Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Month of March

Katie is getting so big! Her hair is growing in/longer and we can't quite decide on a color. Sometimes I'm sure it is brown but others it is very blonde and other times it has lots of red in it. I guess we will have to wait until it is a little bit longer. I tried some pigtails a couple weeks ago. She didn't like it too much and they came out after a couple hours but they were sure cute while they were in!
Katie LOVES to bath with Abby. Abby got super messy after lunch so I just threw her in the tub. Katie crawled over and kept trying to jump in! She finally stopped and decided playing beside her sister is fun enough.
Katie has been pulling herself to stand for about 3 weeks now. She can pull herself up on anything and stands so tall and strong. She also crawls so fast! She follows me around the house and has to be right by me when I'm cooking. She loves to go under the dining table but she keeps getting stuck under the chairs. She's learning to duck her head and get out so I have to save her less often. It's amazing how fast she is learning.Abby wanted to play the drums one day so she made her own drum set... books and spoons! She is so sweet. Of course Katie had to join her so they each have their own.Abby learned from Jake and the Neverland Pirates to hit the spoons above her head and yell "One, two, three, four!" It is so funny!!Katie is just mesmerized by anything and everything Abby does. They are really best friends.Katie has been standing in her crib and yelling for me when she is ready to get up from her nap or in the morning. Half the time Abby is already in there entertaining her. Unfortunately they both have started getting up early!! 6:30am is way to early for me!My new favorite picture of my girls.One day Abby came downstairs dressed like this. She said, "Mommy, I want to dance to Despicable Me". I was cracking up and made a video of her dancing. She is too funny!Abby has also discovered the joy of vacuuming! I no longer chase her around the house with the vacuum. Now she wants to be the one vacuuming. She has been so good about doing chores. I don't think she even knows what chores are because to her she is just doing what Mommy is doing. She loves to empty the dishwasher, help me cook, and is getting better about cleaning up her toys. Now why can't I just get her to keep all her clothes on! She's rather obsessed with having her picture taken whenever she sees the camera. This is one of those times. Then of course I have to show it to her and she is just so pleased with herself.
Katie has been eating so many foods! Here she is eating a quesadilla with beans. She loves anything that she can pick up and feed herself.
We had a week of 70 degree weather. Abby played outside everyday so when it turned cold again she still wanted to play outside. Here she is all bundled up braving the cold.Katie had her 9 month check up on March 26th. She is sitting up completely by herself, crawling, standing and talking like crazy. She doesn't say any words but her favorite sound to make is "Dah". She is 17lbs and 26 1/2 inches. She is in the 10-25th percentile for weight and height but her head is huge!! She is 75th percentile for that! Oh well, she is ridiculously cute so she can just grow into it. Katie is the most snuggly baby. It is so different having a baby that just wants to cuddle and love when she's tired compared to Abby who would go to her room and beg to be put in her crib. I loved my snuggly girl! I will really miss this when she gets older because there is nothing like a baby falling asleep snuggling you.

I love my life right now. I can't believe we have been in New York for 6 months now. We miss our friends in Texas but have made some good friends here. I am loving where my children are in their lives and how they both want me and John to play with them and love them. Abby says the cutest things and is so sweet and considerate sometimes. Katie crawls to her Daddy every morning before he leaves for work because she knows she will snuggle her and give her a kiss. Then when he comes home she beelines straight for him. It's so wonderful to see how much she loves her Daddy. I don't get the house perfectly clean or get everything done that I want to but I'm too happy being with my children to care. John is really enjoying work and the people he works with. We love having family around and look forward to the Spring and Summer where we can travel more and see the East Coast!

3 year old check up

Abigail had her 3 year check up a few days after her birthday. She was perfectly fine in the beginning. She got her weight and height, 30 lbs and 37 inches. Her eye sight was checked for the first time or at least it was tempted. She got too antsy and we only got both eyes open, 1 eye done but they said it was okay. So then she got to put a doctors gown on which she thought was rather cool. The doctor took FOREVER to come in but we spent out time playing hide and seek and looking at all the different pictures in the room. Then finally the doctor came in and checked her out and she looks great! Of course I already knew this but now comes the hard part....
THE SHOT and IRON TEST.
So I got Abby dressed and the nurse came in to give her a Chicken Pox Booster and take some blood to check for Iron deficiency. I have been holding Katie this whole time so I attempt to hold Abby as well while she gets her finger pricked. I'm trying to hold her down while the nurse is squeezing Abby's finger to get blood in the little tube but she keep thrashing around. So we call in another nurse to take Katie and another nurse to help hold Abby down. The chicken pox booster is then administered which wasn't a huge deal. I let her calm down and put her in my lap. A nurse is helping hold Abby's arms still while the other nurse is pricking and squeezing Abby's finger to get blood. Abby is acting like we are chopping her into little pieces and finally we give up because she thrashing too much and cutting off her own circulation so no more blood is coming out. Then she stands there and screams for 5 minutes until they mention a popsicle and Voila! she is fine. So the Iron test failed but I should have known before hand that it would never have worked. Oh well...
but on a happy note, here is Abby snuggling with John. I love them!
I took this picture right after Katie started tasting this picture. Uh oh, she knows she's caught!But she still gives me a big grin!Katie loves to follow me around and chase me down.

Abby's Family Birthday Dinner

On Sunday, February 19th, we had Abigail's family birthday dinner. We had the entire VanDerwerken clan over and the Stevensons. I cooked a ham, steak, rolls, a salad and Tina brought funeral potatoes. It was delicious. We didn't have much room but we pulled out some card tables and found places for everyone. Abby was so happy so many people came over. She opened presents from Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma. She loved her mermaid dress (and other goodies from Grandma), makeup and Candyland game.We immediately had to get all the makeup out and everyone got a makeover! Even cousin Ethan!After makeup, we got the remote truck and helicoptor out to play with. Unfortunately the helicoptor made a couple crash lands and broke but the truck just kept on going! Johanna showed Abby how to use it!We of course had more cake! Abby loves her pink cupcakes! I also made a Texas Sheet Cake for everyone to share.I love these pictures of Abby!I had to put this silly face in.Abby tends to spit while she blows. I stopped her before she could do any real damage...then quickly put just one cupcake in front of her!She blew all her candles out and got to eat all the cake she wanted. We had such a fun night with family. Thank you for coming everyone!

Abigails' 3rd Birthday Party!


For Abby's 3rd birthday we had a party with some friends. Johanna, Clara, Sophia and Grace were all able to come celebrate with us. We made little crowns (pictured above) for each girl and they loved them! They colored a huge princess puzzle...

made delicious, edible wands (pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate and finished off with some colorful sprinkles)...Abby couldn't wait to eat hers...every girl hunted around the house for stickers and their own puzzle for their party bags... and opened presents! Abby loved all her gifts from her friends. She got a doll, a princess dress, a new tea set and a princess coloring set.





After presents, we had pink cupcakes! We loved them! We also ordered pizza and wings for lunch for the kids and all the parents. We had such a fun day! Now Abby tells me that her birthday is in 2 months and we need to have another party. She's too funny!Katie loves the crowns too!