Violet's Four Month Stats

Violet is now four months old! Today, Eddie and I took her to visit the pediatrician. She weighed in at 15.4 pounds (86th percentile) and measured 25.7 inches (93rd percentile). Before the doctor saw the stats, she said she thought Violet looked skinnier. Then she looked at her percentiles and said, "never mind!" We just have a healthy girl on our hands. Luckily, she is still a friendly girl, too. She smiled at everyone we saw at the doctor's office right up until about 3 seconds after her first shot.

I decided today that if Violet slept better at night, she would be the perfect baby. She doesn't cry needlessly. She isn't stingy with her smiles. She doesn't hold a grudge against her brother. She is strong and doesn't get sick often. She eats well (and efficiently). But she still wakes us up 3-5 times each night. So as soon as I get the nerve, we will be doing some sleep training.

After our visit to the doctor, we also took a trip to the Living Planet Aquarium with some friends. We got a sweet deal on a year membership, so we'll be going a lot over the next year. I was a little concerned when I saw five school buses in the parking lot, but it turned out to be less crowded than I expected. Eddie and Hailee were especially excited to see all the fish that look like Nemo and the big sea turtle.

Weekend Fun

Last weekend was pretty crazy. We had our yard sale (which Dave posted about here). In the midst of all that chaos, we still managed to get some fun photos of the kiddos.

Eddie has an evil look in his eyes because he is always about to dump Violet on her head when we let him hold her like this.

At this point during potty training, we have given up on pants if we are just in the house. He got his boots for his birthday from Grammy Andrews and his vest from Grandma Barton. The hat is from my witch costume, but it was the closest thing we had to a cowboy hat.

Eddie spent a solid hour putting "new tires" (chocolate cheerios) on his McQueens with Dave.

Violet is not very lady-like when she sits in the swing. Eddie used to throw one leg over the bar when he would swing, but Violet took it up a notch by putting both legs out.

Eddie's Third Birthday

Eddie turned three last Tuesday (the 3rd). Since he currently loves the movie Cars, and especially Lightning McQueen, we decided that would be the perfect party theme.

Eddie and I spent hours poring over McQueen cake designs before finally settling on this:

Since I baked the cake in advance and started frosting it a day beforehand, Eddie had some difficulty with the fact that he could not eat it. So, he settled for gazing at it and whispering, "I love you, cake," in the time leading up to the party.

Once Eddie's cousins and friends arrived, he opened presents. He got tons of cars, a couple of buckets, some books, and some Batman underwear. He was especially excited that he got another McQueen car (his fourth) and McKing (which is what he calls The King).

After the gifts were opened, he blew out his candles (with a bit of help from Daddy) and we cut the cake. Eddie was too busy lining up his McQueens to be bothered with eating cake and ice cream.

All in all, it was a fun birthday for Eddie. Thanks to those who celebrated with us and showered him in gifts!

Today I took Eddie in for his three year check up. He weighed in at 33.5 pounds and measured 38 inches tall. That is pretty average, about 65th percentile on both. He impressed me by handling the doctor's exam like a champ. And Violet sat in the car seat smiling throughout. I think it was the easiest doctor appointment we've ever had with Eddie.

We sure love our boy and could not imagine life without him. He makes us laugh every day. Sometimes he baffles me with how smart he is. He is learning his letters and loves the letter W. He can count to ten, though he sometimes gets lost after 7. And he is really starting to grow out of his shyness and wants every kid we see to be his friend and talk to him.