Happy Baby!

Cael loves jumping in his jumperoo!

My Boys

Rice Cereal

Cael is now 4 months old so he can start eating rice cereal. Yesterday, we gave it to him for the first time. I mixed a tablespoon of the cereal with an ounce of breast milk and he loved it! He would suck on the spoon and then put his hands in his mouth and suck on them too. He also would hold onto the spoon and bring it to his mouth while I was feeding him. He got mad and would start to cry when I took the spoon out of his mouth to get more cereal.

Yummy!

Just gimme the spoon mommy!

4 Months Old!

4 months old!

Cael turned 4 months old on Sunday. Each month seems to go by faster and faster. He had his four month checkup this morning and did great. He got two shots and some liquid stuff in the mouth. He weighed 13 pounds, 6 ounces and was 25 1/4 inches tall. I think they said he was in the 18th percentile for weight and 50th for height. I don't pay much attention to the percentiles since breastfed babies generally weigh less than the formula babies. At least he was about 1 1/2 pounds and 1/2 inch bigger than Ayden at 4 months. Cael has become much more social and loves to watch what's going on around him. He doesn't want to miss out on anything. He is so happy and smiley, and coos and gurgles a lot. I love how he can be fussy one minute and if I go talk to him and smile he gives me a great big smile back :) He can go longer periods of time between nursing sessions, which is nice for me! He has started to go to sleep earlier at night (around 7 pm) and sleeps until 7-8 am. Most nights he will get up once, but in the past week there were a few nights he got up 2-3 times. I'm not used to that! He has been drooling a ton and his hands are always in his mouth. I think some teeth will be here soon. A few days after he turned 3 months old we went to get him in the middle of the night when he was crying and found him on his tummy, and he was swaddled. Somehow he rolled over, so we had to stop swaddling him since he can roll over both ways. I thought we were in for many sleepless nights ahead, but we put him in a sleep sack and he seemed to enjoy having his hands and arms loose. He still slept great. In the daytime he still wants to be swaddled though so he ends up napping in his swing. We are going to start working on napping in the crib, unswaddled, of course, very soon! Cael also had his longest night of sleeping ever....12 hours! He slept one night from 6:30pm-6:30am!

Cael loves to watch Ayden and he is always paying attention to what his big brother is doing. Ayden also can get him to laugh when we can't! Ayden also adores Cael and gives him lots of kisses and "pets" him on the head. He loves to play with him and hang out with him on the floor. I love that they get along so well. Ayden always wants to know where baby Cael is if he can't see him, and he makes sure Cael is coming along with us wherever we go.

Cael loves to play on the floor under the baby gym and grab and bat at all the toys hanging off of it. He's getting better at tummy time and likes to hang out in the jumperoo. He especially likes to be held or walked around so he can look at everything. He is very observant.

It's hard to get a picture of him anymore without his hands in his mouth!

Cael loves chewing and playing with Freddy the Firefly.

Playing in the jumperoo!

4th of July in Independence

We always go back to Independence for the 4th of July parade and stay with my parents for a day or two. This year we decided to celebrate Ayden's birthday with my side of the family that weekend. The parade started at 9:00 on Saturday morning and lasted for about an hour and forty-five minutes. My parents went early to save us some seats so we wouldn't have to sit there and wait for it to start with two little boys. My cousin and her husband along with their three kids were there, and so were my aunt and uncle. My sister and her husband, and my brother and his family also come every year. Ayden and Joel sat on the curb so that Ayden could get the candy that was thrown. There are all kinds of floats, cars, tractors, trucks, and animals in the parade. Ayden really liked the parade. Cael was awake for most of it, but did not like the loud music when it went by.

Cael in his 4th of July outfit.

The Independence Marching Band towards the beginning of the parade.

Clowns on bikes...

Huge tractor.

That evening we took Ayden to watch his first fireworks. They started at 10:00pm, but we got there an hour early to find seats. Ayden entertained us by dancing around and singing songs. I think he had too much birthday cake and ice cream that afternoon. I wasn't sure if he would make it that late, but he didn't seem to be tired. He must have been confused when we told him we were going to watch the fireworks because once we got there he kept asking us where the firemen were more than a few times.

Once they started it was really loud! Ayden didn't like it at first and sat on Joel's lap and hid his head in his shoulder. He said it was too loud and he wanted to go back to grandma and grandpa's house. Finally, he got a little more used to it and we persuaded him to turn around and watch for the rest of the time. It was a great show!

Happy 4th of July!

Ayden's 3rd Birthday-Part 3

We celebrated Ayden's 3rd birthday with my side of the family during the 4th of July weekend at my parent's house in Independence. We got there on Friday where I worked on making Ayden's Thomas the Train cake. I found the pan on Ebay since it has been discontinued. After going to the 4th of July parade in Independence on Saturday morning we went back to my parent's house and had hamburgers and hot dogs. My aunt and uncle, my cousin Kathy and her husband and 2 young children, my sister and her husband, and my brother Chris and his family were there too. Ayden loved the cake and my mom made homemade cookies and cream ice cream to eat too.

Ayden's Thomas the Train cake I decorated.

Blowing out the candles.

Ayden then opened all his presents. He got a really neat water table from my brother Greg and his family, who couldn't make it to the party.

Grandpa and Grandma Wendling got him some clothes, games, and books, but his absolute favorite present was the very cool John Deere tricycle. He loves it and has gotten really good at pedaling now, except he still has a hard time pedaling uphill.

Aunt Angie and Uncle Jeff got him some play food and pots and pans for his new toy kitchen, and Uncle Chris and his family gave him Lincoln Logs and a Caillou computer game.

Showing us how old he is.

Tour of the ISU Dairy Farm

At the end of June, the ISU Dairy Farm was giving tours to the public one Friday morning. We took the boys, and didn't expect it to be as busy as it was. They had lots of free food. Milk, donuts, cheese, ice cream, more milk... Our first stop was seeing the cows being milked in the milking gallery. They milked many of them at one time and have a window so you can watch. We then hopped on a wagon that took us through all the cow barns and told us about what they do on the farm. We got to see baby cows, mama cows, pregnant cows, and milking cows. They had different sections for all the cows. I thought it was interesting that all though cows there are impregnated via in vitro. Ayden loved seeing all the cows, but he didn't want to get too close. He was really impressed when he saw a cow pee. He kept saying "Wow!" and pointing. (This was during the height of potty training so he was very observant when it came to people or animals going to the bathroom.) It was fun, and we're looking forward to taking the boys again next year. Maybe Cael won't sleep through most of it then :)

Ayden drinking some chocolate milk.

Watching the cows eating.

Fun on the Slip n' Slide

Ayden received a Toy Story slip n' slide from Uncle Brett for his birthday and didn't waste any time trying it out. Joel set it up and got himself and Ayden into their swimming trunks to play with it. I took a bunch of pictures trying out the sports/action setting on our new camera. They turned out really well, not blurry at all. I was pretty impressed!

Checking out Buzz Lightyear.

Joel helping Ayden fly down the slip n' slide.

Ayden's 3rd Birthday-Part 2

On Father's Day weekend we had a birthday party for Ayden with Joel's side of the family. Joel barbecued some yummy pork and we had bbq pulled pork sandwiches along with baked beans and heart attack potatoes. I made Ayden a Caillou cake since he is obsessed with him. He was so excited when he saw it. Luckily, it was pretty easy to make with a round cake pan. I guess Caillou isn't popular enough to have themed party decorations or a themed cake pan. Joel's parents, brother, and his grandmother made it to the party. Ayden was so excited!

Ready to blow out the candles.

Bubbles!

Playing with his new bubble mower from Uncle Brett.

You Are 3!! Letter to Ayden...

Dear Ayden,

It's time for me to write my yearly letter to you. Your birthday was a week ago so I am a little late, but you and your brother keep me very busy, so I have a good excuse. You just turned 3 years old! Where did the time go? You became a big brother in March, and such a good one, too! You love your baby brother and you are patient and so nice to him. You give him kisses and hugs before naptime and going to bed at night. I was worried you would be jealous, but you haven't been so far. You help mommy and daddy out with him too. You like to help me give him a bath and you play with him when he is on the floor doing tummy time or playing with his baby gym.

One of your biggest accomplishments this year just happened the week before your birthday. You became potty-trained!! We have been working off and on for the past year, and decided about a week before your birthday to have you wear underwear almost all of the time instead of diapers. Well, something must have finally clicked. You had a few accidents the first few days, but then none, even at naptime and on car trips or to run errands. You wear a diaper overnight now, but that's it. You haven't had an accident in over a week and you now (mostly) tell us when you have to go. I was so worried you would decide you wanted to wear diapers for a long time, but once again you surprised and amazed me and your daddy.

Here is a little about you at 3 years old. You LOVE the show Caillou. It's about the only show you watch and you are obsessed with it. Luckily, Caillou is a nice boy and you love to copy stuff that he says. I think that is partly why you are such a polite boy now :) I even made you a Caillou cake for one of your birthday parties. You love to play outside. You like to push around your lawnmower or ride on your tractors. You also like to push your grocery cart. Sometimes you fill it up with apples from under our apple tree and you push it up the road so that you can feed grandpa and grandma's horse and donkey. I take you and Cael in the jogging stroller often while I go for a run and you are such a good boy in the stroller. You also still love tractors and trains. Whenever we come to a set of train tracks you look for trains and are disappointed if there aren't any. You love playing with your puzzles and reading and looking at books. We always read to you before naptime and bedtime. This year your favorite books have been Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books. We have a lot of them now and you love to read them.

Last year I was worried because you weren't talking as much as other kids your age. You would say some words, but you were still signing a lot. I feel silly for worrying now because you won't stop talking! You talk in sentences and paragraphs now and are always saying new words. We have to be very careful what we say around you because you will repeat it or remember it and repeat it later. You also love to make up songs and sing them or look at books and make up a story about the pictures and tell it our loud. You still enjoy playing with your toy trucks or tractors and your train table. Your favorite foods are yogurt, applesauce, and hot dogs. You eat more foods than you did a year ago, but you are still very picky. Maybe someday you will eat some vegetables?!

Your activities during the past year have been Kindermusik and gymnastics. You really enjoy both of them. In Kindermusik you love playing the big drum, the echo game, and playing with the parachute. You love gymnastics because you get to run around jumping, bouncing, and going through obstacle courses. You love jumping on the trampoline and jumping in the bouncy house with the other kids. You have learned to be patient and wait your turn in gymnastics and I'm amazed by how much your coordination has improved in less than a year. You're really growing from a toddler into a little boy.

You love to sing the ABC's, although sometimes you mix up the letters in parts of the song, and you can count to 10 and recognize many more numbers.

You love to visit your grandparents and explore their farms. We have learned not to tell you until a few hours before we are going to visit them because you get so excited and constantly bug us about going to see them. Grandpa Wendling takes you for rides in the gator and on the other tractors, which you absolutely love. You like to wander around and explore the farm. Even though there have not been any pigs there since you were 14 months old, you tell us it still smells like pigs and that they are sleeping :) You love to play with Aunt Angie and follow her around like a puppy whenever she is around.

You are such a goofy boy sometimes. We discovered a few weeks ago that you put daddy's wedding ring, which has been missing for about a year, in your piggy bank. We were so glad to find it and thought it was funny that you decided to put it there. I love your goofy dances and your random hugs, kisses, and cuddles. You are so observant and are really starting to understand feelings. You always ask "Why?" I love the random funny things that you say. One of your favorite sayings is "All day long." The first time I heard you say it was when we were eating Blizzards from DQ. You said, "I could eat ice cream all day long." Now you use it for other things too.

At times you are so independent. You don't always like to listen to what we tell you and you want to be the boss. Sometimes this ends up with you crossing your arms and pouting with your bottom lip sticking out. You like to help out with chores around the house whether it's dusting, cleaning out the dishwasher, or sweeping. You really enjoy helping me bake, and eating whatever it is we are making.

Ayden, I'm so proud to be your mommy and so proud of the little boy you are becoming. I know you will continue to make me and daddy proud of you as you grow. Not a day goes by that you don't make me laugh, and I'm amazed by some of the things you do and say. There is never a dull moment with you around and I love how you entertain us. I love being able to stay home with you and your baby brother. I'm so glad that I'm not missing out on anything the two of you do, and I love to get lots of cuddles from you both. I'm so lucky to be able to have healthy, happy boys. I love you so much Ayden and I cannot wait to see what life has in store for you. You aren't a baby anymore, but you will always be my first baby. I am so excited to watch you grow up. Just please...not too fast! I love you!!


Love always and forever,

Mommy

3 years old

2 years old

1 year old

Ayden's 3rd Birthday Party!

Invitations that Joel designed.

Ayden had his 3rd birthday party with his friends a few weeks before his actual birthday (I'm a little behind on updating). We had his party at Success Gymnastics, which is where he goes each Thursday morning for gymnastics class. They do lots of running, jumping, and obstacle courses and he loves going! He really enjoys the bouncy house, jumping on the trampoline and the bars. The kids had an hour to run around and play on everything with their parents supervising them before we had cake and ice cream. I forget how slowly 2 and 3 year olds eat so we ran out of time for opening presents. Ayden's party theme was Thomas the Train so he wore a Thomas shirt and I made and decorated train cupcakes for the kids. We also had homemade cookies and creme ice cream. Yummy!!

The birthday boy!

The train cupcakes.

Ayden's friends Eloise and Carissa in the bouncy castle.

Ayden and Carissa.

My sister Angie helping Ayden walk across the balance beam.

Getting a boost from Uncle Jeff.

Jumping on the trampoline.

Time for cake and ice cream!

The kids enjoying cupcakes and ice cream.

Yummy!!