Barrett's 2 and 1/2 & Jace is 3 months!!!!

Barrett turned 2 and a half yesterday. Hard to believe. His little life is flying by. He is getting so grown--bittersweet. No huge milestones to report as we have had no further successes on the potty, so I will share a few funny Barrett-isms with you.

1) Aunt Andrea ("Yeh Yeh") and I hung out with the boys while Heath and Adam went hunting on Labor Day. Both boys were in the stroller and we strolled past a couple sitting on a park bench. Barrett had just said something neither of us understood and I asked him what he had said for clarification and he looks straight at the couple and says very loudly and clearly, "I got a booger in my nose!" So classic! We couldn't help but laugh and neither could the couple.

2) Probably too much information, but here you go anyway...Barrett deals with constipation from time to time and had been telling me his tummy hurt yesterday after having gone a few days without a #2. I was informing Adam of this when Barrett passes gas very loudly. Adam very calmly says,"Well, he just ripped one. So, maybe he'll go." Barrett then excitedly looks at me while I am giving Adam the look for using that expression and says just as excitedly,"I just ripped one!" Again, we couldn't help but laugh, all the while making a mental note to be more careful of the expressions we use!

We go for his 2 and 1/2 yr. check-up next week and I will post his stats then.

Jace will be 3 months old tomorrow! Wow! Again, life gets faster by the day and his first year is flying by. He doesn't go to the doctor again until 4 months so I don't have any exact stats, but he is somewhere between 13 and 14 lbs at present and appears to be getting longer as well seeing as he is popping the buttons on his sleepers. He is still sleeping through the night and his head and neck are getting stronger. His movements are becoming more purposeful and he is not as easily overstimulated anymore. He is beginning to enjoy swinging a little more and he loves his activity mat now. He is also beginning to get more predictable with his schedule during the day. Here are some recent pictures. I think he looks a lot like my baby pictures right now.

happy in his bouncy seat

entranced by the baby einstein star

tummy time

beautiful boy

smiling at the baby in the mirror

A bit of catch up...long over due...sorry!

At the beginning of August we travelled to TN to introduce Jace to Grandmother and my brothers' families as well as visit Ghee and Grandaddy and the Winchester crew. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Meeting Grandmother for the first time.

Grandaddy with his boys.

Ghee and Jace

Bear playing with "Great" and having a great time!

Jace and Great in the hammock

Bear and Maw playing

Barrett and Paw catching up on loves

Jace and Uncle Chris relaxing

Barrett playing with cousins Griffin (front), Kirsten, and Lucas

We had a great time visiting everyone, but each stop felt far too short. We love you all!

New Milestones

Houston, we have take off! Barrett poo'ed in the potty for the first time last night! Adam and I acted like crazy people and made a super big deal out of it. We scared poor Jace half to death with all the screaming and jumping and whatnot. We had promised he could pick a prize when he went potty the first time and he chose the Jungle Book movie as his prize...so, off we went to Wal-mart at 8:30 last night and picked it up. He even got to stay up late and watch it. We also picked up some M&M's and some cool monster truck pull-ups to hopefully encourage more potty-going. He is still yet to pee in the potty, but I am just so excited to have started the process :)

Jace has started sleeping through the night consistantly now. He sleeps anywhere from 8-10 and 1/2 hours right now. Couldn't be happier! Hoping to hang up the zombie status once and for all!

Jace @ 2 Months and Being a "Real Mom"

(Sorry this is so belated. I have some other things to post as well as pictures, but I've got two sick boys--impossible for a toddler not to pass on a cold to a baby--and a little bit of sleep deprivation...so, you'll have to be patient with me.)

I took Jace to his 2 month appointment last Thursday. He weighed in at 12# 2.2 oz. (50-75th%) and was 22 and 3/4 in.long (25-50th %). He is getting rolls on his thighs and wrists now. Very squeezable!

He got the dreaded 2 month vaccines. Ironically, it was much harder to withstand the second go- round. I always felt like I just stomached it and felt it was tough love with Bear, so it took me a bit off guard when I got teary with Jace. It didn't help that he was hard to console afterwards. He was crying too hard to suck on the pacifier. SO SAD. He was worn out after and essentially slept for 36 hours except to wake up and eat. No other side effects other than the fatigue and hurt feelings.

He checked out well. The only matter of concern is that he still goes cross-eyed when focusing sometimes. If this is not resolved by his next appt., we will go see a pediatric opthamologist. It is getting less frequent, so I am hopeful that it is just immaturity. He goes back at 4 months.

On another note, Bear has been sick. Just a cold, but unable to go to Mother's Day Out for a week. I try to schedule appointments during his school so that I only have a baby to tag-a-long; however, with him ill, I have toted a toddler and an infant to 3 appointments in the last week. I packed Barrett's backpack with toys, books, and coloring books and tried to give him the expectation and talk it up before we went to any of the appointments. And yes, I did succumb to bribery and promise a prize if he was good--anything to avoid public humiliation from misbehavior and to maintain sanity! I can thankfully say that it went pretty well. Barrett only required a few stern looks and reminders that he would not receive a prize if he did not obey Mommy. I was so proud of both of us! There are those moments in life where you just feel like you accomplished something and you feel like a real mom. This was one of them. Going from one to two children has definitely been an adjustment and I made it by myself through 3 waiting rooms/appointments with both of them. Other such moments include labor, surviving a stomach virus with an infant/toddler, not thinking twice when your kid spits chewed up food into your hand or you wipe the snot/booger from your kids nose with your hand because there is no tissue to be found ;)

Just some pictures...

Jace has found his smile and is such a smiley baby...just makes your day!

Jace just "chillaxing" with his Daddy

Bath time

Sweet Brother Bear gives Jace a kiss goodnight.

A Visit From Friends

Erin and Sherman Bucher came to visit last weekend on their way to the beach. We had a great time visiting and the boys loved them! We will have to plan a repeat soon!

Imagination

I believe I mentioned in my last post that Bear has a vivid imagination right now. He has invented 2 somewhat imaginary friends... a giant and a dinosaur. Neither have names other than"the giant" and "the dinosaur."

If any of you are familiar with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, there is a giant that appears on the show somewhat regularly. We were watching one day and apparently, when he climbed back up the beanstalk, he really climbed up the tree you visualize out our front door and promptly came down to reside in our home. He enjoys playing ball, climbing up and down the tree, and sleeping at present.

The dinosaur appeared after we got a dinosaur in a McDonald's Happy Meal. Not quite sure how it translated into living in our house, but his favorite activity is being "stuck" in various rooms and places that Barrett requires someone else's assistance to get him out.

Barrett also enjoys playing pretend baseball and pretend fishing (both are favorite real activities right now too!). These have kept him entertained while I feed Jace--very helpful.

He also likes to pretend to make you dinner and dessert or go shopping for you. Oh, to imagination!!!