Catholic Catherine!

We had Catherine's baptism on June 8th.  My brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Mary, are Catherine's godparents and we were so thankful that Brian and my mom (aka Nana) made the trip out to SLC for the big day!  Catherine's baptism was during the 5pm mass on Sunday night, and since it was Brian's first time out here, we spent the rest of the weekend exploring the mountains and some of the sites. 

Nana and Andrew enjoying the hammock:

 We went up Millcreek Canyon for a cookout on Saturday night.  Matthew managed to get a soot handprint on his face.

On Sunday, we booked a sitter for a few hours in the morning and went out for a relaxing kidless breakfast and then a walk around Silver Lake up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Then, it was time for the baptism!  My mom got Catherine dressed in a 75 year old baptismal gown that was brought to the US from Italy by my great grandmother.  All of the girls in my family have been baptized wearing it, including me and my mom!

We had some friends, Fr. Andrew, and our 87 year old neighbor join us for dinner in the yard after mass.  As low-key as I tried to make it, it was still a lot of work preparing for the gathering.  Thanks for all your help, Mom (one of my few regular blog readers). :)

I never found a place with Marzipan in Pittsburgh, but a nearby bakery had it here and it was so good!  Yes!!

Passing on some Godfatherly wisdom, I'm sure.

Of course I had to take Brian downtown to show him Temple Square:

Thanks again for coming, Brian and Mom!

She's 3 months and 11 days

...and I never wrote about her being 2 months.  So, let's just say, Catherine is great and we are busy around here!

Catherine's definitely come out of her shell in the last 2 months.  She's smiling, babbling, reaching for things, sucking her thumb, pulling 10-12 hours straight at night, nursing quickly, cuddling frequently, and pretty much just being a ridiculously pleasant little addition to our family.  I am really enjoying watching her little personality bloom, but pretty sad to see her leaving her newborn-self behind.  I know I won't get to enjoy the baby stretches much longer--you know, when you pick them up and they stick their little butts out and arch their backs?  I think it's the cutest thing EVER!

Ok, and now for the photo dump:

So happy in the morning!

Trying on dresses for Aunt Faith's wedding

A little crazy to see this out your front window!

We got a new light fixture.  Catherine noticed.

Just doing a little grilling.

First plane ride for Aunt Faith's wedding!

And this is what she did through every wedding event.

Faith's Married!!  Welcome to the family, David!

Catherine met all her cousins in Charleston--here is Eli, Aunt Annie, Aunt Mary, and Bridget

Walking around charming Charleston

It was great seeing family!

The big brothers were happy to have Catherine back home.

This cuddle time is why everything is dusty.  Cuddles always win over cleaning.

Little rotator and my 3rd thumb-sucker.

Catherine's getting better at tummy time.

But, has also figured out how to get out of the work.

Matthew: I wear dada shoes!

So smiley!

The boys running a little carwash.

My 3 favorite little people.

Catherine's first hike!

Fell asleep during tummy time?!!? 

Hi!

Show off

I love baby cuddles.

The Bernacki family visited for Memorial day weekend.

Their daughter left a hair clip behind.

The kids on Andrew's last day of school!

M, C, and I went to the zoo on Andrew's last day

Farewell to Mrs. Lee!  Let the lazy summer mornings begin!

The Big Brothers

I'll post about Catherine's 2nd month soon. But, I thought I'd do a little update on the boys since they turned 2.5 and 4.5 this month.  Seriously?  I've been a mom that long?  Incredible!  Anyway, here's what the boys are up to these days:

Andrew at four-and-a-half years old:

When Andrew wakes in the morning, we are never quite sure which Andrew we will get.  Half the time, we get Curmudgeon Andrew.  This Andrew cries for a good 20 minutes when we tell him to get dressed before coming down for breakfast.  This Andrew doesn't like what is on the table for breakfast when he arrives.  This Andrew has a dresser full of clothes that are "not perfect."  

The other half of the time, we get Agreeable Andrew.  This Andrew says, "No problem" when asked to get dressed in the morning, followed by "This is the best breakfast ever, Mom.  Thank you."  Needless to say, Andrew can be quite a joy and quite a challenge.  We've tried to figure out how to get Agreeable Andrew to make an appearance more frequently.  We've tried adjusting naps, bedtimes, meals, attention, etc.  Nothing seems to make a difference.  We simply have an emotional little 4-year-old who either feels GREAT or HORRIBLE in the morning.  Being 4 must just be that tough.

Other than the morning surprise, Andrew's been a lot of fun this year.  He's doing great with no discipline issues at school.  He is practicing writing his name and other words (wrote EDEMA and CARDIAC with Dad a few mornings ago) all the time. He is still obsessed with tools and building.  He loves his new little sister and likes to talk to her about colors and shapes while she's doing some floor time.  He has hot and cold days with Matthew.  Some days, he tells me that Matthew is the best assistant ever.  Others, it's impossible for them to work together and Andrew lets me know he needs to put himself in time-out for hitting Matthew again.  Andrew's current favorite shows are Scooby Doo (because Dad watched it when he was little), Octonauts, This Old House, and Myth Busters.  

Matthew at two-and-a-half years old:

Matthew's our wild-card these days.  The kid is smarter than he lets on and gets away with more than he should!  He's not a huge talker--babbling all the time, but pretty difficult for others to understand.  However, he knows his colors, ABC's, tools (that's a basic skill, right?), and shapes.  Strangely, he doesn't understand what COME HERE, DON'T TOUCH THAT, or STOP mean.  Isn't that convenient for him?  He thinks COME HERE means RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!  He thinks DON'T TOUCH THAT means GET ONE LAST TOUCH OF THAT BEFORE YOU ARE STOPPED.  And, he thinks STOP means HURRY!!  Haha--it's a good things he's so damn cute or we'd really be in trouble.  My favorite thing is when I angrily yell at him about something and he says, "Why Mama? Why?" in this adorable and innocent voice.  Ugh--he's a sneaky one!  Anyway, he's definitely keeping me on my toes and motivates me to change Catherine's diaper as fast as I can so I can catch him before he does anything too destructive.

At two-and-a-half, Matthew is completely obsessed with trains.  He loves putting together his tracks and can often be heard chug chug chugging or choo choo-ing when he is supposed to be napping.  Also, his scraps of bread at meal time often become engines on the table.  He's quite a copycat to Andrew and likes to be Andrew's little echo.  So far, Andrew is amused.  Matthew is starting to want to do things for himself.  He is trying to click himself into his carseat and gets quite frustrated when I help him.  He likes to fill his own cup with water from the fridge and LOVES washing his own hands before and after meals.  We are having a lot of conversations about the potty and he has earned one chocolate treat for a success the other day, but he doesn't seem too interested in the idea yet.  And, with a newborn in the house, I'm definitely in no hurry.  

Ok--and now for the pictures of the big brothers:

Proud Big Brother

TRAIN HAT!

We've had a bit of regression.

 Grandma Yenchek came to visit:

I had no idea the baby gym would entertain all 3 kids!

Trip to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake:

Mom and Andrew bonding hike:

Teaching Catherine the benefits of tummy time:

Dyeing Easter Eggs:

The Easter Bunny brought the boys a sandbox!