First Veggie

Peas were on the menu tonight and I can say they did not go over, at all. Hence the face. . .We tried to mix it with cereal and give him sips of water to wash it down but he still didn't like peas.
This is the face of, "please Mom stop shoveling that stuff into my mouth."
** Added to say we tried peas again in the morning and he liked them much better. I have a feeling that I didn't heat them up enough. He prefers warm to room temp food. So this morning peas were a pass :) **

Six Months Old

Jax is officially six months old! I can not believe he's been here half a year already. I can't imagine life without him but can't believe he's been part of our family that long. Probably because he's been part of our family for a lot longer than that... "in the belly-wise"

He had his check up today at the pediatrician and all is well. He's hit the mark for all of his developmental milestones and most of his motor milestones.

He's weighing in at 17lbs. 5oz. and it 27 inches tall.

So 50% for weight and 75% for height. Growing just like he should.
He received 3 shots today... OUCH!

He did really well. Cried, of course, but calmed down pretty quickly and slept after that. You know the trauma and all. His legs are sore and a bit touchy but overall he's a happy camper.

We've been given the go-ahead for cereal and veggies...although he's been eating cereal for a month now. So tonight will be the veggie adventure. I can't wait to see what he likes. He's now on 2 meals a day which will make our schedule tighter in the mornings but the kid has gots to eat !!

The Six Month Bear Photo.

** And just for comparison, Hayden at six months was 19lbs. 5oz and 28.5 inches tall. Jax has finally caught up to Hayden's 11 week visit of 17lbs. 2oz. :) Such a difference... Hayden really did grow like a weed! **

Us - animated

Summer Parade

Just like the past 4 years Pa and Hayden lead the Summer parade in town. Hayden has come to love and look forward to being with Pa in the DARE truck. They throw gum as they go. Normally Tim and I are in the back of the truck whipping gum as fast as we can but this year Tim had to go solo. Jax is just to young to ride. Next year Pa will get all of us again. We prepared Jax for the parade with range muffs. Those firetrucks and emergency vehicles really love laying on the horns and sirens. :)
Here they come. . . leading the way.
Jax finally awake and enjoying the bands and drum cores that marched... I think he liked all the action.
Pa, Hayden and Jax in the DARE truck.

Wet and Wild fun...

We took the kids swimming at the local pool on Tuesday evening. It would be Jax's first real time in the pool. (He didn't get much water time at FLB) He did however get in the water and enjoyed it after he stopped shivering. :)
Jax found his favorite part... the water fountains in the kiddie section. He thought it was fun to try and catch the water...although after a few minutes of trying he did get a little ticked that he hadn't caught it yet. :)
All done swimming...and tired out.
And of course Hayden our fish. He enjoys swimming so much... splashing Daddy, dunking Mommie are just perks. He would of stayed for days if we would of let him. He is getting better at going under the water without choking. I think we will have to look into swimming lessons soon.

One more belt for the rack

Hayden tested for and received his Double-Red belt on Tuesday. He was very excited about getting it because he had left his old one on the kitchen table and had to ask the teacher if he could still test. What teacher would say no to those pleading eyes? :)
He's still on track to hit his Black belt around the first of the year.

Vroom Vroom!

Since he's sitting up we tried this cool car that was handed down by our little friend Brandon

Uncharted territory

I am attempting to make baby food for Jax. I don't know why or what possessed me to try but I am. I don't even know how long I will keep this up. Fruits and Veggies are easy but the thought of whirring up meat makes me queasy. I never attempted when Hayden was a baby, despite my parents giving me the Cadillac of food processors. I guess I thought Gerber sold food in jars for a reason :)
Here is the process of making Apricots. I found a really great sale on them at the local grocer and I've read making them from dried is nasty so I tried fresh. Easy but peeling all those little fruits was time consuming.
Bake the apricots first.

Whir up in the processor and portion out in ice cube trays. Hayden even got in on the action. He loves to help me cook and is starting to get better (ie. less messy) at it :)
1 tray of food is equal to 5-6 jars of Stage 1 food. Apricots $1.20/lb vs 75 cents per jar.
Great Deal!!
The stash! Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Apricots, Plums, Peaches...and Apples, Pears, and Peas are on their way tomorrow :)

Gotta love FREE activities

Just another wonderful day at the Splash Pad. Jax got in on the action this time but didn't really enjoy it. I think the water was too cold. So he hung out on the blanket with me and Auntie Sabrina.
Hayden and Trystan loved squirting each other with these water guns thingies :) This was actually Trys's favorite spot. This Splash Pad is actually a really nice FREE activity for the kids in the summer; so Bravo Park District for making a place where Mom's can take their kids on a warm day.

and the prize goes to...

Grammy.

She was the only one to guess the boys pictures correctly, although she has an unfair advantage of seeing them every week.

Jaxson was on the RIGHT at 5 months old
and
Hayden was on the LEFT at 2 months old.

Just shows how much the boys look alike.

*Nice try Nate ;) *

The Clan

Okay so half of the people in this photo will be ticked I posted it, but I think everyone looks amazing!
This is the "cousins" on the Krzyzanowski side. All of us and our children. The twins had their Christening on Sunday and at the party we all got together and took this photo. There hasn't been a picture like this in over 6 years. I tried to find that picture but I'm sure they would be even more mad if I posted that one so maybe it's a good thing I can't find it right now :) LOL
It was nice seeing family when our family is so small to begin with... we have to stick together when we can.

Tuxedo Boys

Who is who? Leave your guesses in the comments :) Also try and guess how old the boys are in the photos :)

Sweetest Sound

Is the laughter of a baby...

Faces

Of my precious little ones...

They do spend time together

Watching TV while Mommie folded laundry. They do enjoy spending time together.

Karate kickin it in the parade

Hayden's karate school marched in the local parade this past weekend. He really wanted to join in so we let him and silly us (slaping our foreheads) participated as chaperone's. It was a warm but a nice day to do the 2 mile walk. Hayden was lucky and rode in the back of a truck.
Jax rode in his stroller and slept through the whole thing :)Lining up and getting ready.



The view behind. All in all we had 4 trucks/cars full of kids and tons of kids and adults walked and passed out Frisbees and let people along the route break balsa wood boards. They seemed to eat that up!Almost done... only a few more blocks to go...
We will try and do it again next year but we will have our route planned much better... Thanks to my Dad for picking Tim, Jax and I up afterwards. :)

Celebrating our Independence

This is a day we celebrate our independence. I thank all the soldiers who have come before and will come after us. I espicially thank our friends, Traci & Sam and my friend Rob and his brother all whom have served and 3 whom have participated in the Iraq war. A few more recent than others.
It is because of them that we are free to BBQ and shoot rockets into the air. We had great weather and a better BBQ :) Friends and family a like were in attendance, well mostly. The kids had a blast running all over and playing together and the adults enjoyed some conversation. It was Jaxson's first 4th of July and he seemed to enjoy the day and didn't seem bothered by the fireworks at night, which at first worried me until I talked to other mothers with babies the same age as Jax and all confirmed that their babies had the same reaction.
Here are the pictures we wanted to share:

Jax likes dolls :)
Breana just loved seeing Jax since it had been awhile.
Tim was very sore after laying like this for 45 min:)