Playtime

Just a few pictures that capture a normal day around here - lots of playing!

Grady doing a puzzle - he's great at these now and can do big ones (24 piece) on his own. This one is a map of the US, so the great thing is that he learns his states as he builds it!








Anson rolling around with some of his favorite toys...





And playing with Daddy





Just a fun comparison - Grady in the same shirt - almost exactly the same age:

Anson Laughing at Grady

The other morning we catpured a very typical scene in our house - Grady making Anson laugh and smile...

Grady and the Birds

Last weekend Daddy brought Grady downtown to feed the ducks, check out the fountains, and hike around. Apparently there were a ton of pigeons down there that day, so he ended up feeding them more than the ducks...










Then he climbed some trees at the Children's Garden





A video of him feeding the pigeons...

and another one...

Anson Tried Peas!

Well Anson doesn't seem to like rice cereal very much, so I have moved on to trying vegetables with him. The first one we tried was peas (on October 27), since Grady and I both love them.

Grady fed him his first bite:



I am not sure he really loved them...



But once I stopped harassing him with the peas he was all happy and kicking his feet up!







I plan on making a lot of his food, so this weekend I am hoping to pull out my new machine and go to work!

On the Farm

Grady had a birthday party for his friend Berit at the horse farm this weekend. Mama brought him, and we had a great time! Of course G made a new (girl)friend and they were all sad to leave each other by the end of the party.

The kids got to ride horses:






Then Grady was just acting like a cowboy by the stables





Kickin' up the red dirt





Hay ride!





petting area

Anson is 5 months old!

Anson is 5 months old today and doing great! Here's what he is up to...

size: Not sure exactly since he doesn't have a 5 month doctor visit, but I think he is about 15.5 pounds and 25.5 inches? Either way, he seems like a great size to me - nice and chunky, but not super huge. He wears size 3 diapers. He wears mostly 3-6 month clothes, but a lot of them are quite short on him. And the jammies are starting to get too small, so I am about to pull out the 6-9 month box of clothes.

sleep: We are doing "nap training" now (not fun) so I am swaddling him, putting on his white noise, holding him and cuddling him for a few minutes, and then putting him in the PNP (still in our room since his room is so far away in our house). I go in the first time after 10 minutes, then it is every 15. I only give it an hour, and if he is not asleep, I get him up, feed him, play a little, and then try again. We started it on Thursday and so far he has taken at least one nap that way each day (the first few days it was just one and the others he would fall asleep while eating since he was so worn out). Yesterday he fell asleep that way 3 times! So we are making progress. I am sort of sad to have to do this because I hate to hear him cry and I would so prefer to cuddle with him and hold him a lot, but with another child to care for, it just isn't reasonable. This will be better for everyone in the long run - that's what I have to keep telling myself! He takes 3-4 naps per day, depending on how long they are.

Night sleep is decent. He falls asleep in our arms at about 6:30-7PM after 5-10 minutes of holding (it used to take so much longer). We will do sleep training for nights once days are good, and it should be a breeze compared to day sleep training. Anyway, sometimes he wakes a time or two early in the evening and needs a paci, but we usually don't pick him up. Then he eats 1-2 times per night and gets up around 7:30AM.

eating: He is still exclusively nursing. Well, I guess not completely - I gave him rice cereal mixed with milk 2 times so far. He likes it OK. I hope to get him to take a 50/50 bottle of milk and formula at bedtime soon to maybe hold him over longer at night because the 2X per night is a lot! I would also feel better if he was OK with the taste of formula because then I wouldn't get so nervous about going out with Grady alone. I hope to get him eating rice cereal basically every day now. We will start purees (which I will be making with my new machine!) at about 6 months.

development: He has super strong legs and can support all of his weight on them (has been able to for months). He loves to try to sit, and is able to sort of sit for a few seconds before folding in half :) He always wants to hold hands, which is really nice. When he is nursing or when someone is talking to him, he reaches for their finger and wants to hold it. He is VERY smiley and has laughed a bunch of times, but doesn't laugh a lot yet. I think he's just new to it. Grady didn't laugh a lot at first either - it was like he didn't quite know how to. He coos a lot still, but I wouldn't call it "babbling" yet. He really enjoys his playmat now and will grab at all of the toys. He has also started using his Exersaucer, though he is still a little wobbly in it. He loves all of the little songs I do with him and also adores "Superbaby".

personality: though it is obviously too early to see TOO much of his personality, I can tell he is very mellow (way more so than G). He is content to sit pretty much wherever you put him, and is not unhappy with playing alone for periods of time (not that he gets to too often, since G adores him). He isn't fussy at all, unless he is gassy or his teeth are particularly bothering him. Normally he just goes with the flow.

nicknames: Just for fun, some are: Diaper Dan, Chubs, my little porkchop, Fatteus Thighman (I'm insane like that), Baby A, The Ansonian, Antsy, and Antson in the Pantson

Here are a few pictures from today...








and one with his best friend from the other morning...



We love you baby A!

The Pumpkin Patch

Nana brought Grady to the pumpkin patch while she was here last weekend. This is the third year we have been to this place, and it is tons of fun. There is so much to do! I really wanted us all to go, but since it was close to 90 degrees, it was way too hot to bring poor Anson to wear him in a carrier to nap. Anyway, they seemed to have a great time and brought back lots of pumpkins!

This is our family as pumpkins. He found Anson first, but we also have pumpkins representing Mama, Dada, Grady, Nana, and Gaga!







Making friends, as always





If there truly was a "Cool Bus", I think G-Man would drive it. He is one cool 3 year old!





Teepee? Not sure about this one - guess because of Thanksgiving?



"YAHOO"





We have this shot 3 years in a row! I am pretty sure it is a bit off though - G is about 40 inches, I believe.



Rule #1 of being a little boy: If it is messy, you LOVE it!





Apparently G thought this sign didn't apply to him



Thanks for taking me to the pumpkin patch, Nana!