Stripes

Shavout

We hosted a Shavous dinner tonight. One of Seth's friends from school came over with his parents and baby brother. It was so cute to watch the two of them talk, play and have fun together. It is really amazing to see the change from the beginning of the year when all they would do was "parallel" play. Seth and Gabriel had a blast taking out EVERY toy that we own. I am sure it will take days to put everything back in the proper place but worth it.

Banana...

Justin has moved on from just plain rice cereal and breast milk. Today we added banana! He seemed to like it a little better.



On the sleep front. I am almost afraid to write it down - for the last 4 nights Justin has slept from 7:30pm until 5/5:30 am! Last night I got 7 hours of sleep in a row!!!

Stats...

Both boys were fantastic at their doctor appointments. Justin's 6 month and Seth's 3 year old appointments.



Justin cried for 5 seconds after getting 4 shots. Seth barely made a noise when getting his blood drawn. Both boys are healthy and happy - and we are very lucky!



Here are the stats...

~ Justin 18 lbs 9 oz (90th%) 27 3/4 inches (95%)

~ Seth 38 lbs (90%) (we think this one is a bit off - seth was wearing a lot of clothes and a diaper)38 1/2 inches (75th%)

School Pictures

Can you believe it? Seth's first school picture! We also got a picture of his class. No one looks particularly happy in it - but it is really cute. For anyone that has been in my parent's basement you will recall that the whole thing is covered with my brother and my school pictures, individual and class pictures. It was always fun to look at them when friends came over. I definitely want to continue the tradition (when we have a basement). For now - I might want to stick them in our back staircase (how does that sound Jerald?). Seth has 2 more days of school left. There is a short break and then he is going to camp at his school for the summer. I just can't believe he is finishing his first year of school. He has grown up so much this year - we are just so proud of him!

Street Performer Festival

It was such a beautiful day that we headed downtown to Fanueil hall. It was such a quick drive - we should really do it more often! We walked through the Halacaust memorial and talked about it in vague detail with Seth. He was interested and helped us pick a rock to leave at the memorail.

We then headed over to watch the street performers. There was a festival all weekend of street performers. Some were better than others - but Seth was entertained by them all. He sat and paid such close attention and then gave them money when the shows ended. We ate lunch and headed home. Justin enjoyed being outside but fell asleep during our trip. The rest of the day Seth kept doing performances for us and trying to collect money from us. Too funny!

Danny, Rebecca & Ben Visit

We had a fantastic visit with Rebecca, Danny and Ben! It was so wonderful having them stay with us for the weekend. We did a lot of fun things... we went to two playgrounds, took a walk around our neighborhood, had a BBQ, went to the zoo and did a lot of good playing at our house. Ben is a sweet, curious, adorable little boy and we were so happy to get to know him better. Both Seth and Justin took to him very quickly and it was adorable to see them all interact.

After all that activity on Sunday most everyone needed a nap!

Hope to see you soon!!!

BBQ!!!

Our friends Rebecca, Danny and their son Ben came to visit for the holiday weekend so our other friends Ethan, Jess and their daughter Maddy came to join for a BBQ. It was so fun spending time with everyone. Crazy watching all our kids play together. We all go way back - boy we are old!

From left to right: Justin, Seth, Maddy and Ben.

6 Months Old!!!

Happy 6 Month Birthday to Justin! I am truly shocked at how fast these six months have gone by. It seems like yesterday we were in the hospital welcoming him into our family. But it is hard to remember before we were a family of four. Justin has fit into the family so wonderfully. He brings such joy to all of us every day. Even when he does something gross (like his poop explosion this morning) he flashes his big smile that lights up his whole face and I can't help but smile too.

During the last month Justin played at the park for the first time, started eating real food and started eating in the high chair, started playing in the exersaucer, rolled over from his back to his front, and started sleeping in his own room!

Parents Breakfast

Today, both Jerald and I attended the Parents Breakfast at Seth's school (thanks Nana for watching Justin!). The morning started out hanging out with friends and teachers and eating breakfast. Above is Seth with one of his best friends Evan and below is a favorite teacher of Seth's (although not one of his teachers) Marsha.

After breakfast we went with Seth's class and one other class to music class. We have a long video of this - too long for the blog - but still very cute. They sang songs and danced around. A lot of the kids were overwhelmed by the amount of people in the room and trying to "perform" for the parents. Not our Seth - he loves the spotlight! A really great morning...

Happy Birthday Jerald!!!

The big 31! We want to wish a very happy birthday to Jerald/Daddy. We love you with all our heart! We are so lucky to have you. On this very special day - we want to take a minute to tell you how much we appreciate you. You work so hard and then come home with energy to spend great quality time with the boys and help me out at home. You are truly amazing and we love you!

We celebrated with a special dinner at home. Seth didn't really enjoy the wild mushroom asparagus risotto (but Jerald did!). Seth did enjoy the chocolate cake with ice cream - YUMMY!

Poor Justin - no chocolate for you...

Saturday at the Park

We took advantage of the beautiful spring weather by heading to cambridge to a fun playground at a school that was having a fair and yard sale. Justin got his first ride in a swing and first trip down the slide. He seemed to enjoy both. It is going to be a fun summer!

Uncle Josh joined us at the park and as you can see from the pictures, Seth was thrilled to have another playmate at the park.

Lunch Musical Chairs

Now that Justin has started eating food we have to do some musical chairs for meals. Seth has moved to one of the stools with a booster seat and Justin is rotating between the high chair and the bumbo. And I am still standing for most meals.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!

Seth, Justin and I wanted to especially say a Happy Mother's Day to Lauren, the caretaker of this blog that we know all of you love so much. Anyone who gets to know Seth and Justin, or see that how we function as a family, can see all of the love, fun, positive discipline, fun, attention, and care Lauren puts into running this family. We hope she knows it every day, but we wanted to let her know how much we appreciate and love her. Happy Mother's Day, Lauren.

We also wanted to send a special mother's day to all of the other mothers in our family, Great Gram, Great Grandma, Grandma, Nana, and Aunt Naomi. We love all of you and hope you had a special day.

Brothers Snuggling

Suzanne and Frank Visit

We had a wonderful but too short visit with our good friends Suzanne and Frank. They were in from DC for Suzanne's brother's graduation. Seth and Justin took to them immediately and we were all sad to see them go. Hope to see you both soon!