Enjoy every minute, it goes by so fast...

That was by far the most common piece of advice we got when we had the babies. I think I can honestly say that we have - Well, almost every minute. These days, there is so much to enjoy. In the last week Braden has pulled himself up to stand on anything and everything, Jack is crawling all over the place, they both have tried thicker baby food and yogurt and tonight they took tubbies in the BIG tub! They are so happy an we are so proud. I am not convinced anyone actually reads the text I write, so I will get right to it.



Yum!


Braden is so proud of himself


Braden picking out his own toy!


Jack's favorite new pose


All these new tricks make us sleepy


Here is a video of the boys taking their first tubbie in the big tub. Jack is on the left and Braden on the right.

We went swimming!!

Sharon was nice enough to let us invade her beautiful oasis, otherwise known as her backyard! They boys went swimming for the first time - So much fun!





Here is a cute picture I took of Jack and Braden showing off his new trick! He can hold his bottle for about the first half of his feeding. He doesn't quite get that you have to lift it up the more you drink.
Grammy and Grandpa are coming today for a visit - the boys are so excited they won't even take a morning nap!




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Rice Puffs!

Here is a video of the boys trying rice puffs for the first time.
A few disclaimers:
- It is really hard to feed puffs to your kids and video, so sorry if anyone gets a little motion sick.
- I lied to my children in this video when I said "they're good", there are so far from good.
- I probably got a little more excited than necessary when Jack ate his first puff.



I also took two videos of each of the boys taking a bath!

First 4th of July!

We packed up the boys and headed to the Cape for a week over the 4th of July. It was great break for all of us. Grammy and Grandpa were so excited to see the boys and spend lots of time with them.
When we first arrived on Cape Cod there was some discussion about Braden crawling. It was immediately apparent he was this.close and that he would likely be "crawling" before the week was out. Sure enough, he started doing a military type "crawl" on Friday. He was (and is ever increasingly) quick, he gets his eye on something and just takes off. Little Jack is taking it all in and preparing to take off soon too. As we learn more about their individual personalities it is clear that Jack is more cautious. I suspect he will begin to crawl the way Sarah and I define crawling - the traditional, on all fours- hand, knee, hand, knee motion crawl.
I will say, it took a little more planning that usual to pull off vacation this year. Brian and I found ourselves passing like ships in the night, I went off to the beach with Kim, DeA, and my mom one day while Brian stayed home with the boys. The next morning he went golfing with dad and I was with the boys. We were able to get some "us" time, thanks to my parents and Auntie Tina. We went out for an uninterrupted dinner while they babysat. They were practically begging us to leave so they could hang out with the boys before they had to go to bed. A good time was had by all.

I would be remiss if I didn't say the Cape over the fourth of July just wasn't the same without Richie. Brian and I think about him everyday. We laugh. We cry. We love him. We miss him.

A week full of firsts for sure...




4th of July 2006 - The year we discovered fireworks right in our own back yard.

Sitting up is a funny thing...

So, I have been so good about documenting each "first" the boys have; first doctor's appointment, first smile, first spoon of food. Margaret's good friend Mrs. J even gave us this great calendar with stickers for each of these events. Sitting up has been a little tougher than the rest to pin down. For a few weeks both boys have been "sitting up", now sure, there has been a pillow behind them or one of us has been sitting right there, but they can stay up right for at least 7 seconds. Last night we tried to push the envelope a bit and see what they could really do. Based on the results, I think we will call last night their official first episodes of sitting up. They did great! As you can see, Jack looks a little like he is sitting on a tight rope 10 stories up, but I am so proud of him! He will certainly be a little more cautious than his brother. Mark my words: Braden will have the first broken bone.

In other news, we are getting ready to pack up for the Cape over the 4th of July. We are leaving late Wednesday night when the boys would normally go to bed for the night so that they can sleep for the ride. I am hoping it will be a trip filled with "firsts".

Braden
Jack
L-Jack R-Braden
Some out-takes:


Braden has been trying to sit up all by himself and gets here... it sort of looks like he is a diaper model!

So close!

So, I was waiting to update the blog because I was sure the boys would be crawling by now. Alas, they are not, but that's ok. Both get up on all fours and rock back and forth, but no purposeful forward (or backward) motion yet. They are also getting much more proficient at sitting up. I'm not sure I would walk away from them in a sitting position just yet, but they are close. Their pediatrician tells me that once they gain control of their hips they will be sitting with no problem and be crawling in no time. Everyone is telling me not to push it, but I can't help but be excited.

We have been feeding them two meals a day of fruits and vegetables, they love it! It took some getting used to, but starting today breakfast, lunch and dinner are real meals, not bottles!

Here are some pictures of the boys watching a little movie! They LOVE the Baby Einstein movies!

Abnormal EKG...

Once again Jack has an abnormal EKG. I found myself on the verge of tears in the doctor's office, but upon further reflection I am feeling better and I know things could be a whole lot worse. Going back to Yale has a way of reminding you of that. Hoping that Jack will outgrow his WPW at the point is probably unrealistic. Going forward we will hope that his medication continues to work while we wait for him to get big enough to undergo the cardiac ablation that will close off the extra pathway. We will go back to Dr. Fishburger when Jack turns one, unless of course we detect any SVT episodes.

Jack was such a good boy! He even got a visit from one of the nurses that cared for him while he was in the NICU. She heard he was in and wanted to say hi. I can't imagine how different he must look to people who last saw him when he was 5 weeks old! She was so sweet to stop by. Those people have a special place in our hearts, forever.



We had a little play time while we waited for the doctor.