Autumn Days

Autumn is my favorite season by far. I love the crisp weather, fall colors, Halloween & Thanksgiving decorations. The pic below is a view from our back deck, how pretty! The little guys are both doing great. They are keeping me on my toes, therefore I don't have as much time to blog anymore. We let Zach try sleeping in his own room for the first time last night, which went ok. He still gets up a lot during the night, and it felt strange not having him in the room with us. I worry that when he cries in the night, Matty will hear him and wake up too, since their rooms are pretty close to each other, but it went alright. I have found several good tv shows that are on during the night (Golden Girls, Cheers), so at least I have something to watch while I feed him. The fall weather also brings coat season. The guys have some pretty cute jackets to wear, as seen below. You'll notice that Matty has a couple of boo boos on his face...he tripped over a basketball last Sunday, poor guy! He doesn't seem to mind though, and they are getting better each day.

Game Day

Mizzou hosted its first College Game Day show this morning, which was amazing! The campus looked beautiful and Tiger fans showed up in droves to support their team. Matty helped celebrate by wearing his jersey and helping his Dad hang our new flag! Hope our team can beat OU tonight!

6 Weeks Old

We have had a busy week here, since Jeremy has been out of town. Luckily, my Mom has helped me in the evenings with putting Matty to bed, since that is typically Zach's fussy time. Zach turned 6 weeks old on Tuesday. He is growing more alert, and looks very interested whenever anyone speaks to him. He is also getting better with his neck control. I am thinking that he will be able to roll over before we know it! Matty is still full of energy. We were able to take another trip to the petting zoo this week. He ran all over the place and was enamored with the tops of the jack-o-lanterns...he didn't want to put them down! He also sampled his first fast food dinner...chicken nuggets with fries. I haven't fed him fast food yet, but he really did seem to like it. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to like the vanilla shake very much. Here are some pics from this week! I also ventured out with them to a couple of stores by myself. Zach likes sitting in the baby carrier, and Matty rides in the cart. It isn't the easiest task in the world, but at least I know that I am able to get out and about with both boys!

Octoberfest

Saturday began with the boys watching tv together, and then playing outside in the front yard. Then, we dressed them in their Halloween costumes and went down the street to our neighborhood's Octoberfest party. It was quite a large event...hayrides, games, a band, food, drink, a fire truck...Matty was having a ball running all around and exploring. After we ate, Zach desperately needed a diaper change, so Jeremy took him home and I stayed to chase Matty around. We kept waiting for the raffles to be drawn...it got later and later and pretty dark. I knew that Matty still had to eat more for dinner and he was getting pretty tired, but I decided to continue waiting. Finally, they started calling winners. As I was chasing Matty around, I kept an eye on my tickets. To my surprise, they called one of my numbers for the grand prize...a week's stay at a condo in Florida! Wow, too bad that we only have 1 year to redeem this...would be hard to travel wth the boys or leave them at home. But we had a great time at the party, and Matty made a great Nemo!

1 Month Checkup

Zach had his 1 month checkup today at the pediatrician's office. To my complete surprise, he weighed in at 9 lbs 14 oz (43rd percentile)! This was over a 3 lb gain in just 4 weeks and a couple of days. He is now 21.5 inches long (47th percentile). I knew that the little guy had gotten bigger, but I was thinking that he was only around 8 lbs right now. His doc said that he was doing really well, and he only had to get 1 shot. However, next time, he is due for 4 SHOTS. I am not kidding. I remember when Matty was 2 months old in the NICU, and he had to receive 4 shots all at once. 2 nurses came in and gave him the shots all at once so that he only had to feel pain 1 time. Zach's doc agreed to split the 4 shots in half, but I had to sign a waiver that I agreed to this. I know that vaccinations are important, but it seems like the little ones have to recieve so many shots when they are so small. Anyhow, we are so thankful that Zach is doing well! Here are some pics of the guys from this afternoon:

Little Bear Suit

Another comparison of the boys...here they are in the same little bear outfit. Zach seems to be outgrowing clothes at a fast pace, so I'm trying to snap pictures of him in each one! The pic of Matty was taken on 10/2/08, just a little over 2 years ago!

M-I-Z...

...Z-O-U! Zach has already decided that he is a Tiger fan just like his big brother. We love Saturday game days!

One Month Old

It is hard to believe that little Zach is one month old today! The past 4 weeks have really flown by. He still isn't a good sleeper at night...he gets up about every 2 hours on average. Hopefully, he will figure this out soon! His fussy time is around 4am...I think he has gas attacks then. I typically take him to the room in the basement during this time so his cries don't wake Matty. Zach loves to sleep in the afternoon however and is much calmer. He also loves to eat. Feeding Matthew has always been a struggle, but Zach seems to really like to eat. He has lost a lot of his newborn hair this past week, especially on the top of his head. I know this will grow back in time, but the soft dark hair was so cute! He is the most alert first thing in the morning...he likes to look around and take in his surroundings. He doesn't seem to mind when Matty tries to 'play' with him, thank goodness. Taking care of the boys is definitely a lot of work, but well worth it. I am so blessed to have them both!

Fall at the Farmstead

Today, we took the boys to the farmstead. There were pumpkins and fall decorations everywhere! Matty had fun running around, looking at all of the tractors and windmills, and chasing butterflies. What a fun morning!

Little Dragon

Little Zachary is lucky that his big brother has so many nice clothes to share. One of our favorite outfits that Matty wore was his little dragon outfit. Zach was able to wear this outfit a couple of times before he outgrew it in length. Matty is on the left, and Zach is on the right...so far, I don't think that the boys resemble each other...maybe just a little bit?