Sunday, December 26, 2010

Callie is 7 Months Old

Calina is 7 months old now.  It has been a very eventful month.  She got to start eating solids, had a double ear infection, and started really scooting.

She loves eating.  She get so excited about every bite.
Callie is still my happy girl.  She has started sitting up well and she is quite the mover.  She mostly does an army crawl, but she does get up on her knees and her toes quite a bit.  She gets where she wants to go, which is mostly wherever Fiona is at.

Callie and her buddy Thomas.

Still no teeth, which is just fine with me.  We're still not eating dairy/soy yet.  She is quite the chatty baby.  I think she talks more than her sister already.


Thursday, December 9, 2010

Busy Long Weekend (Warning Picture Overload)

The holiday weekend was super busy for us.  It was almost a relief when it was over and things were back to normal.  It started with Thanksgiving on Thursday at my parents' house.

 Liz and Callie
 Fiona playing with the big cousins.
 I know this picture is blurry, but it is my only proof that we actually saw Ryan.  Plus, the expression on Callie's face is priceless.
 4 Generations
Grandpa Bob wanted to take this picture, but he waited until the end of the day when the girls were not being very cooperative.

Friday was shopping and football.  Saturday we had Fiona's birthday party.  Here is the big birthday girl in her monkey dress.

 
 Papa and Calina getting ready for the party.

 Aunt Thea keeping C happy.
 Nana helping the birthday girl with the pinata.  You pulled on the strings and one was supposed to open it.  It turned out to be a little harder than it looked. 
This was half a second before she started bawling.  I didn't think it was going to be so traumatic.  Nathan caught it all on video and it was really rather hilarious.

 We ordered her birthday cake from one of Nathan's clients.  Isn't it adorable?  The cupcakes were even dairy free, so I could eat them.
 Birthday parties are exhausting.

Lucky girl got a Bitty Baby from Nana.

The baby has been named Jilly and is a constant companion.  No one else is allowed to play with her.

The tunnel was also a huge hit.  Best $8 I've spent in awhile.  It folds up flat and has provided hours of fun.


She even got a cool tent from her Aunt Thea.  This was the morning of her actual birthday.  Notice her cute monkey nightgown I made.  The tent only stayed up a week because we needed room to put up the Christmas tree.

Callie has become quite the scooter and likes to crawl through the tunnel too.
Sunday was Fiona's actual birthday.  We spent a fun morning at home checking out all the new toys and then headed to Nathan's parents' house for Thanksgiving/Gingerbread houses.


Helping Grandma mix the frosting.  Somehow I managed to not get a picture of the finished product.

Overall, it was a great busy weekend.


Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Rest of the Thankfuls

Okay, so the weekend was crazy and I didn't get these posted.
Day 26:  I'm thankful for getting together with family and friends and eating lots of yummy food.
Day 27:  I'm thankful for finding some good deals on Christmas presents and not getting trampled at Target.
Day 28:  I'm thankful for Fiona's birthday party going well.  It seemed like she had a lot of fun, even though the pinata ended up terrifying her.  I still can't believe my baby is 2.
Day 29:  I'm grateful that my girls have lots of grandparents/aunts/uncles/friends to spoil them rotten.  They sure do love each and every one of them.
Day 30:  I'm thankful that all of Fiona's new birthday toys kept her and Miss G very occupied all day long.  Ahh, peace and quiet.
Tuesday:  I'm thankful all the things in my life that I still take for granted and anything else I forgot about.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Happy Birthday to my big 2 Year Old!

Dear Fiona,
Another year has flown by.  You are such a big girl these days.  I still remember how tiny you were just 2 years ago. 
We've both learned and grown a lot since this picture of us.  You have taught me as much as I have taught you.  I've learned more patience.  I've learned that if something small is missing the first place to check is the VCR.  I've learned all the words to lots of Wiggles and VeggieTales songs.  I've learned that naps are wonderful and should not be taken for granted.

You have had a busy year learning all kinds of new things too.  You love to dance, run, jump, climb, throw, kick, or do anything physically active.  You especially love to sing and we have used that to teach you lots of new words.  You have well over 100 signs, but are still catching up with your speaking.  Ring-around-the-rosy and the "apple song" are your favorites and we sing them hundreds of times every day. 

You also really love to read books.  Mommy is very grateful for your love of reading because it is the only time of the day when you will sit still for 5 minutes.  Your favorite book for the last few months has been Giraffes Can't Dance. 
On top of all your learning and growing this year, you became a big sister.  You are such a great big sister!  You are very gentle with your "Issy".  You like to give her hugs and kisses and show her toys.  If Callie cries you bring her blanket or pacifier to her.  We had a few bumpy days, but you have adapted to our new normal wonderfully.
You are my silly girl.  I love your sense of humor and you love making us laugh.  You keep us giggling.  You also keep us on our toes.  Mommy is always Fiona-proofing.  Everytime I find something that works to keep you out of unsafe things, you find a way to undo it. 

You love to dress up these days.  Most days you insist on wearing your "kirs" and "i's" (skirts and tights) or pretty "ows" (bows).  Such a girly girl sometimes.


Fiona, this year has been so much fun and you are such a blessing to your Daddy and Mommy.  We love you very much and are excited to see how much you learn and grow in the next year.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thankful for the Kindness of Strangers

Today I'm thankful for the kindness of strangers.  Yesterday, I was taking Fiona to her 2 year checkup.  I was running late, so decided to take the Honda because I didn't have time to switch the cars around.  I noticed the gas tank was really low, so planned to stop on the way, since the gas station is all but about 8-9 blocks from our house.  As I was turning onto a busy street the car sputtered and died.  I did manage to get it over to the side of the road.  It of course was freezing cold and I was still 3 blocks away from the gas station.  I assessed the situation and basically decided all I could do was grab Fiona, the diaper bag, and try to run up to the gas station.  By that point Fiona was flipping out and it was much colder than I had originally thought.  Thankfully, several people stopped and offered to help.  One nice lady with a carseat loaded us up and drove us the rest of the way to the gas station and then a nice man grabbed a gas can and pumped some gas for me and then the lady drove me back to my car and stayed to make sure that I got the car started and to the gas station.  I could not say thank you enough to that lady who helped me out, even though it made her late to work.  It was a very helpless feeling, but thanks to some very kind strangers the situation turned out just fine.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Day 22 and Day 23

Day 22:  I'm thankful that it was Nathan that was giving Fiona a bath when she pooped in the tub for the first time.  I'm really amazed we went almost a whole 2 years without that happening.  Nathan has come so far.  He used to almost throw up at the thought of spit up, now he cleans poop out of the tub without even complaining too much :)
Day 23:  I'm thankful for 2 healthy, growing girls.  Each girl had a doctor's appointment and are looking great.  Callie is 14 lbs 4 oz, 18th percentile for weight; and 26.75 inches, 85th percentile for height.
Fiona is 23lb 2 oz, 13th percentile; and 33.25 inches, 34rd percentile for height.

Monday, November 22, 2010

6 Months

Wow! It is hard for me to believe that half a year has flown by since Calina was born.  My smiley girl does something new every day.  She is quite the mover now.  Between rolling and scooting she gets exactly where she is trying to go, which is usually wherever Fiona is at.  She's also already getting up on her knees, so I feel that crawling really isn't far off. 
 Callie isn't as good of a sleeper as she used to be.  She's still a decent sleeper though, so I'm not complaining.  She has decided she likes to rub silky blankets on her face while she falls asleep and this is usually how she ends up.

 Calina can now sit up unassisted for a couple of minutes now.  She also got her first taste of real food the other day.  Mommy shared some of her avocado and Callie loved it.  She ate about a tablespoon and screamed when we wouldn't feed her anymore.  She's very ready to eat, but we have held off trying to let her little tummy mature longer.  We'll have to go a little slower with starting solids and be very vigilant about checking labels. 
I love Callie's personality.  She is just such a super sweetie.  I can't wait to see more of her personality as she grows.  Happy 6 months, Callie!!


Sunday, November 21, 2010

I'm Thankful for my Mommy

I'm thankful for my Mommy who is doing extra work to make sure that I get to eat yummy stuff on Thanksgiving too.  I was worried that I would be missing out on a lot of the food because it wouldn't be safe for me to eat, but she's going to use safe ingredients and make stuffing from scratch so I get to eat some too.  Mommies are the best :)  Thank you, Mom!  I love you!!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Day 19 and 20

I didn't get around to blogging yesterday.  So today I'll do 2.
19:  I'm thankful that Callie bug seems to be feeling much better after the grilled cheese incident on Monday (Her sister fed her a piece of her lunch when I wasn't looking, which led to tummy aches and tears all week.)
20:  I'm thankful we got to do pictures with Kim again and we got some cute ones :)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Day 18 of Being Thankful

I'm thankful for the little people hugs and kisses that I get every day.  I love all the spontaneous cuddles, even if it only lasts a second or two.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Thankful for Water

Today, I'm very greatful that we have water and indoor plumbing.  Yesterday, there was a water main break 3 houses down.  We were without water a long time.  I eventually gave up and we camped at my parents' house for part of the day.   I tend to forget to be greatful for thing like being able to turn the faucet on and have clean water come out.  Thank God for indoor plumbing.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Naps!

I'm immensely grateful that on most days all 3 girls nap at the same time (hopefully, I'm not jinxing it).  It has taken some work, and it doesn't happen every day, but it is so peaceful for 20-30 minutes.  As much as I love those girls, it is nice to have some grown-up time or to take a nap myself.  You will never appreciate the peace and quiet as much as you do after spending an entire morning with toddlers :)

Monday, November 15, 2010

Little Friends

I'm thankful that Fiona and Miss G have become such good buddies.  They are toddlers so they do have their moments where they don't share well, but for the most part they are so sweet with each other.  They play games together, share toys, and like to dance together.  I'm thankful that they play so well together and that they are learning to share and be nice to others.

(I had a cute video of them doing ring-around-the-rosy together, but it won't upload right.)

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Day 14

I'm thankful that I discovered that I really enjoy cooking.  I used to hate to cook and really dreaded dinner time.  I'm not going to lie, we ate out a lot.  Then we figured out that Callie was milk/soy intolerant and I had to radically change the way that I approached meal times.  In the process of figuring out what I could/couldn't eat and reading lots of MSPI blogs/recipes, I found a love of cooking.  I actually look forward to dinner time (well the cooking part, not the children melting down part) because cooking has become a stress reliever for me.  I enjoy reading cooking blogs and trying out new recipes or trying to adapt old recipes to make them safe.  It probably wouldn't have happened (or at least not for awhile) if Callie hadn't been MSPI.  I guess there was a silver lining after all.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Day 13 of Being Thankful

I'm thankful for bedtime storytime.  I'm thankful to have at least one small period of time each day where Fiona likes to sit and snuggle with her Mommy.  The rest of the day she is going, going, going.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Day 12 of Being Thankful

Today, I'm thankful for coffee.  Wonderful, warm coffee filled with caffeine.  It warms me up on chilly mornings and helps me keep up with my early bird toddler, who seriously never stops moving.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Giving Thanks Day 11

I'm thankful Nathan got home safely from his business trip. The girls were both so excited to see him and Fiona was bouncing off the walls.  We love and missed him :)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Giving Thanks in November

I stole this idea from a few other people.  I'm going to try and post one thing I'm thankful for every day in November.  Since, I'm starting a little late, I'll post several today to catch up.

1. I'm thankful for Nathan working hard so that I get to stay home with our girls.

2. I'm thankful for a house to live in, a warm bed to sleep in (when the girls let me), and food to eat.

3. I'm thankful for 2 beautiful, healthy, smart little girls.
(Here they are in their Halloween costumes. I love how they turned out.)

4. I'm thankful for living close to family, so the girls get to see their Nana, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa,  aunts and uncles often.

5. I'm thankful that Nathan does not travel regularly for work, because this week has been very hard.  The girls had colds, were teething, and basically haven't slept in days.  My hat is off to all you single parents and parents who have spouses that travel or are deployed.

6. I'm thankful for good friends.

7. I'm thankful that I'm not pregnant right now, so I can have a glass of wine at the end of a long hard day.

8. I'm thankful that Nathan's business is going really well. Sometimes it's hard to remember to be thankful, since it means he works very long hours.

9. I'm amazingly thankful that the girls slept better last night because I was very close to having a meltdown from sleep deprivation.

10. Lastly, I'm thankful that the window wasn't closed on the side screendoor on Monday.  After putting Fiona in the house and turning to get Callie unbuckled Fiona locked the screendoor and shut the heavy door, locking me out of the house.  I had to punch the screen out to unlock the screen and get in the house.  I'm very glad that the window wasn't closed or that would have been much harder to do.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Calina is 5 Months Old

Calina (Callie Bug, Little Boo, Issy, Peanut, Callie Jean) is 5 whole months old and not lacking in the nickname department :)
I see pictures of her as a tiny baby on my screensaver and am just in awe of how fast she has changed and grown.  She truly is a joy.  Calina is such a good natured baby.  She smiles and giggles often, but also has a serious side.
She's getting more and more stable sitting up and is very good at rolling onto her tummy.  Too bad she hates being on her tummy.  She occassionally rolls the other direction, but not very frequently.
Lately, she has become not the best sleeper in the world.  Callie naps okay in her crib during the day most of the time now.  However, she thinks that she should sleep with Mommy every night and nurse a gazillion times.
.

Calina loves Fiona.  No one can make her smile bigger or laugh harder.  Fiona doesn't even have to do anything out of the ordinary, just walk across the room.  Fi has started being more interested in Callie too.  She gives her more kisses and gives Calina her bear/paci when she is sad.  Fiona also tries to carry Callie around, which is frightening.  I have managed to save Callie every time, but I have to watch her like a hawk.
No matter how much I plead with time to slow down a bit, it just keeps speeding along.  I have to go snuggle my baby now, before she gets any bigger. 

Happy 5 months, Calina!!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday we went to the Bellevue Berry Farm and Pumpkin Patch.  The girls' Aunt Maggie was in town on fall break from college, so we took her and her friend, Barb with us.  Fiona was loving the giant playground area.  They had tire swings shaped like horses.
 Callie loves it when Mommy carries her around in the Moby.  She's just happy as a clam to watch her big sister tear around.
 Anything that remotely resembles a sphere is a ball according to Fi.  Pumpkins fall in that category, so naturally, we heard a lot of the word "ball".
I tried to get a cute picture of the girls, but my photography assistant (ahem, Nathan) was not quite quick enough.  Out of about 100 pictures this one turned out okay.

I made Nathan take this picture with me. I thought it was funny.
 
 Fiona wanted to pick up each and every pumpkin we came across in the pumpkin field.  She decided this one was too heavy.
So she found one more her size. 
 Fi loves her Aunt "Nangi".
 She was less than impressed with the hay rack ride.  She did like picking out pieces of straw out of the bales and throwing them one at a time off the side though.
 A pretty good family photo :)
Wish my hair hadn't been in Calina's face because this is such a cute picture otherwise.
We had a great time at the pumpkin patch.  I can't wait to carve up our pumpkins.  I love fall :)