Kid stats

After birthdays, we had well-child checkups. As usual, the girls are tall--Dr. Luginbill tells me that research suggests there is a 100% chance they will be taller than me--and otherwise there's not much to report! The appointment itself was pretty uneventful, except that I had intentionally planned all three of our appointments early in the morning so Kevin could come along, then he had early morning duty. But the girls brought along their doctor kits and were generally charming.

Annie at 2--

• Height: 2' 11.5"
• Weight: 24 lbs. 3.2 oz.
• Completely potty trained (except for diapers at night) by August, which is largely due to Nellie's help!
• Still loves her blankie and pacy, although the days of the pacifier are few. I hope. I am planning to send her to Emily's Pacifier Detox Center very soon.
• Has seriously the cutest little voice I have ever heard. I wish I could just bottle it up and keep it forever. Yes, we have a video camera, but have you ever tried to get a 2-year-old to say something at just the right time? Part of it is that she says the cutest things. For instance, she calls me "my mommy" and Nellie "my NeNe." As in, "did you see that my mommy?" or "where's my NeNe?" or "is that funny my NeNe?" That last one usually involves her doing something to impress Nellie, like dropping her fork on the floor or saying "poo-poo." She also picks up on silly things Nellie says and then repeats them very seriously, like calling me Mrs. Bologna every time she thanks me for something. She has very good manners, but it's always "thank you, Mrs. Bologna" or "sorry, Mrs. Bologna!"
  
• Counts to 20, knows the alphabet.
  
• Her favorite songs are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Mean" by Taylor Swift (don't ask) and she loves to sing.
• Her favorite movie is Mulan.
• Mostly she just really, really loves Nellie.

Nellie at 4--

• Height: 3' 6"
• 38 lbs. 12.8 oz.
• Recognizes all and writes almost all of the letters in the alphabet. She is very interested in learning to read and spell words.
• Has a mind for song lyrics--she is constantly making up new songs that actually have rhyming lyrics or tell complicated stories, and she can repeat songs she's only heard a handful of times. Which makes me very cautious about what music we listen to!
• Is in a very helpful stage--love it!! Her favorite way to help is giving the dogs baths out in the backyard. It can occupy her for an hour--a quiet, peaceful hour. I definitely think 2 and 4 is easier than 1 and 3 so far.
• Refers to everything in Grand Ledge as Papa John's. That is, "Papa John's playground" and "Papa John's library" and "Papa John's McDonalds." Because, of course, we're living in Papa John's house.
• Is still very energetic, very silly, and very stubborn. She wore the same four dresses all summer (though at least 50% of the time she was in only underpants or a bathing suit), and I am nervous about transitioning to constricting fall clothes.
  
• Still prefers any kind of meat or vegetable over any kind of sweet. This morning for breakfast we had sausage, french toast, and strawberries. She ate one strip of french toast, a handful of strawberries, and three sausage links. Annie, on the other hand, has a sweet tooth like her mom. She spit out her two bites of sausage but ate an entire piece of french toast.