Oliver's 4 month check up!

Oliver had his 4 month check up and is OFF THE CHARTS! I knew he was a big boy but 100th percentile for height and 18 lbs is crazy! The doctor said he is growing more and more with each visit. He was 100th percentile in height, 98th in weight, and 97% in head circumference. He also had his shots (poor baby) but is being a champ and holding up well. Our doctor said we are good to go on starting him on solids, so in the next couple of weeks we will maybe test out rice cereal and see how it goes. She was also impressed to find out he can sit up for extended periods on his own and is able to scoot around the floor. She commented on his stuffy nose and said its likely due to allergies as well as a flattened bridge in his nose from childbirth that makes him more sensitive to allergens. Usually kids outgrow it after 12 months so we will keep an eye on it. Although it is likely both boys will have seasonal allergies like Brent and I do since it runs in our family history.

After the check up we visited the Iowa Children's Museum at the Coralville Mall. Thomas had a blast and Oliver was happy to nap after his visit to the clinic. We even were able to sneak in some Whitey's ice cream which was a real treat. When Brent got home the boys went golfing and Oliver and mommy hung out at the house and enjoyed some alone time. Oliver wanted to play and we discovered he will blow bubbles back at you. He really likes to mimic us right now. Every day I just cannot believe how much he grows. He is not a baby baby anymore. I miss it terribly! I think I need to just accept already that I can't keep either of my boys little forever. They grow up too fast.

Our Anniversary Weekend

A quick update about our weekend.

Saturday Brent and I started our day out normal and spent time with the boys and went on a hunt for an exersaucer for Oliver. Oliver LOVES to stand and seems ready for a jumper or exersaucer. We had no luck finding one at our Target and Walmart but are hoping to make a run to Des Moines some time soon to the BabiesRUs to get the Baby Einstein one there. Since Saturday was our Anniversary, Reid and Jessie came to town from Des Moines to watch the boys for us. We grilled out a late lunch with them and later in the evening had a night out as a couple. Our evening was fantastic, Brent and I dressed nice and enjoyed a dinner out followed by our first movie in a longggg time. We saw 17 Again and it was really cute! Definitely a good pick for us! We then had a night away from the boys. It was nice to get a break but I am happy to be at home again with my boys. It was hard to "leave" them even with two great people like Jessie and Reid. I missed them!

On Sunday we started out with a slow morning indoors since it rained the night before. However, the weather turned out very nice and we went golfing. Thomas saw lots of things on the golf course. We saw frogs and fish in the pond and lots of geese and ducks. And of course lots of dirt as boys somehow always find because Thomas decided to muddy up his pants a bit! We got home before the thunderstorms popped up across Eastern Iowa. Up north there was a tornado but we were no where near any of that. Since it was still nice out for us, we grilled out again. Actually, I have been cooking a lot less around here. Brent is the "grill master" and has been grilling out every chance he can get. No complaints here, I will always welcome a cooking break!

Today (Monday) was rainy so we were stuck inside. But Lindsay came to the rescue and made caterpillar crafts with the Thomas and baked brownies. Brownies are Thomas' favorite right now and he is always begging to lick the bowl so I know he had a very good day! I tested out some new spring recipes. I made some old fashioned potato salad and turkey sloppy joes. Brent and Thomas gave me their approval and ate them up so I think that will be one we make again sometime very soon! And to end our night we had our weekly House/24 night. I won't give the endings away but the 24 writing staff are really good at twisting the story line and keeping me guessing who the next "bad guy" is. Can't wait to watch the next episode!

Jessie and Oliver
Golfing

Our future Tiger Woods maybe?

Taking a moment to be thankful...

I want to take a moment to thank everyone for wishing us a happy anniversary! Brent and I enjoyed a wonderful 1st wedding anniversary.

Thank you Reid and Jessie for babysitting Oliver and Thomas, we could not have had a night out without your help! And thank you my beautiful boys for not being TOO rough on your uncle and future auntie. ;-)

Thank you Todd and Kim for the hotel room suite with the champagne and treats, that was not at all necessary but we thank you very much!

And thank you Gigi for the card, and we are also happy to hear that you are enjoying our blog. This blog is here for all of our family and friends and we have it to keep veryone posted and connected to us so we are glad someone is enjoying it too.

And thank you to everyone else who wished us congratulations and happy anniversary! We are blessed to have you all thinking of us!

And last but not at all least, thank you Lord for our beautiful kids and home that you have allowed us to build together. In times like these we are lucky to have what we do and it is all because of you.

1st Golf Outing as Family of 4!

The weather was awesome today. 87 degrees in Cedar Rapids!!! So we took advantage of how nice it was and went golfing after Brent got off of work. Both boys loved being outside. Oliver really liked looking out of the golf cart.

We think we want to get a season golf pass to the course. It would be nice to golf as a family this summer. The course was great, it was very nice and not at all crowded. Plus they have a driving range which is AWESOME because after tonight I know I need some practice! Thomas might be a better putter than me. ;-)

Enjoy the pictures!

Dierks Bentley Concert 4/23

No words necessary for this post! Lindsay and I had an awesome time on our girls night out!

Just another day with my boys!

The last two days have been super busy around here. Yesterday Lindsay and Thomas built a fort and we did some baking during the day. After dinner we headed out to the park since the weather was nice. Brent and Thomas played some ball and Oliver took a little cat nap in the stroller. It is so nice to be able to go to the park these days. Lets just say Thomas has been a better napper lately--all the extra winter energy has finally been released!

Oliver is teething and we can definitely see two little teeth peeking out. It seems like he might be working on the other teeth too. This had made for some pretty fussy days and nights. I hope we are done soon. Poor baby! And poor mommy, she needs a good nights sleep. :-)

Today Thomas had his last soccer class. It was pretty neat, all the kids got to wear jerseys and play a game of 3-on-3. We have officially decided Thomas will make a good goalie someday because he kept using his hands! The whole class was funny though, all the kids lined up at the goal at one point on both sides to "protect" their goals. And the ball was all alone by itself in the middle! I guess that happens with 3-5 year old kids!

Tomorrow Lindsay and I are going to a concert at the IMU. I will have lots of pictures I am sure. I can't wait!

Very Proud of his "certificate"
Kicking the ball

Before "kick off"

Doing warm up sprints

Stretches

Oliver was happy to be at his brother's soccer class

Sticking his tongue out--he does this a lot lately!

Bundled up from the park and wide-eyed after a good nap

Playing on the swings at the park

Taking a cat nap

My boys

Oliver and Mommy

Hiding in his cool fort that Lindsay helped him make

A cool tummy time shot I got of him--look at those cheeks!

A future Detroit Red Wing! Celebrating the Playoff Hockey Season!

Milestones, Popcorn Night, & Earth Week

On Sunday Oliver turned 4 months old! I can't believe how big he has gotten. Today he rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time and then did it again! He is trying to scoot and crawl these days and can sit on his own for up to 10 seconds unsupported. I think we may have a mobile baby on our hands by July or sooner! Crazy! He sees his pediatrician next on Friday and we will get to see how much he has grown. I expect he has definitely doubled his birth weight by now.

Tonight we had our weekly popcorn TV night while watching 24. It was another good episode of 24. Tony has definitely turned bad and it looks like in the next episode Jack will be well on his way to get his revenge! And we learned that Jack's daughter Kim has a baby girl now--which makes Jack a grandpa. In the clip the baby is named Terri after Jack's former wife who died. And she looks like Jack! Cheesy cheesy cheesy--but oh so cute!

And don't forget earth week is this week, it officially kicked off yesterday. To celebrate all week we are going to minimize our driving and hopefully plant some flowers in our pots if the weather looks like it will stay warm. And we are still recycling (a big step for us--YAY!) and using green cleaning products.

Me with Oliver

Sporting a baseball cap--he will fit it in a few years!

4 month old picture!

Just for fun! He is trying to scoot to his toy here, he wants to eat it and is so focused!

So big!

First night in the crib!

Tonight was Oliver's first night in his crib! He has been sleeping for 5 hours at night and had outgrown his bassinet so I thought we would try and switch him to his own crib tonight. So far he seems to be sleeping really well actually--I am a bit surprised!

Both boys went to bed really easy after our long day. It started out being pretty icky outside with all the rain but by mid afternoon it has slowed down. Thomas and I ran some weekend errands together and did some grocery shopping. We went to Aldi's and Thomas thought that putting a quarter in to get the cart was really neat. He was so excited I promised him he could have it back when we returned the cart. I think I'm going to have to buy him a piggy bank because he really didn't want to give it back to me. He likes his moolah!

Tonight we grilled out and then had a movie night. We watched 102 Dalmatians. It was really cheesy as Disney movies usually go but Thomas liked it. We all ate some popcorn and had some strawberry smoothies. We have to really utilize our movie nights these days while the nights are still pretty short. Before we know it movie nights will be ditched for playing ball at the park and for evening barbecues! It is also warming up outside so that means it is getting too warm to cuddle up with blankets on the sofa together. Spring is finally here in the Midwest. Can't say I don't mind--I hate snow and ice unless I am in Colorado. In that case I would be skiing though!

Happy Friday!

Last night was mom's night out with the girls so I'm sorry for no post yesterday! Lindsay and I visited Graze to use a new gift certificate we picked up from Restaurants.com. Dinner was amazing--LOVE those chicken lips!!! Plus we got to have some only girls time!

But to update you, we have been very busy enjoying the wonderful spring weather outside. Yesterday we ventured out to the park where Thomas ran all over the place. Really he did, he was doing sprints back and forth across the field. Thomas also played with his new "friend." There is a 5 year old boy that loves to play catch with Thomas and Brent. He lives right next to the park by the local school and is always playing outside there. He kept asking Thomas why he was running everywhere! It was pretty funny!

Today was nice too. The temp hit 70 degrees!!! Brent and I had a nice "date" after Brent got off work. We went to a local bar and had a drink together. Thank you Lindsay for staying an hour later to let us have adult time! We then took the boys to the ped mall downtown after dinner and visited the jungle gym. We must have been in a very good mood too because after that we treated ourselves to some Dairy Queen.

As for the big weekend plans we plan to do some spring cleaning around the house (the cleaning never really ends these days!) and have a movie night. If it doesn't get too rainy we will try to take another trip to the park.

Thank you God for such a beautiful Friday and start to the weekend!

My kids a better soccer player than yours!

[Insert nana nana boo boo]

I'm just kidding of course. If it were only true!!! Thomas had soccer class today and showed up in a bad mood. I should have known all was lost when he decided he would rather go play on the jungle gym outside than go to his soccer class but oh well. After 20 minutes of soccer class he was ready to be done so we left early to head home for a nap. Poor guy--he loves soccer! But we both needed him to take that nap.

After nap we had some homemade pizza bagels, one of Thomas' favorite new meals. Then Thomas got to head outside to draw with his new 3D chalk with Lindsay. The chalk is really cool actually! It comes with 3D glasses and you can make your own 3D pictures. Thomas thought it was funny actually! Silly boy.

And in other news Oliver rolled over again today!!! From his tummy to back. He hates tummy time so it actually suprises me that it didn't happen sooner but his reaction both times was cute! He was pretty proud of himself! He also can grab at objects now instead of batting at them. His favorites are his Eric Carle teethers and his blanket lovey. He is growing up too fast.


Oliver with his favorite lovey


Tummy time

Easter and Baptism Photos

Rachel and Me


Oliver in his "First Easter" outfit


Noah and Oliver



Rachel face painted Thomas as a bunny rabbit! Too cute!

Hoppity hop! It's bunny rabbit Noah!

Uncle and Godparent Reid

Baptism Cake

Grandma Kim with Oliver

Swea City Church Easter Egg Hunt

All the kids ready to go!

Waiting patiently outside the door!

Mike, Rachel, Thomas, Me, Oliver, Brent, Reid, Todd

Mike, Rachel, Me, Oliver, Brent, Reid, Todd

Baptism at the Easter Service

Family Photo Time