5 Months

This cute boy is 5 months old already! Yikes! Time just seems to fly by faster with each one of them.  He's got some pretty cute smiles . . .

But don't let that fool ya.  He can scream like no baby I've ever heard.  And if you don't believe me just ask his grandparents, or anyone in our ward for that matter.  Ha!  Luckily one flash of that smile and all is forgiven and forgotten.  He's working on sitting up on his own.  He's getting the hang of using his hands and loves to play with whatever he can get a hold of.  He still wants to be held around the clock and because of his shrill scream we usually comply to save our ears.  We sure love this cute little stinker.

Now he just needs to stop growing so fast.  Unless of course that means he'll start sleeping better and stop insisting that he be held the time. ;)

Valentines

Things are getting festive around here. Here's our Valentines mantel . . .

We {HEART} Valentines around here.  And this year we'll be spending it with a few more of our favorite people.  My parents and Eric and Jake will be coming to visit.  Yay!

Our Weekend

We were pretty productive.  Saturday we dug in and got some serious cleaning and organizing done around here.  We of course have plenty more we could do, but it felt good to have a work day and clean up a bit.  All the hard work wore Braddock out . . .

Fell asleep on Dad's back while he was cleaning the kitchen.

We also worked on some potty training.  Landon did SUPER all day on Saturday.   Mom's just a little nervous about actually pulling that off when Dad's not around to help . . .

By the looks of it, pooping's not always easy. ;)

But the sticker and the treat make it all worth it.

Braddock tried rice cereal for the first time on Saturday.  Lately he thinks he should eat every 2-3 hours and Mom's going crazy, so we thought it might be time to introduce some other foods.  He didn't hate it, but didn't love it either.  We'll keep trying . . .

And just because it was way too cute.  Here's Landon catching up on his Sunday funnies in his birthday suit . . .

Birds

The other day we put together some little bird feeders to hang on the tree in our backyard.  We already have a bird feeder but I'm always looking for easy things to entertain the boys.  So this week we've been watching the birds fly between the bird feeder and our homemade feeders in the tree.  I love seeing how excited the boys get when a bird comes to get a snack.

Just smear peanut butter on a toilet paper roll.

Classic Landon....eating the peanut butter instead of making the bird feeder.

Then roll it in bird seed.

Head outside to the nearest tree.

Hang it on a branch and wait for the birds to find it.

Check out that little guy eating our bird seed.  Success!

"Big Bears"

We're hosting a whole jungle around here . . .

Kumba and Braddock

Kifa and Landon

Kojo and Tanner

Growing up we all had our "Big Bears."  They were just really big teddy bears and I loved mine dearly.  Proven by this scanned photo of him on my shelf freshman year of college . . .

Big Bear, me, and Brittnie

In fact he's now in my boys room cause I just can't quite let go.  I knew I wanted to carry on that tradition, but as with most things, I get carried away and take it a step farther.  So now we have three massive jungle animals at our house, but man do we love them.

Masking Tape Roads and Toy Cars

We're always up to something to stay busy and entertained around here.  This week it was masking tape roads and toy cars all over the living room . . .

We even stopped by the zoo . . .

And the local farm . . .

Cheap, easy, and made for hours of fun.  Can't beat that!

"Exercising with Tanner"

Tanner and Landon got kids cameras for Christmas from their Grandma and Grandpa Hilton.  Tanner's been thinking of all sorts of things he could video, so today we obliged him and they put on "Exercising with Tanner."  And Dean was a pretty good sport too I'd say. ;)  Enjoy...

Indoor Snowball Fight FHE

Monday night for Family Home Evening Dean gave a nice lesson on how we are created in God's image. Then we headed downstairs for a big family "snowball" fight. We built forts and balled up socks and went at it.  We even got into character with hats and scarves. . .

Dad and Tanner vs. Mom, Landon, and Braddock

Forget the fort, Landon headed out to ambush them.

We figured when you have a real snowball fight, outside in the cold, you come in and have hot chocolate.  SO if you have a sock snowball fight in the house you should finish up with a nice cold drink instead, so we whipped up smoothies for treat.  It was one of the funnest things we've ever done.  The boys are already begging to do it again.

4 Months

We're a little late in posting this since Braddock turned 4 months back on December 21st, but here's a few pictures of this sweet boy and his stats...

Can't get enough of that adorable grin.

Those little toes and squishy cheeks are almost more than I can take.

Caught a sweet big brother moment....

....which was promptly followed by this hilarious moment.  

* He weighs 14lbs 4oz and is 26 inches long.

* He loves to coo and talk all the time.  Especially as we drive in the car.

* He's beginning to get control of his hands and loves to try to grab things.

* He constantly kicks his feet and gets off any socks or shoes we try to make him wear.

* He can remove socks from his hands as well and then precedes to scratch his face.  Grrrr.

* His poor tear duct is still clogged and people are constantly making comments about his eye.

* With a little help from pro-biotics he's a much happier guy and he sleeps better too.  (But still not as good as his mom would prefer)

* He can sit up for a few seconds on his own before toppling over.

* He can roll both ways and manages to move around a bit if you put him on the floor.

* His smiles melt all of us and we sure love him!

Bubble Blower

I can hardly believe it, but we have a kid that is old enough to blow bubble gum bubbles. . .

Favorite Uncle

Landon's diapers come in two varieties.  One has Mickey and Pluto on them, and the other just has Mickey.  Well, Landon has an affinity for the Mickey and Pluto ones,  and as a result they always end up running out first.  Over the break all we had left were Mickey ones, but when Uncle Jared heard about our predicament he came to the rescue . . .

And I think that officially secures his spot as favorite uncle from now on.  (And yes, I did just post a close up of my son's diaper on the internet.  Hope he doesn't hate me when he's old enough to be socially aware.)

New Years 2013

On New Year's Eve Landon started complaining that his ears were hurting. So now after 9 days of fevers, a flu diagnosis and medication, a trip to the pediatrician AND the ER, we were now heading back to the pediatrician again.  Ug.  They FINALLY said he had a double ear infection and prescribed some antibiotics. Landon obviously wasn't feeling super, but with some Ibuprofen he perked up a bit.  We decided not to miss out on any more time with the family that was in town, so we headed over to Mom and Dad's for a night of delicious food and fun.  We ate WAY too much, watched "Sherlock Holmes", and just enjoyed being together and counting down to the new year.

Landon held out until 11:45 pm and then missed out on everything.  Ha!  He even slept through all the noise-making at midnight.  Poor boy.

Leah, Kaitlyn, and Tanner all geared up and ready for midnight.

PapPap and Grandma all set to ring in the new year.

Eric even managed to get Morgan in on things via Skype.

Jared, Genevieve, and Janna trying out Janna's new game Jambalaya.

I don't love this picture of me, but proof that Braddock is starting to use his hands.  He was holding that noise-maker all by himself.

First family photo of the new year.  Classic.  And it sometimes hits me how crazy it is that we're a family of FIVE!

We feel so blessed as we look back on this past year.  2012 was a mix of hard, crazy, busy, fun, and wonderful all in one.  We are especially grateful for the safe and healthy arrival of Braddock to our family.  We look forward to all the wonderful things this next year will bring....a.k.a. Dean's graduation!!! ;)

Bowling

Despite being sick we decided to squeeze in a little fun. Landon had perked up by the afternoon so we joined everyone for a couple games of bowling. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Twinner cousins Tanner and Hyrum

Braddock LOVES Leah.  She can always get him to smile.

Picture perfection....Tanner dancing in the background, Landon's sweet grin, and my hot hubby.  LOVE it!

Dean was on fire.

First time Uncle Eric held Braddock.

Jared helping Janna take her turn.

Braddock and Grandpa

Tanner and Kaitlyn are the best of buds.

Half the gang.

Proof that Andrea broke 100.  Not something that happens often or ever.

And proof that Dean and Eric both bowled Turkeys!

By the end of the night we ended up heading to the ER since the doctor's office was closed to get Landon checked out again.  Unfortunately he had just had some Ibuprofen and instead of wincing in pain when they checked him out he giggled.  So they sent us home with a popsicle and a bill.  Grrrr.