*Ages 3 & 1- Status Update*

Ok- so my lack of blogs has lead me to writing one long one about the kids, together. We had Abigail's 1 year old check up back on the 4th of March, and then Hunter's was earlier this week. I'm finally getting around to the updates. Sorry for the long post. I hope you have time to enjoy it!

First Birthday First

My pretty-pretty as I like to call her is full of sass. We like to call her spicy. She is quite the busy little girl and will keep you on your toes as much as SHE pleases. We have all come to terms with her bossy behavior, but let me tell you, the one she has the most wrapped around her little finger is her brother. She just knows how to make him feel bad and he gives into her within a second. They are pretty cute together, that is for sure!

A few stats from the Dr's office:
Weight- 24.6 lbs- 91% of kids weigh less than her at this age (babies should weigh 3x their birth weight at 1 year of age- she was 8lbs 1 oz at birth- so she is right on track!)
Height- 30 1/2 inches- 85% of kids are shorter than her at this age
Head- 19 inches- 97% of kids have a smaller head than her at this age

What can I say? I have giant babies.

As far as her development, she is right on track just like her size. She has been walking for a while now and has it pretty much down to a science. She now practices walking backwards- she loves it! She still has bottles at bedtime because we can't seem to find a good alternative for her at this point for a sippy cup, she hates when it comes out of the sippy cup too fast. She loves to give kisses, loves to talk, and loves to pretend she is on the phone. She can say many things, "Mama, Dada, Down, Up, Tucker (tuter), Hunter (ahhhhh)" She has also spontaneously said two words together before, one day it was "Oooo pretty". We were so excited the other day to teach her to say "More" in sign language in the midst of one meal. It only took that one meal for her to completely learn it! Then we later found out she has been doing the sign for "more" at daycare long before this... we just thought she was really smart! Ha!

What is Abigail's favorite thing? Food! She loves to eat. She is so good at eating her fruits and veggies and pretty much anything else. There was a Chili's commercial on TV tonight and she signed "More" to it. She is so funny.

Her Dr appointment went pretty well. She did have 4 shots, but her brother helped her through them. She cried for maybe 20 seconds. The worst part (for me- she didn't mind) was that she developed a hive at one of the injection sites. This got me really worried since she already has what the Dr. diagnosed as a mastocytoma on her leg just above where she developed the hive. You can read some good information regarding mastocytoma's here: http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/factsheets.cfm?doc_id=5131 . She will be seeing the dermatologist this month to give us more information. I'm just happy to know that this probably will go away on its own.

I again cannot believe that it has been a year. So much has happened in a year that it feels like forever ago, but yet yesterday. I still remember being pregnant with her and being so excited for having a little girl. I just never knew how lucky I would be to have HER!

My Little Man

3!!!!!!!

Holy cow... now I'm starting to feel old! When did he get to 3!?!?!

I just cannot believe it has been so long. He is such a pure joy, he is truly simply the sweetest little boy I've ever known. I swear he breaks my heart daily with his sensitive nature. In many ways, he takes after his dad in his manners and sweetness. The world is better for having another guy like his dad in it! He can be "spicy" in his own 3 year old manner though, so let me tell you, not everyday is a day in the clouds!

Here are some stats:
Weight: 34.3 lbs- (down 1.5 from two days prior when he went to urgent care)- weighs more than 76% of kids at his age
Height- 37 3/4 inches- taller than 62% of kids his age

One thing that Dr. Philips mentioned with both Abby and Hunter was that their height was low compared to some of their other height charts, so they are both due for a growth spurt. He said it was normal for kids to grow in a step pattern and they are both probably due for that next step! I know Hunter will be. He had a small one in December/January but hasn't grown much since and that one wasn't very big.

Another thing- he was at Urgent Care on Sunday. Remember my last post about how miserable he was? Well that was Saturday that he was puking and still running a fever while dealing with a cold. On Sunday morning he woke up at 6am crying that his ears hurt. Poor little guy. I took him in that day and they saw that he had a double ear infection. Thankfully after 18 hours on that, he perked right up Monday afternoon and we have had our wonderful little guy back ever since!

Some things about our 3 year old: He is starting to play pretend, so like tonight, he had baby "Amanda" and laid her in her bed and was pacing around her trying to wait for her to go to sleep. He knows a lot of things that really impress us. Like the other day, we were getting on the elevator and I asked him to press the one on top. He did. I asked him to point to the one on bottom, and he knew that too! He does really well with his colors and only gets a few of them mixed up from time to time. Usually based on interest level. He is potty trained except at night. He is starting to eat more fruits, he has recently started eating more apples, grapes, and strawberries. This is a huge improvement over our past variety of pureed pears and canned green beans.


The Next Year: My Wishes

What are my wishes for my children over the next year? I wish that Abigail continues to grow and thrive the same as she has been. I wish that she starts to understand empathy and sympathy and works on those skills to ensure that she is sensitive to others feelings as well. I wish that Hunter enjoys his first year of school (K3 in the fall!). I wish that he does not struggle with becoming older and does not get his heart broke too much when it comes to friends and playing with others (enough to teach, not to break).  These are just a few... but most of all, my wish for our family is that we continue to love each other as much as we have and more than we think and enjoy our brief moment that will be this next year.

*Wishing Miserable Felt Better*

I know I need to post more to the blog. I need to set a new goal. I am always *thinking* about a blog that I have in mind, a photo that I take, a memory I want to keep, but yet, time gets away and I'm not taking the time to do it. I'm trying to think of a good goal, but I know I probably won't do anything more soon than once a week at this point. I know what the next couple of weeks have in store and I'm trying to be realistic.



Miserable is the word




Is there anything better than pajamas and ice cream sandwiches after lunch?

 Beyond my goals of writing more, there is a larger topic to this post. Hunter has crummies in his tummy and I want them to get out! He has been running a low grade fever for the past three days and hasn't been in the mood for eating at all. Unfortunately, this morning I made a bad mistake since I didn't know that he really had been puking, but I gave him 3/4 glass of milk. It ended up coming back up within a 1/2 hour and that really sent his tummy for a rumble. I think I definitely did more bad than good! Luckily, Grandma Julie ran to town for us and got some sprite and essentials for his belly ache. He just got done eating a soda cracker and three sips of sprite and that was enough for his belly to be full so he could fall asleep. I'm hoping when he wakes up from his nap that it is settled enough to try some more crackers and fluids. What a poor little peanut. These are a few pictures from just a few minutes ago. I hope you all stay healthy---- and us too!

*A Fun Weekend Away*

Well we had a great weekend last weekend! Nana and Papa invited us to Metropolis to spend a family weekend away. We met Josh and his kids Gavin and Kylin there. We also got to spend the weekend with Holly and Jordan, whom our kids just love the two of them! We got there on Friday night and started off in Action City. The kids played for a little bit. Abby and I went to the hotel room a little bit before the guys so that she could go to sleep before they got in there. On Saturday morning Hunter was excited to go to the waterpark! The air was warm in there, the water was warm in there, and I feel like it was a perfect size for our young children! It also wasn't very crowded so we were able to hang out and relax without running into a bunch of people. Hunter went down one of the big water slides over and over again. He was having a blast. Abby just loves the water and is basically more fish than human. I did take her to take a nap mid-day and she ended sleeping for 3 1/2 hours! She was recharged and ready to go after that! We went outside and played mini-golf for a while. Wow! What beautiful weather it was outside to do that! It was 75 degrees and sunny... it couldn't have been more perfect!



My little golf players



Look at that form! Bent knees, head down, eyes on the ball...

Playing in the creek more than the golf course!

Later on that day we went back over to Action City. The kids (and men) had a blast riding the go-karts. Abby, Nana, Jordan, Holly, and I became their cheerleaders. Abby was having fun riding around in their "strollers" that look and act like little cars. She also had fun playing on the toddler play equipment. It was a long day by the end of Saturday and Hunter was wiped out by the time 7pm came around... he actually fell asleep in my arms at the table! On Sunday we went back to the water park for an hour and a half to play before we had to get ready to leave. We all went out to lunch before Josh and the kids headed off back to Oshkosh.

Abby putting herself in the hotel room cabinet!

The girls are wearing their matching pajamas and playing dolls

It was a fun-filled weekend and thanks again to Nana and Papa for such a great time!

*A Magical Party*

Well what a party it was! We partied twice as hard for twice the kids! Oh it was so much fun. This is how the day went down in detail:

The morning was really quiet for us. The kids took a nap (well Hunter relaxed, he wasn't very tired). I walked the stuff for the party over to Nana and Papa's house. We all got dressed. Hunter wore his "handsome" shirt and Abby wore her "Minnie Mouse" dress that Grandma Julie MADE for her. Grandma Julie and Grandpa Dana had to come over a bit early to fix the dress. Just a minor detail about not being able to get it to go over her head... but we figured it out!

The party started at 1pm. We didn't have a full house until around 1:30. We ate Pizza, chips and dip, pretzels and dip, veggies and dip and drank Mickey Mouse Punch. The "Punch" was Mickey Mouse ice cubes with sprite. It was very cute. I found it funny that before we ate I was asked from Hunter "Can we open presents now?" and I said "No, after we eat". After he ate lunch, him and Ed ran over to the present pile and started going through the gift that Ed got him. I told him "No, after we eat cake". So we all sang Happy Birthday to Hunter and Abigail. We watched Abby destroy a cake and Hunter shared his cake with his friends. I then got asked "Can we open presents NOW?????" and I had to say "No, we are going to do the game". We then had the kids play a scavenger hunt game. They had to match the pictures on their "card" to some hidden pictures around the loft. Once they found all of the matches, they could come down for a prize. It was an easy game for the older kids, but the little ones enjoyed it! So then guess what? "Hunter, we can do present opening now!". So we did. I helped Hunter, Jake helped Abby. It was chaos! Abby was all about everything... but I didn't get to see much of her opening her presents, which is one part of the party that wasn't so much fun for me. I feel like I missed it. But I do know she didn't do much of the opening herself, but I love her reactions and I didn't get to see them. Hunter was excited to open his presents. He loved so many of them. It was fun to see him really get into present opening this year! At least this year he didn't pull the pieces of paper off little by little!

Hunter then went around and handed out his "Thank you treat" which was a Ghiradelli Chocolate dipped Mickey Mouse rice crispie bar. They turned out so cute! On them it said "Ingredients: One sweet three year old, one spicy one year old = a special treat that is hard to beat!". Tee hee hee! Oh I had fun with this theme!

I'll give myself a few months and then it is party planning all over again for next year ;)

Enjoy some photos of the event!

Thank you treat

The cupcakes!

The mickey mouse ice cubes, tongs and punch!

Mickey Mouse Cheese

Cupcakes

Minnie Mouse dress

*Abby's 1 Year Photos*

Hey! Quick! If you want to see Abby Dabby's 1 year photos, follow the instructions. They expire on the 7th at midnight, so if you want a picture, let me know before then and I'll order it for you. Enjoy!

Go to www.imagequix.com and scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Gallery Guest. Then enter G9GCR9M in the box. You will then click on Abigial's image and enter your email addy and password:
02172012av

*BUSY*

What a big word BUSY is! This past week was incredibly fast! I remember thinking on Sunday that I didn't want Monday to come because I didn't have done what I wanted to get done. The next thought I remember having was "Holy Cow it is Friday at 5!". Either 1. I didn't have any thoughts during the week or 2. I was so busy doing things that the time slipped away. I'm guessing it is the second option. It was a big week, I do know that. Lots of decisions to make and even better? More party planning!

Things are moving along for the 1 and 3 year old's birthday party! The party is next Saturday and it is going to be one heck of a time! What is on the menu? Pizza, chips, dips, cheese (of course- it is a mouse party), CUPCAKES, and some very special punch! Oh boy I'm looking forward to this one! Did you see the invite? If not, here it is!

(A special thank you to Jeremy Cortner for the design!)

So today, Abigail and I are working on party planning. Hunter Bradley is going on a date with Nana today in Eau Claire, so Abby and I are going to cook it up in the house! We have to make some treats for the kids, the game for the kids, and get some stuff prepared in advance of this week. I have a feeling though that she will end up napping through most of it :)

So what is on the agenda for the week? You've guessed it- Party Planning! We hope to see you there, and if not, See you real soon!



*Valentine's Day*

Well this week we got the pleasure of celebrating Valentine's Day with two kids instead of one! I still can't believe we had a holiday that Abby hasn't been here. She just seems so old!

We had a great Valentine's Day. We bought a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's and did the whole take and bake fun. There was a lot of extra kisses that day... and chocolate, and peanut butter, and... well, lets just say I'm glad that this holiday is over and the candy is now out of sight! They both seemed to love their Valentine's from Mom and Dad. Hunter received a paint set and Abby some hair clippies and of course, they both received candy! Hunter now LOVES to paint. He keeps asking to do it, in the morning when he wakes up, when he is home from Nana and Papa's house, and then before bed. Anytime- he wants to paint! I'm surprised at how good he is with the whole process. 1. Dip brush in paint 2. Paint on paper 3. Dip in water glass 4. Dry on paper towel. Only a parent of a 3 year old would get excited about the mastery of these steps- we have come a long way from the 1. Dip in paint 2. Brush in mouth... hands... table... shirt...

I had a fun time getting a Valentine made for a special Daddy this year. The kids had a great time helping me do it! We made some picture frames that went on the wall next to Jake's side of the bed, this is a showing of the photo session I had... I was gut rolling laughing by the end of it!

 Happy Valentine's Day to all of you too! We love you!!!