First taste of solids

Micah has shown a lot of interest in our food lately so we decided to see how he would do with his first try of solid food (rice cereal). Here is the story:
Micah loves to sit in his high chair and look around while we are eating. I like this picture because it shows how his hair usually looks.

Ooo, what's that?

Lets give this a try....

Gag me! That's disgusting!

How could you do this to me?!?

I don't think so Daddy. You are not going to come anywhere near my mouth with that spoon again.

After that he kept turning his head from one side to the other when Reed brought the spoon near him and he hasn't tried any more since then.

Another one bites the dust

The 8 pairs of pants in the picture all have 2 things in common: they all belong to Alan and they all have holes in the knees. Alan is SO hard on his pants. Most pairs of jeans only last one month and I stopped buying any other kind of pants because they only last a week or two. He does this every winter - he can go through 10 or more pairs of pants. So of necessity I learned how to patch pants. For Christmas I asked for a sewing machine and last week I sat down and figured out all the parts and instructions for my new machine. I am not much of a seamstress so that took quite a while. Then I sorted through Alan's drawer. Five of the pairs were getting kind of short so I didn't repair them, so I guess the title should read 5 more bite the dust. One pair are his paint pants so I didn't repair them. The other two I put patches in the knees and sewed them up. Now he has 2 good pairs of pants (they are both the Toughskins brand which means they last longer) and 2 pairs of play pants. Hopefully they last the rest of the winter.

Going to Preschool

After Christmas we looked at our finances and decided that we could send Alan to preschool. I found that there was one vacancy in a preschool near our home so we enrolled Alan there. When we told Alan I expected him to be really excited and at first he was, but then he got really quiet. I asked what was wrong and he looked at me with this worried look and said "I'm nervous." We reassured him but he stayed nervous until his first day. He seemed to lighten up when he met his teacher and saw all the toys in the room. When I picked him up after his first day I asked how it was. He excitedly replied "Mom, it wasn't boringer!"
Me: "Oh, it wasn't boring?"
Alan: "No, I thought it was going to be boring but it wasn't!"
Since then he has loved every day of preschool. He loves doing crafts and coming home to show me what he learned about. They had a valentines party on Monday and he was so excited for the whole week prior to it - he couldn't stop talking about it. I have learned that apparently here in the states you always put candy on your valentines. In Canada we don't do that - we just give cards or paper hearts. So I was kind of surprised when Alan came home with a pouch full of valentines and all of them had candy on them. He also came home with a plate full of goodies. At first I felt kind of dumb for not sending candy but then when I thought about all the candy Alan ate that day I think that maybe the kids didn't need anymore sugar.

Alan with his back pack on, ready to go to preschool

In preparation for President's Day they learned about Abraham Lincoln. Alan really liked wearing the pretend beard.

Happy Birthday Reed!

On Reed's actual birthday he had to work late and then he had to go to a scout thing so we decided not to celebrate that day. The day before I made his requested birthday dinner - homemade lasagna, with homemade sauce, and Caesar salad. It was delicious. Then a couple of days later I made his dessert - lemon/orange poppy seed cake. Our whole family loves this cake.

Here are the boys helping dad blow out his candles

Happy Birthday Reed!

Well Child Checks

Last month I took Alan and Micah in for their well child checks. The doctor checked Alan first. Here are his stats:
weight: 47.6 lbs. - 86th percentile
height: 46 inches - 95th percentile
He is a healthy boy. We got his kindergarten set of shots and I was impressed at how well he handled it. He didn't cry or make a fuss - he just sat there and then he admired his bandaid.

Alan loves to make crafts. He asked me for a cardboard box and then he went to work with tape and scissors. In the end he made a grabber machine. It could also dispense candy.

Alan rarely naps anymore. Instead he has quiet time in his room. He usually starts by looking at books on his bed and then he moves to the little nook in his room and plays quietly until I come get him. On this day he was extra tired so he fell asleep while playing in his nook.
Micah had his 4 month check up. He is also a healthy little boy although he seems to have no interest in rolling over. He didn't handle his shots as well as Alan, although he only cried for a minute. Here are his stats:
weight: 16 lbs. 11 oz. - 73%
height: 27 inches - 94%
head: 41.3 cm - 17%

He loves his bath time!

The hair in the back never lays down unless it is soaking wet.