EJ's 4-year stats

Growing up so fast

Everett;s stats at her 4-year appointment were as follows:

38lb (73rd %)

41.5" tall (85th %)

She appears to have met or exceeded all her developmental milestones. She knows her ABCs (and for the most part their sounds, plus can recognize all the letters), can count to 30 (and recognize her numbers through at least 10), can write her nickname (EJ) but not her full name. She knows where we live (the name of our street/neighborhood, our city, and our state).  She can recognize both the US and GA flags and say the Pledge of Allegiance. She seems to have my spatial awareness/memory, as she will recognize when we are driving somewhere she has been before and knows when we are on the roads going to places she is familiar with.  She asks legitimately thought provoking questions such as "Why do we have necks" and is able to explain things I thought would be beyond her at this age like "If we want to go faster we should go down the hill."

She loves art and will happily color for an hour straight; similarly she seems to really enjoy building with her Legos. She understands and wants to play games like Jenga and Memory.  She can throw and kick a ball. She will happily run and jump and climb all day long. She has an amazing imagination and if left to her own devices will come up with some truly creative (and often incredibly messy) ways to pass the time, with an elaborate story to go along. 

Overall she is a happy, engaging, clever child who seems to be generally fearless (good and bad, but mostly good at this point), incredibly socially confident (she did not inherit her mom's shyness, that is for sure!), and exhaustively active. We have loved watching her mind explode and are delighted daily with the way she speaks and expresses herself. She never ceases to make us laugh. She challenges us, which can be exhausting but I wouldn't want it any other way. She is spirited and fierce and brave and amazing. In other words, she's perfect.  =)

Still our silly girl

Happy Birthday EJ!

My oh my, how is it possible that 4 years are gone already? My sweet girl, my first baby, the original Tiny Tornado....oh how you have grown into an articulate, fearless, smart, funny, kind little girl right in front of our eyes. 

We have loved every minute of it, even the ones you have challenged and pushed us on. You have taught us how to be parents and you made us a family. 

We love you desperately and completely. You make us laugh every single day. You make us better people just by being part of our family. You delight us and surprise us and make our hearts grow in ways we never imagined.

We are so incredibly proud of you. You have officially moved out of the realm of "toddler" which in some ways is heartbreaking but in so many more ways is thrilling. We can't wait to see what you do next. You are a world of surprises wrapped up in an adorable, mighty-girl exterior. 

Happy birthday, baby. We love you, to the moon and back. 

Nora's 1-year stats

Nora had her 1-year check up almost a month late, because that is the reality of the second child.  *shrug*

Here are her official stats:

22 pounds, 7oz (68th %)

30.75" tall (90th %)

head circumference of 18.9" (over 97th%)

For comparison sake, at EJ's 1-year appointment her stats were:

22 pounds, 3oz

30.7" tall

head circ of 18.5"

They are basically the exact same size, and yet their bodies seem quite different.  EJ had way more fat rolls than Nora ever has. I think Nora has shorter legs and a longer torso than EJ, although they are basically the same height. And perhaps most significantly, it appears that Nora got the Nadi squares. For those of you unfamiliar with this natural phenomenon, it means she has fat feet.  They are a LOT bigger than EJ's were at this age, and because of their girth, none of EJ's old shoes fit. Which means I have to buy all new ones. Darn.  =)

Here they both are, at the same age, wearing the same outfit.  You can see how differently the sweater fits them.  And also how much more hair Nora has.  =)

Let the countdown begin....

Omar and I celebrate our 10 year anniversary next spring, and in honor of that, we are going on the first vacation we have taken ALONE since our honeymoon.  I can't even begin to express how incredibly excited we are.  I cannot WAIT to be here, dipping my toes in that beautiful water:

Seriously counting down the days, this can't get here fast enough!

A huge THANK YOU to our wonderful family for offering to help take care of the girls so we can go on this amazing trip.  I may just sleep the entire time we are there!

Beach Bonanza 2014

Two years ago we rented a beach house with a bunch of our college friends and had such a blast we decided to do it again!

We joined five other families, for a total of 12 adults and 11 kids, 6yo and under in a single house. Yes, we brought plenty of adult beverages.  ;)

Watermelon mimosas? Yes please!

The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a blast. This just reaffirmed that both of my girls are complete water babies.

water baby

Helluva engineers

Baby engineers   =)

 We had a great time with all our friends and their kids. It is so much fun to watch all our kids become friends and have a great time playing together!

Jess and baby Caleb

Baby Lola

 The trip was another huge success, filled with days on the beach building sandcastles, playing in the waves, and even learning how to boogie board (EJ loves it!).  By the end we were all worn out.  =)

Nora P - 1 year old!

As her daddy said, "She looks like a little desert cake"

I can't believe it, but our baby is ONE. My how time flies (that seems to be a recurring theme in my blog, but it is SO TRUE).  This past year has flown by and yet been the best year yet. She has been a joy to parent and has completed our family in a way I didn't know was possible until she was here.  She is a sweet, chill, tough little girl who is quickly developing some strong opinions and starting to show hints of being a drama queen.  She is fast with a smile and loves to explore; she is more of a cuddler than her sister was and seems to have the same adventurous streak (lord help us). Mostly, she is growing up way too fast and quickly becoming more of a toddler and less of a baby, which in a way breaks my heart and in other ways brings even more joy.

Of course we celebrated the Big Day with a party, made up of just our family so we could focus entirely on the Birthday Girl.  It was a huge success.  =)

We got her amazing cakes from Cakes By Darcy - so cute!

The Birthday Girl was the hit of the party and had a blast with all of her family who traveled from far and near to celebrate with her. 

Cousin Ingrid had some words of wisdom
for the newest 1-year-old in the family

The Birthday Girl wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, but once we got her situated in her special seat and introduced her to her special treat (aka cake) she seemed to figure it out fast enough. 

Big Sis was happy to show her the amazingness of cake

EJ was such a great sport about it being Nora's big day

 Happy happy birthday, sweet girl. You are a delight, you make every day so much more fun and magical. We love your sweet spirit and beautiful smile. You have brought us such joy, and we can't wait to see what the future holds and the amazing child you are becoming.  We love you, to the moon and back.

ONE YEAR STATS

22lb 7oz (68th%)

30.75" (90th%)

18.9" head circ (98th%)

FIRSTS

- she started walking a few days after her 11th month

- she knows several signs now, her favorites of which are fan and light and she will happily point out every single fan and light (and do the sign for it) in every single room you walk into. Multiple times.

- she had her first sugar (in the form of her birthday cake) and seems to be a fan

Sweet girls growing up too fast.