Jump Around

Grandma & Papa Joe hanging out with the little guys.

Lately, the boys have been doing things they couldn't do before. Bob has been trying to put them in the Jumparoos for weeks, but now they can finally hold their heads up long enough to have a good time jumping around. Ryan has the most stamina, and he can jump around for about 10 minutes. James, if he's in the right mood, really enjoys jumping too, while Michael likes to jump for about two minutes and then he's done with that. All of the boys are sucking on their fists, and Ryan has figured out how to put his thumb in his mouth, but he tends to stick it so far down his throat that he gags himself. He's so funny because he spreads out all of his fingers so it kind of looks like he's doing some goofy hand signal rather than sucking on his thumb. Unlike normal parents, Bob and I are super excited that the boys have something other than their pacifiers to suck on. It's a lot easier for the boys to self-soothe now that we don't have to run up the stairs and put their pacifiers in every five minutes. James has moved back into the master suite since he was waking up his brothers. We hope to have him back in the nursery soon, but as he started screaming around 3 a.m. last night and didn't really settle down until 5 a.m. when everyone else woke up, his prospects for moving back in with the cool kids is looking a little slim. All of the boys have started to laugh. I love the sound of my happy little men. Mikey is by far the smile king. Bob has started calling him Kicky McSmiley since he spends most of the time he should be eating kicking, smiling, and laughing. It's great to watch, but a little hard to feed. James and Ryan have become much more vocal in the last week or two. James loves to hang out under the Baby Einstein world activity mat. He really grooves to the music and the flashing lights. It makes me happy that my eldest child is fascinated by a flashing globe (maybe he'll love maps like his mommy does). Ryan still has the worlds most pathetic cry. It's so soft and sad that when he pulls it out, I jump much faster than when Mr. I'm Here And You Better Notice NOW (James) screams. He's started to do a weird roaring cry when he's hungry or upset that just breaks our hearts. It's hard to believe our guys have changed so much in a short amount of time. Since this is our only rodeo, I'm trying to savor every second of my boys growing up, and thousands of pictures later, I think it's going well.

My favorite boys - James, Ryan, Michael, and my main squeeze.

James and Ryan ready for bed.

Mikey enjoying the Jumparoo.

Ryan likes to jump, too.

James takes a turn.

Mikey the Cool gets his diaper changed. For some reason, this child LOVES to put his arm behind his head.

Michael, James, and Ryan - some sleepier than others, but all about to head to bed.