Birthdays!

We had a big birthday weekend...first, Sydney's super cute Circus 2nd birthday party with a pony and petting zoo with the cutest baby goats!

Then we headed to Nathan's 3rd Toy Story birthday party...

On Sunday, we met up with one of Ella's besties, Francesca, and rode the carousel...

We love weekends filled with lots of friends!

Everett's Baptism

Everett was *finally* baptized yesterday!  How cute does he look in his little romper and bonnet?!  Gary said he looks like a girl, but I think it's adorable. :)  Please ignore his silver striped shoes.

We took a bunch of photos before it started, and I'm obsessed with these of the kids!

The whole gang (minus Mia).  Front Row: Sydney (godsister), Everett, Brice (cousin).  Back Row: Olivia (godsister), Ella, Brett (cousin).

Fabulous Godparents...

Our little fam. :)

The ceremony...

I'm not exactly sure what Ella was plotting in this photo!  But notice part of our brood in the background?!

Despite the baptism being in the middle of nap time, Everett was only a little bit fussy, and didn't even cry too much when the water was poured over his head.  It was a great day!

Friends & Family

Gary's dad has been very very ill in the hospital so some of his family has come to visit.  Everett was very fond of his great-uncle Harry!  It was actually pretty amazing...Harry made Mr. Fussy Pants laugh pretty much the second they met- they're best buds now!

And of course the fabulous great-aunt Annie!

And Ella even gave great-uncle Leo a hug...

We went to Ryan's 3rd birthday party this weekend, which was super hero themed...can you tell??

Oh, and the kids were there too.  ;)

In Everett news, he likes wearing headbands lately so I put this one on him, and he loved it (btw, that's actually a tiara)!

We've had a lot going on with family sickness, selling the house, getting ready for Everett's baptism, work, etc, etc so I've been really stressed and very busy lately...which is why I still can't figure out why I agreed to make signs for the kids' school silent auction!  They wanted a countdown poster, and I think it turned out pretty well!

A Little Shopping in Downtown LA with My Bestie...

By the way, see the disgusting sidewalk they are walking on?  Ella ate fruit snacks off that sidewalk.  Foul.

As for my insane little boy, he had an intake appointment for speech therapy today!  He really has basically no words so I called the regional center to get him evaluated for speech delay.  Yes, I know he is only 16.5 months old, but it takes a LONG time to get the ball rolling so I wanted to be proactive.  And no, I am NOT worried...it's funny that as soon as you mention speech therapy, everyone tells you how their kid didn't talk until 2 and is just fine, blah, blah.  He is very smart, loving, curious, outgoing and super social.

The only reason I called so soon is because he is a complete nightmare most of the time.  He was the easiest, calmest, happiest baby, who has become the fussiest kid ever!  He will just walk around the house and cry, and I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that he can't communicate what he wants (the other part is that he is a boy and basically requires being outdoors 100% of the time, which just isn't possible!).

It has been really difficult going from such an easy, laidback kid (Ella) to a very high maintenance fussy kid (Everett).  We don't know how to deal with it!  Luckily, when he is happy and smiley, there is just no one cuter in the world!  He really does have the cutest smile on earth. ;)

So anyway, the girl that does the intake, does the autism assessment (we're all good there), and then determines if she will recommend a full evaluation or an evaluation for one thing.  She believes Everett only needs an evaluation for speech (as opposed to possibly needing occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.).  She said he is clearly very social, his fine motor skills seem great, he has no eating issues, etc.  Her only concern is that he has regressed a bit- he used to wave, and he doesn't do it anymore, and we *think* he used to have some words, but he doesn't say them anymore.  I wasn't worried about that at all because Ella did that all the time- as soon as she learned something new, she dropped other things- but hey, if that concern will get him into speech therapy, let's go with it!

She now goes back and has a meeting with her supervisor, a pediatric nurse and a therapist, and they determine what Everett might need.  She then calls me on Wednesday to set up the appointment with the speech therapist (and any other necessary appointments), who will do a detailed report.  He needs to be delayed at least 33% in any one area to qualify for services.

My only concern is that since he is a preemie, they use his adjusted age, which obviously will make him less likely to qualify for services since he will be considered 6 weeks younger than he actually is.  Cross your fingers that we qualify so that Little Mr. Frustrated can get his point across...he clearly has A LOT to say! ;)

A Very Merry UNBIRTHDAY to You!

My baby girl is 3.5 today!  In honor of Ella's half birthday, we celebrated with a HALF birthday cake!

The half birthday cake I made for her half birthday...

The best part was that I made the cake last night, and this morning, Ella says to me, "mommy, can I have pink and green for my birthday?"  Well, look how I just happened to make the inside...

Of course grandma can't let a birthday go by without a gift (even a fake birthday!)...needless to say, Ella was VERY excited to a Rapunzel doll with hair you can brush!

Keeping Busy

I've slowed down at work so we've been trying to keep as busy as possible!

Lots of park dates...

Dinner and playing with friends (that's Ella & Logan in there!)...

Fun throwing silly bands!

Lunch dates with Godsisters...

Dinners out with daddy...

And as always, many trips to Target, where I learned that this happens when you leave your phone with a 3.5 year old...

HAHA!