First Solid Food?

Mario and I were having dinner Sunday night and were enjoying some delicous hummus. He asked when Joey can start eating solids and I said around now (between 4-6 months most parents choose to introduce rice cereal). I was thinking I'd wait a bit because there's no super rush. Well, Joey was looking like he wanted to eat everything I was eating and just for fun, we thought we'd give him some bread to mush on. He really loved it and got sad when we took it away. I don't think he actually consumed anything, but he seemed to like it. Turns out he was just really tired and wanted to suck on something, but it was fun to try it out.

Today we had Kristin and Little Pete over for dinner. The boys seemed to play a little better today. Mario was slightly less aggressive and Pete is good at standing his own ground if he wants something. Pete is very interested in Joey, who he calls Jo Jo. He likes to point out his eyes, but we thought it was safer if he held Joey's hand instead. Joey likes Pete a lot too!

Jumperoo Joey

Big boy Joey tried out his Jumperoo on Saturday and aboslutely loved it! He's a really happy and content baby in general. But he is very excited to try new things like this.

Saturday night, Andrea, her husband Andy, and Kelly came over for dinner and a game night. We're all sad and agree that we don't hang out enough, so I'm happy we were able to get together. We celebrated my belated birthday, and I was officially able to turn 26 since they got me a cake. Unfortunately, I couldn't find our candles so I blew out some matches. Here is Andrea holding Joey, she rocked him to sleep.

Park with Tony

We've missed our play group for 3 weeks in a row due to travel and other things. Last Friday, when we were available, all of the other families seemed to be traveling. No worries, though, we were able to hang out with the Franzonello's at the park. Mario and Tony went to check out this bridge (which appaerantly has snakes living under it). Everyone was fine, and we had a fun time.

Floaties

Wednesday wasn't a really terribly hot day, so we went to the park in the morning with the Franzonello's. I assumed the afternoon would be a little warmer, so we met Pete at the pool. MJ tried out his new floaties and I think really did a great job with them in the big pool. He didn't need them in the kiddie pool, but still has one on his arm anyway. It was a very windy day and I thought it was cold, but the boys didn't seem to mind. The boys are actually happy in the picture of them together. MJ is saying "cheese"

And this is a picture of Joey from hanging out this morning. He got so excited when I sat him up in front of his gym rather than laying him down. So, he played like this for a long time this morning. He got up a few times last night (I think the travel set him off a bit). I knew there would be times in Joey's life that he'd wake up again. So, I'm going to take my own advice and remember that in a year, he'll be walking and such a big boy, and I'll wish I could have him little again. I'm going to appreciate the extra cuddles we get at night while they last. I'll also appreciate how he falls asleep by himself at night. At least he's got that going for him. The past two nights I've put him on our bed and left (the pack n play isn't as comfortable) and then I move him to that later in the night. Maybe that's why he keeps waking up in the pack n play... I'll experiment and see. Maybe I'll just have to get rid of the desk in our room so I can put his real crib in there. Oh, and MJ said something really cute today and I can't really remember what it was. Man, my memory is going. These are the things I need to write down so when I'm old and my kids are grown I can look back and think of how cute they were.

Baby Fish

I may have mentioned finding a baby fish in our tank before. His mommy died and then he died after I realized he was alive and tried to care for him more. Maybe a month ago I noticed I had two more baby fish. They were hiding under things and it was hard to see them. I was worried when I left for my trip b/c the big fish like to eat the little fry. But sure enough, I returned and they are still there...even bigger and not hiding as much. I was reading online and I think they are big enough now that they can swim away from the other fish. I also heard that once the mommy starts having babies, she'll keep doing it for the rest of her life (even if the daddy is no longer in the picture). She is a sunset wag platy and they are livebearing fish who have maybe 10-50 fry each time. I totally don't remember this one getting big... so maybe it was my other fish (the mickey mouse platy who died awhile ago) who is the mommy. It's hard to see the baby fish, but I think this is the mommy. Sad that she probably ate some of her babies. I am SO glad that I'm hard wired to love my babies and not eat them.

Lots of Boys!

Tuesday morning, Tony and Xavier came over to play while their Mommy went to work for a bit. These boys are already great play mates for MJ and Joey... I can't wait to see how much fun they will have in the future. MJ was fascinated with Xavier who is 2 months younger than Joey. MJ loves to play with Tony, and sometimes gets too excited. He also is very territorial and likes to push kids away if they get within 3 feet of the cars he's playing with. Other times, they played very nicely together. We tried to play follow the leader, which I know is a bit advanced for MJ but we have been reading this book from the library that he likes. He was getting into it. And here is a picture of Tony and MJ doing the Alphabet puzzle together.

Picnic!

It was hot for our drive home on Monday. So nursing Joey while MJ eats and plays in the back of the minivan was not going to work. Instead, we had two picnics on our stops. The first we threw a blanket under a tree at this rest area. The second stop we ate outside on the patio at a McDonalds.

Monday night, we ate over at Kristin's house. MJ enjoyed playing with Little Pete (he was a bit cranky after his car ride, but it was nice to play with friends). Kristin made this delicious chicken... much better than road trip food. This is supposed to be MJ and Pete hugging, but the picture didn't come out well.