We are still alive...just busy

Weeks are flying by - it is so crazy how the weekdays drag on and then wham!, another weekend is here. This is at least the way our lives feel these days. We are feeling sleep deprived, overworked and extraordinarily fortunate to have good health and two beautiful boys. Having kids and watching them grow and change so quickly certainly creates a new watch by which to measure your life/passage of time. This post will be an attempt to share some of the changes and joys we are experiencing these days.

It is interesting how our friends with older girl siblings say how nurturing and loving they are when they bring home their newborns. Alder, on the other hand really didn't pay much attention to Heath...that is until recently. Alder actually just asked me if he could go see if Heath was awake. Dad is making lunch, I am typing on the computer and he is obviously bored. He often requests Heath's presence with him on the floor to play and he loves to stack huge piles of toys in front of him. He actually prefers stacking his toys (cars, trucks, trains) rather than baby toys. Heath, of course, loves this - the toys and having Alder near him. Mom and dad also love this as they are both occupied and happy. I have been forewarned that once Heath gets mobile, this will all change and Alder will begin to get territorial of 'his' things. We shall see I guess, but for now Alder seems more than willing (happy actually) to include Heath.


We purchased a new camera and have been enjoying playing with it and learning how to use it. Below are some examples of our learning on an unseasonably warm day where the boys were enjoying sweetgum balls:


Some funny things about alder lately -
**He has started being VERY literal and explicit with the use of adjectives. If we say, "look at that truck Alder!" He will reply, "No mom...that is a green truck" or today at lunch when we asked him if he liked his sandwich, he said, no, dad, it's a grill cheese!
**He is also still learning about things that are similar and things that are the same. He told me the other day that pasta and noodles were the same thing...it is also funny how is tone is as if he is truly teaching us something that we do not already know. I love it. He also told us recently about the two twin boys at his school: "Nicola and Antoine, mom, they are the same thing"
**When Heath was fussing in the car the other day, he consoled him by sweetly telling him that "it's OK, we are almost home" and then he told me that Heath did not like the song we were listening to (Puff the Magic Dragon in case you were wondering)...cute.
**Speaking of music in the car, we are loving music in the car. Thanks to friends burning them for us, these are our favorites and highly recommended:
Sing Along with Putamayo
Trout Fishing in American - Big Trouble
Pickin n Grinnin - Great Folk Songs for Kids
We only have some of the songs on this last one, but I am going to buy the whole album b/c it so good. It is nice when I can enjoy it too!

Here are happy dad and Heath

and a naked beautiful boy. The pediatrician (at his 7 month check up) asked him how many times a day we tell him how beautiful his eyes are...oh yeah and I must report that he is 23 lbs 11.2 oz and 28+inches long. Alder did not weigh 23 lbs until he was 12 months old, but he was 29 inches at 7 months. Fun to know these differences. It is also funny that Heath may be huge, but he continues to be so sweet that it is impossible to imagine him as anything but a loving and contented bigger kid. We shall see...

Heath has also started eating solid foods on occasion. He seems to devour them at day care (and only drinks a few ounces from his bottles), but seems less than interested at home when the 'real deal' is available. Each day he gets a little more interested though. His menu includes pureed sweet potatoes, peas, yogurt, mushed banana and avocado.

This is an old pic of Heath sleeping on the couch (from a month or so ago), but I had to share because it was one of the longest naps he had ever taken. I transferred him from the car to here and he stayed for 2 hours! I was so excited and loved this position and expression! He has started regularly napping for 2 hours at a time now - yeah!

We are snowed in today: it is falling consistently and hard and we are up to 8 inches already. Tomorrow should be fun to get out and play in it! Actually Jason and Alder are out there now and seem to be having a blast - it is amazingly fluffy and dry compared to our last snow. Pics of that to come...