Happy 4th Birthday Abby!

Our sweet Abigail is 4!  We celebrated her birthday at home with family and friends with a Shimmer and Shine themed party.  Abby was very excited about her birthday and turning 4!

~Abby is a smiley, giggly girl!  She has the best belly laugh and her smile can light up a room.
~She had a great year at preschool! She made new friends and learned a lot!
~Abby is quite a "girly girl".  She enjoys singing, dancing, pretending do hair and make up, and can be a bit particular about her clothes. She also likes to play house and enjoys being the "Mommy" while Natalie is the "sister"

Current Stats:
Height: 3' 3.5" (43rd percentile)
Weight: 36.6 lb (60th percentile)

Family Vacation!

We enjoyed a beautiful, fun-filled week at Topsail, NC with our great friends, the Wrights and Wyllies!  We have talked about going on a group vacation for many years, but always seemed to have itty babies in one or more families, making a vacation not so ideal.  The kids did an incredible job on our long drive there and back. We rented a large beach house and loved our special time together.  We enjoyed playing on the beach, catching ghost crabs, putt-putting, catching fish and playing at the house.  We look forward to going back!!

Summer Time!

Brennan, Gavin and Abigail had another great school year!  We're excited for a fun summer!

Brennan had a great 2nd grade year!  He will be attending an intermediate school for 3rd through 5th grade. It's hard to believe he is done with elementary school in our district.  He will be participating in a gifted math class next year.  We met his new math teacher and are looking forward to this opportunity!

 

Gavin had a wonderful last year of preschool!  With his late summer birthday and continued daily naps, we opted for a 3rd year of preschool for him.  He is very excited about going to kindergarten next year.  His academic skills are awesome and he has a great foundation for elementary school!

Abigail absolutely loved her first year of preschool.  She will be attending in the 4 year old class at the same preschool next year. She learned so much this year!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Natalie!

Our sweet, lovable Natalie is 2!  We celebrated her birthday with friends and family with a flower themed party.

~Natalie is a chatterbox. She speaks in complete sentences and her vocabulary is impressive.  It's amazing to hear her express herself!  Her receptive language skills are also wonderful.  She's able to follow directions and understand us easily.
~Natalie is quite the comedian!  She enjoys making others laugh with her silliness.
~She adores her brothers and sister.  Mommy sometimes calls her a monkey (as in Monkey see, monkey do), as she'll often repeat their actions, comments, etc.
~Natalie loves to sing and dance with songs. She also enjoys playing with babies and is very affectionate with them.
~She is beginning to show interest in toilet training.  She often asks to sit on the toilet ("I have to go paaaawty") and is occasionally successful. We're not quite ready to toilet train yet, but aren't discouraging her interest.
~Natalie is such a sweet girl!  She brings us so much joy every day!


Current stats:
Height: 36" (97th percentile)
Weight: 26lb 4oz ( 45th percentile)
She's a string bean!

21-22 Months

Once again, we're having so much fun that I'm behind on updating Natalie's monthly posts. 


~Natalie is very quickly transitioning from a baby to a little girl. Our babysitter has commented several times that it's hard to believe she's only 1 because of how "old" she seems!
~Natalie continues to be a big talker!  She speaks in long phrases and can participate in conversations.  She loves to ask questions ("What's this, Mommy?"  "What's that noise, Daddy?", "Where'd Daddy go?").  She loves to count (we've heard her count to 13) and recite the alphabet.
~In addition to having great  expressive language skills, her receptive language skills are also wonderful!  She's able to understand questions and follow multiple step requests.
~Natalie has a tune in her heart!  She often breaks out into songs, including the alphabet, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Best Day Ever, Raining Tacos, and Happy Birthday.
~She loves to be independent and wants to do everything her siblings do.  She can dress herself with minimal help, put on her coat and shoes, and climb into her car seat.  She's often proud of her independent accomplishments and will exclaim "I do-ed it!" or "Na-Ne do-ed it!".  She also likes to pick out her own clothes, likely copying her sister.
~Natalie loves to be read to.  She often brings us a book, climbs onto our lap and states "Read it, Mommy/Daddy!"
~She continues to be a pretty strong leftie. She consistently eats and colors with her left hand.
~Natalie gives great hugs, including a tight squeeze and a pat on the back.  She also enjoys giving kisses, including real smooch noises! She has the sweetest voice, warming our hearts when she exclaims "Love you!"
~She has a beautiful smile that lights up her entire face and infectious giggle.  We love her so much!
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Happy 8th Birthday, Brennan!

Happy 8th Birthday, Brennan!

8?! How did this happen?  We are so proud of this young man!  Brennan has a wonderful, silly, caring personality.  He loves to make people laugh.  He's an inquisitive guy, always wanting to learn more.  Brennan is excelling at school and is the process of being further evaluated for gifted services.  He enjoyed playing on a soccer team earlier this year and is looking forward to another season.  Brennan recently joined Cub Scouts and is excited about participating in upcoming events.  

We celebrated Brennan's birthday with a Pokemon themed party at a local pizzeria with friends and family.  Unfortunately, he woke up with a fever on his birthday, but insisted we continue with his party as planned. He had a great time celebrating his special day!

An interview with Brennan:

Favorite subject at school: Reading

Favorite special class at school: Gym

Favorite sport: Football

Favorite game: Pie face

Favorite book: Captain Underpants

Favorite toy: Legos

Favorite Cedar Point ride: Corkscrew

Favorite color: Black

Favorite joke: Knock knock jokes

Favorite song: Believer by Kidzbop
Favorite food: Hamburgers
Favorite things to do: Collect Pokemon cards, Play outside, Watch sports, Read, Draw, Play Video games, and Assemble Legos

What I want to be when I grow up: Football player or Police Officer

We love you, Brennan!


Current Stats:
Height: 4ft 5 inches (85th percentile)
Weight: 67 lbs (82nd percentile)

18, 19 and 20 Months

We've been so busy having fun and making memories, I have not been good about documenting Natalie's latest tricks!  She's growing up very fast and making us smile every day with her sweet charm and silliness!

~Natalie is a chatty girl!  She says new words nearly every day and is speaking in short phrases.  She enjoys labeling objects (e.g., "Brennan's toothbrush", "Gavin's backpack").  She's also able to describe actions (e.g., "Abby's sleeping").  Natalie is very polite, nearly always saying "Please" (e.g., "Up, please, Mommy!"), "Thank you", "You're welcome" and "Excuse me".  Some other often heard phrases are:
-"I do it myself!" Followed by "I do-ed it!"
-"Help, please, Mommy/Daddy"
-"I want _____, too, Mommy/Daddy"
-"I don't know!" (complete with gesture)
-"Come here Mommy/Daddy" (complete with a gesture of waving her hand/arm)
-"Why, Mommy/Daddy?"
-"Want out please, Mommy/Daddy"
-"Oopsy daisies!"
~Natalie finally cut all 4 canine teeth. 
~Natalie is officially weaned.  She nursed only at bedtime for a few minutes.  She did well after we lessened the amount of time she ate each night and Daddy putting her to bed instead of Mommy.  I will forever miss nursing our babies.
~Natalie loves to dance!  She likes to bounce and wave her hands/arms
~In addition to talking, Natalie also likes to sing.  Some of her favorites include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (sang as "Twinkle twinkle little star), Happy Birthday (sang as "Happy birthday to you!", Skinamarinky Dinky Dinky Dink (sang as "Love you in the morning. In afternoon"), and the Alphabet (In it's entirety! Even with "Now I know my ABCs, Next time sing with me"). She often sings the alphabet when her siblings are swishing their mouth wash (our timer for swishing!)
~Natalie is able to point to and name several body parts -- Fingers, hands, belly, belly button, arm, ears, eyes, hair, toes, feet and legs.
~She loves to give hugs ("Huggies!").  She'll give a big squeeze and sometimes pack your back.
~Natalie likes to be clean.  She often immediately asks for a paper towel after getting food on her fingers or her high chair tray.
~Natalie is showing some interest in toilet training.  She often tells us when she soils/wets her diaper (Mommy/Daddy!  Poop! Diaper!).  She enjoys sitting on the toilet and will only want to get off after wiping and being told she can flush.
~Natalie is very observant and wants to do and say everything her siblings do! 
~Natalie is such a sweet, happy and lovable girl!  She has a sweet and hilarious personality and we love her to pieces!