Thursday, April 27, 2017

Isabelle: 20 Months!

Dear Belly Baby,

You are so animated and verbal that you crack us up every day!  Your recent sayings include:
"Oh my gosh!!"
"Never mind" and
"Focus!"
Hearing these little sayings come out of a one and a half year old's mouth is nothing short of hilarious!

You are becoming more and more bossy every day and we joke (kinda) that you rule this family.  One thing is for sure: you don't let those big sisters of yours push you around!

Things you are loving this month include green beans, which you call "dippies".


You enjoy hanging out in Mommy and Daddy's closet and creating some chaos in there.  Mostly you just like putting on Daddy's hats and rifling through Mommy's hanging shirts saying "Hm, let's see", just like an adult would while choosing an outfit πŸ˜‚.  Hearing you say that makes me laugh every time!


Oh boy and do you love putting on other people's shoes!  When you walked up to me with Addy's snow boots on saying "Outside!!"  I just had to snap a picture:


And then there's these random things that you show up with:
Swim diaper on your head and a bib on in case of a mid day snack 😜


After your bath I sit you up here on the counter to brush your hair and teeth while you admire your gorgeous self πŸ˜‰:


And here we are again.  Another day, another time throwing on Addy's snow boots and demanding to go outside.  I'm so mean aren't I?


Here's a little video to really showcase the mood of that morning:


And when I finally relented...
Look at that shine in your eyes!

Out we went!




Not so sure about the sled

Can't get that Sound of Music song out of my head..."Snowflakes that stay on my nose on eyelashes"

Family selfie!  A little bright out there I suppose πŸ˜‰

Snowball eating fun!



And just a few days later, Happy St. Patrick's Day!





Doing a little Irish Jig with Emmy:



Fun with Grandma with Kayla:


And here's a little glimpse of your play dates with your best friend Kelsey:






Cousin time!




Can't resist those potty time pictures!  You have gone in the potty two times in your life, both around 18 months of age.  Since then you will occasionally sit there, but you never actually go.


Oh boy do you LOVE swimming!  And you have no fear, which is slightly terrifying.



It's free cone day at Dairy Queen!




Oh my gosh you, you are learning how to say your name!  I am going to miss the days of "A-belle", and I have a feeling that nickname might stick anyway πŸ˜‰.


And then came the big haircut day!  I'll devote a whole post to this, but here is a little glimpse:
Before

After
  I'd say it was high time for a little cleanup πŸ˜‰


Guess what arrived in the mail?  Your backpack and lunch box!  I can't believe you are starting school in the fall, but boy are you excited!




You love your fleece Minnie Mouse socks (just in time for fleece sock season to be over) and your Minnie Mouse shirt.


A look at your Busy Izzy self:


Outside.  Your happy place.


Watching Emma play your favorite sport: soccer!

Maybe if I put on my big sister's coat someone will take me back outside:


And we celebrated your 20 month birthday with another play date with Kelsey.  You two are the cutest together πŸ’“





Oh Izzy, you are so full of spunk, and you give us endless reasons to laugh every day.  You are our little firecracker and we can't imagine you any other way πŸ’₯!  Love you to the moon Belly Baby!



Love,

Mommy




Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Addy: 6 Years Old!

Dear Linny,
 
Holy cow!  Here is a side by side of you on your 5th birthday and on your 6th birthday:


You are in "real" school now!  You started your big year of kindergarten and you are doing so well!  You really love school and you're learning a ton.  You can write extremely well, and you've even started to read a little bit!  You have some neighborhood friends like Hunter and Addie in your class, and you met a lot of new friends too.  When asked who your best school friend is, you usually tell us it's Fatima.  And you definitely have a crush on sweet little Navin, which is so cute.  Based on the following picture, it looks like the feeling might be mutual...


Adeline Dunn's birthday party.  Party girl on the left, you in the middle, and Navin gazing adoringly at you on the right πŸ˜‰.

You love to play outside with all of the neighborhood kids and you would be out there all day every day if we let you.  And you dress purely for comfort.  No frilly ("itchy") dresses for you.  You'd wear sweatpants and a comfy shirt every day if you could.  Funny how different you are from Emma in that sense.  You do usually still ask me if what you picked out matches though, so that's something πŸ˜‰.

You're pretty independent when it comes to getting ready in the morning and I don't really have to help you.  I just have to remind you that it's time to get ready and then you do it.  (Also very different from Emma, who requires lots of prompting to just focus πŸ˜‰).  You and Emma typically get your showers with me at night and I'm trying to teach you how to bathe yourself so you can get your own showers soon.  You'd be a total champ if it wasn't for the hair.  Washing girl hair is tough and it's something we're still working on.  So we'll continue to shower together for awhile.

You go to bed between 8 and 8:30 typically and wake up between 7 and 7:30.  And naps are essentially a thing of the past.  That was the worst part about afternoon kindergarten.  Losing your nap was definitely an adjustment.  You are a girl that needs her sleep or else you just can't control your emotions.  We do still have you go upstairs for nap on weekends, but I'd say you only fall asleep 10% of the time.  At night though, you crash quickly, whereas Emma will often be awake for over an hour singing in her room.  She still takes a 2-3 hour nap though.  That girl loves her naps.

Speaking of controlling your emotions, you have really matured a lot lately.  You still like to argue everything Daddy and I tell you, but you are much better at handling situations that you don't like (like leaving a play date or having to come inside for bed).  As long as we give you a five minute warning, you're pretty cooperative when it's time to go.  You still have your meltdowns, but they are becoming fewer and farther between.  And luckily everyone I talk to outside the family says they never have any problems with you.  So you continue to save your shenanigans for us, which is a good thing.

You've tried a few new activities this year, and your schedule is wildly busy for the fact that you are only six.  You had five activities a week in the spring alone!  One can tell that you are the oldest.  Poor Izzy will be lucky to get one activity πŸ˜‰.  But you played soccer in the fall and winter, which you seemed to like.  You ran in the Healthy Kids Running series in the fall and spring, and you are GOOD!  Your fastest time for the 1/4 mile was 1 min 57 seconds, and you often came in 6th or 7th out of 28 people!  I love that running series 😊.  You also sang in the choir at church, which I think you would take or leave.  Emma, I think will LOVE choir.  You take swimming lessons, which you seem OK with.  You do gymnastics, which you used to love, but I think you're getting over it.  And that is OK with us, as it becomes a huge commitment the older you get.  And last but not least is softball.  You started T-ball/softball for the first time this spring and Daddy is your head coach.  You love softball and you tell us it's because Daddy is the coach πŸ’—.  But you're pretty good at it too, which I'm sure plays a part in your love for the sport.  It'll be interesting to see which sports you stay involved in the older you get.

At your six-year-old well check, everything went fine and you were totally healthy, which we thank our lucky stars for every day.  The only time you had to go to the doctor over this past year was right before your 6th birthday.  You got strep throat and had to be on a ten day course of amoxicillin.  And it worked, but you got a horrible rash around day 7 or 8.  It wasn't itchy, and it's not classified as a true allergy, but you definitely had a reaction.


Here are your stats from you 6 year checkup:
Height: 3 ft 10 in (73rd percentile)
Weight: 46 lbs 8 oz (60th percentile)
BMI: 15.12 kg/m2 (47th percentile)
BP: 84/42
HR: 104
Resp: 20

Something that you've really taking a liking to this year is coloring, and you can occupy yourself for a long time coloring, which is lovely.  We've been waiting for the day when we could go to a restaurant, give you a coloring book, and have it actually occupy you πŸ˜‰.  But that doesn't mean you are quiet.  Man girl, you are ALWAYS talking.  I mean, always.  Whether it's questions or observations, there is never a silent moment when you are around.  I love your inquisitive nature, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't exhausting sometimes 😜.  But you are so smart, and that means you have lots of things to say and ask, so I'm OK with it. 😊

Here are a few more of your favorite things from your sixth year:
(I asked you these questions at the beginning of kindergarten, so some of them may have changed in the past few months.)

Favorite food: cucumbers.... Hmmm, pretty sure this isn't legit.  Cucumbers are one of the few veggies that you'll eat, but I highly doubt that they're your favorite food πŸ˜‰

Favorite snack: Fruit snacks

Favorite color: pink

Favorite toy: Anna and Elsa changing doll that we got in Disney World

Favorite TV show: the Olympics

Favorite book: Princess Stories

Best Friend: Ali Slack.  Even though you guys are in different schools now, you still consider her your best friend.  For your birthday you were allowed to choose one friend for your very first sleepover and you chose her πŸ’—
Right around the time of your 6th birthday you were super into Beados, and you and Ali worked on those for hours at your sleepover party.


Favorite Song: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

If you had one wish it would be: A new unicorn blanket (What???????)

If you could have one superpower it would be: to fly fast

Favorite sport: gymnastics

One word that describes you: fun

Thing you do best: soccer

If you could go anywhere where would you go: Disney World (That was such a fun trip and I can't wait to go back either!  Someday I'll blog about our trip....someday πŸ˜‰)

Favorite memory: going to the pool

What do you want to be when you grow up: Nurse πŸ’—

So those were your answers from back in August on your first day of kindergarten.  I might ask you the same questions again at the end of the school year to see how your answers have changed.

Here are some pictures (or a barrage of pictures, as it always turns out to be) from your 6th year:

February:
Right after your 5th birthday, getting your 5 year checkup

Welcome to the wonderful world of selfies πŸ˜‰

At the Frozen makeover day that Grandma with Kayla took you to for your birthday!

Nurse Addy

An apron and Mama's boots 

Lovin' on your baby sister


Daddy and Addy πŸ’—


Disney Pics!




You were so mad that Emma got to go first in the Bippity Boppity Boutique 😠


But you cheered up once you got in the chair 😍


Only you would pick this crazy getup.  Snow White dress and Ariel hair 😜





March: (and a bunch of Disney photos continued)




On our way to the airport.  Such a fun, exhausting trip 😊


April:



May: 


Last Preschool Art Show:


More Healthy Kids Running fun!

Your last day of preschool EVER!

First gymnastics show!


June:





July:








August:



First time checking out the Snap Chat filters




Ahhh your very first day of "real" school!  You are getting so big!


You climbed on that bus like a champ and never wavered 😊



September:



Monkey Joe's!

Your Halloween costume has arrived!

You and your dog Daisy Duke

Oh gosh look at that mark on your face!  You fell hard running to catch the bus on your very first week of school.  You face was brush burned but I sent you on the bus anyway.  Well, half an hour later or so the school nurse called to see if I was aware of what happened.  Um, yup, and I sent you anyway 😬.  By the time you got home your face looked awful!  Mom of the year πŸ™ˆ.  One thing I will say is that you were SO brave and I was really proud of youπŸ’—.


Kindergarten School Pic


October:

Shaull Fun Run!

Disgust from Inside Out for Halloween... the perfect costume for you πŸ˜‰πŸ˜


Healthy Kids Running Series

Fun with Snap chat filters

Halloween loot!

November:

You love to be just like me and put on my bath wrap and your head wrap after showers.


More BFF time!


First time on roller skates!

With Luca and Tino's new kitty

December:



Your very first paint and create!

Fun with the car windows down 😊

So beautiful for your choir Christmas performanceπŸ’—


My biggest elf!

Bass Pro at Christmas πŸ’š

Moana outfit and your first American Girl doll McKenna

January:


Your first Father/Daughter dance πŸ’—


Birthday trip to Great Wolf Lodge!




Oh my gosh Addy, you have had SO many firsts this year!  It's been a year of big transitions and changes and you have been so brave, even when I could tell you were nervous.  You are taking to "real" school like a champ, and you take your homework seriously, making sure to focus, work hard, and make it your best.  You have made many new friends this year and tried a lot of new activities.  Though sometimes you are nervous, you don't quit, and I love that about you.  

You are strong willed and a perfectionist (might be a first child thing πŸ˜‰).  So if you don't get something exactly right the first time, you get frustrated.  I can tell you are maturing though, because the meltdowns with things like this are becoming less frequent.  You are learning to control your emotions.  We teach you to take a deep breath and try again.  We teach you that no one is perfect and we don't expect you to be.  We teach you to try your best every time and that will ALWAYS be good enough.

I am more proud of you than I could ever say.  Watching you grow up, while bittersweet, is nothing short of amazing.  I have no doubt that you will do big things with your life Addy Marie.  And Daddy and I will be there every step of the way.  I love you so, so much!  Happy 6th birthday!











Love,

Mommy