Five Months Old

So I would like to introduce you to no nap Jack.  Yep that's right.  This sweet little bundle of five month old joy just will. not. nap.  I'm at a loss.  I really don't know what else to do for him.  His five month pictures don't do him justice because in every one he has this same crazy sleep deprived look on his face. Night time sleep is wonderful, which makes the lack of naps even more confusing. 

 I feel so bad for him when I see these huge eyes.  I know that he is crazy tired but he just won't sleep.  I used to be able to get at least one decent nap in the swing during the day.  Lately not even that has been working.  He might drift off for about 20 minutes, but that's it.  I'm busting out the Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child book.  I need help.

Other than that he is fantastic.  He is drooling and growing like crazy.  I think I can see two little teeth on the bottom that are just about to break through - which I'm sure are not helping our no nap situation.  His favorite toy int he world right now is his Nuby teething keys, especially when momma remembers to put them in the freezer. 

Jack still eats pretty frequently during the day and I'm beginning to think about what foods I want to start him on when he hits that six month mark.  In some ways starting solid foods is so much fun.  It other ways is causes me great stress.  I'm determined to enjoy it more this go around. 

Jack is still his sweet little self.  He loves to babble to me when I talk to him and he watches every move his big brothers make - which can make for some interesting nursing sessions when Will or Max are running around.  He hasn't quite gotten his feet to his mouth yet, but I'm sure its coming and I can't wait.

Wabash Train Line

 Last weekend at the Heritage Festival our friend told us about this super cute little place.  They have several small working steam engines and they take passengers on a ride through the woods near the Meramec River.  So after church we packed up and headed out. 

It was a perfect day for it.  The sun was shining and the weather was incredible.  I think we arrived the same time as just about everyone else, so we had to wait for quite a while before we could board the train.  Luckily the boys were able to entertain themselves.  Max kept looking out for the train and Will played in the dirt :)  Sweet Jack just hung out with momma.

The boys were so excited when we were finally able to board the train.  Will's little smile just says it all.  The ride was about 30 minutes or so and it was beautiful.  On one side of the train we could see the river through the trees.  ON the other side there were beautiful bluffs.  I can only imagine how gorgeous it will be in a couple weeks when all of the trees change.  I have a feeling we will be back for another ride.

Heritage Festival

What a beautiful weekend!  We are in the midst of the short time when the weather here is amazing - not too hot and not too just.  The kind of weather that makes me wish I lived someplace where it is like this year round.  We made the most of it by spending lots of time outside.  On Sunday we met up with friends for the Faust Park Heritage Festival.  What a fun event, I'm sure the company helped too.   We were able to catch up with friends while the boys learned about what life was like long ago. 

 Max thought it was pretty crazy that people used to write with feathers.  He was all excited to give it a shot.  I think his numbers turned out pretty darn well!

 Will was amazed at everything his big brother did.   He wanted to be just like the big kids, but it's tough to keep up with them on his little two year old legs.  He thought this rock looked like a nice place to rest for a bit.

There were so many things to see! They helped a woman prepare flax to be made into linen.  They ground apples to be pressed into cider. One of their favorites was Bob.  The kids got to watch him make a clay plate on a pottery wheel.  I think Max was amazed to know that Bob had made all of those beautiful bowls.  They really were gorgeous.  It took quite a bit of will power for momma not to buy one!

The kids were also able to explore several of the old buildings in the village area.  Max thought the old school house was pretty different than his classroom.  He was also very intruiged by the stove, but I think the most impressive building to him was the outhouse.  Silly boy.

We topped off our outing with some time on the playground and dinner at Chipotle.  It really couldn't have gone much better.  I can't wait to find something fun to do next weekend. 

Guess Who's 5 1/2?

This guy, that's who!  We celebrated with half a cake - I saw a friend do this on facebook and thought it was so cute!  Max was so excited to have us sing and he couldn't wait to dig in.  I know the picture isn't the best, but I love his shy little grin.  I can just see a thought bubble above his head saying 'For me?"  Too cute!

Just Another Day

 in the life of a very happy, at least most of the time, stay at home mom.  Jack has been enjoying tummy time on his new quilt.  I just can't get over this little guys beautiful eyes!  They get a tad bit bluer ever day, or at least it seems that way.

 Until just recently Will has shown no interest in puzzles.  The other day he grabbed this magnetic puzzle and was engrossed for quite a while.  Especially after he figured out how it worked.  Will seems to really be responding well to momma being at home with him.  His behavior and attention span have both greatly improved.  It is so fun to watch him learn new things each day.

 

Here is one last picture of both boys.  Will had just taken about 50 pictures and was checking out his handy work.  Jack was enjoying his super  special quilt.  I was proud that I actually attemped a pattern that required triangles. It turned out pretty darn cute, although even I will admit that it's probably just a tad bit big :)

Apple Picking

What better way to celebrate fall than by picking apples?  Every year this is one of my favorite things.  It is just such and enjoyable family outing. 

The boys LOVE the tractor ride. Grandpa Jack was going to join us, but since he was feeling a bit under the weather Nonna came instead.

Don't you just love Will's battle wound?  He ran just a little too quickly down the driveway the other day.

 

They are too cute searching out the best apples to put into our bag. Max took the job very seriously.  He was such a sweet big brother and he would call Will over when he found a good apple and let Will pick it off the tree. I think Will may have been happy just to wander around and eat his apple.

My poor Max.  He wanted so badly to eat an apple out in the orchard, but his two bottom teeth are just too loose to allow for apple eating.  He tried his best to naw on the apple with his side teeth, but it didn't work too well. 

Grandpa Jack was going to join us, but since he was feeling a bit under the weather Nonna came instead.  Will was too funny and he insisted that any apple he picked must go into Nonna's bag, not Mommy or Daddy's.  For the most part sweet little Jack enjoyed the trip too.  It was a beautiful day with amazing weather.  He started to fuss a bit towards the end, but lucky for us Eckert's is a well oiled machine.  As soon as we were ready to go so was the tractor.

Next up, pumpkin picking :)

Kansas City

We took advantage of the three day weekend to head over the Kansas City and visit some fiends.  While the drive wasn't the most fun thing ever, the trip was great.

 There was a Curious George exhibit at Crown Center, so of course we couldn't pass that up.  The boys were able to explore and wreak havoc, just like their buddy George. 

 

This little portion was Max's favorite.  The square blocks went up the belt and he loved controlling it. He was super sweet and helped Will put a square into the hole.

We had lunch as Fritz's.  It was an adorable little place where the food is delivered via a train on a track near the ceiling.  The boys thought that we pretty cool, although the grown ups thought the food left quite a bit to be desired.

 

After lunch we met a friend's brand new baby.  Ryan was just ten days old and Will just kept saying 'new baby' over and over again.  He was so tiny!  I couldn't get over how much Jack has changed since he was size just four months ago.

 

After meeting Ryan, we headed back to Rick and Jackie's to give the boys some water fun with their kids.  They had so much fun running around the yard like crazy boys.  I had to get a close up of Max with all his baby teeth still intact.  I don't think this will be the case much longer.  He got off the bus the other day with three loose teeth - how in the world does that happen over the course of just one day!?

Jack wasn't quite into the water play, but he had a blast hanging out on the quilt and watching his crazy big brothers.  I love his wild man hair that stands straight up no matter what. 

 Before heading home on Monday we met up with one of Max's former pre-school teachers.  Ms. Robin was also a parent to one of my former students and it was so fun to catch up.  We met at Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead and it was one of the coolest kids places ever!  The big boys both loved mining for gold - I think daddy got a kick out of it too. 

There were so many things to see and do there!  The goats were adorable, and fun to feed from this side of the fence.  There was also a Native American exhibit, tractors, cows, pony rides, fishing. . . the list just goes on and on.    Unfortunately by this point the boys, particularly Will, were just done.  Two days without naps and with a later than usual bed time created one cranky man.  All in all if was a great trip, with great visits to friends.  It is just so fun to see the boys interact with other kids!

 

Four Month Check Up

Last Friday Jack and Iheaded to see Dr. Joe for his four month check up.  He seemed to be growing like crazy, so I couldn't wait to see how much he had grown since his two month check up.  Considering he nine month clothes are getting really snug I knew he had grown quite a bit.  I was right!  My little, or not so little, man tipped the scales at 17lb 11oz - 95th percentile - and measured 27 1/4 inches long - over the 95th percentile.  He is bigger than either of the other boys were at four months.

Dr. Joe said that Jack was the picture of health.  He told us that Jack will be rolling over before we know it and he needs to go back to see the doctor again at six months.  It just seems like my baby is growing up so fast.  It makes me a bit sad, but at the same time I'm so excited to watch him grow.