My Boy Loves Me!

Two in the Tub!

We've yet to master a good bath schedule that works for both boys, so when I found this bath lounger, I thought it would be worth a try. To my surprise, it worked perfectly!

William loved kicking and splashing away while getting to watch his big brother.

Nicholas showed Will the "squirty soap he picked out from Wegmans."

Two in the tub - SUCCESS!

(Now if only it went a little smoother getting them both dried and dressed. Poor William had lost his patience by then.)

Getting ready for Daddy's return

After 3 long days of missing Daddy, we spent Sunday prepping for a little party in anticipation of Daddy's return home. Nicholas chose a cupcake recipe to make and recalled that it would need eggs. He has some sort of odd fascination with eggs, even though he would never eat one plain.

He talked on and on about the spider and bug cupcakes for Daddy...

He painted Daddy a gorgeous picture (that required considerable concentration).

After nap, we decorated the cupcakes and Nicholas counted away.

Oooops, finger in the frosting!

Everything these days is, "I'll do it all by myself, Mommy."

Nicholas was so proud of all his party plans for Daddy. Unfortunately, he was half asleep by the time Daddy got home, but was very happy to get tucked in by his Dadoo.

Poppie's Camp

To keep ourselves from missing Daddy too much, we headed out to Grammy & Poppie's camp on Saturday. William showed Grammy his big boy sitting...

while Nicholas took Poppie on many laps of the yard on "the little tractor." He had the hugest grin on the entire time - even when passing us by the camp windows.

Seriously, he was in his glory on that silly thing!

Poppie trimmed a path for us to take a walk through the woods. Nicholas got to see moss for the first time and is still talking about the day, including "Poppie's messy garage, the nozzle that leaked on the garden hose, and the little fan in bedroom."

Thanks Grammy and Poppie for the nice day and tiring out Nicholas so well!

Game Night

Last Friday, Daddy went to Virginia for a long weekend for Grandpa John's wedding. Nicholas bonded with his godmother Rosanne when she came over for game night. He was so excited to have a new audience to show-off his latest antics.

We matched Oreos....and ate some too!

Nicholas' idea was to scrape off the cream stuffing and eat it with a spoon....he gets right to business!

8-week Mark

William is 8 weeks old today! His personality seems to have come out a lot this week. Much like his brother, he no longer sleeps in the car and is having longer wake cycles, including times he refuses to rest. He is very vocal with his coos and grunts - including letting Mommy know he does not want to sleep in his own bed with escalating grunts of dissatisfaction in the middle of the night. He initiates ga-ga play with his bright blue eyes watching your every move until you just have to put down what you are doing and ga-ga-coo with him! His smiles are the biggest payback!

Look at those cheeks!

Snoring at 8 weeks - yup, his Daddy's son!

Tough Guy

Don't think these rolls are fat - they are all muscle!

NOT!

The Space Shuttle

Daddy introduced Nicholas to shuttle watching this week. Every night, its been a big let-down when the mission has been scrubbed due to poor weather. Tonight, Nicholas was completely enamoured watching the much-awaited launch. Out of no where, he said, "that is just weird!"

Seriously, where do they get it!

What happened to my good sleeper?

Let's hope it is just a short-lived phase, but my formerly good sleeper has been grunting his way into our bed for the past 3 nights. Today, the little stinker slept just long enough for this picture to be taken!

Please be just a phase!

My Boys

After taking 4 pictures of my boys this morning that all turned out cute in their own way, I mustered up the courage to hit Wegmans for a big grocery shopping. It was surely memorable - starting off with Nicholas screaming "MOMMY!" as the shopping cart he was strapped into blew into the middle of the parking lot when I was getting William out. Given this was my first trip with both kids and without Daddy, I forgot just how much Nicholas can yap about every item in the store! That was rather exhausting in its own, especially when he was yelling to go into the "cold fan room" in front of a crowd of senior citizens (obviously he's been hitting the beer room with Daddy on a regular basis!). William was content in the front carrier and everything made it home and in the fridge before spoiling (hopefully!).

Hey Nicholas, be careful with your baby brother!

Nicholas is in love with his camera from the prize box at the dentist.

Gotta make you smile...

We Did It!

All 3 of us survived our first appointment together! To top it off, it was Nicholas' dentist appointment, which can be a little harry to begin with...not to mention it's over a half hour drive for us.

Nicholas made me incredibly proud the entire time. From playing nicely with the other kids in the packed waiting room (including waiting his turn to drive the boat) to sitting in the exam chair all by himself - he was a trooper. After a couple seconds of a tight lip lock, Nicholas gave "Dr. dentist" great "ahhhhhh's" through his exam. He was fine with just holding Mommy's hand, since William was in the front carrier. Dr. dentist reported Nicholas' tooth brushing is good and he's a no cavity kid (phew!).

On the other hand, William did not fall into a deep sleep as Mommy had wished on the ride out to Fayetteville. He was bright-eyed and wanting to be out of his seat within minutes of our arrival. Thankfully, he was super happy hanging in the front carrier. The hygienist was cracking up when Mommy and Nicholas were saying "ahhhh" - she insists William repeatedly opened his mouth wide as well.

Call me crazy, but we also scheduled hair cuts for Daddy and Nicholas on the same day. Check it out - look who tolerated the cape for the first time!

(I just love the lounge chair position he's in!)

Nice hair cuts boys!

William will be joining you soon....okay, as soon as he has enough hair to join the club!

Brothers Playing "Parking Garage"

Nicholas is really trying to interact with William. He informed me he was "parking his cars in baby William's parking garage..."

Nicholas didn't care for it when William moved at all. Meanwhile, it looks like Will was wondering how he got himself involved in the deal...but he was a good sport.

Family Walk

Tonight we got out just after a quick shower and caught a gorgeous bright rainbow. Nicholas kept asking "where is the other end?"

Just like his big brother, William just loves time in the front carrier. He's so happy to face forward, even though almost all of our adventures end with him shut-eyed.

The Nemo Playground!

Nicholas was so excited to make it back to the "Nemo playground!"

Kalie joined us for a morning picnic.

William and Erica enjoyed some bonding time on the blanket together.

William was beautifully content to watch the tree above him blow in the breeze. He was happy for nearly an hour (gosh, do I wish we had a shade tree in our yard!).

7 Weeks Old

William is already 7 weeks old!

William's new-found smiles and coos have been a welcome addition to his good nature. He's starting to more consistently sleep longer stretches at night (about 5-6 consecutive hours...so nice) and is starting to reach out for Mommy's shirt, hair or necklace. He weighs in at 13 pounds and is growing stronger every day.

A Frown Turned Upside Down

William got a new view in the seat of the stroller. He enjoyed every minute of a nice long walk around the neighborhood with Mommy. He was cooing, kicking his feet and stayed awake the entire time.

Smiles from William

Gotta love getting big baby smiles!

I'm not ready to sleep!

I don't know why Daddy is so cuddly, 'cause I'm sure not interested in going to bed now!

Ta-Daa!

1 hungry boy + 2 slow parents in the kitchen = Nicholas setting the table ALL BY HIMSELF!

We had no idea what he was up to but boy were we proud, as was he.