Happy birthday, Grammy!

We all headed north to Western PA for a long weekend, celebrating Grammy's xxth birthday. (Ahem, it was a major milestone birthday, but we'll leave it at that.) We were psyched that Traci's brother's family, including cousins Julian (7-years-old) and Nicholas (6), could join us as well. Everybody had a super time playing in the deep snow, "helping" Grammy to bake her birthday cake, and eating a nice family dinner out. We also presented Grammy with her special gift: a plate with the handprints of all of the grandchildren. Needless to say, we think that Grammy had a wonderful birthday, in spite of passing that certain milestone...ahem! We also had a fun time spending the weekend deep in the midst of Steeler Nation, the weekend before the Super Bowl. Yep, everybody is psyched for the Big Game!!!

Please take a look at our photo album to the right for more of the weekend's pictures.

Sssssssssso Tall

Yep, we made it back to the neighborhood nature center today, where Katie got to be a bird, jaguar, bumblebee, and snake (see picture). But, more importantly, Katie also had her 4-year check-up! For a little girl who gets anxious about EVERYTHING, she did a fabulous job with all of the tests, bells, and whistles that come with this check-up. She did a smash-up job with the vision and hearing tests, gamely drew whatever the doctor asked her for, and even did quite well in a game of catch. Her only tears came when she had to get five (!) shots, and who wouldn't cry with that many needles coming at them?? With her new measurements, Katie is continuing her long-and-lean trend: HEIGHT - 42 inches (90th percentile), and WEIGHT - 38.5 pounds (75th percentile). Way to go, Katie - you made us proud today!!

OH, KATIE!

Anybody out there like bloopers? Well, you're in luck today, because we have our own cringe-worthy event, filmed exclusively for the blog. Katie, following her dance class, was trying to show me how high she could throw a ball. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to her surroundings before I let her have at it! Ooooooof!

PS - Absolutely no adorable, little babies were injured in the filming of this shot. Thankfully, the mom involved was super-cool and shrugged it off, saying "Eh, he's my third boy. He gets stuff thrown at him on a daily basis."

Match Made in Heaven

Alright...it's on!! We waited to do tonight's blog until the Super Bowl matchup was complete; and the great McG vs. McG game is now all set. You see, our good buddies Maureen, Connor, and Madeline are huge Cheeseheads, bleeding green and gold. (Dad Brian is a @#$# Patriots fan!) Our household, of course, backs the black and gold through and through. So, will there be much smack talk amongst Katie and Connor? Will Michael and Maddie taunt each other with their "baaas" and "gaaas"? Well, probably not. But, it was fun watching the games with them today and seeing our two favorite teams heading to the Super Bowl! Thanks, guys...and Go Steelers!

Where Are Their Parents?

Who in the world let these crazies out of the zoo??? And, whose idea was it to let them run wild in a restaurant? Oh yeah, that would be ours... Even though we all live within about a 10-mile radius, we finally made plans with some college buddies for the first time in about a year. Our kids hadn't seen each other in ages, so they...umm....let out a bit of steam, to the detriment of our fellow diners. From left to right, we've got Patrick (Age 6, the big man on campus), Katie (4, the great observer who giggled a lot), Megan (2, the little monkey with the big squeal), and Ryan (4, who loved to rub his Capitals Winter Classic shirt in our faces). Missing was Michael, who was probably running laps around the restaurant by this point. We had lots of fun and hope to do it again SOON! Right, Kelly, Rose, Eric, and Kristina??

Say What?

Well, it's official... We've been handed a reference to a speech therapist for Michael...sigh. But, before we get into that, it's time to report on how well he's doing otherwise! Michael had his 15-month appointment today, and he passed (almost) everything with flying colors. The doctor noted that he is a vibrant, happy, curious, tall-and-skinny boy who just loves being a toddler. The only thing he is lagging on? His speech development. Unfortunately, he still is not saying any words, not even mama or dada, on a consistent basis. The good news? The doctor (who is quite frank about things) feels in her gut that absolutely nothing is wrong, as the rest of his social cues (eye contact, pointing, interaction, etc.) are perfectly normal. However, she did refer us to a speech therapist to get things checked out...just in case. So, we'll look into that soon. Meanwhile, we'll just bask in our little boy and his newest measurements: HEIGHT - 33 inches (89th percentile), WEIGHT - 24 lbs., 14 oz. (49th percentile).

Attaboy!

You can't even crack the door of our pantry nowadays without Michael barging past to get his two new lovies, the broom and swiffer-broom. Suppose it's a good thing that he has seen us use them enough to know how to mimic us... Actually, he's better at getting under the furniture than we are! Now, if we could just get him to stop making the messes in the first place...