Zoo Trip

Last Saturday was our first family zoo trip since Ellyson was born. The kids and I went once after Ellyson's birth, while Jack was in the hospital. It was really crowded, so we made a quick loop and then left to have lunch at one of our favorite in-town restaurants (Mary Mac's Tea Room, in case anyone is curious).

This was our first run at using a stroller at the zoo. As I've voiced before, we just aren't stroller people. Anyway, I think next time, we'll leave the stroller in the car. We took the sit-and-stand, but Carter got out as soon as we went inside the gate . . . and I took Ellyson out somewhere around the half-to-two-thirds mark.

Nothing particularly exciting this trip . . . but we are eagerly anticipating the baby tiger later this summer!

Below is my attempt at getting a picture of both children in the stroller. Notice Carter is wearing his giraffe shirt, and Ellyson is sporting a zebra top.

Checkup Time

Carter and Ellyson had their checkups today (three years and four months). Here's where their official sizes stand:

Carter is 34 pounds even, and 40" tall. That puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and the 95th for height!
Ellyson is 14 pounds, 1.5 ounces (50th percentile) and 25" (75th percentile).

Ellyson had to get two shots and an oral vaccine. Carter had to get a finger prick, and had to pee in a cup. He thought that part was kinda funny.

Four Months

I really need to start scheduling Ellyson's checkups on or before the 26th of the month, so I can post real size updates. But her checkup is on Wednesday (as is Carter's three-year). So I have a weight estimate, based on me standing on the scale with and without her: 14 pounds. By comparison, Carter was more than 16 pounds at four months old.

• Size: Clothes are pretty comfortably a 3-6 month. Some 6M are a little big. But Carter was just turning four months when he switched to 9M clothes. :)
• Diapers: She is just now moving out of size 1-2, and into size 2. I said that last month, too, but this time she really is. I figured out that the Huggies size 1-2 were just a hair bigger than Pampers size 1-2, and I noticed the price-per-diaper for a case of 1-2 was a lot cheaper than size 2. So I ordered one more case of the smaller size, and we finally finished them this weekend.
• Eating: Still nursing. We've struggled a bit. She is easily distracted, tends to get lazy, and apparently wants my undivided attention while she nurses. But things are better now. She nurses every 2-2.5 hours. When she takes bottles, she takes 5-6 ounces of pumped milk. No solids yet. I plan to wait at least one more month - hopefully close to two more.
• Sleep: She sleeps 9-10 hours straight, then wakes to nurse (around 5-6 a.m.), then goes back to bed for another 1.5-3 hours. Naps are still a little unpredictable.
• Teeth: Still working on the first two. I can feel them along the gum now, but they still haven't broken through.
• She likes to be held. All. the. time. Especially by me. She has thrown some pretty good screaming fits when other people are watching her. And in the car. And in the stroller. We sometimes wonder if she has late-to-develop colic. It's not quite that bad - but it's probably borderline.

Hot, Hot, Hot

So, it's been super hot. Ellyson does not appreciate the heat. But she looks so darn cute in her sundress and matching hat!

Bathing Two

Far from the only juggling act now that we have two little ones, but one juggling act nonetheless . . . is bath time. (Feeding time is a story of its own. Apparently Carter finds humor in holding his potty time until Ellyson is nursing. Yay! Anyway.) Bath time with two babies and two parents? Not really a challenge. But obviously I had to learn to tackle bath time solo - and now that I found a groove, it seems to work pretty well, so Jack can spend that time on other projects.

On occasion, I've split bath night (since Carter bathes only three, sometimes four times per week - and Ellyson bathes three, sometimes only two times per week, splitting is possible). But that doesn't really make it easier. I still have to figure out what to do with she-who-wants-to-be-held while my hands are busy washing Big Brother.

My solution? We start Carter's bath. Ellyson either lies in her tub (which happens less often now that she can roll herself) to watch; or she jumps in her jumperoo and I leave the door open so I can see into her room; or, on occasion she is tired enough to nap. I get Carter washed and rinsed. Then I fill Ellyson's baby tub and put it on the floor of the bathroom. Carter plays in the tub while I wash, dry and dress Ellyson. By the time Ellyson is fresh and clean in her pajamas, Carter doesn't put up much fight at the direction to stop playing and get out of the tub. The floor gets a little wet, but both kids seem content with the solution. So for now, it works for me.

Wordless Wednesday

Words of the Week: Hard Work

Carter is all about "hard work" these days - anything that Mommy and Daddy do, he can do better. And he takes it very seriously. If he is cutting the grass, he occasionally runs out of gas in the mower and has to refill. But he can't move the mower back to the garage - there's no gas in it - so he brings the gas can (aka watering can) to the middle of the yard to refill. And before he begins work, he must "crank up" his equipment.

His blower even has a proper place beside Daddy's.


 

Father's Day

It was a meaningful Father's Day at our house this year. Not only have we welcomed a new baby, but we have been reminded how thankful we are for our little family.

And in true boy fashion, the men I celebrated on Father's Day - my dad, my husband, and the little boy who calls them "Grandpa" and "Daddy" - had a nice little water gun fight in the back yard. But Carter showed no mercy: Aunt Alecia and Aunt Katya participated, and Mommy was pretty well wetted also. Luckily, it was so hot out that only Carter was wet when we went back  inside.

Word of the Week: Why

This started about a month ago, but is in full swing. If age two is the year of the tantrum (which, as every parent knows, continues through age three as well), then age three is the year of the question. And most of the time, that question is "Why?" Carter asks "why" at least forty-seven thousand times a day. Seriously.

Just another day at the office

Wordless Wednesday

Vocabulary Lessons from Carter

Is it wrong that our son can pronounce "cappuccino" perfectly, yet still calls Cookie Monster "Coo'poo-poo"? He can say the word "monster" just fine. But for some reason, he still calls Cookie Monster by the monosyllabic (how he manages to pronounce it all in one syllable baffles me) "Coo'poo-poo".

In other news, my son might be raised in the South if . . . he pronounces the word "boat" with at least three syllables.

Carter's Birthday Party

Carter's birthday fell on Saturday this year, so his party was on his real birthday. We rented a bounce house, some tables and chairs, and invited family and a handful of his friends (plus their parents) to celebrate with us. He is all about Cars right now, so naturally that was the theme - right down to the bounce house. Luckily, with the sequel coming out this month, Cars stuff is everywhere. And some of the party supplies were on clearance, as stores made room for Cars 2 themes. :)

For additional photos, see my Facebook album.

Ellyson was happy here, but she cried the rest of the afternoon. Her poor grandmothers took turns trying to keep her calm, but nothing made her happy.

Carter tried to drive the Lightning McQueen on the race track.

A breeze almost prevented us from keeping the candle lit, but I finally got it - in time for the last line of "Happy Birthday"! Better late than never.

We moved the party indoors, out of the heat, for gifts.

Carter wore his Mater Greater teeth from Ashlyn (his BFF and future wife - look at that sultry pose!). Ashlyn says she's going to marry Carter and have little baby Chloes (Chloe is her little sister).

Doing some "hard work" with his weed eater.

Ashlyn and Carter running through the house with the new lawn tools.

Playing with Uncle Brad after the party.

And doing "hard work" with Aunt Alecia after the party.

And then Alecia and I got in the bounce house with Carter. And it was fun. :)

Lakehouse Living

We made our first family trip to Jack's parents' lake house, since Ellyson was born.

Fishing with Nana.

Fishing with Daddy. 

Everybody fishing. (Mommy is not a fisherman.)

Dancing in his shark jammies.

Napping.

Showing Daddy the proper way to wear a hat.

And showing Papa Jack, too.

Hanging out with E.

Daddy and Carter caught catfish at the same time.

Nana and Ellyson.

Grasshoppers.



Three Years Old

Wait. What?

Yes, our Wee Man has grown into our Little Man, and he will let you know it!

Boy, has he grown!

Birth

One Year

Two Years

Three Years

Development . . .

• He is about 36" tall and about 34 pounds. He wears, usually, a size 3T and a 10-1/2W shoe.
• He uses complete sentences and carries on conversations for what seems like hours . . .
• He knows lots of letters by sight and can identify his written name.
• He can count to 12 perfectly, and counts to 20 with a little assistance in the teens.
• He knows basic colors and shapes.
• He sings about anything and everything - making up songs as he goes!
• His imagination is working overtime. He personifies stuffed animals and toys. He loves to mimic real, grown-up activities like cutting grass, blowing leaves and cooking.
• He remembers everything. Seriously, everything.
• He sleeps from about 8 (or 8:30) p.m. until 7 a.m. - or until the sun wakes him, whichever comes first. He finally is not crawling in bed with us; instead he comes to our room in the middle of the night and lays down on a makeshift bed on our floor. He insists I tuck him in when he does this.
• He naps about one day out of two. Sometimes when we're driving or running (and he's in the stroller), he asks permission to sleep in the car/stroller. Once granted permission, he's usually asleep within a minute.
• He's a bottomless pit and eats almost anything. Favorites include Reese's peanut butter cups, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, canteloupe, tomatoes, broccoli, corn, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, corn dogs, and macaroni and cheese.

Word of the Week: Baseball

Carter went to his first sporting event this week - a minor league baseball game. My dad had box seats, and took Jack and Carter. Carter had a BALL! It won't be his last game this season.

Wordless Wednesday

Gone Fishin' With Elmo

Baking with Carter

Jack likes to say that he has one and a half daughters. Carter is all boy - he loves anything that moves - cars, trucks, tractors, boats, trains, planes - and his favorite color is blue - but he also has a soft spot for cooking in real and play kitchens. One day, he told me we needed to bake cookies for Uncle Brad and Aunt Meredith. So we did. He thought the mixer was a little loud.