we got some silly kids

Well as you can see from the pictures we have some silly kids on our hands. Todd went in for his 6 month check up he's 18.5 pounds and 27 1/4 inches long. Huge. He's crawling now and trying to stand up and walk. He'll crawl all over our bed and try to go off the edge head first, but if you put him in his crib all he'll do is stand at the bar and yell. And occasionally let go to try and stand up. He loves to play with boxes and remotes and the dvd/vcr players so we have to keep the doors to the tv cabinet closed. If he starts going for them and you run to shut the door he'll actually get mad at you and screech. His new found love is the piano though. He'll stand there for minutes at a time (Im not kidding...actual minutes) and slap to his heart's content. I made those two giant donuts for props at church - the kids love sitting in them - and i love it because they can't get at each other! We're having a blast - wait till you see the pictures after Halloween! Love to you all, Erika

more pictures

In case some of you missed about 5 pictures, i hope these are the ones you missed. let me know if i did repeats. Lova ya! Erika

So many new skills

Wow, not a whole lot of time has gone by, but Todd has acquired a lot of new skills. Among the latest ones are eating (although I think this one came naturally), sitting up, trying to crawl (now he does the commando - usually right towards someones food), and biting - biting being the least favorable new skill since it's usually one of us.
The pictures are starting to become more comical because Todd is awake and usually doing something naughty - and smiling while he does it. Our favorite game to play with him is to have him sit on the floor and try to get him to crawl towards things. He does pretty well with dragging himself across the floor (considering th size of his rear end I am quite impressed he's able to do this). He'll usually get to the object although his left leg often gives him trouble and ends up making him sit up again - which he hates. I wouldn't have thought a baby could move so fast, but when you put the cheetos bag on the floor he's racing towards it like there's no tomorrow. Once there were actually cheetos in the bag and ever since he's gotten a hold of a chip bag and there's nothing in it he will actually yell and scream. We had to lower his crib this weekend because he's been pulling himself into standing position - usually when he's supposed to be asleep. He goes to the doctor in a couple weeks for a weigh in and I'll be shocked if he's less than 19 pounds. He's now comfortably wearing 12 month clothes. I'll bet he could probably fit into some of Claire's clothes. Love to you all, Erika.

Drooling

I was thinking of something funny last night. Todd is a world class drool er. It occur ed to me that he now has a bib as a part of his daily fashion ensemble (usually consisting of a onesie). Kind of like daddy's necktie. We also have t change his bib at least twice a day because he soaks it through and I have to leave them on a drying rack to dry out for the next use.
Todd had his first taste of solid food last week. He had some mashed bananas (made an icky face), then he tried some pears (icky face), then some brown rice cereal (made a not-so-icky face) since it had his favorite beverage mixed in - milk! I hope he gets to be a good eater. we already know how much he loves to eat!
Todd's had two teeth come in and he's in the middle of working on the next two. He and Claire were painting together (one of the photos is of Claire pretending to paint his back). He's also trying to make a bridge pose (like yoga) to learn how to crawl. Just like Claire he sees something and tries to move forward, but only suceeds in moving backwards. And that leaves much room for more foul language! Love to you all, Erika.

Todd's Fighting Weight

Well folks, I just took a look at the blog this morning and realized I missed a few entries - OOPS! Well here are some more pictures of the kids. Todd's first two teeth came through last week - much to the enjoyment of all around him. But now he's back to his regular insanely happy self.
Todd visited the pediatrician for more vaccinations and he tipped the scales at 17 pounds - wow! He looks like a prize fighter in the off season. He's measuring 25 1/2 inches long too - an all around big boy who goes off the height/weight chart for his age (that's our little over-achiever).
His last tests at the Vanderbilt children's hospital revealed that his kidneys are functioning and draining properly so no more tests until October when he'll get an ultrasound. Gosh he'll be 7 months old then...hard to believe. Hope you all enjoy the pictures. The last one is a picture I took today. Love to you all, Erika.
In the pictures, Todd is rolling over for the first time (while Claire runs around him), they are watching TV together too.

lots of pictures

Well I'm getting better at taking more pictures of the kids. Maybe because Todd is getting more animated now and photogenic. I just have to remember to keep posting them so I don't end up with so many to post - like this week. Claire put the Christmas bow on his head - she thought it was the funniest thing she'd ever done - and we did too. Claire actually wanted to hold him for the first time ever in the second and third pictures and now she wants to hold him all the time - except for when he's crying - then she says "mommy I want you to feed him!" hahaha.
We had a pretty good doctor's visit a couple weeks ago with the urologist. They were going to do a test called a renalgram or renogram, but couldn't get an IV started so we're going back on Friday to get it done. He did get a couple images taken of his kidneys and his kidney actually looks a lot better (meaning not as dialated) so I'm sure he's going to be fine. It sure is a lot to go through with an infant though. But as you can see from the pictures he continues to be a fountain of smiles and sweetness. We're heading up to Michigan on Saturday. It'll be Todd's first plane trip - and I know he'll be happy as long as he has his mom and her you-know-whats to accompany him. Love to you all, Erika.

Crib Moments

Well Folks, it's been a while since my last post - even the pictures I took are a week old, BUT we have all been sick with some kind of weird virus (except Todd - he only got about a zillion vaccinations last Tuesday). We're all better now though. The night I cam down with it was also the same day Todd had received his vaccinations - which had caused his legs so much pain from the shot points that he couldn't lay on the Boppy pillow to nurse. So I had to improvise and ended up sort of laying down on the couch with him almost on top of me to nurse. But thankfully the shots caused him to lose most of his appetite and unfortunately be awake all night. Oh the joy of children!
I showed you some pictures of him in his crib because that day he #1; put himself to sleep in it for the afternoon and #2; he really enjoys talking to the red flowers on the bumper. It's hilarious to hear him coo and gobble at innanimate objects - just like daddy! The two of them make a cute pair. The second picture of him on the boppy I took right before he starting fussing since he didn't know what he was doing there without eating. sort of like laying on top of the dinner table - only at this dinner table you have to eat by smashing your face into the plate!
Tod is weighing in at 14 lbs 4 oz and measuring 23 1/4 inches long. So we've basically got a two month old the size of a 6 month old. I don't know how we'll pick him up once he actually reaches 6 months of age - hope he's going to enjoy the floor! Maybe we'll invest in a hydraulic jack to get him in and out of the crib - haha. But he's a very happy baby - all smiles and drool. He has much better head control now so he doesnt try to launch himself out of your arms - a good way to throw out my back you can be sure. Hope you all enjoy the pictures - the second one is my favorite! Love to you all, Erika.