Going to the Country Gonna Eat a Lot of Peaches

Just like the song suggests, we went to the country on Saturday and ate a lot of peaches at an awesome place--Ham's Orchard.  While the peaches are delicious, the peach ice cream is to die for!  Grace, however, opted for strawberry, which was also very good.  Ella insisted on feeding herself with NO assistance.  She got super sticky, but had fun (which is all that matters, right?). Sweet Sutton slept the whole time and didn't even wake up at the sound of the two trains that passed by.  Seriously, the railroad tracks are about 20 feet in front of the porch, and those trains were L-O-U-D!  It was the first time the girls had seen a real train, and it was the first time we've seen actual fear in Ella's eyes.  She panicked the first time, even dropping her ice cream.  The second time, Travis was holding her, and she buried her head in his chest and kept patting him on the shoulder.  Overall, it was a fun trip, and we left with a delicious bag of peaches.  I think we'll be stopping by again before the summer is over.

3 Weeks

Wow!  This week flew by so quickly, and Sutton is three weeks old today!  Still more of the same--lots of sleeping, lots of nursing, and lots of diaper changing.  But, his awake periods are getting longer, and we're getting to see his blue eyes more (although I'm not counting on them staying blue because Grace's changed from blue to green at 18 months, and Ella's have gone from blue to green to brown).  

We've continued to blend Sutton right into our normal routine.  On Sunday, we went to church and he slept right through the service.  He also slept through lunch at Babe's afterwards.  Then, he tagged along to the Wiggly Play Place on Monday, swimming lessons on Tuesday, the splash park on Wednesday and dinner at Ojeda's tonight.  I love being able to take him everywhere!

Lounging in his rocker

Sweet little face

His long legs crack me up

End of Year at Emler

Today was the girls' last day of swimming lessons this semester at Emler.  We've seen huge improvements over the last several months.  Grace is swimming half the length of the pool and has learned how to really use her arms to propel her.  Her little body is so light that she's pretty fast!  Ella is so comfortable in the water and now likes to hang on the edge of the pool. She can hold her breath for at least 10 seconds swimming underwater.  I'm hoping they won't regress too much over the summer without formal lessons, but I'm thinking we should get lots of swim time in (if only I can get them to practice their skills).  

Getting ready to hit the pool

Being shy

Showing off her kickers

What is this face?

Hanging on

Goggle face

Fun with Daddy

An attempted group shot

Sleepy Sutton (he was not impressed by the pool)

The shoe thief

Love These

My dad took these pictures of Grace laughing at something Murse said.  I just love them because they show Grace's silly personality...

Little Mama

Sweet Ella.  Only 18 months old and already a big sister.  It's a role we weren't anticipating for her so soon, but I must say that she's done WAY better than expected.  She hasn't shown any signs of jealousy during the past two weeks.  Instead, she's very attentive to Sutton and is always "mothering" him.  Because she's been waking up earlier than Grace, Travis brings her into our room each morning.  She greets me and Sutton with a huge smile and can't wait to give kisses to both of us.  Earlier this week, she even said, "Hi, Sutton!"  When he cries, she tells him, "Shhh, Baby!  It's okay!"  She's constantly offering him her food and drinks.  She searches for his paci and tries to put it in his mouth (it's really more of a shove, but she's getting better). She kisses his head at least 100 times a day.  It's overwhelmingly cute and touching to see this side of her!

Here she is after dinner one night.  She was finished and decided to pull up a stool and watch Sutton in his swing.  When he started crying, she looked at us like, "What am I supposed to do now?"  Grace even stepped in to try to calm him down.  When that didn't work, the girls decided to love on each other.  It's quite apparent that our baby boy has three mamas :)

Ella's 18-Month Stats

Ella had her 18-month checkup today.  She was very excited about getting to go somewhere with Mommy, although Sutton tagged along because we weren't sure when he was going to be hungry. 

Ella seemed to remember the doctor's office this time, and she had fun playing with their toys.  

Sutton did this...

No tears on the scale!

Super pumped about getting stickers

Showing off her big sister skills for Dr. D

Here are her stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 14 oz (less than 5th percentile)

Height: 31 1/4 in (35th percentile)

Head: 18 in (25th percentile)

Arboretum Pictures

About two weeks before Sutton was born, we had pictures taken at the Arboretum, as we do every spring.  Here are some of my favorite family shots, as well as Ella's 18-month and Grace's 3 1/2-year pics...

2 Weeks

Sutton is two weeks old!  He continues to be a sweetheart, and we feel so blessed.  He's eating every 2-3 hours and sleeps well most nights (and always well during the day).  He's not a huge fan of the paci, but he's getting better about taking it when he's upset.  During the past week, he got his belly button and his other part healed up.  He did great during lots of outings--to the park, Jake's, Ojeda's and Target.  And, he continues to enjoy all the kisses from his sweet sisters.

I took him in for his his 2-week checkup today, and Dr. Dreiling said he was healthy and "a very relaxed and calm 2-week-old."  This is apparently a good sign, and Dr. D expects it to continue.  I'm praying for that!  Here are Sutton's 2-week stats:

Weight: 7.7 lbs (20th percentile)

Length: 20 3/4 in (50th percentile)

Head: 14 1/4 in (25th percentile)

He's still bigger than his sisters, as they were in the 5th and 1oth percentiles at this age!

Barnyard Stomp

Today, Grace had her very first dance recital.  Because there are only four girls in her class and because they're so young, the recital was pretty informal.  They held it at the dance studio and it only lasted about 20 minutes, but we were so proud of all the cute little dancers.  And, Travis and I were proud of Sutton, who slept through the whole thing and didn't make a peep. I'm sure he'll have loads of fun at all the recitals he'll have to attend for his two sisters! 

Grace really impressed us with her ability to remember the routine.  Her poor dance teacher, Miss Bessie, broke her foot last weekend, so she couldn't perform with them and just had to sit back and direct.  It was so neat to see the girls do their warm up and then dance the "Barnyard Stomp."  For part of the routine, the girls had to sing, and Grace was by far the loudest!  Miss Bessie called Grace "a natural," and she's definitely built like a dancer.  I'm so glad she enjoyed dance this year, and I know she was proud of herself at the end of the recital.  I can't wait for next year!

Getting ready for the show

4 little dancers

Warming up

Remembering her moves

Still going

Thank you, Miss Bessie

Flowers for our tiny dancer

Proud papa

Proud mama

A celebration lunch of calamari (her favorite)