Just around.

Hutchinson on a walk with Daddy...he is really starting to look old and rarely rides this way on a walk.  He usually is out of his car seat and just looking at the world like a big boy.

Seriously.

So happy!

Love this smile...sometimes he has a cheesy smile...so cute.  Here is a Finnean when he started to get his cheesy smile.  Do you think they look alike?! 

Sweet, big brother.

Finnean was trying to get Hutchinson to push him in the cart...I don't think so.

Big boys getting some vitamin D!

This is how far behind I am on the blog...Finnean made rainbows to send to his friends for St. Patty's Day...yes it is now the middle of April!!

He loves to paint!

Hutchinson loves to read!  He is really good at using his feet to assist him in reading, as you can see her. 
{Thanks Karen A. for the super cute outfit...he fits now and is so cute! :) }

I just can't get enough of his little face!

This is from March Maddess, we were getting ready for the big ISU game.  The Cyclones ended up losing in the second round. 

Hey, can I have a bite of that?!

WOW!  Can you believe how long he is!  It is just amazing to me how big he is getting, so fun to watch him grow!

GO CYCLONES!

Goodness, I love this boy.

EIGHT MONTHS!

Holy guacamole.  Hutchinson is EIGHT MONTHS old! It is so hard to believe.  He is so much fun.  He is happy.  Just flat out a happy guy.  We are so thankful for that!  Everyone says 6-9 months is their favorite baby stage.  He is living up to that standard.  He loves to roll around and has started to do less army crawling and more inch-worming.  Finnean says he looks like a caterpillar...her really does!!  He can wave!! It is the cutest little thing.  He has started to get his clapping down.  He talks and talks and squeals and yells and grunts.  It is so funny to watch him talk with Finnean. (We have had to ask Finnean to be sure to talk like a big boy and not a baby!)  He gives "high fives" and it is pretty sweet.  If he is tired, that is about the only time he fusses.  He is still nursing...yah!!  We think he is still gaining weight, we haven't been back to the doctor for a while.  This past month he was sick with a yucky cold for much of it.  He had eye drops and was allergic to them...so that was no good.  Thankfully he is feeling better and hoping that stuffy nose stays away!  He weighed in at 16 pounds on March 12th.  He went from the 1% to the 15% on the growth chart in just over a month!  WHOOO!!  He has started being "shy."  If someone he doesn't know looks in his car seat, he kind of tucks his head down and looks at them with one eye...just a bit leary...then flashes them a smile!  He LOVES to get a reaction, all the little ladies at church try to make him smile, he does and then grins at their reaction of cheers.  It is pretty sweet.  He loves hanging with his family and going on walks.  We may or may not have heard him say MaMa and DaDa...I am sure that it wasn't directed at us but he is getting some new sounds.  He also has amazing timing when it comes to responding to something you have said to him.  Seems like he is really carrying on a conversation!  It sounds like he says HI a lot :)  He is wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 6-9 month clothes.  He is still waking up most nights to eat once, but has teased me with sleeping til 5 or 6 a few nights!  I have wished and wished for him to sleep through the night and then he did and he STAYED awake!! So, it kind of backfired on me.  I would rather get up and feed him and then have him sleep til 7.  5 and 6 am and I are really not friends.  He wakes up happy and it is about the sweet thing to hear him talking in his crib.  He takes 3 naps a day and sleeps pretty well for naps.  He does a good job eating solids and started with some finger foods...it is about to get messy here!  He is just a fun little guy and we can't believe that he has been in our family for eight months!!  Here are some pictures from his little 8 month photo shoot...enjoy! 

Love his little legs rolls!!

Deep in thought.

Love his little open-mouth smile!

Drool.

This is my favorite picture from the shoot. It just captures what we see most of the time---a happy, happy boy!!

F.I.N.N.E.A.N.

Finnean has been able to spell the letter in his name for quite a while now but just last week he surprised me by writing the whole thing!  He had the F and the I down but that N kept getting him.  Last week I asked him to sign his name on the card we made for Michael and he just did it-I didn't help him at all!  Pretty cool stuff!  Way to go, Finnean Michael Wagler!  His new feat...he can spell Hutchinson's name.  It is so cute :)

Sleep.

Sleep is something that we are trying to get enough of here. Finnean is finally back to being a good sleeper and Hutchinson is on his way, well I hope anyway!! They are sharing a room and it is going well. Nap time is down to a science and usually both sleep anywhere from 1 1/2 -3 hours. That is good thing! Hutchinson still wakes up once (usually) at night and it doesn't seem to bother Finnean. If he does wake up, he goes potty and then right back to sleep. Speaking of pottying, Finnean is a rock star. He does such a great job wearing big boy undies and LOVES his new Spiderman ones. It is amazing what can make that little boy's day.  Now back to sleep talk.  Check out these sweet boys. 

Hutchinson officially sleeps on his belly.  He has no interest in sleeping on his back.  He has the little butt up in the air thing going and he just looks so cute.  You might notice two pacis.  We read that somewhere that you should put more in the crib, then if he wakes up he can find it on his own.  I have no idea if he actually finds the other one but it is worth a shot!  He can put himself to sleep when he goes down to bed and for naps but in the middle of the night he doesn't.  Maybe we don't let him cry long enough...who knows.  SOMEDAY he might sleep through the night :)

He doesn't wear these all the time...but he does keep them on his bed.  If it gets loud, he just puts them on!  Pretty genius if you ask me.  Please note the toy that is right by his head.  The other day during nap I found him playing a game on the camera he got for Christmas...little turkey!  You can you usually find 5 or 6 books in his bed as well.  He has about 3 little flashlights sitting by his bead too.  They are supposed to be for reading ONE book after we tuck him in :)  I am guessing that is not the case.  The positive thing is, he  doesn't scream for us from his bed anymore.  He runs to the bottom of the stairs and whispers for us, it is almost kind of creepy when he does it.  Thankfully, he changed this habit, so it does not wake up the little one. 

Goodness...they are cute!! I see little H starting to look like them in this one.  They were snuggling up and reading a few books before bed.

As you can see, Hutchinson was ready to go to bed!  He usually goes down about 7 and Finnean around 8 :) 

Warm weather + Finnean = Happy boy (and that means a happy Mom!)

What do you do when it is almost 75 degrees in March?  You play outside!  We played golf, soccer, chase (which consists of Finnean running around while I chase him), football and finished up with some sidewalk chalk.

We also looked for planes...one of Finnean's favorite things to do. 
He said..."Take a picture of that airplane!!!!"

Isn't he awesome? 

PS-Hutchy played for a little bit with us and then went down for his late afternoon nap :)

head shots.

Love his little toothy smile!  He is getting so good at sitting up and looks like such a big boy!  Speaking of being a big boy, he gained ANOTHER ten ounces over the past week.  So he is up to 15 pounds and 5 ounces!  Way to go, Hutchinson!!

Sweet boy.  He was just finishing up his lunch.  Looks so happy...and old!!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Lisa!!

We all met in Des Moines on Sunday to celebrate Lisa's birthday.  We had a great dinner at Cosi Cocina (check it out!!) and lovely conversation.  Finnean and Carter always enjoy a visit from Aunt Maddy and Uncle Adam.  They played rounds and rounds of Thomas Uno while we waited for our food.  We surprised Lisa with gathering "60 Years of Memories" by contacting family and friends from past and present, each writing something they remembered about Lisa.  It was so fun to compile all the letters and give them to her.  It was a wonderful evening and a great way to celebrate and very special lady. 

Finnean and Carter checking out the old pictures of Grandma Lisa.

The Lincoln Wagler's and the nephews. 

HUTCH!

We had to post this one.  Richard has always said that when Hutch gets a little bigger he will hold him.  Sure enough, Lisa went to hand him back to me and Richard took him!  Made me smile.  Hutchinson loved getting some snuggles from Poppa.  It won't be long before he is walking around saying, Where's Poppa?  Just like Finnean and Carter do.  They love their Poppa.

Sweet boy and his Momma.

hard at play.

Finnean loves to play.  He plays with trains, cars and anything with wheels.  He uses his imagination and makes up more stuff than you could ever think up.  He laughs, he runs, he jumps and dances.  I love playing with him and just watching him play.

seven month photo shoot...serious cuteness.

 

Just around the house...

Hutchinson has fell in love with music.  His favorite instrument would be the "pee-nano" as Finnean calls it.  He bangs away while Finnean rocks somewhere else.

Weekend project!
The big boys helped hang our new monthly calendar.  It started as a thrift store picture and is now keeping track of what we are all too all month, along with our weekly menu and To Do list.  It was a fun project that Michael and I did together.  Of course, Finnean had to get his tools to help Daddy hang it up.  He gets his tools for every project.  Even cleaning the bathroom, he gets his tools out.  I swear that our bathrooms are not that dirty that you need tools to clean them!!

Bathtime just got a whole lot crazier!!

Hutchinson seems to love hanging in the duck tubby.  This was a great baby gift from Kaia to Finnean.  He was really excited to share with Hutch!

:)

Playing with Dad and Hutch on the floor.

The boy is always moving if he is on the floor.  He loves to kick his legs and ROLL!!

Hey, Jerry.

This picture cracks me up and makes me laugh.  He just looks so sad. 

YUM!  Fresh fruit smoothies!

Skinny boy.

Hutchinson didn't get to enjoy any of the smoothie but still had a good time just hanging out with us :)

I think he kind of looks like Michael in this one...same little smile!

The boy loves to clean. 

An early morning at our house.  George comes on at 7 and George wasn't on yet...so we watched him on the iPad.  As you can tell, Michael wasn't quite ready to get up :) 

Sweet, sleepy boy.

This past Saturday Ellie and Carter stayed at our house.  The boys got along really well (YES!!) and they loved taking a break to color. 

They loved having a sleep over!!  It was so sweet Carter let Finnean sleep with his blanket.  Finnean told Michael "that was really nice that of Carter to let me use his blanket, maybe he wants to sleep with polka dot blanket."  It was so sweet that they swapped special blankets.   

7 months and gaining!

In the words of Finnean, O-my-geez-o-lanta!!! Hutchinson is seven months old!  We can hardly believe that our little tiny baby is inching up on being a year old.  Okay, that might be a little extreme but it does feel like he is growing too fast!  So what is a 7 month old up to you might ask?  Let me fill you in.

• Most importantly he is gaining weight!!  He gained TEN ounces last week.  We are pretty excited about that and are so pumped that I am still able to nurse him.  He even looks like he gained weight, those sweet cheeks are filling back in :) Yah!!
• He LOVES solids.  We mix oatmeal for babies and a fruit or veggie with it and call it good.  He is going to try nectarines tonight :)  It is a good thing that he likes to eat solids because he has decided that he is absolutely not going to take a bottle while I am gone.  I tried last week to give him a bottle and he looked like I was trying to poison him or something. Silly guy!  He doesn't get fussy with no milk, only when you are trying to give him the bottle (reports for the babysitters we had last weekend!)  Abby said it best to him "Hey, this is gold, you need to drink it." She said Hutch fussed and said "just put in my bed lady, I am not drinking it!"  So he went to sleep with no milk.  The next day we had plans to be gone for most of the afternoon and evening and again, he didn't drink a drop.  Silly thing.  Maybe we can get him to take a sippy of milk?  Anyone else been through this and had any tips?  Leave me a comment to share them!
• The boy can roll.  He is fast!! 
• He somehow manages to get just about anything, no matter how far you put it in front of him.  He inches towards it, he is not crawling but he can get around. 
• He loves to chew on just about anything.  He toes are his favorite.
• He hates socks.  It makes me look like I am taking my child out without any socks on because he pulls them off almost immediately after you put them on.  So we are Target, super chilly out and no socks on.  Silly boy...what fun are socks anyway?
• He protests strongly when you take something away from him that he was playing with (something that he shouldn't have or when Finnean forgets to "share" and just takes it).  It is an interesting peek into what my life is going to be like when Hutchinson and Finnean really have to start sharing! 
• He loves to talk to you. 
• His smile is pretty sweet and his eyes just light up the room when he is smiling at you.  Speaking of his eyes, we think they are kind of brownish, but not dark brown...so we will see what color they turn out to be!
• He is becoming a real pro at sitting up.  When he does fall over he just rolls on to something else. 
• He is getting into playing with toys.  It is fun to watch him manipulate toys and get them to work.  He loves the little toy that if you push the button the animals POP up and then you close it and starts all over again.  When he gets them all closed he smiles so big and looks so proud!  He hasn't quite mastered opening them yet but that is why you have a big brother. 
• He loves to BOUNCE!  We have the Jumperoo that we borrowed from Grady and Jace and he can really get going.  Michael says he gets "air" because he is bouncing so high!
• He loves to read books and really loves to study the pages. 
• He has good fine motor skills.  He turns and examines just about any toy, hmmm...sounds familiar.
• He is just an easy going guy.  He is sure to let you know when he doesn't like something but doesn't squawk about much.
• Sleep...well that could be better :) Once we figured out that he wasn't getting enough milk we decided to nurse him whenever he woke up in the night because he was probably hungry.  Since we found out that he is gaining weight just fine, we have decided that we are going to try to "train" him to sleep longer through the night.  I am okay with getting up once but I wish for him to sleep til 3 or 4.  He most have heard us talking about it because last night he slept til 415am!  Felt like a full night sleep!  So we are hoping to make that a habit and work towards sleeping through the night.  He is becoming a great little nap taker and goes down awake and then quickly fusses himself to sleep.  We are thankful for that because I can hang with Finnean one on one or get something done around the house!  Did you know that you have to keep a house clean AND play with your kids when you stay at home!?!?  :)
• Hutchinson is ticklish.  His little ribs and back are so, so ticklish and he lets out the best laugh when you "get him!"
• He has two teeth but I think he is always teething.  He chews and chews and chews.  He has a yucky little rash on his cheek and chin because of all the drool. 
• He has started to get this cheesy smile, it is so big and so funny! I hope to catch it on camera soon!

We can't imagine life without him and feel so blessed to have such a happy and healthy little guy.  Pictures of the big boy (and his big bro) will be posted soon!

Growing boy...

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the rest of Hutchinson's 6 month photo shoot. (yes, I know he is almost 7 months!!)  I can't get over that big smile and his happy eyes.  Love the one with Sophie, his favorite toy by far.   We are excited that Operation Calorie Boost and Pump-a-thon has had some great results!  Hutch gained 2 ounces in one week.  He should be gaining 3-5 a week but with my supply being so low, it makes sense that he didn't.  The best news is that my milk supply doubled!! We went back to Mercy on Monday and he took 5 ounces!  We are so excited and will continue to work at Hutchinson gaining weight.  I am so thankful for the awesome support of the Mercy Lactation consultants and all of the encouraging words from so many over the past few days, it really does help when you are trying to accomplish something!  We will be going back next Monday to make sure he is still gaining! 

Hanging around...

Finnean still loves to bake.  With the milk supply issues we have been really baking a lot.  Michael is not always as impressed with our fun time as he is usually the one cleaning up our big mess :(  Sorry Michael!  We did learn that we should put away the CLEAN dishes that are in the sink before we start "baking" as they are not clean after we are done :)

Michael and I got a Sonic gift card, (THANK YOU Richard and Lisa!) for Valentine's day, so we headed out for a family "picnic."  We all (even the crazy 3 year old and the always rolling 6 month old) climbed into the back of the Trailblazer and had a picnic!  It was something different and a lot of fun!

This is the boys "Facetime-ing" with Grandma and Poppa!  Finnean LOVES to talk to them and Hutchinson even got into this time.  We are so thankful that we get to keep in touch with technology!

Love Hutchinson's big brown eyes.  I am pretty sure they are going to be brown!