4 Months Old

Carlee is 4 months old and had her check-up today! Everything checked out beautifully, as always, and she is growing and developing just as she should.

She weighed exactly 14 pounds, which is in the 50th percentile. She was an enormous 26 inches long - the 97th percentile!! This was a huge jump from her last check-up!

The only issue Carlee has been having is sleep! She sleeps great at night, but naps during the day are almost non-existent. The doctor confirmed my thoughts that she should be sleeping her 12-13 hours at night AND taking 2 long naps during the day. SO, the plan is to put her on a nap schedule and force the issue. She is to go down for a morning nap 2-3 hours after she wakes up, and go down for an afternoon nap around 3 or 4 o'clock. I'm supposed to let her cry it out for up to an hour. I'm sure it will be tough at the beginning, but in the end she will learn to sleep and we will all be happier and more rested!!

I'm so proud of my beautiful little peanut and love her laid back, happy disposition!! She is such a trooper and puts up with a lot of jostling from her big brother!! She loves him though and is always smiling at him. In fact, when she is crying and I can't get to her right away, Joey walks over to her and she usually stops crying immediately! It is just too cute!

Here are a few recent pictures of our little beauty queen!!

Lovin that Big Brother!!


So cute with her blankie!


Big Girl!!


She's a Pretty Big Deal!


Happy as can be!


Trying her first bite of cereal!


I don't think she liked it!!

"Punkees!"

I took Joey and Carlee to Shadybrook Farm the other day to buy pumpkins. Joey has been SO EXCITED about "punkees." Every time he sees one he yells out "Punkees!!!!"

When we got to the farm, there was a wagon sitting out and Joey was all over it! He began to pull the empty wagon all around and pointed out every pile of pumpkins he saw. As we added pumpkin after pumpkin to the wagon, Joey continued to pull despite the heavy load. If I even spoke the words that I could help him when the wagon got stuck he immediately put his hand up and said "I do it!"



The only way I could get him to let me pull it was to suggest he ride on the wagon. So as we walked around looking at the Halloween/Fall items in the store, I used one hand to push Carlee in the stroller and the other to pull 4 pumpkins and Joey in the wagon! We purchased the pumpkins and some pumpkin paint so Joey could paint the little pumpkins. Then, as a way to transition from the beloved wagon onto something just as cool, we sat outside and drank apple cider.

Here's Joey drinking from a big boy cup (a recent skill that he has learned) and smiling his big "cheeeeeese" at the table.




While we were drinking our "aabull cider" Carlee decided to take a little snooze, so we even had time for Joey to play on the playground.



Once we got home, the fun continued as Joey painted his little pumpkins - one for him and one for Carlee. As he was painting he would say "green Caree's punkee," "green Joey's punkee." He's very good about sharing and making everything equal!!



After we painted the little pumpkins it was time to decorate the big pumpkins with the character's Aunt Coleen gave the kids. We made Dracula for Joey and a witch for Carlee.




We had such a great time getting ready for Halloween. Our punkees are out on the front porch and ready for the trick-or-treaters! It is so much fun this year with Joey understanding more and able to participate in holidays!!

Baby Caree Trucks!!

I left Carlee and Joey in the play room for a few minutes while I cleaned up from lunch. Joey came running in the kitchen yelling "baby Caree trucks!!". This is how I found her!

School!

Joey started his first day of "school" today. Okay, well it isn't really preschool, but it sort of is.

It's called Creative Parenting. It's a one hour per week class that you go to with your mom - in other words, I don't drop him off ~ I actually have to stay and play with him! :)

Other than the part about me staying there and it only being an hour, it's basically preschool. There's a craft, play time, circle time, and then snack and story.

So, like I said ~ today was the first day.

Joey did AWESOME and had so much fun! He loved doing the craft, although he had no interest in using the dot paints and markers. All he wanted to do was "shake sprinkles" (glitter) and glue pieces of streamer.

After his craft, he walk into the room of toys and said "TRUCKS!!!!!" as the first thing he saw was a huge truck ramp and lots of cool trucks. He played with the trucks for a while and EVEN played with the teacher by putting people in a bus with her. This part is huge people! Joey doesn't like other adults. Just Mommy and Daddy (and other family members too), but not teachers! I was very proud of him and then he amazed me even more by TOTALLY LEAVING ME and following the teacher to another area of toys!!! He played with the teacher and then by himself for at least 5 minutes before looking to see where I was! He is definitely growing up and starting to venture away from my side more and more!

After toys, where he cleaned up like a pro, it was circle time. This part Joey was not super impressed with. We sang about 15 songs and he basically just watched everyone else. He was too cool to do the motions today.

Then it was snack time. Joey was delighted to get his own carpet square to sit on and then came the best part: He was snack helper today! This meant he got to pass out napkins to everyone. A task right up his ally and he was so pumped!!



While eating snack, the teacher read a story, which Joey attended to wonderfully!



When it was all over, Joey walked out singing one of the songs from circle time (he WAS paying attention, just not participating at the time), bopping along happily to the car. He was so happy and ADORABLE!

Here he is after class showing off his craft with his big happy grin!

Go Phils!

Last night Chris and I had a date with Joey at the Phillies game.

Carlee, being the little sister, had to stay home with a babysitter. She said she was a little mad, but that she knew once Joey started going to school she would have lots of alone time with Mommy, so it was cool. Besides, she said she was really tired last night and that baseball is a boys sport! :)

On the serious side ~ Joey had a total blast. First of all, I think he was SUPER pumped to have me and Chris all to himself!

The whole way down to the stadium he kept yelling "ball ball!" Then when we strolled (as in, he was riding in his stroller) up to the stadium he got a huge smile on his face and looked back at me to make sure I also saw how cool the stadium was!

The look of excitement on his face was so adorable and made me just as excited to be there!

Once we got to our seats he settled right in and immediately asked for something to eat! After having a hot dog, he decided that sitting in a seat wasn't so cool anymore and proceded to stand up and make his seat go up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down... You get the point!

After 2 innings, I took him up to play on the playground for a little while and then we rode 2 escalators and one elevator. After that, he asked to go back and "it daddy." For those of you who don't speak toddler, that means "sit with daddy."

On the way down to "it daddy" we stopped to buy some ice cream in a hat. Boy was he excited about that! The whole time he ate the ice cream he kept saying "hat, hat, hat!"

The highlights of his night, in my opinion, were dancing to the music that came on for each batter, "marching" when the clapping song came on, and watching the Philly Phanatic shoot t-shirts out of his hot dog truck. After the Phanatic came out he kept saying "more truck, more truck, pshoooooo," while making a motion with his arm like the t-shirt shooter!

He made it happily through 8 innings, and even got a REALLY bumpy, super fast stroller ride from Daddy back to the car.

Seeing the joy on his face the whole night was such an amazing experience! It's so incredible to be able to live through a child's eyes and enjoy things in a whole new way. Joey is THE COOLEST KID I know and I am SO BLESSED to have him in my life!!

Here's a picture of him acting crazy with his ice cream hat! Notice the crooked bangs from his terrible haircut! :)

Trains, Trucks, ...... and Dolls?

Today Joey, Carlee, and I went to Barnes and Noble to kill some time and let Joey play with the train set.

Joey was in his glory as he played with the very manly train set. After some traintime, he ventured over to the books where he found a WHOLE SECTION of manly books on TRUCKS and TRAINS!! It was like he won the lottery! He was so excited and read them all - stacking them to the side as he finished each one.



And after he was tired of reading books, he went to the collection of stuffed animals and transitioned to a slightly less manly toy - a unicorn. However, he manned it up by screaming "neigh, neigh" as he made it run around the table.

And finally, when it was time to go, I looked over and found him playing with a not so manly Madeline doll.

Joey has never asked to buy something at a store before, but this doll he HAD to have. He actually started crying when I tried to persuade him to buy the very masculine looking dog instead.

So home we went, with a Madeline Doll!! Maybe he wanted it for Carlee?!

Bob the Barber

What is it about a child's haircut that is so hard?? Chris and I are constantly in a battle about Joey's hair because Chris wants it surfer long and I want it TRIMMED.

Trimmed, people, not chopped! After much debate between Mommy and Daddy, I decided to take Joey for a TRIM and let Chris leave Joey's hair a little longer. After all ~ it looks cute long, it just needed to get out of his eyes and away from his ears.

So off we go yesterday to see Bob - the same guy who cuts Chris' hair. Joey sits in the chair and like always I say to Bob "just like last time. Keep it long but just trim it up so that it is out of his face and off his ears."

Out come the clippers and CHOP. All his beautiful hair was gone!

I don't get it. It happens every time. Not to mention that his bangs are TOTALLY sideways. I can't win!