Mommy's Little Monsters

In preparation for Gabe's big 3 year Monster Bash... I decided to order him a monster hat for the occasion....  but when I saw all of the cute monster hats (on etsy of course!)  I knew that his brother had to have one too! 

How cute and silly are my little monsters!?!
 

 

 

 

 

Noah and his buddy Jonah

Noah met his buddy Jonah for the first time! 
Jonah is Genny's (my girlfriend from college) little boy. 
Jonah is 2 months and Noah is 6 months in these pictures :)
 

 

 

 

Noah: Six Months

Happy Six Months Noah Adam! 
We are totally in love with that adorable 6 month smile! 
There is not a single day that goes by that we don't think about how sick you were those first 4 1/2 months... how absolutely miserable you were... how you screamed and screamed and screamed.... and how you slept less than 4 hours a day....
And now...  now you are a big...healthy...six month cutie pie!  At six months you are starting to lose that "scrawny little chicken" look and put on a little weight... you are now 15lbs 14oz (25%) and 28 inches long (95%)
You also had your first ear infection :( and your two bottom teeth popped through!  (But you were such a trooper for both!)

 

 

 

Brotherly Love: Gabe even shared his "baby" Lady with his "baby" brother :)

 

At six months you are really enjoying your exersaucer...

and jumperoo!

You desperately want to crawl! 
It's not uncommon for you to roll from one end of the room to the other.  You often cry at me when you get stuck under the coffee table and can't roll any further!
The other day you rolled over to Gabe's toys and got your hands on one of his trucks... that did not go over well!

You love to eat and are messy, messy, messy! 
In addition to nursing 6 x a day, you are now eating fruit with cereal for breakfast...veggies and fruit for dinner... and lots of mum mum crackers in between!  You are constantly trying to grab the spoon from us to feed yourself!

 

 

 

 

You are totally a thumb sucker!

 

 

BUT...
The most exciting 6 month news is that you are now sleeping at night!!! 
WAHOO! 
You are no longer demanding to eat 4 times a night!  You got the boot from mommy and daddy's room and you are now sleeping in your big boy crib in your big boy room!  You typically go to sleep around 7:30/8:00 ... wake up to eat at 04:00... and then sleep until 07:30! 
Thank you Noah!
(Mommy and Daddy were pretty exhausted!!)
Happy Six Months Noah (AKA Noey)  We Love You Soooo Much!

Positive Re-enforcement...

Some call it bribery....some call it positive re-enforcement...  I call it... getting Gabe to behave so I don't pull all of my hair out ;)  
We have a "I went on the potty all day without any accidents"  box and a " I went all day without having to sit in time out" basket.
I created the "potty box" because Gabe kept getting distracted while playing and "forgetting" to use the potty... which meant more messes and more laundry for mommy!  The box is filled with fun little surprises from the dollar store... like stickers, bracelets, pencils, and toy cars.  If he goes all day without having a potty accident...he gets to pick one thing from the box, before bed.
I created the "good listener" basket because I was so sick of Gabe not listening and having to spend a good part of his day sitting in time out!  The basket is filled with bigger...more fun toys... like jump ropes, glow wands, water guns, books, and sand toys. 
When I created the "positive reinforcement" box and basket... I knew he'd do well with the potty one... but I was very skeptical that he would ever go a whole, entire day without sitting in time out!
Boy was I wrong! 
It's amazing what a little incentive can do!
On this particular night... he got to pick one thing from the "potty" box AND one thing from the "good listener" basket!! 
Mommy, Daddy, AND Gabe were Oh So Proud!!

 

He picked a plastic snake and a cool slinky!

 

 

 

 

*Disclaimer- Our "positive re-enforcement" worked for about two weeks... then the novelty wore off!! 
 I am happy to report that Gabe no longer has potty accidents... but he is back to making mama want to pull out her hair!
Wracking my brain for the next idea to help Gabe be the sweet, helpful, loving, gentle little love bug that I KNOW he can be!

Welcome Baby Leo!

Cousin Charli has a new baby brother!
Meet baby Leo :)
On this particular day, we enjoyed a fun little playdate with 2 toddlers, 2 babies, and 2 exhausted mommies! 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple special birthdays...

Gabe loves himself a good ole' birthday party :)  He loves everything about birthdays... the cake...the candles...the singing...And this one was extra special because it was for his two extra special pop-pops. 
 

 

 

 

There were however, a few little whoopsies on this particular day...  Noah decided to give PPJ a "wearable" gift in the blow out poop kind of way....  AND after loading both kids up and making the trek back home... I realized 30 mins into our trip that I left ALL of Noah's meds at Mom-mom & Pop-pop's house....  No one was happy about having to turn around and add an extra hour to our already hour and a half drive... OOPS! 

Caught on Camera!

When I came downstairs and saw these (Gabe's shorts) on the floor...  I knew I HAD to grab my camera before I opened the back slider...

 And I'm so glad I did!!!  Because this is what I found!  Sorry Gabe....but you're busted! :)