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!

16....and 17 Months!

We've been so busy and having so much fun, I didn't get to blog about Natalie's 16th month!  Enjoy this double edition of Natalie's growth!

~Natalie continues to want to be a big kid.  She often imitates her siblings and wants to do what they do.  They are great with her and help her join in!
~Her gross motor skills are great! She's now running and climbing into just about everything. She also enjoys climbing the ladder to our backyard swing set is able to climb independently.  Thankfully, she'll climb the first rung and call out for Mommy or Daddy to stand by before climbing further so we can be there, just in case.
~We're suspecting she may be a lefty.  While she has plenty of time to establish a dominant hand, she often colors and uses her left when feeding herself with utensils.
~Natalie now only naps once a day.  We had several days of her napping fine in the morning, but fighting her afternoon nap after a few minutes of playing in her crib.  She transitioned easily and is going great!  We're all enjoying more flexibility with our mornings, as we don't need to work around her nap. Upon waking, she'll call for Mommy and/or Daddy.
~She loves walking around in dress up heels with a purse or phone in one hand and a baby in another.
~I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  I LOVE language acquisition!  Her receptive language skills are great and is able to understand a lot!  She is able to identify and point to her/our nose, eyes, mouth, hands, hair, belly, fingers, feet and toes.  Natalie is able to repeat many words with clear articulation--although she makes it sound extra cute in her sweet little voice.  We've been working on a list of her spontaneously spoken words, which grows every day! Here's what we came up with, in no particular order:
~~Hi
~~Hello
~~Bye bye
~~Go-go
~~Shoes
~~Ball
~~Flower
~~Car
~~Mommy
~~Daddy
~~Abby
~~Abigail (Abby-gail)
~~Brennan (Benn-nen)
~~Gavin  (Gag-gin)
~~Natalie (Na-ne)
~~Book
~~Bed
~~Bite
~~Please
~~Thank you
~~Plate
~~Bowl
~~Done (said while handing us her plate after a meal)
~~Minnie
~~Cupcake
~~Room
~~Tracy
~~Kacey
~~Doggy
~~Bath
~~Cheese
~~Cracker
~~Cookie
~~Box
~~Bag
~~Beep
~~Baby
~~Eyes
~~Hand (usually when she wants to hold our hand)
~~Hair
~~Belly
~~Juice
~~Cup
~~Potty
~~Yucky
~~No
~~Yes
~~Yeah
~~Barley (pet dog at the babysitter's house)
~~Grandma
~~Grandpa
~~Sock
~~Stop
~~Bottle
~~Barbie
~~Help
~~Ouchie
~~Poop
~~Up
~~Hot
~~Yogurt
~~Food
~~Apple
~~Banana
~~Chips
~~Mail
~~Outside
~~Again
~~Stuck
~~Donut
~~Dirty
~~All gone
~~All done
~~Brush
~~Toothbrush
~~What? (in response to her name being called)
~~Guppy
~~Yummy gummy (What we call chewy vitamins)
~~Out
~~Here
~~Here go
~~Cars
~~Come on
~~Milk
~~On
~~Shirt
~~Upstairs
~~Downstairs
~~Blankie

And some phrases:
~~Hi _____! (Mommy, Daddy, Abby, Brennan, Gavin, Baby, Birdie, etc)
~~Love you! (A personal favorite!)
~~More bite
~~Ew, throw away

She is also labeling items - Abby's toothbrush, Brennan's shirt, etc. 

Allergy Testing

We took the kids to the allergist this summer.  Here are the results:

Brennan had another skin test.  He is still allergic to peanuts and will continue to need to carry an EpiPen. Luckily, this test went much better than his original experience.  Last time, he was desperate to itch his reaction spot on his back - to the point of tears and trying to rub his back on anything he could.  This time, they pricked his arm and he did not seem to be bothered by it at all.  The doctor recommended re-testing in 3 years.

Gavin had a skin test on his arm.  Previously, he had blood work and a skin test that indicated a reaction, but not to the degree of needing an EpiPen. We've avoided peanuts, but wanted more specific and updated information.  His first skin test was inconclusive, so we repeated the test the same day. Based on the reaction, and since he's never consumed any peanut products, the doctor requested blood work for additional information and to rule out a false positive.  Gavin did amazing during his blood draw and didn't even flinch, amazing the phlebotomists. Results indicated a positive reaction to peanuts.  He was also prescribed an EpiPen. The doctor recommended re-testing in 1 year.

Abigail had a skin test and did not react!  She's still getting used to the idea of eating peanut products, as she's used to hearing that the boys cannot eat things that have peanuts.

Natalie did not come with us during the original appointment, but the doctor recommended testing for her due to the boys' reactions.  She had a skin test when we received Gavin's blood work results.  She was tested for peanuts and milk, as her face sometimes becomes red in spots where yogurt may have gotten on her face. She did not react to dairy.  The peanut test was repeated due it becoming slightly red.  After another prick on her back, it was determined that she is not allergic.  We're now suspecting that her face reacts to dyes in foods, but it will quickly fade after she is cleaned off. Gavin had similar reactions at her age.