Paige is Three!

This sassy girl turned three about a month ago. What to say about Paige at three? The girl has a big personality. She knows what she wants and is determined to get it. She's kind of a peanut, weighing it at about 28 lbs (30%) and is about 3 feet tall (50%).

Paige loves her friends and being social. She's always asking about Jojo and Teagie (neighbors), as well as Baby Bri and Gracie (cousins). She is not a fan of days that we don't go anywhere or have anyone over, which luckily don't happen very often. That being said, she has a great imagination and can entertain herself (usually playing house) for what I would consider to be longer than the average three-year-old.

 

She's recently started giving up her naps, and is only napping about every other day at this point. She'll sleep 7-7 if we're home and able to get her down in time. Her speech has really exploded in the past couple of months, thanks to some help from her EI therapist and the district therapist since turning 3. She still has a long way to go, but she's working hard and has time on her side.

She cannot wait to go to school and loves any kind of class she's in, whether it's My Gym or a park district dance class. On her first day of class, all the other moms were out on the floor but she wanted no part in my being out there with her for the first 10 minutes or so ("I do it!"). 

She's been potty trained for bladder since the week after she turned 3. She still asks for a pull up to poop in. I'm working up the energy to fight that battle. 

She loves swinging, the higher the better.She's been talking a lot about Ozzie dying lately (I'll get to that post at some point) and asking when we can get another doggie.

She loves her accessories and usually puts some thought into what she wears.

(Brooke had softball practice the night of her birthday, so we went out to breakfast.)

She is a such a special, determined little lady who keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing. We're so blessed to be her parents and cannot wait to see what she continues to grow into!

Miles is Five!

It's been a little less than two months since this big guy turned five. He's weighing in at around 43 lbs and is around 3' 8" tall. He's just finishing his last year of fours preschool, as well as our school district's phonology (speech) program.

Somewhere around 4 1/2, he became fairly obsessed with sports. He'd prefer to watch Sportscenter with Matt than a cartoon and will watch any sporting event live or on tv, even if he doesn't understand the game. He seems to just enjoy the competition.

He's played soccer thie past 3 quarters - outdoor in fall and spring and indoor in winter. He's also taken swim lessons and has gotten much more confident in the water. He loves shooting hoops and will stay outside alone for 30 minutes with a basketball. When we ask, he still says that the sport he most wants to play is football, though.

He is a pretty amazing brother, always looking out for all of his siblings and generally giving them their way, even if it means giving up one of his toys. I joke that he's being trained well for being a husband by having very strong-willed sisters before and after him.

He's come a long way in both his speech and academics. He's awesome with numbers. Aunt Jamie and Uncle Will gave him a watch for his birthday that he loves and it's pretty impressive to watch him do the math to determine the time before something happens ("School starts at 12? So if it's 11:52, I have 8 minutes.").  He's also gained an interest in reading since doing the phonics unit at school.

 

He's very sensitive and empathetic. He hates to hear about people or even animals suffering or getting hurt and always wants to know what we can do to help.

He can also be a real goofball, telling silly jokes or dancing like a crazy person. 

He's such a special little guy and we couldn't love him more. Happy birthday, Miles!

Graham at 8 Months

What to say about this little man? Graham-bo really is a joy of a baby, especially since he started sleeping through the night at around 7 1/2 months. He loves being around people and is incredibly quick to smile, even in the midst of tears.

He's not really moving purposefully yet, but he does get around by rolling and army-scooting. He can sit up for awhile, but falls over enough that I don't leave him sitting up unattended yet.

He's just recently started sitting in high chairs and carts when we're out, which is perfect timing as the weather's gotten nicer. He'll do baby food, but tends to favor finger foods at meals. He's nursing 3 times a day, then getting a bottle of formula before bed.

He falls asleep best with a binky, but isn't dependent on it. He's had 3 ear infections (that we only knew about because he was coughing at night), so we'll see what the doctor thinks about next steps at his nine months appointment.

He usually wakes up around 6:30, then goes back down for about an hour-long nap around 9:30 (if we're home, poor guy). His next nap is usually around 1. He'd probably sleep for two hours or more, but most days I have to wake him up for school pick up. He usually goes down for the night around 7 (again, if we're home).

He has his two bottom teeth and they are sharp. He's not really holding his bottle yet, but he can put his binky in himself. He is super-chatty and babbles all the time.

I don't think I can emphasize enough what a delight he is. He is such a perfect addition to our family and I can't wait to see the little man that he develops into.

Forgive Me?

I'm mostly asking that question of my third and fourth children who will look back and notice the large gap in their week-to-week memories as documented on this blog. In my defense, if Graham had been sleeping better through the night and Paige didn't start to give up her naps too early, I think I would have stayed on my blogging game. For now, I'm just going to try to work backward and put up some cute photos that I've taken in the last few months. Since I've last blogged, this guy turned five:

This girl turned three:

 

And this guy turned eight months!

Okay, that's it for now. Just wanted to get some pics up to prove (to myself) that I'm back on the wagon. See you soon! Mean it!