Love....

There was 2 feet between these girls when I got out of bed last week. I went to the bathroom and came back to this--both girls had moved to get close to each other. My heart melts. Why is Juliet clearly in winter PJs while Leah is dressed like it's 90 degrees out and the air conditioning is broke you ask? Sassy was getting too, well, sassy, about her clothing choices. Every morning was a fight. All she wanted to wear was sundresses. With no shirt underneath. Every day. So, she is no longer allowed to pick her clothes. Every morning she gets the choice of a dress or pants (she always picks a dress). Then I pick her outfit. However, we allow her to pick her PJs at night. She takes her time and selects some fabulous combinations. You would think she would be cold, but she still kicks the covers off. Hot blooded girlie. 

Thanksgiving

 We had a great Thanksgiving with our little family. While it was a little weird to be away from my sisters for the first Thanksgiving in my life, I was so thankful to be with my family. We loved having Daddy home. Our family needed some quality time together, and we were so grateful to reconnect. We made a delicious meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn. Sassy and I made an apple pie for desert. 

Leah would only pose for a picture if Barbie could be in the picture, too. She loves her new Barbie! Leah isn't so into getting her picture taken nowadays. Luckily, Juliet is always eager to cooperate! 

Juliet the Destroyer

 No magazine is safe with Jelly Boo near!

Big Girl Problems

I ordered Sass a pair of shoes in a flash sale at Stride Rite. I knew they would be big, and planned on putting them away for the Spring. Sassy loved them the second she saw them (they light up), and had to wear them. I told her that they were too big, and she said, "For all the others kids have them, now I have them, too. Don't put them away, Mommy!" 

We ended up going to Stride Rite on Saturday, and she found a cheap-o pair of pink glittery princess shoes that she couldn't live without. They were only $10, so we got them for her, with strict stipulations that she couldn't wear them to school. Yesterday she said, "See these shoes? They were $90, so I can't wear them to school." I didn't have the heart to tell her that she couldn't wear them to school because I'm not sure that they'll last that through the day! 

She did acknowledge that the light up shoes are too big, though, so hopefully she'll let me put them away for a few months. 

Pre-Thanksgiving Get Together at Aunt Renee's

 The girls had fun dressing up in matching dresses to go to Aunt Renee's house to see their cousins. Leah had fun playing with all the little kids, and Juliet did surprisingly well with the large crowd. 

 The bond between these girls grows stronger everyday. I love watching it grow. 

Eating!

Happy 6 Months, J Boo!

J. Boo,

Your Daddy and I were just talking about the evolution of your name. At first, we all called you Juliet. Then, it became Jelly Belly. Then, Sassy changed it to Jelly Belly Boo Boo. Then, we shortened it to Jelly Belly Boo. Then, Jelly Boo. Now, we usually call you J. Boo. Sometimes even J.B. Days go by when I don't call you Juliet. I hope you don't have any identity confusion when you are older. Leah only calls you Juliet when you are in trouble (you pull her hair. A LOT). 

 You are such a sweet girl. You love to cuddle. Mommy just spent the past hour trying to get you to sleep in the crib. You seem to go willingly into the crib for anyone but me. We will work on it. Not at night, though. I think you belong cuddled next to me at night. 

You are a little girl. You still wear size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes. Most of them are still roomy on you, so I think you'll be in this size for a while. As of Thursday, you are in the 15% for height and the 41% for weight. You have the best legs and wrist rolls that I have ever seen on a baby. The pediatrician told us to keep doing what we have been doing because you are absolutely perfect. 

 You LOVE to eat. It has been such a different experience than Leah's. You love to eat fruit from the mesh feeder. Today I made you sweet potatoes and you were in heaven. You kept saying, "MMMM!" and trying to get your mouth back to the spoon. You ate 4 servings. Seriously. I plan on making all your baby food like I did with Leah. I am going to try store bought food a few times a week, though. We are going to Cozumel and I won't be able to make you food for a week, so I need you able to eat packaged food that I can take with us. You still love to nurse, and I hope we can continue for as long as you would like (within reason, of course). 

You are such a smiler! You wake up smiling, and smile all day long. You are happiest in our own house. You are not my shopping buddy like Leah was. You cry and whine in stores. You don't usually care for new environments. You still hate the car seat  We found out this week that you hate the car seat even more when it is dark outside. You were hysterical. Poor baby. 

 You love to play and are getting much better at playing independently  You like the exersaucer and the jumperoo. You happily play in both for much longer now. You especially love when Leah plays with you. You think she is the best thing ever. You like to put EVERYTHING in your mouth. The 6 Month sticker lasted 2 seconds on you before you pulled it off and started eating it. Leah gets hysterical that you are going to eat all of her toys.  

You can move around well by rolling, and are working hard to learn to crawl.

We have enjoyed every second of your life, Jelly Belly Boo. We can't believe you are now 6 months old. We can't imagine life without you!

Love, Always, Forever, Promise!

Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

 We have been talking about Santa for a while now. After a particularly rough Costco experience when Sass saw a "super-dee-duper big Tangled Doll" and had to have it, "right here, right now". We decided to think carefully about what Leah wanted for Christmas, and write Santa a letter. We took the "shared pen" approach that I use in the early days of Kindergarten each year, and Sass did a great job stretching sounds and recording the letters she heard. We made a complete list for Kris Kringle. Sass was so excited to write the letter and to put it in the mailbox for Santa. 

 Sassy decorated the envelope and sealed it up with stickers. Sassy and Daddy put the letter in the mailbox.

 She checked the next day and was so excited to see that Santa had picked up the letter! 

 Now Leah gets really excited when she sees Christmas trees. She started telling a little girl in CVS yesterday all about her letter to Santa, and went through her entire list by memory (she also does this everyday, just inserts the entire list into random conversation). 

Disclaimer: I am not sharing Sassy's list to spur present ideas. Santa obviously has everything on the list (and probably more!) covered. After all, Sassy has been a good girl this year. I just wanted to share her work. 

Guess What?

Juliet still doesn't like the stroller. She prefers for Momma to carry her. Stinker. 

Jelly Bean Eats!

Jelly Boo started to eat solids this week! In short, she loves it! We didn't start Sass on solids until close to 7 months. Even then, she wasn't terribly interested. She liked eating more when she could eat table food independently. We were nervous on how Juliet would take to food since her tummy is so tender, but it was obvious that she was very interested in food and wanted very much to put some in her mouth. 

 I was eating an apple for lunch on Friday and Juliet couldn't stop starting at it and opening her mouth. I've let her "try" my food before, but I always get nervous that she's going to take a big bite (especially now that she has teeth) and choke. I wondered if she would like the mesh feeder (Leah tried it a few times, but never really cared for it). I went down to the basement and dug them out of a bin. Juliet was so excited! She kept crunching on the apple with a thrilled expression. She dropped it a few times and was immediately overcome with grief. 

 She was so excited to be eating like a big girl! 

 Later that night, after an outfit change, she tried solid food again. This time she enjoyed avocado with breast milk  This wasn't as exciting as the apple. 

 She ate a few bites, then had an expression like, "this is what I've waited so long for?" She was over it within a few bites. Later that night she had a little bit of an upset belly. She was up a little later than normal, and needed to sleep on my chest for the first stretch of the night. I blame the apple. We are going to stay away from "binding" foods for the foreseeable future. 

 This morning I gave her a piece of pear in the mesh feeder, and she rekindled her love of food. She just munched and munched. 

Chris and I joked that she was going to eat turkey out of the mesh feeder at Thanksgiving. 

New Boxes

Leah Loo, Jelly Boo, and Brain Andrew Charles all think that boxes are one of the best types of toys. Brain may not have smiling eyes, but his heart is happy in that box. :) 

Love this Girl

Jelly Bean loves her bath time. She kicks the water and flops around wildly. She is always smiling in the tub. It may be her favorite time of the day! 

More Halloween

 We stayed at home and handed out candy because Leah refused to wear a shirt under her dress in order to go trick or treating. She had a lot of fun handing out candy, though. She kept giving the trick or treaters more pieces that we were allowing. We were expecting on going trick or treating ourselves, so we didn't buy too much candy. We were trying to ration it so we didn't run out. 

 J. Boo looked smart as a polar bear. 

 Sassy loved Halloween, and is already looking forward to the next Halloween. She says she is going to be Abby Cadabby.