Summer - 12 Month Stats

I took the princess to her doctor yesterday for her 12 month well-check.  She was such a ham, as usual.  That is, until they lined up the FIVE shots they were giving her.  Poor baby.  It was just plain awful.  I usually hold myself together pretty well for these events.  I believe vaccinations are important and I have great trust in our doctors.  I just broke down crying with her this time.  She had cake for lunch and that seemed to help her feel better. 

She checked out perfect.  Her stats prove that she is just what I thought she is....sweet petite.  Although she is pretty tall! 

Height: 30.25 inches (75-90%)
Weight:  19 lbs. 5 oz (10-25%)
Head:  18.1 inches (50-75%)

At 12 months, Summer...

• Has many, many words!  This girl can talk, and she does it all day long.  Off the top of my head, some of her words are:  Snack, ball, brother, mom, dad, bath, banana, bread, milk, bottle.
• Loves to show off her tricks - pretend sneezes, pretends to brush her teeth, so big, big chuckles
• Love, love, LOVES stuffed animals. I've never seen a kid love them so much.  Her favorite thing to do it grab an animal, pull it close, say "awwwww!" and then hand it to you for a hug. 
• Is a great eater.  She eats anything you put in front of her, including stuff her brother won't touch.
• Loves the swing and slides.
• Has six teeth.
• Switched from formula to cow's milk with no problem. We are weaning from the bottle right now.
• Can often be found crawling into the bathroom so she can pull the TP off the roll.
• Is sleeping better.  She goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes around 7AM.  Still wakes up about once/night. 
• Two naps/day for about 1.5 hours each.
• Loves to play cars, trucks, and blocks with her brother.  Has a great motor sound she can make.
• Is obsessed with doggies.  She can spot one a mile away.
• Not close to walking yet.  It's going to be a while.  She can pull herself up on low pieces of furniture or the stairs but hasn't tried to cruise yet.   She got a new walker for her birthday and pushes it around on her knees.  It's pretty cute.
• Loves her dad and brother.
• Is such a sweet, sweet girl and TONS of fun!

She is One.

Ahhhh, no words can describe this mommy's heart.  My baby girl turned one today.  She is our joy, our little Miss Sunshine, happy-go-lucky, sweet petite, little baby sister.  I think we all love her more than we ever imagined we could.   This girl brings out the best in everyone. She can lift your spirits with one tiny toothy grin of hers.  She can cheer up her big brother like no one else can.  They love each other.  So much. 

We have big plans in store for her this weekend.  An awesome family celebration with all the most important people in her life.  Today was hers though.  Michael stayed home in the morning and we all took her to breakfast at Chic-fil-a.  She enjoyed her OWN juice box and ate her own chicken mini's.  She hugged her tiny CFA cow with all her might and kissed him sweetly.  We all laughed together.  I even let her crawl around in the indoor playground (ughhhh!  gross!) because she can't stand to sit and watch her brother play without her.  She got two mini cupcakes for lunch.  She mmmmm'ed and yummmm'ed the whole time.   The day ended with mac and cheese, her favorite,  an extra long pause at 5:00, and sweet hugs and snuggles to bed. 

Happy birthday, sweet Summer Grace! 

Family Vacation

I'm back.  I've been contemplating giving up the 'ole blog.  The goal of this cyber space has always been to document the events in our family and, most importantly, our kids as the grow.  I'm just finding less and less time to spend in front of the computer.  My big boy has unofficially dropped his nap,  I finally found an exercise routine that has helped me return to my "normal" state, Summer Grace is constantly on the move, and summer has offered too many fun events to lend much down time.   Blogging has simply taken a back seat to everything else going on.  Thankfully, documenting has not (I have 1000 photos from the past three months to prove it)...but blogging has definitely dropped off my radar.  But oh-how-I-love looking back and reading about days gone by.   Not much can warm a mommy's heart more than a sentimental look back in time.  So, I'm back.   For now. 

Last month we enjoyed a 9 day trip to the beach.  The longest vacation I've ever taken.  But when we figured just how much work it is to transport our lives 6.5 hours down the road, and the fact it takes the kids a good 24-48 hours to get settled in to a new groove, we figured we would make the most of it.   It was HIGHLY anticipated.  We started counting down 40 days out.  I think we all just needed a good change of pace and scenery.   We were fortunate to have great weather while we were down in Sandestin.   Grandma and Grandpa came for four days in the middle of our trip to offer helping hands with the kids.  It was such a treat to be able to stroll down to the beach bar in the middle of the day and head out at night...ALONE!  Everyone enjoyed having them there.  

We found out that Summer really enjoys the sand, that Marshall has come to peace with it, and that we can make it out on the beach for nearly 3 hours if we plan appropriately.   I was quite impressed.  We spent many days at Baytowne Wharf throwing $5 bills into the remote control boats,shooting gallery, and carousel.  The dang guy or girl that's collecting a paycheck from all of the tourists must be livin' the good life, that's all I have to say.  Regardless, it's the perfect area for families with enough entertainment for the kids to keep them happy and enough laid back shops, unique restaurants, etc to keep the adults content. 

As good as the trip was, it felt WONDERFUL to be home.  Marshall went straight for his snuggle spot on the couch and Summer must have covered every square foot of the house on her hands and knees three times within the first hour of being home.  

I'll leave the rest of the story to some of my favorite pictures from the trip.  We were so lucky to have the opportunity to spend so much great time together.

 

Announcing...

We've been busy here in Suwanee.  I've been helping my mom launch a fun, new venture!  After many years of bugging her to do so, she finally started her own little furniture painting business!  She loves to update old pieces of furniture and give them a new life, no matter how old or dingy they once looked.

Please check out her website and put her into your Google Reader to keep up with her latest projects.  http://fanciseats.blogspot.com.  She would love to update any pieces you have, from lamps to chairs to mirrors to kitchen tables...or anything that strikes your fanci!

Thanks!

Summer - 10 Months Old

Summer Grace is 10 Months old now.  So many changes and developments this month!  She is becoming such a sweet little girl.  Started crawling at about 9 1/2 months and hasn't stopped since.  She's getting into EVERYTHING, of course.  We have to be careful what is left on the floor these days and keep an eye on where she wiggles off to.  We are all enjoying her mobility though. She's really starting to be able to participate in some fun activities with us...and we all get a kick out of that, especially big brother.

At 10 months, Summer is:

• Crawling all over the place and trying to pull up.  Unsuccessful at that so far but I'm sure it won't be long.
• Starting to protest baby food and insists on eating what we eat.  She seems to be a pretty good eater so far.  She enjoys peas, carrots, black beans (and black bean burgers), pizza, and french fries...oh french fries!
• Has a few words we can understand already...da-da, ma-ma, ba-ba (brother), uh-oh, ball, puppy, more, duck, ball, book, Buzz (as in Buzz LIghtyear...hahah) 
• Claps and dances when she hears a tune she likes.
• LOVES doggies and small animals.
• Mastering the straw.
• Has teeth #3 and 4 breaking through right now (all on bottom so far)
• Loves Minnie Mouse
• Sleeps through the night on occasion but still wakes up once on most nights. 
• Naps twice/day.
• Continues to be our easy going, laid back girl. 

Coolest Dad. Ever.

I think every boy wants a dad like this one....Happy Father's Day!

Backyard Camping

First camping trip is a rite of passage in a little boy's life.  We set up camp in the backyard this weekend.  After some debate, we decided that was the best option since chances were likely that it would be a partial camp out ending sometime around 1 or 2 AM when our little camper started missing his bed.  It was still an authentic experience though, complete with sing-a-longs and peeing in the bushes. 

All was smooth in the great outdoors until Michael slipped up with the hatchet and almost lost a finger.  A hatchet?  While camping in the backyard?  Yes, people...this was the real deal.  He was chopping wood for the marshmallows we never got to roast because of the bloody scene that took over around 8:30 PM.  The finger was saved and we have some extra memories to go along with the experience.

Summer time

Pool's open, school's (almost) out, summer is here!

(and Summer is finally sleeping through the night!)

Happy Days are Here!

Summer - 9 months

Just a little late with this...Summer is nine months old already!  She turned nine months on 5/16 last week.  I can't believe our baby girl will be one year later this summer. She is an absolute joy. 

Weight:  17 lbs 4 oz  (25-50%)
Height:  27.75 inches  (50-75%)

Some notes about Summer at 9 months old:

• Has learned several new tricks this month - clapping, the "lip flap" (which she can do herself with her hands AND feet)
• Screams with glee for "da-da" when he comes home from work, total daddy's girl
• Pushing up to her hands and knees, but no luck moving forward yet.  She's really trying to figure it out though.  She gets where she wants to go by rolling around or scooting on her bootie.
• Will entertain herself with a box of toys for a good 20 minutes
• LOVES puffs and we are just starting some other finger foods
• Has transitioned to formula and takes 20-24 oz/day
• No more night feeding
• Has figured out how to put herself to sleep but still wakes up once/night.  :(  I have no idea why my babies take so long to master sleeping through the night.
• Still rides around in the Baby Bjorn.  I can't believe she is small enough to fit in there still.  Marshall outgrew it at 6 months!  He was such a bruiser and she seems so petite.
• LOVES the water...the bathtub, the pool, and the fountains by our house.  She can't get enough.
• LOVES animals, especially doggies.
• Is already a little mommy, she is attached to her pink baby doll.
• Can make a motor noise...you know she had to figure that one out quickly with all the cars and trucks in our house.
• She is just the sweetest baby.  We are so in love.

Marshall, the bruiser, at 9 months...

Cart

It felt rather risky, but I was well-rested and confident this morning....so I went on my weekly shopping trip with BOTH kids.  Up until about 8 months ago I still worried Marshall would jump out of the cart mid-trip and crack his head open.  Ugh, boys.  But he's more than able to enjoy his 45 minute cart ride these days.  I had taken Summer before but only in the baby carrier. 

But now, now I just may be able to knock this chore off my list during the week!  Call it what you will, but this just feels like a major victory.

Boy Stuff

We have our fill of "boy stuff" around here these days.  Skinned elbows, superheros, "shoot guns", WWF wrestling matches...hilarious and fun to watch but so exhausting at the same time.  I would be lying if I said Marshall's dad didn't slightly encourage such boy things...but I know for a fact most of this is pure boy nature.   Whew, boys!

Boy stuff documented in pictures....

The night run...now that the sun lingers long after dinner and bathtime, our evening usually ends with this...a night run....as in, catch me if you can, Dad!

Balance bike, excuse me, motorcycle.  He's mastered it.  His dad has him gliding from half a mile up the road with no feet on the ground....balancing the entire way.  Oh, and there are playing cards secured to his front wheel...so you can hear is "motor "coming from a mile away.  Like father, like son.  That's all I have to say.

Superheros.  Enough said.

You wanna be the good guy or the bad guy, Mommy?

Oh, he's all boy...but he's still full of sweetness.

Summer - 8 Months

Summer Grace turned 8 months old earlier this week.  She has developed quite a personality over the last two months.  She continues to be the happiest baby I've ever seen.  No stranger, no loud noise, no lack of sleep seems to phase her at this point.  She "hoots and hollers" all day long with sounds of joy and excitement.  She's a casual kind of girl like her momma, but I embraced the opportunity to dress her in a special sweet pink dress for her first Easter.  

She is definitely every one's favorite girl in our family but her favorite person remains the same, unwavering -- her big brother.  These two have really begun to adore each other.  It's amazing how much they "play" together throughout the day.  Marshall lets her pull his hair and yank on his nose, she lets him prop up his "shoot guns" next to her so they can fight the bad guy together.  I've taken more video footage this past month then the entire time I've owned our camera.  Marshall still calls her "Baby Sister" instead "Summer" most of the time.  And he always tells her how cute and sweet she is.  Sibling love abounds in our house right now.  I just hope it stays that way for years to come. 

At 8 months, Summer...

• Is a total Daddy's girl.  She lights up when he enters the room and demands his attention by hooting and hollering at him if he's wrapped up in something else. 
• Has figured out how to roll onto her tummy while sleeping.    Hooray!  Her sleeping is finally starting to improve.  Sleeping 12 hours at night.  2-3 naps during the day. We are still waking up 1-2/night but she is sleeping in her crib 100% of the time.  The past two months she had become addicted to her sleep 'n play rocker (Mike claims that chair is a curse).  It started with teething and then an ear infection....I was worried she would be sleeping in that dang thing till she was 3.  
• Has a funny little hair-do.  She's got a double-crown just like her dad...and some days those hairs in back just won't lay down (see pic above). 
• Still nursing but has gotten much better with the bottle so we are starting the weaning process. Can't believe I made it 8 months with her! 
• Enjoys sweet potatoes and most fruits, but not a huge fan of veggies unless we bribe her with something sweet to go with it.  LOVES graham crackers and puffs. 
• Not crawling yet.  But I think she may be thinking about it.  There has been a bunch of rocking from a sitting position to her tummy lately.  She started sitting at 6.5 months and is very proud of herself.
• Has discovered how to blow air in and out of her nose.  She does it when she is trying to get Michael's attention, be silly, or is excited.  It's too cute.
• Wearing 6-9 month clothes but she still fits into a few 3-6 month things.  Not the bruiser her brother was, for sure!  Sweet and petite.
• Is allergic to diapers. Wow, who knew?!  Poor skin would break out in a rash all over.  I had to switch her to an organic version of Huggies and that seemed to help a ton. 
• Is babbling ALL THE TIME.  She has so much to say.   Loves to say "mamamama" and "babababa!"  We are pretty sure she calls Marshall "ba-ba".
• Is our precious, sweetie.  Love her so much.

Showing off her latest trick...

Sooooo big!

Easter best.  What a beauty!

Sibling fun

Forget a recap of our beach vacation...or Marshall's 3 year check up that I never reported on three months ago, or Summer eating solids, fun adventures at the lake, and everything else going on.   Blogging just isn't a priority as of late....until I took this video earlier today.

Summer figured out how to sit up on her own this week and she couldn't be more proud of herself.  Marshall is getting more interested in playing with his sister as well. They are really starting to have fun with each other.  So sweet to watch!  

Enjoy!

Summer - 6 Months

Sweet Summer Grace turned six months old when we were at the beach a few weeks ago.   What a difference a month makes in the life of a baby!  She has really started showing us her personality this month.  She is as sweet as can be, happy beyond words, and just a little spunky!  I've really never seen a baby that is quite as happy as she is.  And when I say happy...I mean happy ALL the time!  I'm really pretty amazed how she can be tired, hungry, and a dirty diaper and still manage to show you a gummy grin.  Not to mention, this baby has a VERY loose schedule.  Some days she gets all her napping done in her car seat  (Que Mommy-guilt).  If there is one person in our house that you can count on to cheer you up it would have to be Baby Sister.  She doesn't let much bother her and she's happy to show you how to do the same.  And I mentioned spunky because she has a lot to say...and she likes to say it in a way that has a lotta umph about it.  Not a very good description so I will work on getting that on video posted soon.

At six months, Summer Grace is...

15 lbs 3.5 oz  (25-50%)
28 inches (75%)

• Enamored with her brother.  She flashes the BEST smiles for him...and for him only. 
• Has already mastered the sippy cup.  Seriously amazing and I can only attribute that to the fact that she watches everything her brother does. 
• Is still nursing (who would have imagined)...and enjoys 2 solid meals a day...we are now moving on to 3/day. 
• Will have nothing to do with greens.  Dad secretly introduced her to "vanilla custard with banana" and has ruined her. 
• Naps 2-3 times/day.  Like I said, we have a VERY loose schedule.  I often joke about the serene babyhood that Marshall had...and how it is nothing like what Summer is going through.  She's happy and healthy though.  And that's all that matters, right?! 
• Is wearing 6-9 months clothes and just moved up to size 3 diapers. 
• Has cut two bottom teeth in the last month.  We had two solid weeks of terrible teething. She refused to sleep on her crib and we had to break out the inclined bassinet again!  We traveled to the beach with TWO beds for this little princess.  Luckily, she got over that and we are back to the normal routine.
• Still wakes up 2 times/night.  After our teething saga, I simply can't complain about this.  I even took her to the doctor to make sure nothing else was wrong!  She going to sleep at 7 PM and usually waking around 1 AM and then again at 4 AM.  Wakes up for good around 6 or 7 AM.
• Rolling from tummy to back...but not in a hurry to roll the other way or crawl.  Not sitting up on her own yet either.   Mommy isn't trying to rush things, trust me!   
• Has done well in the church nursery so far.  But we often find her in the big kids room visiting her brother.  :)
• Looking more and more like her daddy.
• Getting prettier every day.  Love her so much!

Catchup Post: Janu-brations

We are finally coming up for air here at the Dawson house. The first few months of the year have been chock full of special events and travels and, well, teething...lots of sleepless teething.

Marshall had his first-ever friend birthday party at the beginning of January. We organized a tour of our local fire department for a few of his buddies. There is a cute park right next to the fire station so we were able to set up the perfect 3 year old picnic consisting of chicken nuggets, buddy-fruits, and juice boxes. Marshall enjoyed his party but not until he recovered from a minor meltdown when the fire fighter demonstrated his gas mask. It basically scared the pants off of him...not to mention the video they watched which kept reminding the kids how "not to be scared" if they see a fireman in their fire fighting get-up. Everyone seemed to have a great time though and each kiddo got a chance to sit behind the wheel of the fire truck. Birthday party success in my book! I'd recommend it to anyone out there looking for a fun, easy party.

Next up was my mom's 60th birthday! With the help of my grandparents and my brother and sister-in-law, we hosted a special family party at our house. I even broke out the crystal and fine china, people! We decorated with old photos of mom growing up and created a timeline of her life. Our favorite was "1968 - Linda gets the family car stolen from the Mad Hatter dance club". My grandma wrote a narrative of her life...I tried to read it...got choked up...passed the duty to my brother. I'm such a wimp. It was such a special night for our family and the perfect way to celebrate my mom.

The next week we celebrated Barry and Arlene's 40th anniversary with a fancy dinner out. We made reservations with Jennifer, Curt and the boys at one of Barry and Arlene's favorite restaurants. I warned Marshall over and over again that there was not going to be a playground at this fancy restaurant. That kids don't usually get to eat at this restaurant. That this was a VERY special occasion. Thank heavens both kids did great and we were able to enjoy a delicious dinner and toast Barry and Arlene's 40 years of wedded bliss!

Amidst all the celebrating, we did a few fun things as well.  A few parties for some little friends, visits with family, and one afternoon of shootin'.    Being the gun fanatic that he is, Michael was excited when Lou agreed to shoot sporting clays with him on afternoon.  He's currently getting a gun restored that was our grandfather's.  Should be a great family heirloom when it is finished.

We just returned from a week at the beach where our little girl turned 6 months old. I'm hoping to get another post up soon.  Thanks for reading!

Summer - 5 Months Old

Sweet Summer Grace turned five months early this week.  She learned all sorts of new tricks this month and continues to be a complete joy.  My favorite is her laugh!  She has a deep chuckle that she lets out on rare occasion these days.  The only person she will laugh in response to is....you guessed it - her big brother.  She's is absolutely smitten with him.  She watches him intently and when he finally pays some attention to her she gives him a huge gummy grin.  Last Friday she let out a big laugh when he was jumping off his step stool and rolling around on the ground.  I tried to imitate the trick...but no laughs for mom.  Only Marshall.

At five months, Summer Grace is:

• Sleeping a little better.  We are down to 2 (sometimes 3) wakings/ night.  Not ideal, but manageable for now.  Goes to bed at 7 and starts her day around 7 am.
• Has rolled over once on her own.  Doesn't seem like she is very interested in doing it again. 
• Has started rice cereal.  She really loves fruit mixed in with it.  We have tried sweet potatoes (yum), apples (yum), pears (ummm, ok) and squash (yuck).  We are doing one meal a day right now and she is nursing 5x/day and once or twice at night.
• Continues to be a laid back baby.  She usually naps once/day in the car or on-the-go. 
• Smiles at everyone.
• Has a few teeth coming in, we think. 
• Growing, growing, growing!

The Best of Christmas 2011

The blog train is totally off track...I'm all out of order with posts. Didn't want to miss a quick recap of our Christmas though! Our Christmas is always pretty special. We are able to spend Christmas Eve with the Kirchner side and Christmas Day with the Dawson side because everyone lives so close to us. Christmas morning is reserved for our little family unit of four. Amazing how each year gets more magical. I'll let the photos do the talking this time.

Pre-Christmas with our Buddies, Charlotte and Max.

 

Christmas Eve

Helping with the tradition...homemade pizza on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Morning

Christmas Day

Cousin dog pile on Uncle Curt

Officially pictured-out!