Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!

We took Caroline and Clayton on their first trip to Lincoln Park Zoo.

Pictures from BB's house

Ups and Downs

Down - Kevin was just diagnosed with shingles. :(
Up - Lindsay and the kids get to check in to Hotel Wood (aka, my parents' house)
Down - We don't get to see Kevin/Daddy.
Up - We are spoiled at Grandma BB's house - great food, no household chores, and fun company
Down - Clayton went through a VERY fussy spell this past few days. He was either sleeping or fussing. Poor little guy.
Up - Clayton had his first "awake" smile today. Hopefully, the majorly fussy days are over.

Slip-sliding away

Caroline has a new-found love for slides.

Tubtime for the kids!

Both kids are clean for the moment. It won't last long though. In no time, one of them will poop, spit-up, or stick their hands in the dirt.

Once kids learn how to feed themselves, mealtime becomes quite a mess. Our favorite bibs BY FAR are the Bumkins bibs. They are waterproof and keep Caroline far cleaner during mealtime than any other bib. And unlike other waterproof bibs, these bibs are not stiff and cumbersome. I HIGHLY recommend them. THey are expensive, but since they are used every day, I think they are worth it. You can click HERE to see their products.

Sofia and Eva are baptized!

Our Goddaughter, Sofia Cordova, was baptized (along with twin sister, Eva) on Sunday. Congratulations to Sofia and Eva!

Congratulations to Dawn and Michele

Congratulations to my college friend, Dawn, on the birth of Sydney Elizabeth!

Congratulations to my friend, Michele, on the birth of Addison Kate!

Thank God for husbands and coffee

After a particularly sleepless night (lots of feeding issues and fussing from Mr. Clayton), Kevin left for work for an early meeting, but returned to surprise me with a very-much-needed cup of coffee from Panera. It's those little things that get me through the day. Thank you, husband!

Nursing strike

Ugh! Eventhough Clayton is growing more quickly than Caroline did, it seems that he is having the same eating issues that Caroline did at this age. Right now, he is refusing to nurse and gets extremely agitated when trying to do so. Feeding him involves a time-consuming mixture of multiple nursing attempts, pumping, washing bottles, mixing formula bottles, etc.
I pray that he is able to get back to just nursing soon! It is FAR more efficient!

It's funny how Clayton likes to sleep the same way Caroline did - arms up, legs out like little frog legs.

Getting ready to go out on the town...

Mama and baby

a few better shots...

words and songs

Caroline is talking up a sotrm these days. In addition to repeating every word and phrase that her parents say, she also is forming her own sentences. She's also started to sing songs. She sings "Rain Rain, Goed away. Come again anoder day." She also started singing "Doe a deer" from Sound of Music. "Doe a deer, a weemale deer. Way a dwop of gowden sun..." I WISH I could put a soundclip on this site because it is so darn cute!

We just took Clayton to the doctor for his 1 month old checkup and he is 9 pounds, 7 ounces! Hooray! He's growing! (I checked back and Caroline hit 9 lb, 7 oz. at her 2 month appt.)

Attempting to take the birth announcement picture...

Going...

Going...

Gone.

Game over.

Happy 1 month old birthday Clayton!

Favorite books

Caroline LOVES to read books. Right now, some of her favorites are

Of course, sometimes she chooses books that are little too advanced for her. Here she is trying to read "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad.

Growing with Mr. Bear - 1 month

4 week birthday

Clayton on his 4 week birthday

Sibling bonding on a blanket

pigtails!

Aunt Meredith

Aunt Meredith came to visit us!
Here she is with baby Clayton.

Pictures of Caroline are on a temporary hiatus. Those blasted mosquitoes attacked her little face. She had 5 big red welts- all on her face, her eye swelled halfway shut, her cheeks puffed out, and she had red scratches all over.

:( She is getting better now, thank God! If anyone has any tips to keeping those bugs away from her face, please let me know!

First outing to Independence Grove as a family of four!

Caroline at Independence Grove

As Caroline calls it, "big doody" (big stroller)...

Mama and her baby boy

Picture with Daddy

Father-Son Naptime

Growing with Mr. Bear - 18 months & 2 1/2 weeks

Caroline growing with Mr. Bear - 18 months and way back at a week & a half.


Clayton growing with Mr. Bear - 2 1/2 weeks

Beware of the flying pee pee!

We had our first significant flying pee pee incident. Yes, they warn you, but you never seemed quite prepared enough. Sure enough, I was changing Clayton's diaper, when all of a sudden, the little "pee pee" sprouted a leek. He is a squirmy baby, especially when being changed, so as he wiggled, the pee pee did little circles, moving back and forth and spraying tinkle every which way. It truly was like one of those lawn sprinklers that sprays in a rotating circle. After shrieking (me, not him) and grabbing for anything to contain the little sprinkler, I look down and notice wet drops everywhere - on the table, on his face, on his clothes, on my clothes...even in his ear!
Changing my little boy's diaper definitely will take some getting used to!