Toddler Talk - June edition

Anyone who spends time around little kids knows that they are constantly saying and doing the funniest things.  So I'm going to try to jot down a couple funny, silly, sweet things that the girls say or do throughout each month and share them in a post at month-end.  

• It was bedtime, and I was laying with Monica in her bed.  I closed my eyes for a moment...and the next thing I knew, I could feel her lightly tracing her thumb across my forehead.  Except....it was wet.  I opened my eyes, and said, "Ummm, what are you doing?"  And she replied, "I'm putting spit on your forehead, to help you relax a little bit."  I just said, "Please....don't do that.  It's just so gross."  And she just smiled and rolled over and went to sleep.

• Whenever I refer to the girls as "my girls" or I say, "Let's go, girls" Monica insists, "NO!  I'm a BOY!"  And whenever I refer to Lauren as her little sister she says, "NO!  She is my brother!  I'm the sister!"  And she always refers to Lauren as "he" in conversation.  Haha, I obviously have some work to do here!  

• "I really want to wear dirty socks. Dirty socks are nice!"  She was just really excited to have successfully put on her own socks, even though they were an unmatching pair from the laundry pile.

• I was pulling weeds while Monica was playing in the sandbox.  And suddenly she ran up and said, "Mommy, I need to show you something!"  And her eyes lit up as I immediately said, "OK!" and took her hand as we ran towards the sandbox.  Where she presented me with a sand pie, and launched into, "Happy birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy birthday to Monica and Mommy!"  And then she blew out the pretend candles and proceeded to sing happy birthday to Mommy Monica, Lauren, Daddy, the Woof, and The Pooper Cat.  And I sang along and loved every single second of it!!!!!!

• JK, Monica and I were laying in our bed settling, down for the day and relaxing before taking Monica into her room.   I was in the middle, and I said, "Look, I'm the meat and you guys are the bread, we're a sandwich!"  And JK starting laughing and calling me mommy salami, and I was laughing and saying I'd prefer to be a spicy chicken cutlet, and Monica chimes in with, "We are not delicious food!  We are just people!!!"

• Me:  "What are you making"

          Monica:  "A note.  It's for Daddy.  It says I love you."

Lauren's First Birthday

Happy First Birthday, Lauren!

I spent the better part of June 18th following her around the house and trying to get a nice picture of her.  This is probably the best of the bunch.  Haha!  But it totally encompasses all that is our sweet, silly, happy little girl, who is always smiling and saying "Hoot, hoot" to us!

 

We celebrated with a small party with immediate family, Lauren's first time in the pool, and a massive balloon pit that JK spent hours creating for her.  While she loved the balloon pit, she was, and remains, unsure about the pool.  This little one prefers to hang around the water table, lounge on the deck, and eat snacks.  Just like Mommy!  Unlike Monica, who would stay in the pool for hours if we would let her.  Just like Daddy!

This one is blurry, but I love it because she is grabbing the cake!

Daddy was making her all kinds of balloon accessories.  She loved it!

Opening presents amidst the balloons. 

 

 

 

I have a few more pictures to upload here, but wanted to get this post published before we head out for vacation.  Our first year with her has been so much fun, I can't wait to see what this year brings!

Family Restaurant Experience

JK has been really busy between work projects and school.  So, last week, he was telling Monica that he was done a big project, and done school for the week, so we could do something fun as a family the next day.  He asked what she would like to do, and she replied, "I want to go to a restaurant." 

We were a little puzzled, since we really don't go out to eat as a family.  We'll grab the occasional slice of pizza while we're out at the mall;  but, sit-down restaurant outings are usually reserved for JK and I as date nights, sans kids. 

We told her ok, thinking she might forget about it.  But she woke up the following morning and spent the better part of the day talking about going to the restaurant....how she wanted to order off of the menu, place her order with a waiter, and hear the specials of the day.  It was SO cute.  We talked about what she might want to eat, how we need to behave in a restaurant, table manners, etc. throughout the day.  I asked if she wanted to go for pizza (JK had suggested Pizza Hut) and she said, "NO, A RESTAURANT."  Apparently pizza doesn't qualify as a real restaurant experience, haha.

So JK and I decided on Applebees, got ready while they were napping, and were ready to head out when they woke up from afternoon naps.  I packed a couple emergency snacks, a couple quiet toys for distraction, and water cups for the girls.  I also mentally prepared myself for the very real possibility that we may have to cut the meal short and get our food to go, in the event of a  melt down.  Best to keep expectations low, just in case!

We arrived at Applebees, grabbed a booth and a booster seat for Lauren, and set the kids up with some place mat menus and crayons. 

And then...the most amazing thing happened.  WE ACTUALLY ENJOYED OUR MEAL.   Monica reviewed her menu choices, ordered her own meal, and said please and thank you to the waitress.  Lauren sat like a perfect little lady in her booster seat and barely made a peep.  We had a great waitress who was super speedy getting our order in and keeping the food coming.

Needless to say, JK and I were pretty surprised at how well everything  went.  Meals at home are often stressful events.  I'm popping in and out of the kitchen every few minutes for something forgotten, the kids  noisily voice their delights and/or dislikes with the food, and I spend so much time cutting up food into tiny pieces that I often don't eat until everyone else is nearly finished.  So, I think it is safe to say that we will be willing to try to go out to eat as a family more often.

Monica & Lauren Updates!

I thought that life started flying by so quickly after Monica was born.  I had no idea that it was possible for it to speed up even more now that we have both girls!  With these two little ones, every moment of every day is just a whirlwind of activity.  There are always food or drinks being requested, a diaper to change, toys to play with, clothes and shoes to put on and take off.  Our days are busy and crazy, fun and frustrating, exhilarating and exhausting.  At any given moment, laughter can become tears, and tears can be turned into laughter.

I was just reading back over some of the old posts, and I got a little sad.  There are so many happy and fun memories I've put here, but I am feeling guilty I have not had the time to keep up throughout Lauren's first year.  So many amazing things have happened with these two little girls.  They are always saying and doing things to make JK and I laugh, every day is a new adventure!  And while the memories are fresh now, I know that the little day to day ones will fade over time.  So, now that things have finally sort of settled into a rhythm, I'm thinking I really want to try to commit to carving out a little bit of time every week to capture a memory.  I know that, later on, I'll be happy that I did. 

So, here's my memory for today.  A little background....it dawned on me a few months ago, that it's neither JK nor I that is Lauren's favorite person.  Lauren's most favorite person in the whole world is Monica!  When her sister comes into the room, Lauren's face lights up with such happiness, it's such an awesome sight to see.

And while Monica loves Lauren, she's also at the age where it is frustrating to have to share her time, her toys, and her parents with her baby sister.  Especially since Lauren is running all around, following Monica, and trying to do everything that she does. 

We were driving in the car this week, and Monica was telling me that, sometimes, some things make her sad.  But, when that happens, she just stops and thinks of something happy.  I asked what makes her happy, and her immediate response was, "Playing with Baby Lauren!"  It was truly the best thing I could have hoped to hear her say.  I'm so happy that they enjoy each other so much and have so much fun together.  Such wonderful little girls!

So, here are some pictures of our happy girls doing some of their favorite things together:

Water Table Fun!

Sandbox fun....Lauren is still on the fence about whether or not she wants to actually get IN the sandbox.

Pancakes and TV shows

These kids love Home Depot more than any other store.

Cuties at the park!

Swinging

Haha, I love this one!

 

 

Me and the girls relaxing on the hammock

Sisters: Getting to Know Each Other

We were understandably a little nervous about bringing home our new addition to our family.  We had no idea how Monica would react to Lauren, and what type of adjustment period to anticipate.

The great news is that Monica is absolutely crazy about her little sister.  

In fact, the second night we were home from the hospital, Monica showed up in our room at 4 a.m., just to make sure that Lauren was resting comfortably.  Luckily, Monica was very reasonable when we explained to her that it is very important that she stays in her own room at night, and that mommy and daddy would promise to take care of Lauren, as long as she would sleep all night in her big girl bed :)

But, Monica is a great helper during the day with Lauren.  When Lauren is sad and cries, Monica tries to cheer her up by bringing her toys, entertaining her with picnics, and reading stories to her, and hanging out on her playmat.

That said, while Lauren appreciates Monica's efforts, she definitely lets her know when she needs her space.

Monica also loves to hold Lauren snuggle her with lots of hugs and love.

This is one of my favorites - not because of the picture itself, but because of the story behind it.  Monica was whining and insisting that she get a turn to sit with Lauren.  But as soon as I sat her up next to her, Monica was mad that she was leaning on her.  Monica kept scooting away and, naturally, Lauren kept leaning, until the two of them ended up slumped all over each other.

  

Some dolls and stuffed animals to cheer up Lauren.

As a mom of two, one of my most favorite parts is when Monica and I are playing and we hear Lauren wake up from her nap.  As soon as Monica hears her make a peep over the monitor, she starts shouting, "Help her, help her!" and races for the stairs so we can go upstairs and get her from her crib.

That's not to say that parenting two isn't without it's challenges!  As Lauren becomes more mobile and is getting interested in toys, we've had plenty of opportunities to work on Monica's sharing skills.


As you can see below, Monica is streaking by to get to Lauren.  She is never far away when Lauren starts checking out a new toy!

We've worked out some strategies to handle this, though.  We ask Monica up front which toys she would like to share with Lauren, and then Monica gives them to her.

But it's generally pretty easy to convince the two of them to play nicely together.  We'll see how that changes over time when Lauren starts forming opinions of her own!

Most often, I just have to make sure they aren't mauling each other.  I never know what I'm going to find if I look away for even a second!

The hardest part is really also the sweetest part.  It's tough when they both need me at the same time.  Luckily, mommy usually has lots of hugs to go around for everyone!

Love these girls!

 

Monica's 2nd birthday

Yes, her birthday was August 29th.  Yes, It's taken me over a month to write a post.  Yes, I'm behind.  Big surprise!  Life is busy!

Anyway, a week before her birthday, I told Monica that she had a big day coming up and we were going to be celebrating her birthday.  And her response was, "Cake!"

When she woke up on August 29th and JK and I said, "Happy birthday, Monica," she also replied with, "Cake!"  And so, naturally, we gave her cake for breakfast to begin her birthday celebration. I threw in a side helping of blueberries, so I could convince myself that there was some healthy component to the breakfast :)

Her next big birthday surprise was that we had finally - two years to the day, to be exact - re-finished the basement and turned it into a playroom.  A brand new slide and 500+ new Legos were waiting for her downstairs!

In lieu of a big birthday party, we decided to take Monica on a special adventure for her first time visiting the aquarium.  It was super hard to get any good photos of her, she was so excited that she hardly stopped moving the entire time we were there!

We did have a small get-together with immediate family to celebrate with swimming, pizza,  and cake and ice cream. 

And then we wrapped up the celebration with some fun with trains. 

It's hard to believe how grown up our little girl is, two years have gone by so fast! 

Introducing Lauren Nicole

She is here!  And had been for over two months. LOL.  It's tough to blog with two kiddos!  But, it's becoming evident that it is so important to make the effort.  I can't even believe it's possible, but time is speeding by even MORE quickly now that we have two little ones!

 Lauren was born on June 18th, 2013, weighing 8lbs, 8ozs, and 19.5 inches long.  She is absolutely perfect.

Newborn pic the day after she was born :) 

 

A couple of shots of our little sleeping beauty during her first two weeks at home:

Enjoying her swing!  She takes many naps and her first stretch of night sleep in her swing.  She loves it just as much as her big sister did at this age!  It's tough to keep Monica out of the swing, but we're working on it :)

We found out very quickly that the world around us isn't going to stop just because we have a newborn, so we are on the go quite often with this little love.  Luckily, unlike her big sister, she LOVES infant car seat and going on car rides.

Wide-eyed and ready to start the day

She's just so sweet!

I just found this one when I was going through my phone looking for pictures.  I think we took this our second day home from the hospital, and I believe it's the only shot of our whole family since Lauren's been born.  I'll have to make it a priority to get some more pictures of the four of us!






We have a couple posts in draft right now....highlights of these two sisters getting to know each other, as well as a post celebrating Monica's second birthday.  Lots of fun stuff going on here, so lots of updates to make in the upcoming weeks!