SIX months!?

Where has time gone?! It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant, willing AJ to get here before the end of the year. And now our little peanut is HALF A YEAR old!!



We celebrated his half-birthday by going to his well-baby visit (not so sure he thought it was a party, though...)

He's growing right on track and he's awesomely average and perfectly proportioned -- 50th percentile across the board! It does seem a bit crazy that he's only 10lbs less than his brother (he weighed in at 17lbs, 8oz), but we're happy that he's right on track for growth despite all his eating and my supply issues.

On the home front, we found out that the appraisal went fine and we're all set to close on the 30th. Um, holy crap! We also "locked in" our choices on our new house. It was fun/crazy/exciting/overwhelming all at the same time. The good news (for Mike and our Customer Service Rep) is that we (I) can't change our (my) mind anymore.

I'll leave you with this new photo of Law. He got a haircut (I know, I know -- about time!) and he looks so big...and so much like his daddy. Per usual, he wasn't real interested in having his photo taken and he reached a new milestone -- being completely exasperated by his mother:

There's LOTS to share this week. It seems like life is never dull these days.

Andersen's baptism was yesterday. The message Pastor Ken gave really tied in the baptism and it was a very nice ceremony. Uncle Ryan and Auntie Sarah are AJ's godparents.

Here's a photo of all of us. Our church doesn't typically look quite so, um, strange, but it's decorated for vacation bible school right now. You probably can't see it, but Andersen's totally cheesing. He was quite the performer during the whole ordeal.

We had a brunch at our house following church. It was nice to have our family together and it was a bit bittersweet to have everyone over to our house for what will probably be the last time. It's really hitting me that we're moving in just a couple short weeks. And while we're all very excited to have more space to spread out, it will be a bit sad to leave the home we've made so many memories in.

Here's AJ in his baptism outfit.

We spent Saturday night at Grandpa & Grandma's. Mike's uncle and cousin were in town, so we hung out and had yummy burgers. It was a gorgeous evening.

Auntie Sarah with Andersen:

AJ with Mommy:

Great Grandma making over Andersen's dimpled knees:
Law had a blast being entertained by Uncle Ryan and Auntie Stacey:

I found Law during nap the other day like this. Doesn't he look so sweet?!

Law was a trooper today -- he had to go with to an orthodontist appointment, a house selection appointment and shopping. It was only fair we play outside for a bit this afternoon. Being in the backyard may be his favorite place in the world:

Big boy!

Here's Andersen after his bath tonight. He's chewing on anything and everything his can get his hands..and mouth...on these days. For good reason! He cut his first tooth on Saturday!


A pic of Law and Daddy from a couple weeks ago. I just love how Lawrence is giving him the "side eye." (and now that I just typed that, I think I may have already posted it. But, I don't care. It's cute and I don't want to have to go back and re-post it a different time if I DIDN'T already).

Andersen will be SIX MONTHS OLD on Thurday. I'm having a really hard time with this milestone. It doesn't seem like he could possibly be half a year old already. He's such a sweet little guy -- full of smiles for everyone (he's a bit of a flirt). He's been rolling around like crazy lately and I don't think crawling will be too far in the future -- he's already scooted a bit by digging his toes into the carpet and pushing off.

Lawrence is as busy as ever. The kid has BOUNDLESS energy. I wish I could bottle it and sell it! He's been talking so much and it's really cute. He's been singing, too, and dancing and clapping (to the beat!) along to his favorite CD in the car (Choo Choo Soul). It's so fun to see him learn new things every day.

In house news, we ended up changing our floorplan at the last minute. We decided we'd rather go without a couple upgrades and have more room to grow. We gain a kitchen island, integrated desk, loft area (in addition to the four bedrooms -- we'll use it as a playroom) and a better-laid-out floorplan and we're very excited. Mike and I were having a hard time choosing the exterior color, so we let Lawrence make the final choice. It's kind-of fun that we'll be able to tell him he picked our house color out (by the way, he went with the non-upgraded color...he's cheap like his mom!)

Here's a picture of our elevation. Ours will be a medium gray with black shutters.

Hope you're all doing well! It may be awhile before I post again since we'll continue to be busy with trying to get packed up and moved out...so, to the two of you who may read this on a semi-regular basis -- I'll try to update soon.

Big News!!

That's right! We sold our house! Just seven days after listing it with an agent! We're very excited. Now we have to find somewhere to live (Mom, Dad - you reading this?) until our house is done in November.

Speaking of the new house...I drove by our lot on Saturday and was shocked to see several of the houses in our circle were up! It makes it all seem more real to see our neighbors' homes being nearly done.

We close on June 30th, so this month will be a busy one with packing. The builder was able to move our completion date up to November and we're thrilled we'll be in our new home for Christmas and both boys' birthdays. Looks like we'll be able to have the kids' birthday party at our own house for the first time!

Since it's been awhile, here are a bunch of recent photos:

Law & Daddy:

Our big boy!

He loves his fire truck (or, as he calls it, a "ree-err ree-err twuck):

This is the most enthusiastic look I can get when I try to get him to sit still to take his picture:

The ever-elusive toddler smile on film:

Andersen's been digging playing with his toes lately. I think it's so cute!

He's such a happy baby! He smiles so much! And he's a total chatterbox.

Not sure what Law's giving the side-eye about, but he seems to have perfected the look:

Little Man is teething already. His fingers are always in his mouth these days!

Some updates:

-In addition to being allergic to milk and soy, it appears Andersen is also sensitive to cereal (or something in it). We'll be seeing a specialist to see what the full spectrum of his allergies is in July.

-We enrolled Lawrence in preschool for the fall. Can't believe our big boy is going to SCHOOL! He'll have a blast!

-Law has been singing lately and it's so darn cute!

-Andersen is *this.close* to scooting. He can roll around already and he's been getting up on his knees. Today he was using his toes to scoot himself. I'm SO not ready for two mobile kids!

-LAWRENCE IS POTTY TRAINED!!! It took about a week and we're so proud of him!

Hope you're all doing well!!

Poor Andersen is sick today and I stayed home with him. I'm thinking maybe it's an ear infection, but we'll see at his appointment this afternoon. He was up most of the night and the poor little guy screamed inconsolably for about an hour.

Anyway, he pretty much won't let me set him down, so I thought I'd update the blog a bit.

Great Aunt Sandy sent this adorable pic of Law from Easter the other day. He looks like such a big boy!



And here's one of Andersen from Monday:

And here's a super-cute video of the little guy. I DARE you not to giggle along with him! The video's less than a minute and will totally make your day!

He giggled for the first time last week, but Monday was the first time he really let loose and belly-laughed. I was being a dork and I'm guessing he was laughing AT me, rather than with me, but it was completely worth it!

As usual, I've gotten behind in updating. We have a lot of news to share and lots of photos, so hopefully I'll make up for lost time.

Today was an awesome day! It was gorgeous out and the boys and I took a walk to the park. Law was an angel, which is a rarity these days. He's in the throes of the "Terrible Twos" and has had Mike and I at the end of our wits lately. He had a great time and was an awesome listener. He willingly got back in the stroller when it was time to go.

Just before we went to the park I had to change Andersen since he hurled all over his clothes. His little shirt got hung up on his neck and it must have tickled him because he started giggling for the first time. It was soooooo cute!

He's been obsessed with his hands lately and sucks on his first two fingers any chance he gets. He still likes the binky (or "MiMi" as Law calls it), but I'm wondering if he'll do away with it in lieu of sucking his thumb or fingers soon.

Andersen had his 4 month check up yesterday (yes, he's FOUR months! A third of a year! I can't even believe it!). He's slowed down on growth, weighing in at 14lbs, 12oz (47th %ile) and 25" long (53rd %ile). He's doing well and is on track or slightly ahead with all his developments. The nurse was going over all the questions and asked me if he'd rolled from back to tummy yet. I said, no, but he was close. When I turned around he was flipped onto his belly! He rolled over for the first time right there! It's hard to believe that I found out a year ago today that I was pregnant with this happy, thriving little guy!

Andersen's shots were traumatizing for the whole family. They really upset him and the nurse was s-l-o-w and a bit rough. I was holding Law and he started crying because he was sad for his "buddy" (that's what he calls him -- it's so cute!). I teared up because I hate having to put him through the pain and because I thought it was so sweet that Lawrence was so concerned. Mike had to hold AJ down, and while he held it together better than the rest of us, I'm sure he didn't enjoy it. Andersen has huge lumps on his legs today. :(

His little legs looked awfully cute with his blue camo bandaids yesterday, though.

Lawrence LOVES playing outside and is so glad it's been nice enough to go out to play. He HATES having his picture taken and it's really rare I get him to look at the camera. Stinker!

In other VERY exciting news, we're building a house!!! We put ours on the market over the weekend and are hoping it sells soon. Our new house won't be done until January, but we'll rough it in an apartment in the meantime if it means we don't have to worry about selling down to the wire.

Here's a pic of the elevation we chose. LOVE the big front porch! It has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a lot more space -- especially storage. We can't WAIT!

Here's a pic of AJ on his four month birthday:

We had a really nice Easter. It was a bit busy, but we're getting accustomed to the craziness on holidays. It was nice to spend time with our family and Lawrence had a blast!

Andersen's bunny butt jammies on Easter morning:

Andersen and GiGi.

Mr. Dapper in his tie (thanks, Nana!)

Grandpa and Grandma gave Law some fun sand toys. He used them at the park today and loved them!Buddy and Sweetie had the traditional (for us...not sure it's an Easter tradition for anyone else in the world!) pinata. Sweetie was worried Law might be sad about breaking it, but he thought it was awesome and had a great time hitting it with a bat!

Law with his Godmother:

GiGi and Gpa S met AJ for the first time a few weeks ago.

Hope you're all doing well and had a nice holiday! If you're bored, you can check out more pictures at http://jaybeeimages.wordpress.com. Maybe I'll be able to update my photography blog more often. :)

Lawrence had a blast playing outside Saturday. It was gorgeous! The winter took a toll on our already craptastic patio. Lawrence is trying to fix it (too bad he can't really...I have a feeling it's going to cost us a pretty penny to get it even again).

Photos of the boys together = FAIL. Just one example of the many I've tried to get of the boys together. Tell me the hats aren't the cutest things you've ever seen, though. Really. Try and tell me they're not. Mike thinks they're dumb, but I know they're not.

The boys in their sweeeeeeeet coordinating jammies. I'm so going to be *that* mom and will be dressing them alike for as long as they'll let me.

More pics of Andersen. I'd have just as many of Law if he would just.sit.still.for.five.seconds.

Andddddd (::drumroll, please::), here's the kitchen!

BEFORE (we...er, Mike...and Ryan...had actually installed wood floors last spring after this pic was taken, but you get the idea):

AFTER:

Look at the gorgeous slate backsplash! And my pretty new sink! And the awesome new (and quiet!) dishwasher!

Look at the pretty floors!

DINING ROOM BEFORE (and, again, we had wood floors prior to the overhaul...just imagine them under the table instead of the Godawful carpet):

AFTER:


I lurrrrrrrrrve the new round table! It's a lot smaller, but that's actually a good thing. Our dining room feels so much more open now (and please don't mind the empty frame on the buffet...mama needs to print some pictures).

Wonder what project I can come up with next...