KATE IS 3

September was a busy, busy month, so this post is kinda late.
Our funny, sassy little Kate turned 3 on Sept 16th.
We had a party for her on the 14th. She chose a My Little Pony theme (which pretty much just means she gets invitations, plates, napkins and cupcakes to go along with her theme choice. lol. I don't do the whole balloons, decor, themed games, goodie bags kinda thing.)

We all had a great time and she was so excited. This is the first party she's had that she actually knew what was going on. (Her last party was her 1st birthday)

Kate also recently had her 3yr Drs appointment for preschool.

She's still just my petite, skinny little girl (but don't let that fool you... she has a HUGE personality and a lot of sass. lol)
At 3 years old, she now weighs a whopping 25lb (11.3kg)
and she's 36 inches tall (3 feet)

A little about 3 year old Kate.
She likes My Little Pony toys and princess dress up stuff.
She's always wanting to put on a 'tutu' (anything that resembles a princess dress/ballet tutu)
She loves music and dancing (and does so wearing her tutu's)
She's still a daddy's girl (I think she always will be)
She speaks really well (At least after Luke's speech delay, we think so)
With her ability to speak, comes LOTS of opinions, back talking and tons of funny moments.
She really is a funny little girl and often has us laughing.
She can count past 10 (how much past 10 depends on the day), and knows all of her shapes, colors and a large portion of the alphabet.
She doesn't like 'hot things'... hot water, hot food, hot blow dryer etc etc
She likes to ride her scooter a lot (she got a new one for her birthday)
She can throw a mean tantrum when she feels like it.
She has far bigger an opinion about what she wears than I'd like at this age. lol
She is ALL GIRL.

We LOVE our Kate... she has so much personality, and is a very special and important part of our little family.

We were much to busy partying to focus on taking good pics, so these chaotic gift unwrapping ones are about all we got. lol. Oh well, everyone had fun and the birthday girl was happy. :D

KATE GOES TO PRESCHOOL

I can barely believe that Kate is already in preschool.
On September 9th, Kate started going to preschool on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for 2 hours. She's in the 3 year old class. She's the youngest in her class (she turned 3 a week after school started), and she's also the smallest in her class but she is such a little firecracker that she isn't the least bit deterred or intimidated. She just marches right in there and does her thing. I love how independent she can be.

She has great teachers at school, and so far she really loves her time there.
I think it's a nice change of scenery for her from being home all day with me, especially now that Luke is in Kindergarten full day.
My little girl is getting so big.

Her teacher, Miss Jennifer

Spying on her through the door

LUKE STARTS KINDERGARTEN

I am officially the mom of a school age child, and a very independent one at that.
My sweet, 5yr old, little Luke started his first day of 'big school' on Tuesday.
He is attending Grant Elementary school in Livonia.
He goes to school from 8:54am - 3:58pm (totally random hours, I know. lol)
His teacher this year is Mrs Dimopoulos.

I drove him to school on Tuesday morning so that I could see him to his class and get some photo's.
On the way to school he said, "Mommy, tomorrow I want to ride the bus to school".. my heart jumped out of my chest. I thought for sure I had at least a couple weeks to drive him to school before he even thought about driving the bus and before I even had to start considering it... When did he get so independent?
At school, he happily went in, found his seat and seemed completely unconcerned about me leaving him. He was sooo ready for his first day of school. I was so excited for him.

Yesterday morning, he was still determined to ride the bus, so I walked him to the bus stop, waited with him until his school bus arrived, and then swallowed the lump in my throat as I watched my heart drive away on that big yellow bus.
I know he'll do great this year. I'm so proud of that sweet boy.

2 MONTHS OLD

My little cutie turned 2 months old on June 9th.
She is sooo sweet and so cute, but sadly she is already seeming less and less like a newborn. Time is definitely going by TOO fast.

She had her 2 month well check a couple weeks ago and had to get her first round of shots. Broke my heart because she was so sad and cried so hard...big meanies with their ugly needles :/

She is still a little lightweight, although compared to a few weeks ago, she's developed some sizable little thighs recently. lol

2 Month Stats:

Weight: 8lb 12.5oz (3.98kg)
Length: 21.25 inches (54cm)
Head: 14.75 inches

I was surprised that she was still under 9lbs at her appointment, because Kate was already 9lb 11oz by 2 months, and they were only 5oz different in size at birth. By 2 months though, they were 14.5oz different in size so Eden has been growing a little slower than Kate did. 

Eden has a very sweet temperament. She doesn't cry a lot for the most part. She has recently developed a 'fussy time' in the evenings, usually around 8pm, but it's not awful and because she's so easy going the rest of the time, it's easier to tolerate the sometimes inconsolable crying during her fussy time. She still wakes up regularly at night, though we have recently been getting the occasional 4-5hr stretch from her, so hopefully over the next few weeks, she'll sleep longer more consistently.

She started smiling right around 6 weeks, and her little face just lights up. Big, bright eyes and huge dimples and she just melts your heart. She likes to be held (a lot)... I love love love her sweet, warm snuggles, though there are times during the day where I'd rather put her down so I can get things done. Can't have it all I guess :p
She also coo's and it's so adorable.

Life before Eden is slowly becoming a foggy memory. She is so very much a part of our family and I can no longer imagine our family without her. Luke is still a doting big brother, and Kate although not as interested in Eden, is very sweet with her. We have 3 beautiful children.
Life is good :)

Starting to smile

Eden's Blessing Day

Some of my favourite cellphone pics from the last month.

1 MONTH OLD

Our sweet little Eden is one month old.
She's an absolute little darling and so far, our easiest baby yet.
I'm really hoping her sweet, relaxed temperament sticks because she's really just the cutest little thing.

She cries briefly when she's hungry... but stops the minute a bottle hits her lips, and she gets a little fussy when she has a stuck burp (which is fairly regularly), but once we're able to get it out, she's good as gold again. She has some pretty stubborn gas issues, and has a hard time getting those burps out, but that really is about the only time she is fussy.

Today was her 1 month appointment.
She is 'just a little peanut' according the her pediatrician.

Her 1 month stats are:
Weight: 7lb 7.5oz (3.38kg)
Length: 20.25 inches (51.4cm)
Head: 13.75 inches

She's in the 10th percentile for her weight..another little lightweight girl like her sister was (actually, a little smaller than Kate still)

The kids have adjusted pretty well to having Eden around and they are both very loving towards her. Luke is so great with her, and quite the little bossy boy when she's fussing. If she starts to cry, Luke likes to say in a very assertive voice, "Mommy, just go get her!". lol.
She really loves him... she rarely fusses or cries when Luke is holding her. It almost seems like he relaxes her.
Kate isn't quite as helpful as Luke is, but she isn't even 3 yet, so I don't expect her to be.  She just adores Eden though and will hold Edens face in her hands, get right in her face, and say, "Hi baby Eden" in a cute, high voice. :)

We're EXHAUSTED from being up with Eden so much (typical newborn 2-3hr feedings etc), but other than that, we are just adoring this new little addition to our family. She's perfect.

Don't grow TOO quickly little Eden... slow down, so that we can enjoy this time with you :)

10 DAYS OLD

2 WEEKS OLD

1 MONTH OLD

PERFECT LITTLE FACES

Eden is 8 days old today and she is perfect.
We are so in love with her.
Right now, she's a content, easy going, happy baby.
We'll have to wait out the next few weeks to see if that's her regular demeanor or if we're just getting to enjoy a little newborn bliss before the storm. lol.
But for right now, she's a total little gem.
She doesn't cry much.. and when she does she sounds like a little squeaky toy. It's the cutest thing.
As long as we keep her fed and snuggled, she's content and happy, and sleeps pretty well in her bassinet. She wakes up regularly at night, but that's to be expected with a hungry little newborn.
After losing a little weight (she got down to 5lb 10oz), she was back up to her birth weight (6lb 1oz) by just a week old, so she is doing GREAT.

We're still having some feeding troubles, so I'm starting to lean towards just pumping like I did with my other 2, but other than that things with her are going smoothly so far.

Today I was able to coax Luke and Kate into sitting for a photo with Eden. I bought Jake a photo frame for Fathers day that he can put on his desk at work, and wanted to get a picture of all 3 kids to put in it.

I think considering the 3 minute window of co-operation I got, I didn't do too badly. lol

So here they are... my absolute pride and joy.
I love these perfect, little faces.