Apple Picking and Talking

This past Tuesday for RSN (a weekly playgroup I attend for spouses of residents and their children) we went to Wasem Fruit Farm in the area to pick apples.  I had no idea what to expect and wondered if Eben would even be able to enjoy it...well he did, my friends...a lot.  There were plenty of trees right at his level and he just picked away, filling up a large bag of apples in no time!  Do the apples taste good?  Not really because he chose the kind of tree I wouldn't have chosen, but they will be great for baking...which I need to do soon!  He also had tons of fun eating an apple right off the core and he picked some raspberries, also eating them rather than paying for them of course.  A friend took this picture of him for me as I forgot my camera:

And here is a video of Eben talking while reading a night time book with Dane.  It is a book called "Do You See What I See" - one of his favorites.  It's just a look and find type of book and he loves pointing out things that he likes and knows.  His vocabulary has been taking off a TON.  He is saying phrases and sentences all day long and knows so many words.  It's also incredible how quickly he learns new words and retains them.  This language development is so fun to witness. (Warning - it's kinda long).

6 Months Old!

Size: Just had his appointment this morning - 16.6 pounds (30th %), 26 inches (29th %), 17.7 in head (81st %).  Very surprised about these stats because (1.) his thighs look like he is in the 90th % and (2.) he's short whereas Eben has always been over 90th %!  Just shows how different they are I guess :)

Sleep:  I have hope for the little guy...he's been sleeping better the past few nights and I think it's because of 2 things - we moved him from the cosleeper next to me to a pack and play across the room (yes, finally made the move, haha) AND he started eating oatmeal the same night we moved him.  He has been getting up once a night now so let's hope that continues or goes down to zero!!  He still takes 3-4 naps a day (one being longer...around 90 minutes, and the others around 30 minutes).  He also goes to sleep on his own pretty well.  Not great, but pretty well.

Development: He is now rolling from back to tummy and slowly rolling around the room, sometimes ending up in compromising positions.  He is also (sort of) pushing himself up on his hands and knees, but only for a second - thank goodness - much too early to start crawling anytime soon, buddy.  Like I mentioned before, he started to eat oatmeal right after his 6 month mark and seems to enjoy it...well he really enjoys chewing on the spoon anyway.  Bode is also almost sitting up on his own.  With a Boppy pillow around him, he can sit forever without assistance, but without it, he still topples quite a bit. 

Personality: He seems to be a tough kid, which is needed when he is the little brother.  So many times when he accidentally gets bumped, scratched, etc. and I think he is going to start wailing, he proves me wrong and acts as if nothing happened.  He also seems less sensitive than his older brother...in the sense that loud noises and strangers don't bug him as much as they did Eben when he was this age.  

Sibling Relationship: Well...Eben still loves Bode a lot, gives him kisses, big hugs, laughs at him, talks to him, gives him toys, etc. etc., BUT now, for some unknown reason, Eben gets very upset when Bode cries.  Eben will either start crying (the usual) or he will get mad and throw a toy or hit me (this has brought time-outs in his life - first one was this week!) when Bode gets fussy.  Not every time, but most of the time...makes for an interesting day of me playing defense to try to avoid double meltdowns in this house! (It's just a phase...it's just a phase...right?) 

Other: I am officially down to my pre-Bode-pregnancy weight! (took long enough - about 5.25 months to be exact!) 

Ridiculous-ness

So last weekend we went to Pittsburgh, about a 5 hour drive, and Bode doesn't like car rides so he cried about an hour and a half each way. This has become the norm for the little guy so each of us had adjusted to it. I stopped being so sad when I heard him cry like this, it didn't make Dane angry anymore, and Eben just calmly watched his DVD player while Bode would cry off and on - sometimes pretty hard. We were used to it and it became a part of the car ride....well, until the last 30 minutes or so, when we were so very close to home. Eben started to LOSE it. He began crying sobbing every time Bode cried, or even made a little unhappy peep for that matter. So we had two very distressed children in the back seat.  At one point I looked back and Eben had blood all around his mouth, presumably from twisting and chewing his sippy cup to death while crying, cutting his mouth somewhere.  He started saying "HOME!" while sobbing, which broke our hearts...but to be honest, the scene was so ridiculous, Dane and I were laughing hysterically in the front seat.

Anyway, so ever since this odd situation in the car, Eben has become hypersensitive to Bode's cries/mild cranky noises.  Anytime Eben thinks Bode MAY start whining/crying, Eben looks and me and says, "Bode up!" or "Bode get him!" or "Bode tired Bode hungry pick up!".  If Bode does in fact start to cry or fuss a little, Eben breaks down into full out crocodile tears.  Even if Bode stops crying, Eben continues crying for minutes (very unlike him).  One night this went on for two hours straight, so, since it was Bode's fussy time of the night, I was playing defense the whole time - trying to prevent Bode from crying so I don't have an emotional disaster in my home.

It has now gotten to the point that I just don't console Eben much because it's so ridiculous.  Plus, what usually happens is that Eben will be sobbing and then suddenly, out of nowhere he stops and says, "Eben happy, haha" or "All done crying."  So, my thought is most of it is not real and it's some weird toddler way of getting some attention.  Anyway, here is a video of one moment during the really bad night...

Eben and Bode Videos

It's been a LONG time since I posted videos - to get these up I sacrificed a night of hanging out with Dane...worth it though so you guys can see a little taste of our littles.  It's been far too long since some of the fam has seen them.  Eben misses everyone SO much and talks about everyone on a regular basis.  I am sure Bode misses everyone too...he just can't verbalize it. P.S. Go to the bottom of the page and turn off the music :)

Here is a Bode video - mostly some of his cute noises, him rolling over from tummy to back (he just started doing back to tummy today!), and his adorable laugh - which we are hearing more and more of lately.  I was worried before Bode was born that I wouldn't love him as much as I love Eben...of course I do love him just as much and in this video you will see why it is SO easy to.


Here is an Eben video... being his adorable self.  A look at him interacting with his brother, then with a friend, and then playing at the park.  I realized as I was making this video that I need to point the video camera at him a little more than I have been lately to really capture him at two.  I love his language development and how energetic and goofy he is and I just haven't gotten much of that on tape. 

Hi Again :)

Yikes! I have been incredibly neglectful of this blog lately - sorry family! I've been a little busy with photography stuff and this blog is one of the first things I push aside unfortunately. So, this post is going to be catch-up. This means lots of pictures...weird huh. Nothing fancy, just pictures of my three boys.

I got an external flash for my camera, mostly for pictures of the boys indoors.  I have NO idea how to use the thing and it feels like a full time job just to learn how to make the darn thing light up.  I was practicing in these pictures...clearly have a long way to go learning it.

What a great smile, Eben!  I told him to smile for Papa, and it worked.  Hasn't worked again since though...

Bode LOVES his Jumperoo.  Well most of the time anyway.  I just love watching his little feet bounce himself up and down.

So we were without power Labor Day weekend for 24 hours - not my idea of a fun time.  It got pretty hot in the house so we stripped Bode down.  Love the little baby rolls on his side.

Eben shares toys with Bode all of the time - the ones he doesn't want to play with anyway.  He's a really nice big brother.

Eben and Bode swinging away.

What hat is Bode wearing, you might ask?  It's a hat straight from Iceland a friend lent us.  There is a matching outfit with it and it's pretty cute.  The hat looks a bit ridiculous by itself though.  Apparently the brand is the hot thing in Iceland though.

This is what a pukey toddler looks like...crackers on one side, puke bucket in the other, juice close by and movie after movie playing on the TV.  This bug wasn't too bad though - NOTHING compared to a bug he had last year on Black Friday/my birthday!

Sitting up!  Well, kind of anyway.  He does great with the Boppy because he still falls down quite a bit.  My favorite stage is when they sit up but don't crawl yet, so this is super exciting for me.

Eben being helpful.

He's pretty stinkin' cute, isn't he.

Bode is SIX months today by the way.  Can't believe it.  This time went MUCH faster than Eben's first six months.  Bode rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time today too!  Six month post will be up soon, but I am waiting for Bode's picture outfit to come in the mail...good ol' Etsy just has the cutest things EVER. 

Oh, and ONE MONTH from today we head back to Fargo - cannot wait!!!