Happy 15 months, Anna!

Anna is a charmer. She is quiet and calm, so when she turns on a smile or giggle it is entirely infectious. We are getting a better glimpse at the appearance and personality that she'll have and we are smitten :)

Weight: 26.3 lbs (95th%)
Height: 31.5 in (82th%)
Head: 46.5 cm (73th%)

Diapers: size 5
Clothing: 18/24 month, 2T

Likes: hanging with the big kids, destroying puzzles, chasing balls, being in a lap, doing "touch down," being tickled

Dislikes: being left alone, taking medicine, being sick

Schedule:
7am Awake for the day!
9:00-11am   Nap
1:00-3pm   Nap
7pm   Down for bed

Sleep: Things are mostly better in this department- praise the Lord! We have dropped the dream feed and she is (finally!!!) getting good long sleep. Dave and I are big believers in long sleep for healthy growth and have mourned the lack of long sleep for our Anna. Quite recently she had a really rough patch, but her doctor noted at the well visit that she has about 5 teeth popping through and could be having a growth spurt. I think she may be ready to drop the morning nap, but I'm not sure that I'm ready.

Physically: Right now she is holding steady with her six faithful teeth, but I think we'll have a change in the tooth count soon! Her hair is getting longer and we have started pulling it into a little pony in the front. It is pretty adorable. The biggest news is that she has started pulling up- yay! She isn't anywhere near walking, but she is a fast crawler and we are seeing steady improvement. Her fine motor skills appear to be on track.

Food: Anna still likes purees, so we usually give her some finger foods to work on while we fix a meal for the rest of the kids. After that, she get purees. Favorites are apple sauce, blueberries, and crackers. Her iron is back within the range of normal, but just barely. So we are continuing to give her fortified cereal and other iron rich foods.

Communication: She is a chatty girl, but doesn't say much! She sometimes does her sign for "all finished" and she loves to say "Dadda". I'm telling you, she won't need to learn any other words if she keeps grinning and saying "Dadda"! She also says a version of "touch down" along with the motion in response to "What does Tom Brady throw?" Parenting priorities, people. But it doesn't sufficiently impress the doctor who wants 15 words by 18 months, so we're keeping an eye on the word count.

Fun things:
- Anna likes to be where the action is, and that often means that she hangs out in our bathroom while we are getting ready in the morning.
- We are officially at the stage where the kids have to put puzzles up high and keep doors closed if they don't want Anna to get into them.

"Mooommmm. This suit is a little small . . . "
Sorry, Anna, that your swim suit didn't cover your belly.

But hey, first time in the ocean!!!

She didn't love the moment as much as we did :)

Her brother and sisters make her laugh like nobody else.
He was giving her rides around the house by pushing her in the toy basket.

Cool kids.

Enjoying Lydia's birthday to the fullest.

Lydia forgot her shoes when we went grocery shopping, so Anna got her first ride in the big kid cart.

At a friend's birthday party . . . turned out she had strep that day.
(It is so funny to look back at a moment when you know the more full story!)

She stands!!!!!

We were pretty excited about all the pulling up  :)

Happy 3 years, Lydia!

Lydia is full of life! She is physical and loud and persistent in all that she does. She is full of spunk and incredibly funny. We have seen her be brave this year, as well as kind. I love how she runs with the big kids, but it also makes her grow up a little too fast sometimes. She is dearly loved!

Weight: 41.8 lbs (99%)
Height: 38.25 ins (79%)

Diapers: size 5, undies
Clothing: 3-5T, shoe: size 9

Likes: all things Frozen (the movie, though she really gets tickled if you put ice in her drink), taking her hair down, singing, dancing, being with people, laughing, being read to

Dislikes: leaving shoes on in the car, hair wash night

Schedule:
6:30-7am Awake for the day!
9:00am Alone time in her room while we start school
10:30 Snack time and read alouds
12:00 Lunch and outside play
1:00-3pm Nap (the real deal)
5:30 Dinner
7pm Bed

Sleep: Lydia tends to sleep well and wake up happy. She also tends to wake up singing, which is kind of tricky since she shares a room with Sarah, but still sweet. She likes to sleep with a pink blanket, pink Beary, Lambie, and two pacis (one for her mouth, one for her hand).

Physically: She is just staring to stretch out and thin out. I think our "squishy baby" will need a new nickname by her next birthday. She seems to have very normal gross and fine motor skills and a sense of adventure that keeps her progressing. Her hair has grown sooo much over the past year. We are batting around the idea of a first hair cut soon!

Food: Lydia is a good eater and generally not very picky. She likes to dip given any opportunity, even if that mean strawberries in ketchup at Chick Fil A. We currently battle keeping her on task and in her seat at meal times, but it is a battle we plan to win :) She loves cheese, yogurt, mac & cheese, and grapes. (Surprisingly, she doesn't love cake!)

Communication: Lydia is full of words. Usually loud words! And if not loud, dramatic words. She says everything on her mind these days. We can almost always understand her, but others don't always know what she is saying if she gets going fast. She has a lot of inflection in her voice that almost makes it sounds like she is singing all the time.

Potty training: Once school started last year, re-potty training had to give. So we didn't worry about it for several months. In April we made a concerted effort to retrain with great success. She currently does all her business on the big potty and wipes herself. We still put a diaper on her when she is in bed, but no long in the car.

Fun things:
- The nursery ladies graduated Lydia to Children's Church and Preschool Sunday School. She danced her way through her first Sunday in the service for the music.
- Lydia was that kid who started potty training by visiting every bathroom in the tri-state just to see what it looks like, even though we all knew she wasn't going to go on any potty other than her potty at home :)
- When people ask how old she is, they don't get the short answer. She has been saying that she is two, but about to be three. And when she turns three her daddy is going to take her pacis away. It's quite the conversation starter.

First time bowling . . . she was super funny.

Her friend took the girls to the nail salon for her birthday.

Her first pony tail!

She asked me to take a photo of her with the fence :)

Chick Fil A kids night.

Lydia put together an all pink outfit.

Anna was her dog on a leash . . . 

She dressed up during nap and asked me to take a picture of her pose.