Galyon visit

Jamie, Alex and Aubrey came down last weekend for a last minute visit.  It was SO nice to see them…but the visit was much too short!  I just wish we lived closer – I love my sis so much and the cousins have a blast together.  I hope they grow up being the best of friends, even if our visits are never often or long enough.

We wanted to take advantage of the fabulous weather, so we spent a lot of time outside.  The kids tore up the driveway on a variety of vehicles.

Alex on Ellie’s bike:

This picture is for Gaga – she loves seeing little kids on 4-wheelers!

Daddy, being the awesome daddy that he is, got up on Saturday and made pancakes with Ellie, Charlie and Alex.  And then we got to witness a Galyon girl eat her weight in pancakes – I really think that Aubrey might be a Hirst – she, Ellie and Charlie ate pancakes faster than we could get them on the plate.

A rare quiet moment:

On Saturday, we had family pictures taken for Christmas cards.  Alex didn’t want to be left out, so she got all gussied up too.

That’s one cute clown-in-training!

I want to go on record as saying that I know I’m going to coddle Keanan and he’s going to be spoiled rotten.  But look at him – can you blame me?  He’s just so darn cute!

The big kids are pretty sweet on him too!

More pictures

A lazy Saturday morning:

Hillary gave Keanan his second bottle.  It’s probably not surprising given his general affinity for food, but Keanan sucks down bottles like a champ!  Neither Ellie nor Charlie took bottles, so this is a very new thing for me.

On his two month birthday – he has discovered his tasty hands.  He’s not quite coordinated enough to be a thumb-sucker (yet), but he’s giving it his best shot!

Ellie and Charlie just love cuddling Keanan.  Unfortunately, they’re a little over enthusiastic at times, but it sure is sweet to see them all snuggled up together.

Keanan's Two Month Stats

Our little guy is two months old already! It’s just so hard to believe…especially since he’s the size of four month old. But it’s true and it seems that we’ve turned a bit of a corner – he’s crying less and smiling more – which means that I’m also crying less and smiling more. Bedtime is still a bit of a challenge because he often goes to bed before the big kids, and his big brother has NO inside voice – everything is said at full volume and repeated…a LOT! Luckily, I haven’t had to manage bedtime for all three of them on my own in a couple of weeks, and I’m hoping that we’ll somehow settle into a routine quickly.

So now the exciting stuff…

Weight

• Keanan weighs 14 lbs (88th percentile)



• Ellie weighed 12 lbs, 3 oz. (85th percentile)



• Charlie weighed 11 lbs, 9 oz (40th percentile)

Length

• Keanan is 25 inches long (95th percentile)



• Ellie was 24 inches long (95th percentile)



• Charlie was 23.5 inches long (62nd percentile)

Head

• Keanan's is in the 76th percentile



• Charlie's head was in the 59th percentile

So Keanan is the biggest Hirst baby by far, which seems to make him a better sleeper – he’ll usually sleep for a nice 9-11 hour stretch at night and will often sleep until after 8:00 a.m. – if it wasn’t for the older two who wake earlier, I would be the best rested mom of a newborn ever! He's just such a sweet little guy and there is absolutely no chance that he's not going to be spoiled rotten -- his big brother and big sister both love loving on him (sometimes a bit too enthusiastically) and Mom and Dad are smitten too. I just can't wait to see his little personality continue to develop.

Two year old problem solving

This morning, Charlie walked away from the breakfast table with a pancake.  I told him that he needed to get back up in his chair and finish eating.  He said “no” (he is really embracing this two year old thing).  I asked him if he was done and he said “no.”  I said “okay, then you need to get back in your chair and finish.”  He said “no.”  I mustered my most authoritative voice, got down on his level and said “Charlie, your options are to get back in your chair and finish your pancake, or be done.”  Charlie came up with a third option – without breaking eye contact, he slowly (pointedly, even) stuffed the entire pancake in his mouth and said “all done.”

Amimals

The other night, Ellie asked me to send Daddy in to give her an "amimal" kiss...

Me: Amimal?
Ellie: Yeah, an amimal kiss.
Me: Animal?
Ellie: Amimal.
Me: Animal?
Ellie: Amimal.
Me: Animal?
Ellie: Amimal. You know, like the farmer has amimals?

Silly Mommy.

Fall fun at the park

The weather has been so nice lately and, with Gaga and Papa here, we've been able to get out and enjoy it more than usual. I love watching the kiddos play at the park...almost as much as they love playing.

Our little rock climber...

Charlie kept telling Gaga that he was "too 'mall" to walk across the balance beam.

I asked Ellie if she wanted to swing like a spider...she's now very curious about how spiders swing, why they swing, where they swing, if they like swinging, if she can watch them swing...