Four Months Old

We celebrated Will's four month birthday with dinner at my parents - actually we were celebrating my step brothers birthday but it was still fun. Will is slowly but surely adjusting to life at Mrs. Cheryl's. He takes a little more mild from the bottle each day. I can't wait until he gets up to speed on his bottle milk because he has been waking up at night to make up for it.

He does have a few new tricks that have recently appeared. He is beginning to giggle. If I help him sit up he just giggles and giggles. I swear there is no better sound than my boys laughing.

Will has also discovered his feet. He grabs them any chance he gets. I'm sure it is just a matter of time before his toes end up in his mouth - like everything else.

Little by little Will is getting better at tummy time. He doesn't start crying right away so that is an improvement. He also scoots on his tummy. His little legs just push all that they can and he moves himself more than I would think possible. He does the same thing on his back. I'm worried I may have my hands full in a few months!

Max had lots fun at dinner as well. Nonno Mason was teaching him some wresting moves and Max just loved it!

Ever since our trip to Wisconsin Max thinks it is funny to yell "cheese curds' whenever someone takes a picture. It makes for some pretty funny faces.

We head to the doctor for Will's four month check up tomorrow. I wonder how much my little guy has grown?

First Day of Preschool

Today was a big day in Max's world - it was his first day of pre-school! Max was up bright and early so he had a yummy Cheerio breakfast with mommy. As we sat eating our breakfasts I asked Max if he was excited about school (I love this picture because this is a face he makes all the time wen we ask him questions). We have been talking about school all summer - in fact he and I even spent a morning over there a few weeks ago. Max knew it was coming and every time we would talk to him about it he seemed excited. This morning he was not excited - he just kept saying over and over - no school mommy! All I could think was this is not a good way to start the day.

Since before care doesn't start early enough for me to take Max Brian had to drop him off. I was sure Max would cry and I told Brian he wasn't call me to say that Max was sobbing. I just didn't think I could handle it. As I worked at school my phone rang. . . it was Brian. He was calling to tell me that Max did great! He ran off as soon as Brian dropped him off and didn't even bat an eye as daddy told him goodbye.

I picked Max up after school and he was having a great time. I tried to get him to pose for a picture with his teachers, but he was too busy playing with his new friends. He didn't want to leave, in fact he cried because he didn't want to leave! I'm glad that Max's first day went so well. He is all excited about going to school tomorrow.

So Long Summer

Well, today is our last real day of summer vacation. I spent three days at school this week and I'm back completely on Monday - even scarier than that is the fact that Max begins pre-school on Tuesday! I can't believe my little man is growing up so quickly.

We celebrated our last weekday at home - not to mention the beautiful weather - with a trip to the playground before therapy. Max ran around the equipment like a crazy man! He was also super excited because the 'mower men' were at the park. He was enthralled watching them maneuver their equipment this way and that. He watched them pack up and he was so excited when they waved and honked their horns as they drove away. I guess a honk and a wave from a 'mower man' is pretty exciting when you are three.

The weather was so beautiful that I didn't even have to worry about Will getting too hot. I swear it couldn't be a more beautiful day!

Max fell asleep in the car on the way home, so Will and I had some play time on our own. We tried tummy time, but I think it was more just 'lay there and chew on your hands' time. Will did take a hand chewing break long enough to give me a cute little look.

While I'm sad to see our summer come to an end, I'm excited about starting a new school year. I know that Max is going to love pre-school. We had pre-school parent orientation on Wednesday night, but I think it really hit me when Max's backpack arrived in the mail from LL Bean yesterday. Maybe after nap I'll get him to model it. Will is adjusting well to life at Ms. Cheryl's. He isn't doing great with the bottle, but he gets more and more milk down each day. At least he isn't totally boycotting the bottle like Max did!

Will's Baptism

How did we get so lucky? There are so many people in our lives that love our little boys it is unbelievable. This was evident yesterday as we celebrated Will's Baptism into the Catholic Church. As I looked out into the pews I was in awe. There were so many faces and so much love! It is amazing, and wonderful!

In my family every baby has been Baptized at St. Ambrose and everyone has been married at St. Ambrose. Needless to say my wonderful Italian family was slightly concerned about us having Will Baptized at our new parish, St. Joseph's. Is it bad for me to admit I was a little worried too? Father B did such an amazing job with Max's Baptism - we were the only family there and he invited everyone up to the alter to participate. I thought there was no way that Will's Baptism could possibly be as special - but it was!

Deacon Dan was incredible. He made us feel welcome and comfortable and even though there was another little boy being Baptized it still felt like Will's special day. The Deacon explained the symbolism of the ceremony beautifully and even made me tear up a time or two - especially when he made mention of how loved Will must be to have so many people there to celebrate with him. He even invited all of the children up to help bless the water in the Baptismal fount.

Will's godparents, Kathy and Phil, stood beside us as our little boy was anointed with oil and blessed with water. It really was beautiful and I love that we were able to bring our baby into the Catholic Church.

After the Baptism it was time to celebrate. We had a reception for Will at our house and things went pretty well. It was quickly obvious that I wasn't the only on that was impressed with Deacon Dan - several people commented on how great the ceremony was. Max had a fabulous time playing with his FOUR cousins. We usually only see two of his cousins regularly since they live closest, but two other cousins ( not to mention Aunt Maxi and Uncle Andy ) came in from Virginia to help us celebrate. Having four cousins to play with was super exciting to Max. Overall lots of fun was had and lots of food was eaten. Another amazing day in our very blessed lives. Again I can't help but ask, how did we get so lucky?

Sleeping Like a Baby

Little by little Will's daytime sleep is taking on a bit of a routine. He usually takes a relatively short morning nap. I'm ashamed to say that this nap is often in his car seat as I drag him wherever it is we need to go each morning. I was so much better about making sure that I had Max home when it was time for a nap. Poor Will just has to nap on the go.

He has been taking a decent afternoon nap more recently too. I can usually get him down for a good two hour nap in his crib around 1ish. If I'm really lucky this corresponds to when Max is down for his nap. I can get so much done if they are both asleep!

I do have to admit that I'm dreading the day he outgrows being swaddled. Right now he still loves it. If I don't swaddle him he flails around and wakes himself up, but I see the swaddle days being numbered. I will have to dig out the sleepsacks soon. Hopefully the transition won't be too awful!

I'm still having fun with my new camera. I think I need to figure out my lighting a bit better. I didn't want to use the flash and wash him out, but they turned out a little gray. I sure have a lot to learn!

New Toys

Both mommy and Baby Will have new toys to show off. Will had fun hanging out in the Bumbo this morning. I think he liked his new view of the world. Big brother Max had to get in on the action as well. I explained to him that a long time ago he sat in this special little chair - he squeezed his tush into it just to prove that he could. He also did everything in his power to get Will to smile. I don't think Will was in a smiling mood - but he did give Max a bit of a roar.

Baby Will has also begun a new stage of his babyhood - the drool has arrived. I think he is in the very beginning stages of teething. I know it will be a while until anything pops through his cute little gums, but in the meantime he is doing lots of drooling to get ready!

And maybe you can tell by my pictures, but mommy and daddy got a new camera! We splurged on a Nikon d3100. We went to a class to learn a little more about how to use it last night - there is so much to learn! But I sure had fun playing with it this morning. Baby feet are just the cutest thing ever and Max cracks me up with his syrup covered chin. I swear we wipe his face and then 10 minutes later the syrup is back!