Happy 4 Months Pumpkin!

Wow - today you are 4 months old big boy!





So what is new with you?


You are wearing size 3 - 6 month clothing but fit better into clothes that are 6 months. You are too long for any 3 - 6 month outfits that have feet in them.


You wear a size 2 diaper.


I am guessing you weigh between 13 and 14 pounds and you are 24 1/2 inches long.


You still eat 6 ounces every 3 - 4 hours.





You are still the best sleeper. You are down for about 11 hours these days peep free - usually from about 9 p.m. to about 8 a.m.


Most mornings I just go into your room before you make a peep because you are content to just suck on those fingers. That is something that you have really started doing in the last month. I can hardly get a picture of you without your fingers in that sweet little mouth!


You can roll over - from your tummy to your back. I am still trying to capture that moment on video. You haven't figured out how to get back to your tummy yet.


You are getting more comfortable sitting up in your Bumbo seat.


You have a smile for just about anyone that will smile at you. Wyatt, Daddy, and I always get smiles. You think we are pretty special. You are cooing constantly and squeal with delight when you get excited.





Yesterday we dipped your little feet in Ditda's pool and you made the funniest expressions. We hope to get you in the pool soon. Speaking of water, I finally figured out a way to bathe you without you crying so that is a plus.


And you look like a little pumpkin to me with that orange hair - and you are plumping up nicely. Love you precious boy!

Out for Summer and the Bumbo

Wow - I have been an absentee blogger but these past couple of weeks have been crazy with all kinds of unexpected twists and turns. Wyatt finished up his year at his Mother's Morning Out program. He had a short program on Thursday but my pictures didn't turn out too good. The lighting in the gym was very dim and I wasn't close enough to get any help from my flash. Here is one picture of him onstage waiting for his name to be called for his goody bag and balloon.





And here is a picture of him after we got home since I knew the indoor school ones hadn't turned out. Wy will be going to 4 year old Kindergarten in the fall and he is very excited about starting his new school.





I brought Chase to the program and he was all smiles beforehand and then slept through the program part.





He is just getting cuter every day and his personality is starting to really show. He is usually a happy guy but when he gets mad, it happens out of nowhere. There is not a lot of fussiness leading up to it. He is just happy one minute and then highly put out the next!

He is almost 4 months old so we have been working on strengthening those neck muscles with tummy time and by sitting in the Bumbo Seat. Here is a little video I took one day this week of him sitting in his new chair.

Much Ado About Nothing

It has been a pretty uneventful week but I have a few random things to share.

Tennessee has a great reading initiative sponsored through Dolly Parton. She has a foundation called "Dolly Parton's Imagination Library" and it provides a free book every month to all children until the age of 5! I signed Wyatt up once we moved to TN so he has been receiving books monthly in the mail since he was about 2 1/2. I signed Chase up shortly after he was born and his first book arrived in the mail this past week.





And the books they send are good books - well known classics and some new favorites as well like "Ladybug Girl". We only got one wishy washy Native American book that Jeremy threw on the floor half way through and told Wy "it was a bunch of hippie junk" because it mentioned spirit dreams. Ha!


But still, it is a pretty amazing program if you ask me. Since Chase received his first book when he was 3 months and he will receive one book a month until he is 60 months, he will accumulate 57 books at no cost to us! I figure it is the closest thing I will ever get to "free assistance" so I totally took advantage of the offer. Thanks Dolly!


Speaking of reading, it is a very big deal in this household. Wy loves to be read to and will give up staying up later in order to get more books read. I usually read to him in his bed but recently have been getting him to bring his books downstairs so we can include Chase.





I am sure it had to do with the bright colors in the pictures, but Chase was so enthralled with the books we were reading the other night. I hope he turns out to love books as much as Wy does.


I had a wonderful Mother's Day. My boys "got me" sweet cards and I finally got the Flip video camera I have been wanting.





It connects directly to my computer through a built in USB so there are no extra cords and it downloads it as a MP4 so I don't have to convert it like I did the other ones. I think I am going to love it and will put it to good use.


That is about all I have to share for now. We are supposed to go on a field trip to a park on Thursday with Wy's class so that is the highlight of my week. Here is a 14 week old picture of baby Chase. His little upper lip disappears when he smiles just like mine does!

Easter and Mud Pies - A Perfect Combination

I was scrolling through my pictures earlier today, looking for some material for my blog, when I realized I never shared pictures from Easter this year.


Unfortunately, Jeremy had to work on Easter so it was just me and my boys. I took them to my parent's church and then we went to their house for Sunday afternoon lunch. My brothers were there and one SIL, Erica, along with 7 of Wy and Chase's cousins.


I tried to get a pic of Wy holding Chase but it just went from not so great to worse so this is the best I could get.




Erica took a picture of me and my boys.




We then corralled the cousins who were there and willing to have their picture taken out on the front porch.




Aren't they getting so big?


And of course we had to let their little personalities shine through.




Then we had them all change into play clothes so they could enjoy the beautiful weather outside.


The kids are old enough now that we let them "play amongst themselves" outside and we don't feel like we have to have an adult watching them at all times. We know Emma one of the cousins will come in and tell if there are problems and they all know to stay in the yard.


So the adults were enjoying ourselves inside by chatting over coffee and dessert when I caught a glimpse of the kids outside with a bucket full of dirt.


Make that a sloshy, wet bucket full of MUD.




Oh yes, they were making mud pies. And we realized at that moment that no one had changed Chloe out of her dress. So I ran out to try to save it and took it off her to find she wasn't wearing any panties! We all had a big laugh at that one. So I went inside to find her some panties and in the meantime, my boy decided he wanted to take his clothes off too.




He and Chloe had the BEST time playing in that mud. Yes, it is messy but bodies can be washed and so can clothes. Especially a cheap outfit from the Dollar General...an outfit I had to run buy when I realized I had neglected to pack play clothes and I wasn't about to tell him he couldn't go outside and play with his cousins on that gorgeous day. I am not sure if you have ever noticed, but the Dollar Generals are taking over the world. They are EVERYWHERE.




Anyway - back to the mud pies. Yes, these children got NASTY muddy and messy and they had a ball doing it. When they were finished, I put them all in the bath and put Wy back in his church pants and undershirt for the ride home. Don't tell Wy but I had to put him in a pair of Chloe's underwear - they were plain white - because it was either that or go commando and I thought the plain white undies were a better choice.

Little Bit is 3 months!

Oh sweet baby Chase - you are 3 months old today!


I think you weigh somewhere between 11 and 12 pounds. I measured you at 24 inches in length. You have grown 6 inches since you were born! Your face has definitely filled out - your cheeks are nice and chubby and you have a second chin.


You are wearing 0 - 3 month clothes. You will be moving up soon in the sleepers though because you have no more room to grow in those length wise. You wear a size 1 diaper.


You are really starting to become more active. Your arms and legs are moving all the time. You are reaching out for the little toys that hang in front of you in your bouncy seat. And you are becoming more vocal too.





You eat about 6 ounces every 3 1/2 - 4 hours except through the night. You are a great burper.


You sleep from about 10:30 -7 without so much as a peep. You have been doing that since you were 9 weeks and 2 days.


And oh those smiles. You are giving those out daily and now include the sweet coos with them. Your little eyes light up when I get close to you with a big smile on my face and you return the smile with your little toothless grin.




You still prefer to be held but it isn't quite as time consuming as it once was. If you are really upset, you are usually just tired and after holding you close for a little bit, you fall asleep and then I am able to get back to whatever it was I was doing. You are also liking your swing - finally.


Your hair is still red in the back and the fuzz on top is a lighter red. Everyone thinks you look just like your dad.

Do They Have Weight Watchers for Dogs?

Looks like someone has been enjoying a little too much of her doggie treats...



Oh yes, Ms. Phoebe got STUCK between the porch railings! Wy was walking on the OUTSIDE of the railings and she followed him. Instead of going back the way they came, she tried to just squeeze through the railings.

And Ms. Tubbybritches got stuck.

So of course I held her in place so she wouldn't freak out and told Jeremy to quick go get my camera b/c this was blog material. You gotta take what you can get.

Then I couldn't get her out and started to panic a little. Jeremy had to scale the outside railing and work her shoulder blades back through. It took a minute and for a second I had visions of saws being brought out to "save her."

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OK so the other thing we have been dealing with recently is getting someone to SLEEP IN. You're thinking our newborn right? WRONG. Chase sleeps from about 10:30 until at least 7. And it ROCKS. My 4 year old, on the other hand, has been waking up anywhere between 6:15 and 6:30. Most mornings we don't HAVE to be up until 7 as I have given up wearing makeup when I take Wy to school because I choose sleep instead. :)

So my smarty pants husband came up with this great idea to get him an alarm clock. You know Wy is a big time rule follower, right? So this is what his alarm clock looks like.



We told him that he cannot get up until the first number is a 7...and it works! I can tell he is awake before then because at exactly 7:00 on the dot he starts calling for me. But it is wonderful to get that extra 30 - 45 minutes of sleep! Just wish we would have thought of it earlier.

Spring Football Fix

We had such a fun day at the A-Day game in Tuscaloosa. I think Wy's favorite part was having his Mama and Dada all to himself for the day.


We got there way too early because Jeremy was worried about getting seats. We had about 2 hours to kill in the stadium before the game started. There was an alumni flag football game going on and Wy thought that was the actual game. About 5 minutes before the A-Day game started, Wy informed us he was "done watching football." Nice.

So he and I did quite a bit of stadium roaming. We visited the Dippin Dots cart twice and we people watched. He finally was content to sit up in the stands as long as he had a cup of ice to chomp on. Jeremy had to carry him on his shoulders all the way back to the car. We were all pretty much "give out."

Here are some pics from our day.


Yikes! Check out that lap FULL of Ritz cracker crumbs!



Modeling the visor we insisted he wear to help keep the sun off that little face.



Proud Dada



OK, at this point I told Wy we were going to have to settle for a pic of Big Al in the background.



But you know I was determined to get Wy his picture - and I finally got it.



Love this boy!