Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde

There has been a strange creature around our house recently. He goes by the name of Matthew, but lately his more devilish side has been surfacing. I couldn't resist taking this picture of him in a most appropriate shirt from Chicago's Shedd Aquarium that says:

"Sometimes crabby, but always cute."

Although as of late I think I would reverse "crabby" and "cute"!

The Middle Brother turns two

I know you may want to hear more on how things are going on the baby home front, but I didn't want to let an important milestone slip by un-noticed.

Matthew, ie the Middle Brother, turned two this month on April 18th. You may remember that my due date was his birthday... at least now we know the two boys won't share an actual birth date! (Don't rule out combo parties- I'm thinking this could be a serious advantage to having two boys so close together!)
We did a simple evening at home with the family. Look at the smile on that face. Do you think someone was happy to have some attention, especially in the form of singing, just for him? :)

Matthew is the family comedian and keeps us in stitches constantly. His current favorite phrase is "No way" when he is shocked by something (like every 10 minutes). He is obsessed with cars, hence the "we-o", or car, themed party and just this morning was making his waffle vroom across his plate. He follows his sister everywhere and wants to do anything she is doing. He loves to snuggle, and we spend at least 30 minutes after nap time just sitting together on the sofa. I love his chubby little feet and hands, and the goofy smile he does for the camera.

We love you Matthew and can't imagine our family without you!

Matthew's 10 month pictures

We are two weeks out now from getting the tubes put in. In that period we had one full nights sleep. Then Matthew got sick (ended up being bronchitis) and Mommy got sick and neither one of us was sleeping at night, or during the day for that matter. Everyone is back to being healthy and last night we decided to let Matthew try to settle himself down.

I never thought I would say this, but we are ready for Spring. Normally we love winter, but so far all it has brought us is illness after illness! Today it was 74 degrees. Looks like we might get our wish. :)

Cock-a-doodle-doo

You know your kids are early risers when...

...you can't remember the last time you had a good nights sleep, not to mention the recommended 8 hours.

... it's 7:15am and you are at the kitchen table, not for breakfast (that's been had a while ago), but for playing with playdough.

... the baby is having his first nap before "normal" kids are even awake.

... you wonder if its wrong for mommy and daddy to be in bed only an hour after the children.

... you don't know which to do first- lunch or naps.

I just giggle over these. Both are 9 months old. I just love those little bald heads! I also caught them both as they were first learning how to go from lying down to sitting up. Remember how they keep themselves awake those first few times? My kids just passed out from exhaustion, still sitting up. The only difference is one is in pink and one is in blue... and one is having to use a crib that his older sister used for teething! :)

Can you hear me now?

First of all, has anyone noticed that you can talk to me on the phone now and get the added bonus of actually getting to hear what I am saying for the first minute? We got new phones! Woo hoo! Thank you to Circuit City for a going out of business sale. Now I am able to have everyone hear me babble away. :)

In other hearing related news (hey, I have to connect these somehow!) Matthew is officially getting tubes in his ears this week! After 5 ear infections in just the last 4 months (and a 6th one just this week) I took matters into my own hands and made a consultation appointment with a specialist after being fed up with the run around at my pediatrician's office. He has been on more antibiotics than I care to count, which cannot be good for his tiny body. And the ENT doctor said he has some minor hearing loss already, hopefully to be reversed by draining his ears during the surgery. He also noted (duh!) that hearing loss during this crucial time of language development could hurt this phase, and ongoing ear infections can cause permanent hearing loss (duh!). OK, *deep breath* I'm off my high horse now....

While I hesitate to say "woo hoo" here as well, I am excited by at least the prospect of getting to sleep through the night. Both of us. And I just want to see Matthew feel better. And not be taking him to the doctor bi-weekly. However, I am not thrilled about my baby having to go under anesthesia, but I am comforted by the fact that this is such a common surgery. The most worrisome part? He can't have anything to eat past midnight. And you ladies know how I get him to go back to sleep...

Please pray for us on Thursday, 7:30am!

Five months old

Well, behind as usual. With a week of a house full of sickies and having family in town, I am behind on a few things and that of course includes blogging. Here is Matthew's 5 month picture. You'll never guess who he is smiling at.... his silly big sister. There haven't been any new tricks except blowing raspberries. Great, more reasons to drool. Good thing I am well stocked on burp cloths. No more rolling over either. I guess he decided that wasn't all it was cracked up to be.Demonstrating the wet raspberry


I have no idea what Grace was doing to make him laugh- probably just standing in his line of sight!

Who's a big boy now?

Guess who rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time? And guess who actually got to witness it? Mommy!

Grace was much sneakier. She did it several times before anyone ever saw it happen.

So, how much time do you think I have left on the bassinet?