Colette at 4 Months

Time goes by so much faster with the second kid. Colette turned 4 months on September 19. I took her to the doctor to celebrate. Lucky girl.

She is 12 lbs 11 oz and 24.5 inches long. She grew 3 inches in two months. If you want to compare that with Calder's 4 month stats go here.

Colette,

You are the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. I love you more every day. You are also the happiest baby I've ever met. You smile at everyone we meet, as long as Daddy or I am holding you. If other people try to hold you, you cry. It seems you were born knowing who your parents are and having a very strong preference for us.

You love our bedtime routine. It starts with getting you and Calder into pajamas. Then we brush Calder's teeth and read three books. Even though these are Calder's choice you are totally enthralled with them. Even if they don't have pictures, you love story time. You like to lay by him and listen. Then I tell Calder a story, say prayers and then I feed you one last time while Calder goes to sleep.

You are getting better at car rides. You can usually go 15 minutes without crying if you aren't tired or hungry. For some reason the car seat just isn't that comfortable for you. I'm sorry about that.

You seem to want to eat food but I'm not ready yet.  You grab at my plate, my ice cream cone, my drinks, my fork and just about anything else in my hands. I do occasionally let you have a dribble of water. That makes you quite happy.

You're still loving bath time. Now your favorite thing to do is kick your legs and eat the rag full of water.

I am so happy to be your mom and receive happy smiles all day long.

I love you,
Mommy

Family Pictures

 My sweet friend Liz took pictures of our family last weekend and I LOVE them. Here's a few of my favorites.

Holding Colette

 Calder loves to hold Colette. He doesn't do it all that often but when he does he is very excited about it. I love this little photo series of our two sweet kids.

 In the one above Calder has lost interest and Colette is starting to get concerned.

 Calder is trying to figure out what to do with her now. Colette is still concerned.

 Calder is saying "look, no hands!" Colette is petrified.

With just cause.

30

I turned 30 last Saturday. I know a lot of people struggle with 30 but I'm thrilled to be this age. I've always thought 30 was when you became a real mature adult. I had a great time in my 20s and am ready to be a real adult. :) I'm thrilled that I have a fabulous husband and two kids to celebrate with. 

We spent the morning taking family pictures. I think this might be an annual activity. Even those who greatly dislike having pictures taking are nice on your birthday. *wink* And they turned out perfect!

Then around lunch time Jason and my dear friend Robyn organized a birthday party with a group of friends. It was so fun! I don't think I've had a birthday party since I was in high school. I loved it. 

And then we went out to dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant IKKO. It is conveniently located across the street from our house. 

We had the perfect day. Jason really went out of his way to make it special.

Calder Goes To Preschool

 Preschools are kind of a big deal here. Not only are they expensive but they are hard to get in to. We spent hours going to preschool fairs, touring preschools and agonizing over our choices. All for our son to play in a mud pit, do puzzles, play "stuck in the mud" and have a snack. He LOVES it and we are so happy with our choice. 

The Audubon Nature Preschool is an amazing place. The two teachers are fabulous and I feel like they are meant to be preschool teachers. Calder adores them and feels very comfortable with them. The preschool is located on the 40+ acres of land that is home to so many animals. We see deer, turtles and frogs all the time.

 I was nervous about the first day and hoping he would do well with the drop off process. He did fantastic. It is challenging to get him to go to class at church without me but he just says goodbye without looking back at school. In fact he always says "have a great day mommy". He has had "the most fun ever" every day since he started a week and a half ago. And every day as we leave school he tells me how much he loves it.

I can't believe how big he is getting. He is very independent and so much fun to talk to. I love hearing about his mornings at preschool.