6 Month and 3 Year Updates

I took the girls for their check ups at the doctors on the same day this time. We are going to a new doctor who has an office right down the road from where Josh works so I arranged for him to meet me there to help. I would not have scheduled them for their appointments on the same day had he not been there to help! Karis went first for her check up. She is 27 1/2 inches tall (92 percentile) and 18.3 lbs (82 percentile). She did really well through the whole visit up until the shots ( but nobody likes shots, right?!). The doctor said she looks great and is developmentally doing great as well. She was doing crunches when she was getting weighed and examined so the doctor could see how strong she was! Raegan was next. She didn't mind getting weighed or measured. And she thought getting her eyes examined was kind of fun. But she completely lost it when the doctor started examining her. She had to get 2 shots as well and that didn't go over very well either. But both girls calmed down relatively quickly after their shots and neither of them had bad reactions to their shots, thankfully. Raegan is now 33 lbs (72 percentile) and 38 inches tall (72 percentile). The doctor said she is doing great as well!

Making Breakthroughs

" Hey Mom, aren't you supposed to be the one doing this?"

My little helper!

Open wide Karis!

Raegan has definitely made some breakthroughs when it comes to her baby sister. A couple of weeks ago she started sharing her turtle with Karis and in the last couple of days she has been wanting to feed baby Karis her food. Yesterday morning she fed her cereal until Karis got a hold of the bowl and cereal went flying everywhere! Today Raegan was sitting with me while we were eating lunch and she said " remember yesterday ( as an aside every day before today is yesterday to Raegan) when Daddy wore a blue shirt and Grandma and Pop Pop brought me to the hospital to see my baby sister? I don't want my baby sister to go back to the hospital, I want her to stay here with me." So I think she has come around considering she used to ask me for Karis to go back to the hospital on a daily basis.

I am hoping this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Lions and Tigers and Bears

Raegan in front of the zebras at the zoo

Zebras!

Karis enjoying her stroll around the zoo

Happy girl!

Leopards!

Panda chewing on a branch

Elephants getting ready to eat lunch!

Friends!

Today the weather was absolutely gorgeous so we decided to head to the zoo with our good friends. Raegan was super excited when I told her we were going to the zoo. The last time we took her to the zoo she was about 18 months old so she didn't remember going. She said she was going to the zoo like in her books. We got there without any traffic and started walking around and seeing the animals as soon as we got there. We saw miniture horses, zebras, elephants, a panda bear, lions, tigers and Raegan's favorite, turtles ( they had huge tortoises there!). We stopped and had a picnic lunch during which the orangutans came out and were walking on a wire above our heads next to where we were eating lunch ( Raegan thought this was really cool, as did I!). Raegan had a great time with her friend at the zoo. And Karis did really well too. She rode in the stroller most of the time without making a peep and then she took a nap after lunch in the Ergo baby carrier. They both started melting down on the way home when we of course hit an early afternoon rush hour due to the beautiful weather. But we had a really fun day and can't wait to go back. We bought a zoo pass while we were there so we can go as often as we want when the weather gets nice again!

Happy Half Birthday!

Dear Karis,

Happy half birthday sweet pea! It's hard to believe that you are already half a year old! You are growing so fast! Time has flown by since you were born and at the same time I wonder what we ever did without you around. Daddy and I have been blessed with 2 very special girls and we can't imagine our lives without you or your big sister!

You have grown so much! You are now sitting up by yourself ( until you reach for something and topple over), eating " big girl foods" like squash, peas, sweet potatoes, apples and pears. You are trying to scoot around on your tummy and roll all over the place on your playmat. You love to take baths and your big sister is really excited that soon you can take baths together! You both love to splish and splash so I am sure that will be really fun ( and wet!). You have a wonderful, contagious laugh! You laugh especially hard when I wipe off your hands and your face after you eat ( i have never seen a baby do that before, usually they cry!). I love to see your beautiful smile when you wake up in the morning and to see your excitement to start the day. I also love to hear your wonderful baby babbles and sounds! You have grown so much in 6 months and we can't wait to watch you grow even more every day!

I love you so much sweet Karis and I am so grateful to God for bringing you to our family! And always remember that as much as I love you, God loves you even more!

Love,

Mommy

Sweet Pea

Our Sweet Pea exploring sweet peas!

Karis has developed into quite the foodie! She is now enjoying 3 meals a day along with the rest of us. She loves butternut squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, pears , apples, bananas, and prunes. The verdict is still out on the peas, and green beans though!

Grandparent Party

Raegan putting together her new train from Grandma and Pop Pop
Karis enjoying Big Sister's party!

Strawberry Cake!

The birthday festivities continued on sunday when we got home from church. Grandma and Pop Pop came around lunch time and Grammy and Pee Pop got her later in the afternoon. Raegan was super excited to have her grandparents here! We had "Super Bowl Foods" since it was Super Bowl Sunday. I made hotdogs baked in puff pastry and Raegan really liked the " baby hotdogs". I made her a strawberry shortcake for this party because that is what she told me she wanted and again she didn't touch it. Next year, cookies or fruit with a candle it is! Raegan got a new train set from Grandma and Pop Pop as well as a turtle pillow pet which she fell in love with immediately! My parents also brought quilts for each of the girls that my Aunt made for them and Raegan's not only matched the outfit she had on that day, it also matches her room and has an appliqued turtle on it. Needless to say Raegan really likes her quilt! And we are very thankful to my Aunt for putting such thought and effort into making beautiful quilts for our girls ( thank you Aunt Joan!). When Grammy and Pee Pop got here Raegan received an activity book and a number puzzle from them.

Raegan ( and Karis) enjoyed the time with grandparents. And Raegan was especially excited when Grandma and Pop Pop stayed overnight at our house!

This concluded our week long celebration of Raegan's birthday. She told us she had a great birthday this year!

"PJ" Party

Birthday treats for Raegan's party at school

Party Favors!

Raegan is 3!

Raegan and her buddy Christian

Decorating pillowcases

Avah with her pillow case

Sharing lollipops with friends!

Today we had a birthday party for Raegan and some of her friends. We decided to have a "PJ" party. All of the kids wore their PJ's and came over for breakfast. We had a make your own omelette station along with homefries and fruit salad. I made Raegan a blueberry coffee cake birthday cake since she loves blueberries but she wasn't very interested. I think next year I will give her a cup of fruit with a candle in it ( can't complain that she likes to eat so healthy!). All of the kids decorated pillow cases too! Raegan enjoyed having her friends over to play for her birthday!

Birthday Fun

3 Balloons For Turning 3!

Raegan's Birthday Outfit

"3" Birthday Pancakes!

The Beautiful Birthday Girl!

Presents!

Birthday Dinner at the "Water Mountain" Restaurant

Today we celebrated Raegan's 3rd Birthday ( or at least we started a series of celebrations). When Raegan woke up this morning she came downstairs to find 3 birthday balloons tied to a new set of watercolor paints as well as a birthday t shirt with a 3 on it that I made for her and a birthday hat with 3 candles and 3 strawberries on it. Raegan wanted to paint with her new paint set and while she was painting I made her blueberry pancakes in the shape of the number 3 and fruit salad with all of her favorite fresh fruits. After her breakfast I surprised her by telling her I rented "Toy Story 3" for her to watch and she was really excited about that. After her movie was over I took her out to lunch. And on the way home from lunch we stopped at the library to borrow some new books. After her nap she woke up and I told her that Daddy came home early from work and that we were going out to dinner. She chose the "water mountain" restaurant ( a Hibachi restaurant with fountains in the front) to go to. She enjoyed her dinner and she got lots of attention from the waitstaff who made her a special cake and sang happy birthday to her ( but just like her mommy she wasn't real into all of the attention and singing but at least she didn't cry like mommy used to). After dinner we came home and she got to open her presents from mommy and daddy while Grandma and Pop Pop watched on the webcam. She got a digital camera, a sleeping bag and a magnetic dress up doll set. She really liked all of her presents especially the camera ( I will have to post some of the pictures that she took!). And she wanted to sleep in her sleeping bag on her bed. So we had a packed day full of fun for the birthday girl. I know I spoiled her today but you only turn 3 once! Tomorrow she gets to take treats into her class at school and I made her cookie pops to take in. Then on saturday she is having a few friends over for a " PJ breakfast party" in the morning. Then we will finish the celebrations on sunday with a Grandparent party. I hope our birthday girl had a great 3rd birthday today!

Happy Birthday From Mommy

My Sweet Raegan,

I can't believe that you turned 3 today! You are growing so fast ( too fast sometimes!) but I love to watch you grow! 3 years ago you were placed in my arms for the first time and I will never forget that feeling. I still love every moment I get to spend with you! You continue to light up my life and bring me so much joy. You bring joy to everyone that meets you! You are such a special little girl.

This year has been a big year for you. You became a big sister this year! I know you weren't so sure if you liked having a baby sister at first but you are a GREAT big sister. Your little sister adores you and I can already tell that she wants to be just like you when she gets bigger. I know it's tough being a big sister sometimes but it makes me so happy when you help mommy with Karis and when you share your toys and try to make Karis laugh. It made me really happy the other day when you shared your very special friend "Turtle" with Karis. You have such a sweet heart.

You continue to always make people laugh like when you tell daddy and I that you are going to be "fourteen" when we ask you how old you are. And just like when you were a little baby your laugh is still contagious! You have a great laugh. And there is nothing I love more than to see you smile!

This year you also started school. You have been such a brave girl going into school by yourself. The teachers say you are doing a great job and you are making lots of friends! Your daddy and I are very proud of you!

You still love your dinosaurs, trains, animals, and books. And recently you started painting the most beautiful pictures with your watercolors. Maybe you will grow up to be an artist!

You have grown so much this past year! I can't wait to see what the next year holds for you.

I hope that you know how much you are loved. I love you more than you will ever know or could ever imagine and always remember that God loves you even more than that!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet, curly headed, funny, precious girl!

Love Always,
Mommy

She must really love her sister!

I wasn't really sure about how Raegan felt about Karis until this weekend. At first as you all know Raegan was not real fond of actually having Karis live with us. It took her a while to warm up to the idea but eventually she came around to liking Karis. There are times ( as there always will be, I'm sure) that Raegan will get upset with Karis or with the idea of having a sister. But this weekend it became clear to me that Raegan truly does love Karis. I had Karis laying down on a blanket in the living room so she could play and roll around a bit. I had some toys down for her and Raegan came in and asked if she could play with Karis and I said of course. So Raegan got down to play with Karis and she proceeded to show Karis "Turtle". "Turtle" is Raegan's favorite animal, her lovie. Then Raegan gave "Turtle" to Karis to play with. I was amazed when Raegan let Karis play with "Turtle". I know Raegan is a sweet girl but I didn't think she was ready to be quite so generous with her little sister. But of course this made me very happy! So maybe they will be friends one day, after all!