8 Months Old

I can't believe my baby is already 8 months old! We had some good friends over tonight and were remembering the Fall... Crazy how time can go so fast. Siblings are interesting things. Today I had a light bulb turn on Gru style: it is normally the older sibling, aka Tate, getting into trouble for mischief. When Ian does something wrong I think, man that little guy is smart and patiently distract him. When Tate does something wrong my patience meter starts shaking and I wonder what in the world could he be thinking. It's interesting how our expectations are different for each child and something I need to be more cognizant of in my parenting...
Anyway for the good stuff, here are the highlights of today.

 A long time ago in an apartment 8 blocks away, I bought Tate a pair of Thomas the train pajamas. Now they are far to small for him to wear, but he calls them his snuggles; a must have for a successful bedtime. Last night Tate did not want to go to sleep and this is what Josh and I woke up to this morning. We have been working on the independent task of dressing oneself, and it looks like he has mastered it in the late hours of the night. Notice below how the shirt arms are dangling off his hips to add to his exotic dancing skills.

 Yesterday during Ian's nap Tate and I got out his Micky Mouse puzzle. He did the whole thing by himself and then started sorting his cars around the edges. I'm constantly amazed by this smart little man.

T

 8 months old looks good on him. The hair is all natural and occurs each time I brush it. Josh has a natural mohawk too, but doesn't embrace it like this little monkey.

 Walking in style. I know how to wear my kids out so I can sleep at night. Sometimes I think I should get Tate an exercise band just to see exactly how much he does in one day.

 I finally got my Gerber daisies planted outside and this beautiful flower opened today!!! Thank you to my amazing husband.

Goodnight!!!

Memories from the Month of May

Recently I decided the reason I love to blog is that it helps me focus of the positive moments I want to remember in my life, not the other times when I am usually praying for patience and sleep for myself or one of my little ones. This is to make up for my slacking last month.

 My patriotic little man on Memorial Day. If you look closely the shirt says in green underneath, "Just kidding. I take naps." The shirt should say "Being my mom is a WORK OUT." Story of any mother with mobile munchkins.

 This was Ian's first time riding in a grocery cart without his car seat. He loved it. I decided I love the binky so much because it is the perfect plug. Not only does it keep sound in, it also keeps everything else out, including grocery cart handles. True discovery from our second grocery cart experience.

Tate's first unshared ice cream cone. As you can tell he went for the wrong end first and ended up wearing as much as he ate. But he did love it. I need to find where they sell those little taster cones. That's about as much ice cream as he can handle.

 We said farewell for now to our good friends the Hagermans. They were the missionary couple we adopted as our children's grandparents in our short time in the Geneseo Branch. They will definitely be missed, but so excited for them to get to return to family!

 Yes he is all boy. He watches his brother's every move already, which is kinda scary, and tries to emulate. Something about my boys and cars. They are in love.

 Ian's rendition of American Gothic.

 I just have to say I am so grateful for our amazing neighbors. We inherited this sandbox from one, complete with new sand and everything. We really are blessed. The sandbox is getting put to good use daily by Tate and all his friends!

 Ian prefers to be on his feet than his knees. His crawl is turbo speed, but occasionally he likes to slow down and walk like a bear. When it comes to playing he will rarely be found on his rear.

 We bid farewell to our bestest buddies Ashley and Josie. Miss them so much already. Watching Cars (the only movie Tate has every watched or wants to watch start to finish) we were talking about good friends and how they help each other. He thought about it and said, "just like me and Josie." Melts my heart and we will miss them!

Me attempting to teach Tate to swing a bat... much room for improvement... I see a t-ball set in his future!

My Little Look-A-Likes

So the past couple of days I have realized just how similar me little boys are. Both of them are crazy busy bodies, like their mother used to be when she actually slept, and handsome like their father.

Doing what they love together!