Gwyneth's First Birthday

 
Our little Gwinnie-girl is one! I know it's cliche, but I seriously feel like I blinked and suddenly it's the end of the year and the sweetest little baby turned one. Gwen radiates kindness and joy. She is easy going, she loves to eat, and she loves her sisters. Balls, books, and little people are her absolute favorites, but she won't say no to a stray crayon on the ground either... Her favorite song is the intro to That 70's Show. (Yes, really.) Oh, and she likes her mom and dad alright too.

She has learned to climb up the stairs, and is getting pretty good at it. She hasn't tried to come down, she'll just sit at the top of the stairs and yell until someone comes and gets her. So hopefully she doesn't get any ideas about that too soon. She climbs up on anything she can, she can cruise along furniture, but still hasn't tried to stand up by herself, let alone take steps. But she is a speed demon when it comes to crawling. 

The bathroom fascinates her, and we've all had to learn to close doors to the rooms we don't want her getting into. She is at that awesome stage where she loves to pull out everything she finds and stick it in her mouth. Her sisters are quickly learning that prized possessions need to be kept up high and out of reach. But they love her to death and are always trying to bring her toys and books that are more baby appropriate.

Gwen can say mama, dada, sister (she's only said this one a couple of times, but it refers to London and Juju), hi, bye, yup, and yay. Even though she doesn't know too many words yet, she is constantly chattering away to us. I love when babies start using inflection in their babble. They really are trying to tell you something, they just don't have the words yet. She points, she waves, she claps; the girl knows how to get her message across.

She switched to whole milk and the sippy cup this month, and eats basically anything you put in front of her. She eats three meals a day, sometimes with a snack in the after noon. She's still taking two naps a day (but they are getting shorter and every once in awhile she will just take one long one.) She was doing really awesome at night, but lately has been waking up once or twice. She goes right back down with a bottle or a binkie, and usually sleeps until 8 am, which in this house definitely counts as sleeping in. (Especially since Juliet wakes with the dawn!)

The word that pops into my head when I think of Gwinnie is joy. She is almost always happy, and she spreads it to everyone around her. Our home has been such a happy place since she joined, and just the thought of her makes me smile. We are so grateful for you, Gwinnie the Pooh! Happy Birthday!

Juliet Turns Three

Juliet is my sweet-and-sour little introvert. She promised me that she will stay three forever, but I think she is finding that a difficult promise to keep. She decided that three years old means you are a big girl, so she finally quit the bottles at bed time and started wearing big girl panties and using the potty.  This has been life changing not only for her, but for me too, and I think everyone is ten times better off for it! I would throw her a party just for those accomplishments, but she already had a pretty rockin' costume party for turning three.

 

She got a little overwhelmed at times during her party (like I said, serious introvert!), and so it may be the last one I throw her, but I think for the most part she had a good time. And any excuse to wear her Darth Vader costume is a good thing to her. ;)

We did mummy dogs, caramel apple slices with toppings, lots of sweets, orange snacks, and a special-request-pumpkin-shaped chocolate cake. We bobbed for apples, pinned the spider on the web, and had a costume contest. It was wild with so many of our friends over, but controlled chaos is just kind of part of being a parent at this point, so the more the merrier! Thank you friends for celebrating with us and being our family away from home!

Juliet has grown so much over the last year. She has overcome fears (like the ocean, making new friends, and being away from mommy), she has become more confident, and is even learning to dress herself and put her shoes on. She is still learning to channel her stubborness (ahem, will-power), in a more productive manner, but I think someday she will be a powerhouse.

I'm so proud of the sweetness, the determination, and the independence that this little girl has inside her. Happy Birthday, Juju!

London is Four!

Well, she turned four six months ago.  I really did write all this right after her birthday...and then apparently walked away and forgot all about it. Oopsies. But, here it is, if anyone wants to hear all about our Resident Mischief-Maker in Chief.

"Paintbrushes"

"Painters Palettes"

"Color Wheel"

I can't believe that it's been over four years since I became a mom.  It's hard to imagine London as a tiny, helpless baby, or myself as a brand new mom!  But at the same time, has it already been four years?? (My body says yes, yes it has...;))

London and her masterpiece.

 

 

Each kid had their own paint station.  I loved seeing what everyone came up with. Ryder here made a rainbow.

 

 

How do you describe the girly tornado that is London?  She is smart, she loves learning everything she can, and she constantly surprising me with her growing knowledge.  She loves practicing writing her letters, especially her name.  She is the girliest girl you will ever meet.  If there is a princess, count her in.  She recently finished her first ballet class and loooved that.  She lives in her dress up clothes, her life is a musical, because she always making up songs about whatever she is doing.

London is our little artist; she is constantly drawing, coloring, painting, or making little sculptures with her play dough.  She is the first to ask if we can make a craft, and she would stay upstairs all day making projects if I let her.  So it only seemed fitting to throw her an art party this year.  I think the kids all had fun, and bonus, there was minimal mess!  Such tidy painters!

The kiddos also got to decorate their own cupcakes.

I think a lot of sprinkles skipped the cupcakes and went straight to their mouths. ;)

She recently discovered Star Wars and is obsessed.  She tells me she wants to be Rey for Halloween.  We only picked that costume like six months in advance.  Want to take bets if she ends up changing her mind before then?? ;) [update: she is now debating between Rey and Leia]

She loves to play outside with her friends, you cannot get her out of the ocean when we go to the beach, she loves to read, and she is the best big sister.  She and Juliet are best friends (except for when they are fighting...) She loves to read stories to Baby Gwen, and I'm so grateful she is my oldest.  She is independent, she is sassy, some days she is really hard, but I love her to pieces.

Party Favors.

 

All the friends!