June 28: Isla's Two Year Checkup

Isla had her two year wellness visit yesterday.
(I took these pictures tonight while she was eating a fudgsicle for the first time!  Also, I think she has learned the "tilt your head in every photo" pose from her big sister.)

Now that we have gotten her test results back and know that there is nothing wrong with her growth, her measurements don't seem like that big of a deal anymore.  But still, I've kept such a good record of all these measurements so far...why stop now?

She weighed in at 22.3 pounds (3%).  Which is about 1.5 pounds less than she weighed a month ago.  I'm not sure if that measurement last month was accurate though.  Maybe she has lost weight or maybe they just measured her wrong at her last appointment.  At this point, we are not concerned.

They gave her a generous height measurement of 31.5 inches (4%).  But I was watching the nurse measure her, and it was much closer to 31 than 31.5. 

Two year olds start on a new growth chart, and the percentiles on the new growth chart do not match up to the old chart.  So a month ago, on the old chart, she was in the 1% for height.  Now, on the new chart, she is in the 4% for height.  It doesn't really mean she has moved up the chart; it's just a different chart.

The best part about the doctor's visit was we don't have to go back until she turns three!  The doctor said she looked great and she no longer had any concerns.  It has been so long since we have gone to the doctor and not had to worry about something or schedule another visit.  I'm very thankful for a nice, normal, easy visit!  And she didn't have to get any shots, so that was exciting too!

Since Isla has turned two, it seems that she now needs to remind us that she is two.  She has been throwing more tantrums and in general just been crabby lately.  I can see a two year molar peeking in on one side, and I like to blame that for her crabbiness.  Because of course, my perfect child would never be cranky without a good reason, right?  (lots of sarcasm intended!)

However, when she is not being crabby, she is so incredibly adorable and funny.  I've got to figure out a way to get more of her expressions on video.  I think because she has been a little slower with speech and words, she learned early on how to express what she wants with her eyes and facial expressions and body language and tone of voice.  I think she can say about a hundred different things with just her eyes alone.  It is the cutest thing ever!

She is putting words together more and more.  Her favorite types of phrases go like this, always with an emphasis on the "me":  "Go, play, me!"  or "shoes, on, me!" or "Daddy, book, me!" (that last one means:  Daddy read a book to me).   She is also starting to put descriptive words together like "juice box" or "brown car."  She is becoming much more aware of colors.  One day, I was wearing a blue shirt, and all day long when she spotted something blue, she would point at it, then point to my shirt and say:  "blue...blue...TWO!"

Here is a cute picture that Audrey took of Isla tonight!

June 26

I thought I would have some house pictures ready by now, but the unpacking and house project list is moving slowly.  We have done some painting and will be doing some more painting.  Each room still has random boxes and things that still need to find a home.  I haven't hung anything on the walls yet, because I can't make a decision as to where to hang everything!  I suppose there is no hurry, but I am anxious to get everything put together and finished.

The girls have made a new friend with a little girl who lives behind us.  She frequently comes running to our back fence to talk with Audrey and Isla.  It is super cute!  The problem is we have not met (or even seen any sign of) her parents yet.  She is only four years old, and I don't feel like it is appropriate for us to invite her into our yard without her parents permission.  But I feel really bad making her stand on the other side of the fence.  The other day the girls stood at the fence talking like this for an hour! 

Yesterday, our friend Lindsey invited Audrey to go with her and the boys to the state museum for a Magic School Bus movie.  Besides the movie and the museum, Lindsey also took them to see the old state capitol and to get some ice cream!

Lindsey said that Audrey and Elliot posed themselves like this in front of these statues:

Kid City

 While we were unpacking last week, Audrey was enjoying Kid City, the preschool VBS at our church.  She had a great time every night!

Here is a picture from last year (on the left) and this year (on the right):

She was much more excited last year about posing for a picture.  As a big four year old now, she is much too cool for posing for pictures. The sign in the picture is not exactly the same, but it is similar.  I think that line in the middle is the same on both signs...so you can see how much she has grown!

The song for the week was very catchy.  It is in my head all the time...STILL!  Both Audrey and Isla love it though.  Here is Audrey performing the song with all the kids during the final program.

(The scenery falling down at the end of the video was a highlight of the final program.  It didn't phase Audrey though.  She just kept on singing!)

New House Tour

We are getting settled into our new place.  There's a lot to do, but it's exciting.  We really, really, really love the house.  I think it is going to be a wonderful fit for our family.  Here is the grand tour!

Family Room:

This room was bigger than we expected.  The previous owner had some really large furniture, and it disguised the room's actual size.  While not a huge room, it makes for a  cozy yet not too crowded living space for us.  One day we hope to replace the carpet (in this room, down the hall and in the bedrooms).  But that day is far away in the future.

Piano/Living Room:

This room will serve as our piano room, where I will teach piano lessons.  And I also want to create a sitting area/formal living room in this space.  I have big plans for this room, and I have been thinking about what I want to do and how I can do it on a budget for a long time.  The color scheme will be gray/yellow with some splashes of turquoise.  I'm thinking about putting board and batten on the walls.  I'm pretty excited to see this space when it is finished.  But it's going to take a while.  Time and money are not on our side.

Kitchen:

The kitchen is the biggest upgrade for us in this house.  Specifically the cabinets.  Our old kitchen had old, homemade cabinets that were falling apart.  We also had very little counter/cabinet space.  This kitchen has so much space!  And the cabinets are super nice.  I fit everything that I wanted to fit (in our old house we stored many things in the basement), and there are still empty shelves and cabinets!  Even though this isn't how I pictured my dream kitchen (which would look something like this), it is a super nice kitchen and I'm really excited about it.  

The kitchen is going to get a new paint color.  I have been through several different options, and I keep going back and forth.  But I think I have decided on a nice fresh green color.  (A couple of possibilities right now:  Agave or Wasabi)

Dining Room:

The dining room is also going to get a new paint color.  You can't tell very well in this picture, but the dining room walls are green.  If I paint the kitchen green, it's not going to look very good with the currently green dining room.  I think we will paint it tan, the same color as or similar to the family room walls.

Hallway:

This is the hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathrooms.  I want to do a picture collage on this big wall, but look at all the annoying boxes I have to work with:  security system, thermostat and doorbell.  Why in the world did they have to put the thermostat right in the middle of the wall?  I'm thinking I might have to put a frame around it and pretend it is just part of the decor!

Main Bathroom:

Daniel loves this color. It's a little darker in real life than in the picture. I'm not sure if it would be my first pick, but it's not too bad.  We got a new shower curtain and will be keeping the walls this color.  For now at least!

Master Bedroom:

I didn't get a very good picture of this room while it was empty.  It is not a huge room.  And the closet is covered with mirrors, which makes picture taking hard.  We're not doing much in here right now besides moving our stuff in.  I'm thinking it might get some new paint at some point in the future, but for now, everything is staying as is.

 Master Bathroom:
We have never had a master bathroom before, so this is very exciting!  Imagine being able to get up, go to the bathroom, take a shower...all without the worry of waking up a sleeping child!  Add in quiet hallways that don't squeak with every step, and we are in love with this place!

I don't have any major plans to change this room anytime soon.  I think it was redone in the past 3-4 years.  I might paint that cabinet a darker brown though.

Audrey's Room:
Audrey is definitely going to get some new paint in her room.  The wall with the window is going to be pink, and the other walls will be light gray.  She has a hot pink comforter, so there will be a lot of pink going on in this room.  I'm hoping to tame it down with some grays, black, and white, and I might throw in a little orange too. 

Isla's Room:
Isla got this room (the bigger bedroom!) because it was already painted yellow and that will match her current bedding.  So far, the girls seem to really like having their own rooms.  And since the rooms are on the same level as the main living spaces, I have found them playing in their rooms by themselves much more frequently...which I like!

Basement:
I'm pretty happy that we decided to buy a house with a basement (the first house we put an offer on did not have one).  Mostly because I am afraid of tornadoes.  But also, because it is nice to have the extra space.

 We are going to make this part of the basement an office space.

And this part will be the girls play area.  I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that large piece of storage furniture in the corner.  It came with the house, because past owners assembled it in the basement and then couldn't get it out when they moved.  I'm hoping I can try to paint it, and then use it to store dress up clothes and other toys.  It is massively huge though, and I'm still not sure how we are going to arrange everything around it and make it look good.

Other projects for the basement include painting, putting up a new ceiling (either dry wall or tile) and new light fixtures.  It is really dark down there right now, and in need of being brightened up.

The basement also has a fairly large storage area with these built in shelves.  The storage is nice, but I really want to turn this area into a finished laundry room.  SOMEDAY!

Currently the washer and dryer are in the unfinished furnace room.  I haven't tried them out yet.  They look nice, but they also look very small.  A new washer/dryer might make its way on to our to do list as well.

And the backyard is really nice.  We just bought a table and some patio chairs, and we have already enjoyed a few meals outside.  There is a hammock in the back, and the grass is really soft and nice!  The garage is also pretty big.  But it is a little scary trying to back out of the garage and down our narrow driveway!  I tried it tonight for the first time.  I didn't hit anything...but I definitely will need to practice my technique.

So that's our house.  If I have anything to say about it, we will live in this house forever.  Or at least for as long as we are in Springfield.  It will probably take forever to save enough money to do all the things on my list!

June 15: The past week

In about 36 hours, we will be homeowners again.  So exciting!

Obviously, I haven't been keeping up with the blog too regularly.  So this is going to be a super long post catching up on everything from the past week.  Then I'll be all ready for new house pictures on Monday.

While at my mom's house, Isla was kind of sickish all week.  She had some major congestion and a yucky cough.  She had some rough moments, but she also perked up a lot so she was able to participate in all the fun with the rest of us.

Here are a few pictures from playing at Nana's house.

 Aunt Elisabeth helping Isla ride the bike.

One morning we went to the library to play and go to story hour.  Here is Aunt Andrea playing grocery store with Isla and Audrey.

We also went down to the riverfront one morning, because that's what you do when you live in a small river town, I guess.  The river was still slightly flooded, and it was muddy and smelled of dead fish.  My girls were not impressed!

We also played in Aunt Elisabeth's baby pool and sprinkler.  Isla was a little unsure of the pool at first, but she quickly warmed up and had lots of fun.  (And threw a fit when it was time to get out!)

Audrey and Braxen preferred to play in the sprinkler.

One afternoon, we went to my dad and stepmom's house for a BBQ/swim party.  Grandpa and Grandma just got a new playhouse, and my girls were in love!

The big pool at Grandpa and Grandma's house wasn't ready yet, but the kids were able to swim in the hot tub (which was not on so it wasn't hot).  This was just the right size for Audrey!

Then they also had the baby pool with a slide, which was Isla's preferred pool.

Nana turned 60 while we were there!  For a present, we took this picture of the kids and had it made into a gallery wrapped canvas.

We also had a birthday party for Nana.

 Here are Nana and Papa with most of their grandkids.

One afternoon we went to Great Grandpa and Grandma's house for a picnic snack.

And here are some more pictures that I stole from my sister.

 In the end, it was a good but tiring week.  With four little kids running around, they kept us busy.  And I am really ready to be done living out of suitcases!  I'm grateful that we had this time to spend with my family though.  Next, they will all have to come visit us in our new house!!!