Off to the races...

Owen challenged his friend Kip to a good old fashioned drag race this past weekend. With Owen pedaling furiously at the helm of his John Deere and Dr. Kip creatively manning the wheel of the cozy coupe, both vehicles broke from the starting line with a lot of energy...
...but as they reached the official finish line (provided by Andrea), youth prevailed. It was a close race, but Owen's buddy Stephen represented the driveway racing commission and confirmed the victory. Formal complaints were filed by Kip regarding a few unexpectedly loose front wheels (tampering?). Stay tuned for a likely rematch in the months to come.Thanks to Kip and Andrea for entertaining both kids on Saturday night!

19 Weeks!

At 19 weeks, the Little Lady continues to keep us on our toes. We need to stop taking all these pictures in the jumparoo, but I guess it seems to be one of her favorite things at this point. In addition to bouncing around, Paxton gets a lot of tummy time and is slowly starting to realize her legs can be used to get around. She is nowhere near crawling, but she does manage to rotate herself around in a circle on the floor.

Paxton had her 4 month appointment last week (slightly late). She checked in at 26 inches and 14lbs 6 oz. She is in the 95th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight, up from 50/50 in those categories previously. Time to open up a growth hormone investigation... Unlike her brother, her head is comfortably in the 50th percentile.

Here is Paxton's look when we reminded her about the immunization shots at the appointment.
And here she is realizing she doesn't have to go back to the doctor for a few months.

Good times for everyone.

Friends and Family

We've enjoyed a fun week of friends and family. On Tuesday evening, Grandma, Papi, and their friends took a few hours out of their little "museum tour" to enjoy dinner and a little time with the kids. Paxton was super excited to talk with grandma.Meanwhile, on Father's Day, we had a special visit from Jed, Radhi, Anand, and Vivek. They were in Chicago to urbanize the boys but still found a few hours for suburban entertainment.

Racing and crashing tractors, firetrucks, and cars has never been more fun to do or to sit back and watch. Great to see everyone...our doors are always open.

Kids on the Move

When Paxton arrived, Brecken and I debated the crib vs. big-boy-bed idea for Owen. Several of Owen's friends made the transition from the crib when a sibling arrived, but our little guy was pretty content with the crib, and we were pretty content having him conveniently "cribbed" in the middle of the night. We elected to buy a big boy bed in anticipation of the transition, but we also picked up a new crib for Paxton.

Well, last week I walked into Owen's room shortly after we had put him to bed. I discovered the lights, ceiling fan, and radio all turned on, unlike how I had left them minutes earlier. However, Owen was prone in the bed with one eye sneaking a peek at me. When I asked, "Owen, what happened?" He proudly replied, "Me show you daddy." Here is more or less what happened next.

The crib is now in the attic, and Mr. Big-Boy is enjoying his new bed. We've endured a few nights of late night scampering around the house, but things are getting back to normal.

Meanwhile, Miss Paxton is finding the need to put on bigger and louder demonstrations in order to keep up with her brother. Jumping and talking are at the top of her list of fun things to do, particularly with a little encouragement from Brecken.

Stormy Weekend

The headlines from this weekend were focused on the large rain storms and tornadoes that rolled through the Chicagoland area. However, there were also some sunny, and very hot mornings. Paxton and Owen took different approaches to keeping "cool."You've really arrived as a parent when you find yourself sitting in an inflated pool in the backyard. It is worth noting that the pool lasted exactly 24 hours. We discovered the pool popped on the second morning. Back in the market for a pool.

17 Weeks!

Ringing in the 4 month mark, Paxton kicked back on the chair with a big smile.

For reference, you can swap out the stuffed bunny for the moppy haired big brother.

Time flies...

Pet Parade!

For a couple of months now, we have been hearing about the "big event" in town: The Pet Parade. As it turns out, this was the 62nd annual pet parade, and it was a pretty big weekend for the community. While we pictured a parade of dogs, cats, goldfish, and hamsters, it turned out to be a full-fledged parade of marching bands, floats, Shriners, and an assortment of different animals such as camels and alpacas. Owen willingly joined the crowd of kids assembled in the street in search of flying candy.

In fact, his willingness to run out into the middle of the parade forced Brecken to employ more restrictive tactics.

Meanwhile, Paxton managed to squirm or sleep her way through the big day. I'm sure next year will be a different story for the little lady.

In addition to the parade, the carnival rolled into town, complete with a collection of rides and an assortment of midway games.

To celebrate the occasion, Owen and Paxton were joined by their pal Kate and her parents, Mike and Cristin.

Great weather, great friends, and a lot of fun. Owen is already looking forward to Pet Parade '09.

16 Weeks

I guess the growth chart for Paxton has moved to the main pages rather than the link to the side of the site. The little lady loves to "eat" her fingers these days. Here she is drooling on her left hand while enjoying a little tummy time.

We've reached the point where the simple act of getting her out of bed in the morning is greeted by a big smile, and a quick tickle of her cheeks elicits laughter. She is a talkative little lady. We've asked Owen to translate, but even he isn't sure of the message being conveyed. She's probably asking for more allowance, so we'll just enjoy the lack of understanding for the next little while.