kennedy three years old

My girl is three!  Wow!  Three is so much fun!  There are definitely some more challenging parts, but I love love the conversations that I get to have with this sweet girl!

We had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese for Kennedy this year.  Kennedy loves large characters and pizza, so Chuck E Cheese really is her favorite place (although we have yet to go to Disneyland so this could change soon!)

Sleep:

Kennedy sleeps through the night almost every night.  We got rid of the pacifier when she turned three, and it has been surprisingly easy.  She is only napping 2-3 days a week, but she will lay in her crib (yep!  Still in a crib) for about an hour.

Social:

Kennedy really enjoys playing with other children and is very interactive now.  She loves seeing her friends, chasing other kids, dancing, playing games, and make believe.  She has conversations with children her age which is totally cute!

Favorites:

Books: Nursery Rhymes (she knows almost all by heart), Fairy Tale Collection, Corduroy, and she can read most of the board books we have by memory.  I love it when she "reads" to Violet!

Foods: Sausage, meat, oatmeal, crackers, cookies, quesadillas, and carrots with bbq sauce or ketchup (weird!)

Songs: Pirate Code (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates), ABC's, Children of the World, all of the songs from music class.  Kennedy also has some seriously awesome dance moves!

Toys: Kennedy loves playing pretend.  We use the couch as our ship and pretend to be Peter Pan or Jake almost daily.  The baby dolls are also in heavy rotation as various other Peter Pan and Jake characters.  Kennedy also loves chapstick and carrying around her chapstick in her purses.

Skills/Milestones:

Kennedy's comprehension always surprises me.  She asks lots of "why" questions, is very concerned about how people are feeling, and remembers very obscure things.  It's so much fun to watch her grow in this way. 

The pictures that Kennedy draws are pretty great!  She can draw a human figure with almost all of its body parts.  Today she even included boobs :)

Knows almost all of her capital letters and a handful of lowercase.

Still pretty unsure in her climbing and gross motor abilities.  She can do a lot, but she is afraid to unless I'm right with her.

Dresses herself and is fully potty trained.

Has some level of understanding about Jesus and his sacrifice.  Knows that God made everything and about his love for us.  Has many short bible verses memorized via songs.

I am having so much fun with this girl these days!  She is such a daddy's girl which I love and hate.  Daddy is always the one she wants when she is sad, and daddy does her bedtime routine.  She is tender and kind, and loves taking care of babies.  Kennedy tries to do things correctly and does not like to disappoint other people.

Kennedy, you are such a special girl!  We are so thankful that you are part of our family!

violet thirteen months

Happy Birthday to our sweet Violet girl!  Since I missed the twelve month window (as well as her 1 year checkup), I am doing this post at 13 months.

Weight: 21.5 lbs (80th percentile)

Height: can't remember but 95 percentile

Teeth: 14 (just missing the bottom canines)

We had a small birthday party for Violet at a park near our house with some family.  Violet loved the cake that Auntie Leana made for her (purple ombre!) and ate almost the whole thing!

Sleep:
We were doing so well!  I night weaned Violet around 11 months and she began sleeping longer than 2 hour stretches.  Thank God for that!  We still had trouble getting through the night, and she was usually in our bed around 5am for an early morning snack.  A few weeks ago she got an ear infection, then we took a trip to Santa Cruz, then she got a cold, and sleep is terrible again!  Once she's feeling better its back to the sleep training grind.

Social:
Violet is a mix of a social butterfly and a mamas girl.  She will sit in random people's laps at story time and is much more friendly at this age than Kennedy was, but if anything is amiss, she wants mama!  Daddy won't do and she can be very attached when she's not feeling good.

Favorites:
Books: This girl looooves books!  She would be happy if we read books all day.  Some favorites are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Katz lift-a-flap books, I am a Bunny, and any Bonyton book.

Foods: Cheese, bananas, and grapes.  I'm still nursing her a little bit, mostly before she sleeps and if she has an early morning wake up.

Songs: Knows the hand motions to almost all the songs we sing in music class plus twinkle twinkle little star and the itsy bitsy spider.  Loves to dance too!

Toys:  This girl is a blanket girl!  She loves dragging blankets around the house and is a major snuggler!  She also loves stuffed animals and drawing with our magna doodle.

Skills/Milestones: 
Violet began walking right around a year and now she is off and running.  She is also an excellent climber and can get herself up and down almost anything.  Totally terrifying!

Claps, high fives, puts things into a container, scribbles, gives kisses (the cutest!)

Words: Too many to count!  Knows all animal sounds, ball, book, bear, bunny, Kennedy (deedee), puppy, Mormor, Elmo, mama, dada, arm, toes, nose, all done, yeah, no, hi, bye, hello, hop.  There are more but I'm blanking.

Violet, we love your contagious joy, you energy, and your sweet disposition.  May your light always shine for Jesus!

happy birthday violet!

I just found this post in my drafts... seven months ago now but here we go!

Yesterday our sweet Violet girl turned one!  We met some family at the park by our house and had a little celebration for our sweet girl.  Violet had a little bit of a rough time. Maybe she was depressed about getting a year older or maybe it's the three molars coming in along with a double ear infection being treated with a medication that gives her a terrible stomach ache.

The highlight of her party was consuming the beautiful cake that Auntie Leana made for her.  We had a "violet" party with purple decor, so Leana made her a purple ombre smash cake with violets piped on the top.  It was so cute and Violet LOVED it.  She ate almost all of it and it was at least three cupcakes worth of cake!

Violet, as you grow into a little girl, I pray that you will continue to bring joy to those around you.  I pray that you will be a sister who encourages and forgives.  I pray that you will be eager to learn, brave, and confident of your identity in Christ.  You are so loved.

life lately

I had to do an update because Violet has literally exploded with life in the past two months!  It started with a week where she learned how to clap her hands, stand on her own, and put a ball into a hole.  From there, she has said her first words, taken her first steps, and is so interactive.

The words she says are: Elmo, Mormor, Bunny, "haha" for monkey, and she clicks her tongue for horses and ducks.

She's definitely not using walking as her mode of transportation yet, but she can do it when prompted!

I can't believe she's going to be one in less than two weeks!  My BABY!!!!

And for your entertainment, here are some funny things that Kennedy has said recently:
"Mom, when I get to be a grownup, I can drink wine and cut with a BIG knife."

Sure sweetie, just not at the same time...

While reading Snow White and seeing the witch's magic potion: "Mommy, that's her wine."

Um, I didn't think I had a wine problem, but maybe I do??

violet ten months

Violet is ten months old!

Stats at 9 Months- Height: 28 inches (75%) Weight: 19lbs 3oz (75%)

Oh, how we love this little nugget.  She is a busy bee these days, crawling around exploring everything!

At ten months you:

• Have six teeth.  They all came in at once, and they are so great!  They look so funny and large in your mouth.  I love it. 

• Have the most delicious thunder thighs I've ever seen.  They're truly glorious.  I just want to gobble them up.
• Crawl and pull up on everything.

• Point.  This is my favorite.
• Love food!  You love to eat table food, yogurt, purees; you'll take it all.  

• Love banging on the table like it's a big drum.  Music class must really be influencing you :)

• Are still a total mama's girl and I love it.

• Also, we don't sleep anymore.  I've sleep trained you to go to sleep by yourself initially, but you wake up every hour or so and have to be nursed back to sleep.  I'm so tired.

Violet Elizabeth, you are a gift from the Lord.  My prayer for you is that continue to bring joy to those around you and be a reflection of Christ's love.