4 Star Dining

Just a quick post to share Austin's dinner experience tonight....
He got to enjoy some rice cereal mixed with peas tonight. Apparently, that was exactly what he wanted, because he was so excited with every bite that he waved his arms around frantically each time I approached his mouth with the spoon. This made for a very messy meal. Peas were all over him, me, his chair and the floor. I finally managed to figure out a full body maneuver I could do with each bite to sort of pin his arms down to keep from making an even bigger mess. But yet, he managed to figure out a way.... He sneezed. I guess he just wanted to make sure I'll be finding and wiping up splattered peas for days to come. And his grand finale- he pooped. Awesome.

6 months old

It's hard to believe that Austin's already half way to being a one year old. It's zooming on by pretty fast, which, as I've mentioned only probably a few hundred times, is a little bittersweet. Although life with a 3 year old and a 6 month old isn't always easy, there are definitely times that I wish I could freeze time and keep them little forever.
So, what is Austin up to at 6 months?

• He can roll over from his tummy to his back. A feat that he was doing at 5 months, although unwitnessed. Now he lets me watch. And he has a surprised look on his face everytime he winds up on his back.


• He can almost roll from his back to his tummy. He still hasn't been able to make it over his shoulder, but I know it's coming soon.


• He can sit up unsupported for a second, sometimes. Most of the time he will fall over though, which Bella finds hilarious.


• He has two teeth, on the bottom. I love his mostly gummy smile with those two stubby teeth.


• He wears size 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.


• He loves to laugh. One of his teachers at school told me that she's never heard a baby laugh as much as him. His favorite person to laugh at is still Bella. In fact, the other night he had just fallen asleep and she kissed him, and he laughed in his sleep.


• He's doing much better at night. He usually gets up around 1am then again around 5am. He sleeps in his crib, but usually stays in our bed after the 5am feeding. I love waking up to that fat, smiling face- it's impossible to wake up grumpy that way!


• He loves jumping in his jumperoo. He jumps so aggressively that he can move it across the floor.


• He loves his stage 1 baby food now. It took a while to get used to it, but he really enjoys all of it now. Even the peas.

Happy 1/2 birthday to you, Austin!

SNOW!!!

While most of the country has had more than it's fair share of snow lately, here in Wilmington, we hadn't seen so much as a single flake until this past Friday night. When it started snowing shortly after Bella went to bed, I was too excited for her to wait until the morning to see it. I went in and got her out of bed, which I never do. She was excited to see it to, especially since she's been asking all winter "is it gonna snow today?" So, needless to say, she bounded into our room fairly early Saturday morning, squealing and heading straight for the window. We woke up to a good 4 inches of snow on the ground, which is not much at all compared to other areas of the country, but it's a lot of snow for us. In fact, the weatherman had a list of snow in Wilmington since 1984, and the list was literally only 6-8 lines long. We were all pretty excited- well, except for poor, clueless Austin. He just grinned because we were happy :)

We got Bella and ourselves all bundled up to head outside to play. Here are a few pictures...

Jeez, mom, I realize it's cold out, but are all these clothes really necessary?

Bella and Scott working on their snowman. Scott forgot to rake all of Frank's "piles" out of the yard the day before, so he was afraid to make a bigger snowman for fear of including some poo.

Here's some snow for Frosty, Daddy.

Putting the finishing touches...

Scott and his babies...

Frank may be getting old, but the puppy in him still comes out when it snows. He had a blast too!

Me and my babies...

We had a good time playing in the snow. And we also enjoyed some hot chocolate afterwards. Maybe we'll get some snow again sometime!

First Dentist Visit

The other day, Bella had her first visit to the dentist. I'm kind of a stickler for the recommendations made by the pediatrician, and I asked when Bella turned one when it would be time to make that first dentist appointment. The dr. said 3, so pretty much as soon as Bella turned 3, I made the appointment. A co-worker recommended a wonderful pediatric dentist here in town.

Bella seemed very excited and eager to go. When we got there, she was happy to see that there was even a small door for the kids to go in. She told Scott later that day that she went through the little door and that mommy and Austin had to go through to "regular"door.

The hygienist came out to the waiting room to meet us and talk to Bella before taking her back. She said they like to take the kids back alone, and wondered if Bella would agree to that. I didn't think so, but Bella wanted to, so she followed the hygienist right on back. They were gone about 5 seconds before the hygienist re-appeared with Bella. I ended up having to go back with them, which is what I really wanted to do in the first place.

They were awesome with Bella. Even though Bella never got comfortable enough to allow them to clean her teeth, she enjoyed getting to play with the instruments. She and the hygienist shot water across the room and Bella even got to squirt water on the chair and suck it up with the little suction thing.

She did allow the dentist to look in her mouth and count her teeth while she sat safely on mommy's lap. She even got to go pick out a prize for being so brave :) Before leaving, Bella quietly agreed to let them clean her teeth next time. We'll see...

I'm going to Disney World!!

Yep, that's right, the Lindsay clan is headed to Disney World! Well, almost the whole Lindsay clan- Austin will be staying at home with his Grandma and Grandaddy.

Scott and I went to Disney World for our last spring break before we graduated from graduate school. We had a lot of fun (although, I think I had more fun than he did). We were engaged at the time, and I specifically remember a brief conversation while we were there saying the next time we come will be with our children. We also said that we wouldn't try to make a trip to Disney until both of our kids were old enough to enjoy it. Flash forward 8 years, and we're eating our words. Bella has been kind of obsessed with the Disney princesses lately, and we decided that it would probably be really fun to take her now. I'm super excited. I can't wait to see her all dressed up in her Cinderella dress headed to Cinderella's castle to meet the REAL Cinderella.

Bella is super excited too. It's a toss up on who is looking forward to the trip more, me or Bella. She keeps asking questions about it, and the way she says Disney is so cute (Dis-ah-knee). She told me the other night that she's going to fly with Tinkerbell while she's there. Uh, okay, sure. I think I may have messed up telling her that we're going. We're not going until mid-May, so I'm sure 3 1/2 months will seem like an eternity to a 3 year old.

It might seem like an eternity for me too. In the meantime, I'm busy planning. I'm checking out different character meals and planning our different park itineraries. There's a lot to do there, it's almost a little overwhelming. But, hopefully, in the end, our little princess will have a blast!

Five Months Old

Today, Austin is 5 months old. I realize that's not very old, but these past 5 months have flown by. So, Austin, this post is for you. Maybe one day you'll wonder what you were up to at 5 months...

• You weigh 17 pounds, 12 ounces. That puts you in the 80th percentile weight-for-age.

• You are 28 inches long. That means that you are greater than the 97th percentile length-for-age.

• You are currently wearing size 2 diapers, although they're getting a little snug. As soon as this box is finished, you will be moving up to size 3.

• You wear size 3-6 month clothes, but some clothes you are wearing 6-9 months! You're a long fellow, so those 1 piece 3-6 month clothes don't fit anymore.

• You eat 8 ounces of formula every 4 hours. Formula is not cheap, so I'm still cursing my boobs for not being able to supply you with enough free food.

• You have started first foods. So far, you seem to like fruit the best, although, you did enjoy carrots. I think your favorite food has been bananas. You liked them by themselves and mixed with rice cereal. Yum!

• You have a big sister who adores you. She is so proud of you and is constantly trying to pick you up, give you toys and rub your head. She is probably to blame for still being bald. She rubs your head so much, it probably doesn't allow for any hair to grow. This morning at the Dr.'s office, she was talking about you to another little girl. She said "You see him. His name is Austin, and he's my bruder, not your's." Perhaps she's a little possessive, but proud none the less.

• You are fond of your big sister as well. She solicits more laughs from you than me or Daddy combined. Your Grandma says the two of you will be quite the pair when you get up on your feet and that I'd better watch out. I look forward to seeing the two of you play together, but please be nice to mommy :)

• We think you have rolled over from your belly to your back. No one has witnessed this feat, but on 2 occasions you were placed on your belly and when we looked back, you were on your back. I keep hoping you'll let me witness your new trick!

• You are a snuggler. My favorite is when I pick you up and you let out a little squeal and bury your head in my chest. It's like there's no where else you'd rather be. I love it.

• You leave a lot to be desired at night. You used to sleep from about 8pm-4ish am. I was cool with that. However, for about a month now, you've been getting up around 10pm, 1am and 4am. I love spending time with you, but I love my sleep as well. If you could go back to your old sleeping habits, that would be fine by me!

• I love how you stare at my face while I'm rocking you to sleep for a nap. It's as if you are trying to memorize every detail of how I look. I usually do the same to you. I want to memorize your face as it is right now to remember forever. You are a cutie!!

• You are such a joy. You were meant for our family. For a while, after Bella was born, even thought I wasn't quite ready for another baby, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone missing from our family. We didn't feel quite "complete" until you were born.

Happy 5 month birthday, Bubbers!

Bella's Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Bella's third birthday this weekend. It's hard to believe she's already 3. If there's anything I've learned since becoming a mother, it's that they grow up too fast. I held it together pretty good over the weekend, I only teared up a few times! :)

We started the birthday celebrations with a small party at Bella's school on Friday afternoon. It was a big surprise for her when Mommy and Daddy showed up at school with cupcakes! Bella had requested chocolate cupcakes with pink icing (what can I say, she's a girly girl and loves anything pink!). Apparently, it's a state regulation that you can't bring homemade cupcakes, so I had to buy them. The grocery store was SERIOUS when they put the pink food coloring in. I think most of the kids in Bella's class had pink stains on their faces. Oh well. Hopefully, there wasn't too many upset parents when they picked their kids up that day!

Bella was so happy with the kids and teachers in her class sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She had this big smile on her face the whole song. This was about the time Mommy teared up for the first time.

A few of Bella's friends enjoying their cupcakes.

Saturday was Bella's birthday party for friends and family. We had it at Power of Play near our house. I've actually never been to this place prior to booking it for her party. I think we'll have to go more often- it's AWESOME. Tons of things for little ones to play with. There is a pretend restaurant, grocery store, Dr.'s office, veterinarian, jail, post office, race track, dress up clothes, and TONS more. Bella and all her friends had a blast.

Here's Bella running the cash register in the pretend restaurant. The play money in the cash register was promptly taken by Bella to the play post office and mailed somewhere. I'm not sure where. If you get money in the mail, you'll know who sent it :)

Bella found this dress in the dress up area. She said she was Cinderella. Here is Cinderella at the Dr.'s office. I'm not sure what happened, but apparently there was an unfortunate accident that required Cinderell to use a wheelchair. Luckily, she was back on her feet soon.

Here is Bella with her friend Brady. Brady is the son of one of my friends, Emily. As you can tell, he's a cutie, and Bella definitely agrees. Whenever she's around Brady, she talks about him for days. She was happy he was at her birthday party. He was a trooper- he followed her orders each time she told him to sing "Happy Birthday" to her.

Some of the party guests enjoying their cake.

Cinderella riding her horse on the farm.

After the party, we went back to our house with my parents, Scott's parents, my brother, sister-in-law and neice to open Bella's birthday presents. She has really been into the Disney princesses lately. Her personal favorite is Cinderella. She was beyond thrilled when she opened her gift from Nana and Papa and saw it was a real Cinderella dress, shoes and crown!

Bella's gift from Scott and I was a trampoline. She squealed when she saw it and had to jump immediately. At least she let me take her Cinderella high heels off first.

Bella's actual birthday was Monday. It worked out nice, because it fell on MLK Jr. day, which meant the bank was closed and Scott could spend the day with us! We started the day with a birthday cupcake. Again, chocolate cupcake with pink icing!

Blowing out the candle. I still can't believe she's 3!

We took Bella and Austin to the aquarium at Ft. Fisher. We took a few pictures while waiting for Daddy to park the car. The weather was nice!

Bella asked "Is this alligator dead?" I sure hope so!

Bella enjoyed the aquarium at first, but quickly grew tired of meandering through the crowds to just look at some fish. On our way home, I asked what her favorite part of the aquarium was. Her reply: "none of it". Oh well.

On the way home from the dud trip to the aquarium, Scott and I redeemed ourselves by stopping to get Bella a new dance outfit. Luckily, she had dance that night, so was able to wear her new outfit immediately. I think dance class was the highlight of her birthday. The are starting to learn their dance for the recital. It is to the song "How Much is That Doggy in the Window". They let us parents come in a watch them dance. And I teared up yet again.

It certainly is bittersweet to watch my little girl grow up. Sometimes I find myself wishing she could stay little forever, and other times I am daydreaming about the girl and woman she will become. Happy Birthday Bella!