I survived..

Well, I survived my first day back to work. I was actually less sad than I thought I would be. Of course, I missed my girls but it was nice to just get away and talk to adults for awhile. By about 2 o'clock I was ready to come home, but of course I didn't have that luxury. They did just fine with Daddy with the exception of a minor incident with nail polish. I now have a lovely pink circle on my couch cushion. I think he realized that she is faster than he thought she was. Hannah was an angel and just hung out most of the day, probably wondering where the heck I wandered off to. She decided that last night she would just nurse most of the night, just to make sure I knew that she realized I had been gone. It's all good.

ABCs...

Alexis knew the order of her ABCs by her second birthday. We have been working on the song this summer and last night she sang it all the way through perfectly. I was so impressed. She wanted to call her Mimi on the phone and sing the ABCs to her. She got a little shy once on the phone but with some prodding she sang them perfectly. Mimi was stunned and excited. The party on the other end of the line was quite rambunctious. Alexis has been asking to call her again all morning, saying "Mimi ABCs!". I told her Mimi wasn't awake yet. :)

She also has a new aversion to having her picture taken. She emphatically tells me, "No picture, Mommy!". I did catch one of her this morning before she got too mad.

She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

Get Em' Girl!

Hannah was having some play time today and I gave her a stuffed, pink elephant. First, she tried to latch on and then wrestled with him a bit before she admitted defeat. She looked so adorable "playing" with a toy. She is growing so fast and I can't believe that just a little over 3 months ago, I brought home a five and half pound newborn. It's sad but great, all at the same time.



Everyone has been commenting on how similar the girls look. I agree wholeheartedly, but revel in their subtle differences so that one day they will know that they were each special in their own way. I looked up some more pictures of them at the same age and they look very similar, but not exactly the same, as I thought before.

Here is Alexis at a tad over 3 months...



Hannah today...



Cuties.

Hannah's First Playdate

Today, while Alexis was napping, Hannah got to have her first play date. Laura, and new baby, Mateo, came over for a visit. We laid the babes on the floor, on a blanket, and they looked at each other and cooed. It was super sweet until someone got mad. Then they both started up. We moms just kept snapping the pictures. Maybe they were mad because they thought we were the paparazzi. Umm...

A Visit from Papa and Mimi...

I haven't posted in a few days because we had out of town guests. Papa and Mimi traveled out to Ramona to see us and meet their newest granddaughter. The visit went very well and we were sad to see them go this morning. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures just yet. Our photographer came over for a session yesterday but we won't get to see her beautiful work for a couple of weeks.

While my mom was here, we went shopping at Viejas, an outlet mall. I had a coupon for Carter's that I wanted to use. We managed to leave the toddler at home with the men and ventured out. When all was said and done and we went to pay, the cashier was gushing over Hannah. She actually stopped us on the way out and that she sees lots of babies and that Hannah definitely won the cutest baby of the week. I was so proud and left the store, now the one gushing over my daughter. I think Mimi was pretty proud too.

In other news, Alexis said her first curse word. Yep, Daddy taught her "sh*t". I have warned him time and time again that one day she will pick it up on it and sure enough she did. I guess he believes me now and hopefully she will forget it and it will become a distant memory. I must admit, it was hard not to laugh.

Hannah is doing better in her Exersaucer. We tried again over the weekend and she actually sat up in it, with minimal assistance. Of course, her overzealous sister had to be in on the action. Poor kid means well but I think Hannah is a bit terrified of her.

It also seems as though Children's Hospital has lost Alexis's lab work. I am trying to be patient and will update as soon as I know something.

Blankets and Ice Cream...

Alexis speaks very well for her age and most of what she says in understandable. There are a couple of words that she says that are so cute that you just want to eat her up. Today, she brought Hannah's "be-gut" to her...her blanket. I just melted. It is so cute to hear her say it and so sweet that she wants to help me with her sister.

The other word is one of her most favorite things in the world. "Soh-cream". This child loves her ice cream. There is no two ways about it.

This child owns my heart...completely.

Well, I tried...

I bought the girls coordinating jammies yesterday at Old Navy. I was so excited to get them washed today so they could wear them tonight. "What a photo opportunity", I thought to myself. Here are the results of that so-called photo op.



Nice, thanks girls.

Trying to figure it out...

Alexis has been suffering from tummy problems for quite some time now. After a visit to her pediatrician last month for stool samples and basic blood work, we weren't able to find any simple answers. On Thursday of this week, we saw the pediatric allergist. His words, "I think she has celiac disease", were the ones I was hoping not to hear. Celiac disease is an allergy to gluten. Gluten is present in lots of things, mainly wheat products. If she truly does have this, her diet would be strict. We went for blood work yesterday and should have the results back next week. As much as I hope this is not it, I am hoping for an answer. Her tummy is ready for some relief.

Dance Class - Take 2

Today was a much better day in dance class. There were a total of 3 girls, all dressed in their little ballerina outfits! Too cute! Alexis was a little hesitant to go in at first but with some encouragement, she went. I ended up having to sit in the car for the rest of her class because when she saw me through the window, she wanted to come out of class and sit with me. I could see little glimpses of her through a big window they have that faces the parking lot and she looked like she was having fun. Miss Tiffany said she did really well. Hopefully the future classes will be even more successful and fun!

Need I say more??

Caterpillars...

Today was Alexis's first day of "play school" at Ms. Shauna's house. She is going every Monday from 9-12. I am pretty sure she loved it, considering she didn't hesitate to say goodbye this morning, and after I picked her up she told me "play kids". She also brought home her first craft project. A beautiful caterpillar. Ms. Shauna said that she really liked the glue. That's my girl.

Tonight, at dinner, Hannah had what I lovingly refer to as a "poo-plosion". I decided that after cleaning her up that I would bathe her in her baby tub, a first. We set it all up and right as I was preparing to put her in, I noticed a warm liquid flowing down the front of my shirt...pee. Scott bathed her, in which she screamed through most of it. I am not sure if it was because she was cold or the pure terror of her sister attempting to drown her from the sidelines. She survived and I wrapped her up in a warm towel. As I was getting ready to put her down on the changing table, another warm drizzle down the front of my shirt...yep, pee again. Really?

Here are some pictures to document the first bath in the baby tub.




Lastly, and the most sad moment of the day, was when I realized that I really must retire the 0-3 month clothes. Yesterday, in preparation for the switch, I washed all the 3-6 month clothes, thinking it would be another couple of weeks or so before I would need them. Well today, after two 0-3 months outfits were too small, I decided that I would put her in a 3-6 month sleeper, of course, thinking it would be too big. Nope, fits just right and at the rate she is going, it will only fit a few weeks. Sniff, sniff. If that wasn't enough, I looked back at Lexi's pictures and found a picture of her at 7 months wearing a 3-6 month sleeper of the same brand that Hannah is wearing tonight. I think Lexi may have to watch out. Her sister is going to be a bruiser.

Hannah, hanging out in the swing in her 3-6 month sleeper.



Alexis, at 7 months, in a 3-6 month sleeper of the same brand.

A New Baby Gadget

Our dear friends, Eve and Brett, sent Hannah a decked out, girly-as-it-gets, Exersaucer as a welcoming gift. It was put away for a couple of months and tonight I persuaded Scott to build it. I was excited to put her in it although I knew at the ripe ol' age of 11 weeks, she might not get much out of it. I was right...way too young yet. It is super cute and I am sure she will enjoy it in a month or so. For now I think it will just sit there, look cute, and wait for an eager infant to gain some muscle control. Of course, I had to take pictures.



I love this picture...Hannah looks like she is thinking "Wow, she is sooo awesome!"



I looked back in my thousands of pictures and found this one of Alexis when she was first given her Exersaucer. She loved it! It was one her her favorite things for awhile. She, of course, was much older when she was given hers. She is six months old in this picture.

Big Smiles

It is so heart-warming when your kids first start to smile. Hannah reached that milestone recently and I finally captured it on camera. Here she is smiling at Daddy...

On a side bar, Hannah is outgrowing her 0-3 month clothes already. This comes as a surprise because Alexis was still in newborn sizes when she was Hannah's age. It just goes to show that each child is different...even if they look exactly the same. :) They grow too fast.

What happens when you skip a nap...

Alexis has done this a couple of times at dinner when she skips her afternoon nap...

Tired much??

Dance Class

Well...

The class didn't go as I expected, but I am convinced it will get better. It was the first class after a vacation and the local schools started this week so Alexis was given a private lesson. That would have been great if she were older but when you put a 2 year old out onto a huge dance floor with someone she has never met, you are likely to encounter a few problems.

Alexis was intimidated, to say the least. She followed the directions to the best of her ability but definitely played the shy card. Miss Tiffany was fantastic and tried everything to get her to come out of her shell. She even tried getting the Elmo coloring book out and having Alexis dance for Elmo. In a last ditch effort, she gave her a DumDum, which Alexis devoured, but it did not produce any dance moves.

We are determined to try again and hopefully the next class will have some other monkeys in it so that she won't feel so intimidated. I do think she liked it a little bit, especially since she has mentioned it several times since we left. A glimmer of hope for Mommy who REALLY wants her to dance.

The much anticipated pictures....

Alexis in her pink leotard getting ready for dance class...




Dancing with Miss Tiffany...


Her favorite part of the whole thing...the DumDum...

Twins??

I just looked up a picture of Alexis when she was 11 weeks old.




Here is Hannah at 11 weeks.


Is it just me or are the similarities remarkable?? Note that Hannah is two pounds heavier than Alexis was at two months and she has a darker complexion. Other than that, if I wasn't their mother, I may not be able to tell their pictures apart. How crazy is that, especially after I have been telling people that I don't think they look that much alike. Whichever one of us they resemble (I have been told they look exactly like me OR exactly like Scott) must have some rockin' DNA.

Back to blogging...

It has been almost a year since I have visited my blog. I guess life got busy. Not that it still isn't busy, but I think I will make an effort to keep up this time.

Hannah joined our family on June 18th, 2008 by whirlwind. She came by C-section, at 36 weeks, because she was breech and had low fluid. Wow! She made a dramatic entrance but has been a very easy-going baby. She melts my heart.

This past Sunday, I was in the bathroom at our new house. Scott had come in for something and stepped in front of me and then we he backed up, he stepped on my toes. Ouchie! I yelped in pain and stopped myself from using a few choice words because Alexis was right there. She immediately stopped and said "sorry, Mommy", as if she was taking the blame. Her sweetness instantly took the pain away from my aching toes. She continued on for a minute or so asking if I was OK. I assured her I was and then in a sheer moment of pity, she leaned down and lifted my foot and kissed it, exclaiming. "all better." My eyes welled up with tears. She is such a sensitive soul.

I am having anxiety about Alexis's need to pick up and carry her baby sister. In a controlled environment, it is cute and I smile. I know that is sending the wrong message because when I turn my back for just a moment, she seizes the opportunity. She is so sweet about it though, always bringing her straight to me and saying, "Baby Hannah hun-gree". Instant happiness at the sound of her innocent voice. I hope that someone is watching over my baby Hannah; her overzealous sister may drop her.

We went shopping for ballet shoes today. Her first class is tomorrow. She was smitten with the tiny, baby pink, ballet shoes. She even carried the shopping bag over her shoulder and out to the car. Once safely strapped into her car seat, she got them out, insisted on putting them on, and insisted on wearing them into Costco. I agreed, much to her delight. Besides, you only get your first pair of ballet slippers once. She loves them and I can't wait to see how the class unfolds tomorrow.

I hope to make this blog a regular activity so the rest of the world can hear my constant ramblings. I can hear the excitement.