Who Doesn't Love Baths??

We all love bathtime! All 3 of the kids love it and it indicates it's close to bedtime, therefore I love it! The kids played in the mud over the weekend, so we had an early bedtime. It was a great time to get off some pictures of the kids!

Who loves bathtime?!

Funny pic! Ashton crying over something and Violet's "what the heck" look

I love this picture

The good ol' stand-by happy shot

Violet loves bathtime too!

Violet waves Hi!

Violet's shy look!

It's a crazy life around here

This is just the morning!

A Day in Violet's Life

Violet is our good sleeper... for now. She goes down around 7-7:30pm and sleeps well until we let her out of her room around 7-7:30am. Occasionally she will wake up earlier, but not a lot. Thank goodness! We go downstairs and she is usually the first to ask for "nilk" (ie chocolate milk) and a "nack" (ie snack) which means breakfast. She loves "ogurt." Then it's time to play in the living room while they watch some good morning time shows on Disney including Mickey Mouse, Jack and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins, and a new Octonauts! But look where I caught Violet playing one morning...

Not only is she playing on Timothy's playmat but she found a pacifier I desperately tried to get him to take!

But this is usually what she is playing with...

Dollies in a stroller!

The stroller is already broken, a Christmas present! She tried to sit in it so I already need to try to sew the string and seat back together. She has also started putting her dollies in the "naughty spot." Hilarious role playing!

Tim - Things to Remember at 6 months old

Well, my chunky boy is no longer chunky and in fact has now dropped down to only the 5th%ile for weight. Sigh... he weighs in at a thin 14 pounds, 10 ounces and was around 26 inches. So he remains at the 50th%ile for height but is thin... really thin. So, I am back on a mission to plump this little guy up. High calorie baby foods here we come!

One thing I want to remember is that this little boy is a Houdini when it comes to getting out of his pajamas. He must hate the feet covered zip up PJs because he either peddles his feet where they get stuck in one side or... lately he has been able to Houdini himself out of the entire thing all together! I have no idea how he does it but we frequently find it on the bottom of his sleep bag! Thankfully he has a sleep bag over his PJs so he has something to keep him warm!

He is such a happy little guy! You can easily make him laugh out loud by kissing or lightly biting his cheeks! He's very ticklish on his stomach, chest, and neck.

He loves to eat the collar of your shirts and will slobber all over them! This must be his pacifier replacement!

A Day Outside

Our winter days start out a little foggy and gloomy but usually warm up nicely and allow us to get outside. Thank goodness because we are going a little stir crazy stuck inside. And it's not even that cold here! But this is what we do outside during the winter...

Ashton steals Violet's  bubbles...

And gets her with them!

Yup! He used the whole thing!

A really cool bubble shot!

And then we move onto paint!

Violet gets in on some good paint action!

A little messy hands!

... and messy face!

And he didn't even paint his hands!

Pebbles with a snotty nose post-paint bath!

Sitting Up!

Tim has been sitting well with assistance but today when I let go... he stayed!

I love this picture! Ashton is excited about his picture of Timothy and Timothy is looking up to his big brother!

Tim sitting up!

Tim is 6 months old

Happy 1/2 birthday to Tim!
Developmentally he has just started to sit up today! He continues to roll all over but has yet to get up on all fours. He has fairly predictable naps and bedtime but has yet to sleep through the night. He has started eating and will take rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash all willingly. He has had carrots, applesauce, pears, and yogurt -- none of which he particularly enjoyed. So we can continue press forward with the food. He loves the puffs but is too lazy to pick them up himself. He doesn't really have the dexterity either. He is a generally happy baby until he isn't. And if he isn't happy, he will definitely let you know it. He continues to be my big baby. He fits well into 6-9 months clothes. He still refuses to take a pacifier and prefers his fingers instead. I am on the search for a little lovie doll he will take instead but who knows if he will take to one like Violet did. Ashton loves him so much and loves to be his big brother. He feeds him the puffs, hence Tim's laziness. And when Tim cries, Ashton will frequently get down to Tim's level and sing him Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It's really cute and I need to try to catch it on camera one day. Violet occasionally will love Tim. She is still working on being gentle with him but likes to get down to his level and say "Hi baby!" Hopefully these cute relationships will continue to grow and flourish.

Monterey Aquarium

The pictures are out of chronological order and I have no desire to put them in order. We had a great day at the Monterey Aquarium. It was really a cool place for the kids to explore! Violet surprisingly loved to touch all the slimy creatures and Ashton ran from exhibit to exhibit!

Super soothing jellyfish

Ashton and Dad wait to touch the sting rays

Ashton looks out onto the Bay

Tim's point of view

The super cool octopus

More cool jellyfish

The octopus head

and his tentacles

Penguins!

It's a shark!

Great Papa leads the way!

Violet loved the fish

She's one cute girl!

Touching all the fun stuff!

She was just amazed by the large aquariums!

A Very Busy Weekend

We were able to celebrate our Great Grandma & Great Grandpa's 80th birthday (on Dad's side) in San Jose this weekend. It was nice to spend some time with them and it finished off all of our holiday celebrations with a bang! I sure am ready to get back into the normal swing of things! We took the kids to visit the Monterey Aquarium. The next day we had a big lunch at Buca di Beppo's to celebrate their 80th birthday. And we finally headed back home on Monday! I'm hoping we are able to get back into our regularly scheduled program... for a few weeks at least!

Happy 80th Birthday Great Grandparents!

The kids find fun in just about anything... here it's the rug!

Tim gets some good cuddling in with Great Grandpa!

Here the kids find fun with the furniture!

Tim was the hit! Getting some loving from Great Grandma and  Grand-Auntie!

Violet finds fun in the duck!

Ready for bed?!

Violet found a lonesome phone and turned it into a camera!