Sunday, September 21, 2014

37-38/52

37/52
Autumn in the land of corn


 A portrait of my Avery, once a week, every week, in 2014
The last couple of weeks have sort of flown by and not because we've been super busy, maybe just the opposite. We've been hanging around home and spending lots of time out-and-about in the neighborhood enjoying the fall temperatures. 
I've been a little overwhelmed by the amount of photos I've taken the last couple of months and I really need to do some organizing. It's one of those daunting tasks that is just easier to put off... but the longer i put it off, the more daunting it becomes. Anyway, I dumped enough photos on my computer to find one from last week and this one :)
 
38/52
World's Best.
Seriously, these two. Avery is just the epitome of an awesome big brother. He gives so many hugs and smooches, and makes Cullen laugh like no other. I took quite a few photos this weekend, but for some reason the look on Avery's face in this one and the way he is so proud to have his little bro giggling on his shoulder spoke to my mama-heart :)

The boys and I are preparing for a pretty big adventure this week... I'll be back with an update!

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Cullen - 6 Months Old!




Cullen got a clean bill of health at his 6 month well-baby checkup on Monday, weighing in at 
21 pounds, 9 ounces
and 
28 inches long
- in the 97th percentile for both! I know he's going to start to plateau one of these days, so I'm going to cherish those chubby cheeks and thighs before they turn into long skinny running legs like his big brother :)

Cullen's whole life thus far has been one big growth spurt and he is on the cusp of a few pretty
big developments. He's working on popping out a couple of teeth, he watches everything his big brother does very closely and will be fully mobile any day.

Cullen barrel rolls all over the place these days and can pretty much scoot his way toward whatever he sets his sights on (which is usually whatever Avery is playing with.)
He can also turn a 360 on his tummy in 10 seconds flat (I timed it ;) and although I still put him
This just in: Cullen chews on
everything. EVERYTHING.
on a blanket to play, he finds his way off it in approximately 13 seconds and is off getting into something that I swear was far enough out of his reach. (Baby-proofing is proving to be even harder the second time around with a sneaky toddler depositing rocks, acorns and 'jewels' in every corner of the house)

Now that Cullen is all up in Avery's business during playtime, Avery has been doing a really great job being patient with his little brother and including him in whatever he's doing. This doesn't mean that Avery doesn't sometimes get frustrated or territorial but he's generally a very kind and gentle boy. Even when Avery does snatch toys away, Cullen is such a calm dude he doesn't even seem to mind
(he sometimes even laughs when Avery takes his toys away (what?!) we'll see how long that lasts.) I love that they're starting to play together more, it's so fun to watch them interacting all on their own and the giggle fests fill me up with happy :)
 


Cullen is still smitten with his buddy, Bella and lights up whenever she comes near him.

Cullen and Avery take baths together and are so cute playing and splashing around in the water.

Cullen naps once in the morning and once in the afternoon (and occasionally once in the early evening depending on how his afternoon nap went.) Sometimes I'll get really lucky and both boys will overlap naptimes, but it's becoming more likely that they take turns. This doesn't give me much time for myself, but it's nice to have a little one-on-one time with each of them every day.
In the evening he goes down to sleep around 8, but sometimes wakes up 2 or 3 times before he settles into sleep for good. Once he does, he usually only gets up once or twice during the night before waking up at 7-7:30 am. AND he no longer sleeps in his swaddle! He moves around so much now that he was just feeling confined so I put him in a sleeper one night and *bam!* he slept just fine. I should've known he would be so cool with it, silly mama.

Cullen nurses to sleep and about every 3-4 hours during the day. He's a very efficient eater which is the biggest difference I notice between him and big brother. I swear I spent HOURS nursing Avery during the day, but Cullen is in-and-out in 5 minutes

flat. Even putting him down for a nap only takes 10-15 minutes, something that took WAAAAY too long with Avery.

Cullen has started to experiment with some purees. (I was REALLY excited to pull that Baby Bullet back out!) So far, he's had sweet potato, pears, peas, banana, and a little rice cereal. His favorite is bananas and his least favorite is the rice cereal (I couldn't even get him to keep 2 spoonfuls in his mouth, he spit it out! I didn't mix it with a fruit or veggie though, maybe that would help.) He wasn't super excited about eating 'solid' foods at first, but now he gets excited when dinnertime rolls around and we put him in the high chair.



Overall, Cullen is at a really fun age right now where he is just so happy-go-lucky about everything and is learning and growing way too fast. He has been having a few fussy days here and there which leads me to believe those teeth are on their way to the surface and Avery is keeping a close eye out for them ;) Stay tuned for updates of Cullen on the move (also known as Mama Get Your Running Shoes ;)

The happy boy with the last remaining evidence of his first bruise - right between his eyes
(thanks to a ill-placed lego block when Cullen took a dive for the floor one day)

Sunday, September 7, 2014

36/52

36/52
He's a pretty big deal.
 A portrait of my Avery, once a week, every week, in 2014

On Saturday, Justin ran the Warrior Dash and came home with all kinds of fun goodies for Avery, including this really cool 'helmet' and cape. Avery ran around the house with it billowing behind him and even decided to wear it on our evening walk tonight.
Oh, the carefree imagination of a two year old - I love it!


Sizing up each others' awesome outfits :)
Linking up here

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

35/52

35/52
New 'do!
A portrait of my Avery, once a week, every week, in 2014

I cut Avery's hair this week. 
Now, this is probably the fourth or fifth time I've cut it but this time I got a little scissors happy and immediately regretted it. In 20 minutes time, I turned my baby into a much older looking boy and I'd be lying if I said I didn't shed a few tears. I cut it in the morning and it took me until after naptime until I was ready to accept that it wasn't going to magically grow back. Once I came to terms with it, I took a few photos and Avery was so proud of his new 'do that he gave me some pretty cute smiles :)

Seeing so many back-to-school photos today makes me so so so grateful I have a couple more years at home with this boy. He may look like a 5-year-old lately but I'm nowhere near ready to share him with kindergarten. (obviously. I can't even cut his hair without becoming overwhelmed!)

Linking up here