4 Months

Little Zach turned 4 months old yesterday. He is growing up so fast! We didn't do much this week...we took down most of the Christmas decorations (of course not as fun as putting them up), and had a visit with my Grandma/pa Sisel. They met Zach for the first time, and Grandpa Frank played toys with Matty.

Little Bear Hat

Matty on the left, Zach on the right...I love this outfit!

Busy Season

Jeremy started working his long work hours yesterday, which means long hours for me too. To top that off, both boys decided that they don't want to take naps anymore. Matty sits in his bed and talks to his stuffed animals and Zach cries whenever I put him down during the day. Yikes. The little guy has been crying now for 1.5 hours, including during Matty's dinner time. So, I have to find ways to entertain them. Matty enjoys riding his little 4-wheeler around the basement, and Zach has tried out the exersaucer...he does ok for awhile, but sometimes his head bobs forward. His neck muscles are getting stronger each day, so hopefully he will be able to stay in there for longer than 5 mins. We also celebrated my Mom's birthday over the weekend, and Matty thought that everyone was singing to him I think!

Happy New Year 2011

Happy new year to everyone! 2010 was definitely an eventful year for our family. We watched Matty grow into a full-fledged toddler and welcomed Zach in Sept. When I found out that I was expecting last Jan, I was very excited and nervous at the same time...so nervous, in fact, that I only told a few people the news and didn't write about the baby in this blog at all until he was born. I didn't want to have a repeat NICU experience, so we took every precaution...approx 20 doctor visits, numerous sonos, 14 non-stress tests, gestational diabetes monitoring, about 420 shots...and thankfully little Zach was born a full-term baby. We are so blessed for both boys, and we're looking forward to watching them develop & grow even more in 2011.

Heat Wave

I just checked, and the outside temp is 62 degrees! This is great for a late Dec afternoon. Matty is out on the back deck pushing his mower around. What a nice change, since we have been stuck inside for so long! The past week has been fun. Jeremy and I were able to get out a bit (thanks to my parents)...we went to a movie theater for the first time in years, went to a couple dinners, and spent some gift money at the mall. My friend from college, Emily (whom I lived with for 3 years), visited a couple of days ago with her husband and son. Broderick was born exactly 1 month before Zach. Other than that, we have had fun playing with the boys' new toys and watching bowl games. I hope to take the boys out this afternoon, maybe to the park!

Roll Over

Today, little Zach officially rolled over for the first time! He was on his tummy, lifting his head really high, and suddenly, he just flopped over. I was surprised, since he is only 3.5 months old. I can't remember exactly when Matty rolled over, but I think it was a bit later than this. The little guy seemed pretty proud of himself afterwards. Matty loves playing with his new remote control train set. I tried to get a good picture of him with the train, but he is too fast for me now. It is much easier taking a picture of the baby these days!

Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. The boys are so lucky to have received such nice gifts from family members. Some of Matty's favorites were a train set, tool bench, Dr Suess books, leap frog computer, DVDs, music CDs, and a moon for his room...Zach enjoyed his Elmo doll, name bench, rattles, and a little bear...my Mom also made them toasty flannel blankets for their beds. We had a nice time visiting with everyone and had a wonderful dinner. Too bad that Christmas only lasts for 1 day!

Happy X-Mas Eve

Ready for Santa

Both boys are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa. Matty knows that he brings toys and that he comes down the chimney, but not sure he understands being naughty vs nice. Right now, for instance, Matty is up in his bed yammering away when he should be taking a nap. He's been in there for over an hour, so it looks like today's nap is a wash. Darn. This means he'll be cranky for the rest of the day and won't sleep well tonight. I wish he understood that Santa 'sees you when you're sleeping & knows when you're awake'...

Little Red Suit

Here are some new comparison pics of the boys in the little red woof suit. This was a special day for Matty (Jan 14, '09) as it was the day that he finished with his oxygen.

Red

Our current nickname for little Zach is Red...when he cries really hard, his face sometimes turns a shade of red, hence the name. This is pretty funny because he really is a good baby and doesn't cry that much at all. The only real 'Red Alert' he had this week was on Thursday, due to the 2 shots that he had to receive at the doctor's office. Here is our little Red hamming it up for the camera. We also attended Jeremy's company Christmas party last night, and he won the centerpiece from our table...Matthew especially likes the little holly stems, he referred to them as 'little apples'.

Big & Little

Winter Days

The chilly winter air means that we stay inside, and it is tough finding new and exciting things for Matty to do. Today, he decorated his annual gingerbread cottage at my Mom's house, and he really enjoyed sticking the candy pieces on. He is also still enamored with his Elmo videos. Since he had a little cold over the weekend and was pretty cranky, we let him open one of his Christmas presents early (Elmo's World part 2). I pretty much have all of those songs memorized now too. Zach will listen to the Elmo songs too...what is it with this Elmo guy? He has all of the little ones hooked!

Little Horse

Zach wore the little horse outfit today, which also looked so cute on Matty. Matty's pics are on the left (taken on Jan 2, '09) and Zach's are on the right. I might see a slight resemblance now...?

Play Date & 3 Months Old

Matty's friend Sophia and her Mom came over this morning to play. Matty and Sophia were in the NICU at the same time, and it is amazing how far they both have come since then! Both are such active, happy little toddlers now. They had fun playing toys and eating lunch together. They were so busy that it was tough to get them both in a picture together! Today is also Zach's 3 month birthday. The past 3 months really have flown by and he is turning into such a big boy. When he smiles, he can really light up a room!

Photo Shoot

Today we took the boys to get their pictures taken for Christmas cards, gifts, etc. Needless to say, the place was packed with other families that had the same idea. I definitely learned my lesson for next year not to do a photo shoot during the month of December! Hopefully, we will have a few good shots. Here are some pics that I took at home.

Grown Up

I can't believe how grown up Matty looks in this picture! He is growing up so fast! He is really into the alphabet right now, and knows many letters. He can spell out his name "M-A-T-T-Y", and the other day we were driving by some stores and he started telling me all of the letters in their names. How cute.