Shaunisms

Shaun is really starting to show off his personality. He is very demanding at times, but also very silly. He loves to blow raspberries and smile at anyone who even gives him even an minute of their time. Recently, he started moving himself around. First it started with him pivoting while sitting on his mat, and now he is starting to push himself backwards while lying on his belly. I think we'll be seeing him crawl in the not so distant future. I could be wrong though, I mean I was sure he would have had a mouth full of teeth at this point (he has been drooling like a dental patient who had too much novocaine since he was 4 months old).

Looking more and more like a big boy!


Showing off his smile!


Taking a nap.


All clean after tubby time!


Playing with his big brother and being silly!

All I Could Do was Laugh:

So David is just a riot. I know I have said this before, but this story proves it. We were in Target yesterday (I know big surprise there) and walking down the aisle with the baby food. Shaun was sitting in the front of the shopping cart and David was walking along beside me. I was looking at the various flavors of jar mush to feed Shaun for the next week when David yells really loud - "MOM, I JUST FARTED!!"

I just laughed to myself and said, "that's nice David" and continued grabbing different jars of baby food. It didn't even phase me because this is his latest milestone (if you want to call it that); announcing to the world when he passes gas. But then he caught me off guard when he yelled "EXCUSE ME".

It was at that moment I realized we were not alone in the aisle when I heard the lady at the other end start cracking up. All I could do was shrug my shoulders and laugh along with her.

Snow (and lots of it!)

I have to admit that I am impressed by all the snow that has fallen so far this winter and it's only mid-January! That being said, I love it!! I love looking outside (from the comfort of my warm & toasty living room) and watching the snow fall. It's so pretty the morning after a snow storm and the trees are all covered in white! Since we spent the previous three winters in Philadelphia, we didn't really see much snow. Now that we are back in New England, I made sure that David was prepared with his first pair of snow boots and snow pants.

David has been having a blast playing in the snow, helping Daddy shovel the driveway and sledding at his Grammy and Papa's house.

Here is David watching the very first snow fall this winter:


Helping Daddy shovel:


First time Sledding with his buddy Jesse:


Getting bundled up to play outside with Savanah and Little John:


More sledding!




Ready for more!

7 Months...time is flying!

So here we are, another month gone by and our Shaun is 7 months old. Time is really flying. He is so different than David in so many ways that we sometimes feel like first time parents all over again.

He has been eating solid foods for about two months now, loving all the yummy flavors he gets to try. With David, I would have been happy if he ate 1/2 a jar of baby food - Shaun eats TWO jars!! We have begun to slowly introduce him to the stage 3 foods that have more textures to them to get him to learn about chewing. We have also started giving him the teething cookies, though not very often as they are SO messy.


He has a couple new milestones. He has recently started to try to wave hello. He can stand and balance himself up against a toy or the couch longer before falling on his bum. He blows raspberries and started saying Ba-ba-ba. However, the greatest milestone, at least for me, is that he officially sleeps through the night! His older brother David didn't do that until almost 9 months old! He does have some nights where he wakes up for a minute and we'll go in to help him locate his binky, but then he goes right back to sleep again.

Here are some pictures of our little man taken today:

Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year! I can't believe that another year has gone by and we are beginning a new one. Many people are inclined to make a New Year's Resolution, myself included. It's generic; but I am with the millions whose resolution is to get in shape. A new year is also a good time to make some changes and try new things.

It's been over a week now that David has not needed to use his binky. I thought it may be a fluke, at first as he was very attached to his binkies. He always had to have AT LEAST three binkies to sleep at night; one in his mouth and one in each hand. I was beginning to become concerned by the fact that he was chewing on them and that he could choke on the broken pieces. It was surprisingly very easy to wean him from his beloved binkies, and he hasn't asked for them since. They have now been replaced with a stuffed Mickey and stuffed Donald Duck, but at least I no longer have to worry that he may choke.

David's New Year's Resolution:

Be a good big brother to Shaun


Help out around the house!


Shaun has also started to try new things. We introduced him to the sippy cup. I put some juice in the cup to see what he would do. He seemed to like it but needed help holding the cup. He has only had a handful of bottles so holding onto the cup was a new experience. The other adjustment was to how fast the juice came out of the cup; the flow was so much that most of it ended up on his shirt. But since practice makes perfect we'll keep letting him try to figure it out!




He is getting so big. When I am not wearing him in the ERGO at the store or supermarket he is big enough to ride in the shopping cart now. Check out our big boy in the Target cart!


Shaun's New Year's Resolution is to start sleeping through the night! However, thanks to Dr. Ferber, he is sleeping much better! In fact, for the last few nights he woke up only once and only needed help finding his binky before going back to sleep. I am hesitant to say he is officially sleeping through the night yet, but confidant enough to say that we are VERY close!!

So I hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year. I know we did, even though I was sound asleep when the Ball dropped. 2008 was a great year for us and I know 2009 will be even better!

Christmas on the Cape

Christmas is officially over. Our tree is down and all the decorations put away until next year. But when you have a big family and lots of people to meet up with you have the luxury of having more than one Christmas! This past Saturday we drove down to the Cape to spend the day with the Doc's extended family. We did a Yankee Swap, had a fabulous dinner, and celebrated Nana's 80th Birthday. Normally, since her birthday is two days after Christmas, she celebrates it in February, but since we were all together I don't think she minded the Happy Birthday wishes and the cake. I know David enjoyed helping her blow the candles out!

Here are some pictures of the fun day spent with family!

Great Aunt Karen, Omi & the Kids


David and Daddy


Shaun in his favorite place - snuggling with Mommy in the ERGO. Perfect for getting baby to nap so Mommy can enjoy Christmas dinner!


Happy 80th Birthday Nana!


Nana & Shaun


Great Aunts Vicki & Karen holding Shaun (that kid just loves to be held - I mean god forbid you put him down for 2 seconds!!)

Merry Christmas!

Hard to believe that Christmas is over and soon it will be time to take down the tree, decorations and lights. This year we celebrated Shaun's first Christmas, and he really enjoyed playing with the paper! David was so excited to see all the gifts that Santa had left him at his Omi & Grampy's house. Mother Nature was not so kind, sending howling winds Christmas Eve which knocked the power out for our Christmas morning. It was not ideal, but we refused to let that bring us down. Christmas spirit ruled the day! Here is a slide show of pictures we hope that Santa was as good to all of you as he was to us! Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year! All the best in 2009!

Caroling with David:

Each night before David goes to bed and after Daddy has read him his bedtime story we sing songs together. With Christmas just around the corner - I have been singing carols to him. His favorites are Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Jingle Bells. I have only been singing these songs to him for a couple weeks and he already has picked up the lyrics. He can sing Jingle Bells by himself (although the lyrics are a little off) and Santa Claus with assistance from Mommy!

Check out David's version of these classic Christmas Carols:

Santa Claus is Coming to Town:

Jingle Bells:

Fat Baby No More:

So our fat baby is now an average baby! He only gained ONE pound since his four month check up and about 1 inch.

Height: 27 inches
Weight: 18 pounds

That puts him in the 50 percentile for his height and weight so he is now just an average Joe.

He can now sit up and play with toys and rarely falls but he is so jumpy that sometimes he loses his balance. He can also stand and hold himself up on a toy at playgroup (you can see him playing with it in the previous post at the rec center). We were able to snap this picture of him holding himself up on the couch at Owen's party a couple weeks ago before he lost his balance and fell on his bum!


Since he has gotten so good at sitting up we felt confidant in his ability to sit up in the tubby! Check him out with David. It is so nice to bathe both boys at the same time!



Next on the list of his accomplishments will hopefully be sleeping through the night! It's a work in progress and I am currently (thanks to some great tips from my mommy board) doing some hardcore sleep training with him. The first night was rough and I am not sure who shed more tears me, or him. But if a few bad nights means that he stops waking up every hour at night, then I'll take it.

Stars and Strikes!

I have been bowling for the Eagle Tribune league since early September. It is every Tuesday night, and now that we actually live closer to family we have lots of options for babysitting! It's been really great because MIL takes David every week and now even takes Shaun. It's a nice (much needed) night out for myself and the Doc gets the house to himself for some (much needed) peace and quiet!

Well due to the lack of power in NH and at my MIL's since last Thursday the boys came with me tonight to the alley. Scottie came too, since my parents do not have power either and there is no sense in sitting in the dark. I had gotten some free strings of bowling from McDonald's and David has been wanting to bowl for a while now. He talks about it all the time. My sister took him and Scottie to one of the free lanes and set up the bumpers, and David got to try it for the very first time! David did so well and he was very serious about it. He cheered each time the pins fell over! His first string was a 53 and his second was a 64. Not too bad for his first time!

Check out the next star of candlepin bowling:

Trying it with the way to big bowling shoes first!


This is fun!


Very serious business:


Going for the spare!


Another good ball!

A Playgroup Christmas:

Today was David's Christmas party with his playgroup. It was so much fun. Santa came as well as Silly Willy the clown. He did a really fun show for all the kids that included magic, songs and balloon animals & hats. I wasn't sure how David would react to a clown since it would be his first time seeing one but he LOVED it! He was clapping and yelling the magic works.

Here are some pictures from our day:

Shaun having fun with the toys:


All the kids waiting for Silly Willy:


Silly Willy


David watching Silly Willy:


David's Reindeer Hat:

Our Weekend with Great Friends:

What a fun filled weekend we had. I wish it didn't have to end. On Friday we had a surprise visit from the Mailloux's. Thankfully I had plenty of time before they arrived to clean up a bit. They were in town from Rochester, NY for Owen's first birthday party that they held up in Gloucester! I can't believe Owen is going to be one in a couple weeks and Shaun is going to be 6 months on Wednesday!

The Birthday Boy Owen!


Maddie & David had not seen each other in about 7 or 8 months and you would have never known it. They picked up right where they left off. That is until David decided to throw a tantrum and Maddie said it was time to go back to her Nonnie's house because David was hurting her ears! Kids!

On Saturday we headed to the party and David got to play with Maddie some more. This time without any tantrums! The best birthday present was a visit from Santa. He came all the way from the North Pole to wish Owen a Happy Birthday. David was very excited to see Santa and even sat on his lap to tell him that he would like some Thomas the Train toys for Christmas this year. I wasn't sure how David would react to Santa being there since he wasn't very excited when we saw Santa at the Mall right before Thanksgiving.

David & Maddie being goofballs & playing in Nonnie's shower:


High Five on Daddy's Shoulders:


David & Santa


Shaun & Santa

It was a lot of fun and hopefully we'll be able to make a trip out to Rochester to visit their place before they move back to New England next summer!

Sunday was our annual Santapalooza that we started our senior year in college. It was a little crazy at times as all five boys were with us for the first time!! We had great food and I personally enjoyed my two glasses of Sangria as my boys kept me up the night before with their boogies and coughing (fun times).

Thomas, of course, is cute as a button and if and my boys and I were not germ infested I would have held him all night! The boys enjoyed opening their gifts and it was fun to watch how excited they were! This is by far my favorite time of year and I am glad to be able to share it with such great friends!

Sleeping Baby Thomas:


The Mommy's:


The Boys & Their Daddy's:


Shaun playing with his new toys:


Cam playing with his new toy!