Luke-5 months

Luke has really grown and developed in the last month. He started some solid foods this month. The first two pictures show his reaction to rice cereal. That was a definite fail. The avocado shown in the bottom two pictures was accepted much better!

 Luke showing off his Hanover shirt. 

 And his KU shirt.

 He's gotten more comfortable with "tummy time" but has learned to roll over so he doesn't have to stay there longer than he wants.

This video shows a very labored attempt at rolling over here. He's gotten much faster since this video was taken. 

Luke always falls asleep like this--right thumb in his mouth and left hand covering his eyes.

Messy April

We made a lot of messes in April! Actually, all of our "messes" started because I was complaining to my mom (Nana) about how Joshua is constantly spilling soap or lotions on the floor on purpose to play in them. She suggested that I allow him more opportunities to get messy to fulfill his need for sensory exploration. As I was thinking of her suggestion, I realized that I offered Eli and Micah many opportunities to get messy when they were two and I should definitely do that for Joshua as well. As suspected, he loved it! (Eli and Micah did, too!)

We started with an art project involving shaving cream and paint inside,

 but the excitement kept growing and the shaving cream kept spreading, so we moved our fun to the picnic table outside!

  Eli

 Micah

 I had never made it before, but when I saw a recipe for sidewalk paint, I knew the boys would love it!

When Eli and Micah were gone one day, I got out the paint for Joshua. Not only did he fingerpaint, he also wanted to drive his trains through the paint. (Then, he and his trains took a nice, long bath.)

  

 Getting loud is just as fun as getting messy, right? The boys love to sing and play music with Paul.

 

 I love our blog because it documents our real, every day life. Our kids are like anyone else's; they have challenges that we have to work through. In order to help Joshua get back on track with his behavior,  I found this sticker chart for Joshua and Paul made it perfect with Joshua's favorite characters. Joshua's reward for filling it? A trip to Bouncin' Bears by himself with Paul. He did a great job with it and enjoyed putting stickers on it everyday. Honestly, it helped me focus on the positive things we was doing and it was fun to reward him several times every day.

 I love this picture because it shows our boy with two of his favorite things--his green blanket and his thumb. The only thing missing here is Horton the elephant. I find I'm forgetting a lot in the busy-ness of our daily life and I just don't want to forget this sweet thumb-sucking phase.

Bluebonnets

A friend of ours grows bluebonnets in her front yard! It's brilliant, really, no stopping by dangerous highways or fighting hoards of people at local parks for the annual bluebonnet picture. An added bonus? She (her husband) doesn't have to mow for weeks while they are growing and blooming! She was gracious enough to let us take our pictures there this year, too. While we had many pictures that didn't quite make the cut, here are my favorites from the day.

Luke

 Joshua

 Micah & Eli

 Luke & Joshua

(Joshua gives Luke LOTS of kisses daily.)

 Micah-Joshua-Eli-Luke

 Momma with my guys

 Daddy with his boys

 Micah

 Eli

 Eli took this one of Paul and me. Love it!

Luke-4 months

At 4 months old, Luke started grabbing everything he could! He especially likes to hold and chew on burp rags and blankets. Luke still laughs easily and often. He sleeps well and LOVES looking at his brothers.
At his 4 month well check, Luke was 26.5 inches (92nd percentile) and 14 lbs, 3 oz (18th percentile). We were given the green light by the pedi to start solid foods any time we were ready.