One Monster of a Birthday Party

Tate's 4th birthday party was held at a pumpkin patch with a monster theme. With a young baby and a new job, I didn't put as much effort into this one as I have in prior years, but I still had a little fun with it...

The Monster theme was carried through in the invites and thank you notes (done by my friend Eleanor at Pink Peppermint Paper...love her work!)...

Real googly eyes were used throughout. The thank you notes have a cyclops and say "Thanks. I've had my eye on that.""

The tables were set with polka dot tablecloths and the centerpieces were pumpkins and gourds painted like monsters.

 

 

(The food table had monster fingers (cheetos), eyeballs (grapes), and monster theme cupcakes.)

 The pumpkin patch offered plenty of entertainment, and the kids got to:

....ride tractors...

 ...go on a hayride...

 ...feed some animals....

 ...and feed themselves...

(I love this pic of cousin Blake)

 Tate had a blast with his friends!

His favorite present was a real Darth Vader helmet from his Aunt Brooke

Some of Tate's friends from school came. 

  And Lily Jane was there, blending in with the pumpkins.

 Each kid got to pick a pumpkin, which they took home in a monster bag as their favor. 

And at the end, Tate said (completely unsolicited), "I had so much fun today, Mom and Dad. I want a group hug!"  And we were happy to oblige! 

Tate is Four

Tate turned four on October 24. They say a child's personality is set by the age of three, so in his fourth year of life we were able to get a glimpse of that personality...and he is:

Sweet

A Ham

Outgoing and playful

And very cautious. 

(this video is so typical of how super cautious and careful Tate is. He bounces all the way down the runway only to slowly ease himself into the foam pit. I guess we should be grateful, but it cracks us up. He tells us all the time, "that's just too dangerous.")

He loves.....

Performing with a microphone

 

Star Wars

  

Going to School

 

And Animals

He does NOT love napping, getting ready for bed, sleeping in his own bed, going to sleep or letting us sleep. He also does not love "stuff" on his pizza or cheeseburgers.

Happy Fourth Birthday, Tater Tot!

Jumperoo

A rainy day today meant the kids were bouncing off the walls, literally.

World Traveler

While going through our pictures, Rob and I realized that no matter where we are, the pictures of Lily Jane are always in her infant carrier. She could be anywhere! So while checking out alligators in Louisiana last weekend, Rob texted me this series of pictures with the following captions...

Lily Jane at Gators & Friends in Shreveport!

Lily Jane at the Empire State Building!

Lily Jane at the Eiffel Tower!

Lily Jane at the Giants game! 

Lily Jane at the Smithsonian! 

Just trust us.

Four Months

Lily Jane is four months old! Her stats:

Height: 24 3/4 inches (50-75%)
Weight: 18 lbs 1 oz (99%)
Head: 16.5 inches (99%)

She's wearing size 6 and 9 months, and I've already had to put away an entire box of clothes that no longer fit her.

She is a super happy, smiley little girl who loves to coo and gurgle and generally "chat."  She's growing up so fast, she's already....

Sharing a laugh with her brother

Cheering on her favorite teams! 

Going to the prom !

Batting her big brown eyes to get what she wants! (and here she says she wants some rice cereal, and she wants it now!)

We've also had some fun with friends and visitors....

Cousin Lindsey came to town with baby Amelia, giving us all a reason to get together. Represented here are first cousins, second cousins, and first cousins once removed (I think? We need a genealogist to figure out all of the relationships here)

The kid table is certainly the cool place to be

 And after the second hottest summer on record in Dallas, we finally had a break on Labor Day and enjoyed a picnic in the high 80s. We almost needed a jacket! 

Hooray for Cousins!

For Nanny-sippi's 70th birthday, Rob's brothers and their families came from the East and West coasts to celebrate with us at our house last week. I didn't get many pictures due to the chaos, but wanted to share a few....

Cousin Cecilia from California (say that three times fast) and Tate instantly bonded and had a blast together. They also got in lots of book reading with Nanny-sippi:  

On the actual birthday, we had a party at our house and the grandkids all wore matching "R" shirts (in a bandana print in honor of the Texas visit!)  with their names monogrammed on them just for the occasion.  Pictured with Tate below are Caroline (9, almost 10, yrs old), Cecilia (2.5 yrs) and Beck (7 yrs). Caroline and Beck live in Silver Spring, MD and Cecilia lives in Fairfax, CA.

Surely another aunt or uncle got a better shot?!? Anyone? Anyone? 

Then it was cake time....

And what party is complete without a little dancing? In this picture, Tate may be teaching everyone the "bottom dance."  Or this may have been during "Baby Got Back." Both occurred.

Then it was off to Legoland, where Tate tried to distract Dirk Nowitzki with his balloon sword in order to steal away the basketball. He's been watching too many thug Lakers and Heat players: 

There were a lot of Legos.

There was also much water park visiting, movie watching, food eating, birthday shopping and, well, just baby chilling:

Two Months

Lily Jane turned two months on July 2...

I picked the picture above because it best symbolized how she started her second month of life: very fussy, but still cute as a bug. By the end of the month, though, she was all smiles: 

Luckily, we made it through the colicky period, and she is now a happy and content baby. 

Her measurements: 

Height: 24 inches (75-90 percentile)

Weight: 14.2 pounds (above 95%)

She's a chunk! People can't believe when I tell them old she is. 

This month she started lifting her head during tummy time:  

 And started clearly demonstrating that she's a daddy's girl. She smiles every time she sees Rob and  adores him...and the feeling is mutual:

She also likes to "talk" a lot, which the doctor even noticed. She makes a lot of very cute sounds and apparently has a lot to say. The doctor also noticed that her head seems to be a little lopsided toward the right, and he suggested we vary her sleeping positions, switch her car seat position with Tate's, read the New York Times and Mother Jones to her, etc in order to give her a more well-rounded brain before a baby helmet would be necessary. We'll keep you posted on "Operation We Can't Have a Right Wing Baby!"