4 months old - September 21, 2011

The boys turned 4 months old this past week!  My how the time has flown by.  They shared their 4 month birthday with their Daddy's 31st birthday.  It was a special day for all of my men.  The boys gave their dad a special gift of tickets to the Rangers game on Friday night.  I bought tickets for Zach since we have missed out on our Rangers games this year due to some very special little boys.  The last one that we went to was in April the week before I went on bedrest.  

So in honor of their gift to their dad, they wore their Rangers gear for their photo shoot.  I was glad that they were able to wear this gear since the morning of Ellis had a huge blowout and got his outfit dirty.  Thanks to Daddy's washing skills it was clean for our photos.  

Truett (L) and Ellis (R)

Truett (L) and Ellis (R) 

Ellis

 This week Ellis really found his sense of humor.  The day before his birthday, Zach really got him giggling good.  He was giggling so hard at his daddy pulling his shirt over his head and waving his hands around like a silly man.  He also made some growling sounds at them to get them going.  Truett was slightly scared of the growling though and even got a very worried look on his face like he was about to cry.  We're going to have to work on Truett's giggle.

Truett

Truett really is a happy baby, you just wouldn't know it with this picture.  He was caught at the right time for a mug shot.  He was the first to smile for us and now he's working on his little personality.  

Truett (L) and Ellis (R)

Truett (L) and Ellis (R)

So not only did Zach get Rangers tickets for his birthday, but I got him this really cool ring called The Gear Ring.  Zach had shown this to me last year and I had considered getting it for him for his graduation, but decided on something else.  I figured that now would be a good time.  He really likes it even thought I completely got the wrong size.  We're shipping it out the week to get that issue resolved.  It has gears that actually work and I thought that it was perfect for my creative husband.  

The boys went to their 4 month checkup on September 22, and did wonderful getting their third round of shots.  Such big little guys.  Here are their stats for 4 months old:

Truett Reid
12 lb 8 oz (10%)
23.5 in long (5%)
42.75 cm head circumference (63%)

Ellis Jay
12 lb 15 oz (15%)
23.25 in long (4%)
42 cm head circumference (45%)

Apparently, our little men are small with huge heads.  The great thing is that they made it on the charts for their age group.  Since they were 8 weeks premature that's a big accomplishment.  Their weight is looking really good.  Their looking pretty short for their height, but this could just be a hereditary gene that they have picked up from their momma.  We'll see as the years go on.  Overall, their doctor was really impressed with their growth and told us to keep up the good work.  Our next big thing will be starting rice cereal at 5 months old.  Looking forward to that day!

Ellis (L) and Truett (R)

Truett (L) and Ellis (R)

We're really proud of how far Truett and Ellis have come over the last 4 months and can't wait for the months to come!

3 months old - August 21, 2011

Tomorrow, our little men will be 4 months old.  Can't believe that the time has flown by so fast.  Must post the 3 month pictures before tomorrow, when these won't be relevant anymore.

These pictures were taken after church after having lunch at our friends house.  They were ready for their afternoon snack and nap.  We're still pretty much stuck to our schedule of 3 hours during the day and we are going about 6 consecutive hours at night.  Some nights they surprise us and go longer, but those are few and far between.  We will begin to train them to sleep all night starting this weekend.  Hoping it goes well.

Most of these events actually happened in their 4th month of life, but they are worth noting.  The boys began to be much better at holding their heads up and not being so bobble headish.  They are really recognizing people now by greeting them with a smile. They are growing like crazy and Ellis still remains in the lead.  We'll find out their 4 month weights on Thursday, but I know that Ellis weighs 12lbs from his first "sick" baby visit to the doctor last week.

Truett (L) and Ellis (R)

We have not mastered sitting up against something as you can tell, but they are tolerating their bumbo seats and enjoy playing on their playmats.  The boys made their first trip to Sunday School on August 28th and they loved it.  See the smile on Truett's face below.  Their teachers tell us that they are the sweetest and best little boys.  I'd have to agree.  

They started smiling at about 3 months, or their adjusted age of 6 weeks.  Must remember that these boys were 8 weeks early, so we can't judge ourselves on the normal scale for babies.  My mom was able to capture this great picture of Truett's smile while she was keeping them during the first couple weeks I was back at work.  We have a little different arrangement now that Daddy is looking for a job again.  KK only has to keep the boys on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Daddy is at Home Depot.  We're hoping that a job will come soon.  

If only I could have held my camera in the right place, I would have had a great picture of Ellis' smile on our first road trip to Marion, AR.  We made our first road trip on Labor Day weekend.  It wasn't so bad except for having to pack what seemed like the entire house.  It was trip that needed to be done though as there were lots of people for the boys to meet.  

They met their great-grandparents on Zach's dad's side.  Grandma and Grandpa were so excited to meet these little boys and we were so thankful that they could make the trip from Jonesboro to see them.  

Their other great grandmother, Mimi (Zach's mom's mom) was excited to see her great grandsons again. Mimi came to visit them when they came home from the hospital, while I was still home from work.

Ellis (L) and Truett (R)

They also met their first cousin, Leona.  Leona was born on the same day that we stayed in the hospital to prepare to bring the boys home.  We came home with our babies on the same and they are exactly 5 weeks apart.

Ellis, Leona, and Truett

Can't believe how far we have come since their days in the hospital.  Looking forward to the months to come and cherishing the moments that we have had so far!