birthday

Adelaide is 9!

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For Adelaide’s ninth birthday, we had a wild animal party with her friends.

There was (pretty awesome) face painting.
Adelaide and I made an ice cream cake at her request. We used this recipe. She wanted it to look like a bear face, but I didn’t feel good about cutting up a bear face (plus, I wasn’t sure if I could make it look like a bear and not a round-faced cat). So I convinced her to make it a safari cake instead.Here’s a rare sighting of me. The candles were hard to light.My wild bunch. Happy birthday to yooooou…Make a wish!Now everybody grab a tiny animal. Present time!A doll gardening set from Soren (she’s the giraffe behind the box).
A DIY journal kit from Sophie.
Camping Legos from Preston.Sidewalk chalk and sprinkler fun from Emma and Shyloh (not pictured, since they had to go to a soccer game).
A ballet bag, sweater and book from cousin (and fellow ballerina) Elizabeth.Fun markers and art supplies from Ruby. And Adelaide acting like a monkey.Then they did cool kid stuff like sitting on walls.Happy birthday, Adelaide! Hope this year is the best yet.
And a big shout-out to Aunt Megan for the pictures!

Hazel is 3!

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Hazel turned 3 today! Let’s see, what can we say about Hazel? Hazel likes:

  • Riding her bike
  • Wearing her bike helmet
  • Playing with Augie
  • Fighting with Augie
  • Stealing Augie’s Beanie Babies
  • Eating yogurt, broccoli, and Honey Nut Cheerios (not together)
  • Watching Peppa Pig and Minnie Mouse
  • Making messes and cleaning up
  • Reading books like Tubby, Yes, Yes No, No and Go, Dog. Go!
  • Giving eskimo kisses and saying “mugga mugga”
  • Bathtime
  • Curling up in a chair and falling asleep

Words that describe Hazel:

  • Affectionate – she loves to cuddle
  • Independent – she prefers to do things on her own
  • Smart – she’s picking up new words and activities every day
  • Small – at 30% for height and weight, she’s our littlest love
  • Brave – ready or not, she jumps into your arms without fear

She’s pretty great, even though she acts like a threenager sometimes.

33

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photo (12)

My 33rd birthday was an ordinary day. I had to work all day, Kyle had to work all night.

But, somehow, I ended up having a great birthday.

I awoke to a rainy morning — my favorite kind of morning.

I arrived at work, and my sweet coworkers gave me flowers and chocolate and coffee, and even decorated my cubicle. Oh! Plus a rosemary Christmas tree from Trader Joe’s that I’ve had my eye on.

My friend, Melissa, texted me to say that she was in town from New York with her fam and would we want to meet them at California Adventure?

So Kyle got his shift covered, and I arranged to leave work early. We had a late lunch at In-N-Out and met them at the park around 5.

We went on a few rides, ate clam chowder from bread bowls, and waited for World of Color.

Then, while we were waiting there for the show to start, Kyle surprised me with a mini cake and candles. They sang Happy Birthday to me, and I made a good wish and blew out the candles.

After Melissa and her family went home, we hopped over to Disneyland and rode King Arthur’s Carousel as our last ride of the night. Then we walked down Main Street and took in all the lights and Christmas decorations.

For a birthday with no plans, this one tops the list.

August is 2 years old!

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august-is-twoAugie is 2! (Nine days ago, but whatever.)

I should probably measure him and weigh him…

Poor second child…I’ve hardly written anything about him lately.

Breaking news: Augie is 33 inches and 25 pounds with a 19” head. Which means he’s in the 10-25%, and his head is 19” – the same as it was last year. Ummm…is that OK? I started Googling, but that’s never a good idea. I’ll just ask his pediatrician when we see him next month. Well, there’s one article that says the head doesn’t grow much after the soft spot closes, so maybe that’s OK that his head is still 19 inches.

ANYWAY, Augie is super active and curious.

He has 55 words, but he’s still not really talking. I mean, he says words, and he understands direction, but we can’t have a conversation.

He has 16 teeth.

He’s eating more and more food, and he’s really good with a spoon. His favorite foods are soup and ketchup. And oatmeal. And lately, ham.

He loves to copy his sister, Adelaide.

And, last but not least, we just stopped breastfeeding two days ago. I’d been weaning him for a while – we got down to feeding once at night – and two days ago, I cut off the bedtime feed.

He’s been doing really well so far. I mean, there were tantrums along the way, especially when I first cut out nursing sessions. And some really bad middle-of-the-night tantrums over the summer. But overall, he’s taken it pretty well.

For me, it’s been a good change. I’m happy to have more energy and happy to be a little less scatterbrained. Still, it’s bittersweet. He’s becoming a little boy.

(Untitled)

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Adelaide is four years old!

Wow.

This year, Adelaide…

 – became a big sister!
 – learned how to count past 10
 – went to Disneyland a lot
 – sang her heart out
 – cut her hair a few times
 – dressed up like Curious George, Cinderella, Minnie Mouse, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Belle, Pluto, Bristow, Sister Bear…and more…
 – started learning how to read
 – grew three inches and four pounds, making her 39 inches tall and 34 pounds (50th percentile)
 – was awesome (that’s what Daddy says happened this year)
 – helped out around the house
 – liked jumping off her bed and dresser on to the bed
 – played with words, like speaking in spoonerisms
 – developed food preferences, like wanting cold water over room temperature
 – earned stars for good behavior and lost stars for poor behavior
 – visited Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota
 – drew hundreds of pictures

Adelaide, you were an excellent three-year-old. Looking forward to FOUR!