Weekend Fun

We've had such a great weekend and I am so sad that's it's over.  It's weekends like this that allow me to get a small glimpse of what life will be with two "big kids." 

One of our favorite summer activities has always been swimming, but taking two non-swimmers is a little daunting and sometimes not worth the hassle to stay for ten minutes or so.  So this summer, we've opted for more manageable water play; the splash pad, the backyard kiddie pool, and of course, the sprinkler.

We set ours up for Emma to run around in and gave her a few toys.  Her Mimi bought her an adorable rainbow umbrella and she's been dying to use it.  Unfortunately, we haven't had many rainstorms that haven't been accompanied by lightning so she hasn't had much of a chance.  It kind of defeats the purpose of playing in the sprinkler, but hey, she had a great time. 

Both kids had an early bath, and we let Emma have some ice cream for dessert.  It worked fast and soon she was running off her sugar high.  One of her favorite cartoons has a pirate princess and so she decided to use her 4th of July hat and a wand to dress up like a pirate princess.  The performance that followed was pure magic.  She certainly has a flair for dramatics!

My youngest chickadee is looking more and more like her daddy every day.  I'm so thankful that despite her reflux and sleeping issues, she is still such a happy baby and is still so full of laughter and smiles, because they are infectious.  She is so aware of her surroundings and just takes everything in.  You can tell that she is biding her time until she can talk and play like Emma.  She can't wait to be able to do all of the things her big sister does.

Playing around with my girls, seeing them laugh and enjoy one another, and just being a family makes me feel so lucky. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Saturday Morning Scene

This morning we headed out to the mall to enjoy Winnie the Pooh story time at the Disney Store.  I have really been building up the Pooh excitement at our house because I plan on taking Emma to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie next weekend.  She has a pretty good attention span for a two year old, and I think she'll be fascinated by all the kids and the big screen.  Every time she sees the previews she shouts, "Look!  It's Pooh!"

She loved the story and they let all the kids hold a character while it was being read (marketing genius!).  We listened to the story, played at the Play Zone, and had lunch.  An overall great morning/afternoon at the mall.

This is how excited I am about Pooh.

This gumball machine blew her mind.  She's never had a gumball before--heck, she doesn't even know what gum is--but this was big and colorful and she knew it must be something good.

Sophia woke up just in time to see Emma play at the Play Zone

Head on over to Loves of Life to share your Saturday Morning Scene!

Five Months Old

Dear Sophia,

I feel like these posts are coming faster and faster.  Here we are on the fifth one--you're five months old, can you believe it? Sometimes when I look at you I can still see the squishy newborn that you were and the big girl that you will one day become.  As we hit each milestone, I continue to be amazed at how much you change.  Let's see how far you've come.

Weight

Birth: 8 pounds 5 ounces
1 month: 9 pounds 3 ounces

 2 months: 11 pounds

3 months: 11 pounds 8 ounces

4 months: 13 pounds 13 ounces

5 months: 15 pounds 4 ounces

Length

Birth: 19 inches
1 month: 20 1/2 inches

2 months: 22 3/8 inches

3 months: 23 1/2 inches

4 months: 23 1/2 inches

5 months: 25 inches

Sleeping

Sigh.  I'm tired just thinking about it.  You gave in to the infamous four month sleep regression this month.  You were sleeping for 10 consecutive hours at night, taking regular naps, and then BAM! You were back to waking up every 3-4 hours and decided to fight your naps. You can stop this at any time now. Please and thank you.

Eating

You've been having a tough time in this area as well.  You don't seem to want to eat and literally fight me or Daddy when we try to feed you. We pushed you back from 6 ounces per feeding to 5 ounces. You are dying to eat solids and literally stare at us while we eat.  It is so sad and it makes me feel bad, but we need to get your other issues in check before you take that next big step. It's going to be a happy day for you when you start eating like a "big girl."

Milestones

You started rolling both ways this month.  You are loving your new skill and use it to get around the house.  Yes, you are now mobile...you roll all over from one end of the room to the other.  I wouldn't be surprised if you were crawling by this time next month. 

You have also started sitting up on your own this month.  You're still unsteady and we are always close by so that you don't fall.  You still love standing best though. 

Another (unwelcome but necessary) milestone is I think that you are teething.  I don't feel anything yet, but you drool and chew on things like it's your job.  Occasionally you will cry out in pain and put your hands in your mouth.  I'm hoping that this is what is contributing to your eating and sleeping issues and not something more serious or permanent.  Hopefully you will be a faster teether than your sister.  I swear...it took five months for one tooth to fully poke through with that girl! Your favorite toys right now are cold and chewable. You especially love the mesh Fresh Food Feeder, full of ice.

What I Want to Remember

You are such a sweet baby and you (mostly) wake up in the best mood.  You are all smiles when I come get you in the morning or after a nap.  Your big, happy smile just lights up my world.   Even though you are still so small, you have no fears whatsoever. You will practically dive out of my arms to get to something that you just have to have.  You love kids and animals, especially your big sister and Sasha.  When either of them are around you stretch out your arms and kick like crazy, trying to get to them.  One of your favorite games right now is playing "Tag" with Emma.  Mommy or Daddy will hold you like you're flying while you "chase" Emma around the house.  You laugh and squeal, thinking that you're really chasing her and it is adorable.  You already use your charm when it's necessary which equals big trouble for us later.  You will scream, cry, kick, fuss, and nothing I do will make you happy.  Just when I've reached the end of my rope I will look at you, getting ready to pull my hair out, and you will give me a big, toothless grin.  What. a. stinker!

Despite the sleeping troubles, the eating issues, and your desire to be in my arms at all times, you make life much more exciting and wonderful, baby girl.  I love you and love you.  And love you and love you. 

Love, 

Mommy

Another Baby?

Don't get excited, Mom.  I'm not pregnant. That would be a big, fat, NO.

But I was blog browsing the other day, looking for mantle decoration ideas, when I stumbled across the blog Young House Love.

Ok.  I am totally envious of this couple.  They are a young DIY couple with an adorable little girl.  When Clara was born, they embarked on a photo project; they took a picture of her in front of a different fabric backdrop every week during the first year of her life.  It. Is. Amazing. It totally almost makes me want to have another baby, just so I can do this.  Then, they raised the bar of awesomeness by taking all 52 pieces of fabric and made a memory quilt.  Sigh.  I am not domestic (at all) and things like this just make me swoon.

 So go check out this website, fall in love with this couple, their little girl, and um...if you know how to quilt and "want" to make a quilt for each of my girls, I still have all of their old clothes.  Just throwin' that out there. ;)

Raspberries

Sophia's mouth has become her newest and most favorite toy.  She sticks out her tongue, curls her tongue, and her latest trick is blowing raspberries.  She is amazed that she can make such a sound and spends hours practicing her craft.

Yesterday, I showed her that I could do it too, and she thought it was hilarious.  Yes, this is an entire minute and a half of my baby laughing and I will watch it over and over again. I can't get enough of her cute little giggle!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July from our little firecrackers!

Saturday Morning Scene

It's Saturday again, and I'm linking up with Katie over at Loves of Life for the Saturday Morning Scene. Head on over and share yours too!

This morning, I woke up and knew that I didn't want this Saturday to be like most others. Usually, we lounge around the house all morning and by the time we all get ready, it's time for a nap or lunch and then we put off getting out of the house entirely.

Andy got up with the baby last night, so he slept in this morning. We work well together on this: I hate waking up in the middle of the night, because I can never fall back to sleep. So a 45 minute feeding usually keeps me up for 2+ hours. However, I don't mind waking up early. Andy falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, but he hates waking up early. So this arrangement works really well on the weekends.

The girls lounged around, waiting on Daddy

Emma decided to channel Mother Teresa

While he slept, I was able to get the girls up, fed, and dressed so that we could head out as soon as he was ready. We didn't have big plans, but going anywhere with 2 kids in tow always turns into a big outing. We went to Turkey Creek, a busy shopping area, to do some shopping and to have lunch. The kids loved looking at the water fountains and walking around, even through it's 1,054 degrees outside.

When we stopped off at Panera to grab something to eat, we were patiently waiting in line, minding our own business when a lady and her friend (daughter?) got in front of us. Normally, I would have rolled my eyes at Andy and shot daggers at her without saying anything, but there were about six people behind us and I wasn't about the let her cut in front of them.

Have you ever seen the show "What Would You Do?" It's a hidden camera show that videotapes people's reactions to various situations. I just know I am going to be on that show one day, and I don't want to be that person who the people at home are screaming at, mad that I didn't do or say anything. I have a reputation to uphold

So the line cutter gets in front of us and I say (very nicely, I might add), "Actually, the line is back there."

Line Cutter looks at me in disdain and walks off in a huff saying loudly, "Well, maybe you should get in line then."

Oh no, she didn't.

I don't really remember what I said then, but it was something to the effect of explaining how one line that feeds into three registers works; you wait to be called to the next register.

Hey, I'm a teacher, lady. I know the "line rules."

She continued to argue with me. As she sulked to the back, she continued to complain about us not being in line, causing my very non-confrontational hubby to look her in the eye and firmly say, "We were in line."

No, it wasn't Jerry Springer worthy, but in our household, a "fight" like that ranks right up there with the Tyson/Holyfield ear fiasco.

So there you have it. Our exciting adventure out of the house. I think we're good for another month or so.