Malcolm and Jophess

We are forever telling the boys not to get right in Joseph's face because one, personal space, and two, it seems to always involve coughing or slobbering directly on him. Obviously we are very happy they love him and love to play with him, but we just wish it did not involve so many germs! Oh well. It really does bring us a lot of joy that they are so affectionate, and for his part, Joseph is very attentive to whatever his big brothers are telling him :)

 

Fun vacation

Here are a few pictures from the rest of our week in Florida. The boys had a very nice time hanging out around the house and doing some cool new activities. Almost none of my bowling pictures turned out, but the event was a blast. The boys all high-fived each other and took turns saying, "Go, Canon!" and "Yay, Malcolm!" This bowling alley was a bit nicer concept than I remember from high school and college - I think they've had to reinvent the concept a bit to keep it appealing. This was less a smoke-filled-greasy-food-card-table establishment, and more a clean, brightly-lit, family-friendly environment with a much better menu. To be sure, it was also more expensive than the traditional concept (like those high-end movie theaters now with fancy food), but I was still impressed.

We also had fun swimming and playing with toys. My parents have to have one of the best grandkid-friendly houses you could think of, with so many children's books and toys saved from when we were little that there is always something cool to discover. We really enjoyed the visit and hope to go back soon!

Fun swimming

Go, Michael!

High five!

Littlest grandchild with Papi-Pere

Merry-go-round at Downtown Disney

Magnadoodle

Storytime with Lita

Adventures in travel

In our first trip to Orlando in a year and a half, the vacation schedules didn't line up, so I got to experience the joy that was three children on an airplane, by myself.  This caused no little anxiety ahead of time.  Very fortunately, Mike was allowed to come through security with me in Dallas, and my mom was able to do the same in Florida.  That was a huge help, but still left me with a few hours in the plane.  Mike loaded some movies on the tablet and I picked up some kids' headphones at Walmart to cover movies, and I stocked up on snacks - four separate ones each trip, to be exact - to cover food.  We also bought calculators at the dollar store, which proved surprisingly popular.  It all worked pretty well, all things considered.  Michael and Malcolm behaved really well aside from some crabbiness, and Joseph only cried a little overall.

No nap on the way there made for a crabby two-year-old

Dora helped me out a lot

One of the nicest days there included a trip to Animal Kingdom.  Michael really liked the dinosaur play area.  Joseph was a cute little explorer.  Malcolm absolutely loved the safari and had a lot of fun sitting with Lita, but unfortunately we couldn't capture the real laughs, only the silly smiles.  We were thankful to the grandparents for such a fun trip.

A growing family, a happy birthday

My birthday a few weeks ago was a very nice day.  Ryan and Nicole babysat for the kids so Mike and I could go out to lunch and a movie (Much Ado About Nothing - really well-shot and quite entertaining) - I always appreciate dates!  Then we had pizza at home for dinner, and the Dallas Blackwells stopped by to visit, just in time for cake.  My brother took the picture of all five of us below - same spot as so many of our other family pictures, but we keep adding children :)  I am so happy and thankful for the blessing of my family :)

Joseph in the middle

At four months old, Michael weighed 13 1/2 lbs.  Super baby Malcolm was 18 lbs 12 oz :) When I weighed Joseph at the doctor's office yesterday, he was right in the middle - 15 lbs 7 oz.  Happy four months, beautiful boy.

Can I hold him?

Little things

Over the past week, a few little developments with our baby ... First, Joseph has started grabbing at toys and chewing (or at least drooling) on them.  I got him a little duck toy for his carseat with a pull handle and he hadn't really noticed it until recently, so I'm glad he likes it now.  I may go ahead and pull out the teething toys since his grip is getting better.  Next, we moved up to 3-6 month clothes on schedule.  I successfully pulled out all the new clothes, but I have not necessarily put away the old ones.  Maybe by the time we rotate to 6-9 months.  That's just how things roll in this household - oh well :)  Another note, it looks like the umbilical hernia is actually closing up the way it's supposed to - Joseph's belly button isn't popping out so much as it was before, but is starting to look more normal.  Finally, and this is truly a miracle, as new moms will appreciate: Joseph can settle himself down to sleep!  I have noticed multiple times over the past week that when his diaper is dry and he's full, and he has been playing for a little while and starts to get fussy, that if I put him down then in his crib he will roll himself on his tummy, wiggle around awhile, and then fall asleep.  I don't think I could add sufficient exclamation points for that.  I couldn't for the life of me get Michael to wind down and sleep/nap on his own until he was at least six months old, if I'm remembering right - he was one you just could not lay down.  Joseph still wakes up at least two or three times a night to eat, but he always goes right back to sleep.  So I'm still sleep-deprived for all the waking up, but I am extremely thankful that going-to-sleep is becoming a much easier process :)

Bouncy seat

Not much going on in this video, just a cute baby playing in his bouncy seat :)

Family time

With all the transitions over the past few months - third child, me back to work earlier than I'd have preferred, Malcolm starting preschool, me only working part time, Mike starting a new job (whew!) - we were both very thankful to have the help of Lita and Grandma and Elizabeth for a few weeks in there.  Michael and Malcolm were pretty happy to have them around, too.

Uncle Ryan is back in Dallas

Grandma and Michael

Grandma and Malcolm

Out for Mike's birthday dinner

Play ball

Obviously I am just catching up on posting some pictures from the past month ... When everyone came into town for the baptism (and the grandmas were around to help with me going back to work!), a few of us had the chance to go to a Rangers game in Arlington. It was pretty hot for mid-May, but was a very enjoyable evening. I was happy my mom enjoyed it - I forgot she used to play softball, so she understood everything that was going on much more than I did. I do like going to baseball games, but less for the sport than the experience :) Joseph did very well for his first game.