Callen at 3 Months

Our little man is growing by leaps and bounds! Unfortunately, we don't have a well check for Callen this month so we have to do our own measurements. While I am sure they are accurate, it just doesn't feel as official as getting them from the doctor. That said, today Callen is 16 lbs, 6 oz and 26.5" long. This puts him at the 95th percentile for weight and off the charts for height.

 At three months, he:

•  Is smiling all the time! I have to avoid making eye contact with him while he's eating because otherwise he'll smile that big, gummy grin of his and dribble milk all over the place!
• Still has a minor case of tongue tie, though it doesn't seem to affect him too much. He is a bit messier of an eater than his sister was, but that's pretty much all it seems to be affecting.
• Is laughing! He just started laughing the other day, and it's seriously the best sound in the world. He'll grin up at me and laugh, turning his head to the side like he's being bashful. I die every time he does it :-)

• Has rolled back to belly a few times but isn't doing it regularly yet.
• Has crazy upper body strength! During tummy time, he will lift his head and shoulders well off the ground and will sometimes even hold them up without using his arms to prop himself up. It is insane how quickly babies get so strong.

• Chews on his hands a lot. This is totally normal baby behavior, but it still cracks me up. He still hasn't really "found" his thumb and won't take a pacifier, but he loves to suck and chew on his fist.
• Babbles and coos all the time!
• Loves to watch his feet. He discovered them a couple of weeks ago, and now his favorite thing to do if he's in his bouncy chair, carseat, or sitting in someone's lap, is to watch his feet moving around. He'll even lean forward, seemingly to try to get them in his mouth.

• Sleeps for anywhere from 4-6 hours at night (in a crib!), and then wakes up every 2-3 hours until around 7 or 8.
• Still doesn't really have a set nap schedule, but will take 3 to 5 naps from 30 minutes to an hour and a half each.
• Is still very relaxed and easy-going, at least in my opinion. Most days he is easy to get down for naps, still doesn't mind the car seat too much, will take a bottle (though it does take him much longer to eat from one,) and overall seems to be a very happy baby. He's the perfect addition to our family!

10 Years

While this is a blog mainly about my kiddos, it is also mainly for my kiddos, and I would feel remiss if I didn't acknowledge the importance of this day.

10 years ago today I was in my 3rd week as a sophomore at ASU. I was living in the dorms, and while I don't think I had yet declared it my major, I had started making movement to change my major from Psychology to Photography. I only had one morning (before 10 am) class first semester and it was on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though I can't remember what class it was. I do remember that I had decided the night before that I would skip my morning class and sleep in. I woke up on Tuesday morning to my next door neighbor, Jason, knocking on my door, saying that classes were cancelled and to turn on the news. Confused and a bit scared, I turned on my TV to see footage being replayed of the planes crashing into the twin towers. I was horrified, trying desperately to think of anyone I knew who might be or know someone in New York City. I remember little of the rest of the day. I know I spent a good portion of it watching tv with various kids from my floor. I remember being really annoyed with most of the newscasters. I remember being stunned silent. And I remember thinking to myself "Why are people so suprised that someone would try to do something like this to the US?" At the time, I don't think I said those words out loud to anyone besides my parents. The rest of the semester is somewhat of a blur due mainly to the events of that day. The entire country was in a state of mourning and shock (not to mention extreme paranoia,) which I am not sure will ever be shaken entirely, at least not until our generation has passed. I only hope that my kids never have to experience such a devestating event, though it seems every generation has their own. Columbine and 9/11 were ours.

Audia's First Day of School

So, not only was yesterday Audia's birthday, but it was her first day of preschool as well! She's attending twice a week for 2.5 hours and is in a class of 16 kids, with 2 teachers. In order to avoid making the first day too overwhelming (and also at the request of the director of the preschool, who intelligently asked parents to just "drop and go" on the first day), I didn't bring my camera along to drop her off. I figure there will be plenty of oppertunities to get photos of her at school throughout the year. So, I took her 'first day' photo at home, and she insisted that it be taken with Peter Pan. 

You'll notice that she has her infamous "Michael Jackson Sock," as we call it. She very rarely will wear two socks at once unless she has shoes on over them.

I was a bit nervous about dropping her off yesterday, but our brave little girl, although a bit quieter than her normal, talkative self, walked in without a glance back. I was so proud! Chris and I picked her up together so we could get a special birthday lunch afterwards, and she was in great spirits. She said she had a lot of fun, and last night at bedtime even asked if she could go back again today. I'd call it a success! I am really looking forward to seeing all that the school year holds for our munchkin!

Audia is 3!

Dear Audia,

Three years ago today you entered this world in your own way, and you've been doing things your own way ever since. I cannot even begin to put into words how you've changed our world, how you've changed us. You've taught us so much already about life and what's important. You have such a bright light inside of you, my darling. My goal is to make sure you know to always let it shine.

Here you are on the day you were born.

One year old

Two years old

Three years old

At age three, these are some of the things you are doing and are into:

You love, love, love to sing and dance! Some of your favorite songs are, in no particular order: 'Twinkle, Twinkle,' 'Distant Melody,' 'Don't Stand So Close to Me,' 'Be Mine,' 'Lullaby and Goodnight,' 'I'll Stand By You,' and every song in the Care Bears Movies from the 80's.

You are compassionate and sweet. If someone is hurt or sad or upset (or even if they aren't but you imagine that they are or should be,) you immediately try to console that person and to make the situation better. You love giving kisses and hugs and snuggling, especially with your baby brother.

You are insanely imaginative. You have entire conversations back and forth with all of your toys, and you regularly ask us to make the most random things talk to you: the sun, the trees, the car, and of course all of the characters from shows or movies you've seen recently.

Your favorite TV shows are: Dragon Tales, 30 Rock, Shaun the Sheep, Yo Gabba Gabba, Wonder Pets, Pee Wee's Playhouse, and The Backyardigans.

Your favorite movies are: Disney's Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Care Bears Movie, The Wizard of Oz, and The Aristocats.

You love to sort things and set everything out in vast piles, I'm assuming so you can see them all and admire your collections.

• You eat things most people assume kids don't/won't like: Asparagus, spinach, green beans, pickles, mushrooms, onions, and olives, to name a few.
• You love scary things. You love to spook people and to be spooked. The other day, while watching the Wizard of Oz, you said to me "Momma, I don't like the pink witch. I only like the green witch, 'cause she's scary!" And, you've locked into being a skeleton for halloween this year.
• You are still, and probably always will be, incredibly willful. If there is something you want to do, it sticks in your mind like glue and you will find a way to do it. Same goes for things you don't want to do.

Happy Birthday, my little munchkin. While part of me really wishes that time would slow down, and that you could stay our little girl forever, another part of me is so excited to watch you continue to grow and blossom into the amazing woman I know that you will be.

I love you more than words.

Audia's 3rd Birthday Party

While Audia's birthday isn't until Thursday, we had her party this past weekend. Audia's favorite movie these days is Disney's 'Peter Pan.' So, of course she wanted a Peter Pan themed party. Unfortunately she is about 15 years late on the Peter Pan wagon, and it is near impossible to find any party supplies that are Peter Pan themed. There are plenty of Tinkerbell supplies, but she isn't into Tinkerbell as much as she's into Peter Pan himself, as well as Wendy, John, Michael, and Captain Hook. We did manage to find a life-sized Peter Pan cutout online but it was wicked expensive with shipping, and we just couldn't justify spending upwards of $40 for a piece of cardboard. The stars aligned, however, and just a couple of weeks ago my parents needed to buy a new fridge. While I of course am not happy that they needed to buy a new one, my mom has been saying for a few months that she thought theirs was on it's way out, so I am just glad that they needed one when they did. They gave me the box, and I borrowed a good friend's projector to make our own life sized Peter Pan. We took photos of all of the guests with Peter, and I intend to make a little photo album for Audia of all of her family and friends with her beloved Peter Pan. I'll let the rest of the party happenings speak for themselves through photos....

Searching for buried treasure

Decorating their pirate hats

Nana and Grandpa Mustache came from Illinois to be there!

Opening presents

She got a musical Peter Pan pop-up book from Pappy and Grandma!

The cake

Being bashful while everyone sang

BFFs

Yarr!

Auntie Em was in town from NY!

Daddy's girl

State Fair 2011 - Part Two

So our second trip to the State Fair was a blast. While there was a 30-40% chance of rain forecasted for the entire day, I think it only sprinkled on us for about 2 minutes, and was nice the rest of the time we were there. It certainly is a different ballgame going to the fair with four kids; while it is a lot of fun, I think next year we'll need to add a third trip and go without the kids one time. We hardly went into any buildings at all this year because just the thought of going into them with the strollers was exhausting enough!



We had to see the butter heads!

And of course you can't go in the dairy building and not get a shake!

Getting a good photo of the girls together proved difficult....

Bumper boats!

The boys

A wanted her face painted like Gene Simmons from Kiss. The butterfly was her second choice.

Callen was mezmerized by the marionettes

Mmmmm....Pickles.....