Isaac is 14 weeks old

Two Mondays ago, Isaac turned 14 weeks old.  Issac took his first plan ride this week, and got to take his weekly photo at J-Ma and Papa Pete's house!!

Brothers!!

Isaac reached for a grabbed a rattle for the first time this week!

Shake it Isaac, shake it!

We also tried out the Bumbo.  At first, he was pretty excited to sit up and see the big kids put on a puppet show for him.

But I think he tired of the apparatus quickly!

I love this pictures, since it shows their personalities.  Elsie is totally responsive and hamming it up for the camera.  Duncan is unaware of the camera or my requests to please look at the camera, and is just continuing to play puppet show.  Isaac is completely enamored with what one of the big kids is doing!

At least Duncan was nice enough to "show" Isaac the puppets by rubbing them on Isaac's face!

Isaac is 13 weeks old

On Monday, Isaac turned 13 weeks old!

Elsie does a fantastic job playing with Isaac!  She tries lots of toys, talks with him, and sings to him to keep him happy.  And Elsie is sure to tell me if she thinks Isaac is doing something really fun or new so I can grab the camera!

Isaac and Elsie were having a great time with the turtle puppet!  Isaac is just talking away to the turtle!

Isaac got so excited waving his hands all around that eventually his hand found his mouth!

Lots of great conversation with the turtle!  It is really a lot of fun to hear Isaac's loud coos, gurgles, and laughs when I am working in the kitchen.

Isaac is 12 weeks old

Two Mondays ago, Isaac turned 12 weeks old!  He finally gave me a nice big smile for the camera!  Even his arms are into it!

Isaac has started reaching for toys!  Here he is trying to get spider bug!

Smiles and coos for spider bug!

Isaac just loves playing on the blanket with people.  He loves to talk, smile, laugh with us, and he loves it when we show him toys!  I think he is a very happy baby!

Happy Halloween!

The kids were so excited to go out Trick or Treating when Halloween finally came!!

Elsie wanted to be Belle this year.  After a practice run on the hair, I think we go it pretty close to Belle's hair!  And Elsie was so excited to be able to wear some makeup!  Our beautiful Bellsie!

J-Ma made the beautiful Belle costume using leftover bridesmaid dress fabric from my wedding and some new special sparkly chiffon!   Elsie loved that the dress got so full when she spun around!

Duncan loves his "Leopardy" so much!  Big leopard petting little leopard!

Mommy's Little Monster!  Isaac missed trick or treating this year - he was napping!  Since it was pouring outside, it was a good thing that Isaac didn't go out!

But, we got Isaac dressed in his dragon costume for a cute picture!

The kids (and some of the candy) were soaked, but they dug right into the candy as soon as they got home!  Duncan's favorite candy this year:  lollipops, Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, and Reece's Pieces.  He liked the Reece's so much because the wrappers are orange!  In fact, when Duncan got to a house where he got to pick the candy, and there were no Reece's products, he just stared at the candy bowl.  He had no idea what to do!!

Elsie is not picky when it comes to candy.  She likes everything.  And she has a hard time making it last - she eats her candy so fast, and then wonders why it seems like Duncan gets to have more pieces!  Daddy tried to show her how to eat it slowly, but I think she likes Mommy's approach better!

I think Isaac is eyeing Duncan's lollipop!  Next year, Isaac!

Twas the month of Halloween!

Halloween seems to start at the beginning of October now with all of the amazing festivities!  We had Elmhurst Fall Fest with Trick or Treating at Safety Town.  Then the kids had a Halloween party at school, where they got to dress up, play games, and march in a costume parade.  Duncan Leopard was thrilled to hang out with a tiger at the party!  They were both on their hands and knees crawling around the floor,  roaring and growling!  And Bellesie had a great time twirling around in her dress in the dance party corner!

Then we trick or treated in downtown Elmhurst, where we met up with Elsie's friend, Strawberry Shortcake Evie.

Elsie's Reading and Math class celebrated Halloween in their costumes, too.

And Elsie's preschool class had a fun celebration, where they recited a few Halloween and Fall poems for us.  Here is Elsie's favorite:

Sand castles, stuffed animals, and walks

We got out to the park last week in the colder weather.  It had rained the day before, so the sand was nice and wet.  And because it was cooler, we were the only ones there!  Perfect conditions for Elsie to finally make her first successful sand castle.  Duncan showed such restraint as Elsie carefully formed her 4 towers.  As soon as a I finished taking the picture, Duncan did what comes naturally - stomped all over Elsie's hard work!

Elsie was proud to show me her stuffed animal display after nap time one day!  Where's Elsie?!

On Wednesday mornings, we are all happy to do a lot of walking and biking.  Elsie rides her bike or scooter, Duncan rides his balance bike, and Isaac walks with me in the red stroller.  First we drop off Elsie at her Reading and Math class at The Depot, then we make our way to Music Together at Luscombe Music, then swing by the dry cleaners on the way to the Farmers Market, and then if we have time, we take a stroll on the Prairie Path before picking up Elsie from class.  I have to keep Duncan in the stroller during the Farmers Market trip (otherwise he touches EVERYTHING), but otherwise he is on his bike the whole way.  He has learned how to stop at the traffic lights and driveways, ride over the railroad tracks, push hard up hill, and coast down hills!  A great picture of my two boys on the Prairie Path!

Isaac is 11 weeks old

Last Monday, Isaac turned 11 weeks old!  Isaac had his (slightly late) 2-month doctor visit this week.  He did well with his 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine.  He slept for 6 hours straight afterwards...but then had a really hard time sleeping for the next 24 hours.  He also continues to measure very large:
Weight:  16lbs, 9oz (99th percentile)
Height:  25.25in (100th percentile)
Head circumference: 41.5 (92nd percentile)

Isaac has a lot of fun playing with us on the blanket.  He likes watching various rattles and toys above his head.  Unfortunately, the rattles sometimes slip out of Duncan's or Elsie's hands.  But Isaac is a good sport - after a few minutes of crying, he is ready for more blanket time!

Isaac doesn't quite get as much tummy time as he should.  But when he does, he tries to lift up his head for a minute or two.

Then he looks for his hand.  Isaac really likes to suck on his hand, but when he is being held, the hand has a hard time staying put.  Its much easier on his tummy!

Often times, tummy time ends after just a few minutes because Isaac is crying so loudly.  Other times, it ends because he spit up all over the blanket.  I just happened to get a spit-up action shot this time!!  At least Isaac was happy about it!