Nora Kate is 4 Months!

Nora Kate is now four months old!  It's a good thing that is so fun and cute to watch babies grow, or else I'd be even more sad at how quickly these first four months of her little life have gone by! 
Her 4 month check up was today.  She weighs 16pounds 10 ounces and is 25 inches long.
Compared to Dawson who weighed 15 pounds 12 ounces and was 26 inches long and Carter who weighed 15 pounds 5 ounces and was 26inches long at this age.  To have started out 13 ounces less than her older brothers, she sure has caught up!  She has the most adorable little rolls and cheeks!!  Her legs have more rolls on them than I thought imaginable, and I just love it!!  So far Nora Kate has only had breastmilk, although this was the age where we started both boys on cereal because they seemed to be absolutely starving.  She, however, doesn't seem to be dissatisfied with her purely liquid diet. When she seems ready for a little more we will begin rice cereal, but I'm not going to rush it since she's content! 
In terms of being content, she's a good sleeper at night other than the fact that she absolutely will not go to bed before 10pm it seems-oh and she wants to be held from 8-10pm.  Now that I've stopped trying to accomplish things during this time, I don't mind it at all.  She and I just have snuggle time on the couch, and she finally gives up and goes to sleep around 10 (sometimes later, a few times earlier).  The wonderful thing about Nora Kate's sleep though, is that after she goes to sleep she sleeps for about 5 (sometimes 6) hours straight!  Then she'll go another couple of hours to get her to around 6:30/7:30 which is the time frame that she usually wakes up.  Although she sleeps fabulously at night, she rarely sleeps during the day?!  This is so surprising to me because the boys were just the opposite-great nappers and poor night-time sleepers.  She's usually content during the day, so I won't complain.  I have not met my goal of trying to get Nora Kate on somewhat of a schedule yet, but, hey, she's only 4 months old, right?!
Nora Kate sits up in her Bumbo seat wonderfully now!  She loves to be in this because she can watch her brothers play in the playroom and be rowdy!  She will just watch them and smile as they talk and play!  She's a lucky girl to have two sweet, sweet older brothers who just cannot get enough of their precious sister! 
In addition to the Bumbo, she still enjoys her swing and bouncy seat too!  We have plans to get her exersaucer out of the attic very soon as I think she'd like something else that helps her be upright a little more! 
I cannot remember if I included this in her three month update, but the night she turned three months old....she rolled over!!  Nora Kate rolls tummy to back regularly, but we've yet to make it back to tummy as that's more difficult. 
She's holding her head and upper body up like a champ when she sits in the Bumbo or on my lap or when she's doing tummy time.
Nora Kate has become increasingly interested in her hands.  I often notice her just holding them in front of her face moving them around looking!  She will reach out to touch a lot of things now...and successfully grasp them!  Nora Kate will take her paci when I offer it, but she really seems to care less about it.  She prefers to suck on two or three of her fingers.
One thing I have to mention...Nora Kate drools more than any 4 month old I've ever seen!  I don't know why, but I have to keep a bib on her just for the drool a lot of the time to keep her shirt dry!  Carter thinks it's funny that she always "blows bubbles."  He will point to her bubbly/drooly mouth and say, "baby! bubbles!  wet! bubbles!!" and just laugh and laugh! 
Nora Kate loves to "chat," and she has become quiet vocal this month!  I love hearing her sweet little baby voice, especially when she squeals with delight!  Nora Kate smiles all the time.  I just love her sweet smile!
One big first for Nora Kate this month was the she started sleeping in her crib in her room.  I kept her in our room until she literal outgrew the bassinet.  Her feet were touching the bottom and her head the top.  John joked that I was going to stunt her growth if I kept her in it much longer. :)  So, we moved her to her crib, and she has done great!
She got a wonderful report at her doctor's visit, and she smiled and cooed for Dr. Booher and all the nurses which got her lots of attention.  My poor baby girl had to get three shots at this visit.  She doesn't go back until she's 6 months old.
I could go on and on about our precious baby girl!  We love our little Nora Kate so very much and could not imagine our family without her!!

Nora Kate at 4 months

Sibling picture.

Dawson 4.5 years.  Carter 20 months.  Nora Kate 4 months.

(Carter was decided-on his own-to try to hold Nora Kate's hand for the picture!)

I just had to include this picture, because when I was trying to take pictures of JUST Nora Kate for this update, Carter absolutely could not leave her alone.  He kept climbing in the chair and sitting as close to her as possible.  So sweet!

Carter at 20 Months

Our sweet, silly, happy Carter is 20 months old today-Friday the 13th!  AND he was born on a Friday the 13th, so these (now) "lucky" days are his! 

There is so much I could say about Carter this month, but what I really want to remember is his happy personality!  He is so, so sweet.  He loves to give hugs, kisses, and snuggles without being asked or prompted.  He is especially sweet with Nora Kate-even when we're not looking.  He really just can't get enough of her.  He kisses her head, hands, and toes...isn't that the sweetest thing?!  He is constantly hugging or patting her.  Sometimes he will sit down next to her or in front of her and just watch her, waiting, like they're going to have a conversation.  He's just so sweet! 

Carter is also super silly!  He loves to be a ham.  He will do silly things and then look at our faces to see if we are going to laugh.  Then he laughs at himself right along with us.  Carter loves to laugh.  He will do something we won't even notice and crack himself up!   So funny!  There is no way to have a bad day when Carter is around. 

As sweet as Carter is to Nora Kate, he looks up to Dawson just as much!  I don't think there is anyone that makes Carter happier than Dawson.  He copies EVERYTHING Dawson does (this is both good and bad!)

It would be impossible to specifically talk about words in Carter's vocabulary now because there are just so many!  However, there are a few things he says or talks about that I want to remember!  His favorite phrase right now is "all aboard!"  He says this 24/7 and with a variety of tones, inflections, and volumes.  The other day the first thing I heard on the monitor when he woke up from nap was "all aboard!" repeated about 15 times before I could get to his room!  If you're in Carter's way, he will look at you and shout, "Move back!"  I'm not sure where this came from, and it honestly doesn't sound super polite (so we're going to work on that), but it makes us laugh every time!  Last week at church, John had Carter trapped in the pew during the service, but Carter wanted out to the aisle to run.  He looked and John and said, "Daddy, move back!!"  If he is looking for anyone or anything he says, "Where are you?" in the sweetest sing-song voice ever!  The other day I asked Carter where his bellybutton was, and he said, "Bellybutton, where are you?"  :)

Carter loves music, and he loves to dance and sing.  His current favorite is Frosty.  I've never sang Frosty so many times in my life as I have in the past 2 weeks!  Any and every snowman is frosty, so every one we see in a Christmas decoration he points out, calls Frosty, and then wants us to sing.  :)  We are always so impressed with how quickly Carter learns things by song-even at this young age-he knows A LOT of words to various songs, and even Frosty which we haven't been singing for too long! 

Carter points out bugs, bees, stinkbugs, and lady bugs EVERYWHERE, and he usually correctly identifies between them.  There is a huge stinkbug problem in East Tennessee (lovely thing to remember on our son's 20 month blog post, right?), but because of this Carter has learned what they are.  Unfortunately now if Carter sees a piece of a leaf or anything on the floor that isn't supposed to be there, he is convinced it is a "stink bug" (which he says with a lot of emphasis).  He points it out, and says stink bug over and over until we come look.  If we tell him it's a leaf, he will say, "stink bug! ew!  shooo! gross! stink bug!"  I want to remember the way he says "no" he draws it out and shakes his head, "noooooo!"  He has started nodding yes, and it's the most dramatic nod you have ever seen...hilarious.

In terms of potty training Carter is doing really well!  We usually have a minimum of one success each day, and a lot of times more!  The days I do a good job taking him frequently, he does great!  If I could stay on him better about asking, he would have it quickly because he is already even telling me when he has to go a lot of the time without me asking. 

Carter is currently cutting A LOT of teeth (finally!) at once!  I'll update next month with how many he actually has, because as of now his top molars are half way through, his bottom molars feel like they're coming through soon.  And he has a couple more knots on his gums in the front where it looks like he could be getting more teeth too!

My sweet Carter!

 

Carter 20 months.

Carter 20 months.

Carter 20 months.

Carter 20 months with his siblings!

Carter 20 months with big brother and little sister.

Isn't this sweet?!  He just loves his sister so much, he had to try to hold her hand...all his own idea!

Love my three precious kids!

November 2013

November was another fun month for our family.  We started the month by visiting Dollywood.  John had to work, so Lolly and Pop came with Dawson, Carter, Nora Kate, and me!  The weather was really perfect...we weren't hot, but we weren't too cold either.  Dollywood was beautifully decorated for Fall.  I envisioned getting several wonderful pictures in front of these displays, but the boys were really just interested in having fun at Dollywood on the rides!  :)  We did have a fun day, and got to do A LOT of rides!!

We did several Thanksgiving crafts this month including decorating Thanksgiving placemats and making these handprint turkey plates.  We made one to keep, and one for each set of grandparents.

 Glitter glue is serious business.

 Carter thinks glitter glue is silly!

In the middle of the month we celebrated Mamaw's 84th birthday!  We had cake and ice cream at her house.  In addition to her gift, the kids took her balloons and flowers.  Dawson was especially excited to give her flowers.  So sweet!

One Friday morning we visited the Alcoa Fire Station with several friends!  The firemen were so good and patient with the kids!  They told them a lot of good information, demonstrated "stop, drop, and roll,"  showed the kids what they look like in their fire suits and how the search for people in a burning house so the kids wouldn't be afraid, and -of course the favorite-let the kids get in the fire truck!  We spent about an hour there, and Dawson and Carter had a blast!  I wore Nora Kate in the carrier and she slept most of the time! :)

 

Dawson continues to absolutely LOVE preschool, and he was beyond thrilled to be invited to his first school friend birthday party!  It was for a little girl he likes to play with named Cheyenne, and it was a pool party at a local indoor pool!  Dawson spent the better part of a morning perfecting her homemade birthday card (so sweet!), and he had fun picking out a girl gift for her of Polly Pockets.  When we got to the party he was excited to get to swim and play with a few other friends from school who were at the party too!  He has since asked to have a playdate with school friends (funny how he makes the distinction of "school friends" on his own).  So sweet how he loves his little friends. 

We celebrated Uncle Logan's 20th birthday this month! 

The Monday before Thanksgiving my friend, Cassandra, drove over from Asheville, North Carolina with her sweet boys, Henry and Thomas, for a playdate!  It was so fun to have them here and get to chat and play with the little ones!  I was glad it worked out for them to get to stay and play with Dawson after he got home from school too!  We all had a great time!!!

 Unfortunately I didn't get a picture until the kids were absolutely exhausted!  (Explains the expressions and the paci in Carter's mouth!)

Then we celebrated my birthday!  I had a fun day with the kids (yay, it wasn't a school day so I got to have time with them all at home!), then that evening Mom, Dad, Logan, Karen, Mike, Emily, Drew, Eric, and Hailey all came over bringing dinner, cake, and ice cream to have a birthday party.  After it was over, John and I slipped out for a movie date, leaving the kids in the care of Nana and Grandad for a few hours.  I had a great birthday! 

 As soon as Carter saw the cake, he couldn't think about anything else.  He kept asking for a piece!

 Family picture on my birthday!

The night of my birthday it started snowing?!  I don't remember it ever snowing on my birthday before!  When I was up with Nora Kate during the night I looked out the window to see a beautiful snow covered yard.  While I'm not a fan of the cold weather in winter, the snow is beautiful!  The boys had a blast playing in the snow!  Carter learned what snow is, and now he likes to talk about it!  I ran Nora Kate outside for a quick "first snow" picture, and she was most definitely not a fan of the cold!

 

The following day was Thanksgiving.  We celebrated with a lot of family (including Mamaw) at Lolly and Pop's house for lunch, went home for the boys, Nora Kate, and John (he worked the previous night) to nap, then went to the Zorio's for Thanksgiving dinner. 

 Daddy's tiniest turkey on Thanksgiving.

 My three sweet Thanksgiving turkies!

 Somehow I missed that Carter was doing this until I uploaded the pictures to the computer!  Looks like he wanted a little sister to eat instead of turkey!  I'm really not sure what he's doing here, but this is SO Carter!  Just being silly.