For comparison's sake

I know, you're not supposed to compare your children, right?  Well, I think it's interesting to compare their stats from month to month, and since I forgot to include Johnny's in my last post I thought I'd line them all up here just for kicks.  Johnathan came up to 14 lb. 14 oz. (50%ile) and 24.5 in. (25%ile).  If you're paying attention, he grew a whopping 2.5 inches over the past 2 months.  Crazy!

Mr. William at his 4 month check up was 12 lb. 7 oz. (10%ile) and 22 in. (less than 3%ile).  So wee.

Then big Matt came in at 16 lb. 5 oz. (75%ile) and 24.5 in. (25%ile).  They're all different, aren't they?  I think Johnny is a nice hybrid of his brothers.  Cuteness.

4 months

 Our little John is 4 months.  Well, 4 1/2 now, but still.  As you can see, he's the cutest thing ever.

What's he up to?  Well, I feel like he's undergoing lots of changes this month.  No longer does he have crying spells throughout the day.  I know 2 other little boys who are just as happy about that as mama.  He has enjoyed spending time in the Bumbo seat.  Against the manufacturer's explicit directions not to, we put him in it on top of the table so he can enjoy mealtimes with us.  He loves it.  And the boys love entertaining him while he sits there.

He had his first walk in the jogging stroller the other morning.  Lulled him right to sleep.  And sleep...well, that's still not really happening around here.  In that regard he is very reminiscent of his oldest brother.  He wakes up a couple times a night and it is brutal.  I am exhausted.  I feel though, that he is going to turn that corner at any moment.  I know it will get better.  Pretty soon though, I will let him figure it out on his own.

He's doing his best to get those chubby little hands in his mouth and chew on those fingers.  One of the sweet ladies at Bible study the other day commented that he is really good with his hands.  That made Steven giggle.  He is grasping toys really well and enjoying the rattle of his plastic keys and jingle of his little giraffe.

Friday I set up the exersaucer, and he went to town.  His face lit up and he had his hands all over that thing rotating in circles to get to all of it.  Matt & Will were delighted to see this old toy again.

He also had his first swing the other day.  He loved it as has every other boy in this family.  Johnathan continues to be super smiley and a happy boy for the most part.  He loves to eat, see everything that his brothers are doing, and be carried around.  This kid has stuff to do.  I better get ready.

Park

A couple weeks before school began, we joined the Reners at a cool new park out in Round Rock called the Play for All Abilities park.  The playground had all kinds of awesome, new and different equipment--parts of it we didn't even explore.  That was due to the fact that it was really hot already at 10 a.m. and the town square at the end of the park was the hit with my kids.

Matt brought the Strider bike and went to town.  Really, though, it is a tiny little town with streets, functioning traffic lights, signs, lanes, and stores.  Matt's head about exploded.  He was all over it.

Will had a hoot of a time too.  He scooted all around on his "motorcycle" mostly in pursuit of Henry, but he would try and catch up to Matt too.

This video just about sums it up.  Watch Matt wait for the light to change and Ava running in the background.

We packed our lunches and found a spot in the shade to picnic.  That park is fantastic.  It will be even more enjoyable when the fall temperatures roll in.  All the way home Matt asked me why we didn't have a park like that in Austin.  He truly loved it.  We will for sure be back.

One of Matt's latest obsessions is organizing bottle caps.  And it's an activity he found fun to do in the dog days of summer.  He has a collection going, along with all the found coins he's collected.  We have saved a few bags worth of bottle caps over the years with the intent of doing something cool with them one day.  For now, Matt likes to take them out and categorize them.  It's a race to see who wins.  The hands-down winner?  Shiner.

One day I was taking pictures of Johnny on the rug.  He was being cute and Will was making him smile.

Not to be outdone, Will did this number on the couch and asked me to take his picture.  Show pony.

Port Aransas 2012

Beach trip was fantastic fun again this year even if it was a whole lot more work.  Adding a third (an infant at that!) to the mix was a challenge, but we made it work with even a little bit of sleep here and there.  I look at this picture and still can't believe we are a family of 5.  It's nuts.

We shared a room once again with the wonderful Brown family.  The boys were all beyond thrilled to be reunited.  Will kept up with Matt & Josh and was even able to sleep with them in the bunk bedroom for the first time this year.  All sorts of antics went down in there.  Will has a total man crush on Josh.  He was most looking forward to this trip so he could play with Josh.  So cute.  And then look at sweet Emily!  She and little John got acquainted.  Alison & I both are excited by the fact that Emily has 3 Jones boys to choose from.  The Joneses and Browns could be family!  That's the plan.  :)

We had another large group again this year...not sure what the count was, but there were a lot of us in orange Saturday morning.  Love it.

The kid picture went pretty well this year I thought.  Johnny sat happily in Matt's lap, and Will held Henry's hand so that Henry would be agreeable to standing there and being photographed.

Sadly, the Hampton family was not able to join us this year due to some illnesses in their immediate family.  The guys paid tribute to their missing comrade.

The toddler/kid race was a hoot as usual.  Two Jones boys eagerly participated this year and gave their best effort.  Note the game face.

These were the top 3...Matt and two of the Harvey boys, Ethan & Luke.  They had a race-off, and it was pretty close, but I think Matt came in slightly behind Luke.  They ran and ran on that beach.

Johnathan was a trooper.  He hung out at the beach and was generally very happy to be amongst all the action, sights and sounds of the ocean.  He had a lot of Bjorn time.

And lap sitting time.  And nap time.  I did a lot sitting under the canopies this year, not so much digging in the sand or wave jumping this time around.  That's ok.  Next year.

Alison & I were the ones with babies, so we could commiserate together.  No really, it was not that bad.  Such a cute photo of the Brown women!

Johnny did enjoy the pool.  He even put up with being splashed.

Will and Henry were pretty inseparable throughout the weekend.  Henry came to our condo on a daily basis looking for Will.  They had a blast running around on the beach together and saying potty words and laughing hysterically.  This one with Ashley in the back ground cracks me up.

And then, about mid-morning each day while we were down at the beach Will would wind down and ask to take a nap.  Probably because he'd been up since 6 and going non-stop.  Not wanting to head back up to the condo we put two chairs together and he took a snooze each day.  Crazy kid.

Matt & Josh stuck pretty closely together as well and went non-stop every day.  No surprise there.  Matt did some boogie boarding for the first time and rocked it.  As you can see by his face.

Once again, it was a great trip.  Before heading back to Austin, and before the Browns had to catch their flight, we ate a delightful seafood lunch at Snoopy's.  I can't say it enough, I love that Brown family!  Thank you guys for making it another awesome beach trip.  Weird that last year there were 3 kids and now there are 5!  Wow.  Thanks for the memories, Port A.