Happy Halloween!

Giggles!

Here is a little video clip Evan and I took of Sophia yesterday. She just loves to play on her changing mat in front of the mirror in her room. She is making lots of little sounds these days - cooing and making a sound that almost sounds like she is saying "hi"! She has also started to giggle, and seems to be quite ticklish on her back. If you stick your tongue out at her she will do the same back to you - it's so cute! It seems much too early, but I have a hunch that Sophia might be in the early stages of teething. She has had her fists in her mouth constantly the last couple of days.....I looked back in Evan's baby book and he sprouted his first two teeth at 4.5 months, and had 13 teeth by his 1st birthday! Perhaps Sophia is following in her big brother's footsteps and teething early. It wouldn't surprise me - they have been such similar babies so far. It's hard to believe she'll be 3 months old in just a few days!!!

Evan Turns 4!!!!

A week or so late, but better late than never! Evan turned 4 on October 18th - hard to believe! He had a wonderful birthday celebration. Friends and Family joined us for a little soiree at our house the day before his actual birthday. The big surprise that day was the new jungle gym/dome climber that his parents and all his grandparents gave him. He was so excited to find it in his backyard after he woke up from his nap. We actually thought he might sleep under it that night - the kids didn't even want to come inside and actually ate their pizza under it (and it was quite a chilly evening). Ev seemed to really enjoy his party (aside from the actual singing Happy Birthday part in which he blocked his ears and shut his eyes the whole time!) Evan's theme of choice for the 3rd year in a row was what else.....THOMAS! He wanted a "Henry" cake this year so Jeff designed the "Island of Sodor" complete with snow capped mountains, railroad tracks, and suspension bridges. Henry was proudly placed on top. Evan was thrilled to wake up Saturday morning to see Jeff's creation. More excitement followed on Evan's actual birthday. Mother Nature gave Evan the best gift of all this year - our FIRST SNOWSTORM of the season. Evan couldn't have been more excited! He and Jeff were outside catching snowflakes on their tongues and later on ventured back out with Pepere to build a snowman - complete with a party hat and noisemaker! I bet Evan will NEVER have a snowstorm again on his birthday - it was probably a once in a lifetime event, but one that certainly was fun and so exciting for Ev!!! (maybe not so much for Grandma & Pepere who came from 90 degree Florida weather!!) Mommy & Daddy gave Evan rollerskates for his birthday and he is already roller skating out on the street with his neighborhood friends. He is growing up much too fast! Here are a few pictures of Evan's birthday weekend.....
The cake.....

Our little monkey and his cake....

Evan and his new jungle gym.....

Two Monkeys.....

Sophia's all dressed up and excited for her big brother's party.....

Family photo.....

Catching snowflakes.....

Birthday snowman.....

Roller Skates!!!

Sophia's 2 months old and Evan's behind bars!!!

Sophia turned 2 months old this past weekend - where has the time gone? She had her 2 month well-visit today and Dr. Lee says she is doing great! She weighed in at 11 lbs. 10 oz. (75th percentile) and was 23 1/2 inches long (90th percentile). She's quite the chunky little monkey, drinking six 6 ounce bottles per day! Her gassiness/fussiness has definitely improved since we started her on the soy formula about a month ago. She's smiling lots these days and just LOVES her changing mats, both the one in her bedroom and the one in the dining room. They are definitely her favorite places to play and she loves to lie there looking at her rings, "Mrs. Snail" (her favorite hanging toy) and her Black and White book that Auntie Meggie gave her. She also loves her swing and smiles at the fishies as they circle above her. Recently she has really taken to her mobile as well. It is so fun to watch her during her alert time these days. She is cooing lots and also shrieking - it's so cute! It is so funny to me how similar Sophia is to how Evan was as a baby. Not only did they look SO much alike at birth, but they have both been overly gassy babies (they must get that from Jeff!) and have both ended up on soy formula. As babies they both have/had very dry skin/eczema, and also make this wheezing sound (Ev doesn't anymore, just as an infant) and they are both great eaters and great sleepers. The only major difference so far is Sophia's cry - or should I say her wail. She wails louder than any baby I have ever heard! She has quite the temper and I have started to call her "my little Diva" - when she wants her bottle, she wants it immediately and she wails until that bottle is in her mouth as if the world is ending. I don't remember Evan being quite so demanding. She also does not like to take a pacifier, whereas Evan did. I would say Sophia will take a pacifier or as we call it a "fuff" 1 out of every 20 times we try it - in fact, it just seems to set her off even more when she is crying and we try to give it to her. On a positive note, I think I have been blessed with two babies who have the "Rayla Relax". Sophia is a great sleeper so far. For a newborn, she actually does QUITE well at night. We have been able to put her down usually by 9:00-9:30pm and she has been sleeping until about 2am or 3am. She feeds for an hour and then goes back down usually without a fuss, until 6:30am or 7am. Not bad for 9 weeks old! Her fussy time is in the evenings between 6 and 9pm - some nights are worse than others. Some nights she cries inconsolably and no amount of rocking, singing, running through the house, bottle, or pacifier will calm her down. Like last night for instance - after a couple hours of crying (she even denied a bottle) she finally quieted down when I turned on the hair dryer as a last resort. Amazingly, it worked! So there I stood in my room, holding Sophia in one arm and the blairing hairdryer in the other! The things we do for our kids....
Well, that is the 2 month low-down on Sophia. As for that Evan - he is trouble these days! We even had to have him hauled off in a police car the other day. Just kidding of course! That picture was taken at the Rail Trail Family Day in West Boylston last weekend. Ev got to sit in a police car, and also pretend he was driving a trash truck. We had a nice fall walk as a family and Sophia slept in her Baby Bjorn front carrier the whole time. We look forward to many more family hikes outdoors this fall and winter. I will try to post a couple more pictures from Family Day and some videos of Sophia "cooing" in the next few days but I am signing off now to catch some sleep while I can!