3 1/2 Months Old

My favorite pictures from the past couple weeks, Jack loves his daddy (and is interested in his hair):

The boys are continuing to grow like adorable little weeds.

Jack in a t-shirt once worn by my little brother:

(I imagine Jack is thinking, "yeah, I'm pretty darn cute, what of it?")

Steve and I are still very, very tired...

(I dunno, do Jack and I look tired to you?)

... but the boys are really good about going down to sleep at night and only waking for their middle-of-the-night feeding, so thank goodness for that.

Jack has stomach time on the twin pillow:

Steve and Jack read a magazine:

Jack has gotten pretty good at grabbing things and bringing them to his mouth, like his toy...

... and his blankets:

Jack also likes to "share" with (that is, throw in the general direction of) brother Henry:

Grab ball...

... shake...

... toss...

... and toy now sits with brother.

Happy Henry and reasonably amused Jack:

Nap time in the twin pillow, Jack with his bunny and Henry with his elephant:

Naptime with little monster and Mr. Mingo (Steve got them a stuffed flamingo from Ikea, Dad's such a softie):

Henry, lounging:

Pictures of Henry sleeping crack me up, so here's some more...

With Mingo:

In another one of my little brother's shirts from the '80's:

Yes, he seriously sleeps like this sometimes:

Awwww...

And one of Jack for good measure:

Brother time on the play mat in their retro shirts (Henry in foreground, Jack in background):

Coy smile from Henry:

Help, they've got me pinned! (Henry on lap, Jack in arm) 

Humoring Mom, The Offspring fan (Jack in white, Henry in grey): 

They've got me surrounded!

So fly, Henry:

Pretty Fly for a Little Guy, Jack:

Ew, Mom, stop it!

Post photo-shoot nap:

For the record, I did not cut Jack's hair, it's falling out and growing back in such a way that he looks like he had a trim.

Henry has become a very happy baby and developed a wide smile, which he uses frequently. It makes feeding him and soothing him pretty difficult when he grins from ear to ear in appreciation when you bring either bottle or pacifier to his mouth, causing the item to immediately fall back out. I have heard myself frequently saying in frustration, "Henry, stop smiling!" which makes me feel like the meanest mom ever.

Henry has also started to laugh, which sometimes results in him giving himself the hiccups which, while adorable, really distresses him. Poor thing.

Henry attempts to hold his own bottle:

Other hobbies include watching the ceiling fan (Henry in foreground, Jack in background):

Jack continues to build his sound vocabulary. He makes one sound which, if you're his delusional mother, sounds a little bit like "hi." He's an absolutely delightful child when he's well-rested and his anti-reflux medication has kicked in. Other times he's... well... challenging. He insists on being carried around a lot (sitting, even if being held and/or rocked, will simply not do) which, even with the ergonomic front-carrier we bought, is difficult for me. I've regained a lot of strength but my back is still very weak. Steve carries him as much as possible, but there are times I just have to do my best.

For instance, at bath time, Steve bathes one boy in our baby tub placed inside our bathtub (it'd be pretty much impossible for me to bend over the tub to bathe them), while I have the other boy in the front carrier (swaying and bouncing to keep him happy) as I shower the baby in the tub with the hand shower attachment. We found that the boys at this young age actually prefer showers to baths, so I keep the nice warm water on them while Steve soaps them up. We have it down to a science.

The boys were getting too big to comfortably share their crib (Jack on left, Henry on right)...

(The looks on their faces say to me "you've got to do something about this!")

... so now they each have their own crib (and it looks like we're running an orphanage out of our living room):

Eventually we'll be able to convert the cribs to toddler beds and the boys can use those until they are steady enough on their feet to climb into a bunk bed.

We're working on structured nap time, which is usually just fine with Henry but a bit more of a struggle for Jack... we'll get there. I captured the brief moment during my first attempt where they were actually both asleep:

Their personalities on full display while sleeping... Jack clutching his blanket, uncovering his feet after managing to peel off his socks somehow and squirming himself sideways, Henry splayed out without a care, exactly where I put him down. They are so incredibly different; it's fascinating to watch.