9 months old!

Our little man turned 9 months old on May 28th. The week before he went for his check up & weighed 19 lbs. 14 oz. & 27 1/2 inches. He has since gained those extra ounces & passed up the 20 lb. mark! Other significant milestones:

*He has 4 teeth (2 on the top, 2 on the bottom)

* Can crawl- he started really crawling on May 11th- Anna Kate's b-day)

*Eats all kinds of foods (baby food & table food). His favorites are baked sweet potatoes, bananas, & pasta. He's down to nursing 2 times a day & taking a couple bottles during the day.

* Can pull himself to a standing position & stand holding onto something. He's not quite "cruising" yet, but that won't be too long

* Loves to babble. His favorite sounds are Dada & EEEEEat! He has said & waved bye bye a couple times, but he won't perform on command

* LOVES to swim. We went to waterpark last weekend & in the pool several times lately & he loves to splash & giggle.

* Really interacts with his big sister. I can leave them alone for short periods of time with a pile of toys and they play very well together. She likes to read him books. However, I need to buy some boy toys for him, because lately he has been favoring her princesses and baby dolls!

* Overall a sweet, laid back gentle little man. Everyone who meets him comments how docile of a child he is. We pray that he continues to grow up with a gentle nature. We are so blessed by our little man!!

Birthday Weekend in Chicago!!

For our birthdays, my friend from law school Lyndsey & I went to visit our other friend from law school, Kate. Lyndsey & I have the same birthday so it was a double celebration. We had SO much fun!! Kate had a b-day cake waiting on us when we arrived & the consumption of sweets never stopped the entire weekend- pound cake for breakfast, ice cream from the Good Humor truck. We even had dinner at a place called Hot Chocolate that was known for their desserts & more ice cream at Sweets in Lake Forest, IL. Undoubetedly Lake Forest is where Jennifer Aniston has a second home & was the home of the original Marshall Fields. We visited that suburb on our way to Wisonsin.

I'm sure you are wondering why we went to Wisconsin. Well if you aren't aware, I have a personal goal to visit all 50 states before I turn 30. Wisconsin was one of the states I haven't yet visited so we made a little road trip. Last year when I visited Kate in Chicago I was able to knock out Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. So know with a little under 4 years left to complete my goal, I am down to 12 states left. Unfortunately, they are the most boring states (hence why I have not yet visited them). So if anyone is up for a road trip from Oregan to West Virginia let me know. I need an excuse to visit those states!

So besides the road trip & sugar induced coma, we had a fantastic trip. It was so relaxing to have 2 full days of no diapers to change, mouths to clean, toys to pick up, etc and lots of adult conversation! I missed my husband & kiddos so much, but I definitely enjoyed a little "me" time. Thank you JD for being so sweet. When I told him I was thinking about going to Chicago, his immediate response was I needed to go. He didn't complain the first time about having to watch the kids. I'm so thankful that I have a husband that loves taking care of his kids & doesn't mind me having girl time!

End of the Year Program

Anna Kate also participated in her schools end of the year program. Her class has been practicing for months on the Pledge of Allegiance, The B-I-B-L-E & Baby Bumblee Bee. Anna Kate has been practicing at home & the whole way to school that morning. But for some reason as soon as we got to her school she started WAILING and refused to perform. After much coaxing I finally sat at the front of the auditorium with her, but she still wouldn't perform. Of course, as soon as it was over she started singing her songs again! We have really enjoyed Anna Kate's year at Trinity Baptist Mother's Day Out. Her teachers, Mrs. Sarah & Mrs. Gladys were so sweet and really taught Anna Kate a lot. We appreciate all of the love and knowledge that they gave our daugther this year. We were sad for the school year to end but look forward to her starting Pre-K three in the fall at Episcopal Day School.

Contraband Classic

Anna Kate has been taking gymnastics for over a year & a half now. She started at Guzzy's Gymnastics in a Mom & me class when she was 17 months old. When she turned 2, I decided I was too pregnant to take gymnastics (I was 7 months pregnant at the time) so I switched her to Gymnastics Etc. Gym Etc. is where I took gym for 6 years when I was younger. She attends class for 1 hour once a week and she LOVES it. Her bff Karsyn is also in her class so that makes it even more fun. A few weeks ago we had her end of the year meet. She competed in Bars, Balance Beam, Floor & Vault. We were so proud of her Blue ribbon (1st place) on the balance beam. She received 1 blue, 2 reds & 1 white and a bronze medal overall.

More Birthday Fun!

Here are a few more pictures of Anna Kate's Storybook 3rd birthday party as well as her makeover at Club Tabby with her bff Karsyn. They were such divas!

Happy Birthday Anna Kate!!

On Monday our sweet daugther turned 3 years old. She woke up Monday morning & said, "Mommy, it's MY DAY!!!" We had a great day complete with breakfast pancakes at May May's house, Paw Paw's steak for lunch, makeovers at Club Tabby with Karsyn, cupcakes at gymnastics, & chips & cheese (Casa Ole') for supper.

The past three years have truely flown by. They have been filled with lots of laughs, smiles, tears, tickels, firsts and most of all love! Anna Kate's vocabulary and personality have blossomed a lot in the past year. She is never at a loss of words and usually has something witty to say. She's a girl who knows what she wants and figured out a way to accomplish it! Some things we are especially proud of.

1. She can count to 20.

2. She can count to 10 in Spanish (like Dora).

3. Knows all her alphabet, can recognize the letters, tell you words that start with them & the sound they make.

4. Loves other children (best friends are Camille & Karsyn). However, yesterday she told us that her Daddy was her best friend in the whole wide world.

5. Loves all animals. She loves to ride her horses (yes plural...she already claimed my horse & her Paw Paw gave her a new one for her birthday).

6. Is very interested in Jesus and heaven. Lately she been asking almost daily when we get to see Jesus and exactly where is heaven. I pray a lot that I'll have the wisdom to answer her questions in a way that she will understand and that her curiousity will continue to blossom throughout her life.

7. One of her favorite activities is to dress up. She knows all of the princesses by name and she assigns us new roles to play each day. Usually she is Cinderella and I am Belle. Daddy used to be the Beast but lately he has been Prince Charming (notice a trend with her loving her Daddy!!)

8. Loves her baby brother. She is a wonderful big sister and loves to make him laugh, feed him from a spoon & even share her toys. I also pray that this love and friendship will continue for years to come.

9. She likes a variety of foods. Some of her favorites are sushi, filet mignon (aka Paw Paw's steak), king crab and boiled crawfish. However, she can also eat her weight in mashed potatoes.

10. Most of all...is everything that JD & I could possibly want (& more) in a daugther. We are so blessed with two amazing children that are the pride & joy of our lives. We are so thankful to have been entrusted with the opportunity to raise our children and pray that we will have many more birthdays to celebrate our precious daugther.

More Easter

I know Easter has long since come & gone, but I thought I would share more pictures from all of our Easter activities.


I didn't get any pictures from Anna Kate's school egg hunt, but it was over so quickly I didn't have much time! The day before Easter, we went to the Country Club for a hunt. Both of our parents, JD's brother & his family all celebrated together. Both of my children thought it was hilarious to put their buckets on their heads!! Crazy kiddos!


On Easter night, Anna Kate & I left out some carrots for the Easter Bunny to eat. We woke up Easter morning & he had left a trail of Easter eggs from Anna Kate's room all through the house to her bucket in the kitchen. Along the trail, we even discovered that he had ridden her bicycle during his visit & left his paw prints on it!! That silly bunny!

Finally on Easter Sunday we went to church and had a wonderful lunch at the Country Club. We then went to my grandma's to visit. Anna Kate had so much fun playing with all the cousins. These pictures were taken at the end of the day. Please note the huge stain on the front of Anna Kate's dress. I had forgotten to bring a change of clothes for her to Nanaw's house. Needless to say her Easter dress will never look the same.

Random

Well I never did find my gadget to download my pictures, so I bought a new one. I didn't realize how long it has been since I downloaded pictures off my camera. I had almost 250 on there that hadn't been downloaded!! Thought I would share a few randoms.



Krewe of Krewes Mardi Gras Parade Haley & Anna Kate


Swinging at May May's house Hair cut at Pigtails & Crewcuts

Jason's 5 year recognition banquet Will hanging out


Anna Kate & Paw Paw catching her 1st fish!

Cooking & napping



Gourgeous sunset!