Snapshots of life: June and July

June:

We have a mulberry tree in the back yard and William was in his glory going out there to pick and eat berries! 

Puppy in the "jumpy jumpy"

FINALLY comfortable in the water!

Nothing like a good boat ride :)

Bumpa's truck is the best

4th of July Weekend:

Saturday-

Kids' table

Eagerly waiting for fireworks

Sunday we went back to Kaite and Dan's house and decided to do some camping...in their backyard!

William adopted this car and was quite possessive of it.  Just wait, Kid, until Marcellus gets a little older and he'll give you a run for your money!

Our "campsite"

Monday-

We all went back to Mom and Dad's on Monday to celebrate the 4th with another cookout since everyone had the day off

Cousins and best buds

And the war continues...

Snapshots from a family shopping trip:

Random videos from July:

When he was just starting to crawl:

Outside fun!

Mr. Marcel

 

Marcellus standing himself up!

A couple weeks ago Zenith and I dropped the boys off at my parents and headed to Boston for a date night.  We went on a cruise along the harbor, strolled through Boston, and then found a bar/lounge with outdoor seating a had a drink, enjoying a lovely summer night together.  It was very refreshing to get out and because we had put the boys to bed at my parents and were staying over, we had no curfew!  Can't remember the last time that happened. :)

The boys have been having a ton of fun outside in our backyard this summer.  My landlord comes out and turns the sprinkler on and they have a blast!

As you saw in the videos, Marcellus is crawling (still using his elbows, but he's fast all the same!) and just a couple days ago started pulling himself up on things and standing!  Now that he's more mobile, the boys are more interactive with each other.  William loves to help me wherever he can, even trying to change Marcellus' diaper!  He has his own set of chores (putting his dishes in the sink, unloading the dryer, throwing things in the trash, cleaning up his books and toys when he's done, bringing dirty bottles to the kitchen to be washed) and loves helping.  Marcellus is a happy chap with a spark of mischief and so much personality.  He's much more adventurous than William ever was and is finally eating solids with less trouble.  He especially loves mangoes we discovered...this boy is his Daddy through and through. :)

If you could spare a few prayers, we'd appreciate it.  I'm heading toward a new treatment for the Lyme disease which looks promising.  We're waiting on results from tests that I sent in before I can start.  It's very new and still in the research phase which means it isn't covered by anything and is pretty expensive, so if you could keep us in your prayers for God's provision and guidance, we'd appreciate it very much!  We have been doing a 54 day Rosary Novena for some time and know that God will answer our prayers, even if it's not in the way we hope.  I've been praying for resignation throughout this and peace, regardless of my state of health.  It has affected my life so much, in ways I never expected, yet I know God would never ask more than He would give me the strength to handle and that thought is a comfort.  If Christ bore such a heavy cross, why shouldn't we follow in his footsteps, for "a servant is not greater than his master."  We have but to look to the Saints to see a shining example of peace and joy among many trials and sufferings because it was done all for the love of God.

I hope everyone's week is off to a good start!

~Lindsay

Snapshots of Life - May and June

Sorry I've been so negligent of my blog.  It's been quite a busy, sometimes rough, couple of months.  I haven't had much mental energy to sit down and write so I'll try to keep it simple with just some snapshots of what's been happening.

May:

Tess visited for a couple of weeks which was SO nice!  We all miss her a lot and love having her come.  I had pictures of the visit but I can't find them right now.

Beach time!

Mother's Day picnic

I couldn't resist!

And then some odds and ends:

My grandparents were in the area and were able to stop by for a visit which was nice!  William loved his Great Nana and Great Bumpa!

June:

Family vacation for the weekend to the mountains!

Makeshift bed for William

Marcellus' bed

View was fantastic!

And of course I had to hit the outlet shops and picked up this outfit for Marcellus. :)  Who could resist??

I have some more photos and videos for June and July which I'll upload later.

William update:

His language is really progressing!  I notice a big change while Tess was here and he had more exposure on a daily basis to language.  He speaks more in sentences and can express himself much more clearly.  His little imagination is blossoming as well and I love watching him play.  He entertains himself very well, but is getting better playing and getting along with other children.  He especially loves to interact with his brother!  He anxiously waits for Marcel to get up in the morning or wake from a nap and goes rushing in there when I give him the ok.  He has been completely potty trained for about a month and does really well with it.  The two boys sleep in the same room now and did pretty well with the transition.

Marcellus update:

This kid is growing so fast!  He is 19 lbs at 8 months old and quite long.  He has been sitting on his own for about a month and is a very happy, though active baby.  He has two bottom teeth which popped through last month.  He is much bigger than William was at this age and is wearing things William was at 12 months.  He started signing "milk" last month, though he doesn't do it regularly like William did.  And what a difference between the boys when it comes to eating!  William was eating anything and everything at 5 months, and this kid does NOT like food.  He has eaten some apples and bananas but it's been a struggle.  I've just been letting him try things and letting him decide when he's ready.  I keep offering things from time to time but I don't imagine it'll be anytime soon.

That's all for now.  I'll update with the rest soon!

Happy Monday,

~Lindsay

Just a quick update

Sorry these posts have been rather few and far between.  The Lyme treatment has been knocking me about a bit and makes even small things more difficult to do.  The foggy brain it creates makes it very difficult for me to put a coherent thought together, never mind a whole blog post.  I have moments when my mind is clear and I'd love to sit down and write (it can be therapeutic for me) but it always seems those moments coincide with a million other more pressing things to be done.  But such is life!  There hasn't been a lot going on anyway, so I'll try to keep you posted with pictures and videos, which speak for themselves better than I could right now.

Just a few things first on the boys; William is now in full fledged "boy" stage now and I am loving every minute!  It's so much fun interacting with him and watching him soak up everything.  He loves to learn new things and it amazes me how fast he picks things up.  This age is incredible with the rapid development that accompanies it.  He is potty trained except for at night.  He has finally learned to "hold it" while out but still wets himself while asleep so he wears a diaper to bed.

Marcellus is a happy little chap.  He loves watching the goings on and smiles whenever his brother is around.  William is very concerned when "Cellus" (how he says Marcellus' name) is upset and goes running up to him asking, "wha matter???  happen??"  It's so endearing to see how much they both already love each other.

Marcellus rolls all around and has a couple of times gotten up on his knees to scoot himself forward.  Other than that, I believe he will be following in his brother's footsteps and be a late crawler.  Our hardwood floors make it difficult since he doesn't like the feel of the hard floor underneath him and he's always rolling right off the mat or blanket we put him on and then getting upset he's rolled off.

He sucks two of his fingers when tired and is the easiest baby to make smile.  He smiles even when he's crying!

The weather is warming up and spring is in the air! (and allergies)  We've had a good amount of rain so hopefully we'll be getting out to do more with the nicer weather.

Hope you're having a good week!

~Lindsay