Happy 4 months Taylor

Taylor went for her 4 month appointment yesterday and she did great! She was a very happy baby until she had to get three shots in her legs. The doctor said that she looked incredibly healthy and that she is long and lean. She weighed in at 13 pounds even (50th percentile) and 25 3/4" long (95th percentile). Although she cried the entire way home (have I mentioned how much she hates the car?), she was back to herself when she saw Papa and Ella. She also gave me a gift by sleeping from 9:30 pm until 4 am. That is the longest she has gone without waking and I was thrilled. Today she has been a little cranky and running a low grade fever from the shots, but I'm sure she will be back to herself tomorrow.

Ella's cheer

Anyone who knows me understands my need to constantly sing and make up songs. This trait has certainly been passed on to Ella and it's something we get to do together all the time. Today I taught her a cheer taken from our high school assemblies and then we talked about how she is a big girl that wears big girl panties.

Next we just have to teach her to remember to sit like a lady :)

First foods for Taylor

When we were sitting at the dinner tonight eating, Taylor was in her Bumbo seat watching us eat as if she was trying to ask for a bite. So, I grabbed a jar of bananas baby food and a spoon and we gave it a try. We think she did pretty good, though we are going to wait until her 4 month appointment on Wednesday to get the official go-ahead from the doctor.

First accident-free potty training day

I would officially like to mark today as our first accident-free potty training day. The best part is that Ella told us she had to use the potty without us asking, and we were out and about most of the day today (all without a camera of course).

First, we went out to visit Grandma, Grandpa and Great Grandpa. After that we went to lunch at the Village Tavern (yum). We went home from there for Ella's nap. Then after naptime we headed to Costco for shopping. Once both girls were fed and the groceries were put away, Ella and Mama headed out to the park while Papa and Baby Taylor stayed in (have I mentioned how much Taylor hates the car??).

We are proud of Ella and the potty progress she is making. Here is a quick picture I snapped on the way out to the park.

Jumparoo

We recently pulled the jumparoo out of storage to see if Taylor would enjoy it since she loves putting weight on her legs. She has a pretty good time in there for a few minutes and even loves sitting in it and watching whatever Ella is doing.

Here are some pictures from tonight after dinner (she is, as usual, covered in drool):

Ella's new bed

For the past couple of months, Ella has been falling out of her bed almost everynight, sometimes twice a night. Anytime Taylor wakes up to eat, we would also go into Ella's room to put her back on her bed.

Sunday afternoon we got a twin bed from Oma and Opa, bought a bed rail, and Ella slept like a champ in her new bed that very night.

Today we put up some flower decals on her wall and hung new curtains.

Just a few weeks ago, we moved Taylor from our room into the pack n play in the spare bedroom for a few reasons. The first is that she has outgrown her bassinet and the pack n play is too large for our room. The second is that we want to get a better night's sleep and not wake to every little noise she makes in her sleep. We are probably going to keep them in separate beds until Taylor starts sleeping through the night (which we all hope is very soon).

Here are some pictures of Ella's room with her new big bed.

MAJOR potty milestone

Sunday was a big day in our potty training adventure. We took our first public outing wearing big girl panties and went accident-free. Ella even pee-peed on the potty at a restaurant. Then today at school, she only had one wet diaper and peed on the potty here at home. We are thinking of sending Ella to school in her big girl panties on Wednesday to see how it goes. We are so proud of her and we are hoping to have only one child in diapers soon.

WAY TO GO ELLA!!!!

Taylor is on a roll

Over the weekend Taylor mastered rolling over from her belly to her back. Of course I wasn't able to fully capture it on video yet, but here is one of her getting very close. She also loves to laugh and smiles all the time. She has turned into quite a happy little girl.

Family picture

Meena had a cookout this weekend with AMAZING food. Ella really enjoyed the fruit salad and Papa and I enjoyed pretty much everything. We also put Rebecca behind the camera to snap a family picture of us. We all happened to be wearing black and Ella and Taylor were wearing their shirts from Nina that say "Big Sister" and "Little Sister".

Taylor and Kyan

For the 4th of July, we headed to the Coalson house for a little while to enjoy friends, food and fireworks. Unfortunately we did not make it to see the fireworks because they started too late, but we still had a good time.

Kyan Trotter, Bryan and Joanna's son, was born two weeks after Taylor and is a little cutie. We always joke that Taylor and Kyan are boyfriend and girlfriend since Joanna and I would take the kids to the movies when we were both on maternity leave. Here is a picture of the cute couple :)

Exersaucer Ella and Taylor at 3 months

Taylor recently started playing in the exersaucer that Ella also used to enjoy at a baby. Here are a few more pictures for comparison.

Bath time

Last weekend Papa was giving Ella a bath and we realized that Taylor should also get one. I quickly undressed her and stuck her in the tub with Ella. I didn't want to hassle with getting her little tub out, so I just held her the entire time. Here are a few pictures taken to capture the moment...not great pictus, but it's crazy how we thought Ella was so little before Taylor arrived.