Busy, busy!

The last two  months have been so busy! In late November we went to North Carolina and Max got to go to his first football game (also my first of the year). We enjoyed walking around Chapel Hill and watching UNC beat Maryland. Max was worn out from all the excitement.

We also went to the Army-Navy game in Philly. It was unseasonably warm so we got to enjoy the game from our seats for at least the first half instead of just hiding in the club level.

In December, there were two birthday parties...Cate doesn't care the theme (Mustache Bash for one of them) she just loves to party! Cate also visited with her friend from Atlanta - sharing toys, chasing each other, going to the Natural History Museum ("rarrr!!"), and eating Mexican!

Getting ready for Christmas was lots of fun. First, we went to pick out the perfect Christmas tree.  Cate even helped decorate the tree.  On the weekend, Cate enjoyed hitting the Chick-fil-A and seeing Santa Cow and Elf Cow. I think she actually enjoyed them more than the real Santa in Old Town, although he was a pretty impressive Ole St Nick. She did seem partial to Mrs. Claus, though.

 On Christmas Eve, Cate got to pick one gift to open. Then we went to our friends' house for a traditional Polish dinner (Cate ate bananas...not so Polish!). Cate wore herself out early and passed out on the couch (only to roll off a little while later...whoops!)

We enjoyed sleeping in on Christmas (for the last time, I imagine!)  When Cate finally did wake up, she got to see her kitchen, Elmo Potty Book, and Abby slippers from Santa. Then she went through her stocking, followed by opening the rest of her gifts (and Max's, too!).

Max is already starting to get a tooth...so early! He is also rolling onto his side, but can't quite get all the way over. Cate is trying to start potty training, but still won't use the toilet at school because she wants" Mommy, Daddy, Baby Max". In addition to her great cleaning skills, Cate has become quite the little helper in the kitchen.

Fall fun!

We had to follow up a fun-filled birthday weekend with more great stuff, so we have been busy! First we went to a pumpkin patch and playground. Cate loved running around the pumpkins and picked out several to decorate. She also enjoyed playing on the playground even though it was for older kids - nothing is too big for Cate!

The next weekend  I took Cate and Max to a friend's 4-year-old's birthday party. Cate was a little intimidated by the big kid moon bounce, but enjoyed decorating pumpkins, drinking a Caprisun, and playing with the older girl's toys...she didn't want to leave! Cate even tried to look like one of the big girls!

The weekend before Halloween we went to Old Town Alexandria to go trick-or-treating at the shops. Cate was Abby from Sesame Street, and Max wore his Elmo onesie. Cate also got to wear her costume to daycare on Halloween day, plus trick-or-treating in Miss Judy's neighborhood that night. We tried to prep her on what to say, but she went to the first house, said "candy," then ran in their house! We are still trying to make our way through all the candy she got since we only let her have one per night after she eats dinner.

In November, Aunt Cami and Uncle Barnaby got to visit Cate and meet Max. We had a nice relaxing weekend and Cate is looking forward to spending more time with her godmother once they live closer!!

Finally, Max had his 2 month doctor's appointment this past week. He is a squishy little baby weighing in at 14lbs 6oz (97th percentile!!) and 22 1/2 inches long (only 45th percentile). He loves his naps...just like daddy!!

Max is here and Cate is two!!

If I was a little more organized, this would be two separate posts, but I'll blame my delay on being busy with a newborn and a toddler!

As you all know, Maximilian "Max" Jacob Andrew Messing was born on September 18th at 8:22am. He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long.  At his two week appointment he was already up to 10 pounds 3 ounces and 22 inches!! He loves to eat.

Cate has been a great big sister from day one.  She was excited from the moment she saw him. She loves to bring him little toys and becomes very concerned when he cries (perhaps even a little angry if we don't seem to address his crying quickly enough!).










Cate, of course, celebrated her second birthday just two weeks after Max was born. First, she had a little cupcake party at daycare. I was able to attend this year since I am home on maternity leave anyway. The next day she had her two year old Well Child Check where her measurements of 27 pounds and 33.5 inches put her at the 50th percentile. She also had to get two shots, but any pain was forgotten once the nurse brought her stickers, bracelets, a pencil and a lollipop!

Over the weekend we celebrated Cate's birthday at The Little Gym. They have lots of mats, bars, and beams and the staff put on a great party for all the kids. Several kids from daycare came, as well as some of our friends' kids. All the kids enjoyed licking the icing off their cupcakes (apparently two-year-olds don't actually eat the cupcake?!). As if that wasn't enough excitement, we also went to a birthday moon bounce party for one and three year old brothers the next day.

Cate is still enjoying being in the twos classroom. She can count to 20, knows all the main colors, and is working on her alphabet. She is also making progress potty training (yay!). More and more words are recognizable, although she will still go on rants of her own little language. Her word of the week has been "okay"...every time you ask her a question she will just reply okay, whether it actually makes sense or not.

I still have three weeks home with Max before I will go back to work and Erick will take over for a few weeks before he starts daycare in December!

One last post...

for Cate as an only child! I am seriously overdue in writing a post. We have been super busy getting everything ready for Baby Boy Messing, and, of course, having fun with Cate! Cate has also been helping get ready for baby brother...she helped Erick put the crib together and helps me clean all his stuff! Erick has done most of the work, though, and the nursery looks great!!

Cate's going to be the coolest big sister ever!! She has even started giving my big ole belly hugs and kisses!

Cate has been enjoying a swim class through the county and swimming at our own pool this summer. She loves to splash around and jump in the pool. As with all of her other cleaning habits, she also enjoys grabbing a brush and scrubbing the side of the pool. No matter how many times she says "close eyes, close mouth, under-aqua" she does not enjoy going underwater at all!!

We have been to several baseball games this summer. Cate enjoys wearing her Nationals hat (and sunglasses, of course), but isn't a huge fan of the the yelling and clapping, yet! We have also been taking walks around the neighborhood and to the park a couple times.

Cate is finishing up her last week in the "Toddler" classroom at daycare, and moves into the "Twos" classroom after Labor Day. The teachers love her - she always wants to clean up, even if we are just getting there in the morning when she is cleaning and hasn't even played with the toys.  She really likes her current teachers, too, but has missed having some of her friends in the same class since they moved up at the beginning of the summer and I know she will be happy to be back with them.

Cate is starting to do some potty training - she will actually run in and use her little toilet for "pee-pee", especially before a shower.  She should make some progress once she is in the next class because they will work on it at daycare then, too.

Recently Cate learned how to jump and loves to jump up and down. She can identify probably a little over half  of the alphabet, is great with colors, and can count to five by herself. She always seems like she is learning new words.  She knows most farm animals, pets, and some jungle animals like monkeys (because she acts like one, of course!!) and elephants.

 

In between all of this, we have gotten to spend some time with friends and family, including my high school friend and her two kids who just loved Cate.  The little boy kept saying he wanted to squeeze her cute little cheeks...who doesn't?!