Weekend Favorite: Richmond Children's Museum

We liked the Richmond Children's Museum so much last year that we went again a few weekends ago. Not much new there to report on but got some cute pics of the kids.

On our way....(Fletch insisted on wearing his hat like that).

We arrived. 

 

A quick picnic lunch

Deke "cooking" me a meal in the play diner, right before he fell out of the booth and onto his face.

Fletch on a toy that is way too small for him.

The museum has free face painting every Saturday. Here's Hello Kitty Piper.

We had a terrific time, and it's great that Deke can do so much more stuff now.

Deacon's First Haircut

We decided that the new year meant that Deacon should get a new hairdo--his first haircut ever. Since he was just a few months old, Deacon has had some seriously awesome curls, but they were getting a little out of hand. Here are his before shots.

I was sad to see his curls go because we always felt like the "essence of Deke" was captured in that amazing hair. But, we brought him to Cartoon Cuts anyway. I was a little nervous going into it because Deacon doesn't usually like things like this, but he did great, even with a split lip from tripping in the play area a few minutes earlier and a bump on his forehead from a collision earlier in the day with a wall corner.

Getting a good "after" picture was like trying to take a picture of a bullet, so we don't really have one that accurately captures how handsome he looks now.

But, believe me, he still looks adorable...maybe even more adorable. And, he seems happier and like he knows that he's now a big boy. I may have shed a tear when those first locks fell to the floor but now I can't stop looking at my little handsome boy.

Pre-K Pictures

Piper and Fletch go to pre-K at a Kindercare near our house. After a TERRIBLE experience at their first preschool (Rose Hill Academy), we love this school, which they started about a year ago. They have learned so much, have so much fun, and have teachers that truly care about them.

Here are some pictures of them at school (sent home by their teachers) and some of their work from the past few months.

Fletch takes Phonics class twice a week, to help with his fine motor skills. He LOVES it.
This was his initial assessment going into the class of all that he knew.

Piper loves to draw and work on her handwriting.

I love this picture that Piper drew of herself.

 

We are so lucky that a friend referred us to Kindercare because Piper and Fletch have gotten so much out of it. These pictures are just a small sample of the things they bring home and have done for the past 12 months.

Christmas 2014

The past few weeks have been filled with joy (Christmas) and pain (bronchitis, sinus infections, chest colds, etc.) and I've fallen behind on this blog. So, in order to catch up a little bit, I'm just going to post these Christmas photos so we can then move into 2015.

Christmas Eve, turning on a DVD of Frosty the Snowman

Setting out cookies and carrots for Santa.

Hanging some final ornaments on the tree.

Christmas morning! Let the present opening mayhem begin!

Christmas day iteslf was a little chaotic with three kids tearing into gifts, no naps, lots of sugar, and new toys that needed to be put together RIGHT NOW, but it was awesome seeing the holiday through the kids' eyes. Next year will be even better when Deke is a bit more sentient to understand what's going on. 

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday season! 

Saw the Big Man

We took the kids to visit Santa yesterday at Pentagon City Mall. P&F were in complete awe. I think this will be one of the magical Christmas' for them because they are at the perfect age.

Fletch couldn't believe it when Santa said that he had seen both Planes movies and knew about Cabbie--the toy that Fletch asked for. Piper was tickled pink when Santa read the letter that she wrote him. It was pretty cool. Deke shed a few tears and then warmed up enough to Santa to not cry the entire time.

Here is the final product from the visit.

We have one smiling child, one stoic child, and one with a big, toothy grin/doing something weird with his bottom teeth--all three very excited for Christmas.

Deke: 18-months

This little guy turned 18-month yesterday. Where is the time going!?! Here are his latest stats:

Birth: 7lbs 9oz, 20.5 inches

2 weeks: 8lbs 9oz (49%), 20.25 inches (32%)
1 month: 10lbs 8oz (66%), 21 inches (31%)
2 months: 13lbs 1.6oz (70%), 23 inches (47%)
4 months: 15lbs 13oz (61%), 25 inches (46%)
6 months: 18 lbs 9oz (71%), 27 inches (68%)

9 months: 21 lbs 15oz (85%), 28.5 inches (57%)

12 months: 23lbs 1oz (76%), 29.75 inches (43%)

15 months: 25lbs 0.9oz (81%), 31.5 inches (73%)

18 months: 25lbs 11oz (71%), 32.75 inches (63%)

The doctor said, despite nursing a little cold, that he's happy and healthy. He has about 5-10 words--all of which sort of sound the same but that's normal at this age. He has also a lot of separation anxiety and stranger danger, which is also appropriate at this age. Thankfully, it also peaks at 18 months, which means at some point in the near future, I might be able to leave the room when Deke is awake. Right now, he cries big, fat tears if we even turn our back to walk out. Poor little guy.

The big thing that we're still working on is walking, but he's making a huge amount of progress. He got braces for his ankles due to his low muscle tone about a month ago. Since then, he's become much more sure of himself on his feet. And then, this happened over the weekend:

Not walking has left Deke really frustrated and cranky, so between that, having four teeth coming in, and his separation anxiety, he is pretty ornery lately. But, overall, he's my little cuddle-bug, and we love him so much. Next up for him--a haircut. That will probably be his biggest milestone yet since the essence of Deke is really captured in his crazy hair but it's getting a bit out of control.