Settling in to the New House

So while Tristan was at work in February we decided to move--again. We had wanted to find a rental but had temporarily given up on the idea. Then a few of my friends sent me a listing for a great rental house, at a great price, in a great area. I went to see it and the rest is now history. So we packed up and moved at the beginning of March. We've spent most of our time just settling in and trying to get unpacked while entertaining the two boys.

Some things never change. First night in the new house and he's still sleeping on the floor!

Carter got to start solids! It was so funny because Tristan was holding him and mixing the cereal and Carter just started helping himself and using the spoon on his own. You think he might be a little bit ready for solid food?
I love the uncertain look on his face as Tristan give him the first bite!
Reaching for more
Carter kept trying to grab the spoon when in was put into his mouth! Maybe he'll start feeding himself sooner rather than later!

Ethan came to help!
This kid loves cereal!

Moving to a new house meant moving to a new ward and a new nursery for Ethan. Fortunately, he really likes the new nursery. Well, his second Sunday in nursery I arrived to find him sitting on one of the nursery workers' laps crying. Apparently he fell into a wall and got the bruise on his forehead and then a few minutes later fell into a table which gave him a black eye. Poor kid!
Other than that, we've been doing the normal things...like snacking and watching Curious George...
...and Carter, well, I think he's teething. He is chewing on EVERYTHING. Not so happy in this picture.
A little happier now! He was being funny and just holding the teething ring in his mouth with no hands, but, of course, once I got the camera out he wouldn't do it again.
We are so grateful to have more space in our new rental home. I'm sure there are many adventures to come and we break it in!

Ethan and Carter

Our two boys always keep me on my toes. I love watching them together as Carter gets older. It's hard to believe that Ethan is such a big boy. He is still pretty much always sleeping on the floor rather than his bed...During nap time one day he never went to sleep, but he stayed in his room for over an hour quietly. When I went in to tell him quiet time was over this is what I found:

He loves to line all his cars up on his bed and drive them around.
He obviously got tired of his cars and resorted to his books as well! At least his bed is being used for something!

This picture is for our Louisiana peeps--especially Jill and Nathan. They got him this shirt before we moved and he finally fits in it! I was having a hard time getting him to stand still so I could get a good pic, so here's an action shot!
And one with the binoculars...he's a weirdo, what can I say?!

Carter at 5 months old--he's getting so big!
Ethan is becoming better buddies with his brother each day. One day after church they were laying on the ground together and Ethan reached over and put his arm around Carter. It was so cute!
Then he was doing in another morning while they were watching cartoons. It's so cute to watch them interacting.
I love this picture because they are both actually looking at the camera!
I love this one because it captures perfectly how much Carter loves his big brother. He is always watching him and just smiles at everything Ethan does!

I love my boys!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was celebrated before and after for us, since Tristan had to leave to go to work on Valentine's Day. We made plans to have dinner the night before he left and went to a new restaurant for both of us. It was pretty good but mostly we just enjoyed some time to ourselves.

I planned a fun dessert (thanks to Pinterest) for later that evening. Tristan really likes sushi, but me...not so much. So I compromised with this dessert sushi. I was actually really pleased with how they turned out. It tasted just like strawberry shortcake and I made everything from scratch including the cake! The sauce is a strawberry coulis and was super yummy. We had sparkling blueberry juice with it and enjoyed some quiet time once the boys were in bed for the night.

A Valentine's picnic!
I had a special Valentine's Day breakfast planned as well, but since he got called in early we didn't have it until after Valentine's Day. And yes, these were ideas from Pinterest, too. And yes, we really did eat it on Ethan's Cars table...we were in the middle of moving and the table was already at the house!
I was a bad mom and didn't really do anything major for the boys while Tristan was gone. We did make a handprint/footprint craft for their grandparents and also made some cookies to deliver with them on Valentine's Day. We also dropped some valentines off to friends, so at least I recognized it!

Boys, Boys, Boys...

My life is filled with boys! The newest boy to come to our family is getting so big! I'm not going to lie, Carter was a more-than-average high maintenance baby. Our doctor pretty much confirmed that he was what would be described as a "colicky" baby, which was my worst fear. It was hard, I was overwhelmed when Tristan was gone and many tears were shed (and probably still will be). However, he turned a corner around the 4-month mark (almost to the day!). He eats better, sleeps better has less difficulty with his reflux and is really content most days. I love his sweet face and smile. I love how he literally hugs me when I pick him up in the morning and how he grabs the collar of my shirt when I'm rocking him. I feel the love multiplying in my heart for him each day. He is a down right sweetheart!

He is finally getting more comfortable on his tummy and will actually sleep that way now. We went through about a 2-week period that he would roll on to his tummy at night and wake up. I ended up having to go in about every hour to roll him back over and help him get to sleep again. That was a long 2 weeks!
Having a house full of boys means lots of mayhem a lot of the time! Tristan was pulling the two boys around on the sled one day around the apartment...it was quiet a scene!
Life in the big boy bed is about the same. Six out of 7 nights Ethan is on the floor. You can't see him all that well in this picture, but he is right next to his crib on the floor. He chooses the floor most nights and we are fine with that as long as he gets good rest and stays in his room at night. So far, so good!
Another night on the floor...
Carter is enjoying more and more time being upright. Allisha lent us her Johnny Jump-Up and we put him in it every once in a while. I was bummed that the strap was in the way but you can see he is having a great time in it! He also really likes to be in his exersaucer for short periods of time.

He is forever putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. If he can't find something to put in, he'll put an a hand or foot or both in it!

Mmmmm...toe jam!
Ethan is as rowdy as ever. He loves getting out to run and play. Tristan took both boys to the park one day to walk some trails and Ethan had a great time climbing rocks.
Carter reportedly was a champ and enjoyed the view from the front-pack!
Apparently there was some nasty goo on the surface of the water. Ethan was having fun dipping his stick in it and saying, "Ewwwwww!"
One day Tristan and Ethan built a fort out of his bed while I was grocery shopping.

Brothers in the bath tub. For a while we tried it this way and Ethan would help us bathe Carter.
Brothers
Life is sure fun when it's filled with boys like these!

Signs of Spring

Ironically, just 2-3 weeks after being completely snowed in, we had a beautiful February weekend with highs in the 60s! We decided to jump on the opportunity and headed up to the zoo to meet Kelly, Justin and Anderson for a day of fun!

Ethan getting up close and personal with the resident roaming peacock

Taking care of our littlest
Enjoying the "Nemo" aquarium
What a beautiful day for the zoo!
Anderson and Ethan cheesing it up!
We had several days of wonderful weather, so we decided to hit up Yauger Park another day that week. This play structure is HUGE. Like to the point I'm a little uncomfortable up there. So I let Tristan do most of the high altitude playing with Ethan.
Sitting on the teeter-totter with Dad
Trying to pull dad off to go play on other toys
Carter enjoyed some time in the swing (Thanks for the fleece suit Brandon and Jennie!)...
and Ethan still pretty much doesn't like them!
Trying out some of the other toys
I ventured up for ONE trip down the mammoth slide.
Then we went for a little stroll around the baseball fields. Ethan did some rock climbing...
and puddle splashing (boys!).
Home after a fun day. I think he looks like a little thug in this one!
We are hoping that that isn't the last spring-like weather we see any time soon! What a fun couple of days!