Happy Birthday, Kendall!!!

Well...it's official. I have a 3 year old. She even had a celebration at preschool today to prove it.
Beckett and I got to bring in some cupcakes and treat bags for her class 45 minutes before class ended. We also got to stick around for the rest of the class. It was awesome to see Kendall in that environment! You would never guess it was her first day back after being out for a full two weeks.
Since it has been a pretty crazy couple of weeks, we decided to have a 'low-key' birthday celebration. Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Amy are coming over for Kendall's favorite meal; bowtie pesto pasta with chicken! We'll eat cupcakes, have ice cream, open presents and read a special letter Kendall's God-parents Emily and Sam wrote for her (they write a letter to her every year for her birthday).
I can't believe Kendall is three. Really?! Where does this time go?!
Have an amazing and happy 3rd birthday, Kendall Lynn! We are so lucky to have you in our family and in our lives! We love you so much!!


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Time Flies

In less than 1 hour I will have a 3 year old. How can this be?! I cab my little girl already be three???
The picture below is the very last picture taken of her as a two year old...
I'm so sad she's growing up so fast but I love watching her grow and learn. It's amazing. We are so blessed.



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Half way

We are half way thru our two week vacation in San Diego and it feels like we have only been here a few days! We have had so much fun already! The Hubs just got down here on Thursday and we have been so happy to have him around. He is looking forward to three games of golf this week with my dad.
So far we have done Seaworld, San Diego Zoo Safari, Legoland, Del Mar beach and lots of pool time. I took my dad and Hubs to the WSU/SDSU football game yesterday and had a great time even though we were ALL very disappointed with the Coug loss.
Over the next week we plan to do another day at Legoland and Disneyland with Kendall, along with some touristy stuff, our 4 year wedding anniversary celebration and of course golf and pool time.
I think this has been a great opportunity for Kendall to get comfortable with the water and is excited to start her very first swim lessons a few weeks after we get back.
We are having a blast and I don't want it to end! Looking forward to coming back when both kids are over 42 or 46 inches so they can do everything that we can do at all of the parks...it's hard to explain why an almost 3 year old can't go on a ride when a little boy just a teeny tiny little bit taller can.


Tired girl - fell asleep while watching a movie after a day at Legoland.


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The NFL is back!!

I am a huge football fan. Some favorite childhood memories of mine include going to Seahawks games in the Kingdome with my dad, Pa and brother.
Kendall has so far seemed to take an interest in sports/football as well - which I LOVE! hopefully Beckett will, too, and maybe he will play....he *is* the size of a linebacker after all!



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Preschool

My oh my...my baby girl is old enough to start preschool...which also means I'm old enough to have a preschooler. I'm not sure which one makes me the most sad!
Kendall went off to Miss Amy's today for her first day of preschool. Two of her best friends are also in her class, so she was VERY excited - not sad, scared, or nervous at all! We have been so busy lately with 1,000 different things that I don't think I was even able to think about and process this big change for us. (which is probably better for everyone!)
She had a blast and wants to go back on Thursday - I don't think I could ask for more!


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9 months of Beckett

Can you believe Beckett turned NINE months old on August 16? (And it's only taken me 11 days to write this update about it, too!)

These past 9 months have been amazing. He is just the sweetest little boy and I just can't imagine life without him! He is emotional but strong, stubborn but loving, and easy-going but strong-willed. (He very much has a; 'my way or the highway' type personality.) And he still has his pouty lip down to perfection. (I kid you not, he's been doing this pouty lip since the second he was born. That's the first memory I have of him ~ his pouty bottom lip! Even the doctor and nurses commented on it!)

I took him for his 9 month well visit last weekend and he's definitely still a big boy! But still very proportionate. He's 30 inches long (90-95th percentile) and 22.2 pounds (75th percentile). However, his height to weight comparison puts him in the 50th percentile...so he's tall but not fat/heavy too. But boy he sure does have some cute little rolls on his legs!

I did/do have some concerns that the pediatrician and I talked about at this appointment too...

Since Beckett has his Big Sister Kendall around, I have all of her stats/milestones written down and know pretty much off the top of my head when she did certain 'things', i.e,. clapping, sitting up, waving hello/goodbye, crawling, walking, rolling over, etc. Beckett has been behind his sister in every single item. 100%. And this worries me. Kendall was never 'early' at anything - just 'average' or 'normal', so I don't feel I have overly high expectations for Beckett on conquering milestones.

His doctor and I talked a bit about this at his 6 month checkup and we agreed to wait until 9 months to see where he's at. Well...we're here and things haven't gotten much better. Within the past month, he has just started rolling from back to tummy. Something Kendall was doing at 5 months. (I have yet to see him actually do this trick, but he's often on his tummy when he wakes up from nap - so he's obviously getting there somehow!)

Also, he is not pulling himself up to stand and is not able to go from a laying position to a sitting position. With both of these skills, 90% of kids are able to do this by 9 months. We're nowhere close.

As hard as it is to say: 'My baby may need a little help' or 'I may need a little help' to learn different exercises or activities to do with him; we are getting some help! Yay! We are lucky to live so close to a place called Encompass (in North Bend), which provides the Birth-to-Three Early Intervention assessments and individualized programs for children with delays of 25% of more in at least one area of development.

We will be having a Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist come to our house at the end of September to evaluate Beckett. I'm really looking forward to this and I (obviously) am praying nothing serious is going on, but would really love to receive tips on what I can do to get him more on track. I am hoping they come in, check him over and say, 'This kid is amazing. Nothing is wrong with him. He's just more laid back and likes to do things in his own time...BUT, here are a few things you can do to encourage him. Let us know if you have any questions.' End of story. The end. :)

So, we will see! Of course, I'll let you all know what happens! It's a HUGE bummer that we have to wait an entire month to get this done, though! Please send prayers or positive thoughts our way!

I know I am very blessed. All-in-all, I have one healthy, happy, beautiful baby boy who gives us smiles and warms our hearts every day. So, what's there to complain about?! I love you, Beckett Wayne!

Blue Angels

A couple of weeks ago, the Blue Angels came to town for SeaFair. I've always been hesitant to go watch them due to the thousands and thousands of other people who are there watching them...I've never been a fan of big crowds - especially without the Hubs - AND - alone with the kids.

But, a couple friends and their kids were going so I thought we'd give it a try.

I am so glad we did, too! We had a blast! If you haven't seen their show, it is definitely a MUST SEE! It was amazing - and from where we were at, we didn't even see the entire show, but the bits and pieces that we saw were great. I think I want to try to get on to the I-90 floating bridge next year as I think that is one of the best vantage points.
Kendall still talks about the airplanes and how they twisted and turned and were super loud!