Ozzie's half birthday!

Orion Zane is 18 months old today :) He has 12 teeth and is working on his 4 canines. He still sleeps in his crib in his room, usually 12 hours a night and 1-2 hours during the day for a nap. He uses signs for more, eat, please, all done/gone, outside and bye bye. He has spoken words for Mama, Daddy, Lolli, Poppy, doggie, animal (ca-ca), Papaw, hot, poopy, peepee, wow, yay and yeah. Oh, and The Fox song by Ylvis (hatee hatee hatee hatee). He loves babies and animals. He also loves the Avengers, especially Thor, whom he tells good night to every time he goes to bed. He enjoys going to Baby Storytime at the library and is so good at participating now! He likes to hug the other kids which sometimes results in them falling over ha ha. He rides rear-facing in the middle row of the van behind the driver's seat. He rides FF in Zach's car and in the van when Lauren is transporting the babysitting kids. Oz loves to get out the pots and pans. He also loves to throw things away, still, so the trash can and recycling bin remain in the pantry. He gets super excited about putting on his coat and shoes (because he loves to go outside and bye bye).

Brown County

Zach and Lauren took the kids to Brown County today. They played in the leaves, rode horses and did a bit of hiking. There was a fun playground, too. What a gorgeous and great family day!

Oz the dog trainer

Dex was on my nerves and I am lazy so I jokingly told Oz to go let Dexter out of his crate and he walked right over and did it! Haha he's awesome.

A work of Oz

Ozzie's butt was red when I changed him downstairs before bed so I let him keep his booty out on the way upstairs. When he got to the bottom of the stairs he took a huge dump on the tile. This led to Poppy throwing a huge fit because I wouldn't let her clean it up until I got most of the poop already up because I didn't want her smearing everywhere. And now Lolli is afraid of Ozzie because she says she doesn't like the way his poop looks. But at least this ordeal saved a diaper. Maybe I should let Oz go bare butt on the tile more often!

The school year so far

We're 7 weeks into the school year already! Lolli LOVES kindergarten. She's learning so much and has never had a day lower than green on the behavior chart. She gets blues pretty regularly and occasionally an indigo - woohoo! She loves buying her lunch and is starting to branch out from always eating pb&j. She won't let Lauren pack her lunch because the one day she did, the note inside made Lolli cry. So now she equates bringing her lunch with sadness. But besides that and missing 3 days of school the 2nd week due to being sick, the year is a total success so far! Her favorite part of school is gym class. And art class. And music class. And media. And math. And reading. And lunch. And recess. And the bus... you get the picture lol Poppy loves her pre-k class, too and has also never had a day lower than green! She gets to buy her milk in the lunch line each day at snack time and sometimes she sees her older neighborhood friends in the halls or library which she thinks is fun. She can spell and write Penelope and is working hard on learning her letter sounds. Her favorite part of school is circle time.

Ozzie's vocab

Ozzie's vocabulary is expanding! He can now say Daddy, Mommy, Papaw, Poppy, Dog, Cat, Ball, Duck, Baseball, and poo poo (which he says over and over when I change his diaper ha ha). He signs more, please and eat as well as waves to mean bye bye, night night, and outside.

To the doctor we go!

Today was Ozzie's regularly schedule 15 month well child check, Poppy's 4 year visit, and Lolli had an appointment to get her ears looked at after failing her hearing screen at school. Everything went well! Poppy got her vaccines for kindergarten (4 shots - ouch!) but took it like a trooper (baby DOOOOLLLLLLLL). The doctor recommended Lolli take some Zyrtec or Allegra daily until her next hearing screen to see if that helps clear up the fluid in her ears. Ozzie: 31 inches, 22.2lbs, 18in head Poppy: 40.25 inches, 38.6lbs, BP 93/61, pulse 82 Lolli: 45.25 inches, 46.6lbs, BP 98/65, pulse 79

Lolli's a Daisy!

Lolli had her first Daisy meeting today. So far there are only 4 girls in their troop. Their uniform is a blue vest and their troop number is 1689. Lolli is so excited to earn badges but mostly she just wants to be in a parade :)

Ozzie's baseball creativity

Since he's the #1 fan of the Instructional League Cardinals, Ozzie spends a lot of his time trying to play baseball. A few weeks ago he was using a microphone as a bat and a ring-stand at a tee. Then he tried a Monster High doll as a bat and his basketball hoop as a tee (for the giant soccer ball). Today at story time he picked up a plastic brachiosaur and got in his batting stance. Lauren had to confiscate it before he decided to use someone's neck as a tee for their head ;)

Poppy knows her #!

Someone asked me if Poppy knew her phone number and I answered no. Poppy overheard me and said, "Um, Mom? It's 627-1264." Why yes, yes it is. Well done, Poppy! I appreciate you saving me the effort of trying to teach it to you ha ha

Lo & Pop's Birthday Bash!

Lolli and Poppy's shared birthday party was this weekend. The theme was Sugar Rush (the video game from Wreck It Ralph). The party started at 6:30. The kids used sweets to decorate go-karts Zach made out of graham crackers, oreos and candy sticks. There were 2 pinatas full of goodies! There was a colorful assortment of all sorts of candy so the kids got to fill their own goodie bags, too. There was even a fire for making s'mores! Once the sun set, the kids sat on blankets and watch Wreck It Ralph projected onto the back of the house. It was a fun time for everyone - these girls sure are loved!

Ozzie's walking!

Ozzie's 14 months old and walking almost exclusively. He can stand himself back up if he falls down in the middle of a room. He's still pretty wobbly/bow-legged but he's getting steadier each day! So cute :)

Meet the teacher night!

Tomorrow is the first day of school! Both girls will be attending Sugar Creek Elementary. Lolli is in Mrs. Copeland's kindergarten class and Poppy is in Mrs. Stant's pre-k class. Lolli gets to ride the bus and her school day is 8:45-3:25 M-F. Poppy has to be driven to and from school and will attend T, W, R from 8:45-11:45. Tonight was Meet the Teacher night so each girl got a chance to meet their teacher and explore their classroom. Tomorrow's the big day!! They're reusing their backpacks from last year (Hello Kitty). Lolli's going to buy her lunch for at least the first week or so to get the hang of it. So exciting! She's a little bit nervous and worried about missing Lauren while she's away but hopefully that anxiety will subside as she adjusts to the all day, every day schedule. So grown up!!

Holy molar!!

Lolli complained of her gum feeling funny. Lauren stuck her finger in there and sure enough, there's a new molar coming in! A fun surprise for everyone, as Lauren hadn't read up on when the next teeth were coming ha

Almost a weaner

Oz isn't even 14 months old yet but he hasn't nursed to sleep in months and hasn't boobed at all in a week or so.

Tonight, though, he couldn't settle to sleep til I BF'd him for a solid 20 minutes. I don't know if there was actually milk there or if he was just reliving his youth now that he's in the throes of toddlerhood, but it was sweet and good for my soul <3 div="">

Poppy's a fish!

Poppy's learning to swim! She's been proficient at swimming with her puddle jumper on for 2 summers now but this year she's starting to swim without it! She's really good at swimming underwater and is improving at swimming with her face out of the water. Soon she'll be able to swim across the whole pool with no help! Ozzie's practicing on swimming with a puddle jumper now :)

First Steps!

Lauren and Zach were both watching Ozzie this afternoon when he took his very first unassisted step! They got out the phone and tried to record another step but of course he refused. He did take another one later that evening and Lolli got to see it. Go, baby, go!!!

Lolli's softball season

Lolli played softball at NPYL this spring. Her team was red and called the Heat. She was one of the only preschoolers on the team but she still did well. Her swing and hustle improved greatly over the course of the season! Her team even won best offense in the tourney!

Orion Zane at 12 months

Ozzie's a year old! He's 20lbs 7oz and 29.25 inches. His eyes are green around the outside but brown in the middle. His hair is WHITE blonde and curls a little bit in the back. The top is long enough to style into a faux hawk! He tans very easily and people are always asking where he went on vacation (no where). He sleeps in a mini crib in his Avengers bedroom with his boppy, pacifier, and sports blanket. He looooves going night night! For naps or bedtime, he giggles with joy when he gets carried upstairs and handed his blanket. Ozzie takes 1 or 2 naps each day. He usually goes down between 6:30 and 8:00. He usually sleeps through the night. Sometimes he wakes up around 6:30 or 7 and will nurse or rock back to sleep for another hour or so. He'll also sometimes nurse during the day or at bedtime. There's not much milk though, but he does a great job of drinking whole cow milk from a sippy cup. He eats like a champ and isn't too picky. He has absolutely zero words and squeals to get what he wants. Annoying, but effective ha ha. He makes a lot of noises (gka gka gka means cat or dog; he loves to say "h-yah!" as if he's spurring a horse; he says something that sounds like Lolli but it doesn't seem to mean her specifically). He signs "more" and "hi/bye" and sometimes "all done". He does "Hulk Smash" and laughs every time. He likes to be tickled and cracks up if you rub his tummy on your head. His feet are verrry ticklish. He likes to swim but is a weenie about cold water. He also loves baths - splashing is his happy thing! Ozzie can crawl suuuper fast and pull up on anything, but he isn't walking yet. He's starting to cruise a little bit and can stand unassisted for a few, but he's scared to take that first step. Speaking of steps, he can crawl up them SUPER fast! Slides, too. He loves balls and would happily play catch and toss with you all day long. He likes being outside but often modifies his crawl to a primate walk (hands and feet) to save his knees from the concrete/grass. He got a roller coaster ride for his birthday and loves it. He holds on well enough to ride it by himself (except for getting on). He loves doors and cabinets. If he's in the backyard and he sees the gate open, he crawls right through it ha. He loves his big sisters (and everyone, really). He's rear facing in the back seat on the passenger side of the car. He's an absolute joy and strangers can't help but approach him at the grocery or mall. Ozzie's a great kid!!!

Ozzie's 12 month appt

Ozzie weighed in at 20lbs, 7oz and measured 29.25in. He's 25-50th percentile. He got 4 vaccines and a finger stick (he's not anemic :). He was so brave and hardly cried! His big sisters held his hands <3>

Ozzie's cruisin'!

Ozzie has been able to pull up for a couple weeks. For a while he would start to cry if he got bored in the spot was standing, and not stop until someone sat him down or moved him. Then a couple days ago he learned to plop down onto his rump or knees so he could crawl to a new spot- yay! But today he was standing at the couch and did a sort of side shuffle to move along it to get to a remote he wanted. Our little man is cruising!!!

Slidin'!

Zach and Ozzie came home from the pool before the girls. Zach was changing clothes and he heard Oz giggling from Lolli's room. He peeked in there and saw Ozzie climbing up the slide, then sliding back down on his belly! Yikes! The kid can't even walk yet but he can spiderman up a slide in 2 second flat! He looooooves it but the slide gets put up during the day so he isn't able to do it unattended for safety reasons.

Ozzie's birthday party

Ozzie's 1st birthday party was held on at the Pucillo house at 4pm on Memorial Day. He had Avengers and 1st Birthday decorations. He wore a 1st birthday shirt and cape from Gma Morgan. His cake was Avengers and there were Spiderman cupcakes from Papaw Lucky, too. The food was Mama Nita's pizza, veggies, and fruit from Gma Great! Including Oz there were 53 people in attendance! Ozzie's a popular guy :) The kids played at the playground, on the bounce house (thanks to the DeLois family!!!), on the roller coaster Oz got for his birthday, and inside. It sprinkled a few times but never poured so it all worked out great! Ozzie was a little bit grumpy from being tired and overwhelmed but he hung in there through the whole party!

Ozzie's 1st birthday!

Orion Zane Pucillo turned 1 today! He started stirring right around 7:30 so Lauren went in and fed/rocked him until his birth time had passed, then laid him back down to snooze. She and Lolli went to Meijer for donuts (stars with white icing and red & blue sprinkles!). Ozzie got a candle in his and they all sang to him. Soon it was time to get ready for family pictures. They turned out great and Ozzie had so much fun with his smash cake! Lauren had made dresses for the girls and a bow tie/suspenders for Ozzie. So cute! In fact, Poppy said the pictures were so cute she just couldn't stand it LOL After that it was time for the kids to go to Gma and Gpa Great's for a sleepover. Lolli was very excited because this was Ozzie's first time spending the night anywhere as a 1 year old :)

School's out for summer!!!

Lolli & Poppy have graduated from IUMC! That makes Lolli all ready for full-day KINDERGARTEN on July 30th!!! And Poppy will be entering the Owl class at IUMC next year (MWF full-day). So proud of these girls!!!

Rookie Run

Lolli ran her 3rd Rookie Run on Saturday and Poppy ran her 2nd. Lauren ran with Pop but Lo ran it alone. Both girls had great races and Lolli ran especially hard! Way to earn those medals girls :)

Ozzie pulls up!

Ozzie pulled to sort of standing on Gma's bottom step this afternoon. And then this evening he pulled all the way to standing on our hearth. Woohoooop! Still no interest in cruising though. Maybe he'll start soon and surprise us with some first steps at his birthday party!

A big day for everyone

Lolli rocked her kindergarten assessment this afternoon! Ozzie's first birthday is 1 month from today! I couldn't think of anything to add about Poppy so I asked her. She replied, "I didn't do any new things today and nothing is exciting with me today." But after we tucked her in tonight, Poppy came bursting out her bedroom hollering that she had something to tell us - she knows her address and can say it REALLY fast. She's so proud and I'm glad she did do something new and exciting today after all!

Lolli read us a whole book!

Lolli just read an entire book from start to finish! It's called Hog and Dog and is a Level 1 reader (so the easiest books out there). She did such a great job at sounding out all the words. Hopefully she'll get even better at it over the summer and be a reading fanatic by the time she starts kindergarten :)

Ozzie loves PetSmart!

Lolli & Poppy have dance/ballet class for an hour in Irvington every Tuesday. Lauren and Ozzie usually kill the time by going to Uncle Bill's or PetSmart. Ozzie LOVES the cats at PetSmart. Even though most of them are just lounging around sleeping, Ozzie laughs hysterically at each and every one of them. So fun!

Ozzie can crawl!

After what seems like an eternity of being able to get up on his hands and knees, and go from laying on hi belly all the way to sitting, Ozzie can finally crawl forward! Lauren and Zach were both watching the first time he did it, and the kid went halfway across the room! And now he's a crawling machine. It's so similar to his birth - he made us think it was going to happen forever, then when it finally did, it was so fast we couldn't believe it!

Shoe shopping!

Lolli and Poppy gathered up 2 bags of toys to donate to Good Will, so Zach decided to celebrate the last day of his staycation by letting them each pick out 1 new toy at the mall. Lolli chose a Build a Bear Hello Kitty and Poppy chose a Doc McStuffins doctor kit. While they were at the mall, they saw that Stride Rite was having a BOGO50% sale so they stopped in to get Poppy the most fabulous, supportive shoes they could find. That girl is obsessed with wearing dress shoes that leave her feet blistered and in pain, so Lauren knew she needed something comfy with more arch support. Thankfully they found a bejeweled pair of pink Mary Jane tennis shoes that she loved - and that really increase her mall-walking speed, thank goodness! Lolli got a similar pair of purple Tangled shoes. Pop got a 10 and Lolli got an 11.5. Oz got his feet measured for the first time and got a pair of cruising shoes in size 3.5 wide. Because of the sale, he also got a pair of summer walking tennis shoes that are size 4.

Ozzie's 9 months old!

Ozzie's 9 months old. He still only has 2 teeth, that he's had for half of his life. He weighs around 18.5 pounds. He can clap, wave, and play peek-a-boo with a blanket. He can go from sitting to hands and knees, then back to sitting, but isn't officially crawling yet. He sleeps in his crib and is starting to improve his stretches - we rarely have 1 hour stretches of sleep anymore, thank goodness! He eats anything and everything with great enthusiasm but does best when we make sure the bites are small. He's a happy guy who loves his big sisters and is usually ok with anyone holding him, although he does prefer mama if she's around. His eyes are greenish brown and his hair is light light blonde. He's starting to look more like Poppy than Lolli, I think. Zach's got strong genes! :)

Lolli lost a tooth!

After it first being diagnosed by the dentist as "wiggly" 6 months ago, Lolli's tooth finally came out! It has been causing her a lot of grief for a couple days, so thank goodness! Tuesday morning it bled and she almost stayed home from school, but the tooth hung in there until today. Lauren picked the girls up from preschool and for their snack she brought them cheese roll-ups. After she bit into hers, Lolli said, "Um, mom, what's this hard white thing in my cheese roll up?" Lauren said ew and told her to throw it on the floor. Later when they got home Lolli smiled at Lauren and guess what - no tooth! She told Lolli to go look in the mirror and sure enough, the tooth had been lost. Literally. Suddenly the light bulb went off and Lauren knew what had been in Lolli's cheese roll up - the tooth! So Lauren spend about an hour tearing the van apart and finally found it so Lolli could put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy :)

Reading!

The girls got Tag readers for Christmas, but they arrived very belatedly. Lolli enjoys using hers and she's really getting the hang of reading with it! The books are simple and repetitive so she's learning more and more sight words. She can almost read the one about Casey Cat all by herself with no help from the Tag thingie!

Disney on Ice!

Zach was in California so Lauren took the girls, along with Paige and Kim, to Disney on Ice. They arrived a little bit late and missed the Cars part but all the girls were excited to see Ariel, Tinkerbell, and all their Toy Story faves. And, of course, their favorite part was the cotton candy that came with a flower hat. Since this was a girls-only event, Oz stayed home with Gma and Gpa Great and they got him to sleep just fine!

Happy half birthday Poppy!

Poppy's 3 and a half! She seems so much older, though. She loved shoes and make up and doing hair. She can spell/write her own name and can recognize some other letters, too. She's really good at puzzles. She loooooves her little brother and is best friends with her big sister. Poppy's favorite foods are sweets and soda but she doesn't give her parents too much trouble about eating healthier foods, too. She does great in her preschool and has lots of friends.

Ozzie's first sleepover

Zach and Lauren had a euchre party tonight so Ozzie got to spend the night with Gma and Gpa Morgan. Although he was up a lot for them, he did well and was all smiles when Z&L showed up to get him the next morning

Clapping!

Oz learned to clap today. He's so excited to show off his new skill at story time. The opening song goes, "Ozzie's here today. Ozzie's here today. We all clap our hands and say hip hip hooray."