Aiden - 26 months old

Aiden is now 26 months old, and is growing and learning so much every day! I am just amazed at how fast his language is developing. Just today, he was sharing one of his yogurt snacks with me, and he told me, "careful Mommy, chew it up good!". It cracks me up to hear the things that come out of his mouth! He is starting to correct his baby pronunciations of things, and becoming more and more understandable to people other than family. We are in the process of touring preschools, and he will hopefully be starting sometime this month. I never thought that I would be sending a two year-old to preschool, but I think it will be really good for him. I think he is very smart, and he just soaks up everything that I teach him. He is really interested in reading and learning, as well as tinkering and figuring out how things work. I think the extra stimulation is going to be a great thing. Not to mention, he has had some issues with acting out, and I think alot of the time he just gets bored. It's hard for me to provide enough stimulating activities while caring for a breastfeeding infant. I will definitely be sad when he goes, but I think he is just going to love it. We are getting ready to go on our first family vacation, to Monterey. We are all so excited! We are staying at http://www.montereybeachhotel.com/. I have been teaching Aiden all about different ocean wildlife for the past couple months, so he is extra excited about seeing the aquarium. Several times a day he will tell me, "I go see seahorses and sharks and frogs at the aquarium!". For some reason, he has really become obsessed with seahorses. I really hope they have some sort of a seahorse toy to bring home! I have to admit, I use seahorses the way some moms use Santa. For example, "seahorses don't like little boys who don't listen to their mommies!". These days, Aiden's favorite things to do are playing outside on his scooter with the neighbor kids, practicing golf in the front yard (he is actually really good!), playing soccer with Daddy, dancing and singing, making Cole laugh, reading his favorite books (The Tiny Seed, Brown Bear, and Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?), making racetracks out of blocks, and going on playdates with his little friends.

My smiley baby Cole - 4 months old

I know I always say this, but I can't believe how fast time is flying by, and how fast these boys are growing up! Cole had his four month checkup this week. He is a HEALTHY boy, to say the least! He weighs 18 pounds, 10 ounces, and is 26 inches long! That is in the 95th percentile for both! He has grown three pounds and 3 inches in only 2 months! He is SUCH a sweet, sweet baby. He is very mild mannered, even more than Aiden was as a baby. He reminds me alot of Uncle Chris. He is my good sleeper, sleeping 10-12 hours every night, waking once, maybe twice, to eat. While Aiden loved to be rocked to sleep every night, Cole prefers to be laid down in his crib with his music box on. He will babble to himself or suck his fingers for a few minutes, then fall asleep. It's nice at times, but sometimes it makes me sad, too! I like having a baby to cuddle and rock to sleep! He has really begun to interact more with people and things. He loves to be read to, especially his "touch and feel" books. Daddy lays on the floor next to him and holds the book up above his chest. He gets so excited that he looks like he is doing horizontal jumping jacks! Just this week, he has started to actually reach for the pages himself to touch the different textures. I can't believe he is already old enough to do that! I have also seen the first glimpses of Aiden and Cole actually playing together, where they are both active participants. A couple of days ago, at bathtime, they were doing the CUTEST thing! I am just kicking myself that I didn't have a camera nearby! Aiden was kicking his feet, and splashing around Cole's infant tub. At first, I was telling him not to, as to not splash Cole. Well, I look at Cole, and he is grinning ear to ear, and then begins to kick his legs, imitating Aiden! He stops, and Aiden laughs, thinking it is just hilarious! So, then Aiden kicks again, and this time Cole watches and laughs. They went back and forth, taking turns kicking and laughing for a good ten minutes. It was the sweetest, funniest thing I have ever seen! I am so anxious to see my boys playing together! I know it won't be long, though, til they are having wrestling matches and fighting over toys. Aside from watching and laughing at Aiden, these days Cole's favorite things include reading, bouncing in his exersaucer, chewing his fingers, and basically slobbering all over anything he comes in contact with.