The Tank's 4 Month Stats

Went to the Dr. today for Bear's 4 month check-up and the nurses and Dr. all kept saying how big and strong he is.  What can I say? He is just our little tank.  I was really happy to see though that he has not only gained weight, but he has grown a ton and is pretty even in percentiles for height, weight and head circumfrance, so he is not just short and fat anymore! Here's the stats:

Weight: 18 lb. even  (96%)  Contrary to Grandma Sue's predictions, he is not heavier than his cousin, Summer, who is already 7 1/2 months old...... he is a whole ounce lighter :)

Height: 26 1/2 "  (95%)

Head Circum.: 17" (96%)

He is tall with lots of brains and muscle and a smile that gets ya everytime!  This picture is from Easter.... look for lots more Easter pictures to come soon!

4 Months and Some Firsts

Baron is 4 months!  I can't believe its been that long since he was born, and at the same time, I look at him and think, I can't believe that kid is only 4 months old! He continues to be the cutest, but chubbiest little tank and boy do we just love our little smiler! He has started giggling more, especially at Jackson- he just thinks his brother is hilarious! He has a Dr. appointment on Monday, so I will post his stats then! 

Besides that, Baron has had some firsts lately! Just last Friday, Bear ROLLED OVER!! It was pretty funny how it happened..... John was actually home earlier because his hours at work have finally started to slow down, and I was telling him how Bear is probably going to take forever to roll over because he is so chubby.  I was telling

 him that he doesn't even try, but just cries when I put him on his belly..... so I put Bear on his belly to show him, and of course he then proceeded to roll over!! And he kept doing it over and over too! He pretty much will do it now anytime you put him on his belly because he really doesn't like laying on it.  Here's one of the many clips we got of the action:

Also, another first, we have already had to give Baron some rice cereal! He is usually a good sleeper, and sleeps a good 10-11 hours or so, but lately he has been waking up in the middle of the night just starving.  So after talking to many moms who suggested we give him a little bit of cereal before his last time nursing before bed, we decided to give it a try.  And sure enough, he likes it, and has been sleeping great since! I know the kid doesn't look like he needs any extra food, but he is so big because he really has a big appetite!  Here's a picture from his first try at cereal:

he looks pretty scared in this picture, but he actually really liked it

And here are just some other super cute pictures of our little man:

Here's a really cute pilot outfit my Grandma Kitty sent him 

This is what he did during Conference.... just rolled around on the floor and playing with the knobs on the drawer

This picture just makes me laugh everytime i see it!

The newest facebook addict....

So besides currently not having much free time mainly due to a very busy and hard working hubbie, my only other excuse for not blogging much lately is due to my latest addiction..... Facebook!  I have always been against it as well as Myspace in the past, mainly because I think blogging is so much better, but lets face it, most people that are not a stay-at-home mormon mom usually just don't blog- they Facebook instead! Now I know there are a few of you out there that are not some of those things and you still blog, which makes me very happy! I wish everyone would blog, but unfortunately not many of my friends do.  Anyways, a couple of my buddies from BYU-I finally convinced me that if I wanted to keep in touch with everyone, facebook was the way to go.  And I have to admit, it has been a lot of fun to reconnect with friends I have not seen or heard from in years.  Since I signed up for my very own facebook account, I have been able to reconnect with friends from high school, girls from my b-ball team, lots of church friends I grew up with, my cousins, my husband's cousins from both Utah and Oregon, friends from BYU-I, friends from LCC, and even some of my fellow baton twirling teammates!  It has been a lot of fun, and I have to admit that it has made me feel like I am not so totally removed from everyone living on a deserted island anymore!  The negative side to all this though- I probably spend way too much time on there for a mom of 2 young boys.  I'm pretty sure Baron is getting a little bored of sitting on my lap while I go a "facebooking".  But it has been fun and I will probably keep it up because really, there just isn't a better way to find and reconnect with old friends.... for now at least.  I am still working on getting everyone I know into blogging :)

In the meantime, we got a new camera, FINALLY! Our old one was just that- old.  It was starting to get really slow and not take very clear pictures.  Thanks to a super sweet deal from good ole' Costco, we now have a new camera that unlike our old one, will take a video longer than 30 seconds! Wahoo! So here's some of the pictures I have taken over the past few days: 

First Giggles

Bear was in a great mood today, as he generally is, and when we were playing he started giggling!  So I ran and got the camera and was able to capture a few more giggles! Just as a warning, it was just me, so I had to film while still trying to make him giggle, resulting in a very shaky video, but I'm just glad I got it! 

Finally, Some Sunshine and a Short Trip to Glide

Even though it didn't last long, we were extremely happy to finally see some sunshine up here in the northwest! Last week the boys and I decided that since we aren't seeing John too much right now anyways due to tax season, we might as well take a rode trip down to Glide to visit John's parents and younger sister for a couple of days.  While we were there the weather was absolutely gorgeous and even got up to the 60's!  So we luckily got to spend some much needed time outdoors feeling the sun and enjoying the country side beauty of Glide. Here's some pictures to show just how pretty it is out there:

Can you imagine running around your high school track that is surrounded by gorgeous mountains and trees like this? It's crazy to me I guess b/c I grew up in So. Cal where the view from our track was Chapman Avenue.... but at least we could smell the In'n'out that was just a block away!

Jackson really had a fun time just being outdoors and being a boy! 

He ran some laps....

and threw lots of rocks which is what he is doing in this next picture

Meanwhile, Bear just hung out in the baby bjorn and checked out the view....

and took a couple naps

I think this next picture is my favorite picture ever... he just looks so tuff and like he is about ready to beat you up.....

which is funny because he is usually like this:

all smiles and lots of fun!

We had lots of fun and even got a day of sunshine back here in Portland when we got back, which we spent at the park!  Unfortunately it didn't last long, but hopefully it will come back soon and stay for a while!

3 Months!

Today Baby Bear is 3 months old!! Boy does time fly with 2 kids! For journaling purposes, here is a little info. on Baron at 3 months old!

BARON....

*Is sooo smiley and even smiles at Jackson sometimes while watching him be crazy

*Loves taking a bath

*Sleeps 11 hours without waking once, but makes up for it by eating a ton all day

*Hates when I eat chocolate and refuses to eat from me... just like his brother use to do

*Still likes his carseat and usually just sleeps the whole time he is in it

*Still passes gas like crazy and louder than any kid his age should be able to :)

*Is already in 6 month clothes!! He is seriously just a tank! We are not sure exactly how much he currently weighs, but we do know its over 15 pounds, most likely around 16 pounds

*Is starting to play with the toys that hang down over his vibrator seat

*Still loves to be swaddled

*Is finally getting getting more hair on his cute, but big little head

*Is starting to really coo and even giggled yesterday for the first time!

We sure love our Baby Bear! He is definitely a keeper!

look at those thunder thighs! gotta love the fat roles!

Here he is in his brother's new big boy bed

We finally bit the bullet and bought Jackson a twin size mattress so we could move Baron to the crib since he was getting way too big for the pack and play cradle part.  When John finishes the CPA this summer he is planning on making Jackson a cool bed frame, but for now the mattress on the floor will have to do! 

Not Much Going On....

Really, there hasn't been anything real exciting going on here, but just in case you were wondering what we are up to, here's a short update:

* John- unfortunately we don't get to see too much of him right now due to it being tax season and him still having to study for the CPA :(  the boys definitely miss spending time with their Daddy..... we cannot wait for April 15th to be here!  

*Steph- I am struggling with being patient with physical therapy and my knee.... there has only been really slow progress and it is in just as much pain, if not more from all the stretches and exercises. It is really frustrating because I really want to get back into working out and especially running, but everytime I try to do anything I can't walk for the next couple of day.  The Physical therapist thinks I need to get an MRI, blah! I hear those are expensive and insurance doesn't always cover a lot of it.  So for now I guess I need to just learn patience and keep going to PT.  

*Jackson- is struggling a little bit with sharing toys and being reverent during sacrament at church, but we are working with him.  Other than that he is picking up words and phrases like crazy... its weird but so nice to have him tell us in a short sentence what he wants, likes, sees, or hears.  He is just growing up too fast! Lately he is really into "help mommy" as he says with everything especially cooking, dishes, vacuming, sweeping and laundry.  It's fun and good for him to be so into that, but sometimes he just makes a bigger mess... oh well, what can you expect from a 2 year old :)

*Baron-  Still the best baby ever..... I love that kid! He has been sleeping 10-11 hours at nigh without making a peep for a couple of weeks now and is starting to get more active and even play with some toys! He is still super smiley and is starting to really coo at us which is so cute :)

So that's about it! Here's just a couple pictures: 

Jackson playing in the tunnels my parents got for him for Christmas

Jackson's new trick- using a chair to get to things he is not suppose to be able to get to!