7 months

What a month! Poppy's been at it again! More and more milestones. 

She stood on her own.

Cruises the furniture.

Says  "dada".

Loves ice cream and her daddy.

Is wearing size 3 diapers and 9 months clothes. 

Some 12 months stuff too.

When I sing to her she claps her hands.

She loves playing with her rattle and the boys' legos.

They're already fighting over toys.

She loves riding in the jogging stroller "chasing" her brothers.

She's a fast crawler and disappears as soon as she hits the ground.

Still hates the bottle, but goes after the boys' cups.

Doesn't know what to think of dogs. Nena has barked while playing with the boys and she flipped out, but if Nena's laying down next to her she's usually fine.

She's starting to make peace with baby food and eats much more of it now. 

I'm still giving her some table foods, like mashed potatoes, avocado, sweet potatoes, bananas, etc and she likes those, too.

Loves that thumb.

Has been fighting her naps lately. Not pretty.

Is constantly trying to eat paper. She will find it. Even if we think we have picked up every trace of paper in the entire house, she will find some more and give us a heart attack as she tries to devour it. She knocked a magazine off the coffee table the other day and ripped it to shreds and started shoving pieces in her mouth. Thanks for the panic attack, Poppy.

When she gets shy, she'll raise her little hands and clasp them above her forehead.

She dances when she gets real proud of herself for standing up.

No sign of teeth so far (thank God).

Some nights she sleeps in her bed all night, with no problems. 

Other nights she'll go to sleep just fine, but wake up around midnight to claim her rightful place smack dab in the middle of our bed so she can snack for the rest of the night. She's just so busy during the day that she isn't interested in eating much and by nighttime she's starving.

She's a happy baby. 

The princess.

Constantly surrounded by her boys, friends, and everyone loving on her.

She's so cute and she knows it.

We got her Halloween costume this week and she is going to be the most precious baby elephant ever. She just giggled away when we tried it on her.

It's feeling like fall in Georgia so I've been breaking out her adorable sweaters. 

By noon it's smoldering all over again so she's stripped back down to a onesie.

But for mornings--it's on!

There's so much excitement ahead in the next few months:

first holidays

trips to visit family

first move

and a very-fast-approaching first birthday

(that I don't want to think about just yet...).

Love that chocolate-face!

Three

My baby boy is three today.
We had a huuuuge party this weekend. 14 adults, 21 kids, 6 pizzas, 10 waterguns, a million presents, and the biggest bouncy house ever!
I threw his party here at the house last year, 4 months pregnant with zero help. In my post-party exhaustion I swore I'd never do it at home again. This year I can swallow my words with a hefty serving of help from both my husband and my awesome friends. My friend Julie was over nearly every day last week cleaning and organizing, digging up some empty babyfood jars and helping paint them, juggling babies and prepping snacks. I would have been a mess without her!
Between homework Jason ran errands and vacuumed. Gave orders to the boys to get them to clean their playroom. Pumped me full of Starbucks pumpkin lattes. And retrieved the bouncy house and pizzas. I sent him to the Rec center Saturday to pick up the bounce house I'd made reservations for, thinking he'd cone home with a little 12x14 thing like we had last year. He pulled up 2 hours later with a rental truck filled with the biggest freaking inflatable I've ever seen! It had a massive monster truck on the top and rolled out onto a pallet and dolley. It took two blowers to inflate it. The kids were thrilled!
It was pretty perfect for as many kids came. The weather was perfect, there was plenty of food, we didn't run out of sangria or koolaid, everyone behaved and took turns and had the best time. Riley was in heaven all say and went to bed with the biggest grin on his face.
At about 1am, when we'd all crashed , we heard screaming from the boys room. I ran in and James said, "Riley threw up!" Sure enough. Wouldn't be a party if no one got sick, right? After two sets of sheets, two pairs of pajamas, and a bunch of towels, he was okay and we all got a little sleep. This morning he was feeling better so I made him some "birthday pancakes" with sprinkles. We're making it a new tradition.
Happy birthday my big 3 year old! My big boy who still needs his mama and wants me to hold him even if he hangs down to my knees. My big boy who loves shoes and sports, Barbie and batman, helping me cook and throwing down serious combatives-style wrestling with his brother and daddy. My big boy who is fiercely independent, uncompromising, and stubborn, but still loves others and understands their feelings. My big boy who is unafraid of adventure and would climb a mountain or jump off a cliff without a thought, but buries his head in my shoulder at Halloween decorations. My boy who loves his brother and sister, even if he has to constantly battle them for toys and snacks. My boy who is always dancing, always smiling, making jokes without trying.
I love you my boy, my big three year old, my middle child. You are forever my baby boy. This is going to be a big year for you! I love watching you grow, discovering yourself. You are such a precious part of our family. We love you so much.