschke practice field. The drive up was quite eventful with a 2 month old and a 21 month old. After having to stop because Sean was crying, I ended up sitting between the boys in the backseat. We drove up the Sentra to save on gas so let's just say it was a tiny bit cramped. It was a good 3 hour drive and as we were finally getting off on our exit I said to Ian, "Ian, we're finally here in Green Bay to see the..." and he replied with, "TRACTORS!". Ahh yes. We drove 3 hours to see tractors. Right.

There were SO many people at the new practice field. We later read in the paper that there was an estimated 2100 people there for the ceremony and to watch practice! The weather held out and the rain stayed away. It was fairly warm, almost 80, but there was a good breeze. Ian managed to sit in the stands for about an hour to watch pratice before he was done with it. I took the boys walking around the stadium area so Charles could watch a bit more. We ended up leaving practice early and headed to the Lambeau Atrium. We got each of the boys something at the Packer Pro Shop and we got a Lambeau Field ornament for our Christmas tree.

Ian was nappig in the stroller so we headed up to Curly's Pub for lunch. It was cool to watch the players all get into their cars after practice to drive out of the lot. Those are some NICE cars!! Ian woke up and enjoyed the view, then of course tried to mob his brother, as usual!

The drive home was a nightmare. Sean was screaming, Charles was ill, I was stressed to the max. We somehow made it home in one piece. It was definitely worth it though and we'll do it again next year!