Ike's 6 Month Check-Up

Ike had his well check with the doctor last week, and he's still topping the charts!  He weighed in at 20 lbs, 13 oz (91st percentile), 28 in long (87th percentile), and I didn't hear the measurement for his head, but it was in the 94th percentile.  Whew, no wonder we always get tired carrying him around!  For comparison, Dave was 5 pounds lighter at this point and only an inch shorter.  Crazy how different kids can be.

So this post is mostly dedicated to Ike and some random pictures I have taken the past couple of weeks.

Eating carrots in the living room.

Working hard at standing up.

Climbing through the exersaucer.

Picture from his 6 month session at Portrait Innovations.  My kids definitely look good in hats!

Clean baby.

At the park last week.  Why are we still wearing sock hats!?

He rolled and got stuck under the coffee table.








And here's a picture of Dave so he doesn't feel neglected later on.








Dave helping me make Papa Boo's birthday cake last week.

Dave's First Sleepover

We hosted our niece, Sophie, overnight for the first time this weekend.  The kids had a great time, and it was fun to have a girl around!  For the most part, Dave and Soph played upstairs by themselves, with occasional trips downstairs to complain that one or the other wasn't sharing.



Dave was upset that a piece of his army guy broke off.  Don't worry, he has a hundred more that are just fine.












Ike and I got to hang out downstairs without Dave terrorizing him!

Crazy picture of Sophie jumping on the trampoline.

Playing squinkies.  

I guess Ike's walking toy looks a lot like a stroller.












The weather wasn't great, but we did head down to the park for a little while.  

Don't they look cute wearing Puma jackets? 













Sophie and Dave's favorite part of the park was the teeter-totter.

Isaac mostly hung out in his stroller since it was chilly.






He looks so exasperated with us.















After the park, we ate dinner, then Josh's parents took the older kids to get ice cream.  I also fit in some nail painting with Sophie since the boys won't sit still for me to paint their nails.  Sunday, we got up and went to church, then came home and had lunch before taking Sophie to meet her dad.  It was really great to have Sophie over, maybe next time we'll be super brave and invite Caleb too...

Animals Galore

Josh had a day off on Monday and the weather was pretty nice, so of course we headed over to Gas City and their fabulous petting zoo.  I should go back and count how many times we have frequented this place, it's getting ridiculous!

This was Isaac's first trip in real life, he looks pretty pumped.
















Dave cannot get over how crazy it is that they eat from your hand.

Ike and Dad bonding. 

Seriously guys?

Turns out it's not so bad.
















Dave posing with the goat and chicken.















The next afternoon I found Ike chewing on his crib.  I thought I should include it in this post since he kind of looks like an animal in the zoo.

Still working on those teeth. 










And just when you thought we could not have any more fun with animals, we visited a farm that had some baby bunnies on Thursday.  Oh my goodness, were they cute!  I didn't get any pictures of them but they were so tiny and adorable.  In the house were several dogs and Dave made sure everyone was aware that "I don't like dogs licking me".  He must've said it twenty times as he scurried out of reach of the dogs.

We also ventured out in the rain to their barn where they were housing some cows.  Dave was excited for a minute and then wondered where the horses were.

Apparently the cows were very stinky.

Hanging Outside

Even though the weather this past week has been a little junky, I feel like we are finally turning a corner and will soon be enjoying time outside as part of our normal schedule.  Dave has really enjoyed being able to go outside, and still wants to get out no matter the weather.  We have all been experiencing a little cabin fever, none worse than our favorite three year old! 

Dave is getting very good at riding his new bike.

Riding the big swing at the park!

Josh and Dave were playing some elaborate game involving a sword/stick.

Ike has taken over Dave's "baby" swing now.

Flying a kite in our front yard.

Ike enjoying some time in our usual spot when it's nice out.

Mom, I promise this is a good idea...

















It does look like fun!

Ike is really getting pumped about swinging.  And has adopted Dave's style of leaning forward and scaring me!










So, as you can see, we cannot get enough of the warm weather.  Or rain for that matter.

Ike is Six Months Old!!

Seriously, how is he getting so big?  Just today Josh and I both said he is starting to look older, and it's getting easier to see what he'll look like as he grows older.  Here are some pictures from his monthly photoshoot...




Trying to eat his sign.













Working on crawling.

It's like he knows he is cute...

He is still an absolute joy (of course right?)!  Always smiling and laughing, though not always for pictures.  He continues to grow, I'd say he's at a solid 20 or 21 pounds now.  We have his doctor appointment later in the month to confirm.  I had to bust out the 12 month clothes this month.  And even then a lot of the pants don't fit over his cloth diapers! 

Still no teeth, but any day now hopefully.  Ike loves to coo and laugh, especially at dad and Dave.  He's pretty much down to 2 naps and is still sleeping well at night.  Probably twice a week he gets up to eat in the middle of the night, so not too bad.  He loves to grab at faces and jewelry, and seems to really enjoy mealtime.  So far he has tried bananas, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocados, and green beans, along with other random tastes of our food.  I would say his favorites are bananas and sweet taters for now.

Alright that's it for updates, here are a some pictures from this past month...







 I spy a double chin.  He really did hold it up like this!

What is this expression?

















The boy loves to eat.












So happy to take baths.

He really enjoys music (and playing Dave's guitar).

Big boy working on standing up!  

And of course big brother trying to steal the show.








Here's a video of him playing with his chime hippo (remember Dave's chime frog?).   I think that just about sums up life with six-month old Ikey!  (Or as Dave has started calling him, Ike-os...)

Easter 2013

We had such a great Easter this year!  I think it may have been the first holiday that we spent just as our family (for the most part).  We didn't travel, Josh's parents are in Florida (jealous of that!), and we had no visitors.  It was really nice just to hang out, and for an added bonus, the weather was great.

On Saturday, Dave and I went with our neighbors Stacey and baby Bennett to an Easter bunny/craft activity at the Honeywell Center.  Dave and Bennett seemed to enjoy themselves, and it was free.

He wouldn't sit on the bunny's lap.  And he's totally giving him the side-eye.















Is that a smile or a grimace? 















Easter morning we headed to church, where Josh played guitar for worship-total rock star status.   Afterwards (have I mentioned Dave now uses that word, too funny), we came home to have lunch and do some egg hunting.

Isaac didn't get to participate in finding the eggs and seemed a little disappointed.







Dave took egg hunting very seriously.  We have been practicing for weeks, so he was getting pretty good at it.  He did one last practice hunt before the big event with some of the neighborhood kids.

Struggling to reach this one.

He had to open every egg before putting it in his basket-really slowed him down  :)
















He must've found a good prize.

















Look mom, another egg!
















Then we were off to the neighborhood hunt, which was really just us and two other families with kids.  We thought the weather would be junky so we didn't plan anything big.  The kids had fun and loaded up on some candy.  

Based on Ike's facial expression, I don't think he quite understands egg hunting.











As you can see, we had a great Easter weekend, and hope everyone had a blessed day as well!