Solid Food

Dear Rusty,

Oh sweet boy... you are growing so fast! You are three and a half months old and you probably weight close to 20 lbs! You are wearing 6-9 month clothes. You have two bottom teeth, and I am fairly certain I see another one trying to pop through.

You have been staring at my food lately. Really gazing at it. Then, the other day you wanted a bottle all day long. All day. All you did was eat and sleep. So I gave in and I started you on rice cereal. It has really helped calm your appetite down. I think you were just ready to eat. I know they say wait until 6 months but honestly, how many kids your age are as big as you?! Not many.

I bought you a big boy car seat. You could have fit into your other one probably a few more weeks, but truth be told I couldn't stand carrying you in it for one more day. You were just getting so heavy! You love your new seat! You feel like one of the big kids. Your siblings love it too. Kaylee is positive that I bought the seat for the sole purpose of allowing you to have a better view of her. You like to watch your siblings and you find Connor especially funny. He is pretty good at making silly faces!

You are so strong too! You can roll over, you can push up on your arms when you are on your belly, you grab your toys and pull on them.... I am actually really amazed at all the things you are able to do. You don't feel like a 3 month old to me. You feel much older.

I have been having such a good time hearing your voice lately. You talk and talk. The other night Daddy had you giggling and it was the cutest thing in the world.

Everyone who meets you comments on how laid back you are. You are such an easy going kiddo.

Daddy has been teasing you about how you take up his side of the bed. You don't. The two of us squeeze onto my side of the bed and Daddy gets his full diagonal space the same as always, but it is pretty funny to hear him tease you and to see the looks you give him. The “who me?” look that you do so perfectly because of those big, round, innocent eyes. The truth is, Daddy finds it much easier to throw all of you into bed with him too. You kids love to snuggle! One night when I came home from my “survivor” night at a friends house you were all in my bed. I asked Daddy the next morning why everyone was in one bed and he described it perfectly saying, “well, our kids like to sleep like a pack of wolves!” hee hee. We're probably going to have to get a sign for our front door that says WELCOME TO THE DEN!

I love you buddy! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

XOXO

Mommy

Sleepover

Dear Bubbas,

Hunter went and saw the movie The Croods during the summer. He wanted to see that movie instead of going to see Sesame Street Live. He told us all about how great it was, several times. We decided it would be a movie we would rent as soon as it came out.

Then a few weeks later you started asking if you could have a pajama party. I wasn't really up to having a big party so I told you that we could have a slumber party when the movie The Croods came out. I thought it was going to come out in late July. Nope. It JUST came out. You were so excited when you started seeing the ads that the movie was coming and you started planning your pajama party immediately.

I ended up buying the movie for you. Partly because I knew you were going to love it and mostly because I was being lazy and I didn't want to drive across town to blockbuster to chance that they would have it and then worry about driving back across town to return it the next day. So we are now proud owners of a new movie.

We had Christian, Josie, Kennedy, and Kaylee's friend from preschool Kaylee over. It was a really fun night for you guys. It wore Mommy and Daddy out pretty good, but you had a blast. I think the best part was that you got to wear your pajamas for the whole party. You three sure love your pajamas!

I am glad you had such a good time. I'm also glad we bought the movie. You watch it once every day! You love it so much. Mommy and Daddy liked it too. I was giggling pretty hard while we watched it. Now you three and Daddy walk around the house quoting the movie and making each other laugh.

Thanks for being such easy kids to please! I love you!

Mommy

Hunter

October 11, 2013

Dear Hunter,

You have had a pretty hard time adjusting to Kindergarten. First, you didn't want to do the school work at home. You kept asking why you had to do it. Then you tried to assert authority and announced you were “not going to do it!” However, after I calmly explained to you that you could sit at the table all day not doing your homework if that was the choice you were going to make, you decided you would go ahead and just get it done.

Then we started going to classes at MCP. It was way too much for you. You were very worried about Mommy leaving you there. I stayed with you the whole first day. The second day went well. The third day you broke down crying at lunch time and the staff had to console you for a good thirty minutes. When you came home that day you threw up.

So, after a lot of bumps I am happy to say we have settled into a pretty good routine. You now love doing schoolwork at home. You ask if you can take more “math tests” all the time. Instead of one long day at MCP we switched you to two short days and that is working much better. You love all your teachers at MCP and all your classes. I even give you a sticker for each day that you do a really good job with your school work. When you get to 10 stickers you get a dollar. You earned your first dollar the other night and you were THRILLED!

Lately you have been incredibly worried about your teeth. Will Captain Crunch hurt your teeth? Will it cut your mouth? Will your teeth turn yellow if you don't sing the whole happy birthday song while you are brushing? Are your baby teeth already rotten? The list of fears goes on and on. I am not sure where this fear of healthy teeth has come from. We're just reassuring you as much as possible and trying not to lose our patience with answering the same question a zillion times! You have a dentist appointment at the end of the month so I am thinking you'll feel better after the doctor oohs and ahhs over your teeth.

You are getting very anxious for the pajama fairy to come. You have left her several notes on the doorstep. I love to hear you talk about her. I hear you and Connor telling each other, “I'm pretty sure she is real.” She is coming soon. I'm sure of it. We'll just have to be patient a little bit longer.

You are playing flag football and you are loving it. You score a touchdown every week. One week you scored two. You like to tell everyone how you “ran TWO times and nobody could catch you, not even once!” I love watching you play. You have started to figure out that you are one of the fastest runners out there but you haven't quite figured out that you are the fastest. Most of the time you are running half speed and keeping up with everyone. You are just as happy running by all the action as you are pulling a flag!

I love you buddy! I'm glad school has gotten easier for you. I love watching the way you love life and all the things life has to offer.

XOXO,

Mommy