School Days!

It's time for another fun filled school year!  The boys are very excited about school!

Brennan is in 1st grade at Furry Elementary School!

Gavin is in preschool at Wee Care in Fremont, Ohio!

Happy 4th Birthday, Gavin!

Happy 4th Birthday, Gavin!

Our goofy, loving Gavin is 4 years old!  We celebrated his birthday with a truck themed party at home.  He also had a second birthday party in Cincinnati at a fun park!  He was very excited about turning 4, frequently asking how much longer he had until his birthday. 

He's a fun loving, inquisitive, intelligent and goofy guy!  He has an infectious giggle and smile!  We love his personality and are so proud of him!

Current interests:

~Basketball!  He is a great shot and enjoying making baskets!  He can throw a ball/baseball with great aim and distance.

~Jumping!  He has quite the impressive long jump!

~Cars, trains, buses, and vehicles in general!  He enjoys making them drive around the family room.  He also enjoys roller coasters, turning vehicles and other toys into roller coasters and talking about the rides at Cedar Point.  He enjoys riding the rides at Cedar Point, but isn't a huge fan of walking by the loud roller coasters. 

~His siblings.  He enjoys playing with them and is incredibly sweet with his sisters.  He often gives them hugs and kisses and wants to make sure they are ok.  Gavin and Brennan enjoy playing together, although they have the expected sibling rivalry of who is first, who is faster, etc.

Current Stats:
32 lb 4oz
3' 4"

She rolls!

Natalie loves to roll!  She has yet to repeat rolling from her belly to her back.  However, she has certainly mastered rolling from her back to her belly!  There are times it is difficult to keep Natalie on her back because she'll immediately roll to her belly each time!  Perhaps she's afraid she'll miss some of her brothers' and sister's actions and enjoys the ability to see what's going on all around her!?

3 Months Old!

Our little lady is 3 months old!

~Natalie continues to be a happy, content, easy going gal!  She loves to smile!
~She giggles!  Such a sweet sound!  She's most likely to giggle when you tickle her neck.
~Natalie is a great sleeper!  She takes the best naps in her bouncers or swing.  Her best naps are in the afternoon, usually lasting several hours. She sleeps in her crib at night.  The transition to her crib was very smooth and she was unphased by the change!  She sleeps overnight, usually going to bed around 9:00pm and waking around 6:00/6:30am.  With Mommy's return to work, we often have to wake her in the morning.  We'd like to move her bedtime earlier, but are enjoying the overnight sleep!
~Natalie is enjoying her time at the babysitter's house.  Surprisingly, she fought taking bottles on her first day.  She eventually drank two bottles, but put up a decent fight during the first attempt.  We sent her with different bottles (Playtex - the only brand/style that Gavin would use) on her second day as a back up plan.  She fought the original bottle, but willingly drank out of the Playtex bottle without hesitation.  Success! She enjoys the attention from the other kids and is oogled on frequently.
~She rolled from her belly to her back!  She did it several times one day, but hasn't repeated her skill since.  She loves to play on the floor--rolling back and forth and kicking.  She normally scoots all over her activity mat.
~Natalie has so much to say! She makes a lot of noises and enjoys coo conversations.
~She does a great job at tummy time!  She is able to hold her head high, supporting herself with her arms.  

2 Months Old!

 Our sweet little Natalie is 2 months old!

~Natalie is such a happy girl!  She loves to smile and is starting to squeal in delight. Her smiles range from smirks to big, open mouth smiles.  All of them will melt your heart!
~She is a great sleeper!  She continues to sleep overnight in Mommy and Daddy's room in a rock n' play sleeper.  Natalie will typically sleep in 6-7 hour stretches at night.  She typically takes cat naps in the morning and a long afternoon nap in her swing.  We're looking at moving her to her crib soon and would also like to move her bedtime earlier.
~Natalie is a great eater!  She usually eats every 2-3 hours during the day.
~She enjoys watching her brothers and sister play and prefers to be in the same room as us.  She's also tolerant of her brothers' and sister's affection.
~Natalie enjoys coo-ing and is quite expressive!


Current Stats:
12 lbs 6 oz (74th Percentile)
24" (97th Percentile)
15 3/4" head circumference (92nd Percentile)

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!