Big Night Tonight

We've hit another major milestone here for the Henderson Family! Tonight Delaney "graduates" from preschool. Yeah, nowdays they have graduation from preschool to kindergarten. I think it's a very neat thing they do...it's kind of a right of passage. She'll be going to a new (big) school, riding a bus, going to school alone (right now I walk them to/from school), and she'll go for longer than 2 1/2 hours just two days a week.

These are the things that bring tears to my eyes. I'm such a sap when it comes to my kids, I can't help it. I can't believe that little, tiny, dark-haired, red-skinned baby that came 15 days before we expected and ended up in NICU for 3 days is now 5 1/2 years old, graduating from preschool, and becoming a big kid. She's so independent that it makes me proud and sad at the same time. I am very proud of her. She's a very polite, curious child who loves to play out in the mud and rain, isn't scared of thunderstorms, yet screams and cries when she thinks a bee is near her. She is so smart and funny, yet she takes things very personally. She likes to be the boss and have things her way, but she's very supportive and loving to her family and friends. I think she'll do great at Grand Prairie next year, although I'll bawl my eyes out on August 25th when she gets on that bus and rides away.

So Sad...So Fast!

It makes me so sad how quickly our three girls are growing! I mean...Delaney is starting kindergarten in just THREE months! And Kate just finished her first year of preschool. YIKES!

I don't know if I realized it with Delaney. I was always so excited about her next stage...rolling over, sitting up, walking, talking, clapping, etc. I didn't sit back and enjoy the moment enough. Well, I'm making up for that with Rowena...but I have to say, I'm sad to see how big she's getting already. I do love how much she responds to me, Peter, and her sisters. She's so smiley and happy. She has a nice routine down too. Gets up around 8am, all smiles and ready for the day...or at least for 1 1/2-2 hours. She has her breakfast and plays for a while (by playing, I mean laying at her kick-n-whirl carnival, hanging in her swing, "talking" with mommy, or in her exersaucer), then she's ready for a 1/2 hour nap. Then she's up for about 4 hours, when she starts to get fussy again. She takes another nap, for about an hour or so. Then she's in a good mood again until about 5:30-6 or so, when she gets tired. She takes another 1/2 hour nap gets up, eats, and is in bed around 8pm.

Delaney and Kate continue to be great big sisters...playing with Rowe, holding her, talking to her, and loving her. I need to take more videos! It's been too long. I'll do that this weekend and week.

Things she's doing now...at (almost) THREE MONTHS OLD...

--coo'ing

--smiling like crazy

--burping (such a gassy baby)

--enjoying "playtime"--bouncy seat, swing, kick-n-whirl carnival, exersaucer

--strong legs, likes to stand

--loves to be held, but only if she's facing outwards--she's a nosey parker like her biggest sis.

--responding to voices and sounds

--loves diaper changes

--loves bathtime

--hates being held in the cradle hold-unless eating

--hates being held toward your shoulder

Rub-a-dub-dub...Three Henderson Girls in a TubFirst time in the exersaucer.

Delaney and Katie couldn't wait for her to play in here!

Napping on Dr. Dermer's couch...pretty in pink and supporting the Cubbies

Solo Trip to the Zoo

Yesterday I decided to take the girls to the zoo, solo. It was beautiful out and we didn't have much to do. I laid down some rules before going--1. No whining, 2. No fighting, 3. Stay by Mommy, 4. Listen to Mommy the first time, and 5. No running. They were told that if the rules were broken, we would leave the zoo--first offense. I had a feeling it would be too difficult to try giving them warnings and such and so figured it would just be easier to just give them their warning ahead of time. Well-they did GREAT! Even when I told them "no" to the carousel. I was very proud of them, and promised them we would go often. In fact, next time we'll get to play longer at the park and I'll bring their swimsuits so play in the splash pad by the penguins. Thanks to my beautiful daughters for behaving SO well...especially since the zoo was very, very crowded!

Ready for a day at the zoo...Enjoying lunch...Climbing on the animals...

Kindergarten Open House

Delaney's "new" school held a Kindergarten Open House on Thursday night. Lucky for us, we have great neighbors who called us to remind us...THANKS VICKI AND JIM! I took Delaney over to Grand Prairie for a tour of her new school. I can't tell you how excited she was. She barely spoke, was in awe, and was super giddy. She just wasn't acting like herself. I think she was a bit overwhelmed, but also very excited. I have a feeling I'll be BAWLING on August 25th. Pete has already promised to take the day off...

At the front entrance and welcome sign...Ready for the bus tour...SOOO excited to finally be on a bus!In one of the kindergarten classrooms...seeing a picture of SpencerIn the library, having a snack with Ms. Vicki-our neighbor.

Like Father, Like Daughter

While I sit here updating our family blog...both girls are playing their gameboys...or as they tend to say "Boy Game." They are pretty good at video games and it cracks me up! I'm always surprised at how they figure these games out on their own without being able to read or given instructions. They definitely take after their Daddy in the video game department!!!

Waiting for the Storm

Like me, the girls LOVE storms. We usually sit on the back deck or front porch to watch the storms roll in. We love the sound of thunder and the beauty of lightening. One night (sometime this month) it was pretty cold out and a storm was rolling in, so Delaney put on her winter coat and got an umbrella and waited patiently...

Birdy Update

We had a wonderful experience with our baby robins. We got to watch them hatch and grow from ugly flesh-colored mutants to fluffy birds. Their mom would get so angry with us whenever we'd get close to the nest. We wouldn't touch...just look. Once she actually swooped by Pete's head as a warning. She would go into our maple tree and squawk at us for being too close. She never went too far from the nest--very protective.

One day we found one (dead) on the ground and also an egg shell. So, we ended up with only 2 baby birds, not four.

We noticed this past week that the nest is now empty. Birds are grown and flying, so we are suffering from "empty nest" syndrome here (ahahah--SO BAD! My professor would be proud of that one). Here are some pics of our robins getting bigger.

BBQ with the Neighbors

We ended this wonderful, busy, FUN Sunday with a BBQ with our neighbors. We have great neighbors...'nuf said!

A Trip to the Park

We had SUCH a perfect Sunday a few weeks ago. We had a wonderful breakfast, planted flowers, went to the park and then had a cookout with our awesome, amazing neighbors. Here are pics of the park that day.

Delaney had to bring her Webkinz animals...Rowe looks excited for her first stroller ride sans carseat.In her big floppy hatDoesn't Katie look HUGE? She's getting SO tall, yet maintaining her 27 lb status

She wished for a phone of her own. Are you kidding me??? She's only FIVE!

This one wished for a castle or something like that.

Planting Flowers

One Sunday after our lovely breakfast, we decided to hit Target, then since the girls were still doing so well, we also hit Home Depot to pick up flowers for our front porch pots. I had the girls pick which flowers they wanted. Delaney picked yellow marigolds and Kate picked purple petunias. We also added in our "spikeys" and potato vines. We had fun planting the. We also dug up around the back of our small shed, and the girls planted sunflower seeds...which are growing nicely. Pete transplanted some of our lillies to the front landscaping.

A Typical Sunday

Our typical Sunday consists of this...Breakfast as a family--usually waffles or pancakes and sausage or bacon (thanks to my breakfast cooking husband), playing outside or a trip to Rock Run (local forest preserve), and just relaxing around the house. Oh, and we always play a fun "age" game based on the stars who have birthdays this week. The girls do pretty well, actually, with their guesses. We enjoy "reading" the paper together...although the girls and I prefer the ads. Sidenote...Sunday is my favorite day of the week...

Smiley Baby

Well, this was Rowena at 2 months old...which is about a month ago now. Like I said, I'm very behind in posting. If I get as many as I want posted tonight...there will be around 10! Seriously.

Back to Rowena...isn't she so adorable? It was on her 2 month birthday (if you will) that she found her thumb. That's right. We avoided a thumb-sucker with the first two, and really had to work with Kate (a natural). Well, Rowe found hers at 2 months...and has been sleeping through the night ever since...really. From about 8pm-8am.

Time

So, we've been very busy around here. School for the girls is coming to an end. In fact, after today, they only have one week left. Delaney "graduates" on the 28th of this month. We're also getting closer to their dance recital (which is June 20th). I have so many things to post about and pictures to put up...but with my trimester starting back at school, and my grad assisting assignments, I've been very busy. I hope to update our blog with new stories and pictures within the next few days.

Rowena's 2 Month Check-Up

Monday, May 4th was Rowena's 2 month check-up (although she's about 1 1/2 weeks past that). She's looking great! She's growing well-75% on all three accounts--weight, length, and head. She's weighing in at 12 lbs, 1 oz., is 22 3/4" in length, and head measures at 39 1/2 cm. She has great leg strength, wonderful eye contact, responds well to voices, smiles a lot, and the doc thinks she's close to rolling over. She got four shots and screamed her head off. It was cute, but then again at the same time, I've never heard that cry before. It was sad! :( She ended up having a pretty rough day. Luckily Pete and I were both home. He got a lot of work done around the house (mowing and putting up new blinds) as well as making lunch for everyone and tending to Delaney and Katie when necessary. That was good, because I spent a lot of my day dancing and bouncing Rowe. For most of the day she was either crying, eating, or sleeping. It wasn't until later in the evening that she became happy again. And, she did okay sleeping 10pm-5:30am.

She's quite a bit bigger than either Delaney or Katie at 2 months, so it's weird to have a "big" baby after those two! She's already out of most of her 0-3 month clothes. I can't believe it! I have most of it put away already and the 3-6 month clothes washed and ready to wear.

She's coo'ing a lot, smiling constantly, and is a very happy baby. She eats about every 3 hours and sleeps on/off throughout the day (no real consistent naps yet), and she's sleeping through the night (from about 8:30pm-7:00am).

Becoming Such Big Kids!

I have enjoyed watching the girls growing up...and it happens so fast! Today I realized just how "mature" they've become. Both Delaney and Katie will play outside for hours without either of us out with them. We do have some rules (e.g. no playing in the street, no talking to strangers, etc.) and they are so good outside. Of course, there are some fights, but for the most part, they're great! Every once in a while, Delaney will come in screaming because she saw a bee, but that's about it. Today they were out with the three neighbors-Julia, Spencer, and Gwen, and they all just played for hours. It's awesome! I think they're going to REALLY enjoy the summer--the pool, swingset, playing soccer, and just hanging out and playing together and with the neighbors.

Our Outdoor Pets

We have a robin who has decided to make her home on part of our swingset. It's been pretty cool to experience with the kids. We have watched her build her nest, and sit in it quite a bit. Then, one day Pete realized that there were several eggs in the nest. We have told the girls quite often to not touch the nest at all and once the eggs were discovered we reminded them again. The girls have been very good about being quiet around the nest--especially when Mommy-Bird is resting, and to not play too much on the part of the swingset that the nest is resting. Well, today we realized that 3 of the 4 eggs have hatched. We were fortunate enough to watch Mommy-Bird feed her babies. So sweet.

Some Random Shots

The girls have been keeping us very busy. I'm loving our life with our three daughters. Each have their own personality and adds so much to our family and life together. Here are some pics that don't really fit with any particular post or subject.

Rowe hanging out in a big girl bed. Delaney and Riggs hanging out with Rowena

Sisters? BEST Sisters!

Delaney...has such a wonderful smile!