4 Months Old

My sweet boy is 4 months old and every day with him seems to be better than the last. Matthew is getting bigger, stronger and smarter every day. Just typing this brings a smile to my face because he is just amazing and such a gift. He is so interactive and easy-going. He loves to coo and really loves to scream. I tell him that he screams like a girl because he gets just as loud as his silly sisters:) We all think it is hysterical! He also really loves to 'talk'. If you speak directly to him, he immediately 'talks' right back. I love it!
Matthew has been rolling over for a few weeks now. He loves to watch his sisters playing and I have even caught him watching tv. The other day Claire was watching Elmo and Matthew seems just as into it as she was. He is also very into his hands. He grabs and holds objects and loves to chew on anything. He has not started any solid foods yet, but his doctor recently gave us the green light to start any time. That should be fun!
Here are some recent pictures of my little man from the past week as well as a few from his 4-month well check and his stats.

Weight - 14.8 pounds (50th percentile)
Length - 25.75 inches (75th percentile)
Head - 16.5 inches (50th percentile)

Happy Easter

My Easter post would not be complete if I didn't include some pictures of my beautiful Emma in her first pair of real heels. She looked and felt like a princess in them!

Coloring Easter Eggs

There is nothing more fun than coloring Easter eggs. It used to be a super messy project, but this year the girls did such a great job. I got creative this year and got out the cooking tongs and spaghetti spoon to help lower and lift the eggs out of the dye. It worked so great. No major spashes and no cracked eggs. Go me for thinking of this!

Emma's Easter Egg Hunt

Emma's class had a HUGE Easter egg hunt. I was so glad that I was able to be there to help out. Me and another mom hid 300 eggs! I am pretty sure it took us longer to hide the eggs than it took for the kids to gather them. They had a blast!

Claire's Easter Egg Hunt

Claire had a great time at her Easter egg hunt at school. It had rained the night before, but luckily it was dry enough for the kids to have the hunt outside. Instead of using bags or baskets to collect the eggs, Claire's teacher gave them egg cartons. She painted the inside of all 12 spaces and the kids had to match the egg to the color of the spot. I thought that was such a cute idea and Claire really enjoyed the matching!
After the egg hunt the kids went inside and had a fun Easter party. Claire's teacher always has the room and table decorated super cute and she always has foods that the kids love.

Strawberries Are Here

I took the girls to our favorite strawberry farm. Every year we go here to pick our own strawberries and every year they are WONDERFUL. They are seriously the biggest and sweetest strawberries I have ever eaten. They are like candy!
The weather was perfect for picking and we filled our basket to the rim. We also ate a lot too. Emma was a really great berry picker this year. She was so focused on her picking that you would have thought she was getting paid to be out there.
Claire on the other had ate every single one that she picked! If you know Claire at all than you know that she doesn't like her hands dirty and she really doesn't like it if she gets anything on her clothes. When we first got to the strawberry patch she was tip-toeing around just looking at the berries. I told her to eat one and she didn't want to because she was so concerned that she would eat dirt or a bug! She didn't even want to touch the berries. Well, after a little convincing she finally picked a strawberry and ate it. After that it was all over! Once she tasted how yummy they were she was unstoppable. She picked and ate and picked and ate for the entire hour that we were there. She had strawberry juice everywhere. It was even dripping down her legs, but my clean freak didn't even notice because she was so busy eating the strawberries! It was hysterical!
Once Emma and I finished filling the basket we headed back to the car. That was when Claire finally noticed how sticky and red she was and she FREAKED out! I tried to wipe her off, but she was so disturbed by being dirty that she wanted new clothes.

Spring Break

It was such a nice change to have the girls home with me all week. We didn't do anything special, but having a lazy week around the house was special enough.
The weather was great all week so we hit a few parks, played with the sprinkler, and Emma even camped outside for the first time! It all started with Scott getting out the tent for the girls to play in, but when it came time for bed Emma asked to sleep in it. I told her she could, but all the while thinking it would last about ten minutes and she would be right back inside. Well, she sure proved me wrong! After about 2 hours of checking on her, Scott finally realized that she was out there for the night so he grabbed his sleeping bag and joined her. Emma slept in the tent all night and loved it!

Breakfast of Champions

Every month Emma's Elementary school has a Breakfast of Champions. One student is selected from each class by the teacher to attend this ceremony. They are selected for being an outstanding student, a good friend, always doing their best, showing good behavior, etc. This month Mrs. McGuire selected Emma as her star student and I couldn't have been more proud.
The winners are announced right after school starts and it is a total surprise to everyone to see who is selected. Thankfully, most teachers give the parents a heads-up so that we can attend the breakfast.
I was there in the hallway waiting when they announced the names. Emma was so excited. Before we walked down to the cafeteria, Emma's class all gathered on the classroom reading mat. Each student raised their hand to tell why Emma deserved to be selected for the Breakfast of Champions. Yes, I teared up as I watched all of her friends priase her for being a good student and friend. :)
In the cafeteria all of the kids were served a McDonald's sausage biscuit and chocolate milk or juice. I guess that is considered a Breakfast FOR Champions!
Then each child was called up to receive a special letter written to them by their teacher and a medal. They also got to take a photo with the school mascot, Rocky the Rhino. It was such a sweet moment to share with Emma. She told me several times that she couldn't stop smiling because she was so excited. I am thankful every day that I am able to do these thing with my amazing children. I can't stop smiling either!