Preschool Graduation

Wow! Roo is a preschool graduate! But he's not going to K next year, he'll go back to preschool for another year, we're just not sure where yet.

His graduation was great, he was adorable and looked so handsome all dressed up. I won't mention how mad he was at me for making him get dressed up, but it was totally worth it.

Grandma and Grandpa came to graduation and Roo put on his best show yet. Still no singing or hand motions; well, there was that one during one song, but he was hilarious. He had plenty of sleep the night before, but he just kept yawning and yawing. So much so that he had Grandpa in tears, which put me in tears. It was just too funny. At one point he even rested his head on his hand, yeah, standing up; that's our boy!

In one of the songs, the kids sang each letter and then made the sound of the letter and said something that goes with the letter, he was right on cue for the letter "Y" when his yawn couldn't have been timed any better.

The best song of all was when each child was given an instrument and one of the kids from the class conducted. What a riot, just a bunch of kids banging on instruments for a minute until the child conductor stopped them, all the parents loved it.

Once the singing was over each of the kids went and got their diploma. After the ceremony Roo took pictures with us and his friend Kristina whose parents we carpooled with all year. Roo also got to spend the rest of the day with his Grandma and Grandpa and he had a blast. They got him a cool watch for his graduation and he hasn't taken it off since!

Roo was really sad the next day when he couldn't go to school. I don't think he realized that graduation meant that the school year is over. He really loved school all year long and learned a ton. And though he never sang in any of the shows, he sings constantly at home and likes to remind us that he knows all the words. What a great first school experience!

Good Words, Bad Words

Roo is picking up every word we use in our speech now. There's a part in Toy Story where Woody says the word "stupid." I wish the movie didn't have that word in it because it's really hard to miss and Roo picked right up on it. So we are working with him when he picks up words like this to not say them. So we went for a walk after dinner tonight and Daddy said something was "stupid" to which Roo said to daddy, "no daddy, we don't say that word."

First Harvest

While we were on vacation, Uncle Nate took care of our garden. I had moved a couple of pots off the deck to where the rest of the vegetables were growing about a week before we left. As that week went on I was thinking it was a bad idea to move the beans and basil. Unfortunately, I was right, the beans continued to die and the basil isn't doing great. I moved the basil back to the deck and need to poke holes in the bottom of the pot to help it drain. This is all a learning experience, I should have done something about this before we left, the beans were clearly asking for help and I didn't help them, I just hoped. And I had them growing so well from little seeds, they were so happy in their first spot. Doh!

But the good news is that Uncle Nate took amazing care of the garden, so the tomatoes that were looking like I'd miss harvesting them, are still growing; I didn't remember planting tomatoes that grow as big as they're growing. And we even got to eat our first cucumber! Yummy! Roo helped pick it and walked it around in his wagon for a while.

The watermelons are still doing well. I have no idea how to tell when the sweet potatoes are ready. We lost most of the pumpkins but still have hope for one of them. The squash just didn't like where I planted them since this was my second attempt at squash so we'll have to try harder next year.

So the garden is growing, I need to get some organic bug stuff to get the bugs off my cucumbers; I'll probably use Sevin Dust as Daddy's grandfather recommended last week. And hopefully we'll enjoy lots of cucumbers and tomatoes and maybe even some yummy watermelons, sweet potatoes if I can figure out how to actually know when they're done and maybe even a pumpkin or two for the kids!

Big Boy Roo

We're so proud of Roo. He's doing such an great job potty training. He pooped in the potty again today and was so excited to show me how big his poop was tonight. He wore big boy underwear, real underwear, all day today and didn't get them wet at all! I even sent him with two changes of clothes! And while Mommy and Daddy were out today, we got him a mattress and box spring and put together his big boy bed...his crib converts to a full size bed. And we put his cool new sheets with cars and trucks and comforter on it and had it all ready for him when he got home.

He was a little hesitant at first but he loves it. And he went to bed like such a good boy. And so far he hasn't tried to get out.

Roo's sleeping in a big boy bed and wearing big boy underwear!

Wow, it's amazing how fast they grow up. And props again to Kristin for figuring out when and how to potty train him. Because honestly, I was not at all interested!

By the way, shopping for little boy underwear is very exciting, finally a boy accessory I can shop for :)

Dino in an Egg

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit this weekend and they brought Roo an egg that hatches a dinosaur.  You have to submerge the egg in water for 24-48 hours and the dinosaur gradually hatches.  We put it in the tank we used to have the fish named fish in and have been watching it grow.  Roo loves to check on the dino's progress and mama and dada are equally if not more entertained.  When will it hatch?  How big will it be?  Is it possible it'll hatch a real live dino?  

But the funniest thing was what Roo said.  The egg is resting on a black colored rock.  Roo remarked that the dinosaur had gone poop.  We all thought this was hilarious and if you look at how it's sitting, it definitely looks like the done went number two.

9 Months Old

Love Bug is 9 months old today.  It's crazy how fast time is flying by.  He's got a lot to say and is talking up a storm.  He's a bit more laid back when it comes to the physical stuff though; he's not crawling yet and has taken one cruising step holding onto the sofa.  Most of the time he's just content rolling around on the floor and playing with things with his hands and feet.  He's got 1 tooth and probably a couple more on the way this week.  He's got a wonderful disposition and it makes me happy to think of he and Roo happily playing together trying to take each others toys every evening.   

A New Stage

Not only has Roo gotten taller in the last 2 weeks, he's also entered a new stage.  It's the 'outwill mommy' stage as I like to call it.  How can mommy win the battle if he's going to ask over and over and over and over (you get the idea) for the same thing.  For example, if he wants red strawberries and we've got the fridge locked....he'll just keep asking.  I'll ask him to either sit down and wait or to please stop or tell him he can have some later, but nope...he just persists.  

And what's unique about red strawberries?  Well, don't you know, they're a lot different than blue strawberries.  Well where can you find blue strawberries?  In the blueberry container of course.  Red is Roo's favorite color.  I seem to be able to avoid a lot of these outlast moments by offering him red items....at least this week!

And Love Bug did something very exciting tonight too.  He said 'dada!'   Yay!  The boys will always have major points in my book for saying 'mama' first though ;)

Time Flies...And We're Having Fun!

It's hard to believe that Love Bug turned 8 months old today.  It's funny to compare he and Roo at the same stage.  Roo was way more physical at this point, he was definitely crawling and if not cruising, he was pretty close.  Love Bug is way more chill though.  He is just as happy as can be rolling around on the floor playing.  He's also way more inconsistent with his sleep.  I can count on one hand the number of nights that he's completely slept through.  And as our neighbor discovered last week, no two days with him are the same.  To think, we were so scheduled with Roo and then this little Love Bug comes along and is just as relaxed as can be doing his own thing on his own time.  And for Roo, his speech is getting better every week; he's starting to put together some really good sentences.  And of course, he's as crazy as ever, doing head stands off the couch and jumping around the house being a silly Roo.  Oh, and how could I forget.  Dada is teaching Roo his colors.  Right now his color of choice is red....he needs to learn that blue is best!  Anyhow, we're keeping incredibly busy and having a ton of fun!  

See, there's Love Bug eating sweet potatoes and apples.  I think the apples were mixed with blueberries, so that was exciting.  But he's still just eating sweet potatoes and apples as his two major solid foods.
Look at that mess!  Dada taught Roo to throw all the junk mail in the air and pretend it's raining!  On this day, Roo took all his toys out.  It's a rare occasion, but when it happens, it's messy. 

Solids are Yucky!

Because of Love Bugs allergies, we thought it would be good to attempt solids starting at 4 months.  The allergist and pediatrician gave us the green light....Love Bug didn't.  We figure to get through all the first foods and to do them each for at least 3 days to see if he has an allergy would take a long time.  So off we went, trying the icky cereal first, no luck.  So we tried some veggies, no luck there either.  And then we unsuccessfully tried fruit.  

So here we are at 5 1/2 months and we can't even get the kiddo to open his mouth for the food....unless he's the one putting the spoon in his mouth.  We're sure when he's ready to have solids he'll let us know; until then, we try once a night just for practice.  We just can't wait for the messy fun to start :)

3 Months and 2 1/2 and a Pet Named Pet

Love Bug just turned 3 months old this week. It's hard to believe how fast he's growing. And Roo turns 2 1/2 next week. It's hard to believe that earlier this year we were worried about how much he was talking...now he's talking up a storm and his words are so much more understandable.

Love Bug decided to go through a growth spurt this last week. It's been a bit rough for mommy because he likes to eat his extra at night instead of during the day. In fact the sitter said that he doesn't eat much at all during the day. He seems to eat less than Roo did when he was a baby, but still at 3 months he's starting to wear his 6-9 month clothes!

Love Bug has also hit a few milestones. Not only does he smile all the time, he talks up a storm and he laughs now too. He can hold his hands together and even do little baby push ups. You wouldn't believe that even just last week he would only be happy on his tummy for a few moments, now he doesn't mind being on his tummy for a few minutes. Soon enough he'll be rolling over.

Love Bug is still spending his nights in the swing. Mommy tried him in the crib last night and he did ok for his first stretch of sleep but couldn't fall back to sleep after he got up. Tonight mommy decided that she's too tired to even attempt the crib. Maybe when he's 4 months old!

Roo also appears to have gone through a growth spurt. He looks taller and a bit leaner..this would probably explain all the eating the past couple of weeks. Roo has also started to show a lot more affection towards his little brother. He makes sure to give him a big hug and kiss every night before bed. He hugs are great too, they come with him saying awwwwww......

Roo also got a new pet, a male beta that he named Pet. Mommy and daddy got it for him while we were out and about skipping work one day. We called Uncle Matt to get help with a name. We all decided Nemo would be a good name....easy to say because it sounds like Elmo. But, Roo had other ideas and likes to call him Pet.

We also finally made the trip up to see Grandma and Grandpa. We had a good visit and the boys got to see their Bubbie (Great Grandma). When Roo woke up the next morning the first thing he said was "where's Uncle Matt?" We're pretty sure Uncle Matt is his favorite person! It also occurred to us the other day that Love Bug is going to look up to Roo.............

4 Months Old!

Here are a few pictures of Roo when he was four months old.  He was really enjoying that Mountain Dew, it kept him up well past his bedtime!  He absolutely loves his Jumperoo and it helps us get him nice and tired before bedtime.