Twenty Weeks

K saw the doctor for her four month well visit on Thursday.  She weighed 15 pounds 8 ounces and measured 26 1/4 inches.  She weighs less than the other three children did at four months, but she is about the same length as C and R and almost an inch longer than T was at that age.  She is healthy and her development is right on track.  K had two shots and the Rotavirus drink without any adverse reactions.

K is still enjoying the infant oatmeal and is now eating it twice a day.  She has tried to grab the spoon and put it in her mouth several times.

K has started making a razzing noise and I love it.  It's just so cute.  I am THRILLED that I was able to capture it on video.  The reason I'm so excited is that usually K stops doing anything as soon as I begin to take video, but I was able to get great video of her razzing.

If you are reading this via email, I think you will have to log in to the blog to see the video, but I promise it's worth it - I laugh every time I watch it.

K is getting so big.  I have set a goal to enjoy each new phase and not get sad about the fact that she is getting older.  I'm trying to remember that her growth means that she is healthy and that is something to be happy about!

Updates on the Big Kids in the House

Yesterday, I realized that I have been writing updates about K weekly and I haven't really added any updates about the big kids in the house.  Since I write this blog mostly for my own record, I want to add more personal updates on a regular basis.

C and R received their midterm reports this week:

R's teacher wrote that R is a quick learner and is very enthusiastic and outgoing.  She also wrote that R has shown a lot of growth in her independent writing; she adds a lot of detail and is a creative thinker.  R recognizes sixty-nine of the eighty Kindergarten sight words.

C's teacher wrote that he works well with others and contributes to activities with enthusiasm.  He is a fluent reader and possesses solid comprehension strategies.  C also has strong math skills and enjoys a challenge.

R is enjoying ice skating, tap, ballet, jazz, and Irish step right now.  She also takes a Spanish class once a week.  I'm actually regretting the Spanish class a bit; R likes it, but it is right after school and she is so tired at the end of the school day.  R loves all of her activities, and I'm proud of her enthusiasm and effort.

C is still playing the piano and taking swimming lessons.  He actually found a mistake in his piano book last week!!!!!!!!  His piano teacher was amazed!  I'm very proud of the way he practices without complaint and works hard at learning each piece of music.

T recently finished reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  He really enjoyed the book and has started the second book in the series, Catching Fire.  T has always been a reader.  I have always loved reading too, but I don't make time for reading as much as I would like to right now.  I do plan on reading The Hunger Games now though.  T is also enjoying working out with a trainer at the gym three times a week.

That's it for now!

Five Pennies

R brought home this assignment that she completed in school and it's one of those things that I want to remember.

She had to write what she would buy if she had five pennies.  Her response (with spelling corrected):  I want a phone and an iPad and a pet and a book and a puppet and a cookie and a fish.

If only five cents could stretch that far.......

Nineteen Weeks

It has been an eventful week for K.  Well, eventful in the life of an infant.

We heard her giggle for the first time!  A baby's giggle is one of the best sounds I have ever heard.

On Friday, I left K with Grandma for a little over an hour.  This is a big deal because it was the FIRST time I was away from her.  She did great.  I did okay too.

K also had her first taste of solid food.  She tried infant oatmeal for the first time on Friday and LOVED it.  We knew she was ready because she has been eyeing food for weeks now!

Most of K's clothes right now are from Baby Gap and she is wearing 6-12 months, but they won't fit her much longer - she is so long!  She barely fits in her size 60 clothes from Hanna Andersson; time to move up to size 70!

K has her four month well visit later this week; I think she is going to be off the charts in length.

Busy Week

It has been a busy week, and I haven't had a chance to post anything, but here are a few pictures I took over the last few days:

Snacks and Stories

I love to make special snacks to go along with books.  I will be sharing them over at my new blog, Snacks and Stories.  That blog is public so there will be no personal information and no pictures of the kids over there, just snacks and stories.

Here are just a few things I have posted over there:

Snowflake Quesadillas

Art with Food

Jello Painting

and more!  So, click here to visit the new site and let me know what you think.

I will continue to post personal things and pictures here, so be sure to check in at both sites!

R's Starry Night

R made this in her Kindergarten art class.  In the first class, they learned about Vincent Van Gogh and talked about his use of swirls and broken lines in the "Starry Night" piece.  Then, they made the background.

In the second class, they drew, colored, and cut out a city scene to use as the foreground.  The green house is our home.

They also listened and moved their bodies to the song "Vincent" by Don McClean.

C made his own "Starry Night" when he was in Kindergarten too.  Here is a picture of it:

Another Lego Creation

C completed the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Mill (365 pieces) by himself this week.  No one helped him with this one, and he is very proud of it!

The Black Pearl

C enjoys Lego toys more than anything else right now.  I am always amazed by his ability to complete Lego projects quickly and easily.

Santa brought C the Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Black Pearl for Christmas.  While C does assemble most of his Lego sets on his own, this was a big project (804 pieces) so he worked with Dad. They worked on it a little at a time and last night they finished it.  C was so excited!

As soon as they finished, C began talking about the next Lego project - the Pirates of the Caribbean Mill.

My Perfume

I don't ever wear perfume.  R thinks it is very fancy though and she recently worked with C to make me a bottle of perfume.

I'm not sure of the exact ingredients, but they did tell me that there is vanilla hand soap, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, lotion, and lip smacker in this bottle.  Honestly, this homemade variety smells pretty good.

They both LOVE to mix things together to make their own special concoctions.  I love that they do this together, and I'm happy to be the recipient of one of their concoctions.  So far, I have not used the "perfume", but I like to see it in my cabinet.

Seventeen Weeks

We still comment daily about what a good baby K is; she is so sweet and happy.  I hate to put her down.  She has that sweet, milky baby breath and the softest, prettiest skin I have ever seen.  I love the way she looks at me when she is not in my arms - as if to say, "Why aren't you holding me?".  I also love that C and R still ask to hold her ALL the time and that T still has the magic touch with her.

K is so cute in this bouncy seat.  I put her in it while I shower and she really seems to enjoy the lights and music.  She kicks her legs and moves her arms happily the whole time.  I think the bouncy seat has been my favorite baby item for all four of my babies.

She is growing so fast and I am cherishing every single moment.

Shooting Stars Snack

The cover of the book Stars! Stars! Stars! by Bob Barner inspired this snack.  To make it, I used a star cookie cutter and cut stars out of bread.  I then made mini jelly star sandwiches.  Then I added a little vanilla yogurt and frozen blueberries to the plate. 

This is a simple rhyming book that takes the reader through outer space to visit the planets and stars.  We enjoyed the torn paper collage illustrations.  The facts in the back of this book give the book an educational boost.

Sixteen Weeks

I love K in pink because she has such pretty pink skin and the pink highlights that, especially those cheeks! 

Auntie Karen (my sister) and Uncle Mark came to visit from upstate NY last week.  K met them for the first time.

I love this picture of R reading to K!  They were in my bathroom while I was in the shower.  R loves to read anything by Dr. Seuss and K loves to listen.  Here she is reading Green Eggs and Ham.

K has really started grabbing and holding on to things, including hair!!!!  R was yelling, "she has my hair, ouch!" when I took this picture!  It isn't the greatest picture, but you get the idea.

Happy New Year

It was unseasonably warm today, but the weather was great for a New Year's Day hike.  Dad took C, R, and Kelly to the Blue Hills this morning and they all enjoyed the hike.  What a great way to start the new year.