Carrington's 2 Year Well Check

Carrington had her 2 year well check this past week! I was a little nervous, because I know she doesn't have very many words, and I'm fairly certain this could end up being an issue. Sure enough, she is supposed to have between 40 and 50 words- and we are FAR from it. The good news, though, was that Dr. Lods wants to wait another 6 months, because she clearly understands any and every thing you tell her, and the words that she does have are very clear and concise. He wants to see if she just "pops" and starts talking up a storm in the next 6 months or so. If she doesn't, then it will be on to speech therapy, but I'm confident we can make some improvement! The problem with getting Carrington to speak is that she is NOT a "mimicer". With Trey, we could ask him constantly to "Say COW" or "Say PLEASE" or "Say I LOVE YOU" and he would just do it! Carrington 100% absolutely, positively will NOT copy or do anything you ask her to, so it really limits the whole 'practicing our words' thing! She is definitely strong willed, but I wouldn't have it any other way. She is hilarious and has a great sense of humor, so I'm certain she will always keep us smiling. She received 2 shots (1 was the flu shot) and she screamed like a banchee for about 10 seconds, and then got over it the second the nurse slapped on that bandaid. She was even more happy when they handed her a sheet of stickers, and all was right in Carrington's world again.

Here are the "results" of Carrington's well check vs. Trey's 2 year well check!

Carrington:

Weight- 23 pounds, 8th percentile
Length- 32 inches, 9th percentile
Head Circumference- 47.5, 50th percentile

And Trey at 2 years old:

Weight- 25 pounds, 14 ounces- 24th percentile
Height- 34 1/2" Tall- 54th percentile
Head Circumference- 47 3/4- 20th percentile

I suppose this isn't a huge surprise, Carrington's not the biggest or tallest, but that head of hers will ALWAYS keep her in the game! :)

Halloween- Trick or Treating! 2012

This year, Halloween was so much fun! Trey was so excited he could barely contain himself- he had been asking for weeks to wear his Fireman costume, and when "THE DAY" finally arrived, Trey did not disappoint! We got them both all decked and ready for a night of trick or treating. We head out the door, and Trey's first stop was the Noll's House. He gets to the front door... and forgets to say trick or treat! Which leads to hysterics, and him sobbing in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Luckily, Skylar was so sweet, and brought him some candy from their bowl, and we all reassured him that there were many, many more houses where he could say trick or treat. I honestly didn't think Carrington was going to make it any further than our street, but she hung in there! She and Trey both had a great time, and Trey was very considerate and always made sure that he only took one piece, and he took two pieces, if he was getting one for Baby Sweetheart, but that was it. And he always said thank you- he really was awesome. Carrington, on the other hand, is a Little Miss Sassy Pants. She went to almost every door with Trey, said Trick or Treat, chose her candy, said "Tank-To" (thank you), and then would turn around and wait for Doug to come pick her up off of the front stoop. A few times we refused to go get her, which only led to her screaming and throwing a fit for someone to come pick her up. Everything inside of me wanted to stick her in time-out and give her a very stern talking-to, but because all of our neighbors were staring, and probably whispering about our parenting skills, Doug resigned himself to picking her up at the front stoop of EACH and EVERY house for 2 hours straight. What a good Daddy! :) Carrington also refused to wear her gloves, so she was freezing by the time we got home, but they both had a ton of fun and loved every second of it!

Our little "Treat"- a Halloween Costume Photo Shoot with the Cousins!

The last time we did this was when I was pregnant with Carrington, and Allie was barely sitting up on her own, and Trey was less than thrilled to smile for the camera, so when we decided to attempt a cousins Halloween photo shoot again, I was super excited, and my expectations were much lower (knowing how things went the first time we tried). :)

This year, I really wanted Trey and Carrington to be Pebbles and Bam-Bam (mostly because of Carrington's hair), but Trey wanted NONE of that! He wanted to be a Fireman, and that was it- no discussion and no changing his mind. If I was going to be completely honest, he actually wanted to be a black Fireman (not sure where this came from, and I actually thought he meant a black costume, not black skin, but he was very clear- he pointed to his arm and hand and said 'brown'). Well... not happening- I'm fairly certain our neighbors and friends would take a huge offense to that, so we did manage to settle on a brown costume, white skin, but still a Fireman. Which then left Carrington being the trusty "Fireman Dog"- world's cutest Dalmation, of course!!! Allie is in love with all things Mickey Mouse, so she was an adorable Minnie- unfortunately, on the day of the photo shoot, her costume ripped and she broke the ears, so on Halloween, she actually wore something different! :)

I was so happy when we actually got several really great pictures! It was a little touch and go at first, but we nailed it! Or, more precisely, they nailed it!

Carrington's Actual Birth DAY

After a weekend full of celebrating, Carrington's actual birth DAY was on Monday, October 29th. The kids actual had a teacher work day at school, so we headed down to Monkey Joes with Allie (yay for Allie spending the day with us on Carrington's birthday!!!) to meet Becky, Evan, and Drew for some bouncy FUN!!! One thing I'd like to say about Monkey Joes- that place is WILD! The kids had a blast, but could only take about an hour and a half of the madness before we split and headed across the street to Chik Fil A for a much quieter setting and some happy meals!!! After a very nice, drama-free lunch, we let the kids play outside on the playground. Everyone was having a mostly fab time, but the fact is Drew and Carrington weren't quite big enough to climb inside, so (BLESS HER) Becky would boost them up the first 3 platforms over and over again. :) She's a saint! At the end, we attempted a group pic... this looks terrible, and it kind of was (in a very hilarious sort of way), but I'm not lying when I said the kids really did have a super fun morning!!!

That afternoon we came home for naps, and then Carrington got to have her favorite dinner- macaroni and cheese and hotdogs! We opened up the gifts from Uncle Adam, Aunt Shannon, and Allie (a baby doll and all the accessories- woohoo!!!) and Miss Jean, Sydney, and Brooke (jewelry and a purse- another SCORE!!!) and called it a night. All in all, an excellent 2nd birthday DAY.

Carrington's 2nd Birthday Party, CUPCAKES anyone?!?!

Well, my little baby is now 2! I am a little bit sad, but she is still such a "baby" in so many ways that this wasn't as difficult as I would have thought! She is smart, funny, makes everything a game, has a gigantic attitude, loves her brother and always has a good time- as long as whatever she is doing is going her way. What can we say? She's ALL GIRL!

For her 2nd birthday, we once again did not throw a big party inviting everyone we know to come celebrate. Instead, it was the "same old crowd". :) Nanijay, Big Daddy, Grammy, Papa, Uncle Brian, Aunt Kristyn, Doug, myself, and Trey were the guests in attendance, and I'm certain Carrington had a wonderful day! On the eve of her party, we blew up a bunch of balloons and put them all in her room, so she could wake up to a special surprise. When we went into her room in the morning, she was SO HAPPY! I wish I had a video of the crazy gasps and noises she was making while looking at all the balloons- it was so sweet!

What would a party be without a theme? Not a fun one!!! Carrington's 2nd birthday party theme was cupcakes, and I decked out the day as much as I possibly could. Just because there was no big party didn't mean that I had any intention of slouching on the details- we had cupcake invitations, a cupcake/bakery stand, cupcake toys, cupcake aprons, cupcakes plates and bibs, cupcake cups and straws, cupcake chocolates, cupcake tins and cupcake candles, and MOST IMPORTANTLY: CUPCAKES!!! And, just so you understand, Carrington doesn't have a lot of words, but one thing she DOES say is the word "cakies", so trust me- this girl loves her cupcakes!!!

She received wonderful presents, and one of my most favorite gifts of the day was a special wooden chest that Aunt Kristyn decorated to look like a giant cupcake!!! It is so beautiful, and super fun! Carrington has all her doll baby accessories in it now, and it was the perfect gift!!! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, caring, and thoughtful family.

As soon as Carrington unwrapped her new baby doll, she couldn't wait to have someone get it out of the package for her to play with. She immediately grabbed the bottle and started feeding her baby. So precious!!!

Carrington's Birthday Celebration at School!

For Carrington's 2nd Birthday, Grammy and Papa, Nanijay and Big Daddy, and Uncle Brian and Aunt Kristyn all came down to celebrate! On Friday, we celebrated (a little early) in Carrington's classroom, so I brought each classmate a box filled with 3 cupcake balls and sippy cup filled with Strawberry Milk (Carrington's favorite) to help kick off the birthday weekend! As an extra surprise, Nanijay and Grammy also came to the little party and Carrington loved the special attention she had! It was also fun for me to see her play with her friends. I had just taken Carrington to her first "friend" birthday party the weekend before (this was kind of a big deal, since it was the first party that was for Carrington's friend and not Trey's, and it was just Carrington and I that attended), when Mikayla turned 2, and I knew that Mikayla and Carrington really loved each other- they were so sweet wanting to hold hands the entire time! Something about my babies having their own friends that makes me feel like they are so grown up!

LOVING Fall!

We have had some of the most beautiful weather down here this season! The kids have been able to play outside almost every day, and I haven't been able to resist snapping pictures of them every change I get, so here's a few more!