A Boy and His Cat...

We have two cats, and they couldn't be more different. They look alike and are brothers from the same litter, but otherwise they are completely opposite! Picasso is scared of the kids, and tends to stay away from them if he can help it. I can't say I blame him, really! Oliver on the other hand, seems to adore both Mara and EJ, and is always hanging out by them. Right now EJ loves Oliver too! They bonded together today...

EJ grabs ahold of his fur, but Oliver doesn't seem to mind!

He comes right back for more, head-butting EJ to try to get the little guy to pet him!

EJ decided he would even try a bite to see how Oliver tasted.... the poor baby has probably ingested a lot of cat hair recently, since Oliver is shedding like crazy!!

Como Zoo

We took a little trip up to Como Zoo on Saturday to check it out. I haven't been there since I was a kid, and all I remembered was Sparky the seal! It was a nice, hot day, so the zoo was packed, but we had a pretty good time checking out the animals!

Next time we'll plan to take a picnic lunch...I had been planning on it, but didn't end up happening...and food is ridiculously priced there!! Oh well..it's free to get in (they take donations), so I guess they have to make money somewhere!

Mara really loves giraffes, and had an absolute blast feeding one at the Minnesota Zoo last year. She looked at these and exclaimed "Raffs!" but otherwise wasn't super interested, I guess because we weren't that close to them, so it wasn't as exciting!

She's checking out the giraffes here. They held her interest for longer than any of the other animals at least!

We had to check out the giraffe statues too!

The gorilla was pretty entertaining (for me at least!). I'm pretty sure he was looking right at us because Mara was yelling about something. ;) I kept telling her to look at the 'big monkey' (she loves monkeys), and was corrected by a little boy -- 'that's a gorilla!' with a look that told me he thought I was pretty dumb. :)

EJ was pretty quiet the whole time...just enjoyed the ride! He fell asleep after we were there for awhile. He was a lot easier than Mara, who wanted in and out of her stroller the whole time!! :)

Overall, it was a pretty fun time. I'd like to go back again in the fall when it's a little cooler, and maybe a little less crowded.

Elijah is 4 months old!

But wait...I never even posted pictures from when he was 3 months old!!

So...here he is at 3 months old (June 16th)


And here he is from today, 4 months old!

He is getting so big! He is obsessed with his hands, and is also reaching for and playing with a few toys now. Mostly his giraffe and a moose rattle. Mara claims these are both hers, and I guess she is technically right...she did have both of them as a baby!

He loves smiling and laughing, and mostly watching Mara...she is very entertaining! He loves his jumparoo, and has even tried out his exersaucer a few times. He is constantly rolling around, and prefers to sleep on his tummy now. He is down to 4-5 bottles a day, which is nice, and he refuses to take a pacifier (which is ok, but sometimes I wish he would take one!).

The last four months have really flown by, and it's bittersweet seeing him grown and change so much!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Life with two kids is busy! I promise to try to update more soon. Right now we're just working on getting through each week! Things are getting a lot 'easier' though, now that EJ is getting a little bigger. He is so much fun, a happy baby for the most part, laughs so loud and grins all the time! It's so sweet! He is rolling both ways, and desparately wants to sit up and stand. He has a tooth threatening to push through. He just seems so much older than he is! He will be 4 months old next week.

Mara is keeping us on our toes, as usual. She is so much fun though too, she never ceases to make us laugh! She comes up with he funniest things to say! She loves her little brother, even though she doesn't pay much attention to him sometimes. She always has to give him a hug before bed, and always needs to know what he's doing.

I will update soon with new pictures of the two of them!

Baptism

We had Elijah baptised on May 30th. We had lots of family and friends there to celebrate with us, including his two godmothers Michelle and Laura. Elijah wore a gown that my great-grandmother made for my Grandpa when he was baptised. Many other family members have worn it since then also. It was gorgeous, and I was glad we were able to use it! My sweet boy looked like an angel in it!

Baptism was after mass, and by then, Eli was getting fussy. But, we made it through, and then were able to relax at home! Big day for him, and overall it went pretty well!

Just for Fun...

Some recent photos of the kiddos...

Yep, We're Alive

Life is busy, but we're still kicking!

We had some friends visit from Canada two weeks ago, and this past weekend we had Elijah's baptism. Never a dull moment! I'll share some pictures when I get a chance.

Elijah is 11 weeks old now, and I go back to work next week. I'm not thrilled about that! Jay will be home with the little guy until he finds a job, but we have no idea how long that might take...

Mara has stayed in daycare the whole time I was off, so her routine won't be changing much with me going back to work -- she'll just have to get up a little bit earlier!

Just trying to enjoy the last few days of my leave...