Movie Suggestions?

We've done it.  We've gone and joined the "cool crowd" and signed up for our one-month free trial with Netflix.  What is the first movie the boys have chosen to watch?  A Daffy Duck flick.  Of ALL the movies and fabulous new kid shows they could have chosen from they chose a cartoon that was made in 1983.  So be it. 

We've also got our first DVD headed our way in the mail - it is 3 Idiots, an Indian movie.  Not a good title but it was actually a decent movie from what I could tell.  Biju watched this with his brother, Bino, while in India but it didn't have subtitles so I didn't get to really watch it with them.  I've got a couple other Indian movies lined up for our Instant Queue along with some kids movies.  I'm very excited to have this awesome tool in our entertainment tool-kit! 

So!  What are some good movies you've seen?  We like comedy, drama, family, foreign and the occasional action.  And they don't have to be new releases - we're game for older movies that we may have missed. 

(While we're here I'll pass on the title of an Indian movie that I really enjoyed:  Like Stars on Earth [Taare Zameen Par].  Very sweet.  If you don't mind watching a movie with subtitles then this would be a great flick to check out.) 

Do tell! 

Our week

Over the last week or so this is pretty much what we've been up to.

Alex chit-chatting on the phone w/ Aunt Shelly.

Ajay helping me de-stem some gooseberries.

This is about as far as we've gotten - I need to finish up and do something with them!

Making an I-Spy toy as a birthday gift for a friend.

Can you find a yellow balloon?  (And about 25 other items tucked in there.)

Alex told me he was cold all over - even the top of his head!

Holding Aren

Aren wasn't as freaked out as he appears in this photo.

(You can see my hand on the left side of the photo, helping Alex keep a hold on Aren.)

Daddy keeping him company during a get together w/ friends.

How I've been holding Aren lately.

Easiest way to get him to conk out.

18 months between Audrey and Aren.

Once she got a taste of baby-holding she wanted MORE.

Uncle Carrick got a turn.

Nana getting some snuggles in.

The pack-n-play bed "holding" Aren (with the help of my nursing pillow and a blanket).

The bouncy seat finally getting a turn to hold Aren - only briefly, though.

(These pictures have been added in no particular order.)

My Three Sons

I thought it would be fun to put pics of all three boys up in similar poses around the same ages.  Enjoy!

Ajay w/ the parents at birth:


Alex w/ the parents at birth:


Aren w/ the parents at birth:




 

Sleeping at the hospital: 

Ajay

Alex

Aren

 Sleeping at home in the nursing pillow:

Ajay

Alex

 

Aren

Tummy Time: 

Ajay

Alex

Aren

 Diapers

Ajay

Alex

Aren

 Early smiles:

Ajay - judging by his chubs he was probably closer to 2 months here.

Alex - 2 days before his one month mark.

Aren - an accidental sorta-smile.  He has given us his first grin - 1 day before his one month mark but I didn't have the camera out. 

My love-hate relationship with diapers

Cloth Diapers:  
I love them because they are so much healthier than disposable diapers. (for baby and environment)
I love them because they are so much cuter on a baby than disposable diapers.
I hate them because after three children I still cannot find the best wash routine and either have detergent build up or pee build up.  Neither one are fun to have since they both can cause a rash.

Disposable Diapers:
I love them because I don't have to deal with finding the right wash routine.
I hate them because they are so unhealthy for baby and environment. 
I hate them because they are worthless for containing big poo messes and they ruin cute baby clothes!!

You know.... When Alex was just under a year old, I briefly considered and looked into elimination communication (EC).  It wasn't something I actually implemented but maybe I will with Aren.  I'm so done with dealing with diapers.  Wouldn't it be nice to have a diaper free baby?? (I'm not affiliated with that second link, just wanted to provide anyone out there with an interest in EC a resource to check into.) 

That's all I have to say about that.  (For now.)

4 weeks old

Is that possible??  The last 4 weeks of my pregnancy draaaagged by and the first 4 weeks of Aren's "out of the womb" life has just zoomed by.  Goodness gracious.

He's such a sweetheart, we've decided we'll keep him (ha ha).   We can usually count on at least 5-6 hours of sleep during the night (typically 10pm-4am or so).  Such a change from Alex's pattern of waking to nurse every hour and a half.  He's gaining weight, though I don't know how much he weighs right now.  I just know he's filling out and the newborn sleeper I put him in earlier (for the above photo) is starting to get snug (could be the bulk of the cloth diaper helping to make it snug, too). 

This was more like 3 weeks old, but it was his first "tummy time" so I wanted to share :)

Snoozing on our bed.

Getting some cuddle time w/ the big brothers.

All three together - actually on his 4 week mark.

We've discovered he likes the Mai Tai wrap better than the Ring Sling.  I feel more comfortable using the MT at this age - wearing him tummy to tummy makes it easier to check and make sure he's still breathing!

With my hand on his back, just to get a good "size" picture - and look, he's still able to wear his newborn prorap diaper cover!

Look at that darn baby acne on his handsome face :(   Go away, baby acne!!

And I had to throw in a shot of the big brothers that I took today!  

Baby's first bath

Well, he actually had a shower first.  Okay, I guess technically he had his first bath at the hospital.

Then he had his first shower.  I brought him into the shower with me before his bellybutton stump fell off completely, just to give him a good rinse.  Then after his stump fell off he was able to get his first official bath at home.  While my mom was staying with us for a few days, I had Biju get out the baby bathtub from storage.  Here are some photos I got of the little guy.  He really did enjoy sitting in the warm water.  He was quite calm.

(I may not be getting pictures of Aren every 5 minutes like I did with our first born, but I do think I'm keeping up with getting the "firsts" and other important shots, along with a handful of "just for fun" photos.  I hope you don't mind me sharing some with you!) 

Keeping occupied

School is out and summer is here.  Now what?  So far, the boys have been waking up, watching a bit of PBS, going outside to play before it gets too hot, then coming back in to dance to some music, play with play dough, beat each other up, etc.  I've been trying to come up with some activities for the boys to do, but I think they need more.  I guess it's time to check the library's schedule and a few other things around town to find some things to do on the cheap (or, more preferably, free!).  Anyone have any great ideas?

Here are a few things they've been doing:

Playing memory

Hanging on the laundry line (and getting told not to for the emp-teenth time).

Showing off some karate moves.

They set up this bike in a rut so it worked like an exercise bike - they could ride all day and never leave our backyard!

I got a great idea from a blog I follow and cut out two letter As for the boys to decorate.

Decorating the letter A.  I even let them play with glue and (ack!) glitter.

Playing ball with Nana while she was visiting.

Early morning shenanigans.

Nana has a Netflix account and let the boys watch Planet 51 on the computer.

A couple of giraffes eating trees.  (Or - a couple of boys eating broccoli.)