$1.97

I found these cute pjs at Target the other day on clearance. Everyone needs some lightweight striped feet pjs for the summer, right??!! Walter calls them "Cat in the Hat jammies".

What is This Thing???

Wes doesn't eat real food yet, but the other night at dinner he was getting a little restless in the Bumbo so I gave him a green bean to play with. Of course it went straight to his mouth, as everything does, but he wasn't quite sure of the taste and texture. It's ironic to me that the kid will try to chew on a cardboard cereal box without a flinch but makes a strange face when given a piece of actual food.

Wes is currently on Amoxicillan for a sinus infection. Yeah, let me tell you how much fun it is trying to get a kid that's had nothing but breast milk for 4.5 months to open wide for a syringe of pink goo. He's not diggin it!

Songs and Prayers

Xavier has really taken to praying before meals. He now prays over pretty much any food he eats at any time of the day. Yes, we pray for goldfish and grapes after nap too. Can't forget to give thanks for snacks!!!

Here he is saying his prayers and singing a few songs. It's not the clearest, but since he was at the table eating he was actually staying still for more than 4 seconds! The prayer is "Dear Jesus, Thank you for our food. May it nourish our bodies. Amen!"

Xavier - (almost) Two and a Half

He won't be officially 2 1/2 until June 17th,  but so much is going on with X lately, that I want to post it before I forget! Our first born continues to be lots of fun. This is not to say that there aren't some "terrible two's" moments (um...pretty much daily!) So, what is he up to??

X is a good sized  2 year old. He weighs about 32lbs and is 3 feet tall. He's often mistaken for being older than he is because of his size (which makes us wonder if sometimes people think we have a very immature 3 year old - ha!). X wears 3T and 4T clothes and a size 8 shoe. 

X has been sleeping in a twin bed (on the floor) for several months now and likes it. Sleep has been a sore subject around here lately though. Left alone X will nap for 3 hours in the afternoon. Unfortunately that makes for a disastrous bedtime (aka - taking 3 hours to fall asleep) so we've had to cut his naps back to no more than about 1 1/2 hrs. It's painful to wake him up from a nap (for me) but an 11pm bedtime for a 2 year old is not an option in this house!

Favorite toys right now are cars. X has 2 little matchbox cars that he likes to take with us places. He's all about doing "vroom vroom" with his cars on just about any surface he can. X also likes to play kitchen. I frequently get the request "Mommy come sit - play kitchen" which means I sit on the floor by the little kitchen and ask for him to "cook" me different foods. Sometimes playing kitchen means he ignores you completely as you sit on the floor while he moves food in and out of the oven, microwave, and refrigerator. But so help you if you try and get up and leave the room.

X is really into Mickey Mouse (and friends) lately. He loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so we DVR that. He knows how to sing several of the main songs from the show. He has a Mickey storybook that's a favorite. He has 3 plastic Disney puzzles - Mickey Mouse, Minnie, and Donald Duck. He's taken an odd liking to carrying around the face piece of Donald. We often have to give bites of food to Donald's face at meal times too.

Since many of the "baby" toys have reemerged for Wes, X has taken a liking to those as well. I caught him trying to get in the exersaucer and the bouncy seat (both unsuccessfully) the other day. And of course "Green Bottle Grey Bottle" are STILL played with daily.

Probably the oddest comfort item is X's "green bowl". It's nothing more than a tiny plastic bowl, but it's become his must have for bedtime. It's the first thing he grabs when he gets in bed and I'm pretty sure he'd like to carry it around all day (we try to keep it in the bed so we don't have to go on a massive hunt when it's bedtime). The odd part is that he does what Walter calls "the mind meld" where he puts green bowl up to his forehead and holds it there for a few seconds. It's like he does it instinctual to calm and center himself every once in awhile. Strange!  He will also wake from a dead sleep and the first words out of his mouth are "where is green bowl?". Case in point, he fell asleep in the car today and I carried him into his room and laid him in his bed. He momentarily stirred and was half awake, asked for green bowl, and went back to sleep instantly once it was in his hand.

X's language and communication skills have really picked up. He speaks full sentences most of the time (not grammatically correct, he gets the point across) and knows what he wants. Unfortunately despite his ability to say what he wants he will still use a grunt or whine to get your attention. I can't tell you how many times a day I say "If there is something you need please use your words to tell mommy." I've started putting him in time out when he whines because I'm trying to break him of the habit of using that to get my attention. (because it's really annoying!!!) X also loves to sing songs and is really into singing Happy Birthday, Ring Around the Rosy, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Hot Dog from Mickey.

(no, he is not potty trained. he just sits there and does nothing!)

Xavier LOVES Wesley. He always needs to know where Wes is and gets upset when Wes is sleeping and not out to play. X hugs on Wes, rubs on his head, and wants to hold him all the time.  When we go somewhere he tells me "Bring Wes" (because you know, I would have just left a 4 month old alone at home!) It's adorable and I love it that he is so good to Wes. One of my biggest fears was that X would be jealous of Wes, but I haven't seen that at all so far.

i could go on, but once again, my update has become so long that I'll cut it there. I've got a few singing videos to post soon though!

They Are Now Men of the Cloth

No, the boys did not join the clergy, (despite the last name, ha!) but they are now men (boys) of CLOTH DIAPERS! Yeah, we made the plunge into the world of cloth last week. After much research and help from some friends (thank you Andrea, Ruth, Sara, Cammie, etc...) we decided to give it a go. 

I ended up purchasing Bum Genius diapers because I was able to get a deal on some "used", "seconds" and "well loved" diapers from a local baby store (cause you know I'm all about the deal!!). I promise they are all properly cleaned and bleached for those of you that are gasping at the thought of used diapers.  (And I'd like to give a quick shoutout to all those people that buy new stuff so that then I can buy it used and save a whole lotta money!)

So far so good. I, like many, have found it's not nearly as gross as I thought it might be to wash diapers. And they are soooo cute! I feel very Little House on the Prairie when I'm washing diapers....despite the fact that I have a washing machine and my "line drying" consists of putting diapers on hangers and hanging them off the side of the patio table on the screened in porch :) Todays cloth diapers are hardly those of the olden days either. No pins, no folding. These suckers snap right on, are body contoured with microfiber inserts, and come in all kinds of fun colors. Its like cloth diapering for dummies!

I initially thought I'd just use them on Wesley. Xavier is very picky lately and I thought the change might be met with resistance. But, he actually really likes them and is excited by the different colors. So, we're using them on both boys. I'm not going all radical and saying I'll never use another disposable diaper, but I'm excited to cut down on our carbon footprint!

Flashback Friday

I'm way behind on my blogging. We've been busy with good stuff (and some not so good stuff) and I hope to get caught up this weekend. Much to share! For now here's some pics of X this same time last year and the year before. Oh my has he grown! I love looking at his old pics. I hope to do some more compare pics with Wes soon too! Have a great weekend.

2008

2009

2010

New Church

Many months ago we decided it was time to "church shop", for lack of a better term. Our current church felt more and more like the wrong fit. That was a hard conclusion to come to since (for me at least) the Catholic church is all I'd ever known. My schooling, my friends, and many of my experiences in life have somehow been tied to the Catholic church. Part of me will always be "catholic" but now that I have my own little family I feel a strong urge to find a place where we fit better. I'm over the worries about what people will think if we explore other denominations and more concerned with figuring out how I can further my relationship with Christ.

So we've come across a church that just might be the one for us. It's a very contemporary Methodist church. Who would have thought? It is a far cry from what we are used to, but this just might be the shift we need to further our faith. The services are inspiring and the sermons are very applicable to life. The people are wonderfully hospitable. The atmosphere is casual. And the presence of God is amazing! Oh, and they have awesome childcare. I'm not choosing a church based on their childcare, but it actually is an important component for us. We are realizing that we get so much more out of a service if we can actually pay attention to it. Mind boggling, I know!

We are still learning about this new church. We are attending some informational meetings and will be joining a weekly "small group" next month. But we are feeling a spiritual renewal and I'm very excited. I'm actually cracking open my bible lately -- something that (sadly) hasn't happened in quite a while. And X is getting into it too. We're doing more prayers with him lately and he's got the cutest little prayer hands and enthusiastic "amen" you've ever seen!

If you have a minute could you say a prayer for us as we continue to discern if this is the right place for our family? Thanks.

Wesley Joseph - 4 Months

It's pretty easy to calculate how old Wesley is at any given point since he was born on the first day of the year! Our little New Year's baby is already 4 months old now. So, what is he up to these days??

Wesley is definitely a growing boy. He weighs about 15lbs, wears size 2 diapers and is already in 6-9 month clothing (mostly because of his long torso). His blue eyes continue to get brighter. I can't wait to see if they end up looking like X's (and mine) with the rings of color or stay sharp blue. His hair is getting lighter and he still has that little bit in the center of his head that sticks straight up most of the time.

Nursing is continuing to go really well although Wes is starting to become easily distracted (mostly by X) when he's eating. He is still nursing about every 2 hours and has taken a bottle once. Wes is a huge fan of the "binker" too and is just starting to be able to get it to his mouth if you put it in his hand.

Speaking of hands, Wes is now starting to grab for things. He's a little shaky and the item has to be pretty much smack in front of him, but he's definitely enjoying this new skill. And everything he grabs goes straight to his mouth!

Our boy still LOVES to stand up. He will actually "walk" if you hold his body up. I'm amazed that at only 4 months he gets the concept of "1 foot in front of the other". He is also doing really well on his stomach for as much as 10 minutes at a time. He has rolled over from his stomach to back occasionally but nothing consistent. We started putting him in the Exersaucer this week and he loves it because he can stand and see everything (did I mention that he's nosy??)

For as much as he's advancing in some areas, he has regressed a little when it comes to sleep. We moved him from the pack n play in our room (where he would sleep 7-8 hours, eat, then sleep another 3 hours) to the crib in his room at 3 1/2 months. Instantly he began waking up every 3 hours. It's gotten better, but he's now averaging only a 4-5 hour stretch. Thankfully when he does get up it's only for about 20 minutes to eat and then he's back asleep. I wonder if he'd go back to sleep on his own if I let him fuss longer, but I'm afraid he'll wake X and I really don't want BOTH kids awake in the middle of the night! Wes is still a random napper during the day. He's usually happy for about 2 hours and then needs some rest which ends up being 3-4 naps a day. But his nap times and lenght are not consistent. I know this is partly because we're often on the go and he doesn't always stay asleep long in the carseat or stroller. He still takes quite a few naps in the swing but I'm working on getting him to nap in his crib too.

Wes is still not much of a fan of the carseat, but things have improved. We're down to about 25% (instead of 90%) of the time where he goes into a scream fest in the car.

Wes has become such a happy baby on the whole. As long as he's fed and rested we see tons of smiles and he LOVES to laugh and talk. And he loves to get attention. He'll be fussing on the floor and the second you come over to him he breaks into a big ol grin and starts pumping his legs. Xavier is probably his favorite person. I see more smiles when he's looking at X than anyone else. X is the perfect entertainment too because he never sits still!

With the weather changing it's been great to be outside with Wes. He really seems to enjoy it. And we can't wait to take him swimming this summer because if he likes that even half as much as he enjoys baths, he'll be in heaven!

Happy 4 months Wessa Blessa!