Visit from Grandpa KC

We got to spend some time for Grandpa KC who made a special trip to Texas for Kennedy's Graduation. We walked to McDonald's for ice cream, played cards, walked to the Farmer's Market, and even opened our first bottle from Napa.

We also tried to take photos a few times. Some failed.

But we had some success (below).

We loved spending time with him. Our kids did too! While he was here, they didn't cry for longer than 10 seconds! Hopefully he can make it back to Texas soon!

Laura's baby shower

Cat and Jill hosted a shower for the mother-to-be. Everything was delicious!! But instead of re-hashing, just see Cat's post about the shower here!

Kennedy's Graduation!!

My favorite niece is DONE with high school! The first time I remember meeting her was at her 5th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese 13 years ago. She couldn't even tie her shoes yet! Now she's driving.


Special thanks to Amanda for watching the kiddos. It would have been a LONGGGGG trip for them! And special thanks to Grandpa KC for the ice cream on the way home!!

Arboretum

Groupon had discounted tickets to the Arboretum & there was an Alice in Wonderland set up. We had some leftovers from Grant's bday party the day before so we hooked up with our closest friends for a brunch at the park. With our brand new 3 year old, we had to buy THREE tickets!

Abby - what's a camel say?




My fav pic of the day is stolen from Cat. Daddies and Daughters.

A few pics from later in the day at batting practice:

Abby is 18 months!

Abby is 18 months! Here's what she's up to!
Height: 32.5 inches (grew 1 inch in 3 months) = 75%

Weight: 24.8 lbs. (gained 1 lb in 3 months) = 75%

Head: 48.5 cm (up 0.5 cm in 3 months) = 90%

Diaper: Still in 4's and still using night diapers
Eating: We've got a picky eater on our hands. She LOVES peanut butter crackers, PBJs, bananas, squeezies, & yogurt. We always have her try whatever we're eating, but she's very stubborn. She still takes a bottle at night. She's basically stopped humming while she's eating.

Clothing: 18-24 months and some 2T
Sleeping: Still sleeps 12 hours at night and takes 1 nap (1.5-2 hours). She doesn't wake up easily. She likes to linger in her crib for a bit. She is always the last one awake in the morning, but then the first one awake from naps.

Talking:

People: Mama, Dada, Bubba, Lola, Abby ("Ahd"), Grant (but just sounds like "Dah"), Papa, Rose
Food: Apple, Cookie, Nana (banana), Mmm (Milk - while squeezing hands feverishly signing and reaching up at the cabinet),
Animals: Duck (and quack), Cat (and meow), Bird (and tweet), Frog (and ribbit), Dog (and panting noise); Noises for Cow, Lion, Dinosaur, Monkey, Horse, Camel, Alligator, and cute face/lip noises for Fish
Things: Mmmm (more), Ball, Book ("Buh")
Other: Up and down. She can say "no" now, but it's still cute. I give it another 2 weeks.

About 6 weeks ago, she put two words together. "Bye bye, Dada."
Songs: Twinkle, twinkle (she can carry the tune and opens and closes her hands); If You're Happy and You Know It (she puts her fingers on her cheeks, claps, says hooray, but her favorite is stomping her feet);

Body Parts: She can point to ears, hair, head, toes, eyes, belly, hands, teeth, knees

Teeth: I lost count. You can see some gums in there, but it's mostly teeth.
Milestones: She's still biting Grant, but it's less and less, and he's getting better about running away. Putting words together too. Like "Hi mama" and "bye bye doctor".

Guaranteed Smiles: When you get on to her and she defies you - If she's standing on the couch and you tell her "Sit on your bottom, Abby" she'll either sit down or continue to stand and give you her toddler defiant smile.
Guaranteed Crying: Telling her "no" when she asks for milk (she wants a bottle) in the middle of the day; Brother taking away her toy; Brother getting food or something she wants; Walking away from something she wants when you're holding her.
It's interesting to reflect on the differences in Grant and Abby. Grant would completely tear up any book that wasn't a board book at this age. But the only books that Abby damages are pop-ups. She is gentler with the books. Plus they are her favorite toy right now. Grant would fall over and not make a peep. Abby cries and needs to be held any time she falls, even on the carpet. Grant took out his frustration at this age by hitting - Abby is still biting (mostly just Grant). Abby will SOMETIMES hit, but it's pretty rare. Now that this is in black and white, I'm sure she'll start hitting more just to prove me wrong.

And here are Grant's stats from his 18 month post.