Cut Back

This isn't their first round of pepper eating. It makes momma happy to not have to do so much prep for feeding time at the zoo. Now it seems all I have to do is cut the top off the pepper and slice down the middle and the girls are happy. Though you can see Kaylee wasn't sure of the taste or something.

Gotta run the animals are asking for more

Christmas Winners

Grandma, lovingly called 'Gugh' at the moment and Ban-pa, which sounds more like 'Baa-pa', got Alex and Kaylee each a ride on toy called the 'Scramble Bug'. They look adorable and the girls love them! The coolest thing about these toys is that the wheels spin 360*- kinda like an IKEA shopping cart. My favorite feature of this toy is that it folds up making it much easier to bring back to the house after a day of play and 3 kids in tow.

Another Christmas winner the little Magna Doodle Santa brought them. It was I'm constant use yesterday. Those and the baby doll strollers my aunt got them. Those girls pushed around Thier bunnies (buppies), puppy dogs and whatever else suited them.

These are only a few of the great successes of Christmas. I am sure I'll be posting more about what the girls have gotten into and what is the toy of the moment.

Could Not Wait

One of our neighbors and I exchanged gifts for Christmas and the girls couldn't wait to get inside to open them :)

3 nights strong

Liliana has slept in until 5am or later for the last 3 days. I'm a fan.

An Early Christmas

Our little Liliana has been such a wonderful baby; we are so blessed. Recently the poor thing has had lots of bubbles in her belly causing her to be cranky :( apparently from the age of 6-8 weeks a baby is expected to experience gas pains and liliana was no exception. While we are currently on the **warning bad pun ahead**!tail end of this gas issue we have noticed our little one continuing to smile.

About a week or so ago I was convinced she smiled at me and Alex but couldn't be too sure because it was the same look she gave after she passed some of that gas she had stored up. But now that it is happening more frequently and accompanied with coos I know that she is an official smiler :) I believe her first real smile was flashed towards Alex, no real surprise there. Liliana would often get wide eyed and look pleased when Alex was around ( as long as she was gentle). We are so excited that our little girl is beginning to express emotions other than anger or general unhappiness :)

So in honor of Lily, flash a smile today; you're never too old to practice an old trick :)

She Has Her Moments

Mainly well behaved but she has her moments :) and sometimes those moments fade.

What An Amazing Baby

There are many reasons we love our Liliana but one that comes to mind at 4am is this:

She wakes up at 3:30 with little grunts wanting to be fed. So I get up change her feed her and she is currently back in bed peaceful and happy to go back to sleep. The girls were similar in their nighttime behavior, I think that is why we had another so soon :)

A New Napping Buddy

Liliana has joined the ranks...she is an official napping buddy for Ban-pa. I'm not sure who is happier :) and I don't think it matters. Life is wonderful.

Our Small Baking Adventure

Alex was checking out what was in the cabinet; she was apparently hungry. She pulled out a box of Jiffy corn bread mix opened it and then handed it to me while pointing to the picture of the muffins. So....we had to 'bake'.

The girls loved getting the fork in the bowl and mix it all about. Once I put the mix in the pans I told Alex and Kaylee that they had to wait for them to bake and so Alex sat down on the ground to start waiting. It was adorable! Kaylee joined in on the wait and the two just sat there and then started talking to one another and 5 minutes later they got up to play. Eventually they were able to enjoy the fruits (or corn) of their labor.

(more pics to add later)

At The Dentist

I'm here to get my x-rays done. Someone needs a tooth pulled :( but as I'm here in the waiting room and I find it amusing to see 3 fully grown men (average age of 65+) watching Finding Nemo. It is a great movie but not the usual demographic I wouldn't think :)

But here is my little lady patiently waiting for mommy to get her x-ray. The others are with my crazy, loving friend Lisa.

A Message From The Girls

Daddy has his first exam tonight and we wanted to let him know we love him and wish him the best!

Xoxo Daddy! We love you!

One For You, Thumb For Me

I told Alex not to take the pacifier out of Lily's mouth if she wanted it...so out went the pacifier and in went- well, look and see.

Bonding Time

No better way to start the weekend and no better way to relax before exam season here.

A Little Morning Smile

And life is good.

Un-learning

Today we are going to work on 'un-learning' this bad behavior...Kaylee was able to unlock the door and I'm sure it is only a short time before she is able to pull the door open. Another behavior to 'un-learn' today is using the book bin to climb onto the couch. While it may seem slightly harmless my kids will try going from the couch, over the couch arm, and onto the book bin (or more likely the floor).

Thankfully the girls have been in a pretty good mood today- let's hope they are still happy after their nap because it is school time for them.

Morning Joe

Sister Time

I had Liliana on her 'ocean' and both Kaylee and Alex brought their toys to the 'ocean' to be near her. It was so sweet. It is sometimes hard to pick out the sweetest moment of the day since the girls are amazing big sisters, but I think this moment was the winner of the day :)

Sweet Sleeping Beauty

Loving On Lily

Alex loves her little sister and tries to be near her every chance she gets.

They Are Growing

We have a bar height kitchen table in our house. And this morning I placed Kaylee's uneaten bowl of oatmeal on so said table. I turn to clean the bowl from the table and couldn't find it anywhere near me. Then I search for Alex...

Enjoying The View

At The Doctors

We visited the doctors on Friday since Kaylee seemed to be bothered by her ear and I thought Alex fell victim to a cold of some sort. Turns out I was partially right...Kaylee had two full blown ear infections and Alex had the beginning stages of one. So both are on meds now and are starting to feel better. Kaylee's gunky eye is gone and her normal eye has returned though it seems to be pretty tired looking since she still isn't sleeping as well as she did before she was sick. And Alex is super cuddly and her nose is running off and on throughout the day-it is fast and furious.

If you look at this picture taken at the office you'd never know only 30 minutes beforehand Alex was crying like crazy because she didn't feel well Fine with me, happy kids are much easier to handle while at the doctors...sick or not.

Here is to a healthier tomorrow- and another trip to the doctor. We think the girls gave sweet Liliana a belated 'welcome home' gift :(

Visitors!

**belated post**
We love a visit from our Uncle Chris and Aunt Ashley!!
It had been way too long since we had last seen them but it was well worth the wait. In true Chris and Ashley style they brought up lunch and a special cookie for each of the girls ( except Liliana :). But they did bring a special blanket for Lily, Greg's favorite, I so soft pink blanket with satin binding and Liliana embroidered in the corner. It is so sweet and now each of our girls has the same blanket (with different names, of course)

We love you and can't wait to see you again soon! Xoxo

Cheap Entertainment

Kitchenaid Mixer Bowl + cookie cutters = 40 minutes of entertainment for Kaylee

In and out; in and out; in and out
And somehow it was still magical for her. She did spice it up a bit by changing locations. She even sat between my legs and played with her cookie cutters- limitless options for that little one

I Am Off House Arrest

The doctor finally cleared me to be able to drive and it felt so strange hopping into my car and being the driver. It was only 2 weeks of me not driving but it felt like I was 16 and taking my parents car out for the first time all by myself. (the feeling wore off quickly when I realized I was driving a mini can and not a Mercedes)

And what do with my new found freedom?? Nothing. I haven't been anywhere-I'm so lame sometimes.

That Summer Feeling

We've had such beautiful weather these past few days we thought it was summer time- we celebrated with some flash frozen berries. A whole pound of them and they still asked for more! *see Kaylee's solo picture, she is using the sign for 'more'

What A Surprise!

I called my mom on the way home from the doctors office and she was only 5 minutes from my house! I do love a good Veterans Day surprise :)

Mom took watch of the girls before I got home so that Greg could hop on a conference call and then mom and I got busy once I got home. We tidied a bit but mom made some chicken stock and mashed potatoes in addition to the meal she brought over. I was also able to get a pumpkin pie made while the girls were napping. It was an enjoyable and productive day for sure!

I like bank holidays :)

Give Daddy A Kiss

The girls and I just had a quick talk with daddy and wanted to send him a little love on his long night. So handy dandy iPhone comes into play and then I ask the girls to 'give daddy a kiss'. With that we've got a perfect picture for our hard working guy!
We love you!!

Yikes!

It is currently around 4:30 and I just realized Greg still has 2 classes to go to and I'm still here with the girls....for another 6 hours! That is pretty much a full working day. Sometimes I wonder what we are thinking and more importantly what on earth are we going to do once Greg is done with Law School??? So much family time!

Exciting! Here is to another 2 years of craziness :) I think a vacation is in order after all this.

That's Our Baby

November 6th?

Just saw my iPhone and it says it is the 6th of November...what happened to the 1st-5th? Anybody else feel that way?

I've Been Held And Gifted

Friends and family have been visiting our little Lilian. Our dear friend Kim and her husband came to the hospital to visit us and brought Lily a 'little sister' sleeper and me a few of what some call unmentionables. :) Thanks K- they are just a perfect pick me up when you are feeling your finest. Hahaha. And then miss K brought us dinner/lunch for a week! It was a bunch of delicious food--I'm still working on the tiramisu :)
Out neighbors have been on the scene frequently and we have loved it! Gigi came over and hung out with the gang and after lunch she took the girls for a waging ride while I took a little bit of time to rest. Alison came to meet liliana last night and held her do easily and happily.
Loving life and the generosity of our friends and family! So many people have been generous in their time, thoughts, and gift of food/clothing: and other baby goodies! Thank you all.

A Change Of Blog?

i'm thinking of changing my blog address to something more fit for a growing family. I will keep you posted on my decision. If you have ideas for a new URL name, let me know :)

Oh To Be A Kid

Collecting needles and carrying buckets makes for a perfect fall outing. Kaylee thinks so at least. We need to go find ourselves some buckets of our own it seems.

Why is her mouth in a funny shape, you ask? Well she was saying "doodle" as she walked towards my phone. 'Doodle Buddy' is her favorite app on my phone and every time she opens the app she has to say 'doodle' and show me the screen- she has been doing this for months now and is still do proud of herself.

Lily Doesn't Mind

We like to kick back eat a snack and make this thing bounce! It can be relaxing and fun. You know what they all say...what's old is new and what's new is old.

Bee!

A little yellow jacket landed on the girls shopping cart while we were playing outside today. It took Kaylee a little while to hone in on the bee while Alex located it as soon as we (Gigi and I) pointed it out. Surprisingly the girls listened well and did not let curiosity get the best of them because the bee was left untouched! Check out their interest and excitement over the bee

The pic of the two girls together isn't the best but they were so focused ok that bee in bad lighting- I took any shot I could get.

All Wires Off

The big excitement for us at the hospital, besides the birth of our Liliana, was day 2 of my stay when I was well enough to be off and untethered to the IVs and catheter. Last time it took me 4 days to be free from all that garbage.
Now, today's big excitement was removing the final part of my wiring, the On-Q pump. An awesome little thing that puts local anesthesia straight to my incision. The only bad part was this time I got a bigger pump and I was sent home wearing it leaving the removal up to me. Luckily I have a husband, who I think disliked the idea of pulling the On-Q pump cord out as much as me but pulled it out for me. I think I may have passed out otherwise even though I knew it wasn't going to hurt; the thought is kinda awful. But good news is I am wire free- pain med free will come in due time.

Viewing Note

I have been posting on my phone so if I post a picture that is supposed to be wide rather than tall- click on the picture to see the full image. Happy viewing

<3

Bebe! Bebe!

The girls are in love with their new little sister. Each morning they look for her and if she isn't in her crib they 'run' down the stairs on their butt to find her in the pack and play. Here is a peek at our 'Good Morning' to dear sister 'Bebe' **click on picture for full view**:)