6 Months

(I couldn't decide between the two so I put both!)

Here's what the 6 month old is up to:

*Napping three times a day (one nap about an hour or so after waking up, then another around 11ish, and another later nap around 3 or 4); He has taken one LONG (2.5+ hrs) nap in the crib--woo-hoo!

*EATING: 1/4 cup of cereal (oatmeal and barley) 2x per day (once with fruit and the once with a veggie)
-avacado, sweet potato, butternut squash, zucchini, pumpkin (yellow squash in freezer)
-peaches, banana, applesauce, (pears--not yet tried but in freezer)
(I am afraid he is going to turn orange with all of these orange foods!)
-Loves to drink out of an open cup with minimal spillage!
-All meals are taking place in his new highchair!

*Motor skills: Nicholas is rolling all over!  Time to start baby proofing!  I am also learning that as nice as hardwood floors look, it is not ideal when you have a baby that doesn't stay still!  He is constantly rolling off the area rug onto the hard floor (insert sad face here!);

*Socially Nicholas gets so excited when he sees other kids---he squeals and pumps his legs like he is going to run around/play with them!

*Today's vital signs from the 6 month appointment:
Height: 26.25"
Weight: 17 lb 4 oz

Outside!

The weather this spring has been quite odd.  Overall it has been chilly and/or rainy with only a few nice days in between.  We try to get out on the nice days and take advantage of the weather.  Now that we have a house there are so many different things we can do outside.  At the apartment cars were driving (quickly) down the street and there was no "safe" (read: dog poop-free) areas of grass to play ball or just run around in.  Now we are enjoying our space and doing whatever we feel like.  Such as:

Gardening

Picnicking and walking around the reservoir with cousin Emily

Bubbles!

Taking in the sights and sounds of nature (and being entertained by big brother!)

Chalk

Digging in the dirt (this is a spectator sport for Mommy!)

Smiling and laughing together

Playground playdates

And following our outdoor fun a trip to the bathtub!  Look at those toes!  Eww!

Latest Haircut

Mikey started telling us that he wants a haircut "like Daddy" and proceeds to pull back the hair from his forehead to make it seem like he is bald.  While I am not ready for all of his hair to be buzzed I was willing to compromise and let him have it shorter for the summer.  It's only hair.  It will grow back....I hope!  This was the second time we went to the barber.  Mikey was beaming the entire time because he was going to have a "Daddy haircut".  Daddy is truly Mikey's hero.  So sweet.

(Now even days later I still do a double take when he walks into the room or comes out of Eva's house because I keep thinking it is someone else's kid.  He looks SO OLD now!)

Boston Marathon

Marathon Monday started out just like our other Marathon Mondays in the past.  We wake up, turn on the tv to watch the start of the marathon (first the wheelchairs, then the elite women & men, then everyone else) and eventually make our way to a spot along the course to cheer everyone along.  This year we knew two people running--which makes it even more fun.  I was looking to cheer for Jenny, a sibling of an OT school friend of mine, and Michael was watching for his "little sister" from dental school, Mindy.  We were able to walk from our house to watch the marathon between miles 14 and 15.  (In the past (before the kids came along) our routine was to go to the Red Sox game and then head to Boylston Street to watch around the finish line.)  It started out as a chilly morning and so we bundled up and headed to Route 16/Washington Street.  Nicholas slept in the baby carrier (at one point he got hot and I took his hat off which resulted in sunburned cheeks!) and Mikey was half interested and half hungry, which made him irritable and not much fun to be around.  After an hour and a half, I had cheered  screamed for/at Jenny and we missed Mindy (based on her stats on the Boston Marathon app).  When there are so many people running it can be quite difficult to find someone in the pack!  We headed home around 1:30 to have lunch and Mike went to work.  After I nursed Nicholas, I ate lunch with Mikey and was downloading the pictures to the computer when Michael called me around 3:20 to tell me to turn on the news--there was a bomb that went off at the finish line.  I didn't know what to think.  I raced into the tv room and saw the footage.  They stopped the marathon and I was sucked in to the news reports---although we didn't know much.  Lots of family and friends were calling, texting and posting on facebook asking us if we were okay.  Thankfully we were all fine---just very scared and confused.  How could this happen?  Who did this?  Is everyone we know okay?  I offered for Jenny to stay here (she was thankful but declined) and Mike got in touch with Mindy.  It turns out that Mindy was staying at the hotel positioned at the finish line and it was closed.  They live in NYC and were planning on staying the night.  Thankfully they were safe and spent the night with us.  

That week was a week like no other.  Here we watch shows on TV like "24" and "Homeland".  Who needs to watch those "fictional" shows when this was real and it happened practically in our own backyard?!  It was frightening and scary for so many reasons.  I was afraid of the dark for a few days following the manhunt and jumped at any sight of a black, unattended backpack.  

Slowly we will all recover and remember those who lost their lives on such an innocent and patriotic day.  It is very discouraging to think that this is the world that Nicholas and Mikey are growing up in.  Through all of this, there have been many positive stories of strength, courage and love and we must remember there are many more good people out there than bad.  And I pray we will never have to live through something like this EVER again.

Here are some pictures before our lives changed forever:

(I think I need to get rid of the aviators--I look like a man in this picture!)

                                              

It was amazing to see everyone smiling and having so much fun....while running.  Simply mind blowing to me!  We were a mile from the start of heartbreak hill!

Team Hoyt--so inspirational!  I look forward to cheering the father/son team on each year!  Thankfully they were stopped a mile from the finish line and were also safe.

                                        

Nicholas with his new friend, Charlotte (Mindy's daughter)

Mother's Day

I got to spend Mother's Day with my family and it was perfect!  The boys spoiled me with cards and flowers and even let me sleep in until 9:00!  Daddy made us breakfast and we spent a majority of the day in our PJ's just relaxing with each other--which is a nice change of pace since I feel like all we do is race out of here in the morning!  The weather was crummy--rainy in the morning and then cloudy in the afternoon with occassional glimpse of sun.  We were hoping to get to Rockport--maybe next weekend.  For dinner we went to the Summer Shack.  It was the typical eating out experience with a little boy and 5 month old---Mikey did cheers and my beer spilled all over my menu and my pants, Nicholas pooped AND needed to eat just when dinner was being served...you get the idea.  Hey, if we wanted to have a quiet dinner we would have gone by ourselves.  It was Mother's Day and we spent it the way a family should :)  

Mikey made me a flower bouquet at Eva's which was beautiful.  However my most favorite gift was the envelope with my card--handwritten by Mikey without ANY help from Daddy:

Morning snuggles in bed with my favorite boys

Mommy & her boys (there was a balloon artist that made Mikey the cookie monster "hat")

 What dinner looked like....

Mikey & Nicholas: Thank you for my special day.  I love you both to the moon and back!  

Michael: Without you I wouldn't be a Mommy....thanks and I love you! 

xoxo

5 months!

Here's our happy baby another month later!  Look at those hands!!  Papa Fred says Nicholas has his Daddy's smile and hands.  He is so right! (Btw--that outfit is 9 month size!)

Nicholas is such a good baby.  He is so flexible and portable---not like he has a choice---but I'm sure that comes with the territory of being the second child.

Nicholas is going to sleep between 7:30-8:30 and waking once in the middle of the night (somewhere between 1 and 4) and then again between 6-7.  He will mostly go back to sleep until 7:30 or 8 (depending on how the night went).  He is taking NO naps when Mikey is around---he doesn't want to miss ANYTHING!  On the days when Mikey goes to Eva's, Nicholas sleeps A LOT.  It is really unbelievable!  He is not yet on any kind of napping schedule (or falling asleep on his own) but that is something I hope to work on this month.

A big milestone for Nicholas is that he started eating food this month.  So far he has eaten oatmeal, avacado (not a fan) and zucchini.  He eats one of these items now every day---typically in the afternoon sometime.  It helps if he eats when we eat.  For the most part, he LOVES it.  He helps me bring the spoon to his mouth and grunts when I take it away to get more.  I need to purchase a high chair for Nicholas.  I can see him spending a lot of time in it.  Mikey isn't ready to give up his chair yet (to pass it on to his little brother) and our other seating options aren't ideal--the Bumbo seat (he doesn't seem very comfortable in it) and the infant seat (too reclined).  That will be another project that I work on this month.

Nicholas is inconsistently rolling from his belly to his back and that's about it on the motor front.  He loves grabbing his toys and bringing them to his mouth.  He can push up on his forearms and spend a lot of time on his tummy when distracted (he spends at least 40 minutes of our time at Baby Group on his belly!).  He loves when we sing to him as well.  He has a tendency to put his blanket in his mouth, if it is nearby.  I'm wondering if we will have another "lovey" boy on our hands.....

Each month passes faster and faster.  I can't believe he is 5 months already.  I am trying to take in everything I can since the days are passing too quickly and I don't want to forget a thing!

Dinnertime Entertainment

Sorry for it being sideways.  I will remember that for next time.....