Five years ago (wow, 5! really?!), Andrew and I were travelling through Germany. It was the week before Easter, and we kept noticing beautiful colored eggs hanging from trees in the front yards. The next year, we decided to bring this German tradition home, and every year since, we've been hanging eggs in the tree. We haven't noticed the trend catching on in our neighborhood yet, but we sure have fun with it every year, especially this year, as we get to share our "very own" family tradition with our son. Frohe Ostern! (Happy Easter!)
For those not in the area, we've been hit with days and weeks of rain, seemingly never-ending! No better excuse however to stay indoors and play on the floor! Arjen still seems intent on bypassing the tummy-time play, but he did stay posed just long enough for me to snap this shot (sorry for the quality...phone picture)
surf's up dude! (it's a surfboard shaped mat)
He's more than happy however to work on sitting!
This kid most definitely has some stories to tell as well...he's recently figured out he can make new sounds by chewing/sucking in his bottom lip, utilizing some of those handy spit bubbles...
Gone are the days of this kiddo crying when he gets shots. He is a rockstar! He didn't make a peep, and hardly noticed the first one, then he barely cried after the second. He was back to smiling and laughing within minutes. Man! am I a lucky, lucky mom!
Length for age
Weight for Age
Shock of all shocks...he's getting taller by the month...last month was only 25th percentile and now he's 53rd! Still hanging around 20-25th for weight. Not bad for a premie, eh?
Proof that he does eat:
He hasn't quite mastered the self-feeding yet, but he's definitely trying! We're practing bottle-feeding to make sure he'll still eat when Mom goes back to work in a couple weeks. :( Leaves me hands free to update the blog though! :)
It delights me to have the ability to share these little blips of my days spent with Arjen. Every day now it seems like he is suprising me with new skills or insights into his personality. Among some favorites...
"Arjen the monster munch" (One of his many nicknames has been "munch" which started as an abbreviation of munchkin, but has coincidentally been very appropriate as he now attempts to put any and everything in his mouth):
"Arjen the dog lover" (He just recently started really noticing the dogs and laughing or smiling at them. In this video, it's the first time I've seen him actually reach for one!):
"As yet, untitled" And finally...drumroll puh-leez.....
YES! HE IS STARTING TO SIT! That was a solid 3 second long video people. Sweet Holy Moly!
Hard to believe that 5 months have passed us by! It just amazes me that kids don't learn to speak until they've already been around for a couple of years. I feel like he communicates so well already! He has definitely found his voice, sometimes gibbering about whatever it is that excites him for minutes at a time. Arjen is starting to sit unsupported for a few seconds at a time, although gravity still wins that one hands down (well, no hands down really - that's how gravity wins!). Today however, marked a new milestone!!! I can officially say that Arjen has learned to roll over. He repeated it enough times, that I was actually able to catch it on camera - on the first take even! For your viewing pleasure (oh, you may want to make sure the volume is down...he was slightly less than thrilled with this one):
Earlier today, our friends Nandita and Frits came over to play. The 2 month age difference between these two is definitely becoming less obvious already!
simon says "lift your legs!"
simon says "wave your left arm!"
"dude, so like, uh, your sister is really hot"
When we were in Wisconsin, I used my camera phone to take pictures of a bunch of Andrew's baby photos. This probably won't show up too well, but worth a shot (but how impressive is it, that a picture of a circa 1975 photo, taken with a camera phone can be posted online??)...anyhow...I wanted to show the history of the winter suit...
I must admit, I experienced a whole new, overwhelming sense of motherly pride this past week. Arjen and I took our first plane ride together, and we survived! Not only did we survive it, we received a great compliment on the plane from another passenger: "Sorry, but I think you're cursed with the cute baby syndrome...I don't think you saw it, but every time he made a face or looked around, there were tons of smiling faces looking right back at him!" Arjen did about as well as I could have hoped for; he laughed, smiled, cooed, slept, and he at least waited until we were off the plane to explode out of his diapers!
Proof of my happy, sleeping child on the plane:
And a little bit of fun while packing:
"Mom! When you said you were carrying me on, I didn't think you meant in the suitcase!"
Before we left for Wisconsin however, Wisconsin (well, Minnesota) came to us! Adam and Shannon made a stop in Oakland en route to Cabo and we're so glad they did!
playing with Uncle Adam
que paso mi amigo?!
relaxing with Aunt Shannon
Once in Wisconsin, we had a great time. We got to visit with Grandma Cherie and Grandpa Wayne, Uncle Arden and Aunt Tracy, and COUSINS!!! Arjen got to finally meet his first cousins Aden (almost 6) and Adalin (almost 4). We all tagged along to Aden's school's Barn Dance Friday night, then spent some quality play time at Grandma and Grandpa's house the rest of the weekend. On Saturday, he got to meet Great Aunt Diane and Great Uncle Leonard, and Dad's cousin Jason, his wife Tami, and their daughter (2nd cousin?) Mazie (18 mos). They all came over to visit, and to help celebrate Arden's birthday. Unfortunately, a small blizzard kept us from getting to visit with the Treptow clan on Sunday, but we did get to spend some extra time with Arden and crew on his actual birthday, and Arjen got to play in the snow for his first time. :)
"Am I ready to go outside yet?"
"Okay, I have my hat on. Now can I go outside?"
Aden gets his groove on
time to refuel
Arjen has the amazing capacity to sleep thru really loud music...just like his mama
Arjen showing off his head control (while totally being sucked into the TV I hate to admit), with cousin Jason
Three generations of Anderson men (and yes, the two belonging to me are matching)
Add a great-grandma and you get four generations!
My brawny men in their square shirts
Hold on tight Arjen!
Meta playing dominos with her kids
From that angle, you can really see the resemblance between Addy and Arjen
Getting his first tick mark on the wall at Gma Cherie's!
You get weighed too
Adalin "holding" Arjen. She was very excited for this, until he wiggled, then her arms retracted fast! Glad Aunt Tracy was smart and stayed close by!
Mazie gives the bouncy chair a whirl
Happy birthday Arden!
Great Uncle Len, Jason, and Tami. They swear the mess isn't theirs. "The kids did it!"
Playing memory with Grandma and Adalin
Getting a bath old school style and loving it!
Too cool for the crib...gotta take the bed!
just a little snow
peeking out the window at downtown Elkhart
brothers and cousins
please note the retro snowsuit Arjen inherited from dad!
singing with Gma
Grandma, Arjen, and Frosty
"I think I could eat your nose!"
If you've stuck around long enough to get through all of these photos, here's a little dessert for ya...
