Our Very Little Princess

I keep telling myself I shouldn't be worrying about this, but it's not working: Ella has only gained 1 pound in the almost 4 months it's been since her last check-up. She's healthy. She eats (more than I do). She's drinking milk. All good things. But at his 1-year exam, Brady was 4 pounds heavier and 2 inches taller. I realize he's a boy and apparently they're just bigger. But Ella is so...tiny. The doctor actually said she has a good metabolism and will likely be tall and thin, so perhaps my 5'1 chub is just jealous?

Eating. Always.

At any rate, she's doing well at her whopping 17 pounds and 29 inches. She was pretty interested in Dr. Daly, too. She didn't scream when she saw him coming (unlike her brother who immediately begins losing his ever-loving mind the second he lays eyes on the man), and actually giggled when he checked her belly and neck. Little flirt.

Ella took a few independent steps at the babysitter's last week, so we forced her to walk at home so we didn't feel left out. Normally she's happy holding onto ONE of my fingers--it can only be one or she gets pissed, plops down on her bum and yells--but I coerced her with 2 things she can't resist: her dad and brother. She walked EIGHT steps to get to them! When we all clapped for her, she started clapping while standing and fell right over. She didn't even care. She's a bit of brute and I worry for Brady's safety once she's had enough of him grabbing things out of her hands or, like yesterday, bopping her right on the head because she was trying to eat his snack.

He's very particular about his toys; she is not.

We took our first family trip to Kennywood last Saturday. The weather was perfect and despite a rocky start to the morning (read: Brady woke up at 5:30 and was a terror), the entire day was lovely. Kiddieland was Brady's heaven; he's still talking about the Whipper Snapper:

Ella was a bit too young to ride much, but we went on the train, SS Kenny, and a few others all together. I can't wait until Ella is able to walk better, hence ride more, and Brady isn't afraid of the nice attendants who have to put him on the rides. I felt so bad for this huge guy who wanted to lift Brady into a helicopter; the kid FREAKED. So we found this awesome golf game that cost $40 for one ball and he happily whacked some balls around. One of his shots actually ricocheted off of a few things and landed right at the edge of the hole. The lady in charge allowed him to "tap it in" and to Brady, that was the prize. Thank God, too, because I did not want to lug a life-size penguin around all day.

 Oh and because Brady is a nutjob, we're cutting his hair at home now. Below is just a sneak peek at the fun. I had to stop taking pictures to hold him down, so you can imagine how that went over.

This one needs the trim, but I refuse. We're growing that mop-top out!

As summer approaches, we're getting our pool ready and preparing Brady for what will be the Summer He Stops Crapping His Pants, otherwise known as SHSCHP. He's happy enough to sit on the toilet (nude), but refuses to do his business there. The minute he's off the pot, he asks for privacy so he can "poop in his diaper." Awesome.

Brady and Ella have another friend: 10 days ago, on May 7th, our dear friends Jess and Ahren welcomed their first baby, Grant! He was a big boy, too: 8 pounds, 13 ounces! Mama had to have a c-section, but she was all smiles when I visited. I went to see Mr. Grant while he and Jess were still hanging out at Magee and, of course, I inhaled that baby scent and wanted another one immediately. I have to try and practice patience; I keep chanting "2-year-plan, 2-year-plan," but then Zach says if we got pregnant right now, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. He's not very good at handling my baby addiction...