6 months

William at 6 months vs. Matthew at 6 months. Quite a difference! William: 12 lbs. 9 oz., 23 in. Matthew: 17 lbs. 4 oz., 26 in. Wow. Will is going to be our little guy. He hasn't done too much growing in the past couple months, so we're going to have to endure a couple tests to try and evaluate what might be going on (or not going on). Will is doing everything that every other 6 month old is doing, he just does it with a petite frame. I think he's just fine, and hopefully these tests will just rule some crazy things out. So, please pray for us on Monday morning while Will is getting poked and prodded. It makes me uneasy. Will is slowly getting the hang of spoon feeding...everyday he likes it a little more. Such a slow process!These two have enjoyed clowning around in the crib together. Will just giggles at Matt, and Matt enjoys putting on a show.

Jville

Our visit to Jacksonville was nice and relaxing. Steven would probably say that he didn't get to fish enough, but if he had his way he'd fish 24/7. It was cooler there, too, somehow. Not nearly as stifling hot as we're used to here. After the long, and I do mean long, drive to get there Matt was so excited to see his grandparents and find out what kind of snacks Grandma had for him. She later unveiled the awesome surprise she had for him...a bigwheel! Boy, it had all the bells and whistles too.Saturday we were able to see our friends the Prewitts and meet their sweet new baby girl, Anslee. What a doll she is. Matt & Mason had a blast playing together. They went upstairs in the playroom and we didn't see them for a couple hours--but we could sure enough hear them. Little Will slept through all of that somehow.Saturday afternoon, some more of Steven's family came over from Nacogdoches and we enjoyed visiting with them and having dinner. Matt made his Grandma proud and showed off to the new, adoring audience.It was a great weekend if you leave out the part about Matt not wanting to use ANY of their toilets there. Talk about a fit of grand proportion. The boy held his water for nearly 12 hours the first day because he flat out refused to go on the potty. Long story short, after a knock-down drag out fight he finally went on Friday evening. Prior to that the trees outside were getting a special hose-down. After finally performing Matt came triumphantly down the stairs and proclaimed, "I went pee-pee! I'm not scared of Grandma's potty anymore!" Whew. And really, that was the first time he's been on a potty other than his own at home. Let's hope this is the beginning of a new chapter for young Matthew.Today was Will's first experience with rice cereal. Reminiscent of his brother, he was not too fond of it. He preferred his thumb. He has no idea what the spoon is for or that he should open his mouth when it approaches. We'll keep practicing!

Photo Shoot

Sarah and I took pictures of the kids together yesterday. Mighty cute subjects to photograph, I must say. Matt was pseudo cooperative. For a 3 year old boy he handled it pretty well I guess. It was impossible to get a genuine smile. But, we got some good ones nonetheless. Caroline and Mary Claire recently got bunnies as pets, and Matt was fascinated by them. They chased them all over the yard that morning.I like this one because Will is grabbing the sign and Mary Claire is totally posed (she had the head-tilt in nearly all of them). And then Matt is doing everything he can to not look at the camera.More backyard pool time the other day:Tomorrow we are headed to Jacksonville to see Steven's parents for the weekend. Matt is more than excited. Is it Thursday, Momma? Can we go to Jacksonville right now? Can we go today? When I wake up are we gonna go? Can I have snacks in the car? How long is it gonna take to get there, Momma? What signs will we see? Can I go????? Yes. Tomorrow!

Wii Matt

Matt has a new found fondness for the Wii. It began a couple weeks ago when Steven's folks were here and played some Wii bowling a few times. Yesterday though Steven started fooling around with a couple other games and Matt thought they were hilarious. He picked it up immediately--he navigated to all the right screens and clicked on all the right things and did pretty well at the fishing game. He started bothering me to play it pretty quick this morning after he woke up. After we got back from the gym he played it all while I fed Will and got showered. Honestly, it was nice not having my usual bathroom companion with me...although I wonder if this is a peek into my near future with a video-gaming obsessed little boy. Right now, I think it's pretty cool, and it's something we can all enjoy together. I'm sure he will be out-scoring me in a matter of days. Kid's got mad skills.

NW Pool

Last week was Will's first time in the pool. I had purchased a swimsuit for him, but when I held it up to him I saw that there was no way it would stay on his tiny little body. So, he sported just a swim diaper. And as you can see, it nearly goes up to his armpits. Awww. But, it did the trick. He's too small for any floatation devices, but he enjoyed being held and splashing around. And having his brother all up in his face. In other news, William has started scooting around in his bed. I find him in all sorts of interesting positions. He's the roly-polyest little baby. He gets up on his knees now and wiggles around. I wouldn't be surprised if he crawls before he sits up. Although, he's getting pretty good at that, too. He's wee but determined.And Matthew. What a silly boy he is. His latest obsessions are calendars and months and seasons and what happens during each month. He keeps asking people when their birthdays are and how old they're going to be. Not the best question for some. He's also heavy into spelling words. He's got a lot of words memorized and recognizes them in books and anywhere else he sees them. So, he spends a lot of time with his refrigerator alphabet magnets. And then the clock. He worries about time already and he's only 3! His bedtime of late is 8:15, and he gets upset if he misses seeing those numbers on the clock before we put him to bed. All day long it's, "Hey Mommy when's it gonna be 4:15?" or "Where is 6:30?" What do you mean where? That doesn't even make sense! So, definitely some fun dialogue going on around here. He's a sweet one. The other day I tucked him into bed and told him I loved him and he said so sweetly, "oh Mommy, I love you too." My heart just melted. For some of you whose children say I love you all the time this may come as no big deal to you, but I almost NEVER hear my son say those words--so when I do it gets me. He told me today he loves his baby brother too. But then as Will grabbed onto Matt's hair he leaped to the other end of the couch. Love at a distance I suppose.

Hot

It's supposed to get up to 105 degrees today. Whew! I'm sure though that my car will register the heat at about 110. The A/C never gets a break these days. And, we have popsicles daily around here. Oh how I wish the snow cone stand were closer. The other day while Steven's parents were still in town we sat out in the back yard. Why would we do that? Well, the bounce house was still back there and Matt naturally wanted to keep bouncing. To cool off we filled up a big washtub with water and all stuck our feet in it. Matt cooled Ken off by dumping buckets of water on his legs.We took Will's 5 month picture by the tree. It's always interesting trying to keep him in an upright position. He rolls to the side or face plants...maybe next month he'll be sitting up! This particular day he decided to grab his feet.And this one is just too funny not to share. Matt's creepy circle of bathroom items. I should have lit some candles for him.Lastly, I've been bathing both boys together now. I decided Will has outgrown our sink since he tries to roll out of there every time I bathe him and he grabs the faucet, soap and whatever else he can reach when I sit him up in there. Matt is elated at having Will take a bath with him. He's really quite good with him--and gentle for the most part. Will is definitely enjoying his new and much larger bathtub. Matt is always asking me now, "Hey Mommy can I take a bath with Hank?" Will loves to laugh at his brother. The other day Will & I went in to get Matt up from his nap and Matt started jumping on his bed. Will thought it was hilarious and laughed every time. Naturally, that only egged on the 3 year old even more. He ate it up. Sweet boys.

July 4th

Saturday was a great day. It started off with our neighborhood parade that morning. Will & I stayed behind at the house, but Matt & Steven went and enjoyed the sights and chatting it up with friends and neighbors.Our 5th annual July 4th party went smashingly well this year. We owe that in part to this thing:It didn't matter that it was well over 100 degrees outside. Those kids bounced and bounced like their lives depended on it. Although, they had a pretty good system where they'd go from the pool to the bounce house in steady rotation. And for an added bonus, the thing was dropped off a day early on Friday at 1:00, so Matt got to jump an extra day--and they didn't come pick the thing up until Sunday evening. Talk about getting your money's worth. Matt was sad to see it leave and asked the man if he'd bring it back for his birthday in November. Ha! I bounced in there with him so much that I am sad to say I was sore the next day. Somehow I don't have my gymnastics body anymore. Weird.Too bad there wasn't a pool for the adults because man were we all making buckets of sweat. Thankfully, there was plenty of good food and drink to keep us refreshed. Matt was over the moon with all the kids there and getting to see all his favorite people in one place. And eat all day. He likes that.The Reners came over early in the day to play knowing full well that neither of our children would take a nap that day so why not suffer together. Later in the evening we busted out the sparklers. Some kids took to it better than others, but overall it was a good experience for most. Our lighter gave out so Steven fired up the grill to light the things, but Sarah had a better idea and grabbed a candle from inside. We only had one injury to speak of--poor Ava stepped on an ember and burned the fool out of the bottom of her foot, but I can now report that she is fully recovered.After sparklers and a few more sweet treats, the remaining kids started running and diving into the pool. It was hilarious to watch because they would all dive in head first except for Matt. He'd run full force and side-saddle it into the pool not so gracefully. But, he'll do anything to be included in the group. It was a fantastic day. Thanks to all our friends and family for attending, providing food, helping, playing and making it a special day for all of us. God bless America!

Welcome back, friends.

The exersaucer reappeared from its long stay in the attic yesterday. After a thorough cleansing it was all ready for little William. He was wide-eyed just watching us put it together. Matt was almost equally excited to see it again. Will was highly entertained and enjoyed all the toys on it even though he could barely touch the bottom with the tip of his toes. I look forward to getting all those little musical jingles stuck in my head again. Good times.
Happy July 4th to everyone! We're excited about hot weather and a rip-roarin' fun party tomorrow!