Riding and Limping

Here are 2 videos, the first is from Saturday afternoon and is of Alec and Hayden riding their bikes around a hill by our camp site. The second is of Alec limping on Sunday morning after riding his bike for too long on Saturday...such boys



The beginning of the video is Alec being a goof b/c he knew we were videotaping him, but at the end you can see the genuine limp.

We LOVE camping!

We took our first camping trip as a family of four this weekend! We loaded up the van and headed to White Pines State Park, which is about an hour and a half west of here on Saturday morning. We met up with the Hoelting clan and had a wonderful trip. This was Matt and I's first camping trip to an actual camp ground, we have always just camped in the woods in CO, so we were a little skeptical, but it ended up being really nice and a great place to go with kids. It was a little strange to be around so many other people, but it was still really fun and actually very pretty. We were even able to do a little hiking (and by hiking I really mean nature walking,) and the boys got to ride their bikes and play in the creek. We did only one night to see how it would go with the toddlers, babies and dogs, and we all agreed it was a perfect success. Charlie loved it, and was great aside from at night. He didn't even really cry during the night, he was just up in his pack n play all night chatting and rolling around. Normally it wouldn't have mattered, but since we were all in a tent together and right next to several other campers, I didn't want him making so much noise. So, I didn't get really any sleep, but I really didn't mind:) We have another 3 night camping trip planned with the Hoeltings over Labor Day weekend and this got all of us super excited for that. On a side note, Alec and Hayden rode their bikes up and down a hill by our camp site for hours on Sat afternoon, and when Alec woke up yesterday morning he could literally hardly walk. His calves were completely cramped up from so much bike riding...he hobbled around all day yesterday like an old man. It was absolutely hilarious to see. I actually have some video that I will try and post later.



Some dinosaur checkers



nature walking is hard work




Charlie has found his feet and he loves them





Charlie and Piper



Such Fun!

Official Stats

Charlie had his 4 month appt today and since he hadn't been to the doc since he was 6 weeks old, it was good to hear what they had to say. He basically smiled, talked and laughed his way through the appt and charmed everyone. The verdict is that he is 100 % healthy and doing great! He weighed in at 17.9 lbs (91st%) and 26 inches (84th%). The doc gave me the go ahead to start him on solids, but I think he is still too young, so I will probably wait another month, if not two on that. He also had to get several shots, and being the little doll that he is, he let out one bit of a whine and then was smiling at everyone as we left. The nurse couldn't believe it! We also said goodbye to Papa Randy this morning, who was here visiting over the weekend. We all loved having him and were sad to see him go. Hope everyone has a nice week. We are taking our first camping trip with both boys this weekend, and then head to CO next Thursday!


Papa Randy taught him the headed (and as Alec calls it, the noser)



chatting

and a few pics of our favorite garbage man taking out the trash on Sunday

4 Months

I'm a day late with the post, but the pics are from yesterday. Little Charlie is 4 months old and we couldn't love him more. He is so sweet and easy going, and is such a wonderful addition to our family. He continues to grow like crazy, on my scale he is about 18 lbs, and he looks chunkier and chunkier by the day. Alec was a total butter ball as a baby, but we think Charlie is actually bigger and rounder. He smiles all the time, he loves to laugh, especially at Alec and when Matt tickles his tummy, he has started to squeal and squeak really loudly when he is happy and he is a rolling machine. He rolls from his belly to his back constantly, and just a few days ago started rolling from his back to his belly. He can actually move around really well while doing this, so he no longer stays in one place for long, and I always find him at a completely different end of the bed and in a different position than I put him down in when I go to get him up. He only gets up once at night to eat, (well twice if you count the dream feed I do before I go to bed around 10) and usually sleeps from 7:30-8 at night to about 6:30-7:30 in the morning. We have had a rough couple of nights lately with all his rolling b/c he will get into a position he doesn't like and get stuck and cry, so we have had to go in several times to roll him over, but we are hoping this is a short lived phenomenon. He has gotten better at napping on the go, which is nice b/c I feel like I am rarely home for him to nap in bed (especially in the mornings) and he pretty consistently takes a 1.5 - 3 hr nap in the afternoons with Alec, which is such a treat for me. He has been enjoying the summer with lots of rides in the jogging stroller, the bike trailer and at the pool. He pretty much just motors along with us wherever we go and smiles at everyone. He loves to be held and carried around, especially facing outward, and loves people talking and interacting with him. His hair is really starting to get blond, and although he looks a ton like Alec, he is also developing his own unique little look and personality. We love you Charlie!

Totally refusing to cooperate in my attempts to get pics, he kept pushing up his belly and squirming off the couch, something he also does to shimmy out of his bouncy seat if we forget to put the seat belt on.

He also loves to grab his feet, and suck on his hands.





He also mastered reaching for and grabbing things that he wants this month, which is essentially everything he can put in his mouth:)

Happy 4th

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! We were super busy around here and had a great time. We had a firework show in our backyard, a sleepover with our pals, played putt-putt, went to the pool, saw 2 huge firework shows, bbq'd with the neighbors, played on a giant inflatable water slide, and watched a parade from our front yard! Pretty awesome, and a little exhausting, weekend. Here are a ridiculous amount of pics from the fun.

Starting out the weekend with smiles - he has a huge opened mouthed smile, just like Alec did

Our beef-cake

With the Hoeltings

Sparklers in the yard

Alec was very serious about it


Yes, Alec has his finger up his nose in the only pic with me in it from the night

Watching the show from their new double seater - Christie got it to bring with us on our 2 camping trips we have planned for the summer

Love Alec's face



Water balloons the next morning

Heading over to the Wheaton fireworks


Up way past bedtime and very happy about it

We were a little worried with how Charlie would do with the super loud fireworks, especially considering it was a few hours after his bedtime, but he surprised us both. He was completely fascinated and loved watching them



Enjoying a festive holiday donut in the yard before the parade

Getting out all the toys

Alec and Morgan, our neighbor who is only 2 weeks older than Alec, played together for about 10 hours straight yesterday.



Charlie loved the parade too






Again, Charlie wasn't phased at all by any of the loud noise or chaos all around him





Getting some love from all the neighbor girls

What a fun weekend!