Christmas Week

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!

Brian's birthday is 3 days before Christmas and Rexford helped make a cake for Daddy. He helped me mix the batter and ice the cake. Then he did the decorations, making lots of squiggles and dots and lines. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Rexford proudly posing with the cake

Austin napping on Daddy's birthday

CHRISTMAS EVE

With all of the family in town Rexford got to bed very late every night for several days. On Christmas Eve he asked to watch a tv show while I made his lunch. When I looked in a few minutes later I found him sleeping on the couch.

Rexford crashed in the middle of a Curious George episode

That evening we tried to act out the Christmas story with Brian's family. The oldest two grandchildren were pretty interested and got really into dressing up and the whole thing. The younger boys were not so interested and wouldn't keep their costumes on. Maybe next year... It was pretty entertaining anyway.

Savannah as Mary, Shaelyn as an angel, and Shepherd Rexford (before he ripped off his costume a minute later)

CHRISTMAS DAY

We woke up Christmas morning with Rexford's usual request to get a chocolate out of the Christmas countdown house. Then he got to look at all of the treats in his stocking and open presents. He was so funny and every time we handed him a present he said, "I wonder what's inside." He got to open Austin's presents too.

Rexford and Austin on Christmas morning

Austin slept through most of the morning but woke up smiling and happy

Rexford flying his new airplane toy. He was so funny when he saw how it worked. He said, "Ahhh" and smiled. He definitely likes it.

Rexford loves Word World and here he is with his new SHEEP toy

Austin all dressed and ready to visit family


Rexford and Brian wearing their matching plaid shirts

Rexford wearing my old Santa hat

AFTER CHRISTMAS

The day after Christmas we went to a park to visit with friends and family. It's not a very good picture but here are the boy cousins all swinging together with Grandma. Three two year olds and one three year old - it was a crazy and loud week!

Ethan, Mark, Rexford, and Ian with Grandma Ursic

I had bought a gingerbread train kit and we were so busy we never got to make it. So after all the family left and we had some time at home, Rexford and I made our gingerbread train. Rexford put all the candy pieces on and we had lots of fun. I think it came out cute.

Rexford with his cute train

Boys

Brian took this picture of Rexford the other night during dinner. This is what happens when I am busy with Austin, and Daddy and Rexford are left by themselves at the table. When Rexford saw this picture he said, "I have a bowl on my head. My so silly." He just keeps laughing and laughing every time he looks at it.

2 Months Old

Austin turned two months old this week and had his doctor's appointment. He had to get 5 shots and one oral vaccine, poor little guy :( He stopped crying when I picked him up and seemed to be okay for a few hours. Rexford looked very nervous when Austin was getting his shots and wanted me to hold him. That afternoon Austin started to not feel so good though and wouldn't let me put him down or sit down much. He wanted to me to hold him constantly and even then he cried. I knew he must not feel good because he hardly ever cries.

Austin weighed in at 13 lbs. 14 oz. - our skinny little boy has chunked up a bit! (Just to compare, Rexford was 15 lbs. 5 oz. at his two month appt.) He was 90% percentile this time for height and weight so he's definitely growing!

He is smiling a ton now and is a pretty happy baby. It's so fun when he "talks" to me and watches us and smiles and laughs. He loves Rexford and smiles and gets excited when Rexford talks to him and kisses him. They're quite a cute pair.

Fun at Universal

We went to Universal today and had so much fun! We hadn't been since before Austin was born and my pass is only good for another couple of months. Rexford had been asking to go so we went. He was so excited when he woke up this morning and couldn't wait to go. Rexford was a little nervous on the carousel for some reason and wanted Aly to hold him but he was still smiling and then went with me. It was a really good day. Austin slept most of the time and I only had to stop to feed him once while we were there. Rexford actually made it through the outing with no two-year-old attitude or fits and was in a really good mood all day. He loved all the Christmas decorations. We were all exhausted by the time we got home and my legs were sore from all the walking. Rexford fell asleep in the car and continued his nice long nap at home. Thanks Alyson for coming to help me out!

A little blurry but he's smiling and having fun

Rexford with a big candy cane

He wanted to stand next to the giant lollipop for a picture

Playing the drums


Driving the train at Barney's playground. He loves this playground but he does not like it when the characters come out and walk around even though he likes to watch them in the show. I guess he just doesn't want to get too close to a huge purple dinosaur and who could blame him.


Austin happily sleeping in my great sling (thanks Eileen!)

Aly and Rexford sliding together

Rexford loved this slide. He kept going down again and again. It wasn't very slippery so he had to pick his feet up to go down faster.

For the first time ever he wanted to climb on the rope ladder. He did pretty well but got nervous after a little bit.

Aly helped him get down by sliding

Rexford loved this part of the playground and had so much fun running in and out

Rexford asked if he could stand on the surfboard and take a picture so here he is. He was really into the picture taking by the end of the day. He kept telling me he wanted me to take his picture.

Go Steelers!

Here are some pictures of Austin in some Steelers gear to celebrate the win last night over the Cowboys! It was a great game and they won because Austin was dressed up of course :)

So Cute

Here are the boys on Thanksgiving(before Rexford's shirt got messy :) ). They look so cute together! Austin really pays attention when Rexford gets in his face and talks to him. He will stop crying and look at him and he moves his hands trying to touch him. I hope they'll have lots of fun together when Austin is old enough to play. Rexford tells Austin all about his toys and shows him things all the time. It's really sweet.

p.s. Thanks Polly for the super cute outfit for Austin! I have to say he's adorable in it :)

Big Boy Bed

Rexford has graduated completely to his "new room!" He has had two rooms for several months now-one where he slept in the crib and the other with all of his toys where he played. He loved his crib and slept well there so we didn't really push for the complete switch. One day at naptime a couple of weeks ago he told me he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed. I said okay and put him down for his nap in his big boy bed. He's slept in it ever since! There were a couple of times when he wanted his crib but with a little love and encouragement and a brighter night light, he's still in the bed and doing well. We had a few early mornings since he can get up by himself now but we talked about waiting until the sun is up to wake up and he's been doing a little better sleeping in. Here are a few pictures of his big boy room. I still have a little decorating to do but it's getting there.

Here's Rexford in his big boy bed with all of his animals and blankets. Now that he has more room he has 5 blankets, the comforter and sheet, and about 20 stuffed animals! He has taken Austin's blanket as well!

I finally re-painted his letters from his "old room." They were pastels and didn't match so I painted them again to match his room. It was very painful for me to paint them again because it took me a long time to paint them the first time. They were solid and stripes which took forever so it was really hard for me to just paint over my hard work. Anyway, now I have to paint Austin's letters...

Here is his fun furniture from IKEA. I love the toy organizer!

I painted some frames for his bookshelf in the room colors.

Smiles

Austin has smiled a few times here and there but today he was giving me big smiles all day. Whenever he would wake up from his naps I would talk to him and he would just start smiling away. It was so cute! He really watches us and listens and definitely knows who we are. It was so much fun watching his big grins today and I'm looking forward to lots more.

He's not smiling here but I still thought it was cute :)

Rexford Update

Yesterday Rexford said, "Austin came out your tummy. Can we go to the hospital again and get another baby brother?"

During family home evening I told Rexford we were going to talk about the Holy Ghost. Rexford says, "Holy Ghost says boo!" Brian and I started laughing of course. After the lesson he said, "Holy Ghost help me feel happy" so he learned something.

One night this week Rexford got mad at me and put his hands on his hips and said in a mad voice, "I'm not putting up with this!" I had to laugh because it was cute and he probably got it from me.

On a sweeter note, he's been saying, "I'm taking care of Mommy."

Most of you know that Rexford loves firetrucks and is super excited when we drive by the fire station and they are outside. One day he told me, "I saw lots of firetrucks Mommy." I said, " I know, you love fire trucks." Then he asked, "Can I drive one when I grow up?" I don't really want him to grow up though :)

Other things about Rexford I need to write down so I don't forget: Rexford loves to talk on the phone and will talk super fast going around the room and talking about things he sees. It's really funny so I'll have to try to get a video to post. He is also very specific about which WordWorld and Diego episodes he wants to watch and will tell you if you put the wrong one on. He now turns on his own water for his bath and climbs in and out all by himself. He wants to be a big boy and do a lot of things by himself. I often find him climbing on the bed to give Austin a kiss or turning off his swing when he cries and telling me to take him out. He is so excited about Christmas trees and ornaments and tells me that he wants a Christmas tree when asked what he wants for Christmas. He is now super friendly to people we see when we're out and says hi to everyone. He knows what car everyone in our families drive and he knows where certain people work. He'll always point it out when we pass by. He knows which way to turn from our house to go to the store or the park and it's amazing how much he remembers.

This Week

Little Austin is definitely growing! He's now wearing size 1 diapers and has moved out of most of the newborn clothing. He's getting chubby in his face and adding a little fat on his skinny arms and legs. He still eats less than Rexford did and still sleeps quite a bit. He is awake more though and likes to look around outside and stare at the toys on his little play mat. He has started to really smile a few times this week when I talk to him in the morning although I don't have any on camera yet. He has worried me quite a bit this week with his terrible congestion and little cough so I hope he's okay. He has trouble breathing well when he's flat so most of the time he ends up on my chest because I can't bear to hear him snort and breathe like that. Rexford has been sick this week with a runny nose and bad cough. Hopefully they'll both be feeling better soon! It's been a little cold this week but we've managed to have a little fun outside, taking walks and playing at the park. Here are some photos of my boys.

Austin taking a nap in the swing

Rexford thought it was fun to hold Austin and laughed when he started to fall over

I couldn't get Austin to look at me but they're cute anyway

Austin and Rexford hanging out together on the couch

Rexford gets so excited when Daddy comes home from work. He loves it when Brian bounces and plays with him on the bed.

It looks like Austin is crying here but he really just had his mouth open. Aren't they so cute together?!

I almost caught one of Austin's smiles but not quite. He's getting older :( but I love it that he can smile for real now.