Zerbert Central

Alex LOVES to give zerberts and receive them as you will hear her ask for one at the end. David likes to receive (or endures) multiple zerberts a day!

5 Month Old David

David's 5 month old treat was a taste of rice cereal. On his 5mo birthday eve last night with all of us cheering him on, David had his first go at rice cereal. He did great and caught on swallowing instead of tongue thrusting almost instantly. David seems to have come alive even more this last month...more talking/screeching, giggling, interacting, wiggling, rolling, moving, etc. It's been fun to watch, but I can't believe how fast he is growing up. I can remember feeding Alex her first bite of cereal!

"Cleaning my face with my bib"

Alex's first go at rice cereal when she was 4 mos old. We tried then, but waited til closer to 5mos to continue with her. While feeding David today, Alex asked to taste the rice cereal. She gagged. ha!

I thought I videoed this laughing extravaganza, but unbeknownst to me, I accidentally stopped the recording after about a second. However, Alex and David were hilarious today. Alex would let David lick her hand and she would kackle, then David would giggle. They went back and forth laughing at each other for a while. So cute and so sad I can't make you smile with a video.

Ok, I am shocked at how much I have been posting this month and that I have had the time to do it. Or maybe, I've just lost some sleep to get it done. ha! O'well, it's been fun. I still hope to post our Big Cedar trip before the month is out as well. :)

Fall Decor Project

David supervised Alex and me as we made Fall decor for the table. After collecting acorns and some acorn hats on a walk/stroll, we separated them on a plate. I put hot glue in the acorn hats while Alex pushed the acorns in the glue filled hats. We had a good time and Alex loves to pick up the finished acorns and say, "the hats don't come off now." :)

Finished project

My precious three pumpkins...Alex and David are so sweet holding hands.

Cuddle time with Daddy

Homemade Baby Food

Well, it's that time again. David will be five months old in a few days and we plan to start cereal soon. Since winter squashes were on sale at Kroger, I decided to go ahead and make some baby food for David and freeze it. So, here is my first go at making homemade baby food again: acorn squash puree. And btw... I have a recipe for toddlers and grown ups to add butter, honey and cinnamon to it so we had some for us as well. :)

Baked about 50 minutes.

Gutted seeds and scooped squash into food processor

Then, the processor does all the work. Voila! Acorn squash puree!

1 oz cubes of squash to be frozen and then bagged for later. Hope David likes it. Alex loved acorn squash...but not anymore.... :(

Roll Time

"Mommy, do I have to roll again?" So yes, David is a bit fussy in this video as it was taken last week after I made him roll several times after he started rolling again (he did it during his 1st month, then stopped). I know rolling over is a good developmental milestone to reach, but it can be annoying when you have a tummy sleeper who rolls over and then can't get back on his tummy. David, it's time to learn to roll from back to tummy!

Oh Happy Day

I couldn't resist posting this video of Alex and Sable singing while we were stopped on the way to B'ham. They had a blast together!

Pumpkin Patch

This quaint pumpkin patch, Bobrook Farms, in Roland Arkansas was perfect for us today as it was only about 15 minutes away with pumpkins, animals, hay maze, hayride, face painting, hay bale climbing and a little store that sold apple butter! I told chris on the way that I hoped they canned some of their fruit as i was looking for apple butter for a new apple butter (btw...it is not butter at all; more like a glorified applesauce) pumpkin pie recipe I found. I was pumped to find the last jar on the shelf!

making a silly face
looking forward to taking our pumpkin home for daddy to carve it

enjoying the hayride

College Friend Reunion '09

the group this year...4 mamas (me, Kristen, Gina and Souhaila), 6 kiddos (named below) and no hubbies! of course the hubbies are always welcome, but couldn't come this year. so, we braved it without them. our kid ratio doubled since last year's reunion just before ruby was born. we thoroughly enjoyed the visit, meeting new kiddos, entertaining and taming each other's kids, etc... since we were all athletes at southern miss in h'burg, ms, we used to always do a traditional "run" together. it has regressed to a jog, then brisk walk and this year to a walk with strollers in flip flops. ha!!! as the reunions take on a different look each year especially with the added kids, we still get to have our treasured late night talks. what a great time! thanks again for hosting this year, kristen! and thanks again, gina, for flying to LR! love and miss you all already!
Eli (2.5), Hannah (6.5mos), David (4.5 mos), Ruby (13 mos), Alex (2) and Sable (2.5)

swinging before the rains and cold came...

wet chalk is fun...

...but getting wet is better

little ruby thinks "mama (gina) sure knows how to let us have fun!"

"all i have to do is "growl" and those girls run"

Sweet Hannah

David was a trooper as a "play toy" for the kids as he was the youngest. He handled all the attention, rough housing, mothering, etc very well. Sable is the most nurturing 2.5 yr old girl I have ever seen! she was most concerned if he needed to sleep, eat, play, cry, etc. She even attempted to pick him up once when I turned my back in which he went from laying on the floor to laying prostrate on sable's belly on an air mattress - yikes!

David is about 2 months younger than Hannah, but almost a pound bigger. She's a tiny one, but sweet, cute and fiesty. :)

lunch stop (and only stop) with kiddos on way to b'ham. ok, so chris said i could not drive alone with the kiddos to the reunion in b'ham this year. gina's hubby said the same. so, we found cheap tickets and flew gina and the girls to little rock in which we all drove together which went surprisingly well. thank you, Lord, for letting the reunion happen this year!

lunch at sonic on way home... great pit stop as they had an outdoor playground. however, it was freezing!

4 Month Old David

This 4 month old post is a week late as I wanted to include his 4 mo stats and his appointment was rescheduled for today. The results... our nickname "little man" fits him appropriately. He weighed 13lbs 12 oz (25th%) and was 25 inches long (50th%). The doctor is not concerned at all as he is growing appropriately on the growth chart. Alex was about a pound bigger at 4mos and a half inch shorter! I think David is taking after me a bit in size right now as I was a small baby weighing only 12lbs 4oz at 4mos. However, Chris is convinced he will grow and train him to bulk up. ha!

And oh how times have changed... The doctor gave his speech about introducing solids to David between 4 and 6 months old starting with cereal, then vegetables, then fruit. Well, my mom wrote in my baby book the following:

"Rebecca started eating cereal at 2.5 wks old. She started eating fruit and drinking juice at 5 weeks. Rebecca started eating vegetables at 2 months. She started eating meats at 4 months old. She also started eating 3 meals a day at 4 months old."

Crazy, huh? I can't even imagine feeding a 1-2 month old with a spoon. And btw, I was crawling at 4 months old and sitting up pretty good by myself according to another entry from my mom. I guess all that solid food early made me strong. ha!

Alex had her 2 yr old check up today as well. She weighed 26.5 lbs (50th%) and was 34.5 inches long (70th%). According to our scales, Alex has lost almost a pound this week from being sick. :(

Both kiddos did great at the doctor even with the shots. My special friend, Wendy, went with me to help with the kiddos. She totally relieved any stress I had about scheduling both of their appts/shots in one slot. Thank you so much, Wendy! You are awesome!

David enjoying his animals on the bumper pad. :)

Alex at 3 months old looking at animals in bed. Notice how much more hair Alex has than David!!! If I find access to a scanner, I will post a baby pic of me as I had more hair than Alex.

David's favorite activity right now is chewing his fingers, burp clothes, etc...

Alex chewing her fingers at 4 mos old

David can barely touch the bottom with his feet. Now, he has a book under his feet to help more. Alex was only a half inch shorter than David at 4mos and we used to put a pillow under her feet.

Alex at 4mos old in exersaucer

Alex at 2yrs old wanting to get in exersaucer as soon as I pulled it out for David. Now, it is dubbed "for babies only."

Enjoying a beautiful day at the zoo last week with friends.

Fam pic at Caroline's 3rd bday party

Often times, I kiss and tickle on David while changing his diaper or clothes; he laughs so cute. :) So, I attempted to video this with one arm out - ha! So, sorry for the unsteady video, but his laugh was captured. :)

Helping Daddy pack for San Diego. We'll miss you!!!!!!!!!!!