Brooks - 6 Months

Brooks is now 6 months old! We were down in SC when he turned 6 months and we spent some time visiting my grandparents. I just took Brooks with me to see them since the other kids get a little rambunctious and I wanted to be able to have a conversation. Also, my grandma gives them chocolate and cookies while we're there, only adding to the energy levels. :-)

We had a really nice visit! Notice in the pic a lot of drool on his shirt. My grandma said he must be teething. I thought no way b/c my kids usually get teeth around 9 months. Grandmas know best b/c just after we returned home only a few days later, Brooks got his first tooth on July 28th! The second one arrived Sunday August 1st.

Jeremy and Brooks at the pool on vacation.

We started baby food just after 5 months. He's now getting the hang of it. I feed him rice cereal and fruit for breakfast. Then a veggie mixed with a bit of cereal for lunch and dinner. He doesn't eat a lot each time but is starting to eat more and more. Here he is with a carrot mustache!

Brooks sleeps from about 8pm to 5am on a good night and still gets up around 1 or 2am occasionally. It was rough on v/c because he slept in a pack-in-play and got up a lot. I guess some of the waking up could have been due to teeth now looking back. It's always a guessing game. He's doing better now that we're home.

Brooks is also starting to sit up. He falls over after a few seconds, but loves to play with his toys and read books this way.

Happy 6 months Brooks!

Photos

Brooks finally got some professional photos! A friend of mine's brother and sister-in-law have a photography business. They currently live in NY, but are moving back to Ohio. In order to boost their business here, Mandy hosted a photo shoot at her house. I was going to have the whole family get pics, but since Carter scraped up his face, I just ended up taking Brooks. I wasn't that optimistic afterwards, but was pleasantly surprised when she sent me the results. They turned out pretty good. Here are the pics. Once going to the link, type Brooks into the search and our pics will appear. I took some with him too.

http://metzger.zenfolio.com/

They also have another business, designing name photos...you've probably seen these before, pretty cool.

http://www.fotobet.com/

Brooks - 5 Months

Brooks turned 5 months back on June 24th. This month has been so busy! Summer is cruising along now with daily trips to the pool for swim lessons. Brooks has been such a trooper, hanging out in the shade in his stroller. He takes a bottle well so I usually pump, feed him when we get there and then he plays while I take a class with Elliot. Carter and Leah take classes too, but I don't have to get in with them.

Brooks is starting to sleep much better usually only getting up once each night. We planned to let him cry it out by now, but I frankly am getting wimpier with each kid. Not sure how that's possible. I also want to make sure he's getting enough to eat since he's still on the smaller size. I plan to take him in for a weight check tomorrow or Thur. Perhaps if he's jumped up a bit, I'll get tougher with the sleep. For now, I take all the snuggle time I can get!
His new favorite thing, the exersaucer, same one for all four kids. It's had plenty of abuse, but going strong. This is the best toy ever. Every one of our kids has loved it, Brooks included. He really likes chewing on the mirror. The kids are playing with him more and more. Leah calls him "Brooksie Bomb"....no idea why, maybe just has a good ring to it. He's getting a lot of nicknames. Brookser, Brooksie, Brooksie Baby, Sweet Little Punkin' Head. :-)

We also introduced him to grass during some tummy time recently. Here he is with a tear, snot and some spit up all in the same picture.

We attempted to feed him cereal on June 25. As you can see, he maybe swallowed a total of one bite.

We keep trying about once every few days. I'd like to get him sort of eating around 6 months, only a few weeks to go!

Happy 5 Months Brooks!

A day away!

A few weeks ago, Jeremy and I went to a local spa to celebrate our birthdays. Time together was what we both really needed so we decided to forgo presents and just get away, even for only a few hours. Ginger so generously agreed to watch the kids for us.

We had lunch first on the patio at Gamekeepers. Lettuce wedge and crab cakes. It doesn't get any better! Jeremy had the bison burger, definitely a favorite. The weather was perfect for sitting outside and we enjoyed a nice conversation and some cold beer. Most of the time, we end up talking after the kids go to bed and the house is quiet. We're both usually pretty tired by then. So, it was nice to have lunch, the time of day we both still have energy!

After lunch, we headed over to the Walden Spa for a massage and scrub. We did the couples package. I didn't really know what to expect since we'd never been there before. It was the nicest spa I've ever been to, better than the honeymoon. I don't know if it's because the spa was so nice or I just appreciate relaxation more now that I have kids. The customer service was unbelievable. They made us feel like we were the only people there, even though we knew otherwise. We weren't rushed through. When we got there, she brought us wine and scotch and we got to relax for a while first. I noticed the music right away. It was classical and the song I walked down the aisle to. Crazy. The treatments were wonderful!! After the massage, we had time to get ready before heading back to the munchkins.

Here we are at lunch

A few shots of the room. We never left the room once we arrived, which was so convenient. We would have loved to take the whirlpool tub and steam shower home with us!

The comfy robes were the best!

As we were getting ready, Ginger called to tell us about Carter's spill. He was pushing his bulldozer down the sidewalk. The blade of the dozer slipped into the crack in the sidewalk and he went flying over the top skidding on his face. Luckily, all the scrapes were superficial, but he bled a lot and was really shaken. So, we rushed home to reality.

We enjoyed it so much, I think we're going to combine birthdays, our anniv, mother's day and father's day from now on into one big get-away together each year!! We'll just do cards on the holiday and then enjoy some time away together as the present.

Memorial Day Weekend

My parents hosted a bbq picnic with Jeremy's family too and we celebrated my birthday. It was so nice for both sides of the family to get together.

The kids had a big game of wiffle ball in the front yard. I couldn't tell who was having more fun actually, the kids or adults. Most of the kids hadn't played before so they had to teach them the basics, including how to run the bases. Here's Carter up at bat.

Brooks with Pop-pop

After the game, Grandpa took the kids fishing. This is Carter's latest obsession. He asks every day, "when are we going fishing?" Luckily Uncle Mike will be here next week. He can't wait to fish with more of his cousins. Jeremy and I crack up when he talks about the fish he has caught so far. He's already exaggerating the size of the fish!!

Here's Leah with her first fish....I think ever. Way to go Leah!!

Hayden's Big Catch!
Blossom Festival. Jeremy with Carter and Leah. Jer kept rocking their seat and Carter did not think it was funny! He got a little scared this year.

Memorial Day Parade. Here are all the kids waiting for the candy to start flying their way. Carter and Leah are in the middle.

Last Day of Preschool

May 20th was Carter and Leah's last day of pre-school and Carter's "graduation". He'll be off to Kindergarten in the fall. I thought I would surely be sad about him moving on, but I couldn't help but be excited. He seems to be really ready for the next phase and I know I'll still be at the preschool a million more times with Leah, Elliot and Brooks. There was a concert and lunch program, so here they are all dressed and ready to go.

On the way into school. Carter had a meltdown b/c I asked him to not wear his socks with sandals. I caved and let him put them back on for school if he would take them off before the show. However, he marched out on the altar with them on not holding up his end of the bargain! :-) Oh well!

Miss Susan, a wonderful teacher!!! She taught him so much this year. You could tell she knew each kid so well and worked hard to prepare them for Kindergarten.

Here's Carter with his two good buddies from class, Lane and James. Carter's favorite part of class was the trucks, of course.

Leah, with her teacher Miss Ellen. Leah had a great year too. Miss Ellen's class was so much fun. She said her favorite part was the texture table and kitchen. Depending on the day you ask, you might get a different answer. :-) "Painting, too, but only two kids can't paint at a time!"
Leah, top left getting ready to sing.

Carter's on the top right, singing enthusiastically! He was always so serious in previous shows, but this time he really seemed to be having a good time.

Carter getting a congratulatory hug from Grandpa.

G-ma and Brooks

Cousins - Elliot Leah Carter Crawford Trent and Oliver

Congratulations Carter!!! You did so well in pre-school. Can't wait till you're a big Kindergartener. Next year will be a big step for Leah too. Four days each week in the 4's class. Only one more year till Kindergarten!

Brooks - 4 Months

I'm way behind on the blog and I'm blaming it on the weather. It's been sooooo beautiful and I just want to be outside as much as possible. We've been really working hard on the gardens and I finally got the veggies all planted last week. The peas have been in for about a month since they can stand the cold and frost, but everything else had to wait till our Cleveland spring warmed up. Yes, just in time for summer.

In the midst of many moments, I constantly say to myself, "Self, this would be great for a post!". But I never get around to actually writing the post. I think I might join Kristy and Michelle with the ten on Tuesday posts or possibly Wordless Wednesday since I wouldn't actually have to write anything. :-) This way I could at least get a lot of info out there without writing a million separate posts.

Anyhow, enough with the excuses. Brooks is officially 4 months old!! He's doing great. We had a rough patch with back to back colds, finally ending in an ear infection and a bout of antibiotics. But, we're back on track. I've had to work hard at bringing in more milk since his weight gain was not as large as the doctor would have liked. We're hoping it's b/c of the illness. All that time with a runny nose and cough kind of made eating not so appealing. Nonetheless, he's got to gain weight. So, I've been supplementing a bit and pumping like crazy. I also have been taking fenugreek which seems to be helping. The down side is I smell like maple syrup.

The big milestone this month was......to my mother's dismay, I finally cut his hair. I think he looks so handsome!

He is a sweetie all the way. He smiles a lot and laughs at the kids. Brooks is really ticklish and just like the other kids adores Daddy. By the end of the day, they are so bored with me and Daddy's arrival is something to celebrate. I'm noticing it even now with Brooks. He just lights up when Dad comes home.

Brooks cooes a lot and is reaching and grasping things. He can put things into his mouth if he holds on long enough and he's starting to really like his feet. His favorite toy is the little play gym mat. I think I might have mentioned that already. Brooks also stands really well, obviously while we're holding him. I'm thinking of bringing out the exersaucer sometime this week.

Happy 4 months Brooks!!!!

Here are a few before shots of the haircut.



And the first official cut...I did save the hair for his baby book.

The back was getting really long. The tricky part is it's about ten different lengths b/c it's wearing off in places from the crib. I tried to blend it in the best I could.

Here's an after shot.

And another after shot from a different day.

Here he is talking to Pop-pop

Getting some tummy time in his room. This was the day he officially turned 4 months, May 24th.

Check out the drool.

Since I was in his room when taking the tummy shots, I also took a pic of his letters. My brother and sister -in-law gave them to us for a baby gift!! They look so great with the cherry crib.

Happy 4 months Brooks!!!!

Kindergarten

We've been fretting the decision of where to send Carter for Kindergarten. Fretting might be an understatement. I told Jeremy this past weekend that this has been one of the hardest decision of my life. Usually, we can agree on things, talk it over, make a decision and then move forward, never looking back. This time, we both kept going back and forth. After much prayer, listening, talking about pros and cons, we worked our way through deciding.

If you had asked me a year ago if we'd even be having the discussion, I would have said "no way!". We love Chagrin and have heard so many positive things about the school, but as the time got closer, we started to rethink things, or at least became open to possibly giving him a catholic education. I talked to many many people at both schools, many families that go to St. Joan's church, but send their kids to Chagrin and some that send their kids to St. Joan's. All gave us so much to think about. I also got advice from friends and family, which was really key to making the decision. To be honest, sometimes less is more, but in this case I really felt we needed to get as much information as possible before deciding.

We had already attended two open houses at St. Joan's and one at Chagrin over the past few months. As of last week, we had decided to send him to half day Kind. at Chagrin and he went through Kind. screening on Friday. While we were there, I kind of had this empty feeling, like maybe this wasn't the right decision for him. I also called the principal at St. Joan's last week and asked if I could come in by myself that morning and sit in on the Kindergarten class. I stayed for an hour or so and after the kids went to gym was able to ask the teacher some other questions. He was pretty impressive and I think a male teacher might be be good for Carter.

We still were on the fence this past weekend. Monday rolled around and it was decision time, as I told the principal I would let her know before their Kind. screening at St. Joan's, which was today. I had one more conversation with a friend that I really admire at church, who has been in our spot before. Jer and I then talked about it that afternoon one final time and decided we'd like to send him to St. Joan's.

So, off to Kindergarten screening again today. All went well and he got to meet his teacher and was really excited. I'm nervous but feel good about the decision and hope that he'll be in a positive learning environment while strengthening his faith. No looking back. Decision made...finally! One piece of advice we rec'd again and again was no matter where we send him, it's up to us as his parents to teach him his faith. This sort of takes the pressure off where to send him. If for some reason, it doesn't work out, I know Chagrin would be great too. But for now, we have Christmas concerts, uniforms and prayer throughout the day to look forward to, in addition to learning to read and write! :-)