Two month comparisons

 Can you tell which kid it is?

From top to bottom:  Isabel, Madelyn, Pierce, Julia

Camping

The kids went on their annual kid camping trip with JD and his cousins.  The grown up cousin guys all take their kids down to the farm and let their kids experience camping for a night.  There was some drama, but the kids had a good time and were completely exhausted when they got home.  I had to drag them all out of bed this morning.  Here are a few pictures from the trip:

2 Months Old

Julia is two months old.  We went to the doctor yesterday, and she is doing great.  She weighs 11 lbs., 4 oz. (67%) and is 24 inches long (96%).  She also received two shots and an oral vaccine, and she seemed to handle those well.  I got a flu shot while I was there and my arms still hurts a bit.  Makes me a bit more sympathetic.  I'm sure her little legs are sore.  She continues to be a pretty go with the flow baby except when she misses her naps on Sundays.  Mondays can be pretty rough because she gets so off track on Sundays. 

She can still only stay awake for about an hour before she's ready to go to bed again.  She sleeps great at night now giving me a 7-8 hour stretch.  We started giving her formula in a bottle at night (around 10:00 pm).  I know people say that it doesn't matter, that hunger doesn't wake a baby.  While that's probably true, I think Julia's clock was set at around 3:00 am, and nothing was changing that.  It didn't matter when I fed her before I went to bed.  I also think that she didn't want to eat necessarily, but when she did wake up, she felt hungry and had trouble settling back down.  The first night I put formula in her bottle things changed.  She did wake up at 3:00, but she settled herself back down.  I haven't fed her in the middle of the night since then. She's starting to make different noises now--oohs and aahs, a bit of cooing, and she's a pretty smiley baby.  Two months old and cute as a button.  Love you, baby girl!

Isabel is 3!

Today is Isabel's birthday.  We celebrated Saturday with a family and neighbor birthday party.  Isabel wanted a flower cake with purple petals, so I tried to make that happen.  We had a great time celebrating her.  She is funny, smart, cuddly, and very determined.  She certainly has her opinions and will let you know what those are.  She has little interest in T.V. but loves stickers, scissors and cutting, and making lists.  She also asks for "tickets" which can be anything from credit cards to gift cards to business cards.  It's a funny little quirk but can be stressful to everyone when she can't find the particular ticket she has in mind.  She loves all of her siblings and tries to keep up with the older two.  We love you, Isabel, and are so thankful you are part of our family!

Isabel's First Day of Preschool

Isabel started preschool last week and has loved it so far.  She's only going two days a week, but I think it will be great for her.  It gives her a break from Julia, which she has shown that she needs, and lets her have her own "thing" that she can talk about.  She's in the polar bear class and likes to roar like a polar bear (not sure what that sounds like).  She's in that class with a couple of friends from church so she has felt right at home, and who doesn't like playing with play-doh and water tables?  Oh, and she'll be three next week.  Crazy, crazy! 

Treehouse makeover: Tube slide edition

Last fall, JD built a treehouse in the backyard.  The kids have really loved playing in it and do so almost daily.  They began asking for another level and a tube slide, so JD began investigating how to do it.  Turns out, tube slides are incredibly expensive, so he started stalking Craigslist.  Well, after the derecho that came through the area this summer, someone posted that the storm had destroyed their family's outdoor playset, and she wanted to sell the tube slide to offset the expense of getting a new playset.  JD bought the slide and spent the last few weekends working on the second level.  The kids call it their poop deck, which is quite the funny term, and of course, the kids love it.  I did some research, via the link provided, as to why that term is actually used.  The ladder leading to the poop deck can also be pulled up, which was a request, to keep the "bad guys" out.

Here are a couple of shots of the new addition:

Afternoon photo shoot

 A friend's mom made Julia a dress, and she wore it to church today.  I wanted to get a picture of her wearing it, so her mom could see Julia in it.  I finally got a good, non-blurry version of a smile and a few other cute ones.
 

 Almost a smile:

 

Definite smile: 

 

 Another friend got Julia some personalized bloomers:

Madelyn took these: