Life and Times of the Murphy Five: February 2013

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Valentine's Day 2013

Brett and I decided to forego gifts for each other and just focus on making the holiday special for the kids. We got them each a little valentine gift and had a fancy dinner. It was great and we will definitely keep the tradition going.

Riley's valentine for her school friends.

The girls' Valentines. Cole scored some new clothes.

Riley decorating the table

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Riley Nicole: 4 1/2 Years Old

Riley is now half way to 5. I can't even believe how much our lives have have changed since little Riley joined our family. I feel like when Riley turns five she will no longer seem so little and that makes me a little sad. I'm very excited to experience what this age brings, but a little sad that this time has arrived already. Here is what she's up to at 4 1/2:

She is wearing size 4 and 5 clothes. Toddler clothes are officially too short for her. She is in a size 9 shoe and just about ready to move up a size.
Her hair is so long now. It probably should be trimmed because she hates for it to be brushed, but it is so pretty.
She has become more picky with what she eats. She thinks that she needs to snack all day. She would prefer to eat a bowl of chips and cherry tomatoes instead of lunch. She loves raspberries, strawberries, most veggies, yogurt, chicken (really anything other than red meat), salad, Mac and cheese, ravioli, and lunchables.
She gets frustrated very easily and copes by giving up. We have had a lot of conversations about not giving up and doing her best.
She is very sassy these days and is constantly talking back and saying no. She has been spending a lot of time in time out. Along with her sass comes a lot of whining as well.
She is no longer crying at school, but she is still reluctant to go. She always comes home happy.
She thinks she is Harper's mom. She is always telling her what to do, and what not to do.
She hates that Harper copies everything that she does.
She always seems to add an extra "ed" to past tense words.
She loves singing and makes up her own silly songs that make no sense.
She loves movies and becomes so engrossed in them if we don't limit the amount that she watches. She loves to pretend that she is one of the characters.
She is only taking about two naps a week.
She is a daddy's girl and sometimes treats mommy like chopped liver. I just remind myself that I'm still the one she wants when she gets hurt.
She is signed up for softball this summer. She is super excited to be on a team and actually play games. Daddy and I are excited too!
We have decided that she will complete one more year of preschool before going on to kindergarten. With all of the recent crying at drop off and just my intuition we decided that she would benefit from another year of development before moving on. She will be attending Westview Preschool on Waukee. We toured the school and think it will be great for her. She will attend four afternoons a week and the class is designed for kids that aren't quite ready to transition to kindergarten. I think she will thank is later on in life.

Boogies And Owies

Harper had a little run in with Sam, the cat. Here's the aftermath. She is quite the drama queen like big sis:

Riley Sings To Cole

It's not uncommon to hear Riley singing all day long. Her favorite places to sing are in the bathroom and to her little brother. She doesn't just sing any ordinary song, she sings her own originals. It's pretty funny really. Here's a sweet little video of her singing to Cole.

Doctor Visits

We made a trip to doctor Fred's Tuesday. Cole needed to be seen for his two month check-up and both of the girls had fevers. Riley developed a fever on Sunday. Other than being extreme whiny she didn't have any other symptoms. The fever hung around and didn't really even drop with Tylenol or Advil. We kept her home from school Monday hoping she was getting over a bug and would soon be fever free. By the end of the day Riley and Harper both had fevers. We kept Riley home again Tuesday because she still had her fever. So off to the doctor we went. I expected that the girls both had viruses that would soon pass. Turns out Riley and Harper both had strep throat. Riley also had a bladder infection. Neither of the girls had a sore throat, but Riley finally admitted that it did burn when she went to the bathroom. They are both on antibiotics and doing well. Riley is excited for her valentines day party on Thursday. This might be the first time in a long time that she's actually looked forward to going to school!

Cole looked great, but our poor little guy had to get four immunizations and an oral vaccine. He was a bit cranky, to say the least, the rest of the day. He weighed in at 10 lb 4 oz and was 22 inches long!

Friday, February 8, 2013

Cole Plays Music

He is wearing all 0-3 month clothes. He can fit into a few 3 month onesies, but they are still a bit big. He's in a size 1 diaper.
He hates to have a wet diaper! He will let you know when he needs changed.
It's no surprise if he poops seven times a day!
He is rocking the most awesome Mohawk. He has some new hair that is growing in in the front.
It amazes me every day how much he looks like his sisters. They all have the same features. Same nose, eyes, feet, hands, bodies...literally everything! The only difference is Riley's blond hair.
He likes to be swaddled at night. Just this past week he's started sleeping for longer stretches at night. He is usually out for the night at 11 and is up between 3 an 5 to eat. Thankfully he goes right back to sleep for another 3-4 hours.
He's not on much of a schedule during the day. He sleeps when he wants and usually has a couple 2 hour stretches of awake times.
He's still eating 3 ounces every three hours, or so. He will eat anywhere from 5-8 ounces between 8-11pm.
He is starting to figure out his hands. They seem to always find their way to his mouth.
He loves to kick his little legs. His little play mat has a piano to kick and he's always playing music.
He loves his big sisters when they aren't up in his face.