The difference a month can make...

I took Maryn in today to get her 4 months shots. We are on an alternate immunization schedule so we spread them out a bit. It has been almost a month exactly since we took her for her 4 month check( where she was almost 5 months). So today we are only days away from her turning 6 months. At 5 months she weighed 11 lbs 7oz, today she weighed 14 lbs 9oz !! She has chunked up so well. The first week in a half after her visit when we implemented just one bottle of formula a day she put on 1 lb 5 oz. So after seeing that we started add more bottles a day and I have been done breastfeeding now for about 5 days. She is such a sweet baby. She is sitting up on her own well. She started doing that about a week and a half ago. She has started on solid foods...bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, and green beans. She gets the shivers with the peas and green beans :). Her little personality has really started to blossom. She is a very cautious baby. She doesn't give smiles easily to people she doesn't know. Presley can get her to laugh at anything. Alright now on to Presley. Presley is still doing so well in school and has learned to write pretty good. She knows how to write all of the letters and has become interested in learning to read. She is such a smart little one. She over heard a conversation between myself and my Dr.'s office. I was having a little bit of postpartum and had said to the Dr. that I just really wanted to be nice to my children again. Anyway, so fastforward about 3 weeks and we are having an awful day. She turns to me, in only a way Presley can with her hands on her hips and her head cocked, " I thought you got medicine from the Dr. so you would be nice to your kids, it is NOT working." I couldn't help but laugh. I love her so much and sometime forget that she is only 4. Knox is fast approaching 3. He has started throwing some awesome fits. I mean the kind that last 40 minutes +. He has such a sense of humor for a 2 year old. He is in a stage where when anyone leaves he gets upset and says "Im gonna miss (whoever)... Alright well enjoy the pics :)

Maryn @ 5 months

Maryn @ 6 months :)

valentines day

another valentines day to mark off the list! we seem to be able to make up as many excuses as we can to support our capitalist corporate society. i guess it is our way of contributing to bringing us out of the financial depression that we are in and perpetually lining the pockets of the %6 that own everything.

well - all of that aside - i am glad that there is another day in our calendar year that i can affirm my love for my wife and my children. i am the happiest man in the world. i may be in debt up to my eyeballs, unemployed etc etc etc - but i am the happiest man in the world - even happier than the %6 - because...

i have a beautiful wife and wonderful children.

i love my life.

i love my wife.

i love my children.

life certainly has its twists and turns and ups and downs, but in spit of all of the down times i am filled with joy as i contemplate the beauty of family life. so, on this day i want to express my gratitude for a beautiful woman who has changed my world and continues to change it.

i love you cynthia ann. i love you. it astounds me that your body created the beautiful children that light up our lives. isn't that amazing - your body created our beautiful children!!! thank you. i love you. what else can i say? when could words ever be sufficient to express my love for you and for the wonderful children that you have created?

i hope that you all have a wonderful valentines day.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Superbowl Sunday...

Superbowl sunday today. We went to the Pratt's for a little party. The kids had so much fun. So nice to get out of our tiny apartment and enjoy a house. We all took snacks, and the kids helped make oatmeal cookies. While pouring the brown sugar in the measuring cup Knox says "is that dog poop mom?" Um, yes Knox I always bake with dog poop :)! I love that kid.

presley's hair, maryn's meals.

Presley loves it when her mom fixes her hair with a roll brush.

maryn is too petite for this family, so we are having to feed her big kid food.

Maryn Jane...

Alright so for those of you who have children, you can understand how we worry about everything when it comes to our babies. Maryn had her 4 month well check today, which for her is actually only days away from her turning 5 months. She weighs a whopping 11 lbs 7 oz !! She is in the 3rd percentile for weight and 20th for height. What in the world !! I have never had a tiny baby ! Knox and Pres were always in the 90th when they were infants. She did grow almost 2 inches so the Dr. said he would be more concerned if she hadn't grown as much length wise. I was wanting to stop nursing soon and it seems she isn't getting what she needs from me anyway. The Dr. suggested that we supplement at least one bottle a day and start giving her rice cereal twice a day just for calories, this girl needs to beef up ! And since she only poops every 7-8 days he said its probably because her little body is using everything that she gets from me and has very little waste product. Any way- here are some pics of all of my babies at 4-5 months.

So this is a 3 month onsie on our 5 month old baby :)

Sweet knox having an oatmeal bath...
Our Peanut :)

Happy New Year !!

HA ! Happy New Year ! Even though it is the 19th of January this is my first post of 2010. We spent New Year Eve with our friends from the quad in the basement and let the kids run. They did great, no melt downs and they all stayed awake. Bryan is in his LAST semester of his undergrad degree. We are super excited to be done !! Presley is back in school too and she is still doing so well. She is writing so well. Knox is my big boy, he is such a smart kid. Maryn started rolling over today, belly to back. I guess the days of laying her on the couch are coming to an end. Bry and I are doing well sticking to our marathon training program. It has been really difficult to find time to do it though. I ran at 9pm tonight and Bry at 10:15pm, makes for long days. Anyway- nothing has really been going on so here are some fun pics....Enjoy !

Maryn Jane on her 4 month birthday !!

Our boy being a monster in his boots and big boy underwear....this is a daily occurance :)
Family movie night on the floor in the living room...Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.
She loves to eat her toes :)
Cute Presley ready to go back to school, and Knox who just wanted to jump in.
Daddy making Maryn Smile.

SO cute, and yes she is wearing a christmas sleeper after christmas :)...she is #3 what do you expect !
Presley went to a birthday party and they did hair, I was a little worried, but they curled what she has and it made her so happy.

Merry Christmas !

Christmas came and went way too fast this year. We really enjoyed getting the kids all hyped up about it since they are both old enough to understand what is going on. Maryn could have cared less of course and woke up about 2 hours after the opening of presents :). Presley got the baby whoopsie doo from Santa that she asked for and Knox got a sword. His favorite present was his handy manny tools. Presley's favorite was her baby doll, and the camera from aunt stacy, although she really likes the jaguar purse from Gigi. Anyway- the kids got up at 6:45, not too bad. We had christmas Eve dinner with our friends from the quad and we just took it easy on christmas relaxing and watching the kids enjoy their new toys. Knox's gift to us is that he is potty trained !!! WooHoo ! I can't believe it only took a week ! I guess he was ready. Oh ya- and I had a birthday 29 ! What in the world !

So here we go...Our tree before the chaos began :)

Their cute little stockings our good friend made for the Kids this year...
Presley filling her Jaguar purse from Gigi...
Knox getting his spike Jr....which he pretends to slay with the sword that santa brought. It is so funny to watch him pretend especially if he is just in his underwear and snow boots :)
Reversible batman/spiderman cape and hood
Santa gift...
Knox helped decorate the tree...gotta love little boys :)
Sweet Maryn ready to party on my birthday...
The wild things...