August Update

Hey Everyone!

It's been a bit over two months and a lot has been happening in the Carroll household. Here it goes:


June- Josh and I celebrated Father's Day with his grandmother and father which the kids loved. They got to play with Pop Pop and Great Mom Mom and we all enjoyed a yummy dinner which Josh made (he insisted!). We also attended two weddings this month both of which were a blast!




July- We spent the 4th of July at my Grandmother's with my dad's family which was a ton of fun. The weather was cooler and it did rain but cleared up later on that day. Mia and Keegan got to play with their second cousins and slept very well that night!
Patsy and Bella came to visit us this month for a week. We had so much fun with them and glad that we got to spent the 4th with them also. We can't wait to visit them in CO soon!


Miss Mia turned 4 on July 14 and we spent the day at the pool and made a bday cake too. She got to open up her gifts from us and loved the butterfly suncatcher, the colorblast book and the princess CD which she loves dancing too! We then took her out for her bday with my mom and our good friends, the Parkers, at Red Robin. Mia was sang to and got a yummy bday ice cream for dessert along with balloons. It was fun! We continued the celebration on July 25th at my parents for a double bday party for the kids. It was a great time!





August- We celebrated yet another double bday party for the kids here at the house with friends and some family. The kids had a blast in the blowup pool, the sprinkler and bounce house. We had about 30 people/kids and it was a great day to have an outdoor party. Mia and Keegan loved their colorful cake and so did mommy! It was soooo good!! The kids got lots of gifts including makeup (thanks Erika!), t-ball set, letter blocks, Lincoln logs, games, an easel board which they love, trucks, cars, princess stuff...LOTS! Thanks to those who came!
The following weekend we went to the Peach Festival here in town which was fun but it was way too hot. We met up with some friends, Mia got her face painted, we ate some festival food and got some ice cream...it was a fun day!
Finally, we had some friends over for Keegan's real 2nd bday on Aug. 24th and had celebrated with some cake and ice cream...oh and drinks too! I couldn't not have cake and ice cream on his real bday...it's like a rule!


MR KEEGAN
All has been going well with Keegan over the past couple months. He has improved in his vocabulary (started repeating words a lot more right around his actual bday), learning to share a tad bit better, still loves cars, trucks, pushing things and loves loves riding on his lawn mower, rocket and fire truck. He loves playing with Mia, and Pop Pop (screams with excitement when he sees him!!) coloring, loves the color blue (actually every color to him is blue!), playing dress up with Mia...it's just too cute to see them play together especially when they play hide and seek. He'll hide where Mia tells him to...it's priceless! Keegan's also a good traveler (thank god!) and sometimes doesn't even nap on the 3 hour drive up to my parents! He's a trooper and just seems to enjoy the car rides...especially when there are snacks involved!





Weight/Height
Keegan had his 2 year old baby well appt on Aug. 25th and his stats were: Weight = 27.10 lbs, 95% tile ( he hasn't gained weight since his last checkup and most likely due to him not being a good eater until lately. He did grow too so that could be why he hasn't gained.) Keegan is 2 1/2 to 3 lbs lighter than Mia was at 2...and I thought he was the bigger kid! She was taller though from what I remember. Height = 36 1/2 inches, 50% tile (grew three inches since his 18 month appt).



Eating
As of lately, Keegan has been eating very well. Before that, he was such a picky eater. He would hardly eat what we gave him and we'd end up making something else for him which he didn't eat much of any way. Now as of the last week or so, he is eating very well and we were very surprised. One night he ate most of what we gave him for dinner and wanted more! :) Mia wasn't as picky of an eater as Keegan was but like they say, each child is different and I am living proof!

Sleeping
Keegan's a pretty good sleeper still thank god but his naps have been off since last week or so. Even though he wouldn't nap long, he'd still be this happy little guy! Must take after mommy? :) I think his shorter naps were due to his bottom teeth coming in. He seems to be doing better and has been napping about 2 hours since yesterday.




MISS MIA
Well Mia turned 4 on July 14th and I just couldn't believe my baby girl was 4! :( Seems like yesterday I was holding her for the first time. Where does the time go? Mia is such a happy little girl and loves to sing, dance, play with her MANY animals, dress up loves playing with Keegan and beating on him at times (haha), is good at helping me out when I need something and great at going potty and brushing her teeth/getting dressed by herself. That helps me out a ton! She also loves to read books especially at night and her favorite book lately has been the Water Hole...such a cute book! Keegan loves it too! She also loves to "sleep and sing" which entails her and me singing and then I "pretend" to sleep by her for a few minutes. It's cute! Mia also loves going to the beach, funland, swimming and playing in the sand! She basically loves life like her mommy!

Naps
Well naps are pretty much extinct now-a-days and I am lucky if I get one nap out of her once a week! She always tells me that she doesn't need to nap b/c she is older. Too cute! Usually she is pretty good at keeping busy while Keegan naps so that way I can get things done. I tend to go back and forth w/ playing with her and doing my "mom" duties which works well. She'll even tell me that she's tired at times but still won't nap. If I try, she'll just play in her room and then eventually scream for me. Plus, even if she does nap, she won't fall asleep at night until like 10 or so. One night it was 1030! Kind of just makes it worth not napping b/c she'll go right to bed around 7-730 depending on when we get finished with dinner and the bedtime routine. I'll take what I can get though! She does sleep like 11- 12 hours at night so I can't complain!

Stats
Mia has ber 4 year old appt on Sept. 30th and I'm guessing she is about 35 lbs and 43 inches or so. She is pretty tall for her age! Just a guess though!

Haircut
Mia finally got her first haircut about a month ago and did very well! She didn't want to sit in the chair at first but once she found out she can have a lollipop, she went in it! :) We got about two inches off and her hair definitely is curlier!



Pre-K
Mia started her first day of Pre-K today and loved it! She is going to the same school as last year which is nice b/c it's so close! Mia was clingy at first, but eventually let go and colored with her boyfriend Noah. I didn't much feedback from her teachers though which was a bummer and am hoping I don't have to pull teeth to find out how she is doing. Her teacher last year was awesome and we really miss her!


MOMMY AND DADDY
Josh and I are doing well and love our kids so much! I never knew what ppl meant when they said that two kids are a handful until I had mine! haha!! They are a handful but nothing that I can't handle. I enjoy every day I get to spend at home with them and Josh is happy that he can work at home where he can see his kids any time he wants to! They are true blessings!

Since our last update, we celebrated our bdays. Josh turned 32 and shortly after him, I turned the big 3-3! I had a great night out with my close friends and couldn't have asked for better girls to spend it with! Thanks guys! I'm definitely going to miss you! I have also done a 5K since my last update and ran a 8:18 pace! I was stoked! Go me!





As many of you know, we are heading back to Folsom, Cali where lived for almost 7 years. It's been a bit over two years since we moved and we miss it a ton. We are very excited to be moving back West since it is where we want to be and where our hearts are. Josh and I do love being closer to family and friends here in DE and have met some really good friends whom we are going to miss a lot. We look forward to starting a new chapter in our lives and pray that our house sells quicker than we think so we won't be apart for too long! It's all in God's hands! Until our next update, I hope you are enjoy your days as much as we do!

June Update

Our Bimonthly Update

April- The kids had a great Easter at my parents, loved the many Easter egg hunts we had and all the candy the bunny brought! Thank god the Easter candy is out of our house! We also got to enjoy the week with Patsy and Bella. Keegan loves saying "lella" and tackling her. It was really too cute!
May- I got to have some "me" time with my sister and some friends in VA for Apple Blossom weekend. It was a ton of fun and I can't wait to do it again! Then I hosted a Mother's Day brunch which was a lot of fun and the day was gorgeous! We also enjoyed Memorial Day weekend up at my parents house. The weather was so nice and the kids had a ton of fun hanging out with G & G and Uncle Paulie. Finally, Josh and I got to have a night out w/o the kids (thanks Paulie for sitting!) the last weekend in May and attended a couple's shower which was a lot of fun. We also went to the Phili zoo that day (w/ Uncle Paulie). The kids had a great time at the zoo and although we walked a lot, Mia did very well w/o a stroller.







June- we have two weddings to go and can't wait for either of them! It's going to be a lot of fun! Gotta love weddings! We also have Josh's 32nd bday coming up. My hubby is catching up to me!


OUR LITTLE FAMILY

Keegan
Mr. Keegster (as Mia still says) is now 21 months old and is so much fun! He loves to run around in his shoes (which he is obsessed with!) with the mini riding John Deere Lawn Mower (loves loves loves it! They both do!) and Mia chasing him. It's really funny to see. They both fight over it. He also loves to throw food still and yes I am always cleaning the floors! He also loves to build and stack like big sis Mia. Keegan just loves Mia too and calls her "Mimi". He loves to play at the Y and kiss little girls...and tackle them too which is another obsession of his. He likes tackling cats, dogs and babies...oh and he is obsessed with babies too. :) Every time he sees a baby, he goes "baby baby" and wants to hug and tackle. It's priceless! Some other things Keegan likes/loves are: *watching Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, Blue's Clues, Max and Ruby, Mickey...anything that Mia is watching! *suck thumb and rub belly button or stick his hand down his pants :) *climb on the sectional which I'm always getting his down off of *pull out plugs (now he says boo boo when he sees one :) ) *wear shoes!!! *push/ride play lawn mower *tackle animals and babies (love it!) *running and squealing with Mia when they run around in her room before bed *mommy, daddy, kitty, doggy and big sis Mia!

Weight/Height Keegan is probably near 35 inches and maybe 28 lbs. Mia weighed close to 29 lbs at 22 months and was right around 35-36 inches so he's right along the same measurements as his big sis.

Words Keegan can say Mama, Mommy, Daddy, Mimi, Nana, Pop Pop, Gama (grandma), titty (kitty:)), puppy, ball, nose, eye, car, truck, baby, light, shoe, sock, cheese, ma (milk), juice, lella (bella), that, it's the car (started saying that on 4-10), what's that?, please, thank you, hi, bye, nose, gum, it's mine, mon mower (lawn mower), blue and new. He is repeating words a lot more in these past few weeks and can say roughly about 40 words. Mia at his age said about 50-60 words.

Sleep
Keegan sleeps okay at night. As of a month ago, he has not been going down easily for us. He'll cry, fuss and we'll let him go a bit then go up and rock or give him some milk. He is still not going down well and it usually takes him an hour to fall asleep. I think teeth may be to blame but so far none have poked through. Keegan does sleep well for his naps thankfully. He'll nap anywhere from 2 1/2- 3 1/2 hours! I love it! He is by far a better napper than Mia ever was. She however was a better sleeper at night when she was a baby. Not sure which I'd rather....hmmm probably the nighttime sleeping!

Eating
Keegan is a picky eater unlike Mia at this age. She ate pretty well. He loves to eat Kashi cereal bars, cereal, toast, grapes, strawberries, Costco spinach ravioli (it is so good!), all natural Tyson chicken nuggets, milk (he doesn't drink a lot (less than 10 oz a day) but eats a lot of yogurt and cheese), cheese, yogurt, cheese puffs (all natural Cheetos...they are good!), gerber turkey sticks, waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, Annie's all natural choc chip bunnies, fishies, pretzels and couscous (he had his first tonight and both kids loved it). He'll definitely tell us if he does not want something by either pushing it away and shaking his head no or just launching it. :)

Hair Cut
Keegan had his 2nd hair cut on May 25th at my parent's place. My dad got his hair with the flowbee and Keegan loved it! He did so well!





Miss Mia
Mia is 3 1/2 and will be turning 4 on July 14th. I can't believe it! When I ask her what kind of bday party she wants, she says Backyardigans. Cute! I think we are going to do a combo party with Keegan this year to make it easier on us. :)



Mia's last day of school was two weeks ago and she had so much fun there especially at their end of school year party. She and Keegan just loved the bouce houses!! She is very active and loves to play with her legos or popsicles as she calls them. She also loves to play dress up, watch her shows with Keegan, suck her two fingers (still!), go potty by herself and shuts the door, sleep with quack quack and oink oink (aka, dog toys that mommy got them for Easter. They were in the kids area and I thought they were cute! Didn't think about the dog toy factor), sing Wheels on the bus before bed and run around in her room with Keegan. Mia also likes to cling on to me at the gym when I put her in childcare. She does it to be silly and it's been doing on since Jan (at school too). She loves it there though and the workers are great! I love it too! :) Miss Mia also likes the water and gets so excited about going in a wading pool or through a sprinkler. She is taking swim lessons next week with Josh and I am sure she is going to love it!




Sleep/Nap Miss Mia doesn't like to nap and only usually naps 2 times a week if that. If I let her go w/o a nap for more than 4 days, she'll definitely nap but won't fall asleep until 10pm or so. If she doesn't nap, she'll go to bed by 730 or earlier depending on when we get finished with dinner and baths.


MOMMY AND DADDY
Well it's been two years since we've migrated back east (Memorial Day weekend of 07). I can't believe how fast it went by? We do like it here but still miss the west and do want to migrate back. We have no idea when though...maybe by year's end? Who knows though. We are content for now though and just love the awesome friends we have here!

Josh and I are enjoying the kids as they get bigger. My days are very busy with them (in a good way) with going to the Y in the mornings, to lunch, to naps, to playing outside, to parks, to playgroups, to visiting our parents, hanging out with friends, to running errands, to more playing...it's endless, but a ton of fun! Josh still works from home and gets off of work by 6ish. He has taken up swimming at the Y within these last couple months and loves to get his exercise in. I also go to the Y and enjoy my morning workouts there. I also feel great after a good workout! We are also enjoying the warmer weather (finally!) although this rain has got to go!


We are gearing up for two weddings this month which should be a ton of fun! Patsy, Bella and Kieran are also coming in for the wedding at the end of this month and the 4th, so it is definitely going to be blast! Can't wait! We hope you all have a great 4th of July and until next time (Aug 4th), happy summer!

Love, Cathy, Josh, Mia and Keegan