Addison Mae - 4 years

I can hardly believe I have been mom to this amazing girl for four years! I am so incredibly proud of her kind, caring heart, maturity and even her independent streak. She has amazing insight into just about everything, and ended her school year as one of the smartest 3 year olds ever, I'm confident! She had a great first year at Warm World, and is already looking forward to being in the "4 class" or butterflies. 

Addie excelled at soccer and gymnastics, which means none of her athleticism came from me. Truth be told, it's her tenacity and hard work, not always ability, that make her so good. She's looking forward to starting music class again next week.

We had a wonderful time at the beach with my parents. She loved getting in the ocean, playing in the sand, hanging out at the beach house, swimming in the pool and being with her family in general.

And she's looking forward to being a big sister to ANOTHER baby brother! We had to tell her pretty early on in the pregnancy due to some issues I was having, and she was just ecstatic. While she said all along that she thought she wanted a sister, she was thrilled to be having a brother. Names she has suggested include Drum, Leopard, Polka Dot and Crushton. She really loves that other brother of hers too and is so good with him ... most of the time. When she wants to, she's awesome at entertaining and taking care of him, getting him a drink, a fork, making up games to play, "reading" him books, etc.

Her fourth birthday party was a wonderful time, especially when Elsa surprised her with a visit all the way from Arendelle! Addie was truly shocked and hugged her for up to 5 minutes. They sang songs and danced together, played games and read stories. She was enchanted, and I of course cried. It was so magical. She loved her Elsa Barbie doll cake and was thrilled to have so many friends celebrate with her at her "Elsa and swimming party." We had a great, albeit quieter, time on her actual birthday with a morning at Unpluggits, lunch at Hideaway and dinner at home with grandparents. And presents!

Another recent favorite experience was seeing Disney Magic for the second time. She sat on my lap to see better, but she paid close attention for hours to the show and wasn't scared at some parts I thought were a little frightening for a 4-year-old. She loved all the processes, Tinkerbell and Woody and Jessie especially. Elsa chose her to come up on stage and dance at the end, and she was elated. She later told me, "mommy, that was a different Elsa than the one at my party." Observant little thing. The $5 I paid for a photo with all the princesses after was worth its weight in gold - they spent so much time hugging and talking to her. Again, I cried.

This girl of mine can be so stubborn, so bossy and so sassy ... but I'm pretty sure I know where she gets all that from. She also has the kindest heart and spends a lot of her time thinking about others and how to help others. I hope I can continue to nurture that in her.

Weight: 33 pounds
Length: 40 inches

 New things:

• Excelling at letter and many number recognition. Writing her name perfectly and starting to write and recognize other words. Spelling words in front of her doesn't work most of the time as she can often recognize what we're spelling. 
• Memorizing her books and "reading" them back.
• Buckling her own car seat. Hooray!
• Swimming on her own, no flotation device. Her swim lessons were, again, awesome, and I'm so proud of her. Helps that she can stand up in Grammie and Pawpaw's shallow end, and if there are lots of kids or just me with the two littles, she'll wear her floaties for swimming in the deep end or jumping off the board. But she has really mastered swimming this summer. She can float on her back too.
• Being a big sister, times 2!
• 
  

Likes:

• Watching "the house show" aka HGTV. We've been looking at houses, since we're outgrowing this current one, which she also loves to do. She often has very insightful things to say about what she did and didn't like about a house. She'll often say, "we should put an X on that one," a la HGTV
• Going to the beach. We had a fabulous vacation in June and she didn't want to leave. Mama's girl.
• Swimming
• Going on any outings. Recent favorites have been Science Museum and Unpluggits
• Eating at restaurants. Especially Chick-a-lay :)
• Going to the library. A recent kids zumba class was especially exciting
• Helping me meal plan
• Helping more around the house with chores and keeping her room picked up, mostly
• Singing
• Watching movies
• 
  

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Dislikes:

• Brother taking her stuff
• Not being in charge

Hutch Marshall - 20 months

This boy sure keeps me on my toes, not unlike a certain girl child who also lives in this house. He is so funny, and he knows it. He laughs hysterically, especially at himself. His ornery smile gets me every time, even when he's doing something he's not supposed to.

He loves to read books, but wants to be in charge of all page turning himself. He also loves to play outside, especially in his cozy coupe or with sidewalk chalk. Swimming remains near and dear to his heart, although he prefers to get in and out on his own schedule with plenty of water table fun mixed in. Bonus if he gets to play with the hose.

He loves to talk. About anything and everything. All the time. He's also started singing some of his favorite songs, include Jesus Loves Me. 

Maybe the best part of the last month has been hearing him say "I love you" in his own language, and finding out he's going to have a little brother. :)
Weight:  24 pounds
Length: 26.5 inches

New things:

• He's the smartest baby ever. His vocabulary is amazing, and his current interest in having a conversation or talking about something that happened earlier amazes me. When I asked him if he enjoyed his sister's birthday party the next morning, he smiled and said, "Caaaaake." He's started saying "I wud oo" for I love you ... be still my mama heart. That and his sweet "peas" about reduce me to tears every time, and guarantee he can have whatever he wants. The moment your child says I love you for the first time ... even better when they say it first, all on their own is about the most magical thing I have ever experienced. His teachers both commented that he talks more than any other child his age they've ever been around ... dejavu from a few years ago with his sweet sister. His current favorite word is "no" ... most commonly used "no mama."
• An obsession with ta-tors (tractors). He looks for them, and finds them, everywhere. The best days of his life were when tractors were at the house being built across the street. He would yell "ta-tor! man! on!" 
• More swimming. His lessons were ... interesting ... not for lack of trying by his teacher. Eventually he would let me hold him and pay some attention to what sister was doing in the water, and try to copy her. He did accomplish some floating and some kicking/arm movement, as well as putting his own head under the water. And I'd say he learned how to hold his breath successfully, as evidenced by jumping/falling into the pool (with me right beside him) last week and coming up without a sputter or cough. 
• Going to time out on his own when we ask him. Staying is a different story.
• Calling Lola. "Wo-wa ... he he he he." Declaring when Lola has made a mess "Wo-wa mess." He was especially disturbed when we came home to find she had chewed up/shredded her bed, inside her crate and was covered in white fuzz. 
• Graduating from a high chair to a booster seat at the table. And obsessing about the "buck-oo"
• Being a BIG brother! To a little brother! Due almost exactly 2 years after him. When we ask him if he's having a brother/wants a baby, the answer is almost always "no." He will point at my tummy and say "baby" although he also seems to make a point to hit it and throw objects at it ... difficult times to come??

Likes: 

• Wearing sister's bracelets, necklaces and light-up high heels.
• Climbing in the car by himself. "Self" he says to me. And then he screams and cries when I don't let him climb in the car seat by himself (because that would be impossible) and don't let him buckle himself like sister (also impossible)
• Playing chase. And yelling "run run run" And screaming maniacally. 
• Snuggling when he's sleepy. Briefly.
• Elsa. Anna and Olaf, too.
• Sister having a birthday. The cake and presents in particular.
• Daddy coming home in the evenings
• Daddy in general
• Shoe obsession continues
• Talking about boo-boos, especially if he can also tell who inflicted it
• Eating. But only the things he's chosen. Or bread.
• Reading books.
• Pushing buttons. Mine in particular.

Dislikes:

• Birthday parties. He's such an extroverted kid, but he doesn't always care for big crowds. Sister's party was not his favorite, even with his favorite Elsa in attendance.
• Not getting to do things "self"
• Going to bed when he's not ready
• When sister is gone