Family, Parenting & Life: Party Weekend

We had such a busy weekend. We celebrated Joseph's 2nd birthday on Saturday. All the grandparents came in town to help celebrate. Jonathan, Laura and Haidyn came over and a lot of our friends. Also, my Aunt Kay, Uncle Izzy and my Zayde came in town from Kansas City. It was so nice to be able to have them in town. It is sad to think that there are not going to be an infinite number of birthdays that my grandfather will be able to attend and I really cherish each one that he is able to celebrate.

I thought I took a lot more pictures at the party, but when I downloaded the pictures I didn't have a lot. I know a lot of people were taking pictures so I will have to get some from everyone else.

Not only did we celebrate Joseph's birthday, but Simone also turned 4 months old. She is still absolutely wonderful. She is so happy, laid back, beautiful and easy. She is such a joy to have. She rolled over yesterday from her back to her stomach all on her own. She has been rolling from her stomach to her back for a while now, but it was the first time she rolled completely over from back to stomach. She has really found her feet and hands too. She is also still sleeping completely through the night.

Here were her statistics from the doctor's appointment yesterday:

Height: 25.5 inches (88%)

Weight: 13 pounds 14.5 oz (53%)

Head Circumference: 15.90 inches (31%)

She is tall and skinny right now.

Just as a comparison, here are the boys stats:

Joseph:

Height: 25.5 In. (73%) he was the height as Simone is now.

Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz (62%)

Head Circ: 42.5 cm (58%)

Samuel:

Height 64%

Weight 16 lbs 11oz (84%)

Head Circ: 34%

So far, Simone is the tallest at this point. It is crazy that my little girl is such a big girl!

What can I say about Joseph. My goodness, Joseph is such a handful. In two years, he has changed and grown so much. Before Simone was born, Joseph would not hug, kiss or cuddle with anyone unless he decided to do it himself. After Simone, it was like a completely different loving kid emerged. I think having a younger sister brought out this loving and protective personality that we had never seen before. He is so excited to see her all the time. He now will give kisses and hugs. Not only has he become very affectionate, he is also extremely stubborn and independent. When he doesn't get what he wants he throws fits and he is adamant about getting what he wants. I know he is in his terrible two's, but I also think that his behavior is just part of his normal personality. I don't think he is ever going to be an easy going laid back kind of guy. He is my fully animated little guy. I love how much he has changed and grown. He is absolutely wonderful.

Yesterday was Joseph's birthday and we spent the afternoon at the doctor's office for his well visit. It was quite an experience. As soon as we walked in the door at 1:15, Joseph started screaming. I know he thought he was getting shots and really I wasn't sure if he was getting any, so I couldn't tell him not to worry. I tried to calm him down, but when the nurse came in he lost it. He screamed continuously until we left at 2:45. It was a really long appointment because we were there for both Simone and Joseph. I talked to the doctor about Simone and that was pretty quick, then we moved on to Joseph.

After we discussed all my questions, then the doctor came over to examine him. Now Joseph is always very difficult to examine. He hates to be touched by the doctor and fights like crazy. I always have to hold him on my lap and restrain him when the doctor is looking in his ears or eyes. By the time we got the the examination part Joseph had been crying for at least an hour. His cheeks were bright red, his ears were bright red and he was a completely mess. I felt terrible for him and I was trying to calm him down. I thought the examine would go okay once the doctor listened to his heart and chest. Joseph was actually laughing a little bit because the stethoscope was cold and the doctor was making him laugh. Once his ears and eyes were looked at then the doctor started to look in his mouth at his throat. All of the sudden Joseph started gagging (because he was crying and screaming again) and then he just threw up all over. When I say all over I really mean it. He threw up all over the doctor, all over my legs, my arms, his shirt, the blanket he was holding and the floor. It was disgusting. I took off Joseph's clothes, wiped myself off, took off my jacket, cleaned off the floor and tried to gather everything up. The doctor gave me a bag and I put all the nasty stuff in the bag and tried to calm Joseph down. By this time, Simone was screaming, Joseph was still screaming and the doctor was just trying to help me get everything together and get me out the door. He felt terrible, but what could he do. It was not the best experience I have ever had at the doctor. I guess you have to experience everything once.

Here are Joseph's stats:

Height: 34.3 Inches (47%)
Weight: 28.60 pounds (59%)
Head Cir: 19.40 inches (67%)

Here were Samuel's:

Height: 36.25 in (91%)

Weight: 35 lbs (>97%)

Here are pictures from the weekend: