Growing Up Fast

Joey is 6 months old today. To understand his personality a little I'm going to tell you about his check up today. He was smiling & flirting with everyone in the waiting room. He giggled the whole time his head was being measured, his height was being taken & while he was being weighed. He wiggled around during the entire exam, grabbing the stethoscope, the doctor's finger & the paper on the exam table. Then came the worst part of the check up. The nurse with the vaccines we chose to give. During the first one he screamed. Then as soon she pulled the needle out he started oohing & aahing again. Then he cried during the second vaccine until I nursed him.

He has changed a lot over these past 6 months & we can't wait to see him change over the next 6.

One month Two Months Three MonthsFour MonthsFive MonthsAnd TODAY.

Such a Cliche but so True

Golf Fees for 2

$80

Snacks on the 9th Hole
$12.50

A day in the sun playing golf (even a frustrating one) with my husband ALONE
Priceless

Memories

I vividly remember a Sunday afternoon last March when the Vuoso family came over for lunch. At the time we both had only one son each. I remember thinking that Adam at the age of 21 months & Johnnie at 6 months were the exact age difference that Johnnie & Joey would be. I also remember thinking that Johnnie would never be that age. And NOW he is. Full of life. Playing peek-a-boo & saying I see you ALL THE TIME. Same long eyelashes & button nose. But those big beautiful cheeks have slimmed out (a little) in to a little boy's slim face. It's not very easy to catch a photo of him, but here are a few that show his personality.

Pouty.Naughty.Defiant. Always saying no.Patient with his brother.Playful.Just Him.

10 on Tuesday-Joey Edition

1. Joey was sick AGAIN last week. A case of thrush, coughing, fever & an overall feeling of yucky.

2. Summer officially started this past Saturday & boy did the warm weather come with it. It was over 100 degrees at our house, but luckily we had our air conditioning replaced a few weeks back so as long as we stayed inside we were comfortable. Because we only left the house for a birthday party Joey was able to fully recover so he is back to his happy self again.3. He added peas & apples to his diet this week & just like his big brother he remains a fan of veggies but hasn't fully warmed up to the taste of fruit yet.

4. For the last week he has woken up 2-3 times between 12am-5am for a feeding. Here's hoping being healthy helps him return to only getting up 1-2 times again.

5. This weekend Joey woke up a full hour before Johnnie so we were able to spend some alone time together playing & of course taking some pics.6. I was showing Joey how to use his stackable cloth rings. He just wanted to suck on the holder.7. Johnnie joined in on the fun once he woke up which of course means that he wanted to take all the toys away that Joey was playing with. Notice how full his mouth is. He was still chewing his last bite of french toast.8. Johnnie took all the toys away & in the process knocked Joey over. It doesn't look like Joey was bothered much.9. Joey is starting to actually play while on his tummy rather than just being annoyed that he's stuck there. He will play with his toys & practice rolling over from his belly to his back. We're still waiting for the day he decides to roll from his back to his belly. 10. Pretty sure this face means tummy time is over & the perfect way to end today's post.

10 on Tuesday

1. I wanted to post a Happy Father's Day message on Sunday, but my internet connection was nowhere to be found. So better late than never. To the dads in my life- you are loved dearly!2. Speaking of our internet connection. Time Warner is the worst cable company we have ever dealt with. First our internet wouldn't work, then our cable stopped working on Father's Day of course (no basketball & no golf) & then today they didn't show up for our scheduled appointment to fix our stuff. AARGH!

3. Back to Father's Day. Rick loves tee-shirts so I had this one made for him so he could always remember what our lives were like this Father's Day.4. Army Wives has just started back up again & if you haven't watched this show before, it's not too late. Lifetime on Sunday nights at 10pm.

5. Already being goofy together. I would love to say they were imitating monkeys but no, this just happened to be the faces they were making just because.6. Rick is very happy. The Celtics won the NBA championship tonight by 40 points. Not a great way to end a series for Laker fans...there's always next year, right?

7. Joey is 24 weeks old now. He is teething & therefore crying, cranky with pain & dealing with a fever. But he still managed to give me a few smiles while laying in our front yard.8. Still practicing sitting. Tried sweet potatoes & green beans last week & loved them both. He's wearing a shirt Johnnie used to wear to let bimpa (aka. grandpa) know how he feels about him. See #9 to see Johnnie in the shirt. 9. Not Friday but still a flashback photo. Johnnie at 17 weeks old.10. Not trying to crawl yet but loving trying to stand with help.

10 on Tuesday

1. Our weeknight evenings could best be described as organized chaos. Once we get the boys & all our bags in the house it's nonstop until we get them in bed. Dinner for Johnnie, nursing for Joey, bath for both, diaper changes, books, songs & then bed. Some nights it goes smoothly & others well, we are lucky to only have one baby cranky & crying. This past Friday, Johnnie was extremely tired & beyond cranky. I had already put Joey to bed & was doing the dinner dishes. Johnnie was sitting on the counter watching me & then started saying "IN IN" as he put his feet in the sink. To try & make the rest of our evening more pleasant we decided to give Johnnie his 1st bath EVER in the sink. He loved it & especially loved drinking the water as it flowed from the tap.2. As stated in earlier posts Johnnie loves to take sips of our coffee occasionally. While in the "bath" Johnnie grabbed Rick's coffee mug from the drying rack & asked for coffee (aka. water).3. I don't know who was having more fun in this pic.4. Saturday we went to a 1st birthday party for a friend & our boys made new friends. There was one little girl, Caitlin, who especially took a liking to Rick & the boys. She was chasing Johnnie around, hugging Joey & even wanted to be a part of the photo I was taking of my boys. Isn't she a cute addition to our family?5. Joey is sick AGAIN. Fine during the day & sick at night when we should all be sleeping. He wakes up for his night feeding & stays awake for 1-2 hours coughing until he vomits. Then he passes out exhausted until his morning feeding looking as though nothing has happened.

6. Grandpa or Bimpa as Johnnie calls him came over to spend time with the boys. It looks like Joey was going to try & eat his nose.7. Joey loves putting stuff in his mouth. His fingers, his toys, his blankets & even other people's fingers. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into sucking his thumb. We still have Johnnie's pacifier obsession to deal with. I don't think I'm ready to have to deal with a thumb sucker too.8. I love that Joey looks as though he's telling bimpa the most hilarious story here. What a little character & he's only 5 months old.9. 23 Weeks Old. Enjoying standing with our assistance. Still trying to sit up on his own. Hair getting darker day by day. Our littlest cutie. 10.

10 On Tuesday- but it's Wednesday

1. I sat down last night excited to write my blog but lo & behold my awful internet connection was down so it HAD to WAIT until tonight.

2. It was a busy weekend in the Bolander household. 2 of my childhood friends were staying with us so we took the opportunity to go out to dinner with all our girlfriends. I always feel lucky after these nights because it always feels like we never lived apart even though we haven't all lived near each other since high school.3. Heather brought her son Carson (14 months old) to play with Johnnie & the two got along really well when they weren't fighting over toys.4. Carson was so cute & had this really adorable one legged crawl. He was a happy little guy but every time I pointed a camera in his direction he would make this very serious face.5. Johnnie continues to become a little daredevil at the park & therefore we get a workout chasing him around trying to make sure he doesn't hurt himself.6. Joey turned 5 months old on Saturday. I tried to capture him sitting him up but he just wanted to hug his toy. He is a huge fan of music, laughing & eating & overall is such a happy little baby boy. Our big guy got his first big cold this month but that didn't stop him for long. He is now sleeping 11 hours a night with 1 to 2 feedings & he can get to sleep on his own as long as he has his little froggy blankie. 7. 22 Weeks Old. We decided it was time to introduce Joey to food. We skipped rice cereal & went straight to green beans. As you can see he wasn't so interested at first. He kept trying to push the spoon away with his tongue. 8. Daddy was enjoying feeding you .9. After a few bites it became evident that you wanted more even going so far as to stuff your fist in your mouth.10. All in all I considered it a success. You ate a few ounces of food & you were covered in green beans.