Charlotte's new toothbrush

Best money I've ever spent. Charlotte gets so excited to brush her teeth now. It definitely helps with the bedtime routine. And, I think her teeth are actually cleaner using this! Win, win.

AJ "talking" in his high chair

AJ is 7 months old

At 7 months old, AJ is learning all about the world around him. He justs wants to be down on the floor on his own. He's mastering going from on his belly back to sitting up. Still no crawling but he can get up on all fours really well and up into plank pose (yoga/pilates people know what I mean). Someone said today that he looks like he's "thinning out". I sure hope so! My little chunk-a-monk wears size 4 diapers and 18-24 month clothes. I just want to eat his cheeks all day long!

Eczema

AJ has eczema [sigh]. It's really not too bad but after way too much internet research and talking with friends, I think it was triggered by introducing solids. I'm holding off on all solids for a few months. Clearly at 24lbs, he doesn't need any extra calories. This picture was taken when the eczema was at it's worst. It's gotten much better now. I've eliminated all dairy from my diet which also seems to be a culprit. I slipped up last week and had some butter without realizing it. He got a pretty bad rash shortly thereafter. I really love cheese so this will be a challenge for me. The things we do for our kids, eh? My new favorite website is www.godairyfree.org.

First Day of Preschool

Charlotte is officially a "preschooler" after today. Everything went great this morning. I could tell she was a little nervous, though. This morning when she woke up, she didn't want to go to school because AJ would miss her too much. She repeated this on the drive to school. Once we arrived and she saw her friends, she was fine. As soon as the doors opened, she bolted. I walked her to her room and she hardly turned back to say goodbye. When I picked her up, she greeted me with a huge smile and told me EVERYTHING on the way home. I hope she'll always tell me about her day in such detail from now until forever. Neither one of us shed any tears today so that was success! I'm proud of my little 3 year old for being such a big girl. She's definitely excited to go back. And so it begins...

Showing her new backpack. She loves it!

Telling our neighbors that she's going to school!

This is out of focus but it pretty much sums up how she was feeling this morning. She was so excited she could hardly stand it!

Great weekend

Friday we went to Charlotte's preschool open house. Jacob, one of her best friends, is in her class! They were both excited and tomorrow is their big first day. Stay tuned for pictures and stories. Marcy and I were impressed with their teacher so I think it's going to be a great year.

Dave worked most of the weekend so I was on my own with the kids. We went to the Burke Festival on Saturday. It was perfect weather. Charlotte went on her first pony ride (I forgot the camera in the car!!!) and insisted on getting her face painted. We waited for an hour and a half to get her face painted and the girl spent at least 20 minutes doing it. Charlotte was extremely patient and super pleased with the result!

Today we went to Jenna's birthday party at MyGym. It was packed with twenty 3 year olds, younger siblings and parents but everyone had a great time...

...including the Birthday Girl!

The trampoline and ball pit were a favorite!

Nate and AJ were hanging out too. Nate is about 2 months older than AJ. We had to protect them from all the crazy older kids. They'll be running around soon enough.

Tonight we celebrated the night before school starts with a quick prayer at church, a haircut for Charlotte and dinner at Chicken Out. We ate outside and enjoyed the last bits of summer. I can't believe Charlotte is old enough to attend school?! I don't know what she's more excited about - carrying her backpack or eating snack!

Double Doctor Visit

I survived the double doctor visit this afternoon - Charlotte's 3 year check-up and AJ's 6 month check-up. Both kids did great especially since the only appointment I could get was smack dab in the middle of nap time. They're both sleeping now so I'll give you the stats:

AJ (6 months)
Weight - 24lbs (99%)
Height - 29" (99%)

Charlotte (3 years)
Weight - 30lbs (40%)
Height - 36 5/8" (33%)

As you can see, AJ is only 6lbs behind Charlotte. At 6 months, Charlotte weighed 16lbs 5oz. He weighs the same at 6 months that Charlotte did at 2 years old. Charlotte has grown almost 3 inches and gained 6lbs. Not bad at all!

Both kids got flu shots and a couple extra. Charlotte didn't even let our a whimper during her shots. She was super cooperative the entire visit which is quite the opposite of her 2 year visit. Poor AJ fell asleep just before they did his shots and had a very rude awakening!

Everyone is healthy and that is a blessing!