Happy 2nd Birthday, Abigail!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Miss Abigail!

We celebrated Abigail's birthday with a bubble themed party at our house, complete with swimming. gigantic bubble juice and a collection of bubble making toys. 

~Abigail continues to be a happy, cheerful young lady!  It's rare to see her without a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.
~Her vocabulary is growing at rapid speeds.  She frequently speaks in short phrases, sometimes up to 4-5 words.  She also has longer phrases, but she includes some unintelligible words.  When asked to repeat herself, she use the same phrases--she has a lot to say! 
~Abigail is a great helper!  She enjoys helping us, including without being asked.  She'll do tasks such as throwing away trash, carrying in groceries, helping with laundry, retrieving items and emptying the dishwasher!
~ She is quiet a girly-girl and enjoys her babies, baby gear, purses and other stereotypical "girl toys".  However, she also enjoys playing with trucks, balls and blocks!
~Abby is a great sleeper.  She typically sleeps from about 7:30pm-6:30am.  She'll also nap for 2-3 hours a day.  Abigail goes to sleep easily and enjoys a story and song before bed.
~Abigail is being quiet independent!  She likes to do things herself, such as putting on her clothes and shoes.  She'll often state, "Abby do it!" or "I got it!".  If unsuccessful, she'll politely ask for "Help".
~She likes to count, although she'll state random numbers rather then actually counting
~Abigail has acquired many nicknames.  Some common nicknames include Abbas, Abba-giggles, Giggles, Abba-goos, Abba-Dabba, and Abbers

Current Stats:
27 lbs 2 oz (58th Percentile)
34 1/4" (71st Percentile)

1 Month!

Our adorable Natalie is already one month old!  It's hard to imagine our family without her!  She's such a joy!

~Natalie loves to snuggle!  And we love to snuggle her!
~She's a champion eater!  Nursing has gone wonderfully.  She eats every 2-3 hours.  Natalie is also champion burper.  Her burps rival those of grown men!  She's started to spit up some, so we're always prepared with a burp cloth!
~One of our favorite milestones -- her first smile!  She began to smile just before turning 1 month old.  We anticipated/hoped it would be coming soon as we could see her happiness through her expressive, beautiful blue eyes!
~Natalie is a great sleeper!  Most naps are in our arms (see previous comment about loving to snuggle), in a bouncer, or in a swing.  Overnight, she sleeps in a Rock 'n Sleep in our bedroom.  She typically wakes once a night to eat and then returns to dreamland.  She has slept as long as 6-7 consecutive hours overnight! She even snores sometimes!
~She's doing a great job of holding her head up.  She's not the biggest fan of tummy time, but will tolerate it for a few minutes.  She is able to hold her head up when on our chests.
~She's starting to coo and enjoys to be cooed at.
~Natalie lost her belly button stump at 9 days.  She had some residual bleeding, but it's quite the "inny" belly button, so part of it did not get much air to dry out. 
~She enjoys rolling to her side.  When we put her on the floor for exercise, she often rolls to her side, just as she did right after she was born and was being assessed.

1 Month Stats:
10lb 13oz (83rd %tile)
22 inches (82nd %tile)
15 1/2 inch head circumference (99th %tile)
She was determined to be perfect, beautiful, happy, and doing great!

One of her first smiles caught on camera!  She's such a happy girl!

Summer Break!

It's officially summer break!  Today was Brennan's last day of kindergarten.  He was in Mrs. Boose's classroom at Furry Elementary.  He did an amazing job and absolutely loves school!  When asked his favorite part of the day throughout the year, his answer was always "Everything!"  He's reading books, spelling words and doing addition and subtraction.  He seemed to especially enjoy his units on dinosaurs and community helpers.  Brennan made several friends within his classroom and other kindergarten classrooms.  We're so very proud of him and his accomplishments this school year!

Gavin also completed his first year of preschool!  He was in Miss Angela's preschool classroom at St. Ann's Little Blessings Preschool in Fremont.  Gavin also did an incredible job and loves school!  He knows all of his letters and numbers, frequently recites the alphabet (repeatedly...) and can count to 100 independently.  He also made many friends in his classroom.  Mommy frequently heard comments from his teachers about Gavin being a great student and kid.  Goofy Gavin, however, did not talk or barely acknowledge his teachers when Mommy was at school at pick up or drop off, but would start to talk as soon as she wasn't around.  Miss Angela explained that he has great academic skills, but would rarely talk during circle time and, instead, saved his skills for when he was working one-on-one with her.  We're incredible proud of him! Unfortunately, we didn't get an end-of-the-year picture of Gavin.  He attended until the week of Natalie's birth when Mommy started her maternity leave, with the thought that he would continue to attend occasionally throughout the summer.