Will at 6 Months Old!

Will turned 6 months old on February 19th and had his check up last Monday. His stats: he is 27 inches tall (which places him at the 70th percentile) and weighs 16 pounds 9 ounces (30th percentile)...so I guess he's going to be tall and thin! He is extremely active and strong. He spends a lot of time playing on his stomach and has started to drag himself forward with his arms to reach one of his toys. He just started babbling this week with lots of ah-ba-bas and also lets out an occasional scream to test out his voice. Will now has two bottom teeth and has started to eat solid foods; he is a little skeptical still but he's starting to acquire a taste for it.

Here is a picture of Will showing off his new teeth.

And here he is in his Jumperoo, which continues to be a great "babysitter" in our house!

Finally, here is reading a book and just looking cute, which he does quite well, we think!

So as not to leave out the "big sisters," here are a few shots of the girls having fun. Natalie first, then Amanda.

A Walk In The Park

We had nice weather here in Sacramento this weekend, so it was a perfect time for a walk in the park. Here are all the kiddos, from youngest to oldest. Will first, sporting his new 'Lil Pirate ball cap. It's funny how one simple change in attire can make him look SO much older!

Next is Amanda who enjoyed posing for a few shots.

And, last, but certainly not least, is Natalie who we had to chase down for a picture....but she finally stood still for about 3 seconds to get the last shot below.

An Explosion

There has been an explosion at our house recently -- a language explosion, that is. Natalie and Amanda have had a large vocabulary for awhile, but at about 23 months they went from speaking in one-word statements to full-on sentences. And some of those sentences make us chuckle. Here are just a few:

• Natalie and Amanda's school is great at teaching good manners. While we try to emphasize "please" and "thank you" in our house, they are just more consistent about doing so at school. A good thing, of course. And Natalie and Amanda have both picked up on this. One of Natalie's favorite food is yogurt -- which she calls "oohh-gurt." So, we often hear "More oohh-gurt please" from her. But my favorite of the new manner-isms is Amanda's use of "thank you" and "welcome," which goes something like this. "Amanda, would you like more waffle?" Amanda: "More waffle, please." After giving her more waffle, her response: "thank you welcome" all rolled into one quick phrase.

• They recently have begun to appreciate good humor and will say, "That's funny, daddy" or "That's funny Na-nee." (Na-nee is what they both call each other. Originally short for "Natalie," I believe, but somehow Natalie decided it should be Amanda's "nickname," as well. So, they are both Na-nee to each other......)

• At nap time and bed time, now they tell us, "Bye bye mommy; bye bye daddy."

• Natalie loves soup and will often request it. After having oatmeal for breakfast once, she now requests "breakfast soup." I guess if it comes in a bowl, in her mind it must be soup!

• They have played "peek-a-boo" since they were little, but it's been revisited recently. We think maybe this is something they have been doing at school. Although it used to be "peek-a-boo," now they call it "peek-y-boo." Natalie will put her hands up to her eyes and walk around that way, all the while saying "peek-y-boo," "peek-y-boo." And, not to miss the action, Amanda will join her, but instead of putting her hands over her eyes, she puts them over her mouth and walks around saying "peek-y-boo mommy," "peek-y-boo" daddy." It looks a little bit like this: