Fun at Kate’s 4th birthday party

We went to the Carney house to celebrate cousin Kate’s 4th birthday party and Gwynn had a lot of fun.

The theme was pirates as there’s some sort of pirate cartoon the kids like to watch these days.

Even Luke got into the act.

The eye patch was a bit much.

They have a cardboard house that the kids color and Gwynn absolutely loved it. We need to get one for her.

“Arrghh, I’ve lost me depth perception matey!”

Playing nice with some friends.

 

“Cheeeeese”

Pirate ship cake.

Luke couldn’t get a nap in with all the hootin’ and hollerin’.

A little apprehensive about the slide.

“Let’s go again!”

Smiling for the camera.

Also smiling.

The birthday girl is going to have sore cheeks tomorrow from all the smiling.

2 Months (Luke)

Luke is 2 months old. He’ll be driving before we know it.

At two months…

• Luke is a ginormous baby. At his 2 month check-up he was 24 1/2 inches long and 14.3lbs. He was heavier than Gwynn was at 4 months. The doctor said he’s just a big baby and not necessarily fat. Daddy likes to call him fat which his grandmothers do not appreciate. He is in size 2 diapers and fits in 3-6 month clothes.
• He is still sleeping in the swing. No crib yet. Unlike Gwynn, he has been in the swing from day one. We keep saying we’ll try the crib for naps, but it hasn’t happened yet. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
• Luke has slept 8 hours straight many times. In fact, it’s the norm. However, he usually eats at about 7 or so and goes until 3-3:30am, so it’s not ideal.
• During the day Luke eats every 3 or 4 hours. We’ve had to make 3 bottles for daycare each day because he’s got quite an appetite.
• Luke is smiling! When we talk to him he’ll get the biggest grin on his face…so sweet! 
• He can follow things with his eyes quite well. He’ll watch mommy or daddy if they walk out of the room and he’s gotten to where he’ll sometimes get upset if he thinks he’s alone.
• He’s not a fan of tummy time at all. He’ll tolerate it for about 2 or 3 minutes then he gets mad and wants to be turned over.  He still loves lying flat on his back though.  We’re not sure how this lack of tummy time will affect when he rolls over…I guess we’ll find out soon enough!

Getting so big!

Being silly…

Gwynn wanted her kitty to eat some snack.

This kitty too…

Giving kitty some water too.

So sweet…

Cardboard boxes provide hours of entertainment.

Grandma and Pop worked really hard on putting this race track together for Gwynn.

Trying out the bumbo seat.

Gwynn thought her baby had to try out the seat too.

Then she decided to try it as well.

Luke was not amused by this little game.

Having a picnic.

Nor was he amused by this…

Happy boy!

16 months

The months continue to roll by. 

• We don’t have any stats about Gwynn’s height or weight, but considering how much she eats it’s safe to say she’s still growing like a weed. She’s wearing clothes in sizes 18 months to 2T.
• We’ve only found 2 foods so far that Gwynn doesn’t like…potato salad and broccoli. She definitely likes breakfast foods the most (waffles, pancakes, muffins, biscuits)…and she still LOVES fruit (watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, bananas).     
• Gwynn has learned a lot of new words.
  • She’ll say “more” if she wants more of something in addition to signing more in her own way.
  • She will say “Elmo” if she sees him, but it sounds more like “Melmo.” She also says “Cook-ah” when she sees Cookie Monster.
  • Gwynn will say “cheese” for us if we’re taking a picture (or if she’s eating cheese).
  • If we say “Rollllll” she knows to say “Tide!”
  • She will say “please” and “thank you” if we prompt her.
  • She’ll say “open”, but more often than not she’ll just do the sign for it instead.
• Gwynn has gotten into the habit of praying before meals. If we say “time to pray” she’ll bring her hands together and will be somewhat still while we pray. She doesn’t know the sign of the cross yet, but we’re working on it. Sometimes she’ll remind us to pray if we forget.
• Gwynn is back at daycare full time, as is Luke. She really seems to be much more grown up with how she interacts with the other kids. Ms. Ouida told us that she is not a baby anymore…she acts like such a big girl!
• We are no longer using the high chair during meals.  We bought a booster seat (with a strap) that secures to the dining room chair.  Gwynn has done great with the transition and hasn’t even made that big of a mess when eating.
• Gwynn is becoming quite the drama queen.  If we won’t let her have something she wants she’ll fall to the ground crying.  We either just ignore the behavior or distract her with something else and she’s fine in a minute or two.  The quick mood swings are really quite funny.
• We can tell that Gwynn really wants Luke to play with her.  She’ll tickle him or put toys on him and she doesn’t understand why he won’t play back! She is so sweet to him though.  If we take just Gwynn somewhere (for a walk, to the store, etc.) she’ll run over to him and give him a kiss or wave bye-bye.

St. Aloysius Fall Festival

Jeff’s school had a Fall Festival on Sunday. Since Grandma and Pop were watching Grace and Kate for the weekend, they decided to meet Uncle Jack and James Michael there to drop off the kids.

Grace loved helping Gwynn with the games…here they are fishing.

Gwynn really enjoyed picking a duck.

Grandma won a cake! We ended up with about 6 cakes by the end of the afternoon.

Kate was the fearless one that got in the giant hamster ball (no…that’s not Mark Ingram pushing her).

Pop, Grace, Uncle Jack, and Kate got on this crazy ride…they were very dizzy by the end of it.

Nothing like throwing toilet paper in a pretend toilet.

Our favorite game…PLINKO!! After playing about 20 times, everyone won a stuffed animal.

Gwynn loved the “Super Grover” that Daddy won her.

Very sleepy, but enjoying a cookie none the less.

Playing with Cousins

The cousins got to all hang out in Tuscaloosa this weekend.

We decided to do a little tractor ride in the backyard. As you can see, Gwynn loved it.

Riding shotgun is more Gwynn’s style.

This is how we entertain ourselves in Alabama.

The chunky one hanging out with Pop.

Gwynn had a tea party with her cousins and invited Grandma.

No boys were allowed (except Luke).

“Say cheese”