Christmas at Home

We had  a quiet Christmas at home with the five of us before the chaos of company arriving and heading to Montrose. We opened all our gifts from each other, from Oma and Opa, and from their cousins from my side. The boys were very excited to give their gifts to each other. Tyler had picked out a Oso toy for Carter and Carter picked out a Monster truck for Tyler. They both gave Nolan some balls, which they loved opening for him and showing them to him.  We were all completely spoiled with gifts and the boys have been playing with them non stop since. After opening we skyped with Oma and Opa to thank them and the playing ensued. It was very nice just to have some time with just us, as that will be a rarity with all the cousins around in Montrose.

Snow!!!

It finally snowed some on the first day of Christmas break. It wasn't much, but at least we finally had some, as the weather has been in the 60's lately. The boys loved getting all their snow gear one and heading outside. They made snow angels, had a snow fight, and just drove things around in the snow. At one point Carter climbed up onto their picnic table. It was more than a little icy and he kept slipping off of it. However he thought it was hilarious and kept getting right back on it. I probably should have stopped it, but I was busy laughing with them and video taping him. No one got hurt and the boys had a blast. Hopefully we will get some more snow soon.

Christmas Program

On Thursday the boys had their Christmas program at school. They were at the same time in different rooms so Justin and I had to split up. Justin went to Tyler's with the still camera and took some video with that and I went to Carter's with the video camera so I don't have as many pictures of him. I am told Tyler did very well and he told me he had a lot of fun. After the program he gave Justin his gift, which was and angel made out of his foot and hand prints and some ornaments he made. Carter did very well also, but when it was time to sing his bell was stuck so he was more concerned about that than actually singing. He then gave me his gift, which was a ornament with his picture in it - very cute. I was very excited to see their programs as the boys wouldn't tell me what they had made or what they would sing as it was a secret. Both boys then sang happy birthday to Jesus with their class and had some birthday cake, along with lots of other good food. We are now on Christmas break until January 6th and everyday the boys ask me if they can go back to school yet.

Tongue

Nolan has found his tongue. He loves to make clicking noises with it and then play with it. Here is a short video of it on his changing table. You can see what he does in the beginning before he got tired. Carter wanted to help take the video as well.

Food!!!!!

Nolan got to try rice cereal for the first time today. It was quite the messy experience and the big boys thought it was hilarious how much he would spit out. However by then end of it he was opening his mouth for the spoon and had learned how to get it back in his mouth to swallow it. I think he even liked it. After a few days of this we will go to barley and then to oatmeal, which Carter is excited about. Carter loves oatmeal and thinks its neat that Nolan gets to eat baby oatmeal with him.

4 month check up

Nolan had his 4 month appointment today. It went well. The doctor was amazed at all the things that he can do, a lot of which she said were 6 month skills. She was impressed at how well he sits on his own, how he blows raspberries already, and how well he stands up. The development survey they made me do showed he was on track in all the areas. There is no more fluid in his testicles, and everything else seems perfect. Once again she and the nurse both commented on how strong and solid he was.  She did say we should let me fuss a little bit when he wakes up in the middle of the night - not let him cry it out, but give him a couple minutes to see if he will fall asleep. She said around 4 months they go through lighter sleep cycles about every 90-120 minutes and instead of just rolling over and going back to sleep they will wake up a little more and see if it gets them anything. Hopefully he will go back to sleep pretty quickly on his own and the waking up at night will be a thing of the past soon.  He got three shots today and only cried for a few seconds and then was fine. We also got the go ahead to start rice cereal. It has changed since Tyler and Carter started on solids. She wants him to try rice cereal for three days, then barley, then oatmeal. If all those seem to be ok with his tummy we can alternate between them for two feedings a day until 6 months. At that point we would start fruits and veggies. I am glad I asked and very glad for a healthy boy! His stats are weight - 14 lbs 10.5 oz, which is the 50th percentile (and also bigger than both Tyler and Carter were at 4 months), height is 24.5 inches, which is the 30th percentile, and his head circumference is in the 40th percentile.

Cookies and Fireman

We did our annual tradition of making Christmas cookies to hand out to the fireman. The boys did a great job of decorating them this year. As we were on our way to the fire station Carter, who was carrying the tin of cookies, dropped them on the garage floor. The boys were immediately upset. So we headed to the store, bought some cookies there, and headed to the station. As always the fireman were very gracious and let us look at the engines. Carter just helped himself and climbed into everything. Tyler was a little better and asked before climbing in. Its always a special treat to go by the fire house.