These Kids Just Keep Getting Older - Derek Grows, Lydia Prepares, and Karina Turns Five

Our kids have had an eventful few weeks. Derek turned one month old earlier this month. He keeps getting bigger and when we took him out to Karina's school today (more on that later), the teachers all remarked that he already looks like he's three months old (he turned seven weeks old this week - it's still unclear to me when we stop measuring children's ages in weeks, months, etc.). Here is Derek chilling with Tanja.

The girls frequently get jealous when we try and take a picture of Derek and come in to join him. Younger children typically don't have as many baby photos as their older siblings. I had always assumed it was because the parents were new to parenting with the first one and so every moment was worth documenting (e.g. baby's first bath during the middle of the week, the first time the baby spits up wearing a particular outfit, etc.). We're finding in our family that taking pictures can become such an event and by the time we get the camera out to take a picture with Derek, the girls want to be part of it too, and the moment can quickly become lost. We are trying to make sure we document all our kids though.

I like holding Derek when he's calm and in the mood to cuddle.

He quickly can go to big tired yawns.

Karina being funny with stickers and laughing hysterically at herself.

Lydia likes "helping" Derek when he is trying to nap in the swing. She comes up to him and tries to rock him against the motion of the swing motor. She also calls out excitedly to anyone in earshot with a loud voice saying, "He's looking at me! He says 'Oooh, that's my Biiiiiiiig Sister!'" This obviously isn't the most conducive environment for naps - probably a part of why Derek has had trouble napping the last few days.

I'm still trying to figure out Derek's clothing messages. This outfit says "Property of Mom". He has others that dub him "Mommy's Little Sidekick" and "Wild About Mommy."  The only one that mentions me so far declares that he is "Daddy's Little Monster." I'm not really sure how I should feel about that, but it sure doesn't seem complimentary.

Even when he's angry, Derek is a cute baby.  I told you he was Daddy's little monster...

Both Karina and Lydia love to hold Derek. With Lydia, it usually means that she has her hand on him while we hold him. Karina actually can do it solo, and does really well with it, though sometimes Derek is not sure what to think about it.

These pictures of Lydia in the playhouse were taken in part to get a portrait for her application for preschool at the local elementary school, a precursor to the pre-Kindergarten program that Karina is in now. Lydia has loved going to see what the big kids like Karina do at school whenever we have gone for Karina's class parties. So this week, I took her in for a playgroup so she could interact with some of the other applicants. I won't go so far as to say it was at the level of the NFL Combine, but these things sure feel like a tryout/audition. I was sitting next door with the other parents, out of sight of all the kids, filling out a questionnaire about how developmentally advanced she is. Meanwhile, next door, the kids are playing and interacting with the teachers. We would hear screams and sobs, and all look at each other trying to figure out if that was my kid that is over there throwing a temper tantrum and potentially losing a spot in the program. Of course, if the kids don't get into a good preschool, they are going to be destined to a life of mediocrity because they will never get into a good college, and we might as well plan on them living in our basement until they turn 40, or so the alpha parents would have you think. The teachers assured us nervous parents that they fully expect the kids to be nervous their first time because of so many strangers. Lydia, of course, had no behavioral issues, likely because she was already familiar with the classroom, teachers, etc. And even though it's not official until they make the announcements at the end of the school year, Karina's teacher told us the next day that she had already claimed Lydia for her class next year, which is fantastic news. Ivy League, here she comes (and I am obviously kidding, I am not that much of an alpha parent).

In the meantime, I think the pictures are really cute.

We keep giving Derek some tummy time. He usually enjoys it more if he's not tired. I actually got him to even do a few infant pushups. Check out how strong he is!

Karina and Lydia were recently invited to a birthday party at the skating rink (the birthday girl is Karina's age, and her little sister is Lydia's age). I didn't know kids still went roller skating - I remember going when I was a child. At first, we got Karina and Lydia regular roller skates since the lady at the check-in desk didn't give a good explanation of the benefits and drawbacks of regular skates vs. the toddler skates that strap on over shoes. The girls, who had never skated before, were both very scared to go when they were free-wheeling with roller skates and so they sat on the sidelines of the rink playing. Then as other kids started shuffling around on the rink with the toddler skates, with wheels that didn't spin nearly as fast, Tanja got them some toddler skates and they were having a blast. I don't know that either of them were really "skating", but smiles were better than screams. The only problem was that the party was ending, so they ran out of time too quickly after getting their toddler skates.

Karina was particularly excited and proud to buy one of the birthday presents with her own money. I felt bad for the poor cashier at the store who had to count out her pennies to pay for a coloring book. Hopefully this helps teach her about money and how to use it, save it, etc.

The girls staged a photo shoot with Derek in their doll bassinet. Who needs dolls when you have a baby brother?

For Tanja's birthday, we enjoyed some nice weather and went on a little hike to have a picnic. Karina impressed us by wanting to try her hand at climbing the rocks we found.

Lydia conquered a few rocks too.

Derek spent most of the time sleeping in the stroller.

Karina insisted that she carry the backpack with our picnic items.  She was proud of herself for being so helpful.

Happy birthday, Tanja/Mommy!

As mentioned, Derek turned one month old earlier this month. At his checkup, we verified that yes, he is still big.

Derek's one month stats were:

Height: 24 inches (>99th%)
Weight: 11 lbs 13 oz (87th%)
Head Circumference: 39.5cm (95th%)

Isn't he cute?

For Karina's birthday, we got to go to her class at school and bring some treats for all the kids. It was fun to come, and Karina loved being the center of attention for the day. After we got home, she opened her presents, then it was off to Chick-fil-a for dinner and back home to eat cake. We wound up singing to Karina at least five times today between her school and at home with cake. Happy 5th birthday, Karina, hope you had a good one!