Emma 30 Months

-Our little comedian 

-Says "my like it" or "my do it"

-And "I'm cited!" when she's excited

-Has the most interesting approach to eating an ice cream cone that I have ever seen

-See, I told you she was funny

-Totally getting into dressing up too

-Randomly says "hug" and runs to give you one or "nuggle" (snuggle) or "hand" 

-Taking great naps!!!!!

-Wants Jack in his crib too whenever she goes to bed or we put her down for a nap

-There was that one time this month where they both took 3 hr naps in the SAME room (different cribs of course)

-Always tell you she "saw monkeys" when asked about her day

-Becoming my mini-chef in the kitchen (we were making "tup-takes")

-Frequently asks to see dinosaurs (go to the science center)

-Caught me crying the other day and said "Whatcha sad about Mommy?"

-Another common line I hear is "I can't see 'em!"

-I kid you not, one day she came down like this one day and told me she was going to see the Nutcracker:

-Loves music and dancing

-Often asks me to put on Nutcracker music so she can show me her moves

-Has this extra special music bond with Daddy

-Stuttering more (it comes and goes in waves!)

-Getting into drawing prefers plain black ink pens as her medium

-Her masterpieces usually include lots of tiny spirals all over the page

-When I asked her what she wanted for her half birthday she said "see Ben and Josh" - she loves her uncles!

-Loves seeing her friends and cousins

-Thinks she lives in the Space Needle

She is the ultimate sweetheart!

Happy Half, Emma!

This sweet character is freshly 2 1/2! The poor girl doesn't have a "real" half birthday since there is no February 30th, so we've opted to celebrate on the last day of the month. This means the girls' half birthdays fall only three days apart. It could be worse but seriously, what were we thinking with our timing?! Apparently we were factoring half birthday celebrations into our family planning. At least they're on different days! 

This was the first year Emma really understood the whole birthday concept. It was adorable hearing her say "You sing Happy Birthday to me?" throughout the day. Isla had preschool so we were home bound for the morning but did manage some fun things like checking the milk box and doing a craft together (coffee filter butterflies). One on one time with this character is hard to come by so she I'm pretty sure she ate it up.

We even made a special smoothie snack that she was pretty thrilled about.

After school, we met Rachel and Oliver and Hadley for a walk/bike ride and picnic at the park. This girl loves nothing more than seeing friends and riding her bike. She kept saying "I'm cited!"

Nothing quite speaks picnic like a plate of pasta?? It was all I had....

For dinner we had....more pasta (!!!) along with roasted asparagus and salami. I made one of our new favorites over here, a delicious creamy dish with homemade sausage and fun colored pasta shapes.

She was so excited to open her gift after dinner (pipe cleaners and googly eyes and a play dough fun factory). She is all over this cheese face!

And it was pretty adorable how thrilled she was by the princess kitty card from Grandma and Grandpa W. I could stop grinning watching her.

And if you're thinking her cupcake looks remarkably similar to Isla's earlier in the week, your eyes deceive you. OK, fine. I may have fudged and made one dessert for both of the girls but hey, they were happy. We'll see how long I can get away with such antics. I'm pretty sure Emma was just elated to have another "tuptake" and be sung to (which we did both at dinner and with dessert, per her request).

Happy Half Birthday Emma!

Happy Half Isla Girl!

Oh my. This sweet girl is 4 1/2! 

We kicked off the day with a candle-laden muffin and a half birthday smoothie on our iconic red plate. I love how a plate that reads "You are special today" can really make a person feel special. I mean, the girl just beamed. MOPS was our morning outing and then the sun came out so we stayed and soaked in vitamin D while Isla ran around the church playground in her summer attire.

In the afternoon, we took a stroll to Dairy Queen for half birthday treats with cousins! I think they were the first dipped cones our kids have ever had. And it showed. I mean, who eats cones with spoons? These three!

Lilly Bean was in HEAVEN! And look how the chocolate matches her eyes!

Guess what the half birthday girl requested next? A trip across the street to McDonalds to play in the tubes. As long as we're hitting up fast food chains...They had a blast and I think they actually may have burned off their sugar rush. 

For dinner, Isla requested "Bunny Salad" (also known as the Chinese Chicken Salad I wrote about here), Shrimp Scampi with Broccoli and homemade bread. Her menu made me grin - love her!

Next came a small gift: coffee filters, glitter glue, washable markers and a Spiral Art toy for more art fun. She loved them (and seemed to forget about her request for a Cinderella doll that her parents weren't too keen on...phew!)

Her mother is a dietitian. Wouldn't you think one treat would be enough? Not today! Isla had already put in her request for white cupcakes with pink frosting and she was NOT about to forget. 

As I put her to bed, I asked if she'd had a fun day. She paused for a second and then said "I wish it could be my half birthday EVERY day!" I laughed and gave myself an internal high five. My "mom guilt" has been on high alert lately but I love how God used this girl to remind me that even the little things can mean so much. Though we had prior commitments for half of the day, in Isla's eyes, it was nearly perfect.

Happy Half Birthday Sweetie!

Well....

It's a big couple weeks over here!

Did I tell you Graham got a new job? Dear internet, I can no longer recall what has and has not been said. But if this news, allow me to announce:

GRAHAM GOT A NEW JOB!!!

We are ecstatic as this has been a long time coming. Like a long time. And now it is finally here!! He has a badge and an office, both sporting his name followed by the credentials "ARNP." And it is in his dream setting: an oncology office 7 minutes away. Ahem. I think pride is just gushing from my pores.

We are on week two now and it is going to be quite the transition, QUITE the transition. It's exciting and overwhelming and dizzying and so freaking cool all at the same time. And because there isn't enough change going on in our life right now, I too am returning to work this coming Saturday. Prayers appreciated as we settle into our "new" life! It's been a rocky week and I think both our heads are spinning!

Isla 54 Months

-When leaving a play date, asks whoever we are with if we can do it again tomorrow

-Hates having her hair combed and asks me to cut her hair all the time

-But loves pretending I'm her hairdresser when washing her hair the bath 

-Sometimes comes home from preschool and tells Emma "I've been with people ALL day and need sometime to myself!"

-Really good at cheering Jack up and keeping him entertained

-Doesn't like being called silly

-Spends a good chunk of her spare time crafting and drawing princesses

-Favorite Bible story is Moses which she likes to reenact with her babies

-Always has at least one baby or stuffed animal in tow

-Getting really fast on her new bike!

-Loves being my little helper around the house

-Enjoys school when she's there but lately asks to stay home if she knows I'm doing something fun (she doesn't like to miss a thing!)

-Learning upper and lowercase and now can write her name properly (except she leaves out the "a" because she says she "needs help")

-She's like me in a lot of ways but I wouldn't exactly call her a neat freak...

-Changes her clothes at least 3 times daily
-Usually dresses up as a princess, a bride or a flower girl

-Loved our recent snowfall

-Was a daredevil on that sled

-Remains a total carb-i-vore

-Discovered her sweet tooth and asks for dessert regularly

-Likes playing Simon Says

-And learning to play board games too

-Would probably drop anything anytime for one-on-one time with me

-Makes friends when we go to the park to play

-My social butterfly

-So curious and imaginative

I just love her!

Jack 4 Months

This boy is growing like a weed! We blinked and somehow he turned FOUR months!! Here are his highlights:

-14 pounds, 30 ounces (dropped to 25-50%ile), 25.5 inches long (50-75%ile - he got taller!), head circumference of 16.7 inches (50%ile)

-grabbing toys and putting them in his mouth

-ticklish as all get out

-spent a good couple weeks scratching his head constantly 

-and now after rigorous care (and an MD visit), the cradle cap is finally improving and dare I say nearly gone

-loves to suck....binkies, toys, fingers, anything

-he's a drooler!

-and a spitter!

-loves looking at his sisters

-squirmy

-dislikes tummy time but getting closer to rolling
-prefers to be held when awake
-thinks mirrors are pretty fun

-had been waking ~1 time/night between 4 and 6 AM

-caught a cold

-now waking at least a couple times a night

-bedtime SLOWLY moving earlier (averaging 9 or 9:30 now)

-sporadic napper

-we are focusing on that some this week

-pretty happy poolside

-first flight (was a dream)

-dined out like a champ
-first hike in Palm Springs

-never cries in stroller

-wearing size 6 months

-laughs when you wipe him

-or stick a Q-tip in his ear (I know, I know...it says right on the box not to use them in ears)

-giggles when you say "bibbity bobbity boo"

-tear ducts finally both clear!

Oh how thankful I am that this man joined our clan!