Belated Birthday Roundup

Nate's third birthday lasted 9 days.  On his actual birthday, we flew to Florida to celebrate Grandma Shirley's 90th.  Nate was in heaven spending time with his cousins.  He has asked many times since then when we can go back to Florida to see the kids.

with Great Grandma and Millie

Cousins Arianna, Zach, and Ben

Then the following weekend, we had a Handy Manny pool party for the Birthday Boy.  The lucky kid had all four of his grandparents, two uncles, and two aunts all come to town for the party.

Based on this picture, you'd never guess I'm 5'7".

Aunt Flann and Aunt Ashley made birthday cupcakes for the party.  I think they were a hit.

Another Easy Visit

Went in for Nate's three-year check up this morning.  Dr. Porras was happy with his growth, skill development, and general physical well being.  He measured 38.25 inches tall (71st percentile) and weighs 34.5 pounds (77th percentile).  Nate's trending on the tall side.  By tracking his growth pattern since birth and asking me about family height, they estimate Nate should grow to about 5'10" or 11".  Doctor sad he's sure Nate'll be taller than his Daddy.

And while there were no shots for the Potato Bug, poor Margaret had to endure two more shots as a follow up to last week.  But now we're set.  At least until late August when we go back in for flu shots!

Tres Anos

I find parenting to be a constant back-and-forth between, "How has it been three years since you were born?!" and "I cannot remember a life without you."

In the past 365 days, you've stopped sleeping in a crib.  Mister Oso and Mister Monkey are no longer demanded bedtime companions (but you still like your "Peshal Blanket").  Your obsession with Thomas the Tank burned bright and then faded a little when you discovered Daniel Tiger.  And even poor Daniel has started to go by the wayside as you discovered that there is TV beyond PBS Kids.  You adore pizza and apples. You still hate avocado.  In one year, we moved from "Mama and Dada" to "Mommy and Daddy" and now we're mostly "Mom and Dad."  I wish I'd taken more opportunities to get your sweet little voice on camera.

Never in my life have I known someone who could cause such frustration (I'm looking at you, big boy bed and potty training) and spark such intense love (all the other minutes in this year that weren't focused on the aforementioned activities).  You amaze us constantly with your intelligence, your growing sense of humor, and your determination to do things we thought were beyond your two-year-old ability.  And despite your love of jumping, destruction, and general roughhousing, you posses the sweetest love for your baby sister.  We could not be more proud, Nate.

So here's to you, our sweet little Love Bug.  Happy third birthday!

Talented Friends

As I've mentioned before, we have two good friends who have opened their own businesses as professional photographers.  Our friend Lindsay does our annual family photo shoots (coming up next month!) and she is the person who generously gifted her services when Margaret was born.

Now our friend Amanda has ventured into business too with Amanda Schoch Photography.  Although she's currently focusing on newborn photos, she asked if she could use our little one as a model for older baby shots.  Last night we met up at the park and while Matt watched Nate, Sam, and Will, Amanda took some gorgeous photos of Miss Mags Magoo.

More pictures: http://www.amandaschochphotography.com/a-night-in-the-park-with-margaret/

photo credit: www.amandaaschochphotography.com

And here she is getting some love from Sam.

photo credit: www.amandaaschochphotography.com

We Love Easy Check Ups

We took Margaret in this morning for what is technically her six month well check.  She's a healthy girl at 16 pounds 8 ounces and 26.25 inches long.  Both putting her right around 50th percentile.  The doctor commented a few times on how "advanced," "intelligent," and "adorable" she is.  Thank you, doctor, we think so too.  (Using quotes because those were her direct words, not just a bragging mommy.  Although I am, in fact, a bragging mommy.)

Almost Three

Yikes.  Cannot believe the little Love Bug is almost 3 years old.

Visiting Shoe Train and the Ronald at the mall on his second birthday:


And same shoe store trip yesterday, 6 days shy of his third birthday:

7 months old

Marg-a-larg is 7 months old today!  Because of summer vacation schedules, she won't have what is technically her six month appointment until next week.  So we don't have stats but I can tell you she's a healthy little girl.  Looks like she might be on the smaller end height wise.  But what she lacks in tallness, she makes up for in cute.

Just the two bottom teeth so far but you can feel the top two through her gums.  Expecting them to poke through any day.  She's up on her hands and knees and can move if she's really determined to get something.  Daycare tells us she's crawling frequently but around here she seems content to sit and let us bring things to her.

Margaret has a very sweet disposition.  The biggest difference we notice between the two kids is sleep.  Not at home, both kids have always been great in their own cribs.  In fact, I'd probably say Margaret has historically been a better sleeper than her big brother.  (She required exactly zero nights of sleep training.)  But away from home?  That's a different story.  Nate is like his dad, he can sleep anywhere, anytime.  But Margaret seems to know when a crib isn't her own.  It makes traveling with the kids a little more difficult because we have to prepare for a baby who won't sleep through the night and all the crankiness that comes with that.  We don't let it stop us though.  Later this month we're heading to Florida to celebrate Grandma Shirley's 90th.  Then in August and September we have a few trips planned to see family and have some fun.  Lots to write about in the coming months!