What Are We Doing?

As it's the beginning of a new year, I thought I should post a bit about what the girls are up to and see how they are different as 2013 draws to a close.

Here's Miss Kallan Marie. She is about 3 and a half months old. She usually takes 2 or 3 short naps and 1 long nap (3 or 4 hours) each day. She is sleeping 8-10 hours straight each night (hooray!).  We can tell that she is already extremely ticklish. Whenever we dress or undress her, she thinks it's extremely funny. I think the shirts that go over her head tickle her chubby cheeks! It's the cutest thing, she smiles and laughs so much! She loves to tell Daddy about her day when he gets home from work and is pretty chatty in general.

She loves to blow bubbles and "razz." Her face is often covered with drool and sometimes attracts lint from her clothes.  Pacifiers and bottles are good joke to her. Like, "Really Mom? Nice try." She bats and tries to grab at toys. She brings her hands together and studies them intently.  She seems really strong but still hates tummy time. Her favorite toy is her crinkly dolly, and she will "goo" and smile at her non-stop. Until she gets overstimulated that is. :) She absolutely loves bath and cries when bath time is over.

So far Kallan's bedtime routine is cluster feeding until she zonks out. I'm okay with this, but it's tiring. She is mostly happy but is kind of hard to console if she's tired. She really fights her sleep! I get a good arm work out in whenever I'm rocking her. We're so thankful to have gotten to meet and love our Kallan this year. Can't wait to see her grow and learn and explore!

Here's Lyla Soo! She is getting to be such a big girl now, although she will insist upon being called a "little girl" only. She loves books and reading. She is still a huge fan of Dora and Diego, but we have started branching out on occasion. She loves puzzles and coloring. She has an insanely good memory... she remembers random details from months before! She is definitely at a 'defiant' streak, something I hear is common in 2-year-olds, and she likes to do everything herself. I wouldn't say that she is a "terrible" 2-year-old. We have our days and our moments, but she is great for the most part!

She talks in full-on sentences now, and she will often repeat things we've said or things she heard on TV.  She is starting to understand "I" and "You" much better. She will often say, "Can I? Can I? Can I?" "Can I have one please mommy?" She is getting to the age where the questions never end. "Why are you laying down Mommy? ....Why are you sleepy? .....But are you tired?... How are you doing that?" I love that when I ask her a "Why" question, she says... "becaaaauuuse....." I wonder if she gets that from me. Hobbies she likes include painting, yoga, kicking balls in the hall and copying Mommy's stellar dance moves! She is potty trained at home.. just about time to try going out and about some!

She is such a bright, sweet little girl. We are so proud of her. I can't believe how much she has grown and learned over the past two years. This coming year, Lyla might even be going to Threeschool!

We love both of our girls so much! Here's to a great 2013 full of more memories with our little family!

2012

A couple special moments from 2012:

We're having a baby! 

Our first glimpse of her

Meeting our nephew Wyatt!

Girls' weekend!

These two got married! 

Bestie reunion at the wedding!

Snuggling Kallan for the very first time, after 4 weeks of bed rest! Anything to keep our baby healthy!

Lyla's Quiet Book

I wanted to share this present I made for Lyla for Christmas because well, it took a lot of work, and I'm happy with the way it turned out! Plus, I'm sure some mamas out there on facebook have tons of time on their hands and are just looking for a new project ;)

I wanted to make a Quiet book for Lyla after seeing my cousin's. His grandma (great-grandma?) made it for him when he was a baby, and I thought, "How cool would it be to make one for Lyla?" It was full of fun baby/toddler activities like braiding, zipping, making felt faces, etc. Lyla loved it!

The problem... I don't know how to sew (I know, shame on me). I figured I could learn, no big deal. As I started browsing for ideas though, I realized that these books might be a little complex and time consuming for someone who doesn't even know how to sew. So I found some ideas for velcro quiet books that seemed more up my alley (there are also some for magnetic books and dry erase books, also very cool!).

Pinterest has a lot of ideas (I browsed Here), and for some personalization, I started thinking about Lyla's favorite things. She loves letters and spelling her name. She loves shapes and matching. She loves counting. And more than anything, she loves Dora.

What I did:
I cut card stock paper in half for the pages and decorated the pages with scrapbook paper.
I drew and cut out the pieces.. probably the most time consuming part.
I laminated everything to protect it from toddler hands and time. Maybe someday Miss Kallan can play, and I also hope to add pages as Lyla gets older. Erik helped cut out all the laminated pieces!
I hole-punched the pages and put the book together with the binder rings.
Finally, it was time to cut and attach the velcro!

Here's the inside of the book:

Name Page

Map Page.. "First we go to the castle, then Benny's Barn, and that's how we get to the Animal Rescue Center!"

Counting page.. mmm apples!

Match The Shapes! Lyla was quick to point out that my circle is in fact NOT a circle, but an oval. 

Pattern Page

And some close-ups

I'm probably most proud of my drawing of Map!

Now I'm sure you are all wondering.. "Well, how did she like it?" She loves it and plays for it as long as her 2-year-old attention span will allow! I'm a happy mommy!

What Did She Say?

Lyla took a 2 hour car nap on our way home yesterday and woke up in a great mood!

She had a lot of funny quotes over our Christmas trip, but I can't remember them all. This was pretty funny.

(Lyla uses "your" instead of "my" most of the time)

Lyla: Is your shirt look beautiful?
Mommy: Your shirt looks beautiful!
Lyla: Thanks mommy! Is your.... pants look good?
Mommy: Your pants look great!
Lyla: Thanks mommy! Is your... boots look good?
Mommy: Your pants look great, Lyla!
Lyla: Thanks mommy! Is your.... armpits look good?!
Mommy: Your armpits look amazing!
Lyla: Thanks mommy!

We had so much fun visiting family for Christmas. Lyla seems to be getting more comfortable around other family members, so everyone has been able to see more of that bubbly, funny personality that we love so much! Both girls were such troopers. Christmas festivities can be tiring on kids!

Kallan: 3 Months

Our sweet Kallan turned 3 months on the 21st (which was, by the way, the day the world did NOT end). I would describe her as studious, squirmy, smily and extremely talkative!

Milestones:
I'm not sure when, but she started turning towards our voices this month. She had just been turning towards really loud sounds before that. She had her first laugh on 12/12/12. It was such a beautiful little sound! She had been chuckling in her sleep since she was born, so I was always trying to get her to laugh while awake. This time, I wasn't trying at all. I was just holding her, and I looked down at her and she laughed! We've gotten lots of laughs since then, usually at random times when no one is trying to make her laugh.

Sleep:
We had a bit of a 3-month growth spurt where she was getting up every 3 hours again at night. But before that she was sleeping about 7 hours and even slept 9.5 hours straight one night! That was the night before the growth spurt, so it was a bit of  rude awakening to be getting up every 3 hours. Now she sleeps 5 hours, eats, sleeps 3 more hours, eats, and sleeps 4 more hours after that. She is a little night owl. She stays up late and sleeps in! It works out okay because then I get some quality time with Lyla in the morning.

Ups:
Kallan talks so, so much. I love having little conversations with her, and you can tell she really enjoys being talked to and talking back. She has some nice conversations with her playmat and bouncy toys, too.  She is a very happy baby and we get lots and lots of smiles from her every day. It is so great to see her interacting more and more. It's clear that she loves her big sister so much. I love watching her study what big sister is up to!

Downs:
Growth spurts are no fun. I feel like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Getting up a lot at night again is not fun either.

Likes:
Talking, getting dressed and undressed (it's funny!), staring at her feet, eating her hands, facing out while being carried, bath time, her playmat, snuggles, watching big sister, lights, studying new faces, Giraffe-y the pacifier (sort of), and I think she likes her vitamin D drops!

Dislikes:
Bottles... waaah! And tummy time.

Favorite Memories:
-Kallan always talks the most to Erik when he gets home from work. I think she's telling him about her day!
-My parents took Lyla and Kallan to the pool. Kallan sat on my lap for awhile, and she was really interested! Then she started talking to me a bunch. She did get splashed on accident by some big kids, and she definitely didn't like that! She also got called a "he" a lot, and mommy didn't like that ;)
-Lyla includes Kallan in her night time hug routine now, and she always says "Love you Kallan!" before bed. Kallan gets lots and lots of sister hugs now!
-Lyla likes it when I set Kallan's bouncy next to her chair and read stories to both of them. Love story time with my babies!
-I was carrying Kallan, and she was staring intently at something on the fridge. She turns to me and goes,"goo?" I said, "Yep, that's the fridge, Kallan!" And then she gave me the biggest smile! I love our little conversations more than anything!

Prayers for Sandy Hook

There is no end to the things that I want for my girls. I want them to be happy, I want them to travel, I want them to have friends, to play sports, to find their passions, to find love... I could go on and on.

But when it comes down to it, I just want them to be safe. I just want them to be able to live their lives.

There is nothing, nothing scarier than being a parent. Any time I read the news, I don't think, "What if that were me?" I think, "What if that were my baby?" Every time I have to ask myself that question, I start crying. I don't read the news that much anymore.

The love that we feel for our babies is unparalleled by any other feeling in this world.  I can tell my heart is constantly expanding to make room for more and more love for our beautiful family. I am always telling Erik, "How can anyone ever let their children out of their sight?!" It's so hard to imagine your little babies, always your babies, running off without you, into a world of dangers, known and unknown. How do parents let their babies drive a car with all the drunk drivers on the road? How do parents let their babies travel abroad... alone!? How did my parents do these things?!? I know that eventually I will understand, and that the love that wants to say "no" will be the same love that knows the answer is "yes." But right now, I'm content at the thought of forever living in a bubble with my girls.

I can't imagine the heartbreak, the pain, that would come from losing my babies. In this way, in any way. 

You have to be brave to be a parent, and I am so very heartbroken for these families. A parent's worst nightmare.

My heart and prayers go out to all the families in Connecticut affected by this tragedy, all the parents who lost a baby, whether that baby is 5 or 35. 

Sisters

I was so ecstatic when I found out that Kallan was a baby girl. I just kept picturing our two little girls, growing up together, the best of friends! 

Although having a new sister isn't always what it's cut out to be for a toddler, Lyla is adjusting great and loves her sister so much (even though she would never admit it). And Kallan just lights up when she sees Lyla or hears her voice. 

Tummy time for both my babies! Lyla likes to help out :)

Playmat playtime!

Lyla holding her little sister. Kallan is pretty happy about it.

I imagine them growing up together, sharing secrets, giggling together, fighting and making up, crying together, playing together, having sleepovers in each other's rooms, riding the bus together, painting each other's nails, playing dress up, talking about boys together (way later in life, of course). We are so happy to have two beautiful girls in our lives but even happier that they have each other! 

In other news, here's a preview of the project I'm working on!