Swimming in the pool

It's been really warm here the past week, so I decided to get out the swimming pool for P to play in. It was supposed to storm today, but it decided not to and it was so humid out. I also watered the lawn while P played in the pool and B played on the blanket on the patio. Both boys love to be outside.
My garden is also coming along very nicely. I recently planted some seeds of green beans, lettuce, and radish. The lettuce and radish are coming up very nice and the beans are just starting to come up. Everything seems to be growing great. I love that it is an all organic garden, including the soil. I can't wait to have veggies growing!!
You can't see the onions very good, but they are in the center of the garden. The bare looking spot on the bottom left is where the beans are starting to come up.

Some improvements!

I have been trying solids with B more frequently and he seems to be taking them a little easier now. He still has his moments, for example, yesterday he wasn't a huge fan of green beans, but today he loves them. I have been trying to give them to him about twice a day, once in the mornings and then again in the evenings when we eat dinner. I know at this age eating is basically for practice, so a jar of food can last us 2-3 days.
B is also changing so much. I have noticed in the past week that his voice has gotten deeper. It just carries so much more now and he seems so much louder. It makes it hard when P is trying to sleep and B is fussing or jabbering away. B has also decided that he is finished with some of his toys. He is no longer a fan of the bouncy seat or the bumbo. He has also taken an extreme liking to the door frame bouncer. He is also enjoying playing on the floor on his belly more and more. Yesterday he finally rolled over from him back to his belly. He has been rolling from side to side, but hasn't quite been able to make it all the way over yet, until yesterday. And he is pushing himself up on his hands while on his belly. It's just a matter of time now before my life is really over with a 2 year old and a crawling baby. Yikes!!!

P has been doing well. This is his "cheese" pose. Cousin E taught him how to say "cheese" when the camera comes out and now he strikes a pose. Now maybe I can get some pics of P's face! :) He has also been learning so many new things lately. He is very into birds right now and loves to "call" them and stalk them in the yard and the neighbors yard. I actually got him on video this morning "calling" the birds. Nay Nay (den's mom) bought him a bird feeder to go in our back yard. He loves to take the food out of the holes and also to eat the food. Yum!

Major anxiety

B has been having some anxiety lately when he can't see me, but the last few days it has gotten so much worse. He screamed every time he was in his carseat today. He is facing backwards, so obviously he can't see me and that just freaked him out. At one point I held his little hand and he calmed down, but then my arm started hurting so I attempted to let go and he just lost it. Poor kid! He even screamed while I took a shower today.

I felt so bad for the little guy that I mowed the lawn with him on my back in the back pack just so he could be close to mommy. He fell asleep while I mowed the lawn. All of that screaming must have wore him out!

We seem to be getting along okay with the hubby gone. For some reason, the food in the house has lasted a lot longer and I don't need to grocery shop as often. I have figured out how to mow the grass with two young children. I put B on my back and let P play in the sandbox out back and then ride his tricycle on the driveway when I mow up front. We have also got a routine down for bath time and bedtime. I have started bathing them together in the evenings so that I can get that done once instead of two separate baths. Or, sometimes P will take a shower with me in the morning while B plays in the jumper or the bouncy.

The hubby will be home in a few weeks to visit and we are very excited for that. So far, we have been able to talk to him each night. Each day I ask P where daddy is and he always points to our big family picture over the fireplace. And when he goes to bed I tell him that I love him and that daddy loves him too. We also have a picture book that has some pictures of us and the boys in it and P loves to point out everyone in the pictures. P is definitely starting to say more words, in fact, today he pointed to a truck going by the house and said, "whoa baby!" Plain as day. Sometimes that kid just cracks me up.

So far, so good! :)

The wee man

After B's doc appointment yesterday, I have decided that I am switching doctor's for the boys. I am very tired of getting "the lecture" about everything that I am doing wrong for my kids. I don't expect people to agree with everything that I do, but I don't think I am doing anything wrong to my kids. I guess I am a little too crunchy for those mainstream docs, so I have decided to find me a crunchy doc instead. Plus, we are having to switch from private insurance to Tricare (military insurance). There is one doc in town that I am very interested in, but it is very hard to get into her practice. But I am trying, none the less.

On a different note, I tried solids again with B this afternoon. I tried oatmeal and squash, not a fan of either. So, at dinner tonight, I decided I was going to experiment a bit. (P.S. this is probably one of the things I am so "wrong" about!) I have heard that some kids just do not like the texture of pureed baby food and instead go straight to table food. So, at dinner I put B in the highchair and gave him some peas. Yes, real peas! Gasp!!! (I know, I am a horrible mother!) He played around with them for a bit and then I picked one up and squished it a bit and brought it to his mouth. And what do you know, the kid opened up wide and "chewed" the dang thing up! It was so hilarious to watch him "chew" this squished pea. He looked like a horse chewing! I took a video of it because it was so funny. So there you have it folks, apparently my kid is not a fan of pureed baby food. Turns out I'm not starving my kid afterall. :)

B has also been sitting up more and more each day by himself. I can now sit him between my legs until he gets stable and then I back away from him. He will stay sitting on his own for a few minutes before he topples over towards a toy. I was able to get a picture of him sitting on his own this evening. I also got some pics of the boys together, which is darn near impossible these days with an active 2 year old.

6 months old!

B had his 6 month check up today. He weighed in at 16lbs even, 25 1/2 inches long, and 43.1 cm for head circumference. He still isn't very good with solids, I have tried and tried and the boys just loves the boob apparently. I got one of those mesh feeders and he has tried banana and avocado out of it and does pretty well with it. He will grab for anything that you have, but will only take 2 bites from the spoon. I think he is going to be more of a self feeder rather than a feed me type of baby. P was the complete opposite! Funny how that works. Doc said he is doing great at sitting, he only needs a little bit of support. He is also pushing up very well while on his tummy.

We are still co-sleeping (spare the lecture) and he still nurses during the night, but we both get sleep and that is what matters most to me. He is just not that in to his crib and he definitely lets me know that! :) He is starting to love his Jumperoo more and more everyday. Just recently he has figured out that he can actually "jump" in it, which is funny to watch. We also moved him from his infant carseat to the Marathon rearfacing. He is still under both the weight and height limits for his infant seat, but the boy is beefy and he just was not comfy width wise. So we moved him and he is much happier now. Here are some pics of the little man at 6 months:

My garden!

Today I actually got to work in my garden. My mother-in-law came over today and we spent the day out and about around town. We went to breakfast with the boys and then headed over to the greenhouse in town. I got 3 more tomato plants, an eggplant plant, and some onion plants. We also got some more soil to fill my garden up to my liking. My mother-in-law watched the boys while I planted the new plants and got the new soil all situated. My garden now consists of 7 tomato plants (2 different kinds), 4 jalapeno plants, 16 cucumber plants, 1 eggplant, 1 cilantro, and 6 rows of onions. I still have a little space left, so I am thinking about what else to get. Maybe some green beans or pepper plants? Here is a picture of my garden after today:
I hope my veggies grow and that we have lots for this summer! I killed the one tomato plant that I had last year, so hence why I have 7 this year. :) I am hoping at least one of them will live. We'll see!

Road Trips

We decided last week that we were going to try and take the boys up to Chicago before D left. We headed up to my home town on Sunday and spent the day visiting with my family and we stayed overnight at my dad's house. Monday morning we woke up early (ha, as if I had the choice to sleep in!) and took the train into Chicago. We wanted to take P to the Science and Industry Museum to see the trains and the tractor exhibits they had.

It was quite the experience trying to get the double stroller and two children on the train and then find a seat to fit us all in. But we made it! P wasn't too fond of the train at first, but then he figured out that he could look out the window of the train and see more "choo choo's" going by, then he was fine. We made it to the museum just fine and I realized that I forgot my camera. I did take some pictures with my cell phone, but I have yet to upload them.

We drove back home on Monday afternoon and tried to get some laundry done and repack so that we could leave for Brown County on Tuesday. We made it to Brown County in the afternoon and they still did not have our room ready. Dad and P went exploring on a trail near the lodge while B and I stayed behind and roamed around to check things out. We used to vacation there a lot when I was growing up, but it has been years since I was there last. It was neat to see how much things have changed. After waiting for about 30 minutes, I went to check on the status of our room. (They said they could have it ready in about 20 minutes) The room still wasn't ready yet, so we opted for one of the rustic cabins. I thought it would be fun, like camping only with a bed and your own bathroom.

Once we got settled in the cabin, we took the boys up to the indoor water park they have at the lodge. P absolutely loved it and B could have cared less. :) Dad took P around the lazy river part and then they played some in the other pool. About 6:00pm we attempted to leave the pool and go eat some dinner at the lodge. P was not very happy about it, but eventually we got him away from the pool. Wednesday we ventured around downtown Nashville and ate breakfast at one of the restaurants that we used to go to when I was younger. It was so yummy! We walked around to all of the little shops and we also stopped at the winery tasting store. I love the Vista Red from Brown County Winery, so I knew that I wanted to get a bottle of that. I also tried some other wines and bought a bottle of the Vista Rose as well. The boys were starting to get cranky at this point, so we loaded them up in the car and headed to the outlet mall in Edinburgh. The boys slept the entire way there. We did a little more shopping and then headed to get some lunch. D knew of a BBQ place, so we headed there for lunch. It was so, so yummy!!!! I wish we had something like that around here.

We started to head back to the lodge and we decided to go ahead and head home. P was super cranky all day because nobody slept good the night before and we were exhausted. So, we packed up and headed home on Wednesday night. But we had a great time on our mini family vacation! Right before we left the Park, we took the boys to the highest lookout. It was so cool to see all of the trees and the hills. I remember this tower in the Fall and how pretty it is when all of the leaves are changing.