High School Musical

My mom, Katie Anne, and I went to see a local high school production of High School Musical.  Katie Anne loved the show and all the songs!  She was mesmerized by the "bad girl" Sharpay and asked a million questions about her motives.  Now, KA thinks she's an expert on all things teenager.  :)

SJ's 6 Month Well Check

SJ had his six-month well visit with Dr. Ryan today!

Everything went well.  SJ is right on track with all his milestones - he's sitting up unsupported, rolling over both ways, transferring objects from hand to hand, etc.  In fact, he sat up during the whole examination this time!

He's also growing like a champion!  In fact, SJ is the size of the average one-year-old!  He weighed in at a whopping 20 lb, 7 oz and measuring a gigantic 28 inches long!  Considering that the average one-year-old is 21 lbs and 28 inches long, SJ is quite the man.

Big boys need love, too!

 "Mom, did you just put my weight online for public ridicule?"

In all seriousness, Dr. Ryan is not worried about SJ's weight because most babies triple their birth weight by age 1, and that would be 27 lbs for SJ.  He was a big baby to begin with, so he's not going to reverse it and be tiny now.  Also, Dr. Ryan said that SJ is proportional - it would be different if he were 20 lbs and the "regular" 6 month length, but since he's super tall it all kind of balances out. 

So, SJ laughs at all the haters out there.

SJ got three shots, and he took them like a total man.  He only cried for a few seconds, and then he gave a teary-eyed smile at the nurse!  She couldn't believe it and said it made her feel so bad that he was smiling with his little eyes filled with tears!  That was all the crying he did about the shots, although he did his new skill - a fake cry/laugh that's kind of like "ah - ah - ah" (very George McFly-like) for a few minutes after the shots to show his displeasure.  

Here he is in full George McFly mode:

Dr. Ryan did give SJ his first antibiotic today - his ears were a little red and had some fluid in them, and he's had a cold since December, so SJ needed a little antibiotic help to kick the sinus infection and stop his ears from getting too infected as well.  Dr. Ryan also said that SJ isn't getting enough sleep and should be sleeping 10-12 hours straight through the night at this point.  Hey, I agree with that!  Unfortunately, it just isn't happening.  His sinuses and ears may be waking him up, so the antibiotic will alleviate that cause.  Also, Dr. Ryan gave me a plan for slowly cutting his nighttime bottle of formula with water over the next month to try to eliminate that middle of the night feeding.  Fingers crossed that it works!

Happy Birthday to Emma!

Last weekend, we celebrated Emma's fifth birthday with a fun party at her house!  Natalie and Brandon had lots of snacks, a big delicious Hello Kitty cake, and a pinata for the kids to bust.  I think the surprisingly rainy, cool weather put a little damper on some of the party plans for outside fun, but we all had a great time hanging out inside anyway.  The kids loved playing with all of Emma's great toys, and the pinata was a lot of fun, too!  Emma got lots of cute clothes and fun presents, and she seemed to have a great time celebrating being five surrounded by family and friends!

The birthday girl!

 It is so hard to believe that Emma is already five - all the little kids we know are quickly becoming big kids!  

 Watching Emma blow out the candles

Pinata time!

KA's still on a pinata-bashing high!

Daddy and SJ

A Product Review ... and a Confession

Okay, I have to admit something... and it isn't easy for me to do.

I was totally, totally, totally wrong about the Net Feeder.

When Katie Anne was a baby, I was totally anti-Net Feeder.  Why?  I thought it was messy, gross, and just a nasty thought - who wants to suck food through a net?  Apparently, babies do.

Here's SJ thinking, "Yes, Mother ... you are a fool.  Sucking watermelon through a net is AMAZING."

So, all you new moms out there - the Net Feeder is great.  SJ loves it.  It is worth every penny because it buys you a happy baby for a substantial amount of time, enabling you to actually eat in peace.  We've put chopped watermelon, honeydew, and strawberries in it, and it keeps SJ gnawing and happy for 20-30 minutes while we're eating.  Fabulous!  He was less enthused about cantelope and sweet potatoes in the net feeder, but that's fine because he will eat watermelon all day long in this thing.  I wish I hadn't been such a Net Feeder hater when KA was a baby!  It really isn't even that messy.

One note - the Nuby Nibbler (which is what SJ's using in the pictures) is a little better quality and easier to clean than the Munchkin Net Feeder.  The Nuby breaks down into 3 pieces (the net comes completely out), but the Munchkin's net is permanently attached.  So, the Nuby's easier to clean.  Also, the Munchkin has a strange clasp that's hard to open and close, especially with one hand if you're holding the baby!  SJ doesn't seem to have a preference for either, but I prefer the Nuby even though it's slightly more expensive.  Just FYI!

Wordless Wednesday

Remember SJ's New Bath Seat?

Do you remember just a few short months ago when SJ got this precious baby bath seat from Santa?

He loved it...

... for about 2 months.

Now, like so many wonderful and expensive baby products that come in and out of SJ's life in a rapid succession, SJ has decided that he is too grown up for a baby bath seat.

Oh yes - babies lay back and take a relaxing bath.  Big boys sit up and splash!

SJ is a lot of fun in the bath, and he's a cheerful, happy bather ... but you are SOAKED when you finish bathing him!

Obviously, this is the last time we used the "Large Comfort Bather"...

... because SJ's new-found bath independence is totally dangerous.  Here he is, about half a second from going face first into the drink!

Yes, I'm slightly annoyed that Santa wasted good money on a bath seat that SJ only used about 15 or 20 times.  But, when you look at a cute little face like this, how can you be mad?

You can't!

Jesus in Jail ... and a SCARY Story

In case you missed Awana's last week, Katie Anne can fill you in.  You may think you know the Easter story, but you don't know the half of it according to KA.  Don't worry, though - Katie Anne will be happy to set you straight and tell you the true story of Jesus - IN JAIL.

The Cubbies are learning about Easter, and Katie Anne couldn't wait to tell me all about it.  This video is from last Wednesday night when they talked about Jesus being arrested.  You may have never heard the story told quite like this:

In case you wonder if her imagination runs wild only in terms of Bible reinterpretations, it doesn't stop there.  She can tell some suspenseful, scary stories, too.  Just so you know before watching - Kylie (along with her brother Ethan) are Katie Anne's imaginary friends.

I should try to get more of her stories on video, because she tells wild, crazy, imaginative stories all the time.  As you can hear in the videos, they crack us up on a daily basis!

Two Stylin' Girls

Katie Anne has gotten really into fixing my hair in the last few weeks.  Of course, I totally love that because I love people playing with my hair.  We usually take turns fixing each other's hair in crazy new ways, with one person sitting on the floor and the other person sitting on the couch behind them, and it reminds me of when me and my mom did the same thing when I was little.  This time, we busted out the little snap tiny barrettes, and it added a whole new dimension to our styling abilities!  We were able to do fashionable updo's, sideswept bangs, and all kinds of good stuff.

My beautiful hair, courtesy of Katie Anne...

 My hair looks totally thin here, but I love the little photobomber on the side...

 So pale!  We definitely need some sun...

 Katie Anne had taken off her nice new shirt at dinner time (we had pasta with red sauce, and I didn't want that new shirt stained!) so she's totally rocking her wife beater here...

 She looks cute in anything she wears!

 KA's turn - very fancy...

 I wish I had that much hair!

 We were having so much fun that, when we looked up at the clock, it was already 9:00 - and Katie Anne hadn't had a shower yet!  Oops!  It was a late bedtime, but it was worth it.

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather!

Late in February, the weather was so great - warm, breezy, and totally spring-like!  So, we got out as much as we could on the weekends and enjoyed it.  We installed SJ's toddler swing from Santa, and he loved swinging with his big sister!

 

This picture was my attempt to get one of the both of them together, and it didn't turn out to be a good one.  But, I kind of love it because Katie Anne looks like her little toddler self instead of her new big-kid self a little bit in it! 

More Literary Stylings of Katie Anne

Since learning how to write her name by herself a few weeks ago, Katie Anne's handwriting has really taken off.  She now writes her last name on everything!  This is her first attempt at writing Jones by herself from several weeks ago:

 Of course, all this writing knowledge hasn't been without its share of drama.  Sometimes, people leave off the "e" at the end of Katie Anne's name.  Lots of people do it.  It drives me crazy, but I don't mention it - it's just what happens when there are two very common spellings of your name.  Well, now that Katie Anne knows there's an "e" at the end of Anne, she's started adding it to her name when anyone - including her teachers - forget it.

 That in and of itself isn't a problem ... but when Katie Anne brought this paper home, she said, "I fixed my name on my paper, and then I got in trouble!"  When I got her to explain to me what had happened, apparently she's not too shy about pointing out the mistake to her teachers whenever they make it.  :)    

So, this lead to a long discussion about when it's okay to correct people, and when it's better to just keep it to yourself.  I think she's learned her lesson because today she told me that one of her teachers had been singing a song about left and right, but she'd gotten her left and right hands mixed up.  I asked Katie Anne if she'd said anything about it, but she said, "No, I didn't mention it."  Haha!

One other writing development is something that's really near and dear to my heart.  Anyone who knows me well knows I have a deep and abiding love of fonts, and I have a signature font that I claimed as my own years ago ... my beloved Tinkertoy!

Oh, Tinkertoy, you bring me so much joy!  I love to use Tinkertoy whenever I can - when typing or writing letters myself.  Even though I've never explicitly taught Katie Anne about adding the little dots to her letters, I guessed she's picked up on it.  And, bless her little heart, she tries her best to do Tinkertoy on her own!  When I caught her writing her name this way on some of her Valentine's cards, she said, "I'm writing like you, Mommy!"  That's a girl after my own heart!