Another week in the books. On Friday, Lily had a good time at gymnastics and then Mom, Lily and Jack hung out and played with the tons of toys in the basement. Friday night Mom and Dad went out for dinner with friends, and Grandpa Maurice came over to babysit. On Saturday, no soccer due to rain, we will try again next week. Mom and Lily went to see Disney Fantasy on Ice. Lily had a great time and loved The Lion King, Aeriel, and Tinkerbell. Upon returning home, we had dinner with Hayley and Cole, and they had lots of fun playing in the basement. On Sunday, the family joined Marcy for a race and then went for a post-race breakfast. The rest of the day was spent hanging around the house, and watching the Redskins beat the Cowboys!
Lots of progress in the world of Jack. He has figured out to go from a laying down position to sitting up, and now in the morning and after nap time greets us sitting up. He has also gotten himself into the crawling position, we suspect movement very soon. He has been trying to pull himself up on his own, and tonight managed to get himself up using the bottom basement stair - he is really not sure what to do once he gets up although he has been cruising a little bit. He has been eating like a champ, and sampled some scrambled eggs on Sunday. He seems more interested in eating "regular" food opposed to baby food in a jar, but is still only feeding himself a little bit. He has been playing with a sippy cup although it usually ends up on the floor. Lily is continuing to be a fabulous big sister and gets very excited when Jack does something new.
We have details regarding the growth of our children! On Friday, both Lily and Jack had doctor appointments - Lily for her 4 year old check-up and Jack for his 9 month check-up. Lily and Jack were on their best behavior for the actual check-up but then both of them had to have shots - Lily 4 shots and the flu mist, and Jack 2 shots. Jack's crying was pretty limited, Lily on the other hand was a little more upset. Fortunately, as long as she can continue with the flu mist, it will be 7 more years before she needs another shot! Jack weighed in at 21 pounds and 28 inches - he was in the 50th percentile. Lily weighed in at 39 pounds and 41.5 inches, and was in the 75th percentile. A booster seat is in the near future!
On Saturday, Lily had her first day of soccer. While she participated in the drills, when it came to actual play time, she preferred to stay on the sidelines. We are going to give her another chance next week to participate...we are trying to talk it up this week! After soccer, we headed over to our old stomping grounds (Crofton) for friend Wyatt's first birthday party - Happy Birthday Wyatt - he also is lucky enough to be a blogger baby and there is a link to the right. On Sunday, we headed to Delaware for a get-together with Mom's friends from law school. Lily enjoyed playing with Ian, Jonah, and Oliver, and of course her brother.
Lily is making progress on her bike. She is a little wary of riding without one of us holding the bar, but then will demand that she be able to ride by herself. She has yet to figure out the brakes, so we are working on that. Jack is making progress by scooting and pulling himself up to a standing position. He has discovered the tupperware cabinet and it keeps him very busy. He is also getting a little better at bringing food to his mouth, and is toying around with a sippy cup.
Have a good week, enjoy the pics!
Lily on the scale.
Jack doing some pull ups before his weigh in.
WIth the birthday boy Wyatt.
Playing with Chris' sweatshirt for many minutes.
The whole gang - Lily, Oliver, Ian, Jonah and Jack.
On Wednesday Lily officially turned 4 years old. Lily shared snicker doodles with her friends at school and then as requested went out for "chinese chicken" (PF Changs) for dinner and had some ice cream with sprinkles - or actually Stuart had the ice cream as Lily only takes tiny miniscule bites and then announces she is done! Upon returning home, Lily opened a few more presents, including American Girl Bitty Baby from Donna and Stephen, and a highchair for her baby from Bubbie. When she opened the baby, she said "This is perfect, this is exactly the baby I have wanted" and then when she opened the outfits and highchair she again announced "This is perfect!" Lily initially named her baby Janie (suggested by Mom) and then changed it to Ursula - yes like the mean octopus monster in Little Mermaid, but apparently she likes the name - still hoping that Janie wins out in the end although later she said the names Emma and Ella so we will see as time goes on.
Once the birthday was over, it was time to move on to the next big event, packing for Nantucket for cousin Jenna's wedding. Mom and Lily dropped Jack off at Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's on Thursday night, as we decided that the trip may be a little easier without the little one! While there, Grandpa Tom gave Lily a complete Boeing transportation set that she loves!
On Friday, Mom, Dad, and Lily flew from BWI to Providence, met Grandpa Maurice and Grandma Phyllis at the airport and then flew a 9 seater propeller plane to Nantucket. A bit scary although with beautiful views! We had a great time in Nantucket despite the rainy weather. We got in some time at the beach and playground on Saturday, and Mom and Dad got in a bike ride. As evidenced by the pictures, we tried to get Lily to ride one of the attached bikes but she was not having any of it! On Saturday, we had the rehearsal dinner where Lily had to do a run through for her flower girl duties with another little girl Dalia. Lily and Dalia hit it off and spent the rest of the night together running around with another little girl Kelly. On the big day, unfortunately we were greeted with rain, however, the weather broke right before the ceremony began. Lily made her grand entrance as a flower girl and quickly went into panic mode upon seeing everyone staring at her - the video will tell the whole story. While her moment in the limelight did not go as intended, Lily had a blast the rest of the evening - she danced with her friends all night and barely stopped to get something to eat. Most of the night Mom and Dad were chopped liver and she had no use for us! ;) Overall, we had a blast in Nantucket and of course left the island with beautiful blue skies! Congrats to Jenna and Mathias!
Jack enjoyed his time with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom, and enjoyed the heat wave in the baby pool and taking many walks. Still no crawling, but attempts at scooting and he is still trying to pull himself up. He officially has 6 teeth now, 4 up top, 2 on the bottom. While I was more cautious giving regular food to Lily, Jack has been enjoying bits and pieces here and there of turkey, bread, muffin, cornbread, and veggie puffs - he is still insisting that we put it in his mouth though. We will work on the self-feeding in the coming weeks.
Well hopefully that provides a quick synopsis of our very busy week, enjoy the many pics, we had quite a few to choose from!
Also, videos from last week are finally up.
Concluding the birthday extravaganza with a new baby - Ursula/Janey.
Getting ready to get on the little plane to Nantucket.
At a Nantucket lighthouse.
Checking out a tandem bike with Grandpa Maurice and Mom the Chauffeur.
On a different bike. The ride ended at the corner. Lil was not too excited about the ride and opted to wait until next time.
Getting ready to practice walking down the aisle with co-flower girl Dahlia.
The first steps with Grandma and Grandpa watching on.
Walking down the aisle ... a few tears along the way.
Recovering from the traumatic experience.
Drinking with Marcy.
On the dance floor with Stuart.
Dancing away.
....
Ready for bed.
Back at home ... being a goofball.
And while we were away, Jack was having a good time with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom ...
Last post before Lily officially turns 4...approx 26 hours until the big day! Can't believe it has been 4 years...did you ever believe that the blog would still be alive and kicking 4 years later!?!
Before we get to deets of the big party...on Friday Lily started gymnastics again. She is now an old pro on the rope swing, and doing somersaults and handstands. Jack loved watching his big sister, maybe next year he can join in the fun! We had a pretty low key weekend due to Hurricane Hannah moving in on Friday night/Saturday, preparing for Lily's party, and Jack feeling a little under the weather - we found out today that he has conjunctivitis which has left him a little crusty...
On Sunday, we had Lily's birthday bash and fortunately gorgeous weather! Fourteen kids joined Lily for her party in the backyard, which consisted of a moonbounce, pinata, and of course the permanent fixtures of the sandbox, water/sand table, and playhouse. Everyone seemed to have a blast, and they quickly shoved pizza in their mouths so they could get back to the fun. Lily received lots of fun presents including dinasours and legos from Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom, and a princess castle from Grandpa Maurice and Grandma Phyllis. Mom and Dad got her a bike with training wheels. She rides pretty well, although she has a few issues with the brakes, she does not seem to understand when to push back on the pedals and still puts her feet down to stop herself. She actually had a fall yesterday which resulted in a few scrapes but she got right back on the "horse" - with a little coaxing from the parents. We suspect she will get the hang of it soon! She has a few more presents to open on her actual birthday...
Today at school Lily told a cute story which was then transcribed by her teacher (a pic of the cover is below). She is becoming incredibly creative in her drawings and her stories, and is a great big sister making up stories for Jack.
"Once upon a time there was a girl bear and she was walking to home. Then there was a bad fox who was trying to eat the bear princess. She called the Super Hero and the Super Hero came and got the fox away and eat him all up. The princess told the fox to get away and don't come back again. The Queen came in and asked the princess what she did today. She said the Super Hero saved me. The End."
Jack wants to send out special hugs and kisses to Lily wishing her a Happy 4th Birthday (especially because he is too crusty to actually give her a birthday hug and kiss). Lily and Jack also want to send out special hugs and kisses to cousin Stephanie who is celebrating her birthday on Thursday!
P.S. - Marcy wrote up this week's entry but I would be remiss if I did not let everyone know what great a job she did planning and executing Lil's party. Marcy had every detail worked out and the kids all had a great time. The whole party went off without a hitch - and it would not have without all of Marcy's hard work. So even if Lily can't quite appreciate how much her Mom does for her now, maybe in ten or fifteen years when she reads back through all of this (and is mortally embarrassed that her life was so well documented), she can say thanks and be reminded what a great Mom she has (even though she will be a teenager and think her Mom and Dad are lame).
One video below ... more to come.
Back at (gym)nastics.
Lily playing with her new Wedgets from Cousin Em. This was a Saturday morning gift.
Mid-bounce.
Lily, Luke, Brendan, Margaret and Gregory's ear in Lily and Jack's backyard playhouse.
Lily checking out the moonbounce and pinata as the party gets into full swing.
Playing in the sand and water table with Brendan and Zach and Hayley.
Lil taking a swing at the pinata as Naomi looks on from the safety of the moonbounce.
Busy week and long weekend has come to an end, and summer is officially over! Earlier in the week, Stuart took Lily to a Nationals baseball game. She had a blast except for the run-ins with Screech the Eagle and the four Presidents - she was a little terrified and as she describes it "jumped into my daddy's arms" when they got close to her. On Thursday, we had a visit from Grandma Gail, Tracy and Casey - the kids had lots of fun playing - Casey is smiling, chirping, and interacting. I know Tracy got some good pics so make sure to check her blog (wavyward) referenced to the right.
The weekend brought lots of activity...on Saturday we took a walk to the park, and later had a visit from friends Mr. Rob and Ms. Erin who are due any day with a baby boy! On Sunday, we took a trip to Baltimore and visited the aquarium - Jack was mesmerized by the dolphins and was jumping up and down and waving his hands every time they would jump in the air. Today, was Hayley's birthday party, and Lily dressed up in her princess (Snow White) dress for the occasion - she had lots of fun playing musical chairs, pin the tail on sleeping beauty, and eating a special castle cake made by Ms. Michelle. The evening ended with a quick visit by Grandpa Maurice and Grandma Phyllis.
Both Jack and Lily slept like champs all weekend, Lily sleeping until 8:30ish and Jack of course waking between 8:30-9:30. Jack is getting in 4 top teeth so they are bothering him a bit. Doing lots of rolling, and trying to pick himself up, but our attempts to put him in the crawl position have failed. Lily is talking nonstop about her birthday party scheduled for this upcoming Sunday - our next blog post will bring lots of party pictures.
Lily and Jack want to send out special birthday wishes to Hayley who officially turns 4 tomorrow!
Enjoy the pics...
At the ball game.
Grandma Gail and Cousin Casey with Jack.
Jack chewing on a stair.
Lily, Jack and Marcy looking for Dolphins.
Lily made this drawing tonight ... It is the Little Mermaid, complete with Arial, Eric, Max, the evil witch lady, Sebastian, Flounder and some flowers. An epic drawing.
