Life

 I have two girls that both LOVE boxes. 

 Juliet has FOUR new teeth coming in. C and I have been calling her "Vampira" because of her snaggle tooth. 

 Juliet thought it was pretty funny that I turned her upside down to get a picture of her new teeth. 

 Juliet is really into small toys now. She spent a whole evening playing with this Abby. Her new, more treasured toy, is a small baby doll that we bought for Leah in the Outer Banks. She loves her "baby". Poor baby has lost her clothes, and is near naked. Juliet will play with her for long periods of time. Every day I got home from work last week, I noticed "baby" in her hands. 

Brain and Annie love to cuddle. Annie has got much more social lately. She even let Leah hold her for a few minutes! 

Leah Loo Update

 Sassy Mae,

You are getting so big! You are obsessed with getting even bigger, though. You are really into "getting married". You went through a phase where you wanted to watch Daddy and Mommy's wedding video every night. Every time we read "Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Farm", you turn back to the page that has her wedding ring and ask, "When will I get a wedding ring?" You love your Tangled wedding dress from Grandma L, but sometimes tell me you don't want to wear it because you want it to still look nice when you get married and you don't want it to get "wrecked, because it's very, very delicate". We were watching Full House and Stephanie was kissing a boy. I told you "no kissing boys!" You replied with, "OK, I can kiss a girl and marry Juliet". Ha!You loved Tangled Ever After, both the book and the movie. It's too bad no one we know is getting married because I know you would be an excellent flower girl, and would take the entire wedding process very seriously. 

 You love to watch Full House. Every night you ask me, "Is Full House on tonight?" It was a ritual that we all watched a Full House in our bed each night. However, a few days ago there was an episode where Michelle worries her foot is growing too big. She has a dream that her foot gets bigger and bigger until it is as big as the kitchen. You were absolutely terrorized by this. You started crying, demanded we turn the TV off and wanted to go straight to bed. You wouldn't even let Daddy read you books. You just wanted him to cuddle you until you fell asleep. He obliged. Now you say that we are giving Full House a little break. You say that you still want to watch it, but you NEVER want to watch the episode about the foot again because it was too scary. 

You love to read. You are reading all of my Rick Steves books that we used in Italy. You point out all the maps and ask, "how do we get there?" You carry around a bag of books with all your favorite books inside. You love to read. You can read many books perfectly, from memory. 

Your favorite toy is Pete the Cat. He goes everywhere with you. Today he was being pushed around the house in the doll stroller, packed into a suitcase for Mexico, and riding a Donkey named Dave. You also love chap stick and love to carry them around the house. You have several different varieties  and often have your mind set on finding a certain one. You then make your Daddy and I look in every room until we find the exact right one. 

You are in the midst of a little bit of a clingy stage with Mommy. I hear "Up on Mama" and (my favorite) "Can I please have some attention now?". You want Daddy to hold Juliet so that you can be cuddled. Juliet is teething and is also very clingy. You two like to try to push each other off my lap and protest about which one needs me more. It's funny, though, because on Sunday you and Juliet both decided that you wanted Daddy, and tried to push each other off his lap. 

Daddy and I started a sleep chart with you a few months ago. It was a rocky start, and your sleeping over the build up to Christmas was atrocious, but you seem to be in a good sleeping groove now. You let Daddy put you to bed every night. If Juliet is sleeping, I will cuddle you in bed first and read to you. Daddy always reads to you, too, regardless if I did, too. He then sits in the chair for 20 minutes. Then he tells you he is going to sit in the hallway on the bean bag chair. But, he really just goes to bed. Ha! You seem to be on to him and ask for him to sit where you can see him. You wake up about once a night now, and just need to be told to lay back down and to close your eyes. You don't need anyone to lay with you, which is a big improvement! You are earning stars and already earned a Tangled pillow, which you adore. You are on your way to earning a Tangled blanket (you have always loved blankets, and they have always ranked in the Top 5 of the 'toys' you play with most!).

You also love to sing. Daddy and I love when you make up songs. Last night I was singing a silly, made-up song to you and Jelly Boo that I've sung to you for years. You added a verse about Daddy and kept the tune. You love to sing, and seem to pick up melodies and words quickly. 

You are such a delight, Sassy Mae!

We love you so much!

Hands on Museum

 Chris has been working on Saturdays for the past several months. Boo. Last Saturday he said he wouldn't work. We went back to the Hands on Museum, and Leah had a blast! She was talking about the musical stairs and balls for days before hand.  

 She like the balls, but this time she really liked the water table. She had fun playing with the animals and boats. 

 She liked the bubble room, too. Except for the bubble that was supposed to go around her. She accidentely stepped in the water and got her shoes and sock all wet. We took off the sock, and she said she didn't mind. 

 J. Boo hung out in the B'jorn for the first half of the trip, and in Daddy's lap for the second part of the trip. 

 What Leah loved best this trip was digging for fossils. It looked like she was digging in cat litter, but it was actually small rubber pieces. 

 The piano was a hit as always. 

 Leah also really liked building in the blocks. So did J. Boo. 

 After we were done, we went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant. Juliet ate, and ate, and ate. Then she was showing off her "so bigs". 

Leah and Jelly Boo Having Fun

Leah was making J. Boo laugh as we were eating dinner one night last week. These two play together more and more now, and it is fun to watch.

Random

Little Miss Gymnastics

 Leah was so excited to get back to gymnastics. She has been talking about it for months. For months she would say, "After Christmas, I'm going back to gymnastics!" After our last holiday party, she solemnly said, "Christmas is over now" and got a sad look on her face. Then she got really excited and said, "Today is gymnastics!" It wasn't. And she was disappointed to wait another week. 

What a difference a year makes! The above picture is her before her first gym class. She was 2 years and 2 months old. She took 3 sessions last year. She had her highs and lows last year. It was a great learning experience for her, that I think did help prepare her for preschool. This year, at least for the first session, it was all highs. She loved the warm up (which she NEVER did before), she listened to the teacher, volunteered for everything and was all smiles. At one point, she turned to her teacher and said, "I love learning!" My heart melted. She also told me she wants to go to the "Limp Sticks" (Olympics). 

 She got mad that I took Juliet's picture. 

I am glad that Leah is so excited about her new extra curricular activity. We love having Robin and Lukey in class with us, too! 

8 Month Jelly Belly!

 Jelly Belly Boo,

I think this has been your best month so far. This month you perfected crawling, started pulling up on everything, became a HUGE eater, got some new teeth, and just seemed to develop such a personality (not that you didn't have one before!)

 This was a huge milestone month for you. In addition to crawling (you are QUICK!) and pulling up, you also learned to wave (usually only for hello, we are working on good-bye waves) and how to do "so big" (see picture below for evidence). You also learned to say MAMA! I did it! After a few days last month of "hi, dada!" you abruptly stopped saying anything close to those syllables (at least in conjunction--hopefully it wasn't because I told you if you didn't stop, I would stop nursing you!). Ha! You say Mama every time you are tired or just done. Sometimes you even wake up in the middle of the night to say it. Over vacation, mid-nap, Chris and I heard you flopping around your crib. You stopped, said, "mama?" then went back to sleep. You never say it when you are happy. It seems to be your code for "I'm unhappy, rescue me"! 

 Also, you sleep in your crib for all but your last nap now! Yay! You still take at least 3 naps a day. Typically you take 1-2 morning naps (1 for me, 2 for the nanny, depending), 1 afternoon, and 1 evening nap. You like to be held for the last nap of the day. I don't mind because a) I love the cuddle time and b) I know that you'll drop that nap in the next few months. You still sleep between your daddy and I at night, and we have no plans of changing that. You typically wake up 2 times a night, though there are days where it is much more frequent, as well as days where you sleep through the night. 

 You are getting bigger but still wear 3-6 month clothing quite comfortably. A few of the outfits are getting small, but I bought you a few 6-12 month one-piece outfits which are a little big, and your legs get tangled up in them when you crawl. You wear a size 3 diaper. 

 You are such a mover and shaker! You are one busy girl, Jelly Boo. The 8 month sticker was promptly ripped off and crumbled. You make a bee line for all of your sister's cherished toys when we put you down. Leah always stayed right by me and played reasonably quietly. The second I put you down you are off! You love to play with the cat and dog dishes, and don't care that I tell you no. You love to bang on your toys, and you love toys that make noise. The musical cubes from Daddy's bosses are a favorite toy of yours, as well as the musical cube from Santa. 

 You are still such a smiley baby! When you get excited you start kicking your legs. You love your Mama, Daddy, and Sissy. Leah can always make you laugh. You love when she plays with you, but question why she is always trying to take your toys away. When you notice that Leah is in my lap, you immediately crawl over and start pawing at me.  

 You still love to eat. The mesh feeder seems to have run it's course. You like the food Mama cooks for you as well as Plum Organic food (but not other brands--believe me, I've tried). All the new foods have been a little hard on your system. I made you prunes today. You loved them! This month you even started to eat puffs! You love to collect them in your hands, but haven't realized that you can/should put them in your own mouth. You squawk loudly at me when you want more. You know eat a solid lunch and dinner each day, and let me know when you are hungry. 

 You still have your 2 bottom teeth, and now 2 top teeth are emerging. You love to grind them together. Santa brought you a toothbrush for Christmas, and you LOVE to get your teeth brushed. 

 You love Rugen and Brain and are always crawling to them. You are constantly trying to pull up on Rugen. He always gives me a look of concern as you try this, but never protests. I try to keep you clear of the animals, but like I said before you are fast. You can clear the room and be into the next room in the time it takes me to open a marker for Leah. 

You are such a joy, Jelly Boo.

I have no recollection of life without you!

Christmas Vacation Fun

 

Leah and Daddy made a snowman! Leah was so excited to do this, and enjoyed admiring her snowman for the next week! She was especially excited about the carrot nose. 

 Leah and Juliet had fun playing in the box the Juliet's diapers came in from Amazon! 

 Leah loves her Pete the Cat, and was glad that I saved him from the Meijer parking lot after he accidently go dropped out of the car after Christmas. For several days she told the story of how Pete was cold and alone and stepped on until Mama came back to get him. Leah has become such a reader! She carries all of her favorite books around with her. The collection includes all of her Pete the Cat books, her princess books, and a mish-mash of other books (including Duck for President, which is one of my favorites!). The pile is so big that she need to split it in 1/2 and have Chris or I carry 1/2 the pile for her. The pile follows her all around the house. She can read most of the books, perfectly, from memory. It's eerie and adorable to watch! During vacation, she would wake up around 6, and ask to come into our room. I would say okay, but she would stay in her room crying because she couldn't carry her books by herself to our room. I would have to get out of bed and carry them into our room. She would get in bed with me and fall immediately back asleep. 

 Leah wore her dark purple Tangled dress almost everyday of vacation. She was thrilled when she learned that the "glass slippers" from "Big Tangled" fit her, too. 

 Leah got Princess Candyland as an early Christmas present and LOVES to play. She has a knack for the game. I've played with her at least 15 times, and never once won. I even started checking her cards, but she is just a natural! 

 Juliet loves Leah's chair, and can't wait to get one of her own! 

 Leah and Juliet are glad that a Donkey named Dave is back in the living room. They both had fun jumping on him.