Ellie's 18-month Check-Up

Well, little miss thing had her 18 month check-up today...she's staying right in the 25th percentile for her height and weight, and around 65% for her big ol' melon (head circumference), which she gets from her father! She's 22 lbs, 13 oz, and 31" long. So she's just our little peanut. I have to look, but I think Alex weighed that when he was like 9 months!!!

I also found out that she has an umbilical hernia, which apparently is quite common. It's not a big deal for those of you who don't know. We always just thought that she had an "outie" belly button, but as she is getting bigger, more prone to screaming and throwing tantrums and laughing really hard, it's making it bulge a little more. They usually resolve themselves by the time they are 3-5 years old as her abdominal muscles grow stronger. So no worries for now. I just have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get much bigger, red, swollen, etc., etc.

So anyway, that's all. She's doing really well altogether.
Lisa

Oh yeah, Kimmy Beware...

I forgot to mention...in addition to all the other stuff Matt is doing, he has also been working out at the gym for the last two months, going at least 5 days a week for 1-1/2 -2 hours! He is looking HOT!! (not that he wasn't hot before, just a skinnier hot!!!)

I'm so proud of him. He's really sticking to it. He really feels good and is hinting that he is needing a few SMALLER additions to his wardrobe! Go Matt, go Matt, go, go, go Matt!!

However, everyone who knows Matt knows that he is a people watcher, and I think that is the REAL reason he keeps going. His gym is like a soap opera, and if he misses a day, he's all messed up the next time he goes! He literally creates names for people and gives them a story. It's hilarious! I anticipate him coming home every night just so he can give me the low down on the show!

Ok, but really what is keeping him motivated is my little sister Kim! She is an exercise maniac and works out like 3 hours a day! She's nuts, but good for her. She's in great shape, and I envy her. I wished that I liked exercise. I think I'd be good at it !:-) Again, good to have goals...

So anyway, Kim can work the stair-stepper forever, in fact, I'm sure she's the reason they've had to replace the stair-stepper at her gym! LOL! But really I think she does about an hour at level 10?? Well, Matt wants to take her on at Christmas this year! He came home about 2 weeks ago and told me he could take her on NOW, and was all geeked up to find out how soon we would be seeing her! I was like, uh, I'm not so sure you're quite ready. She does like an hour every day! He didn't believe me, so he just had to call Kim. After speaking with her, he's recanted his statement and his working hard every day to get there!!!

So anyway, kudos to Matt. You all should send him messages to keep him pumped up!!!!

Thanks,

Lisa

Basketball and Ponytails...

So, I haven't kept up my resolution to post more often...sorry to those who live vicariously through us!!! LOL!

Well, basketball season is almost over. Greg's season ended last week with a winning record, but a loss in the first round of the tournament. Darn the luck. So Greg's passing the time by taking pictures with the camera he got for Christmas...

One down, one to go...

So Ben (#32) is playing right now as I type. Yes, I'm a bad mother today. I didn't go to what might be his last game of the season due to the fact that my toddlers are all but out of control at sporting events and I just didn't have the patience for it today. I did, however, go to what was predicted to be his last game last night!!! The team pulled it together and pulled out a pretty nice win for the first round of tournament play (it may have helped that the other team played with only 4 players for the first three quarters due to sick kids, but hey, we're not picky)! So anyway, if they win today, they play for the championship next weekend. Then basketball will be over for the season...just in time for baseball and soccer practice to start!!! Whew!

Although I have to say, since Matt has been coaching, I'm not doing quite so much of the running since he has to be there anyway, which is nice considering I have two little ones to get in and out of pain-in-the-booty but life-saving 5-point harness car seats! Car seats that, by Alex's standards, are "NOT BERRY COMFY"! He lets me know every time we go somewhere. So anyway, back to Matt coaching...he coached Ben's basketball this past season, he is coaching Ben's baseball team, and is talking about coaching Ben AND Greg's basketball teams next year! All the while working long and hard days to make sure that I can continue to stay home with the kids!! What a guy! He loves us, I know!

Speaking of staying home/working, I am actually going to be doing some contract design work for Matt's company, working from home. They are getting busy enough that Matt needs a designer SOMETIMES, so I will just log my hours and they will pay me as we go. I'm pretty excited!

And as for ponytails...Ellie got her first real one today! She's getting so big, and so stinkin' cute, but what an attitude she has!! She's talking all the time, but we don't really know what she's saying. Here's what's clear...Dada, Uh-Oh, Wow, Hi, OWWWWWWW, Juice, Cheese, Ball, and sometimes Mama. I think she also says please and thank you, but I only can tell by the context in which she says it, not by how it sounds!! She's generally been my very cautious child, but I've changed all that with one trip to a little playplace here. It's a little area in the Zona Rosa shopping mall and it has giant firm, but soft fake fruit for the kids to climb on. Well, she wasn't quite sure what to do at first, and really didn't leave my side for the first 20 minutes or so. However, one trip to the giant kiwi and it was all over. I had to pull her away from it kicking and screaming! She now climbs on EVERYTHING! And stands up on it like she has conquered a mountain! Pretty cute. Except her favorite thing to climb on here is the STONE hearth.

And then there's Alex, who is almost 4 years old if you can believe it! AND he just as onery as Ellie. In fact, I believe the two are conspiring against me. I believe he is teaching her everything he knows, and she is a quick learner! So anyway, I'm trying to get Alex ready for Pre-K, which he will start in the fall. There's a long list of things he has to know before he can start, and we have about 3/4 of them down. But I think it is going to take all summer long to get him ready. They expect him to be able to sit still and listen for TEN WHOLE MINUTES!! YES, ALL AT ONCE!!! He can't sit still for TWO minutes, much less TEN!!! But, it's always good to have goals, right?! Favorite new quote..."Do you know what Dad says? Dad says YES!" when he wants something that I have said no to! Oh, and another new quote..."Hey, what's the BIG IDEA?!?!?"

So anyway, that's the scoop around here!

Talk soon!

Lisa