Welcome to Aidan and Jacob's corner!: Pass the squash, bananas, and peas please!

Our Kiddos!

Happy 6 months to the boys! (February 28). Amazing how times flies! So many things have happened over the past month and we are having so much fun watching the boys learn to play with their toys! Our biggest news is that the boys are now eating real food! We decided to buy a "baby food maker" and make all of their food ourselves. We started out with rice, oatmeal, and barley when they were about 5 1/2 months old and 2 days before they turned 6 months the boys were introduced to squash. I think that Gavin and I were way more excited about making the food for them than they were about eating it. Gavin carefully diced up the squash to the correct size for the food processor. We then watched patiently as our new machine steamed and then blended the squash into a yummy, pulverized food that the boys could enjoy. When the moment of truth came, we learned that Jacob LOVES to eat and Aidan...not so much. Jacob is now opening his month on his own, even moving his bib or fingers from his mouth when he sees the spoon coming. His legs and arms start to go crazy when he sees us coming at him with his bib. He knows he is going to eat! Aidan is still getting used to the idea of eating. He didn't do well with squash...had a little bit of a reaction and has had issues getting excited about eating since. He does like bananas and his oatmeal but we are working on improving his palate. The boys have tried squash, bananas, peas, and now sweet potato! I personally think that Gavin has more fun feeding them that they have eating. He is like a kid in a candy store when we go to look at all the baby food combinations to get ideas for the boys. He wants them to eat everything now! Patience, grasshopper.....

We also took the boys on a California adventure to meet their family and friends living there! After a week long trip the boys met over 65 people! Talk about a mad rush through that state! We are still trying to recover! The boys did great though. We drove to Modesto on Friday and stayed the night with my parents. The next morning we got up and took my grandma to Hanford to watch Katie play basketball and pick up the girls for the week. That night we headed back to Modesto to celebrate Christmas with my parents, step-grandfather, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. We had a great time! The next day we attended the baptism of our niece and got to see Gavin's sister! Later that afternoon, we met up with my mom and Roy for lunch with everyone, including my aunt and great aunt. There were 15 of us at lunch and we just passed the boys around to everyone. They loved it! Monday, we headed to my dad and step mom's office to meet everyone and then headed to lunch where a friend of mine surprised us! The next few days we spent in Hanford with my mom. We visited friends and took the boys to meet all of their sisters' friends at their schools! We also celebrated Valentine's Day and Katie and my mom's birthdays. We then headed to Modesto on Thursday for the night. We joined Nana's office staff for a luncheon and then spent some time with my grandma and cousin as well as our good friend, who also went back to my dad's with us for the evening. Nana joined us there too! The next day we met up with Gavin's sister, niece, and future brother-in-law, and then headed to the Bay Area to meet some good friends from high school for lunch. We then spent the night with Gavin's aunt and uncle and their kids. We had a belated Chinese New Year's dinner; his uncle from San Francisco also joined us. It was so much fun! It was a mad rush seeing everyone but we are glad that the boys got to meet more of the family that loves them. Can't wait to visit again in June!

The boys are growing and changing more and more each day. Aside from getting bigger, they are learning to do more and more each day. Both boys love to play in their saucer and their bouncer. They can pick things up and can move them from hand to hand. They can both roll over and we are working on sitting up on their own. Of course, everything goes in their mouths and we are waiting for the day when teeth finally peek through. They also love to sit in their Bumbo seats and their high chairs. Daddy likes to put them in a "High Chair Train" while he works in the kitchen and they love it. It amazes us each day to watch them learn and discover more and more about their world.