Ten on Tuesday

1. I am now running 4-6 miles 2-3 days a week & it feels really good.

2. We tried Rainier Cherries from Trader Joe's this weekend. They are delicious but sell out quickly but if you can get some they are well worth it. Yummy!

3. Jimmy loves his grandpa. He is completely amused by everything he does. He mostly enjoys being held & talked to. Makes him smile every time.4. The boys sharing a room is going well. They still wake each other up but at least it's in the morning now. Even if morning time sometimes starts at 5:30am like it did this past weekend. And this weekend they started napping together too. Around 12-2:30 which is a nice break.

5. This is what 3 boys playing inside before dinner time looks like.6. We had a play date with the Vuoso boys on Sunday. It's fun because the boys are 4, almost 3, 2, 18 months & 5 months. As fun as it is, the craziness & noise makes me glad I don't have 5 boys under the age of 5. Now that would be crazy.7. Joey's pout cracks me up. We see it every time we tell him no, but it's especially pouty when you want to help feed him. He says no, turns his head to the side & makes this face. Makes me want to tell him no more often. Haha! 8. One of the favorite activities in the Bolander household is wrestling or I guess I should call it what it is...climbing all over daddy.9. I left the cupboard open in the kitchen & walked away only to come back & find Johnnie & Joey's mouths full of marshmallows. Neither of them really like sweets so it was funny to me that they liked them so much. They just kept asking fore more.

10. Jimmy is now 22 weeks old & finally loves the exersaucer. Doesn't get overly excited playing by himself but he is content in it for almost an entire hour if you're sitting in the same room with him which is great for us. And doesn't he look so happy?

Conversations with Daddy

Our boy is 2 months away from turning 3 & each day he surprises us more & more with not only the things he can do but the things he says. A few days ago this was a conversation that Johnnie had with Rick after he threw a fit over not wanting to wear the pajamas that were picked out for him. Johnnie grabbed Rick's hand in the kitchen & pulled him over to the dining room table.

"Daddy come with me. Sit down." Okay Johnnie.
"I need to talk to you, okay." Okay Johnnie.
"I'm sorry for yelling." That's okay. Thank you.
" I love you daddy." I love you too.
"Give me a hug, k."

So cute . I love all the ways he's growing but I'm so sad to see him getting older. His favorite activity is now riding his tricycle every evening & then of course having his still favorite yogurt afterwards. We love you baby boy!

Basket Play

It's hard to come up with new ways to photograph your child each month. I take a ton of photos but for the photograph that marks their monthly birthday you want it to be just right & a little more special. For Jimmy turning 5 months old I decided to sit him up but he kept toppling over which made for funny photos but it didn't provide the exact photo I was looking for. So instead I put him inside a basket in our front yard & clicked away. Our baby boy is now sleeping through the night. His last feeding is between 10-10:30pm & he sleeps until 6:30-7am in his crib in the nursery. He loves to laugh out loud especially if we do funny dances & make funny noises for him. He enjoys sitting up to play & is LOVING eating food. He has eaten sweet potatoes, pears & broccoli with no favorite yet. His lovey is a bunny blanket & he hugs it to fall asleep at night. He always wakes up turned sideways in the crib. He must just kick his legs to move because he's still not rolling over in either direction. To date he has only rolled from his belly to his back once & honestly just doesn't seem interested in trying to roll more. He doesn't use a pacifier but he is always putting things in his mouth. Today it was the blanket that lined your basket. So then I had to lean you back & put your feet up to get you to stop doing that. Well that wasn't going to work because now you were just interested in playing with your toes. Then you moved on to your favorite chew toy. Your fingers. These are always in your mouth & often cause you to do a little more than spit up. I'm hoping you grow out of this. Oh boy... fingers out. Blanket back in. I fed you & then we went back to work. You had fun sticking your tongue out at me. You don't often make this face but today I capture you giving me your serious face & finally you smiled for me once daddy came outside & entertained you.This face told me that picture taking was over. After you went inside Johnnie wanted to get undressed & squeeze himself in to the basket for a photo. And I do mean squeeze. When we were done his bottom was stuck inside when we picked him up. I think it looks like he's praying to get out.So of course I had to have one of Joey too. Jimmy you continue to add so much to our lives & it's so sweet to watch the bond between you & your brothers grow. I can't slow down time & bottle up each moment so I'm trying to memorize & record as many moments as I can. This month when I weighed you, you were 16 lbs 15 oz before a feeding & 17 lbs 4 oz after. So you obviously are eating enough. Thank you for always being able to make me smile & feel better no matter what mood I'm in. We all love you more everyday!

Pay It Forward

More that 3 months ago I received my pay it forward package in the mail from j.j. Luckily I took a photo back then because although I was too busy to put this post together I wasn't too busy to use the gift to write notes to my family. To participate in Pay it Forward, you must have your own blog. You must be willing to continue the gift-giving by sending the first three people who comment a gift. It can be homemade or store-bought; it truly is the thought that counts.

Leave a comment to play, the first three people will receive a little package in the near future from me. Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you for shipping info!

New Sleeping Arrangements

So we've decided it's time. To transition Jimmy out of our room into the nursery. He has been sleeping through the night consistently for a few weeks now but we haven't moved him yet because of one little problem. Joey wasn't looking for a bedmate. He is still in the nursery. We always knew that we wanted Johnnie & Joey to share a room so we could keep a nursery & still have a guest room. I have just been afraid to mess with what's been working. Jimmy is content in the pack n play in our room. Joey sleeps 11-12 hours in his crib in the nursery & Johnnie is very happy sleeping in his bed with an empty crib across from him. Well tonight my little guys things are going to change. We put Joey to bed just like normal after books & songs. Usually he chews on his lovey for a few minutes & falls asleep but tonight it took him 40 minutes of playing with the new stuff in his new crib before he gave up & went to sleep. I read Johnnie his books in the rocking chair in his nursery. We haven't done that since Joey was born & took over the nursery. Then I put him in bed & whispered goodnight to him. He went to bed like normal. Jimmy was put to bed after his last feeding in what will be his bed for the next few years & went right to sleep. All seemed well when we went to bed.

Well now its 3:07am. I'm sitting downstairs on the couch watching the video monitor giggling to myself . Joey usually wakes up in the middle of the night, rolls around & moans himself back to sleep. But now he realizes that he has someone to talk to. He & Johnnie are chatting & playing. Johnnie is throwing stuff in the crib & Joey then tosses it out. And each time poor Joe lays down to try & go back to sleep Johnnie reaches in & grabs his lovey. I don't want to go in if they go back to sleep on their own. Well it's now 3:39am & no such luck. I'm sitting on the couch with Johnnie waiting to put him back to bed after Joey falls asleep. Johnnie opened the door & both boys started asking for wawa & milk & AARGH! they were not going back to bed on their own. Well I decided it was best to let Joey fall asleep 1st with no Johnnie distractions so here I am watching Word World in the middle of the night. And now at 4:14am Johnnie is back in bed & I'm off to try & hopefully sleep until morning.

And since no post is complete without a photo here is a recent photo of each of the boys. Johnnie riding his tricycle. Joey just being goofy while eating. And Jimmy loving his lovey.

Some More Firsts

for Jimmy. Yesterday afternoon we decided it was time for another 1st for our baby boy. I have been thinking that maybe it was time to introduce something besides breastmilk. We thought about rice cereal but because I can't get myself to try it I decided to go with sweet potatoes. I had to basically shove the spoon in to his mouth & once the food touched his tongue he just made ugly faces & sat with his mouth wide open like he wanted it out of his mouth. Then with each bite after that he made this face. I was beginning to think that he was never going to like it, but we kept pushing the spoon in & then I couldn't keep up. He was yelling for me to go faster & holding on to my finger all the while biting the spoon & sucking the food off of it. Here's to more interesting meals. And then today while hanging out in the backyard I turned my back for a second to find that grandpa had put Jimmy in a swing for the 1st time. I ran back in to get my camera & I'm so glad I did. I captured this face. You so excited! Looking at grandpa pushing you! Just enjoying a warm Sunday afternoon outside.

4th of July

1.We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Enjoyed a long weekend at home. Took all the boys to the beach for the 1st time, had a BBQ with friends, a dinner with family & a day off from work to spend time alone together as Rick & Cathy (not mom & dad).

2. To start the long weekend off right we took the boys to the beach. Rick took the boys down to the water to check things out. They just did what daddy did. Watched the waves. Took off their jackets soon after he did & then walked closer to the water when he did. They just looked so cute & so tiny.3. It was a first for Jimmy. He just watched the people walking by & his brothers frolicking in the water. 4. The coats were off & then it was time to play. They were very brave until the waves started coming & then they squealed for daddy to pick them up.5. And Rick turned his back on Joey for a second to pick up Johnnie who had fallen down & he lost his footing & face planted in the sand. Didn't cry at all.6. On the morning of 4th of July we met up with the Laughreys & Vuosos at Redondo Beach for a morning of fun & then a bbq all before naps. 7. The Vuoso boys enjoyed the water as much as the Bolander boys. Paul had to work but we were lucky enough to have Sara's mom Angela there. She was great with the kids. She taught Joey how to build sand castles & he did great. Never even tried to knock it down but he had a great time. 8. Jimmy stayed awake for the entire beach session. Being carried around in the Bjorn, watching his brothers & the waves & laying out with his girlfriend Lorelei. Judging from the photo he was obviously enjoying himself.9. Our weekend at the beach ended soon after our 1st family photo at the beach was taken. Couldn't get everyone to look forward but it shows we were all there. Then that evening my dad came over to bbq & to watch fireworks. Jimmy & Joey went to sleep right on schedule. Joey slept through the night even through all the fireworks noise. Jimmy only woke up once but went back down very easily. This year Johnnie was more interested in teh fireworks but the noise still scared him. BUT he really did want to watch. So he & I spent most of the evening sitting in my truck watching out the windows so we could block out the noise & he actually was willing to let grandpa hold him outside for a little while at the end of the evening. Maybe next year we can spend all night outside watching th fireworks. We'll see. 10. Yesterday Rick & I took the day off from work to hang out together ALONE. I went for a run while he dropped the kiddos off at daycare/school. Then we went to breakfast, saw the movie Transfomers (an almost 3 hour movie but entertaining) & just enjoyed each other's company. Can't wait for our next alone day hon. Jimmy also turned 19 Weeks Old yesterday. Getting bigger & hungrier everyday. And to my joy ate at 8pm & then not again until 6am the next morning on Sunday. Hopefully this means he is working his way to sleeping all night every night.