hike and updates

I suck my two middle fingers just like Samuel does! I promise, my parents are not teaching us to do this!!!!
Joanna at 4 mos. Her hair is light brown, straight, fuzzy, and stands straight up (I know, no explanation needed if you are looking at this picture). As her hair gets longer, it just stands up higher and higher.

Baby Joanna was touching Samuel and it was tickling him. He was just laughing and playing with her here....
and here--so cute when they are together!
on a hike with Daddy (and Mommy & Joanna)

Joanna is now 4 months old and is coming out of her colicky phase. The colic is pretty much why there have not been many blog posts--just pictures. Right now we are all sick with colds, but are starting to get better. This afternoon, we took a 'hike' out to the 'wilderness' behind where we live. Samuel on Rudi's backpack and Joanna in the baby Bjorn. The kids LOVED it, though we're not surprised as they both love being outside. I have included 2 pics from the hike, though unfortunately there is no pic of the 4 of us.

Joanna now can roll over both ways, though she's new at it and doesn't do it consistently. She has a sweet laugh and smiles a lot when in a good mood. When I get home from work (only 2 days a week), she looks at me and smiles constantly. She loves grabbing things and putting them in her mouth. She got her first tooth at 2.5 months old, but that is still the only tooth she has.

Joanna and Samuel both love each other and it is rewarding to watch their relationship grow, even as they are this young! She loves watching him and he loves interacting with her. We pretty much have a constant commentary on what she is doing, all in Samuel's words...."The baby is blowing you..." (meaning she's breathing on him), "she's touching your blanket...." and so on. He does not like her crying and asks me to pick her up or nurse her if she is crying.

Samuel talks more and more. He has been talking in full sentences for quite a while and he cracks us up constantly. Rudi and I both agree that 2 is such a fun age! Yes, there are temper tantrums, but Samuel is generally a sweet 2 year old who loves words and is reserved around those unfamiliar to him. Right now, he loves to contradict what we are saying by changing statements we make. Example: Mommy: "Would you like milk or water." Samuel: "juice." Mommy: "Juice is not one of the choices." Samuel: "Juice IS one of the choices."

Recently, I became worried about his social skills as he gets very cranky in large groups of people, especially those he doesn't know well. So recently, we have been making more of a conscious effort to have him play with the other toddlers on the street (there are many of them, and we love their sweet parents as well, so it is a good thing all around).