5 years and 5 months

The boys of Ingram School are growing and growing and growing.  Before they get any older, let me tell you all about what they can do these days!

Ford turned 5 years old this past Wednesday.  He is becoming such a confident little boy.  He has been learning to swim over the past few weeks and told us the other day to just go on and give Baxter his puddle jumper!  Once he got brave enough to try jumping in without and going under the water, he had no need to wear that cumbersome thing any more!!  He is an emotional roller coaster most days and is a man of extremes.  Everything is extremely great or extremely horrible to him at all times!!  He is definitely a pleaser and wants everyone around him to be happy.  If one of his sisters gets upset, he tries his best to find something to make them feel better (unfortunately that usually means the other sister gets upset...it's such a balancing act!).  He can't wait to officially start Kindergarten.  On the morning of his birthday he said, "Well, Mama, let's go ahead and do my school work so we can get on with the day."  I wasn't going to make him do any school work, but he was so excited to skip count by 10s and read a couple of Bob books.  He has started trying to read signs when we're driving around and figure out words in books as we're reading them.  I don't think he'll have any trouble becoming a reader this Fall.  He is such a sweet guy.  Love you,  Ford!

The other big boy around here was 5 months old at the beginning of June and is almost 6 months old!!  Talk about sweet....once we figured out his tummy troubles, this boy has gone back to being a super sweet toe-sucking, finger-licking, smiling and giggling happy guy.  Baxter is quickly learning to sit up and grab his toys.  He LOVES solid food and will eat anything.  Luckily, I've gotten him to eat some Mulit-Grain cereal so that he can poop more than once a week.  Fruits and veggies with no cereal creates lots of screaming from tummy trouble for him!  Other than cereal, he hasn't met a food he didn't like (feeding these four when they're teenagers is going to be outrageous!!).  I love this age because I finally feel like I can play with him and the other kids are having fun entertaining him.  He thinks they are all hysterical and especially loves to grab their hair and pull (that's usually when they stop entertaining!). If we can just get Bax to sit up in his little boat at the pool, we are going to have a great summer of swimming.  For now, though, he just likes one of us to hold him while the other one watches Ruby and then Ford and Rachel jump-in-get-out-jump-in-get-out-jump-in-get-out....

He is taking a regular morning and afternoon nap now and gets up twice in the night when we put him to bed at 7 with everyone else.  There are still some nights where he wakes more often than that, but we'll get there.  I know as soon as we get it straight, the teeth will start popping in and mess it all up.  No biggie, haven't slept in 6 years, why start now???

Love these boys!!