Happy 3rd Birthday, Will!

Well, today is Will's 3rd birthday! I can't believe that he is already three. This morning I was thinking about the day that he was born. It feels like it was just yesterday that we were holding our new son, and now he is running around the house with his friends eating birthday cake! Time sure flies! Playing outside on the swing set, in the "tree house," and with the toys! Such fun!

Hayden, Nathan, and Will in the tree house banging sticks. Will was singing "Zaccheus Was a Wee Little Man" at the top of his lungs. Yes, he knows the entire song.Will had his friends over for a party this morning. He had a great time with Nathan, Luke, Jackson, Heidi, Benjamin, Mason, Charlie, (Anna - to be born on Thursday), Hayden, Broedy, Katherine, and Kaitlyn. Yes, there were a ton of kids over here this morning, though almost half of them were little brothers and sisters. The kids had a great time playing outside and the weather was great. We came inside for lunch, presents, and cake. The usual little kids party - but it was great fun. The kids were all so well behaved and they all had a great time playing together.

I've posted some pictures of the party and some of my beautiful cake. I am very proud of my cake - it turned out so great. Thanks to Jessica for helping out with the cake and the party today, too.Will, Lauren, and Miss Jessica before the party!

Here is a picture of Will and Lauren playing together for the first time!

Four Months and a Dentist Visit

Lauren went to her four month check up today. She is 24.25 inches long (though she might be longer because she was screaming and she wouldn't let the nurse straighten her legs out), 12 pounds 15 ounces, and her head is 40.5 cm. She went down in weight and height percentiles, but only by about 5%. Her head went up in the percentiles, which always makes me happy. She is just starting to get thinner (sound familiar...), but she's still getting the good nutrition to help her brain grow! I was talking to the doctor about some "feeding" issues Lauren has (she likes to nurse for about 15 minutes on one side and then she's done, but hungry again in about 2 hours), and she said that her daughter did the same thing. It just means that I have a big milk supply and it's filling her up. She said that Lauren likes to nurse every 2-3 hours because she's growing and she feels that it's normal. She did suggest that I start her on cereal to help space the feedings further apart - and I told her that we had already done that! She gave me some pointers on feeding (you would think I would remember all of this, but I don't) and we're ready to jump into the world of solid foods! I've been pumping to get ready to make her food! I know - crazy, but I love to make baby food and I feel that it's so good for her. Will loved the homemade food and I hope she will, too. Plus, I think it helps them transition to table food better and faster!

Here are some pictures of Will and Lauren over the past couple of days. Will's been into playing with his cars and trucks and he loves to line them up in the playroom. Lauren's pictures are of her eating her cereal (and making a great mess!) and playing in the Jumperoo (while she watches her brother play - instant entertainment!)

Will went to the dentist for the first time today! His teeth are great and we just have to keep doing what we're doing. He was perfect in the dentist chair as the hygienist cleaned and counted his teeth. He had a great time and we're looking forward to going back in 6 months!

Cereal

Lauren started her cereal this morning. Thursday and Friday nights she started waking up at 3:00 am to eat! I figured it was just a growth spurt and it would pass. Last night she woke up at 1:45 and at 5:00 (and Will woke up at 2:15 and came back into our room at 3:15), so I decided it was time to fill her belly with cereal! She really enjoyed it. Joe likes to get in on the feeding action when we start cereal. He fed Will his first cereal, too! This time, we let Will feed Lauren some cereal and he did a great job! Enjoy the pictures -

Pictures

Here are a couple more pictures. Lauren loves to play under the play arch - Will loved this, too. You can tell that she is a happy baby that loves to smile. She was four months yesterday and I can't believe my little baby is getting so big. Storytime was back in session at the library (they take a break in May) and Lauren really enjoyed it this time. She loves to read books with us at home, too. She is really growing up, and she is starting to become a little person. She loves to watch the big kids play outside, too. She really loves to watch her brother.

Here's Will with his new bike. We got it for his birthday..... I'm a little impatient, so we gave it to him early. He LOVES to ride it and he does a great job zooming around the court. He rides with the big kids and he thinks that he is big stuff. He's had one fall, but he got right back on and rode home. It's hard to imagine that our little boy is getting so big! He'll be three in a couple of weeks! Time sure flies!

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I guess I'm a little behind on blogging.... Here are some pictures that I've been meaning to post. The pictures of Lauren were takes a couple of weeks ago when I was giving her a bath. Since then, she has lost a lot of her baby hair and her new hair is coming in nicely. It is still red, but it appears that it's a little lighter. She is a very happy baby that loves to smile and laugh. She is sleeping about 12 hours at night - a nine hour stretch and then a three hour stretch. Just this week she's started sleeping until 6:30, so I'm starting to feel normal again.

The picture of Will was taken this weekend when my parent's were here. My dad and Will went to the grocery store to pick up some things that we needed. Will came home with something in his hand. I asked him what he had and he got this big smile on his face and said, "Snickers." The child has found candy bars. We reminded him that he can only have snickers with Grandpa.

Will and Lauren got dedicated at church this past weekend, but I haven't gotten those pictures from my parents yet. I'll post them sometime this weekend......