5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 and Then Some

It's been a whirlwind last few days . . .

5: On Friday we went for Marlie's 5 year well child visit. She was very excited that there were no shots included on this one! We went back in April for her Kindergarten shots so all of her paperwork would be ready for registration. She passed her hearing and vision tests with flying colors . . . as well as the worksheet we had to do to test some basic knowledge. I read the question "Does your child use 4-5 words in a sentence?" and laughed out loud. I told the doc I had no concerns about her verbal, writing, or motor skills. The word of the week for Marlie is "hydrated" . . . "Mommy, I need my water bottle so I can stay hydrated while I'm playing tball - it's a hot summer day." 4-5 words!?? ha! As for her physical stats - at 5 years old she is 42lbs and 44in tall . . . long and lean! She is in a size 6 clothes and a size 11 shoe.

4: We had 4 full action packed days while Grandpa Mick was visiting from Minnesota! There was eating out, Chuck E Cheese time, swimming, t-ball, a movie premier . . . and we finished with breakfast at Cracker Barrell this morning!

3: Along with her sister, Samantha had her 3 year well child visit on Friday. Not as many tests as with the 5 year checkup, but she is just as healthy! It is looking like she has outgrown her eczema. A few months ago we started allowing some of the fun bubble baths and kids bath paints in the tub and she has done just fine (though I did stand by with a bottle of Zyrtec and some nerves in the beginning!). Sam is 31lbs and 37in . . . and she too was relieved to have no shots! She is in a 4T clothes and a size 8 shoe . . . and thankfully she has been potty trained for over 6 months! Next thing for Samantha in her toddler phase is moving to a carseat just like big sister's! She will get to pick out her pattern of the Graco Nautilus just like Marlie . . . of course, the coveted feature for her is no different than it was for Marlie - the oh so grown up cup holder! She will pass down her Boulevard to Evan . . . but most likely we will have to recover it since we wouldn't want to threaten Evan's manlihood with a pink flowered carseat :)

2: Evan Michael is 2 months old! Well, technically he is 8 weeks and I call that 2 months, though I suppose he won't technically be 2 months until the 29th! Anyway, we put him on the scale for giggles while we were at the doc on Friday and he didn't dissapoint! For someone who had so much trouble gaining weight in the first 2 weeks of life, he has now surpassed expectations! He weighed in at a whopping 13lbs 10oz - a full 2lbs more than his oldest sister at 2 months! So by his 2 month checkup I am anticipating 13lbs 15oz and possibly 25 in . . . we will see . . . all I know is he is in his 6mo clothes and they are becoming snug . . . we had a feeling he was going to be our big boy (see Christmas outfit and winter clothing in size 18mo in his closet).

1: The girls were VERY excited today when we surprised them with their 1 shared birthday present . . . we drove to Nashville and told them we had to go to the store there (which of course prompted a request to go to their favorite store in Nashville, Build a Bear - but the request was denied). When we parked and got out of the car we showed them the Bridgestone Arena and told them Elmo was inside and we were going to see him!!!! We had bought tickets to Sesame Street Live 3 months ago and had kept the secret :)

Big Bird came on and told everyone 10 minutes til showtime!

The look of pure childhood amazement as everyone came on stage for the first time!It was a very well done show - and my camera was not zoomed in taking this picture! We were only 5 rows off the floor level! Thank you to our friend Lauren and her military discount!

After the show! You can tell Evan had a blast! And the one thing the girls wanted above all souveniers?!?!? Cotton Candy - so we got the big bag . . . and Jayson enjoyed his shelled peanuts :)

0: ZERO - the amount of energy I had left in my body after the last 9 days of company and activities non stop . . . but we came home from Nashville and changed our shirts (not our tutus though!) and headed to celebrate Helen's birthday party! It was a Mad Hatter tea party, and Bethany did a FABULOUS job! You would not believe all of the food and tea party fun she had for the kiddos!

Marlie posing with her flamingo. They used flamingos to play croquet in the back yard!

Whew . . . we have a birthday party tomorrow at the water park! It's going to be a girls day - we are leaving Daddy and Evan home. And let me tell you, words can't describe how excited I am to go jump into my bathing suit right now . . . ugh . . . my current mantra "It took 9 months to gain the weight, it will probably take 9 months to lose it" . . . deep breath :)