Kaitlyn is 4!

Yes, this is a little late, but my "big" girl (Kaitlyn) turned 4 on May 21st. It was a weekend of celebrating and she loved it. Probably her favourite part was going swimming with her Opa and Oma and cousins. I have to say, swimming lessons were SO good for her! She is really brave in the water, especially with her lifejacket on and will even jump to me unassisted now. She really wanted to jump off the diving board, but chickened out last second. It was a big deal that she walked to the end without me!

Her birthday was Friday and once Ryan got home from work, Kaitlyn opened presents from us and we sang to her. She was then off to her cousins as Ryan and I were going out for dinner without BOTH kids (thank you Rebecca!) for our anniversary. It was really nice to have that break, which again makes me want to force the bottle issue a little more forcefully so we can have a true date night out sometime.

Saturday we went swimming with my family and like I said, she had a blast. Then off to Opa and Oma's for a party to celebrate Kaitlyn's, Owen's and Alyssa's birthdays. Definitely crazy busy but Kaitlyn still had fun. On Sunday after dinner, we finally lit a candle on her cake and sang to her again, and she blew out her candle. She's been having lots of fun playing with all her new toys and wearing new clothes from Oma. Definitely a great weekend!

Comparing...

I've had a few comments that Meagan looks exactly like Kaitlyn. Maybe it's just the Mom in me, but I think they look totally different. So I dug out a couple pictures from when Kaitlyn was 6 months old to compare:

Kaitlyn at 6 months:


Meagan at 6 months:

Meagan - 6 months

Meagan turned 6 months yesterday. Hard to believe - time is just flying by! Today was her 6 month doctor appointment and Dr D was very happy with her and called her the "perfect Gerber baby". He says she is ahead on almost all her milestones (rolling around, very alert, following objects and people very well, very vocal, etc). She is around 50th percentile on all marks: 15.63 lb, 25.6 inches long, 16.73 inches head circumference. He was very impressed with how well she interacts, follows objects, and studies faces. He's not concerned about the strike on all bottles, but suggests we try to have others give her one and see if that works, and to keep trying. It sure would be nice not to be paged to the nursery every Sunday, or even to have a lengthy date one night! Next is solids and we've gradually started with some rice cereal over the last week, and now we can start introducing more and more. More fun adventures!

Busy, Busy

We have been blessed with a wonderful week of sunshine! It is so wonderful to be able to bring out the summer clothes and sandals and enjoy being outdoors.

This past week I had a job interview for a promotion at work. I really had no idea how it would have affected my return to work date if I did get the job, but promotions don't come up in our town very often so it was worth a shot. I did not get the job, but was definitely happy with how I answered the questions and it was good to go through the interview process again to work on my skills.

Ryan has been busy again this week, but not overdoing it. This weekend he is doing another big landscape job, even though he is feeling under the weather. Hopefully the sunshine will help the day fly by for him.

Next week is busy! Tuesday, Meagan will be 6 months old, Wednesday is our 9th wedding anniversary, and Friday is Kaitlyn's 4th birthday. Mix in a visit with a high school friend, Meagan's 6 month doctor appointment, preschool, a family get together, possibly a birthday party, and everything else, the week will be flying by.

Wordless Wednesday

Things that matter...

Yes, the Canucks lost tonight. But while Ryan was starting to watch the game, I was off to Kaitlyn's preschool for a special "Memories with Mom" evening.

It was great. I was determined to let Kaitlyn know the evening was about her and me so I left Meagan with Ryan. I really think I needed to do that since she must feel constantly overshadowed by her sister, especially after a day like yesterday where Meagan screamed for about 3 hours straight due to teething and constipation pain.

We made necklaces, decorated cookies, played with play-doh and had a snack and tea together. And the class sang some cute songs to the mommies.

The most memorable moment of the evening for me was when they presented their moms with the cards they made. It brought a little tear to my eye when Kaitlyn explained in 3 year-old words and phrases almost exactly what it said on the back of the card. And then gave me a great big hug :)

Mother's Day and Sunshine!

The sun is here! Yay! This whole week the forecast is great and we're all enjoying it.



Ryan took a much needed day off on Saturday and surprised me with a Mother's Day gift - finally a flower bed out front!

Starting the job:



Working till dark:



Kaitlyn loves it and had to help out:



The finished project (so far - we'll be buying more flowers this week and planting them):



And Meagan's sleep is getting a lot better. Last night she woke up twice, but once was because her sister woke her up. The norm is starting to be one wake-up around 4 a.m. which I can definitely tolerate.