"They did the Mash..."

"They did the Monster Mash."
Today at daycare the kids will be attending a Monster Mash Halloween celebration. They got to wear costumes to school. I think I'm more excited about this fact than they are. I thought I'd get a picture of the kids before we left the house this morning.

Mama - "Okay guys. Scarlett. Can you climb in the chair. Okay. Thank you Bubs. Good listening. Here's Holden (plop). Now smile!"
Mama - "Hold on Bubs. Holden's not smiling. Scarlett. Scarlett. Look at the camera. Scarlett!"
Scarlett - "Holden! SMILE!!"
Scarlett - "He's smiling mama! CHEESSSSEEEEEEEE!"My little pumpkin and my little princess girl.

Pumpkin Picking

Holden turns 5 months!!

Holden turned 5 months old yesterday. I seriously cannot believe how big he's getting. He woke up one morning with a full head of hair. I kid you not. He didn't have hair and then, one morning, he just did. He's also doing awesome with solids. He eats lunch and dinner now...and he is so incredibly messy that he requires a complete outfit change after every meal. Bibs do nothing. Or...we just let him eat like this... Holden is a complete and total mommy's boy. And I love it.
His grunty little giggle has morphed into a full out laugh. And, again, I love it.

Holden loves his big sister. But seriously...how could he not? Especially when she's always begging us to put him in her "laps." (Why Scarlett pluralizes the word "lap" in beyond me.) He's blowing raspberries. He's gabbing up a storm. He loves to play with his toys. And...he's still a beast...but we don't mind. How could we?

Carrots are totally AWESOME!!

I didn't quite know what to expect when we introduced Holden to carrots yesterday. After my last "carrot introduction" with Scarlett, I certainly was not expecting Holden to LIKE them. He ate the entire container. I don't think Scarlett EVER finished an entire container of baby food...even when she was close to a year. We always scooped out about half and put the rest in the fridge for later. Holden would have eaten more if I'd have let him.
And I don't even know why this came as a surprise. The kid is a beast. Of course he's going to like to eat. Duh.

New hat

Holden is probably the most photogenic kid on the face of the planet. For some reason, I get about a bazillion pictures of this kid on a daily basis...all of which are pretty good, if I do say so myself. (And I just did.) With Scarlett, I feel like I take 400 pictures and then immediately delete 398 of them. I'm sure this is because Holden can't move yet. He has no other option BUT to look at the camera and be cute - so if he has to do it anyway he may as well do a good job at it, right? Exhibit A:But the fun doesn't stop there folks. And the fun gets a lot funnier. Please examine Exhibit B:Exhibit C:And Exhibit D:This mini photo shoot of Holden in his new hat was probably the funniest thing that's happened to me in quite some time. (I know. I need to get out more. But that's besides the point.) I would take a picture, crack up, take a picture, sigh adoringly, take a picture, and crack up.
And because it really is an awesome hat and I want you to see it in its glory, Exhibit E:It's got a robot on it. A robot. I will seriously cry when he outgrows this hat.

All decked out

New shirt from Nan + ...New bling from Grandma = ...A very, very happy toddler.

Radhika's 2nd birthday party!

Last Saturday we went to Radhika's 2nd birthday party. There was a lot of little girl playing going on...and it was adorable. In fact, they were so busy playing with each other that they kept each other busy for the entire party. They played with stuffed animals.And they played with babies and bags and strollers and went to both "the beach" (according to Scarlett), and "Mami," or Miami (according to Radha). They took turns carrying the bag. They took turns pushing their babies. And then Alex came to the party and they ALL played with babies and bags and strollers and anything else girly that they could get their hands on. And while they were sitting there on the couch talking about babies and bags and strollers and "the beach" and "Mami," I couldn't help but think that one day they'd be sitting here talking about boys...and just how icky those boys are. (I'm not getting too far ahead of myself just yet.) But the girls weren't the only ones doing all the playing. Holden and Noah were playing too. Noah is exactly one week older than Holden. And I'm sure by the time Radhika turns three, Holden and Noah will be running around together playing with trucks...and tormenting the three girls which will probably initiate the girls' conversation about just how icky boys are. And here is Auntie Joyce with Holden. Please notice her "Gwen-belly." She is due with baby Gwenyth any day now, and we can't wait! Even Scarlett is excited. And if you ask Scarlett what kind of baby is in Auntie Joyce's belly, she'll reply "a pink baby!" And she's right. Kind of. Holden has been waiting very patiently for Gwen to get here. Yay birthday parties! And yay new babies!

Bath time!

Holden took his first bath in the real bath tub with Scarlett last night. He was quite pleased with himself. Admittedly, I was kind of excited for this. In my personal opinion, it doesn't get much cuter than two kids in a tub. And if they happen to be your two kids in a tub - then that's just about as cute as it can get. Ever. Holden loved reaching into the water for the bubbles and rubber ducks. I thought Scarlett might not want to share "her" tub and bath toys, but she was thrilled. So thrilled, in fact, that she wanted to make it her personal responsibility to wash Holden. We had to clear that up really quick. Holden was quite content just sitting in the tub holding on to his duck and/or washcloth with his big sister right next to him. Scarlett was quite content making sure Holden had a duck and/or washcloth to hold, while trying very hard to "wash" Holden while I wasn't looking. And I was quite content watching them do all of this together...while taking about 3 zillion pictures to document it. Ahh...my little guys.