Thanks...

Thanks for all the tips! I went today to Target and bought 4 ice cube trays (2 for $.99)... I will now freeze the food I make in ice cube trays and then transfer those to Zip Lock bags. Everyone has been most helpful--now if you'd all just come over and help???

A couple of Reese sayings this week:

"Mommy it pretty works"--in reference to the hammer he was letting me use.

"My finger is size for my nose"--in reference to how well his finger fits inside his nose.

"I want to tell you something. In the morning I pick the boogers out because thems not good for you"--you can figure this one out!

Little Bit of This and That...

Call me Betty or Martha, whichever... Here is my attempt at making baby food. Production is on and I still think Rae Ann is amazing for thinking this stuff up. Carsten loves it and goes for it with gusto!










These two don't *play*, they are always *working* according to Reese. "Carsten, you want to work with me?", "Mommy, you want to help me build?"

Carsten has four teeth now and today looks the most painful as the tooth works it's way down... He is gnawing on everything.

More on Brothers...

So, of course I don't always have all my thoughts together... I have more to say on siblings/brothers.
Most of us have a sibling and I'm sure our parents watched us become friends, enemies, allies... It seems like one of those things like having your first baby, getting married, buying a house, that to you it is such a big deal and you are sure you are the first ones to experience it. Watching Reese and Carsten relate I'm sure I am the first to see this and the only one--not true... Experiences like this are priceless and I'm glad that everyone gets to enjoy them. Sorry this sounds not too well put together...
I also wanted to add that I am well aware that these two boys might very well be fighting before long. We already have the occasional tussle over a toy and a few tears let loose, but the majority of the time Reese is exceedingly kind, gentle, and understanding of his brother. I can't say it is the other way around yet because Carsten just doesn't get the whole gentle concept and he is somewhat of a bulldozer at this point.
Other than watching our two boys become friends we are dealing with the ever present colds that seem to frequent our house these days...

Brothers...

So, I've wanted to post about this for some time... Brothers.
I have to say that there was a time that I questioned having a second child because I liked Reese so much, Reese was an easy baby, what if our second one was a hard baby, could I handle two kids, what if the second child changed my relationship with Reese???
Now 9 months after second child I am reaping the joys of siblings.
Reese is the one who can get Carsten to smile at any time. Carsten bursts into a grin when he sees Reese first thing in the morning. Reese wants to *play* with Carsten all the time now. Carsten seeks out Reese and sticks by him. They seem to have a language all of their own and private jokes already.
As others have said on their blogs--my heart is full!

Carsten and Eating...

Rae Ann you are the best! Success at dinner tonight with Carsten and Apple Sweet Potatoes!!! I made a huge batch and he liked it (in the picture you can see some clinging to his nose).

I still don't understand the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. I bought sweet potatoes and they were a light yellow and smelled like regular potatoes... anyone out there understand the difference? When you buy sweet potato baby food it is always orange and the cut-up sweet potatoes at Costco were orange--so are they really yams?

Just a day in the life...

No pictures and nothing too exciting happening in our household...

I am going to attempt to make my own baby food here in the next couple days thanks to my cousin Rae Ann! I have always just fed Reese one thing at a time, like cooked carrots OR rice. I am not creative enough to put the foods together... Now for Carsten we'll give this a try.

Carsten has yet another tooth on the brink--doesn't seem fair. I looked this morning in RR's baby book and he had four teeth by now, so I guess it isn't out of the norm (because Reese is SO normal). Funny because Reese got the two next to the front teeth first and then the front two. Carsten has two on the bottom, one on top in the front and then other front on top right there--swollen gums, drool, chewing on everything.

Carsten is also doing the pulling up stunt... I feel like Gina when she says, "our hearts aren't ready for this". Last night he pulled up on his music table and promptly fell and hit his head twice... I was vacuuming yesterday and Reese runs into the room I was in and says, "I helped Carsten into my bed!" Hmmmm.... so I go running into Reese's room and here is Carsten hanging out the back window of RR's car bed... oh boy.

So, we are heading out to Costco and the grocery store and doing other daily stuffs... I have to say that sometimes I feel like Kari who describes herself on her blog as, "literally always doing laundry". If I was writing about me, I'd add, "literally always picking up".

Carsten's Teeth...

Carsten keeps producing teeth! Last night we thought it looked like he might have a top tooth and later we looked closer and sure enough. Poor kid. He does great with the whole *teething* thing and doesn't get too crabby.


He is now a proficient waver and clapper. He can get around quite well although he isn't up on his knees yet. He keeps us smiling and is usually always smiling himself.

Saturday at the Coast...

We took Unc to the coast with us today... went to the aquarium, the beach, and dinner. We now have two tired little boys. Reese enjoyed the aquarium as did Carsten. Carsten especially liked watching the school of anchovies as they were always on the move... Reese begged to go to the beach and after 5 minutes deemed it, "too cold".

I am hoping all our frequent viewers are noticing the *hammer*!

Happy Valentines (a day late)...

So, here are some pictures of the boys today (I know it is a day late...). Reese was throwing up yesterday in the wee hours, so needless to say we weren't taking pictures yesterday. Neither one wanted to smile real bad today, so these are the best we could do.

Mr. Two Teeth...

Carsten's second tooth came through last night... Didn't know what was so wrong until I peeked inside his mouth this morning.
He is also starting the *getting into everything* stage. This picture was taken just after he and Reese had emptied the plastic stuff cupboard.

Saturday...

We met up with the cousins again on Saturday. We had to make a Trader Joe's run so we met them for coffee. It was a neat coffee house that had a room just for kids.

Reese has no time for the camera anymore, so he got left out of these pictures...

Even Better...

Paula is doing great and is heading home today. Her recovery has been amazing. We can't wait to see Grandma! Jim got home last night and are we ever glad to see him! We all tried to stay up to see him, but the two boys finally couldn't do it any longer and fell asleep. Reese is pretty glad to have daddy back home.

Good News...

Jim's mom continues to improve. Today she was moved from ICU (would have been sooner, but the hospital is full). They are still hoping to be discharged today or tomorrow. Her speech has been affected, it appears that is where the bleed was (the speech center). She can talk, just has trouble with some words and forming complete thoughts. At this point they are thinking of staying at Alicia's for a couple of days before heading home.

Better...

Paula keeps improving. As of this morning she is sitting up and carrying on a conversation. They are talking of discharging her tomorrow. Thank you for all your calls.

Grandma...

I should update those of you who are thinking of us right now. Grandma Paula (Jim's mom) suffered a stroke (it appears). She was down helping Jim's little sister with her first baby. Jim went down last night with his dad as soon as they found out. Again from the little we know it appears that she is improving. Thank you for all your kind thoughts. We hope that she keeps getting better and I'll try to keep everyone posted on her progress.

Rainy day...

Here we are this drizzly day playing the piano... I put a picture of Reese at about the same age as Carsten doing the same thing. It is so much more fun with two!

Baths...

Here are my two water boys... They both love the bath. I've taken to just doing baths every other day as baths take over an hour! They love being in the bath together. Carsten is in the tub in his little tub. Reese was enjoying showing me that his eyes squeeze shut when he smiles.

Home Depot...

Reese and Jim went to Home Depot today and made a little wood race car. The first Saturday of each month Home Depot does a free Kids Workshop. Reese took his own hammer and it came in handy as four nails needed to be put in the car...

Hat...

This had nothing to do with the hat, but with me setting him down when he wanted to be held. He was tired. After a minute of peek-a-boo with the camera he was ready to smile...