Hogging the Limelight

Looking through my pictures, I see I have sooo many of Michael. There are two reasons for that. Jason will not sit still for a picture anymore. And, if he does, he won't smile properly. We have him say "cheeese!" and it looks like he's talking. Plus, I have just realized Michael is a ham. He smiles like I have never seen only when a camera is in his face. (see the difference in the pictures here). He does not like to share the limelight, either. If I move him to sit with big brother, he tries to get up. So much for pictures with the loving brothers!



Here's a parting thought from our oldest tonight. Jason, Michael, and I left Miss Michelle's house, and there was a light rain falling. Jason said to me, "Mommy, do something. The rain keeps poking me in the eye." We ran faster to the car.

Give it to Michael. He'll Eat Anything

Remember that old Life cereal commercial? "Look at Mikey, he eats everything!" We have one of those. Michael is an eating machine! While he will eat just about any food, he is refusing to allow us to put anything pureed in his mouth anymore. So no more jar food. He's ten months old. I can't remember how early we were feeding Jason textured food, but I don't think it was this early, and I don't think we gave him everything we eat. Tonight, the baby had salmon and rice. Oh, and applejuice in a cup. It was so cute.

Jason had a busy afternoon, playing with good friends, Ethan and C.J. (see post from several days ago). We visited Macarthur Mall and the play area was packed. Add our three, and stir. The three boys ran and ran around the oversized plastic food that make up the centerpiece of the fun. They had such a good time.

Say Cheese

We're not sure what Michael is smiling about. Poor thing is probably just excited because Jason was asleep when I took this picture. When Jason is awake, the smile is usually knocked out of Michael, literally. We're working on turning that around, by strongly reminding Jason that pushing Michael over is not a sport.

It's good to know that some things never change. Jason's first favorite feature-length film was "School of Rock." Yes, the movie with Jack Black. We could never figure it out. He loves the movie. He can almost recite the whole thing verbatim. But, we haven't watched it in a while. Tonight, I pulled it out of the cabinet and asked him if he wanted to put it in the DVD player. He did so, then turned to look at me and said, "It is perfect." I laughed for ten minutes.

Baby Haircare

The boys got a much-needed haircut today! It has been months since they've gotten proper hair care. The first picture is pre-hair salon visit. The last three are post. Jason and Michael were pretty well-behaved. It's the first time Michael has been in the hot seat. He took it all in stride with his normal cheerfulness. Jason, too, did very well. I know he would say the highlight was the sour apple lollipop he was able to take home.

Brotherly Love

There's a lot of love between these siblings. Can you tell? Jason just wanted to show me that Michael has teeth galore! Michael didn't mind that Jason dug into his mouth once. It was the three following times that Michael had issues with.

We got home horribly late tonight, and I was literally throwing peas, rice, and fish sticks into pans and bowls so Jason could have some dinner before bed. After a bite of rice, Jason, bless his heart, says, "I think this is good, Mommy." Then he told me I was a good cook. I wonder what he'll do when he gets cooked a real meal??? We all know Jason. He probably won't eat it!

Snow Day

The first snow of 2006, and Jason just had to get in the middle of it. We put his brand-new boots on and placed the only hat he will wear on his head. Then he grabbed his sandbucket and shovel. And this is the result. Jason had a blast, although the look on Jason's face is one of deep concentration. Poor Michael was inside. He's not feeling so well. Good thing he doesn't know, yet, what he's missing!

Unexpected Treat

Jason loves his friends, Ethan and C.J. Together, they are something to watch. We just couldn't pass up the mild weather. We packed all of them up and released them into the park today. Who would have thought they could enjoy a day in mid-January without a jacket? Good thing they didn't leave their smiles at home!

Bathtime Fun

Jason and Michael don't have the chance to share a bath often, but when they do, I am on my toes! And I can't help but want to snap pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras! Luckily, they get along well enough, they enjoy splashing each other so much so--that bathtime is getting more and more fun, for all of us!

One of Jason's favorite books was given to him by our wonderful friends, Ann and Thomas. Everyday we need to read, "The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish." For a while, it was nothing but Curious George, then Courduroy. Now this book, which is very entertaining. In the middle of tonight's reading, though, the phone rang, after which Jason sternly told me to "pause the book."

Yes, They are Brothers

These boys really do look alike, don't they? The first one is Jason at 7 months old. The second is Michael about three months old. Our schedule was out of whack today since I had a late meeting at work, but the kids handled the disruption pretty well. They both ate dinner at Miss Michelle's house. Jason, for the first time EVER had baloney. And I don't think Miss Michelle had to rename it "chicken."

Baby Talk

This photo is one from the archives. I have it as my computer screensaver at work, so I get to see it almost everyday. It was taken in Atlanta, a couple of months after Michael was born. As you can see, he looks so grown-up, even at that age. And now, his words are flowing pretty freely.

Here was some of our conversation tonight (we were driving home from Miss Michelle's house):

Me: Say, 'uh oh.'
Michael: 'uh oh.'
Me: Say, 'cheese.'
Michael: 'eeee.'
Me: Say, 'mama.'
Michael: 'mamama.'
Me: Say, 'Jason.'
Michael: 'babababa.'

We're still working on accuracy. But I was pretty impressed that he babbled as well as he did. Jason was, too.

Encouraging Words

A cold, gray day in Virginia Beach, so the boys and I stayed home for most of it. We gave some proper attention to a few of the Christmas gifts that Jason and Michael received over the holidays. It took an embarrassingly long time to figure out how to put together a really wonderful train set that Aunt Abigail gave the boys. After I managed to fit some pieces together, Jason said to me, "You did a good job, Mommy." Michael did a good job as well, occupying himself with other toys, and, I believe, making his first moves toward crawling. He moved backwards, of course. But I know that will change all too soon.

Getting Back Into the Routine

After a two-week break, Jason returned to preschool today. We thought his teacher, Miss Beth, would have a rough day. But all went well. Jason even ate most of his cheese sandwich. Speaking of food, Michael is an eating machine!!! I believe he eats more meat than Jason does now! He really enjoys standing up. You can see him balancing pretty well against that Leaptable. I took that picture last night. What a difference three months makes. That picture of Michael with Amah was taken in October.

Bad Words

The first week of the New Year, and I'm just marveling at how big Michael is getting. He is nine months old, and he is VERY comfortable in 12-month, sometimes even 18-month clothing. He's really starting to babble now. We believe his first word was "CHEESE." Only it sounds like "eeee." You can tell he enjoys picture-taking time. Michael is just now getting the hang of rolling over, and back. He doesn't really do it all that often. But when he does, watch out! Sometimes he'll look as if he might crawl, but, no. Not today. He really enjoys standing. Loves holding onto his Leap table, or a chair. I don't think we have to worry he'll walk anytime soon. I say that now, but, if he does become mobile soon, we're in big trouble.

Jason is holding his own. He's got the walking, running, and jumping down pat. Now, he's focused on talking. This is a snippet of tonight's conversation.

Jason: Nana (a girl in his daycare) said 'aw, s**t' today.
Me: ReallY?
Jason: Uh huh. She said bad word.
Me: Yes, she did. I don't want you to repeat it.
Jason: I won't.

We'll see.