Living life with THREE little Boyds: July 2014

Believe it or not Gemma had never had a real hair cut. She really didn't have much hair until she was about three anyway, and after than, a simple trimming by me was enough. She finally got one! She randomly invited my friend Leah over for a "play date" and came up with a pretty detailed schedule all on her own. On her agenda...a hair cut, buy a hula hoop, play on the jumpy toys, and get a milk shake. We didn't quite make it to the jumpy toys, but we covered everything else. She's pretty proud of her new look.

All first hair cuts should be this exciting.

She's so precious!

She likes it!

We had to get a picture with her play date friend Leah :)

We got the milk shake on the way home.

The next morning...still excited about it.

This summer is flying by. It has been a busy one, but a very fun one. We've spent most of our free time at the pool which has been a completely different experience than last summer. Last year Gemma was still doing pretty basic stuff, and it was a big deal if she put her whole head under water. This year...forget it! She doesn't even like being in the kiddy-pool. It's all about the big pool now. She spends her time jumping off the side, grabbing toys off the floor of the pool, coming up with new "tricks" (spins and dance poses), pretending to be a shark, and practicing her floating. Thankfully even Makael is a fan of the pool! I wanted him to like it this summer so badly! Last year he mainly spent his time throwing toys into the pool and doing everything in his power to not get wet. This year, by our third visit, he was jumping off the side into my arms. Unfortunately, he liked doing that so much that he decided to jump in while I was packing up our things and went under water (he could reach but it was too deep for him to get his balance to stand up). It was somewhat traumatic for him so he hasn't done that since and generally stays clear of the "deep" end, but he has thankfully learned to enjoy the water and doesn't mind getting wet...especially when there's a squirt gun in hand :)

Water in his eyes.

Gemma and her buddies.

She can jump off the side over and over and over...

This is a common occurance after the pool.

So the differences between Gemma and Makael are becoming more and more obvious. They play great together, but their interests are totally different. It's so fun to watch them find new things they like to do. Gemma is the creative one in the family. She can sit and draw, color, paint, or do "crafty" projects (cut/glue/tape) for hours at a time...literally. She's quite good at it too. She gets her talent from her Lita for sure, definitely not from her parents.

Dad is a trooper.

Mom's best efforts at face painting.

Makael likes painting too...for about 5 minutes.

This picture makes me melt.

Makael is more into climbing. He's a little monkey that kid. We are constantly surprised by the things he can do. The bunk bed is his own personal jungle-gym and he has absolutely no use for the ladder (the proper way to get up to the top). We are just waiting for our first trip to the ER with a broken bone. He's also a little actor. He will act out entire scenes from his favorite movies, and I kid you not, the majority of his vocabulary consists of movie quotes. He has favorite lines from Sandlot, Nemo, Frozen, Tad the Explorer, Daniel Tiger, Bo on the Go...and more I can't think of at the moment. The kid is a riot! There has recently been signs that the "terrible 3s" are approaching, but truthfully, I just love being around him. He's so pleasant and funny.

Climbs everything!

Everything!

We obviously still have to wait a while to know what Esmé will be like, but for now she's busy growing...which she's very good at! So far she has done everything (smile, coo, sleep through the night,) before her older siblings, and continues to be a happy and mellow baby. She's just the cutest little ball of chubby rolls. Her favorite spot is her changing table, and for some reason, especially likes the ceiling fan in her room. Not sure what makes it more special than the other ceiling fans in the house but she delivers the most smiles to that one. She seems to be the most sensitive one of the three...at least when it comes to shots. It took me a good ten minutes to calm her down after her shots at her 2 month check up this morning, and she's been quite upset with me ever since. Poor thing! The rest of her appointment went well though. She weighs 9 lbs 9 oz, and is 21 inches long, which is in the 10th percentile for both (and I keep thinking she's huge). Happy and healthy :)