Bits of Summer

In spite of being sick most of the summer, we actually had a wonderful summer. This is the first year that both girls have enjoyed the beach, so we took full advantage and went to the beach a lot. Our favorite time of day to go is late afternoon, after nap time is over. We would pack a picnic dinner, some beach chairs, and head out to the beach.

Holly and Josie enjoying their sandwiches.

We went to the beach with cousins several times, and Andrew decided to give Holly a (rather tame) ride in a kayak. She was in love with the idea until she actually got in it.

When they made it back to shore, Andrew told me that Holly kept desperately trying to jump out of the kayak. What's not to love about a kayak ride where all you're required to do is sit and enjoy it?

We also made, and enjoyed, our fair share of treats. Josie is a junk food monster and will gladly sacrifice eating her dinner in hopes of dessert.

Lowe's continues to be our home-away-from-home and the girls accompany us often. They like going lots more if a fun car shopping cart is involved. It seems like the list of projects to be done on our house will never end!

Swimming Lessons

This summer we decided to go for it and register Holly for swimming lessons. She had a blast and learned a lot (she is not an Olympic-level swimmer yet, but has gained much confidence in the water). She took a two-week session which consisted of four lessons per week.

Incidentally, this particular session happened to fall right when I found out I was pregnant and all the fun began. So needless to say, taking her to a 9:00 a.m. swimming lesson was about all I could handle every day.

Holly had just turned three and was the youngest child in her class, by far. I was so proud of her and thought she did so well! The only person who wasn't pleased with the arrangement was Josie, who was mad that she couldn't get in the pool and swim, too. We actually had a few close encounters with the water slide and, luckily, there were other moms more with it than I who saved her life. Although she certainly didn't see it that way, of course.

We are looking forward to swimming lessons again next summer!

The REAL Reason I Haven't Blogged in 6 Months...

Actually, make that the last 3 months. I really have no excuse from April through June. But from July to the present, I have been absent from blogging, Facebook, and all forms of socialization because of this.

A new baby bump! Hooray! This picture is seriously outdated because I'm about halfway through this beast of a pregnancy and much, much bigger. But I seriously spent all summer laying on my couch in various states of consciousness while the poor girls watched PBS Kids and did things like this.

That is Holly taking a bath in the bathroom sink. Which, actually, I would not have even known about had Josie not flushed the toilet approximately 35 times in a row and alerted me to the situation.

And this. Pushing each other around in the baby doll stroller, which is about to collapse after having been subjected to more than it can handle.

The good news is, I am not so horribly sick anymore. Just tired beyond belief and suffering from terrible migraines and other various ailments. Which leads me to my other piece of exciting (and related) news: this baby is a boy!

We are still in shock, I think. We are so heavily into girl mode (even my precious husband Andrew) that we are still adjusting to the idea of having a baby brother. I'm actually just relieved that we had two girls first and I know we will absolutely adore him when he arrives.

So, I will do my best to combat fatigue and everything else and catch up on my blog. Let's just all forgive me and move forward from here, okay?

Sleeping Arrangements

Our sleeping arrangements for the girls have been sporadic at best. Theoretically, they both sleep in the same room. In practice, Josie sleeps in a pack-n-play in our extra bedroom 9 nights out of 10. It's just easier this way, somehow.

When they do sleep in the same room, it is a party for at least an hour. There is much squealing and laughing and playing and not a whole lot of sleeping going on. Then, when I go in to check on them after all is quiet, I am confronted with the above and below images.

Sweet girls. How can your heart not melt at this sight? Both sleeping together in the crib like that. I'm always tempted to leave them that way, but end up moving them to avoid confusion and/or a fight at 3:00 in the morning.

Out At the Land

This spring and summer, we've spent a good deal of time out at Andrew's parents' property. (That was complicated. My in-laws' property--that's better.) Anyway, the girls love it out there because there is a huge expanse of yard to run around in, gardens to trample, dogs to chase and be chased by, and a host of other things.

One of the more recent favorites is riding the lawnmower with Daddy. Andrew goes a bit stir crazy and spends most of his time outside while we are there, finding things to work on and to fix. The girls were pretty thrilled to take a ride on the mower.

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter this year. We kicked off our weekend with an Easter festival held at a church near our house. It started at 10:00 a.m., so we naively thought we shouldn't get there too early because it might be awkward to be early birds.

Little did we know, the entire south side of the city was there! There was face painting, a petting zoo, Easter egg hunts for all ages (we missed ours by a few minutes), pictures with the Easter bunny, snow cones, bounce houses, and anything else you can think of.

Holly had the time of her life and Josie...well, we found out that day that she doesn't like the sun. Or the heat. Or walking around outside. Oh, well.

On Easter Sunday, we went to my in-laws' ward and had Easter dinner with them. The girls were the only kids in Nursery, and Josie has a complex with my leaving her behind so I stayed in Nursery with them (which was not awkward at all, with a Nursery leader, a mother, and two children...). Whatever.

It ended up being a small crowd out at my in-laws' for Easter dinner, which was just fine with us. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa.

Painting

Holly loves art projects. I used to be so good at doing them with her, back when Josie was still taking a morning nap. Since Josie dropped her morning nap though, I have gone into crisis mode and have barely resumed functioning as a normal human being again. Thus we have done almost no art projects for the past couple of months.

I finally bought a second set of watercolors so Josie could join in on the fun, and we pulled them out one afternoon last week. Holly was thrilled to be back in her natural element of creating and making a giant mess at the same time.

Josie had fun painting on the paper...until she discovered that painting on her face was fun, too. It was everywhere, including in her ears. Painting had to be cut short, and Holly was none too pleased. She let me know by dumping her painting water all over the floor. Fun times.

Carnivore

Our little Josie is still...well, little. She barely passed the 18 pound mark by her 15-month well baby check-up. However, she has a voracious appetite that is not to be messed with. She just has really good genes, I guess!

One of her problems is that at mealtime, she pokes at her food and fusses for most of the meal. Then when everyone else is finished, she finally starts eating. (Notice Holly's empty booster seat next to her.) She usually eats her meal while I'm doing the dishes or checking my e-mail.

This particular evening we had chicken drumsticks and I thoughtfully cut Josie's off the bone. She finished all of her own chicken, then grabbed Holly's drumstick off of her plate and started tearing into it. It was amazing.

Bathtub Fun

Holly's present from the Pacifier Fairy was a Belle Barbie doll that goes in the bathtub. Her skirt is a bath pouf, and she comes with a bath crayon. This has provided hours of fun both in and out of the bathtub. Holly is very much obsessed with princesses and fairies, and Belle is her favorite.

Andrew decided to take advantage of the bath crayon and teach Holly some skills. On the left Andrew wrote out Holly's name; on the right is her version. Not bad, huh?

(Sorry that this was basically a post just to brag about my kid. Bragging over.)

Dress-Up

Holly got a dress-up box for Christmas, and it has gotten the most use of any present by far. The girls play with, in, and around the dress-up box pretty much daily.

Josie loves her a pair of fairy wings.

This is Holly's favorite item, which is a skirt that I picked up from the thrift store. She would probably wear it all the time, in the house and out, if I let her. Pair this with a fancy purse, and you have this little girl's heaven.

Dress-up is pretty much a constant activity in our house. I honestly don't know why I even bother getting the two of them dressed in "real clothes" every morning.

Another favorite is to take all of the clothes out of the box and then use the box as a bathtub, car, airplane...anything. And don't forget "swimming" in the pile of clothes on the floor! Some days I can hardly stand the mess this creates, but they have so much fun with it, who cares?

Bye-Bye, Binkie

We have officially been paci-free for a week.

And what a week it's been! It's been a little rough.

I use that word loosely. Very loosely.

Anyway, last Sunday night the Paci Fairy came and took both of the girls' pacis away to give to the new babies at the hospital. Then she very generously left them each a special toy and a note congratulating them on their rise to "big girl" status--you know, since they unwillingly gave up their beloved pacis.

And then the real fun began.

Josie had one bad night (like, really bad). But she has steadily gotten better and no longer wakes up every other night fussing for her paci! I'm sure she doesn't even remember it anymore. Complete success! The bottle, on the other hand, she is missing. Girlfriend won't drink milk anymore without it. She's going strong after two weeks without the bottle! In a moment of temporary insanity, I asked our pediatrician if I should reintroduce the bottle so our little Skinny Minnie could get some more calories. Her answer was a resounding no. At least one of us was in our right mind.

Holly, on the other hand, is having a tougher time. She was doing great the first night or two, but then she started showing all the signs of paci withdrawal: tantrums, sleeplessness, and general crankiness among other things. She told me a few days ago that the Paci Fairy was going to come back, give her the pacis, and take away her special toy. Sorry, but that's not how it works!

Last night Holly woke up around 3:15 a.m.--you know, just awake. She came into our room and I woke up to her standing next to the bed. Well, one thing led to another and before I knew it we were in the living room at 4:30 a.m. having a snack. I honestly don't know what happened. Then I made her a little bed at the foot of our bed and that is where she currently lies, fast asleep.

I, on the other hand, am awake with Josie. Bleary-eyed and not loving life. Anyone have any tips on how to get a two-year-old back to sleep without her beloved paci?

My New Hobby

During the past few months, I have come to terms with the fact that I have the soul of an eighty-year-old woman. Or that I am, in fact, and eighty-year-old woman in a twenty-five-year-old's body. Don't believe me? Here are a few examples, my friends.

1. I drive like an old woman. I have since the day I got my driver's license. Driving over the speed limit? Never. Avoiding freeways and busy streets at all costs, even if I'm going out of my way? Check. Police officers swerving around me in anger so they don't have to drive behind me anymore? Oh, yeah.

2. I did not learn to text until I was about twenty-two. A friend of mine from college had to sit down and teach me how to do it. I type all of my text messages like I type an English paper: correct grammar, punctuation, and capitalization. I can't help myself.

3. I have been dying for a pressure canner for a few years now, and Andrew finally caved in and bought me one for Christmas. I literally jumped up and down when I opened it! I canned my first batch of applesauce today. I don't think other young people aspire to such things.

Which leads me to my newest hobby: knitting. I just discovered it a month or two ago and picked it up again today and felt I needed to blog about it! I love knitting. It's crafty, but not too involved. I can do it while watching TV and it doesn't take up too much space. Don't get me wrong, I am still in the very beginning stages and haven't made a "real" project yet. As soon as I am brave enough, I am going to get some real yarn and knit something...real. I was talking to Andrew awhile back about knitting and he said, "Are you sure you like knitting? It just seems like an old lady thing to do." And what is the problem with that? It appears he has no idea who he married.

Christmas

We had such a fun Christmas this year! Emily and Josh came for a visit, we saw lots of family, and oh yeah...we all got sick. Coughs, congestion, fevers all around. Bummer. But we managed to have a great time anyway!

On Christmas Eve there were new jammies all around. Holly and Josie opened them before Andrew's aunt and uncle's annual Christmas Eve party. They wore them to the party, of course, and were the cutest kids there! Oh wait, they were the only kids there. Whatever. If only I hadn't been sick and had gotten a picture of them in their cute new jammies...

Christmas morning. They were far too busy to look at the camera.

Josie does not do well when she's sick. She fusses day and night and needs to make her misery known. She wasn't into opening presents at all and, in fact, went back to bed before I even made our eggnog french toast. She had probably been up for 45 minutes, and slept for another few hours.

Holly got some dress-up clothes and was thrilled with the "princesses."

Playing in their new house that Santa brought. Again, they were far too busy to actually look at the camera... Holly asks to play in her house every day. They love it!

We truly had a wonderful Christmas and loved seeing our families. We especially loved celebrating our Savior's birth and remembering all that He has done for us.