Aidan's 6 Mth Appointment!!!

I know, I am once again very behind in my blogging! It drives me crazy that I have so much to update, and not enough time to get it done!

Aidan is growing so fast! It really is unbelievable that he is already 6 months old, and he is a very big boy! I took him for his 6 month well-check last week and he just keeps growing like a weed!

Here are his stats:

Height: 28.25 in. long (up from 25.25 in. @ 4 mth) - 90th percentile
Weight: 17 lbs. (up from 15 lbs. 7 oz) - 50th percentile
Head: 44.75 cm (up from 42.5 cm)

The doctor was really amazed by how tall he is for his age. I think he is definitely taking after his Daddy! She said he was very strong, as he does really well sitting up on his own and standing on his feet. He can also roll both ways! The doctor always thinks it is so funny that he just giggles and smiles at her when she is talking to me. She said she never gets smiles and giggles like that - normally the kids are crying because they are scared to get their shots!

Aidan continues to enjoy life! He adores his big sisters and his Daddy! If Daddy or one of the girls walk in the room, he just smiles & giggles with his whole body...he just can't stay still! He wouldn't know what to do if they weren't around. The girls love Aidan just as much. Abby says, almost every day, "Mom...Aidan is just the best brother ever!" Abby is a great little babysitter. She loves to have him sit between her legs on the floor and play. Ally is Aidan's entertainer. She is always standing over him or jumping up and down making him laugh.

Fall Celebration @ Preschool

Abby had a fall celebration at preschool last Thursday. It started with a costume parade where the kids dressed up in their costumes and paraded them for the parents. Abby was proud to be Princess Liana from the new Barbie & the Diamond Castle movie.


Abby then spent the day playing games and doing fun things. Ally, Aidan & I then joined her for lunch. The kids sang a couple songs for us and then said a prayer together for lunch. It was really cute. After lunch, I helped Abby make a scarecrow. We traced around her body and then we painted it. Abby did such a great job! I was impressed with how she had to have both arms, legs, and feet the same color. I just thought she'd paint every one of them a different color. This was fun to do together.

A Big Weekend for Our Little Ally!

This was a big weekend for our little Miss Ally! While Daddy was away at Men's Retreat Thursday night thru Saturday, Ally gave up her pacifier! I never thought we would accomplish this with Allyson. She's always been so attached to her 'paci' and her blanky. For some reason, though, we couldn't find her 'paci' on Thursday night as we got ready for bed, so I told her she'll probably need to go to bed without it. She was all psyched. We went upstairs to bed and as I pulled her covers down, her 'paci' appears from under her pillow. I quickly snatched it and stuck it in my pocket before she saw it. There was no way I was going to give it to her after talking her into sleeping without it. I wanted to at least try it and see, so we did it & Ally did great! She's been napping & sleeping at night ever since with no problems! What a big girl!

The second big event in Ally's weekend has been her decision to start using the potty! Yes, that's right! Of course, with my girls, this has always seemed to click at bedtime, but that's the way it's gone, so I'll take it. Last night, I had given the girls a bath and was drying Ally off when she said "diaper, diaper" rather urgently. I asked her if she needed to go potty...she said, "yes"...and I asked her if she could sit on the potty and she was all excited about it...so off we went. I sat her down on the potty & she went potty just like that! She went twice before she went to sleep last night and then has been doing really quite well today. I didn't push it today with church this morning & then we had a birthday party this afternoon, but she's done quite well this afternoon and actually while we were at the party. I am so proud of her & and am so excited that she has decided it's time. It's the moment I've been waiting for! So....for those of you reading, please pray with us that she will continue to be a "big girl" and use the potty!

YEAH ALLY! MOMMY IS SO PROUD OF YOU!

Pumpkin Cookies

At playgroup on Wednesday, we decorated some pumpkin cookies. This was right up Abby's ally as she decorated quite a few. Ally really enjoyed it more than I thought she would as well...or she at least enjoyed eating the frosting off as she put it on!

Apple Picking

Last Friday, we went apple picking with a couple of friends from church. It was a great day and the kid's enjoyed eating the apples as we picked them. We then got together on Tuesday and made applesauce. We've really enjoyed the homemade applesauce this week!

Field Trip with Abby

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to go with Abby's preschool class to Evansburg State Park to participate in their Fall Leaves program. It was fun to spend some quality time with Abby. Here are some pictures I took of her class...

Our Trip to the Farmer's Daughter Market

A couple of weeks ago, David had the Saturday off and the Farmer's Daughter Market was having their Fall Fest, so we decided to take the kid's and go. There was a lot to do and the girl's had fun. It was nice to spend the morning doing something fun as a family.

More of Aidan

Aidan is loving his exersaucer....




Aidan's 1st Cereal...

Aidan

Aidan is growing, growing, growing....and teething, teething, teething. These are fun times. He continues to be such a happy baby. He is teething so much right now and hasn't been sleeping well through the night for several weeks now, but I keep hoping things will get better once a tooth appears. He is a little fussy & wants to be held more during the day, but it's not too bad. I just know he's uncomfortable and that bothers me more than anything. I definitely don't mind holding him more! He has such a great personality. He's very laidback, but loves to laugh. He really loves his sisters and gets such a kick out of them. Just tonight the girls were getting ready to take a bath, and they were jumping around and playing and Aidan was just laughing and giggling so hard at them. His eyes even started to water! It was great. I love to see my kids having so much fun and enjoying each other! The girls are enjoying Aidan more and more, especially now that he is more responsive. Ally really can't get enough of him. She is constantly coming up to give him hugs & kisses and still wants to hold him all the time. Aidan also loves his Daddy (of course). If David is talking, he just turns toward Daddy and just stares at him or will smile at him. He also loves to hear Daddy sing. A couple of weeks ago David was singing a solo at church and I noticed Aidan turned his head toward Daddy and then I stood him up on my lap and he just stared at Daddy the whole time. What a love!


Here are Aidan's stat's from his 4 month appointment:

Weight: 15 lbs 7 oz. (up from 13 lbs. 4 oz. @ 2 mths)
Height: 25 1/4 in. (up from 24.5 inches)
Head: 42.5 cm (up from 41.5)

No....We Haven't Fallen Off the Face of the Earth!!!

Yes....We are alive & kicking! I feel so terrible that it has been so long since I last posted. I am here tonight trying to catch up. I think every day has gone by and I've said, "I need to blog today. I need to blog today." and then before I know it, the day is gone. So....hang in there! I'm blogging tonight!

Our Little Model...

...I think the pictures say enough...

First Day of Preschool

Abby started preschool this year and is doing great. She's having fun and Mommy is actually enjoying some time with just Ally & Aidan. Abby goes to school from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. two days a week. Abby is very comfortable now at school, but Ally is still having some concerns with Abby being gone. She cries when Abby leaves and then on the way home she talks about Abby's car seat and then all morning talks about going to school to pick Abby up and then on the way to school she talks about Abby's car seat again. She really misses her sister, but I'm sure she will get more used to the idea over the coming weeks and will end up enjoying her time with Mommy once she figures out she has me all to herself. So far, she's just been clingy. :)

A Weekend at the Shore!

We spent last weekend at the shore...we love the advantage of living on the East Coast and the ability to get to the shore within a couple of hours or so. The only unfortunate part is tropical storms & hurricanes! We left last Saturday during Tropical Storm Hanna not too shore how our time at the shore would be, but we were just excited to spend some time away as a family. We got to the shore mid-afternoon and just a couple hours after we arrived, the rain stopped. It was still windy, but we were able to get a little Saturday evening and walk the boardwalk. Then, on Sunday & Monday, the weather was gorgeous & we really the weekend filled with times on the beach, the swimming pool at the hotel and even some napping. It was a nice weekend!

3 Months Old!

Today, Aidan is 3 months old! It's so hard to believe 3 months have gone by already! It's been a great day, too! First, he slept through the night last night (9:30 p.m.-6:30 a.m.)! Mommy's really more excited about that than anyone else. Then, this morning I decided to spend some tummy time with Aidan, and then he rolled over!!! and he wouldn't stop rolling over!!! Every time I put him back on his tummy he'd roll over! This is a big deal for me, because both of the girls never rolled over until they crawled...and then they would only roll over to crawl.

Here are pictures I snapped of the first time he rolled over....

SURPRISE!!!

Last Sunday night, I threw a surprise party for David's 30th birthday & the completion of his Master's Degree. It was a great time with friends and I was so glad that I could do this for him. He's worked so hard to complete his schooling and I'm really very proud of him. There were about 75 people that came & we just a blast hanging out & eating!!! We thank you all for coming and celebrating with us.

Here are a few pictures...

Summer Fun!!

I know I had a pretty big span of time there that I wasn't blogging....so here are some updates as to what we've been doing this summer!

First off...Abby turned 4 on July 25th & wow has she grown up just since then! It's amazing to hear some of things she says now...just all of a sudden! We had a little party for her the Saturday before her birthday & here are some pics of her day!
















We also spent a day at a little zoo nearby...