Four is A Big Deal!

Brady turned 4 on September 15th.  For months and months he's been telling people "well, I'm almost 4."  Now he can finally tell people "well, I'm almost...oh, eh, I'm four!"  The birthday celebration began at school on Friday where his friends and teachers celebrated him. Mom sent along a big chocolate chip cookie cake.  Let me tell you, that cookie cake BARELY made it to class after spending the night in our house.  Mom and Dad can attest that thing is aromatic...and inviting...and tortures you with its fragrance...and calls to you from across the room.

Poppie and Grammy drove (yes, *drove*) to town to celebrate with the birthday boy.  After school we went to the swimming pool at Mom's work.  We've concluded it's not swimming weather anymore.  Not that Brady and Cate let that stand in the way.  Blue lips are in, baby!  Then we went to Mellow Mushroom for pizza and Poppie brought his "money from work" and Brady and Cate got to play the crane game.

After soccer on Saturday, we headed to the zoo.  Again, Poppie brought his money from work and got the kiddos unlimited ride tickets.  Brady rode the train FOUR times, the carousel TWICE and the jumpy house once.  He also pushed the stroller over both railroad crossings so many times, I stopped counting.  After nap we merely get ice cream at the Frosty Caboose, but  little did we know that Taste of Chamblee was in full swing.  Dodging the jumpy house there was challenging.  Sadly, I couldn't get a pic of Brady's ice cream face.

Brady's birthday had a major train theme.  His gifts included a Thomas the Train toy, engineer's hat, pop-up train book, two new Thomas the Train railroad crossings for his wooden train set, a train whistle, and a  MARTA (public train) shirt.

On Sunday we continued the birthday fun with a trip to the children's museum.  After lunch at Village Burger/Grilled Cheese Store, we bid farewell to Grammy and Poppie and the fun was over.

Unfortunately, turning four also brings with it a visit to the pediatrician.  What I didn't know, however, is that the four-year-old check up is "the big one"...or so said the nurse upon calling us back to the room.  By "big" she meant Brady would need to pee in a cup for the first time, give a blood sample, have his hearing and eyesight tested and get FOUR vaccines!!  Sheesh.  I was so unprepared for this.  But yet again, Brady did awesome and totally impressed everyone.  Granted, peeing in the cup took two tries and he did cry a bit after the vaccines.  But who wouldn't!?

Here are the stats from Brady's visit:

Height:  40.25 in (49th percentile)
Weight:  37 lbs 3 oz (61st percentile)
Blood Pressure:  82 / 54

Brady received the MMR (Measles, Mumps, & Rubella) vaccine, Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, Flu vaccine and the Kinrix vaccine (Polio and DTaP combination).

Off To A FALL-tastic Start!

Helllooo (which reminds me of the Scholastic's "Bookflix" version of Bark George...but I digress).  Fall is upon us.  The kiddos have started at a new school and Fall extracurricular activities are in full swing.  Cate is in the 3-day 2's preschool class with Mrs. Lisa and Miss Jenn.  Brady is in the 5-day 3's class (missed the birthday cutoff of September 1st) with Mrs. Guzman and Mrs. Davis.  Their first days have gone great.  I have yet to see a tear or hear a whine at drop-off.

Brady next to his cubby and Thomas the Train backpack and lunch box.

Cate by her cubby, "Punzel" backpack and lunch box.

On Saturday mornings, Brady is #11 on the Kickaroos soccer team, the Chicken Nuggets.  He plays with his old friends from Primrose School (Ella, Ryan H, Ryan C and Andrew).  Thanks to the 8:30am game time, we get to stick to our weekly morning schedule of waking up at the crack of dawn and running around like idiots to get clothes on, shoes on, teeth brushed, cereal gobbled and lukewarm-coffee slurped.  Once we get to the field it is quite possible that Cate runs around on the sidelines just as much as Brady does on the field.  By 9:30am we are all sweaty and tired. 

Brady being coach by Coach Neil.

Cate is in gymnastics class on Thursday mornings.  She totally loves it!  Running! Bouncing! Climbing! Swinging! Flipping!  Man, she does it all!  I wish she could do it everyday because it really tires her out.  Lucky, Coach Dani is very patient and seems happy to corral Cate back with her class every time she wanders off.  Afterward, Cate and I have lunch together (and usually watch the songs from Tangled) and then go pick up Brady via carpool.  Brady loves carpool!

Four Months of Mayhem!

Oh, the excitement we've had!  Since our last post there have been many changes to our lives.  I cut back work to a part-time schedule (15 hours a week!) with Financial Discovery Group and Cate and Brady bid farewell to their beloved Primrose School.  The kiddos had their first real summer at home and Mom enjoyed a four-day weekend.  Then the kids started at their new school after Labor Day, and I do believe they're enjoying it so far.  Here's a quick recap of our summer highlights (and the tail end of the spring):

Classic Cate. "Heh-Tah"!

May 14th was Cate's second birthday.  Grammy and Poppie came to visit.  We went to the zoo and...didn't see a single animal.  It was all zoo train and carousel.  We also had lunch at "Grilled Cheese Store" (a.k.a. Village Burger).

Our Order Number was "2"! Perfect!

Come for the lollipop, stay for the bloodwork.

May 22 was Cate's two year check up at the doctor.  Here were the stats:

Height: 33 inches (81st percentile)
Weight: 22 lbs 10 oz (23rd percentile)
Head: 48 cm (84th percentile)

So...I think she's taking after her dad at this point.

And let us take a moment for the three-times dearly departed, Lady - whom Cate called "mi-lady".  I've given up on replacing that friend, and thankfully the Disney Store can't restock them quick enough to tempt me.

The first week in June was our annual Wright Family reunion trip to Hilton Head.  Everyone is getting SO BIG!  We had a bit of rainy weather but we didn't let it slow us down!  Who says you can't go to the beach when it's cloudy and raining?!  Nobody in the Wright family!  Again we stayed in Sea Pines - this year on Green Herron Road.

So happy after Daddy "hits" him in the waves.

Brady and Cate had swim class this summer.  Brady's new challenge was swim class without Mom or Dad in the pool with him.  He didn't like it so much.
But a doughnut afterword usually made him feel better.  Cate loved her class, which Mom did with her.  She often wanted to stay well after class was done.  Her favorite part was throwing the little squirty toys in the water and swimming to them.  That girl loves to float on her back, too.  I think she likes when her ears are under water and everything gets quiet.

Brady gave up his nap this summer.  Thankfully, he transitioned well into "quiet time" - because God knows Mom and Dad need quiet time everyday.  And congratulations to Brady and Cate for giving their paci's away to their new baby cousin, Sylas Levin!  Such a big boy and a big girl!  Surprisingly, Brady did just awesome without his paci.  He earned that big boy room in a big way!  Brady moved into his big boy room (formerly the guest room) this summer and Dad painted the walls blue with 3 stripes of green and orange (Brady's 3 favorite colors).  We moved his train table up there, which has made quiet time very attractive to the big boy.  Cate took some time to part with paci.  But she's taken well to a great new bedtime schedule and she now knows how to calm herself down to sleep without paci.  It took pretty much all summer to accomplish.  We are so proud of them!  And the goodbye paci party was pretty fun, too. 

Northbrook Days Tilt-A-Whirl: Aunt Holly is Mommy's Hero!

Brady went to the dentist for the first time and did awesome!  The nice doctors and hygienists played "Up" for him while he sat in the chair.  Grams and Bubba came to stay while Mommy visited new baby Sylas in Scottsdale.  We visited the pool at Mommy's work many times, visited the zoo and the children's museum many times.  We had a wonderful visit at Grammy & Poppie's house where we spent time with Greaty, Aunt Holly, Hazel & Jake, Uncle Jason, Aunt Ronnee, Uncle Matt, Layla and baby Sylas.  The kiddos got to enjoy Mom's old stomping ground at Northbrook Days.  I didn't have the chance to play the gum game.  *tears*  We went to Hilton Head again for my birthday and visited Amicalola State Park over Labor Day.  Phew!  I'm exhausted just recapping the summer!  

Stay tuned for the back to school report!

Obsessions

At Primrose School, Brady creates beautiful artwork daily.  Often the teachers frame up the artwork with a topic, the children draw and then the teachers ask the students to answer a question related to the topic - and their picture.  For instance, the topic is "the ocean".  The child draws and the teacher asks "[Child's name], if you lived in the ocean, what would you do?"  Some children, I imagine, would respond along the lines of "swim with the fishes", or "splash and play" or "be a dolphin and jump around."  But not our Brady.  Here's Brady's answer:

We have noticed a significant trend in Brady's artwork.  The first couple times was interesting.  Now it's just funny and awesome.  Let's see if you can catch on.  Would you say Mr. Brady is just a little obsessed?  Yes?  So do we!

A Daily Update

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it, but I watched a lot of "Malcolm In The Middle" while on maternity leave with Brady.  I don't want to forget that, so I'm writing it down (perhaps, again).

Here's a quick update on our daily routine:


Mom - up super (some may say "insanely") early - either taking Emma for a walk or huffing and puffing up the rolling hills of Georgia.  I call this "jogging".  The average person would disagree.


Mom - suggests the children wake up and start their day.  Cate usually agrees.  Brady rarely does.


Cate - and Eventually Brady - eat their breakfast at "little table" on the carpet in front of Curious George.  This is an attempt to keep Cate seated for more than 1.5 minutes and hopefully trick her into eating more than 1.5 bites of cereal.  Cate usually has "Daddy's cereal" which is Cinnamon Life to the rest of you.  Brady is currently requesting Frosted Rice Krispies.  Both children need to be reminded to eat.  But they listen.  They love their vitamins and always want more than the recommended amount.  MMMMM mmm, they are good.  Excuse me while I go grab mine.


Mom - dresses children while their eyes are still glued to the TV.  Brady usually fusses about the shirt I pick out.  Emma cleans up dropped cereal mush from the table and carpet.  This is essential to our home not drowning in kid mush.  I love it. I encourage it.  I direct it.


Dad - emerges from the steamy bathroom and helps with the brushing of the teeth.  Mom manages to put both shirt and pants on.  This is a feat in itself.  At daycare I always want to congratulate fellow moms and dads in their daily accomplishment of donning pants.


WOOSH - somehow children make it into "white car" usually with a microwave pancake and a toy, Mom finds shoes and hot coffee, Dad finds Diet Coke, Billy usually gets his pain pill.  Off to school and work.  I drive the kids to school.  This week we've been listening to "Lion King Song" on repeat.  I'm happy to be off "Cars 2 song" for a while - though "You Might Think" by The Cars *is* a really great song.  That darn "Circle of Life" still hits me deep in my core.  It must be the crescendo. 


Work...boring. No summary for you!


Dad picks up Brady and Cate in grey car.  They like the windows rolled down on the way home.  Baby Cate loves her take home snack from school ("Nack! Nack!").  Roughly 30% of it makes it into her mouth.  Meanwhile back on the ranch, I'm RACKING MY BRAIN deciding what to prepare the children for dinner.  Seriously, it's like brain surgery for me.  If I manage to prep one frozen and two canned side items, I am filled with a warm and fuzzy, good-Mommy feeling. 

If it's bath night, Mom and Dad take a deep breath and head upstairs. If it's not bath night, Mom and Dad take a deep breath and watch the kids play train table.  Brady and Cate put jammies on, grab their pacis (dang it!) and we watch 3-4 Bookflix on Mom's computer.  Currently, they're requesting "Bugs Bugs Bugs," "apple tree" and "chicka chicka boom boom."  Last week it was "Danny and the Dinosaur" and "Max and the Chocolate Chicken" (Easter theme).  This week has been rocky with the babies going to sleep.  Perhaps it has been the thunderstorms, perhaps it's due to their new sleeping arrangements (we just took down Cate's pack n play and moved their beds around).  Either way, they have requested - no, freaked out about Mom or Dad staying upstairs with them. "Mama, lay on floor!"  Both have been popping out of bed at lest once at night. They're easily put back to slumber, but that darn creaky floor makes it hard for Mom to escape undetected.  At least the floor is comfortable and seems good for my back.

Learning Language

Both Brady and Cate love to talk! Brady more

or less narrates his whole day ("I put my paci in my mouth," "I hold your shoulder, I don't hold your head.") He is very expressive with his emotions: "I am upset with you!" - which is said while he has his face scrunched up and his brow furrowed. He is also using the word "stupid" a lot this week. We try to remind him that it's a nasty word and he sounds like a nasty boy when he says it. He retorts "it's not a nasty word." Very smart, this boy. He is also trying to convince me that donuts are not special - so that we can go to Dunkin Donuts every day on the way to school.

And Cate is a whiz already with the language. She is stringing 3 and 4 words together: "not working, mama" or "don't want it, mama." She is a parrot! She will repeat nearly everything you say, right after you say it. She is committed!

As Brady and Cate learn English there are some pretty funny word interpretations, pronunciations and combinations that evolve. Here are some of our favorites parts of their vocabularies:

Brady:

Daddy's Cereal for the New Year = Frosted Rice Krispies (in December they were known as "Daddy's Cereal for Christmas")
Daddy's Cereal = Cinnamon Life

Lightming NaQueen

Grilled Cheese Store = Village Burger

Biscuit Store = Flying Biscuit

Pizza Store = Mellow Mushroom

Donut Store = Dunkin' Donuts

Restaurank = Taco Mac
"Put my blanket on me and spread it."

"It takes time."

Old McFarnul = Old MacDonald

Lemolade = lemonade
"Cars 2, that's my favorite movie."

"Blue, that's my favorite color I ever seen before in my life!"

Cate:

Brah-eee = Brady

Tate = Cate

Rah-eee = Lovey

Eee-pop = lollipop

Scoop Scoop = scoot scoot, which describes how she gets down the stairs

Faffle = waffle

Dat one, Dah-ee Cereal = "I want that one, Daddy's Cereal (Cinnamon Life)"

Tommee = Thomas the Train

Dat one, Lion King = Lion King (the movie), or any lion.

Happy Moon = "Happy Birthday Moon"

Ha-y-dir-dog = "Harry the Dirty Dog"

Cah-Milk = chocolate milk

Appo JEEU-ce = apple juice

Simp = chimp (as in "Wonder Pets Save the Baby Chimp")

Sink = chink (the sound glasses make when you toast) = "Cheers"

No dah-eee

"Dirry diapuh, yuck!" = umm...you can figure that one out.

"Runnee runnee!" = "Look at me everyone, I am running!"

Bahye-let = Violet

By-mins = Vitamins