The boys and their Friends

These pictures are some I have taken with friends of ours that we try to spend time with. Josh and Jessica Rabuck came down a couple weeks ago and had dinner with us. Their children Isaac and Grace are abour Kenan and easton's ages. Josh has been friends with Nick since Middle school and they still try and stay in touch as much as possible.

The twins are Eli and Ethan Shepherd, sons of Alison and Quinn. They are a couple in our small group that have been friends with us for about three years. Ali and I were due two days apart, but her boys were born three weeks before Easton. They are moving back to Indy, so we will miss them, but hopefully we stay connected.

Finally, the cute little girl is Kenan's best friend Isabelle. I have babysat her since she was three months old and they just love each other.

4 1/2 mnths

I can't believe that it is already the middle of May. Time has gone by fast this spring and the boys are getting big. Easton has started really reaching for his toys and playing with them (mostly chewing them, but it is a start). He has started to sit in his exersaucer and seems to like that. He still leans forward some, but if I put blankets around him he can't reach the toys. Since he doesn't seem to mind I just leave it that way. We have been going to the park multiple days out of the week. I think Kenan could live there. Especially the ones with sand. Easton is still a bit little for the swings, but he has gone done a slide on my lap. My parents are getting ready to open their pool, so I'm sure that will be the other thing that will be occupying most of our time. I just have to watch being out in the sun too much.

Easton still has a pretty good schedule. This past weekend has been a little different because he has been waking up multiple times each night( and he didn't even really do that much as a baby), but I think he may be teething. The doctor said it could be soon, and I remember Kenan waking up at night a week or two before I actually felt a tooth.

Last weekend was mother's day and we had Easton dedicated at church. We went up during the service with the other parents, but we also had a private ceremony afterward that was a bit more intimate. We did that with Kenan and I really enjoyed it. It gives your family a chance to be there to support the child and to lift them up in prayer with you.

The next couple of weeks will be a whirlwind, but I am looking forward to them. Kenan's birthday is on Friday and we are having a party for him on Sunday. Nick finishes up school this week, so he will be home next week to help get ready for our trip to California. We leave on the 30th of may to go to San Diego to have a joint vacation with my sister and her husband and daughter. I am getting really excited.

The older brother

Although I started this blog to update Easton and his growth and changes, it is nice to be able to post what is going on with Kenan and the rest of the family as well. This past weekend, Kenan went to Jonathan Kelle's 4 year birthday party. It was the first birthday party that he has attended where the kids played games, sat at a table together to eat their cake and snacks, and then watched the guest of honor open the presents. It was cute to see him interact and participate with the other kids.

One of the things Kenan loves to do right now is go to the park to play. He got a couple of sand toys for Easter and we will take those with us when we are going to a park that has sand. He could play with those for hours. The other day we crammed everything in when we went to Price Park and played in the sand, on the playground, flew kites, and blew bubbles with my sister and Kenan's friend Isabelle. All was good except that we lost one of the kites to the wind after flying it only once. After blowing about a 100 ft from us, it then proceeded to get caught in a tree and we were unable to get it out. That was the one that flew the best, too.

4 mnths old

Yesterday Easton turned 4 mnths old. Wow, time has flown by. The day before he rolled over from his back to belly for the first time. He has been working on it for awhile now, because he would roll to his side to suck his thumb. Progressively he just got further and further over on his belly. Now he just needs to learn to roll back because he doesn't like being on his stomach for very long, and unless it is an accident he can't go the other direction. He is definitely drooling like crazy now. I have resorted to using the bibs some of the time even though I hate covering up cute outfits. It beats changing him every hour. I am glad the weather has been nice. We have been going to the park 2-4 times a week and staying there for a couple of hours. I will pack a lunch most of the time so that if the Kenan falls asleep on the way home I can just put him down for his nap. Easton still is a bit variable with the naps because of his eating schedule. Their naps don't always coincide, but we are working on it. You will probably see many pictures with Easton in hats in the future posts because since Easton has so little hair, I don't want his head to burn. I didn't have to worry about that with Kenan because he had so much hair.

15 weeks

Easton is now 15 weeks old and time is sure going by fast. He is doing more and more every day. For the last two weeks or so he has been sleeping about 9 hours at night. He still has a later bedtime than most babies by this time, but it works for us. He goes to bed around 10 and gets up around 7. His naptime is starting to regulate into longer morning and afternoon naps with more awake time in between. He has been laughing a lot lately and he is drooling up a storm. I have started to use bibs even though I don't like them. I don't want to have to change his shirt all of the time. He also loves to suck on anything. His pacifier, thumb, fingers, whatever, it is always in his mouth. I think he is getting closer to rolling over as well because he is moving side to side a lot more. I know it will still be a little bit, but he is getting stronger. Kenan is excited because he has started holding his toys and playing with them some. Kenan loves to interact with him and he always is saying "I love you soooo much."

Easter

We started out our Easter the week before at an Easter egg hunt at McCutchanville Park. It was put on by the church up the road, but a lot of the people in the surrounding neighborhoods came. Kenan seemed to have a lot of fun, and they had plenty of eggs so everyone was able to get some. Afterward they served hotdogs, chips, and drinks, as well as promoted their upcoming easter services. Easton came as well, but all he got to do was watch and then get a picture taken with the Easter Bunny.

During the week leading up to Easter we had our own easter egg hunt at the Helms with Kenan and Isabele(the girl I watch) and dyed eggs. On Sunday we did the traditional Helm breakfast out. This was Easton's first myear and it could be the last. Since we don't go to a Sunrise service anymore, we may do something different because those who work at the church have to rush off early to get to church. That evening we went to the Wade's and had another Easter egg hunt with some of the second cousins. It was good getting to see everyone. Some of Nick's family had not met Easton yet.

I wish I could say that the church service was awesome as well, but I was in the car the whole time enforcing a time out because we are having some trouble with Kenan going to class and this was a new tactic we are trying. Nick also missed a portion of the service because Easton had a blowout and it got all over him and all over Nick. Luckily I had a change of clothing, but Nick had to walk around with the stain on his shirt and suit. All in all it was a good holiday.

12 weeks old

For the past two weeks Easton has done really well with his sleep. I have started putting him down for the night around 10:30 and he normally sleeps until 7 or 8. He occasionally will still wake up around 4:30, but that has become less frequent each day. I am looking forward to spending a bit more quality time with the boys. Since Easton has been born, Nick has had basketball and I had drama. They are both finally over and we are in our off season. We love what we do, but are glad for the break as well. This past week Easton has started laughing some when he smiles at you. He is also drooling now and he chews on his hands constantly. Another thing that he has started doing is holding and recognizing his toys more. I think Kenan likes this.