Hold My Hand

The school year is winding down for Patrick, and despite the very rocky start it's been a really wonderful experience for him. Today his class had an end of the year field trip to the Junior Museum in Palo Alto. It was really cute to see Patrick interact with his teachers and his friends (even if he does listen to his teachers better than he listens to me!). Patrick's best friend at school is a little boy named Valentino. Today they were running around the museum holding hands, it was the sweetest thing :)

See Saw

This weekend was busy! On Saturday my cousin Anna came down from San Francisco to visit. On Sunday we went to a birthday party for one of Patrick's friends, then we went to the park for one of Tom's dad's band concerts, then we went to a graduation party for my cousin Nicole. Today we went with tradition and barbequed.

A few quick pictures, here's Patrick on the see saw at the park, I was on the other side snapping pictures!



And a few from Nicole's party. Note the matching brother/sister outfits. I can't help myself! :)

Side By Side

Here's a comparison of Molly and Patrick, both taken around 5 weeks old.



I actually don't think they look all that alike. What do you think?

Sweet

Awwwwwww :)



Nana and I took Patrick and Molly to the mall today. I can't tell if Patrick is acting like a normal 3 year old or if he is being extra obnoxious. There were lots of battles over things like eating lunch, not twirling around on the floor, riding in a stroller (even though it was one of the cool car strollers the mall provides) and getting back in his car seat. Molly slept through most of the outing but I am exhausted. And I am very happy this is a 3 day weekend!

Baby Doll

Little Miss Molly is one month old today! She had an appointment with her pediatrician yesterday and she weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds! She never really had that tiny, frail newborn look that Patrick did (Patrick didn't hit 10 pounds until he was 2 months old). We sang "Happy Monthday" to her today and Patrick blew out the imaginary candles :)

Clothes Don't Make The Man

This is why I do not let Patrick dress himself...



You will notice that the boots (mine) are two different colors. And he is not wearing any pants. Or anything else under there.

And for good measure, a picture of Molly. We're thinking her hair is going to be curly. When it's wet it is wild, just like mine. Poor child.

Sister & Brother

First matching jammies, awww!

On Parade

We spent a lot of the weekend out and about! On Saturday we went to the pet parade, it was pretty tame but Patrick loved it. We saw tons of dogs, a few cats, some turtles, and even a pregnant horse!



After the parade we went to an art show in the park. Molly slept through the entire thing in the Baby Bjorn. Patrick was very taken with some animal sculptures and suggested this lion might be nice for our house.



Then today we went to an art and wine festival downtown. Patrick is still very much in his fireman phase, so he wore his complete fireman uniform even though it was about 80 degrees out. We were pleasantly surprised to find the fire department had a few fire engines downtown so Patrick got to meet a fire captain and got a guided tour of the engines, he even got to sit in the driver's seat. The fire captain was very impressed with Patrick's outfit, they even compared helmets.

Carnival

Tom goes back to work on Monday so we've been busy trying to cram in fun family time! I am so thankful that Tom was able to take off 4 weeks but I will be a little sad when he goes back. This evening we went to a carnival here in town, Patrick had a complete blast. Patrick, showing no fear, wanted to go on the scary spinning rides. I told them they were for big kids and he said "But I'm a big boy!". Even though he couldn't ride with the big kids he had a lot of fun on the kiddie rides.







Molly slept through part of the carnival, and was a sweet angel when she was awake. She's really been such a calm, sweet (and sleepy!) baby. At night she's sleeping in 4-5 hour stretches (something that Patrick wasn't doing until 4 or 5 months old). During the day she eats all the time but I don't mind if it means longer blocks of sleep at night! Patrick is still so gentle with her, yesterday he helped me sing to her to put her to sleep. Pure love!

Call Me Mommy

Happy Mother's Day!

Even though I had my camera with me all day I forgot to take a single picture, oops :( We had a lovely day, it started with Patrick waking me up with wish me "Happy St. Molly's Day!". Very close! Tom cooked breakfast for me (which is a really big deal because the boy is a wonderful sous chef but he is not one to take on a recipe on his own). He made me french toast, even using a recipe from my beloved Cooks Illustrated cookbook, it was super yummy. I got some perfume and a cookbook, and Tom even bought Molly a sweet little shirt that says "I love my mommy". Awwww! In the afternoon we visited both grandmas and has dinner with Nana, Papa, Uncle Nick and Leah. It was a very nice day!

Lady In Red

I finally got a picture of Molly with her eyes open! :)



A picture of the proud big brother a few days ago...


And finally Patrick's 3 year portrait, I think it captures his personality right now!

Measure By Measure

Molly had her 2 week appointment today with her pediatrician and I was rather shocked at her stats...

Weight: 8 pounds, 14 ounces (75th percentile)
Height: 21.75 inches (95th percentile!!!)
Head: 37 cm (75th percentile)

Since Patrick's head was always around the 100th percentile Molly's head seems small in comparison. But the length is really what surprises me. Maybe my horizontally challenged genes didn't make it into her DNA (fingers crossed!). Molly was declared mostly healthy, she has a case of thrush (and I have it too, ouch!) so we're both on medication to try and clear it up.

I Want To Be A Fireman

I've mentioned before that Patrick has a slight obsession with firemen. I'm not sure I've told you all how deep his obsession runs. It started with a little show on Sprout called Fireman Sam. It's a 10 minute long animated show made in Wales of all places. Patrick doesn't even really watch the show anymore but he has taken on the alter ego of Fireman Sam. If you ask him what his name is 90% of the time he will answer "Fireman Sam". He has also renamed us as characters from the show. Tom is now called Elvis, and I am known as Henny (Patrick's version of Penny). His grandparents have been everyone from Station Officer Steele to Mandy to Norman Price. And the pugs are now called the fire doggies. We do not live in a house, we live in a fire station. My car is now known as the firetruck. Whenever he has the opportunity, Patrick prefers to dress in his fireman costume. It's really rather sweet and funny. I'm sure we get looks out in public when Patrick calls Tom "Elvis" instead of Daddy.

We've been well adapting to life as a family of 4. Tom took Patrick to a tour of a local small farm with his play group yesterday and was quite amazed at what a bunch of 3 year olds are like when they get together.



And today we all left the house! I've been getting a little stir crazy having been stuck in the house (and the hospital) for the last 11 days. Today we ventured out to Stanford Shopping Center for lunch and a little walking around. Molly slept through the entire outing (something Patrick never would have done!). She's really been such a sweet, mellow baby. She continues to sleep in 3-4 hour stretches at night and goes right back to sleep when she is done nursing. She's awake more during the day now but almost always content and not fussy or crying. I feel like I've hit the baby jackpot! We go back to the pediatrician on Monday for a weight check and hopefully she will be back up to her birth weight. I'm feeling more mobile but still tire easily, and I still feel pain when coughing or sneezing, but my recovery has been much easier this time around.

And a one last picture, this one if from today at the mall, notice Patrick's fireman backpack and his "fireman boots" :)

Sleeping Beauty