5-Year Checkup

Well, our big girl has been 5 for over a month, but the doctor we like her to see in our group is always backed up, so she had her checkup this past Wednesday.  She did amazingly well - no crying - and cooperated very well!  She started to get silly during the vision exam when they wanted her to cover one eye, and we had a hard time getting her to show us which ear heard the sounds during the hearing test, but otherwise she was perfect.  She is 45-3/4" tall (which is good to know for rides during our trip to DISNEY WORLD next month!), in the 94th percentile, and tips the scales at 44 pounds (73rd percentile).  Her BMI, which is still sad to me that they have to calculate that for kids now, is 14.8, in the 38th percentile.  So, as she's been her whole life, she continues to be tall and thin...and I continue to be jealous!  She passed her vision screen and 3D vision screen, and could hear the sounds on the hearing test, though we couldn't get her to show us which side they were on.  The doctor's exam was good, and she even asked him to look in her ears a second time!  The only tears came during shot time (she had to get 3 for kindergarten)...not for the shots, but when the nurses brought out the band-aids.  This girl does not like band-aids!  So they threw them away and she was fine.  We took too long to get to her gymnastics class, so she and I stopped for Frostys at Wendys as a little treat afterward.  Do not fret - she'll get to go to a make-up gymnastics class this Saturday morning.

Dr. Bowman was very impressed with her development and with what she's doing in preschool.  He said it shows that she's mastered the preschool curriculum because they are challenging her with kindergarten-type assignments and sending her to kindergarten class to visit.  She still struggles in some areas, and we are helping her with those at home, school, and at occupational therapy.  He thought that our current therapy schedule both in and out of school sounded good, and that in 2-3 years, she may graduate from OT and may need to switch to pragmatic speech (i.e. how to communicate, versus how to physically make sounds) and/or social skills groups (think Brick from "The Middle").  That goes right along with what we were thinking for the future.  He said we can stop giving her the iron supplement (which I had quit giving after she was sick at the end of October anyway because it tastes awful and we both needed a break after 3 years), and the magnesium supplement might be good to continue, but would be optional.  We really can't tell any correlation between those and her sleep, which they were originally started for.  He said to keep giving her the multivitamin with iron and to encourage iron-rich foods.  Good thing she likes red meat, because liver and spinach aren't happening here!  Her sleep is still a tough time for us, but he said if the melatonin spray is helping, and if we don't mind giving it to her when she wakes up in the middle of the night, that is actually not too bad.  Melantonin is a lot safer for kids than any other kind of sleep-inducing medications, so we feel comfortable giving her that and dealing with the wake-ups.

So, that's our big girl in a nutshell.  We are so very proud of her and cannot believe how far she has come in her short life.  We could not be more excited about her future.  She is really a wonderful big girl, and we love her so much!

November!

Little-known fact:  November is my favorite month of the year.  The weather is finally tolerable, the leaves are changing in our area, and there's Thanksgiving - a fun but low-stress holiday with delicious food.  What could be better?!?  Our November started out not-so-fun with a fever and cold working its way through our house, but it quickly improved.  Erin had a belated trick-or-treat on the 2nd since she was sick on Halloween.  Bob had an exciting first week of the month, when he took a trip to Hong Kong for work!  He reported that the flights were long but better than expected, the area was very modern and easy to navigate, and he enjoyed his stay.  You can see pictures from his trip HERE.  We girls had a fairly quiet week with our illnesses while he was gone.

We had family/Christmas/Erin 5-year pictures done on the 11th, which is noteworthy in the fact that NOBODY CRIED!  This is the first time we have had total cooperation and no tears during a photo session.  The girls and I enjoyed our outing to Southpoint Mall for the pictures, and got lunch there too.  We felt like hot stuff.  We girls met our friends Nina and Lily at Pullen Park on the 16th for a really fun day there!



We had a babysitter come that night while Bob and I went to a Wolfpack basketball game. While our basketball team does not expect to win any championships this year, at least they should win some conference games...unlike our football team this year.  Bob went to a Carolina Hurricanes game with Tom on the 18th and had a great time.  Speaking of Tom, we've had several playdates with Jimmy and Danny last month and are really enjoying getting to know them better!



On the 22nd, we met Erin's class at Go Bananaz, an inflatable play place in Raleigh.  Even though only one other student showed up and the place was a little sketchy, we enjoyed trying something new.  They let us in for free after a miscommunication regarding what time they opened, so that was nice.  Erin had a dress rehearsal on the 23rd for her dance number coming up this Saturday, and her class looked great!  We can't wait for the show!  We celebrated neighbor Nick's 6th birthday at their house on the 24th, which was lots of fun.  I got to go to Anna's preschool Thanksgiving feast on the 26th, which was so cute and lots of fun.



We trekked to Concord for the first of three trips in four weeks on the 27th and had a great Thanksgiving with my family!





We also checked out Discovery Place Kids in Huntersville, which the girls really enjoyed.





That about wraps up our month!  We had our last day with Cole the Monday before Thanksgiving.  Dale's and Maria's schedules won't overlap as much in the spring, so they don't think they will need as much childcare.  We will miss our time with him, and we still plan to play with him as much as possible!



I've started "tutoring" 2 of the neighbor kids during Anna's naptime, which has been nice for me to try something new and help them out at the same time.  I think it's going well.

So, we are entering the crazy, extra-short, Advent season.  I'm trying very hard to get my act together...almost all of our gifts are bought, the tree is up and partially lit, other inside decorations are up (we are having our house exterior trim painted this week, so we can't do outside decorations yet), and Christmas cards are ready to be addressed.  This is about as good as I have ever done, so hopefully I can keep my momentum going!  We are all very excited about Christmas, and there is no shortage of gift ideas coming from these ladies!  We wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!

October!

Well, October proved to be as busy as we planned for it to be.  I thought of it as the "Month of Erin" because she had a really fun month with lots of special activities.  Erin was tracked out of school for the first 3 weeks of the month, which she enjoyed immensely, especially the 2 mornings a week that it was just she and I while Anna was in school.  We had lots of donuts, went to parks and the Y, went hiking in the woods, and rode a paddleboat at Lake Wheeler.  I think she had a great time!

Other notable events include:  going to Charlotte on October 5th for Disney on Ice with all the girls!  We had the best time, and the little girls really enjoyed their lunch downtown, treats at Amelie's, and playing on all the sculptures in the area.  Of course, the show was a huge hit too!



We ended up having 2 ice cream dates during the month due to Mommy's mix-up on dates.  The second time, we saw friends Davis and Cate who we don't get to see very often.  Everyone is growing up so fast!  On the 12th, "Erin's Entourage" of neighbors, Maria, and Cole, gathered to walk in the Autism Society walk in Raleigh.  It was a little rainy, but not too bad and everyone had a good time.



We went to a fun cookout at Ms. Liz and Mr. David's that evening too!

On the 18th, we spent a few hours at the NC State Fair.  The girls have always enjoyed going and seeing animals (but no touching them this year), eating food, and looking around, but this year they had the added thrill of going on their first-ever rides!  They had a blast, especially Erin.  I think Disney World is going to be a huge hit!



On the 19th, we met Mommy's family in Asheboro to celebrate Erin's birthday, and then went on to the zoo (see HERE).



That Sunday, Anna got to visit Chuck E Cheese for the first time for her classmate's birthday party.  Naturally, she loved it and I thought it was too loud!  After that, we all went for a long hike at Hemlock Bluffs, including Bella who required pain meds for soreness for 3 days after the hike.

The 23rd was our big girl's actual birthday, which was a really fun day!  We got to meet Erin's class on the 25th at Phillips Farm, the same place we had gone in September with Cole.  That was lots of fun too.  Daddy got to go to a NASCAR race on the 27th, and we ladies went to celebrate our friend Caroline's 4th birthday at her house.  Grandma A. came up on the 28th-29th for a Halloween visit that was lots of fun, and the month went downhill from there as we all came down with colds of varying severity.



Erin missed school last Wednesday through Friday, but she should be ok to return tomorrow.  At least, I'm hoping for that!  Because of that, Halloween was kind of a bust around here.  Anna went to a few houses, but Erin was too sick and ended up having a belated trick-or-treat yesterday.

So, another busy month is in the books.  We are excited for beautiful weather in November and fun with family for Thanksgiving!  Uncle Tom, Aunt Pam, Jimmy, and Danny are getting ready to move into their new house just up the road, so it will be so nice to see them more often!

Anna's class and the pumpkin they carved:

 One of our jack-o-lanters:

5!

Erin is 5 years old!  She has had a fun birthday mini-season complete with lunch at a park in Asheboro last Saturday with my family, then a trip to the zoo after that.  We got Bojangles, Grandma A. made a yummy cake, and we opened presents and the kids played with giant bubbles and tennis.  It was cloudy out, but no rain, so we had a great time.  Thanks to everyone who came!

She had a fun day on her actual birthday, starting with a chocolate donut for breakfast, chocolate cupcakes at school, pizza dinner after gymnastics, and an ice cream cake for dessert!  She will finish up her birthday extravaganza this Saturday with a trip to Toys R Us to pick something out from Grandma and Grandpa F.  Thanks to everyone!

So, what's Erin up to these days?  I can't talk about her physically too much because she won't go for her 5-year checkup until December (her "main" doctor is very popular).  She continues to be tall and thin and eats like a horse.  She did have a little lag in appetite this spring/summer, but seems to have picked it back up.  We don't worry about Erin's diet too much either, since she has a (small) range of veggies and fruits that she will eat, as opposed to her sister.  She's even started to dabble in bread, but still doesn't love it.  I'm starting to experiment with lunch options for her to have at school next year that won't require heating, and we've got a few non-bread things that she likes.  Her sleep continues to drive us crazy - right now, she takes a couple of mineral supplements and melatonin that are supposed to help, but still has phases with night waking or waking up around 4:00-5:00am for the day.  We keep trying new things, and hopefully she will either outgrow this phase, learn to be QUIET when she wakes up, or we will find something that works!

This is her last year in pre-K, and next year will be the big kindergarten year!  So, her teacher this year (until she went out on maternity leave until January, unfortunately for us!) is working hard to get her introduced to the kindergarten classrooms and change her routine in pre-K to be more like kindergarten.  Erin has gone to visit several times already and does really well.  The kindergarten teacher said that her behavior is great, but her handwriting needs some improvement.  So, we are all working on that, and Erin is doing a great job!  She says every day that she wants to "go to kindergarten class and ride the school bus".

She is a reading machine - she doesn't look at books as much as she did for the first four years of her life, but she is definitely starting to read sight words and probably recognizes at least 100 words, if not more.  The trick is getting her to look at a new book to test her knowledge, versus "reading" words from a book that she's memorized.  In the past year, she has become SO MUCH more social and involved in what we are doing at home.  This is so big and important to us, and we are so excited about it.  We used to spend a lot of effort trying to get her to play with us or chase her around the house, but now she will join what we/Anna are doing and hang with us for awhile.  We definitely don't take things like this for granted any more, and we love it!

Right now, her favorite things to do are:  watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, play outside (swing with help, jump on the trampoline, go for walks, ride in the neighbors' Power Wheels), do art (painting, coloring, writing, cutting), go to the Y, any stores, parks, and "church school", and play "camp out" or "gymnastics" with Anna.  They have very recently started playing alone and Mommy is not allowed to play.  I can't decide if I am happy or sad about this (ok, mostly happy)!

So, that's Erin in a nutshell.  She is a happy, sweet girl and we love her so much.  We are so very proud of all that she has accomplished in her short life, and are excited about the future for her!

(Not as important, but I noticed that this is the 300th post on our blog. How appropriate, since it all started with news of baby Erin!)

September

Well, if I had more to write about and/or knew that anyone read this, I would write more often than once a month!  I am priding myself on keeping this thing alive for over 5 years, and maybe someday (if I can figure out how), we can save it as a really long essay of our life.  Any suggestions for blog topics?  Keep in mind that I don't know anything about current events or the "real world"!

Anyway - we had a great month!  The weather here was beautiful, finally cooling down, so we were all happy about that.  We really didn't travel anywhere, which was nice for a change.  We did hear of my cousin Brad and Tori's upcoming wedding in 2014, so we are looking forward to a trip to Indiana for that!

We had a neighborhood pool party on the 1st, complete with giant inflatable water slide that we had to pry Erin off of to eat and go home.  Anna had her educational debut on the 2nd at Sunrise UMC Preschool in Ms. Beth's class.  After 4 weeks, I can say that she is doing great there.  She was nervous the first couple of weeks, but evidently has opened up quite a bit.  The teachers report that she talks about Erin "a lot", and she has gotten stamps for good behavior each day so far.  I feel that this trend will be short-lived.  She is in a class with her buddy Caroline, and it has been great for them to have each other in their first class.  3 other neighbor friends and Caroline's brother Joshua are in different classes at the same time, so she sees them as well.  It's a great little preschool, and we are all enjoying her time there.



My Catholic moms group started back on the 6th, which I'd been missing over the summer, but I've had to miss the last 3 weeks due to events at Erin's school.  We met a couple of Erin's friends from school that afternoon at a park, then had a fun picnic with neighbor friends at Bass Lake and enjoyed a concert there.  Erin had her dance class on the 7th, and she was so happy for it to be back in session for the school year.  We will miss October's class - don't tell her!  Daddy went to California for work from the 8th-12th, and we had a fairly quiet week.  Erin's school had their Boosterthon Fun Run on the 13th, but we ladies sat most of it out.  Tom, Pam, and Jimmy were in town house-hunting, and we had them over for dinner on the 13th, which was lots of fun!  They found a beautiful house not far from here, and we are all excited to have them close by!

The 13th and 14th was birthday party weekend, with neighbor friend Alexia's on Saturday with a bounce house, crafts, Mexican food, and dress-up!  Ella's was Sunday, a frilly tea party that was a huge hit with the moms as much as the daughters.  It was a beautiful weekend, and perfect for parties!





We met Erin's class at Marbles on the 20th for a Family Partnership Day, and had a really great time.  There was a great turnout, which was so nice.  We had a great time at the Kids Together walk on the 21st with Aunt Maria, Cole, Mr. David, and Mrs. Liz.  The girls started Atrium classes at church on the 22nd, which they are getting used to and enjoying.  We girls all got our flu shots last week, which went very well for Erin (so brave), and not so well for Anna.

We finished up the month with a bang with a pizza party at Erin's class on the 27th, then the Hurricanes hockey game that evening, trip to Phillips Farm with Uncle Dale, Aunt Maria, and Cole on the 28th, and Mommy and Daddy's outing to the NCSU football game that afternoon with uncle/aunt/cousin time for the ladies.



Erin is on break until October 21st, and we are so happy to have her at home.  She's been sleeping late, relaxing, and taking advantage of her break!  We went to Monkey Joes on Monday morning and had a blast as the only ones there.

Happy October!  We are looking forward to a busier but fun month ahead!

August!

We had a fun month of August!  We started it out with a bang with Mommy and Daddy going to Florida for 3 nights with our neighbor friends and 2 other couples to celebrate Kevin's birthday.  The girls stayed here with Grandma, Aunt Maria, and Uncle Dale, and did great.  Erin had her first day of her last year of preschool on the 2nd.  She is in the same class as the past two years, but has all new classmates except for one little guy from last year.  All the other kids are 3, I think, so she towers over them as a tall almost-5-year-old!

Other highlights from the month include a pool day with one of our Bible Study friends, trip to Concord with girl cousin sleepover, Erin's teacher's baby shower, Durham Bulls game, and Daddy going to the first Wolfpack football game of the season!  It was a fun month with less travel, which was appreciated by all.  We also had our usual weekly activities, and lots of fun at the pools before they close for the fall.

We are all excited about Anna's first day of preschool tomorrow (September 3rd), and some long-awaited freedom for Mommy!  September should be a fun month with both girls in school, exciting events with Erin's class, and hopefully some fall-like weather.

We Survived July...

Well, that about sums up how I feel about last month!  No, really, it was lots of fun, and we did so many really fun things.  July involved a lot of travel, which is no small feat with two little ladies who have lots of luggage!  Erin was off school the whole month, which was so great to spend lots of time with her.  She had a great time being at home too!  We started the month off right with a visit from Grandma A., who came up to help watch Cole.  We left on the 3rd for the beach and had lots of fun there for the next 3 days.  Erin, Anna, and Mommy had a great week from the 8th-12th when they went to a half-day Mini Monarchs preschool camp at our church.  It was the nature-themed week, which is not really Anna's cup of tea, but she stuck it out and managed to enjoy herself, even with all the rain that hindered some of their activities.  We had fun with Cole and his parents sleeping over on the 13th.  Daddy jetted off to California on the 15th for work and got back the night of the 17th, and Grandma was here again to help out with Cole.  We left on the 18th for our big trip to Washington DC, which went really well, as you can see HERE.





We took it easy the week after, which for us, means lots of trips to the neighborhood pool, pool at the Y, dance class, library, church, errands, fun with Cole, playground visits, Erin's weekly OT appointment, and exercising/playing in the nursery at the Y.

We started to get back in the school routine with the parent meeting on the 30th and Erin's first day on August 1st.  She will remain in the same class she's been in for the past 2 years, since her birthday is after the kindergarten cut-off date.  We will find out in the spring what Erin's academic future holds for her.  Grandma and Aunt Maria handled her first day since Bob and I were in sunny Orlando from August 1st to the 4th to help celebrate neighbor friend Kevin's birthday!  Anna finished up dance class on the 31st, and the girls both started gymnastics the same day.  Erin did very well and enjoyed herself; Anna was nervous, resulting in a complete meltdown when the coach tried to help her do forward and backward rolls.  We are hoping she will be willing to give it a second chance this week.

Also, notable in July, is our booking of THE DISNEY WORLD TRIP in January!  We got the hotel and meals that we were hoping for and are very excited about it.  Bob and I are reminded of the trip several times a day, despite our attempts to put it out of our minds.

So, August looks quieter, just going to Concord over the 17th-18th for a belated Grandma birthday celebration; otherwise, back to school and getting excited for fall!

Washington DC Trip!

We had a fun adventure this past weekend going to Washington DC!  We left around 9:30 on Thursday morning (the girls slept in, which was great), stopped for a McDonalds lunch somewhere south of Richmond, and got to our hotel in Chantilly, VA around 3:00.  We got into the room, swam in the pool and went to a yummy dinner at a place called El Fresco that evening...it was kind of a cross between a typical Mexican restaurant and a Moes-type place.  We made our first time-killing trip to Target after dinner, then back to settle in at the hotel.  We stayed at a Hyatt Place with 2 of the 3 nights free (thanks, Bob and IBM!), and it was very nice.  The room had a half wall between the pull-out couch and the bed, so the girls were separated a little bit.  Erin stayed on the pull-out couch and Anna stayed on our air mattress across from Erin but hidden behind the desk, so they each had their own space.  The girls slept great, just waking up a little early each day.

Friday morning we got up and had our hotel breakfast (which the girls loved), then set out on our adventure.  We drove about 10 minutes to a bus stop, parked, and got on the bus.



We rode that about 20 minutes to the furthest stop on the metro, then got our metro tickets (the girls were free for both since they are 4 and under) and rode that for about 14 stops/30 minutes into the city.  We got off at the Smithsonian stop and walked from there, past the Washington Monument, to the Lincoln Memorial, and back.  They are repairing the Washington Monument after the earthquake in 2011.

 



We looked around the Lincoln Memorial for awhile, had a potty break, and walked back to the aquarium, which was in the basement of a commerce building a block away from the Smithsonians.  That was really neat...not a big aquarium, but nice for the kids, and interesting in that it had exhibits on native fish/aquatic life from different areas of the country.



From there, we went to the Ronald Reagan building basement food court for lunch, then checked out the lobby for a minute and headed across the street to the Old Post Office building, where we took the elevator to the 9th floor tower to look out over the city.  Bob and I were more impressed by that than they were!  After that, we went to the Museum of Natural Science, which was crowded, and the girls were tired by that point so we really only saw the butterfly/insect area and the Hope Diamond, and passed by a fish tank and the big elephant statue on our way out.



We headed back via metro and bus and rested for a little bit at the hotel before going to eat dinner at Red Robin near our hotel and a quick Target stop for princess band-aids (bad Mommy left home without them).

Saturday, we got up, ate, drove through Dulles airport which was right near our hotel, and went to visit our friends Praveen and Sushma and 3-month-old Shreeya!  She is absolutely adorable and just so sweet.  We visited at their house for awhile, had a great pizza lunch, checked out the playground in their neighborhood, and then went over to the Udvar-Hazy Center (air and space museum) near Dulles Airport and their house.



The girls surprisingly enjoyed that museum a lot, until we tried to make Erin wait in line to get inside a plane and the guy who worked there got too close to Anna to try to help her get into the plane, resulting in dual meltdowns.  So, we left there, went back to the hotel, where Erin and I swam and Anna and Daddy rested.  We went to eat at Moes since it was within walking distance from our hotel, then out to ice cream to celebrate potty success for Erin!

This morning, we got up, had breakfast, and went to 8am Mass at St. Veronica, a church about 10 minutes from the hotel.  We got back, packed up, and headed out around 9:30.  We stopped at IKEA just outside of DC for an hour, which may have been the highlight of the girls' trip, if you ask them.  Then, we headed back and stopped at Arby's for lunch a little north of Richmond.  We made it home by 4:00, which meant about 4.5 hours of driving each way.  The girls did great in the car, mostly watching their shows on the iPad.

So, it was a great (but hot) time!  We are very proud of our little adventurers who handled all the new places, heat, and hotel room (especially the hotel room - Bob is concerned that they may not want to go camping any more) very well!

All of our pictures are here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/112036663351493870457/WashingtonDCTrip?noredirect=1

June!

Happy summer to everyone!  We had a good month of June, trying to get used to the heat.  Erin was in school most of the month, with graduation for most of her friends on the 21st.  Erin and one other friend will be back next year, and the rumor is that another girl will be in the class next year!  This would be the first time in 3 years that Erin hasn't been the only girl in her class.  We wonder how she will handle sharing the spotlight.  Here she is getting her certificate for completing the year.



We really didn't do a whole lot exciting this month - just the usual school, Y, fun days with Cole, hitting the neighborhood and Y pools, etc.  Anna started her 10-week summer dance class on the 12th.  It meets an hour a week on Wednesday mornings, and she seems to like it.  She and the 6 other little girls in her class are just so serious about dancing and following what the teachers are showing them.  I wonder why this level of concentration does not carry over into any other aspect of Anna's life!  It's really cute though, and she enjoys it.



We went to the beach the weekend of the 14th-16th, which was lots of fun, and we had perfect weather!  Erin shockingly preferred the pool this time and Anna liked the beach.  Anna also scored points with Daddy for joining him in the hot tub on several occasions!



We had a busy weekend over the 22nd and 23rd, with a big outing to North Hills for David's birthday lunch at the Cowfish, which was neat and exciting for those of us who don't get out much.  That afternoon, Daddy went to Mr. Yannis' 30th birthday party at Lake Wheeler.  Sunday after church, we went back to Lake Wheeler for Erin's friend Ethan's birthday party which was super fun despite the rain, and then Yannis, Sofia, and cute baby Andreas came to visit us that evening.  It was a busy and fun weekend, despite it marking the beginning of our 1-1/2 weeks of rain!



This past weekend, we went to Concord, and both girls, Logan, Ansley, Uncle Chris, and Daddy went to Lake Norman to camp!  Anna shocked everyone by loving it all - swimming in the lake, riding in a paddle boat and canoe, and the whole campfire/tent experience.  Erin, however, had a rough night and ended up sleeping in the car with Daddy.  They had fun though, and Daddy got to try out his father's day gift, a new tent!



Happy Father's Day to Bob!



That rounds out our June.  We are so glad to have Erin off of school for the next 4-5 weeks, and she has been really happy and relaxed all week.  We are looking forward to a fun and busy July, starting out with another beach weekend, then church camp next week, and trip to Washington DC in a couple more weeks!

May, Part 2

Well, that busy month is over!  It was lots of fun, but I would be lying if I said I wanted to do it all again.  Let's see, after Anna's birthday bash, Anna started out her week-of-appointments.  Before that, though, we got to welcome a healthy, 8 lb. 14 oz. new addition to the family on the 20th, baby Danny!  Jimmy is a big brother!  Danny is adorable and we can't wait to meet him.  Actually, Daddy already got to meet him while up in Boston for a conveniently-timed business trip on the 23rd and 24th.

But, back to Anna's traumatic week, because we are all concerned about that.  She went to the dentist on Monday the 20th and did pretty well.  She managed to hold herself together for most of the exam, until the dentist tried to look in her mouth.  Then the screams erupted.  She really did a good job for her first time in a strange place with scary equipment.  I was proud of her.  If that wasn't bad enough, she went the next morning for her 3-year checkup at the pediatrician!  I was very proud of her there because she cooperated for the height, weight, and vision screen and had a nice talk with the nurse practitioner.  She only cried when the stethoscope came out, and then managed to get herself back together.  She checked out good, weighing in at 34 lb. 2 oz. (80th percentile), 39.25" tall (93rd percentile!), and 15.6% BMI (46th).  For hardly eating anything compared to Erin, she is sure managing to grow!  Thankfully, she didn't need any shots, and we were out of there.

Erin had her yearly checkup at the developmental pediatrician that Thursday (the week-of-appointments continues) and managed to talk herself out of an actual exam.  He talked to us for a few minutes and then called me the next day.  Erin was on cloud nine the whole way home.  Sneaky!  We had pizza with our neighbor friends on Friday night, and Daddy got home later that night.

Last weekend, Daddy ran in a 5k early in the morning, then went to pick up a free play house that we snagged for Erin's class.  We girls went to the Y and the grocery store.  That evening, we went out for BBQ with neighbor friends, then to a park to run off energy from a dual-nap day.  Sunday, after church, donuts, playing outside, lunch, and rest, we went to Lake Wheeler to the playground, then rented a paddle boat!  You might guess which nature-loving kid had a ball and which mall-loving kid kept asking to leave.



Then we went to Matthew, Caroline, and Joshua's house for hot dogs, and we all went to Porter's Farm for ice cream.  Yum!  Monday morning was Mommy's long-awaited window-washing day while Daddy and the girls went to the Y, ran errands, and had lunch at Chick Fila.  We got out our kiddie pool and water table after rest time and played in the backyard.

This week was calmer with our usual things, Cole Day, etc.  Anna had her 3-year portraits done at JC Penney yesterday and did pretty well.  We ladies went to the pool after school and had a great time.  This year I can finally take them by myself, which is great.  Today was a failed playdate at a park after our trip to the Y...for some reason, Anna did not want to be there!  That rounds out our month.  We are looking forward to the next weekend or two of nothing planned...just trips to the pool and enjoying summer!

Happy birthday, Anna!

Our little girl is 3 years old now!  She had a great birthday weekend, full of fun with her family and friends.  It started on Friday when she went strawberry picking with Erin's class, and then we girls hit the neighborhood pool for the first time, where she loved jumping off the side of the pool.  Saturday morning, she opened her presents from us.  That afternoon was her big birthday extravaganza, complete with princess balloons, Rapunzel spaghetti, games, bounce house, princess cupcakes that Grandma A. made, and lots of fun!  She had the best time and has been talking about it constantly ever since.  Big thanks again to all who came!  The fun didn't end there, because Logan, Ansley, and Ben spent the night at our house after the party and Anna and Ansley stayed up giggling and playing for awhile.  We all went to church on Sunday, then they went home.  We played with all her new toys for awhile, and then Daddy took her and Erin to the observation park at the airport while Mommy went to Ms. Kate's baby shower.  After that, we all went to the new Tijuana Flats in Holly Springs.  Anna had a wonderful birthday weekend!

She also got to move up to the preschool room at the YMCA nursery today, and was very excited about that. They get water with their snacks since they have a lower risk of spilling, so that's a big deal.  They also have a "big kid" table for snacks and crafts and all new toys to check out.  After the Y, she had her first-ever dental appointment.  That was touch-and-go, but she really tried to be brave.  Her teeth checked out fine, and she got to cash in her bravery for a new Rapunzel doll at Target (because she just doesn't have enough new princess stuff from her party).  Tomorrow morning is her 3-year checkup at the pediatrician.  That may be a little more intimidating than the dentist, but we'll see.  At least there is less scary machinery there, but there will be more poking and prodding...but hopefully no shots.

Anna is our social, talkative, inquisitive child.  She NEVER stops talking, asking questions, and stating her opinions - solicited or not!  She is now becoming ok with going outside since the weather is warmer, but she really does not like to wear shoes anytime.  Her main interests are princesses, princesses, and sometimes more princesses.  She went through a dress-up phase over the winter where she would not leave the house unless she had a full dress-up getup, including high heels and tiara, on over her clothes.  Thankfully, that isn't required now that it's warmer!  She is feisty and does not hesitate to pick fights with Erin for no reason.  She is artistic, and got a big kick out of painting our cardboard castle for the party.  It's good that she will be going to preschool in the fall, because I just don't have the creativity to come up with a lot of art projects.  Her favorite pastimes right now include playing board games, jumping on the trampoline, baking, and playing imaginative games with her dolls.  She is potty-trained, only needing a diaper at night and at naptime (which, by the way, only happens about once a week now, much to my dismay).  I really never thought the day would come when they were both out of diapers, but my prayers have been answered!

Anyway, that's Anna in a nutshell.  She is truly a delight and is a very sweet girl (though I may be slightly biased).  She is caring and patient with Erin, but also fights with her and is notorious for stealing her stuff.  She is Mommy's little buddy during the week, and we have the best time together.  We love you, Anna!

May, Part 1

Well, I am a blogging machine these days, up to twice a month!  We've had a busy couple of weeks, and I know the rest of May will be busy as well with Anna's birthday extravaganza, so I thought I could do a quick update now.  Let's see - Erin had field day at school on the 3rd, which was lots of fun for Mommy and Erin.



 We went to a Trish Miller concert that night and enjoyed the nice evening outside.  We went to Concord over the 4th-5th and got lots of cousin playtime in, plus celebrating Daddy's and Aunt Leslie's birthdays, and Mother's Day with Grandma A.  Mommy got to go out to dinner with her neighbor friends on the 6th, which was a nice little treat.  The 7th was Daddy's birthday, which we celebrated in style at the Mexican restaurant, shopping at the dollar store, and with blondies at home.  Daddy liked his new shirt and tickets to the Durham Bulls baseball game, which he went to on Friday night with his friends Josh and David.



While Daddy was at the baseball game, we girls had Matthew, Caroline, and Joshua come over with their mommy to eat takeout BBQ dinners from Anna's future preschool's fundraiser.  The kids had lots of fun together! Saturday the 11th, we went to the Y, Chick Fil-A for lunch, then strawberry picking at DJs with Oliver, Ike, and some big people.  After THAT, we went to a cookout at Erin's friend Owen's house (classmate from last year) and got to check out his fun new backyard setup.  Her friend Ethan from this year went too, and they had a great time!  We had a fun Mother's Day too at church, getting donuts, errands with Mommy and Erin, then kiddie pool time at Nina and Lily's house.  Mommy also got to trim bushes on her special day (it really was a treat for me), and eat Chinese food for dinner.  It was a great and busy weekend!

We will spend this week preparing for The Princess Party on Saturday.  Anna is heavily involved in all preparations for said party and is quite a micro-manager.  I guess if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself...or make sure Mommy does it right for you :)

April

Whew, that month went fast!  We had another busy and fun month.  Erin was off of school until the 16th, so we really enjoyed having lots of fun with her and doing special fun things.  We had a fun outing at Pullen Park on the 3rd with our neighbor friends, followed by a picnic there.



We went to an outdoor concert that Friday evening at Bass Lake, where Erin cut a rug!  We had a big weekend that weekend, including Erin's dance class on Saturday morning, then going to an NCSU baseball game with neighbor friends and tailgating beforehand.  We had a cookout here on Sunday evening with Oliver, Ike, their parents, Ms. Liz, and Mr. David that was a lot of fun.  On the 10th, we went to the NCSU Farm Animal Days with Oliver, Ella, Ethan, and Mrs. Ellen, Erin's teacher!



We all went to "church playgroup" on the 12th...my attendance was sporadic at best this spring due to our mountain trip and events at Erin's school, but I gave it my best shot.  Logan, Ansley, Ben, Aunt Leslie, Uncle Chris, and Grandma and Grandpa A. all came up that weekend to meet us, Cole, Uncle Dale, and Aunt Maria for the Raleigh Autism Speaks walk, Logan's 6th birthday celebration, AND camping!  It was Erin's and Ansley's first time going, and the report was that Ansley did great and Erin did ok.  At least it wasn't a flop!



We all went to church on Sunday, and then they all went home.  Erin got to join in on a few of Anna's Monday morning "dance" classes that ended on the 29th...thank goodness; I think we were both getting tired of the same thing every week, and not much dance!  She is already excited about her summer dance class that starts in June, where real dancing will take place.  Erin went back to school against her will on the 16th, and is just now not complaining as much about going to school, 2 weeks later.  It takes her awhile to get back in the groove.  We had a fun weekend over the 20th-21st, including Matthew's 5th birthday party at Jumpin' Jax in Garner (a little-known secret for those parents in this area) and a cookout at his house, and Erin and Daddy got to go to a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game on Saturday night with her dance class.  She had a blast, enjoying the inflatable slide in the parking lot, concessions, and the luxury box.  I don't know if she actually saw or cared about the actual hockey playing.  Sunday after church and our now-tradition of post-church donuts with Cole, Mommy went to the Farmers Market to get flowers, and we had Cole and his parents come over to eat spaghetti.  Last week was fairly tame with our usual trips to the Y, watching Cole, and other normal stuff.  Saturday morning we and Laney went to Caitlin's birthday party at Kids Together Park,



then Cole came over and Mommy got to take him home and watch him at his house while Uncle Dale and Aunt Maria went to a wedding!  That rounded out our month...it was a great one, and a busy one!  We are looking forward to more spring fun in May, and summer coming soon!  I thought I heard somewhere that there may be a birthday or two coming up next month...I am reminded of it about 15 times a day by our soon-to-be 3-year old, seen here celebrating her first day having Mommy back to herself: