Week 181

Aug 15-22

I know my posts have been very photo heavy lately.  I love taking pictures.  Even when I'm super busy in my life, I seem to manage to take plenty of pictures.  Who wouldn't want to take pictures every day when you have these two funny guys as your subjects?  Abel is almost a year old and all of a sudden he and Jack are starting to interact more without prompting.  I was so worried about Jack resenting his baby brother because he was the only child for 2.5 years.  I'm glad I was wrong about that.  Jack wakes up almost every morning and wants to go get Abel out of his crib.  It's the first thing he is concerned with, "where is my brother?"  Yesterday morning he got in Abel's crib and they were having a ball playing together.  The best sound in a home is hearing your children's laughter echoing throughout.

Being silly!

He stands up and walks while holding on.

Now that Abel is crawling everywhere he always finds the most microscopic piece of whatever and puts it in his mouth.  Jack is like a baby alarm.  He will yell out, "ABEL HAS SOMETHING IN ABEL'S MOUTH!!!"  It's hilarious!  I can always count on Jack to look out for him.  Whenever Abel hurts himself Jack is the first one to come over and give him a hug and a kiss.  He still likes to play in the play room by himself and shut the door, but he will bring Abel out a bunch of toys to the living room first.  I hope this protective attitude towards his brother grows into their childhood.

"I'm Three!"

Helping Abel get the grass off his hand.  LOL.

Their relationship is so sweet and I love to watch them grow together.

Looking for Jack.

Dimples!

Their little personalities amaze me.  Jack is and has always been so independent.  He is very sociable and funny, but he also doesn't mind playing on his own.  He has never been a "clingy" kid and if you drop him off with someone else he just says, "bye" and trusts that you will come back to get him.  Nothing seems to bother him.  He starts school in a week and I am so sad, but so excited for him.  I know he is going to love it.  On the other hand, it means he is growing up.  It will be odd to have just Abel at home for 3 hours, 3 days a week.  

Grass!

Sweet kisses.

"Let me go!"

I used to worry about having another kid and being able to give them the same amount of attention.  If anything, Abel gets more attention because he has three people to interact with where Jack had only Ed and I.  Both of them are super smart.  I am VERY lucky in that sense.  Abel imitates everything and has the vocabulary of an 18-24 month old.  He can say (clearly) "Mama", "Dada", "Jack", "Hi", "mooo", and "all done."  The last one even Ed didn't believe until he heard it himself.  We started with the sign language since the part of the brain that contains speech is typically not developed as quickly as some of the gross motor skills.  Abel has been signing "more" when he wants more food.  It's no surprise that he picked up on this sign pretty quickly.  Well I started to introduce the sign for "all done" at the breakfast table the other day.  He watched me do it (because it seemed like he was finished eating).  He just kind of looked at me so I continued eating.  Then he said, "all done" pretty clearly but I thought it was just a coincidence so I ignored him.  Then he screamed, forcing me to look up at him, and he yelled, "ALL DONE!"  while signing it at the same time, in an exaggerated fashion.  I was like, "okay, sorry!"  He will not be ignored.  I guess when you are the youngest you have to fight extra hard for attention.

Sticking together.

"I'm out of here!"

I wonder if Abel will miss his big brother while he is at school.  Probably.  I'm sure part of him will enjoy the one on one time with Mommy and Daddy too.  I still can't believe we are getting ready for Abel's 1st birthday.  Time seriously flies when you have kids.  I feel like we just got him.  :)

Well I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoy taking them. I could take hundreds a day.  Their expressions are so priceless.  I have been trying to catch up my blog and get into more of a routine now that we are moved in and settled.  Ed started school again too.  I think at work I will be able to have a semi-regular schedule as long as I don't take off weekends.  I have been trying my best to work at least 4 days a week so I can pull in some overtime.  I'm already thinking ahead to Christmas.  I love Christmas and I want to be able to get my kids things they will enjoy.  I know the more important thing is the time together though.  That is what they will remember.  I have already scoped out many fun Pinterest activities for the holiday season.  Starting with Halloween, get ready to see some fun crafts, baked goods, and decorations.  I really want to decorate the house for Halloween and Christmas.  Hopefully we can find the time.  Hahaha!

"Hold up!"

Profile.  I just love his little head.

"Who you calling a baby?"

Hope everyone has a great week!  :)

Week 180

Aug 8-14

We moved into our new house a little over a month ago.  It seriously seems like a million years ago.  On the rare night when we actually get to sit in our living room and relax, Ed and I both look around and talk about how much we love our new house.  The old house seems like years ago, or almost like it never happened.  Haha!  Although there are still so many things we want to do with the new house, we are moved in for the most part.  It is at least livable at this point.  Here is a quick sneak peak of a few of the rooms.

I was so excited about the boys having their own play room.  It is fun for them because they can play in a room full of toys.  It is fun for me because at the end of the day I can put all of their toys where they belong...and then shut the door.  My living room is TOY FREE!  At least at the end of the day.  We had a nice time decorating this room.  The neat freak in me has always wanted to be able to put things in their allotted place.  Having a whole room dedicated to only toys has made this concept possible.  The boys definitely seem to approve, so that is all that matters!

Here is a quick peak at the living room and kitchen/breakfast area as they are now.  We have lots of work to do in these rooms, but you can see the new rug and the new furniture at least.  I will definitely keep you updated on our projects as they come.

Have a great day!  :)

Week 179

Aug 1-7

To 'da Beach!  This is what Jack kept saying the whole week before we left for our 1 week vacay to Myrtle.  "We goin' to 'da beach!"  So cute!  Well I must say we had a splendid time.  We stayed at my in-laws absolutely lovely condo right on the beach.  Everyone from Ed's family came down from Pittsburgh so there were PLENTY of people to hang with.  Jack got to play with Mallory so he was beside himself because he loves her.  Abel got to play in the sand and in the pool for the first times (loved both!).  Jack went from hanging on one of us the first day to hurling his tiny little body in the pool by himself, going under, and paddling the length of the pool for hours.  We went to Medieval Times for the first time, we loved it and Jack really loved it.  There were many great memories made!  Due to time constriction and the fact that I had to narrow down tons of pictures to what I've got on here, I'm going to present to you a week in pictures.  :)  Enjoy!