Update on Dylan's 4 Month Stats...

So I took Lady D to the doctor on Wednesday for her 4 month check up and she's just as chubby as I predicted she would be!  She's 25.5 inches and 15.5 pounds....both 90th percentile.  Compared to the boys at this age, she's right in the middle.  But luckily her growth means that her body is catching up with her head, which is only 75th percentile.  I was so worried that she'd have a huge noggin forever.  Now she just has a sweet round face and deliciously enormous, rosy cheeks.  I love them!  My newest nickname for her is Sweet Cheeks! 

In terms of her motor skills, the doc isn't worried about her but said that she's having a harder time rolling over because she's so big...and spoiled!  Basically we need to put her down and let her explore so she can become more independent and start moving more.  I guess we need to let her cry instead of picking her up at every whimper.  Ugh!  I hate hearing her cry.  But I know I have to let her do her own thing so I have to get tough!  The doc also said she needs to be out of the cradle and in her crib stat.  So we started that today and she's been awesome!  Instead of slowly transitioning her we just went cold turkey.  The first nap was a little rough but each nap got easier and easier.  And tonight when I put her to bed she went right to sleep without a fuss. Let's hope she sleeps all night!

But besides the rolling, she's right on track with everything else.  She's smiles and giggles all the time and she's starting to recognize familiar faces.  And she talks and coos constantly now...its adorable.  Oh and she burps and farts like a dude - not so adorable!  She's also starting to play with toys a little bit - and when I say play, I mean grab and put in her mouth.  Pretty much everything goes in her mouth which is to be expected.  She has such a little personality now and I just love spending time with her.  I take her everywhere and she's such an easy and sweet baby.  She's really only crabby between the hours of 5:30 - 7:00 pm, her witching hour!  And man, is she crabby!  She will cry the entire 90 minutes if we aren't holding her.That's when I get to hand her over to daddy for some father-daughter bonding.  Here are some pictures I took of the little miss this week...


"Hangin" with Dad!  She loves to be in the Bjorn!  I take her everywhere in it....

QT with her Mimi!  She has little leg warmers on but her legs are so chunky, they barely fit her...

 

 

Me and my girl...

Her first night in her crib! She didn't even fuss and has been sleeping soundly since I put her down.  I am so proud of her...

Dylan is 4 Months!

I seriously feel like I just posted Dylan is 3 months!  These past few weeks have flown by too fast.  I can't believe my little butterball is getting so big....literally!  I don't have her current stats because we don't go for her 4 month check up until Monday.  But I estimate she's about 15-16 pounds and she's already in 9 month clothes so I know she's quite the chubster.  She had a huge growth spurt and basically skipped over her 6 month stuff so now I have some shopping to do - woohoo!

The biggest news we have is that our little miss is officially sleeping in her own room full time.  We started with naps and she did so well that we let her stay there overnight this week.  So far she's handled it really well. In fact, she actually sleeps better in there and doesn't fuss much at all during the night.   And she sleeps until 7am which means that mommy is getting some really great sleep too.  Now if we can only keep the boys out of our bed!  The only hiccup I foresee is transitioning her from her cradle to the crib since her cradle is slightly inclined.  I have a feeling she won't take to well to sleeping flat but we'll see.  We plan to start that process next week so I'll keep you posted. 

Dylan is so active and alert now.  She loves to talk, giggle and play....as long as she's playing with someone else. Unlike the boys, she doesn't like to play by herself, neither in her bouncy seat or on her activity mat. She won't even stay in her bumbo very long.   She'll chill for about 5 minutes then scream her head off.  And since neither of us can stand to hear her cry we usually relent and pick her up.  The girl is definitely spoiled because the minute we pick her up she stops crying.  So we end up carrying her around all day which can be challenging.  We've created quite the little monster!  My chill little baby is not so chill anymore...unless we are holding her, of course!  And since she still hates tummy time and can't roll over and I'm starting to think that's because we hold her too much.  So we definitely need to break that habit.

But on the positive side, we are starting to see her cute little personality form.  She's very serious like her bro Jack when he was a baby.  Christian and I can get her giggling but strangers have no chance.  It's hilarious watching perfect strangers doing crazy things to get her to smile.  We've also noticed that she is drawn to more calm and soft spoken people...like Papa Joey, Grammy Delora and Auntie Donna.  She doesn't like loud noises or a lot of fuss so I think she finds them more comforting than the rest of my loud family.  She also loves to be outside and prefers to be there instead of inside.  And I know you are going to think I am crazy but I'm convinced that she really loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  She doesn't really watch TV but when the boys have that on she goes nuts and kicks her legs like mad.  Its hilarious.

She's such a slobbery mess these days so I have a feeling she might be teething.  The boys both started early so I'm sure we'll see some pearly white popping out here soon.  The poor baby also has her first cold so she's been pretty fussy this week.  I hate when my little girl isn't feeling well.  But I do love that she likes to cuddle with me when she's not at her best.  And she has even started to warm up to her daddy a lot too  She's way more into him now.  I'm not so sure how I feel about that since she's supposed to be mine.  If she's a daddy's girl I'm going to get a complex!  But seriously, it's super cute to see them bond.  He's really great with her, how can she not love him!  Here are some pictures of precious little lady at 4 months...

She wasn't feeling well when I took these pictures so it was hard to get her to smile, as you can see above.  But I did manage to get one of her smiling at her daddy...

I love this picture because I think she looks like a big, fluffy, blue cloud.  I can't get enough snuggles when she looks this comfy...

 

 

 

Such a happy girl!

Super cute outfit!  For some reason I much prefer onesies and pants over dresses....

She's officially out of the swaddle and in her sleep sack.  She looks like a little royal princess here...

 

 

This is the first and only time she's ever slept flat on her back.  It gives me hope that she will transition to her crib well but I think I am in denial...

I adore this face!  These pictures are so cute that I couldn't decide which one I liked the best so I posted them all.  Papa Joey was making her so happy...

 

 

 

Here's a funny video of my family on a Sunday morning.  We caught Dylan giggling in the very beginning and in the middle.  Jack can really make her laugh as you will see.  But when Gav comes near her she tenses up.  That girl can definitely sense trouble when it's approaching!  Enjoy...

 

http://youtu.be/G-eSpZ0eNdg      

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Jack's First Sport - T-Ball!

Now that Jack is 4 we thought it was time to get him involved in sports.  So we signed him up for a 3 month class that includes introductions to T-Ball, Basketball and Soccer.  We wanted him try out a few sports to see what he likes before we sign him up for a team next year.  And so begins our many, many, many Saturdays spent at some sort of ballpark.  With three kids I realize we probably won't have a free weekend until 2031.  But it's just so much fun watching our children enjoy the things we did as kids, so we really don't mind it at all...especially Christian since he's the one who primarily takes Jack to his practices.

Ever since Jack was born Christian has been anxiously awaiting the day that his boy played ball so he's obviously over the moon.  Christian has such wonderful memories of playing with his own dad so this is really special for him. In fact, Jack and Chris call Papa Don after every practice to give him updates.  Jack just finished up his month of baseball and he loved it!  And he's pretty good at it too.  But he is only 4 so it's probably too soon to tell if we have the next Derek Jeter on our hands.  To me the most important thing is that he's having fun, making friends and learning respect for the game. Christian would probably disagree with me...he's all about winning!  But so far jack is loving it!  He asks me every day if he gets to play sport with dad.  So as far as I'm concerned it a success.  Next up is basketball, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of Jack honing his t-ball skills.

My little All-American!  He practiced with his dad for weeks before the first official practice...

The mean coach.  It was like 85 degrees that day and they were out there for hours...

 

 

Batter Up!

 

 

 

Christian gave Jack money for every hit so Jack racked up quite a few bucks....and a post-practice smoothie...

First day!  Jack was so excited. And, of course, he had to wear dad's beloved baseball team's t-shirt...

 

 

 

Having fun!  I love that he has the look of pure joy on his face...this is what being a kid is all about...

Look at that stance!

I love this face!  And check out that cool new hair cut!

 

 

Tossing to Dad...

Christian was so excited to buy him his first glove and bat...

Jack's just a little bigger than the rest of the kids...

Jack and his hero!  I'm pretty sure there is no place either of them would rather be...

Here's a video of Jack and Christian practicing in the backyard.  It's a little long so you don't need to watch the entire thing.  Jack just really wants his Papa Don to see him play. As you will see it was a long hot day and Jack was a little over it but his mean coach kept making him play...

http://youtu.be/MhwIh5XzHFU

Gavin's Planes Party!

Whenever we asked Gavin what he wanted for his birthday he always screamed, "PLANES!"  So of course we had to throw him a Planes party for his 2nd birthday.  We went with an old school style festivity.  You know the kind of party we had when we were kids...family, friends, sandwiches, cake, balloons and of course, a piñata!  Way more Party City than Pintrest.  And since Gav is just like his dad and doesn't like crowds (so not like me and Jack!) we just had family and a few buddies there to celebrate with him.  It was simple, fun and perfect for Gavin.  He had such a great day!!  Here are the highlights...

It looks like the Planes section of Party City threw up in our kitchen...

Just mommy, daddy and the birthday boy...

Piñata Time!  He really went for it...

Of course, Jack was the one too break it open!

 

 

Little Miss Dylan got dressed up for the occasion...

 



 

Gav's buddy Jaxon...

And Everett...

Cousin Amelie enjoying the post-piñata treats...

The coolest cake ever, courtesy of Grammy Delora!

Marseille is excited to take a bite...

Cake time!

I love my little family...

Happy Birthday to Gavin!

He seriously loved everyone singing to him.  It was awesome!

Time to blow (or spit) out the candle....

Not sure what this was all about because Joey was taking the pictures. But I have a feeling Jack was a little jealous that Gav was getting all the attention...

Yummy blue frosting!

We call this one a "cake" stand...get it?  He was a pro so we think he'll be pretty popular at frat parties in college...

All the cousins had a wild after party on the kitchen island!  These kiddos really love to dance!  What a great night...

Gavin is 2!

Our little firecracker of a child, our precious second-born son, our larger-than-life little man, Gavin James turned 2 on Saturday! Life with Gavin is never dull and he makes us laugh and smile every day.  He's the typical middle child and always has to scream the loudest just to remind us that he's there.  But there's no way we could ever overlook him!  He's so amazingly adorable, wickedly smart, funny as all get-out and so full of energy from the moment he wakes up to the moment his curly locks hit the pillow each night.  He can be as sweet as pie one minute and as sour as a lemon the next.  But his smile could light up a room.  He's our little Gav and we love him to pieces!

I honestly feel like Gav just turned one.  Its as if I snapped my fingers and the year was over.  Like he went from a baby to a toddler overnight.  In some ways I guess that's true because as soon as he could walk and keep up with his big brother, all Gavin wanted was to be just like Jack and do all the things that came with that.  So he sort of skipped the Elmo, Thomas the Train, Little Einstein's, Sandra Boynton phase and went right into CARS, Ninja Turtles, Superheroes and Dr. Seuss.  It actually makes me really sad because we loved that time with Jack - the time when he was walking the line between baby and toddler and exploring the world in a special sort of way. I would have liked to keep Gavin a  baby a little bit longer.  But with the addition of Dylan, Gav was sort of forced to grow up a little faster - I mean the poor kid had to move to a toddler bed and start pre-school at 20 months! I guess I have a little guilt about that.  It's definitely been a big transitional year for him but we are so proud of him for handling it all so well.  He's doing great in school and the bottom line is that he's a really happy boy so I know he's ok!

Gavin's favorite things are still his daddy and brother Jack.  Not so sure he would say Dylan is his favorite but I know he loves her.  And I am also happy to report that he's definitely warming up to his mama....he's gone from only wanting daddy to wanting mommy too.  I'd say its a good 60/40 split.  I have to tell you that I LOVE this new phase!  Gavin is so affectionate towards me and misses me when I'm gone.  I seriously love this kid and feel closer to him than ever before!  He also loves CARS, PLANES, Ninja Turtles, Spiderman, Octonauts, Paw Patrol, Team Umizoomi and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, milk, breakfast bars, nacks (snacks), raisins and any kind of fruit you put in front of him.  He loves reading books, doing puzzles, playing outside, wrestling Jack and dancing....boy can this kid dance!  But I'd say his all-time favorite thing is singing.  The kid seriously never stops singing...nursery rhymes, commercial jingles, TV intro songs, and a few pop songs we taught him.   I wouldn't be surprised if he forms a rock band in high school!

Our beanpole has finally put on some pounds and continues to get taller.  We went to the doctor today for his 2-year well check and he's 35 1/4 inches and 31.2 lbs....both 90th percentile.   So if we use the theory of doubling his height at age 2 to determine how tall he will be as an adult, Gavin will be between 5'10 and 5'11.  That makes sense since Christian is 5'11.  At least he won't be a runt like me!  But he'll be a bit smaller than Jack who they estimate to be about 6'2. 

So that's our 2 year old in a nutshell.  He's such an important part of our family and we love him beyond words!!  Here's how our crazy boy spent his 2nd birthday...

 

Gav wanted a new scooter like Jack got for his birthday so we got him a cool Radio Flyer for toddlers.  We gave it to him as soon as the kids woke up.  You can tell it was early by his crazy hair and Jack's tired pose...

 

 

 

Daddy took him for a spin!  He's already getting the hang of riding it by himself...

Next up we went out for his fave breakfast....donuts of course!  I like his eating style...

Mimi and Papa joined us for the big day...

After our healthy breakfast, we went to watch Jack at T-ball practice.  Check out my little All-Star...

Dylan had fun with her second favorite person, Papa Bear...

The Birthday Boy joined the game...

That afternoon we had a PLANES party for Gav!  It was small, just our family and a few close friends.  But it was perfect and so much fun!  I'll post all the pics another time but here's a sneak peak...

Ok, so these two pictures aren't from his actual birthday but I just had to share them because they are SO "Gavin!"  I love this kid...

 

 

This is what happens when Gavin walks through a water feature at the mall and I don't have any extra clothes for him.  It was a very cold ride home...

 



 

 

 

Here are our annual mommy and Gavin pictures at 10:05 am!  Newborn...

 



 

 

 

One Year...



 

 

 

Two Years...