September 28, 2011: Livin' the Life...

There are lots of wheels involved in our life right now.  Little wheels...

Big wheels...

Outdoor wheels...

When she's not riding around, Bryn is standing everywhere (and helping me unload the laundry basket!).  It's hard to keep her in one place, she tries to pull up on everything, including Liam :)

Liam's loving his new haircut...looks like they're both rockin' the fauxhawk!

Last week we had a fun playgroup at the park.  Bryn and Sophie wore their matching dresses!  Looks like it's not only their dresses that are in sync...

 Liam's buddies: Addison, James, Jackson, Michael and Davey

 Bryn's buddies (aka the 2nd generation of our playgroup): Sophie, Logan and Brenna

 We made some Halloween crafts with our friends after playing all morning on the playground and swings...

 Last Friday night, Liam attended his first Rangers game!

 He took down a hot dog, fries, and a churro but still couldn't take his eyes off the game!

 Loved cheering for daddy's friend, Murph!  Liam watches him on TV all the time, so it was fun to get to see him in person.

 Aunt Linds in her Ranger gear...

 Such a big boy...

Me and my boy...

 Family pic! (Bryn was playing with Mallie and Tippy that night)

 Liam enjoyed his first Rangers game with Pops and Nana as well...

 Very tired after the late game, but he still talked about it the whole way home...

 Another exciting soccer game with team TNT!

 Liam still has a ton of fans at each game...even though some of them fall asleep during the game :)

 Saturday night Nick went on a boys trip to Shreveport with some friends for the night.  Since Dallie, Daniel and Alex were also out of town, we had a girls (and Liam) slumber part over at Mal's.  Liam did a lot of cooking, crafting, reading the paper...

 and Brynnie played on the ipad...

 Both of them had so much fun playing pretend, taking a big bubble bath, and getting lots of playtime in with the girls!

And on a really random note, we had to take a picture of Liam eating tonight.  Here he is on his 3rd taco with corn, butternut squash, rice, and half a banana!!

 Bryn is also loving her table foods.  Teeth (or lack of!) be darned, she is determined to eat what we eat :)  Love these two happy, wheelin', fauxhawk-wearing, great little eaters...def keeping our life busy!

September 20, 2011: Loves...

Love this weather, it so reminds me of LA.  Nightly walks, playdates in the park, picnics for lunch...and now grilling out for dinner!  Also love Brynnie's bull face in this picture :)

Bryn's new solid food love is peas and buttered noodles which she ate by the fistful last night!

 Nick loves grilling out and I love a meal that I don't have to clean off the floor afterwards :)

 And I love my snuggles, even when I get covered in smashed peas..

 Love Liam's responsibility chart...even when he takes down the 'show respect' chore and replaces it with 'load the dishwasher' without my knowing.  Not that there aren't nights that I would love that trade :) Love how proud he is of adding up his stickers every night, counting his allowance, and dividing it up in his 3 piggy banks: one to share (donate), one to save, and one to spend!

 I guess the only thing not being loved around here is Bryn's kitchen restriction...well, I like it because it keeps her out...but she's not lovin' it yet :)

September 19, 2011: 9 month and 3 year check-ups!

Yes we are a month behind, but today was Bryn's 9 month check-up! Overall she is doing really well. She is crawling everywhere and now pulling to stand. She says "mama", "dada", "baba", "mmmmmm" (which we think means Liam), and "puh puh" (puff puffs, her baby snack).  Bryn is pointing, using her pincer grasp for food, and will wave bye-bye. She has no teeth...not even a swollen gum.  Her fingers (and my keys, all toys, and paci) are always in her mouth though so she must be feeling something! She feeds herself and loves bread, puffs, avocado, banana, cheerios, crackers, cheese. She's even tried Fruit Loops at school :) She still eats all her baby food, now eating 4 jars plus 1 yogurt every day. She's getting good at her water sippy cup but actually drinks better out of a regular cup, which she uses at school. Bryn is still nursing at home and taking her bottles at school. Despite being such a good eater, she didn't gain quite as much weight as I would have hoped. Today she was 17 lbs 10oz (13th%), 27 3/4 in (32%), and head circumference 17 3/4 in (67%). Maybe she's slowing down to be a petite little girl like Pres :) She's still very nosy, but now she's so much more interactive and playful with everyone including Liam. Bryn is taking one big nap a day, usually overlapping Liam's (yay!) and occasionally another cat nap. She sleeps really well overnight and falls asleep on her own after we lay her in her crib. Her favorite toys are balls...she loves the ball popper, ball pit, and chasing rolling balls all over the hardwood floors! We've already put down the tape on the floor to keep her out of the kitchen, and she's learning (although not always happy about it) to stay out of the kitchen. Bryn just seems to be getting more beautiful by the day!!

Look at me! She loves Presley's table and it is her favorite to pull up on...

How can all that chunk be so small on the growth chart?!

Bryn wasn't the only one with a check up today. Liam had his 3 year check up as well! They both got their flu shots, and Liam went first and showed Bryn how to be brave. He didn't even cry, just bit down on his lower lip and kept saying "I'm okay, I'm okay". I told him it was okay if it hurt but he quickly brushed it off, grabbed his lollipop and was good to go! He had a wonderful visit, showing off his skills by telling his doctor his favorite color in Spanish (verde) and counting to 100 by 10's. He was 31 lbs (32%) and 38 1/4 in (64%-up a little over 2 inches!) Here's what else our big boy does:

• Still naps daily (thank God!) at least 90 minutes
• No longer needs to be reminded about the potty, but goes very well all by himself, still dry all day and through nap
• Past few nights waking up to go potty at night...hopefully night-trained in the next few weeks
• Eats like a teenager, and then wants more, still haven't found much that he won't eat
• Favorite foods: tortellini, Multigrain Cheerios, turkey and cheese sandwhiches, granola bars, grapes
• Still only drinks water and milk
• Can count to 100 and also count by 10's
• Now spells all words he sees on signs asking me what it spells
• Understands rhyming and loves to play rhyming games with us
• Tells us everyday at dinner what his favorite part of the day was
• Still loves his books and daddy's stories before bed
• Learning his colors, body parts, and basic words in Spanish
• Still so inquisitive about the world
• Only gets to watch TV on mornings before school, when he does he likes Jake and the Neverland Pirates
• Has a huge imagination-this involves Nick and I acting like dolphins to swim with him, helping him "hatch" out of his dinosaur egg, and playing 'turtles and seagulls' every night after bath (this is where he and Bryn are baby turtles who hatch on the beach and then crawl to the sea before we-the segulls can get them)...where does he get this stuff?!
• Plays with his Cars and racetrack everyday
• Getting really good at riding his tricycle
• Knows how to dial 911...still reminding him this skill is ONLY for an emergency :)
• Working on sight word recognition...not suprisingly 'car' is one of the first ones he got
• Still loves geography, and even though we are still working on the states, he is also learning about other countries around the world like Germany, Japan, Russia, Brazil, England
• Can now access the water and ice from the fridge and will pour himself a drink
• Doing really well on his chore chart and loves counting his money that he gets for allowance...not a set amount just 3 different coins each time, which he knows the names of and is learning the amounts to
• Can add and subtract up to 5
• So sweet and loving towards his baby sister...

Liam helping to feed Bryn dinner one night...

Liam helping by pushing Bryn on our nightly walk. Now that the weather is better, we all try to walk/ride/bike around the neighborhood after dinner each night. Bryn is finally big enough for the step 2!

Although, daddy's shoulders are her favorite way to get around...

This is a typical nightly walk...checking out the new houses, what lots are going up next, meeting neighbors, and going to visit Liam's friend Timmy who loves to bike with him.

Finally after shots today, we met Davey, Addison (and lil bro Logan) for storytime and a picnic lunch. We are so blessed to have such sweet friends, and for all our kids to be growing up together!

I asked Liam if Addison was his girlfriend, which he excitedly said "yes!" In 15 years, I'm a perfectly fine with that :)

Addison has been a good role model for Bryn. These two (with Mia, Sophie, Cate and Brenna) have to stick together in this group!