Pretty in Pink

Yesterday I had to pick the kids up early from the babysitter's because Marissa was running a fever.  Sure enough by the time we got home she was feeling fine, running around, playing and being her usual self.  We went outside to play while Dylan was napping and I decided to paint my toes while Marissa picked flowers in the yard.

On a whim, I decided to give Marissa her very first pedicure!  She seemed pretty interested and she actually sat still, considering she's 1.5 years old.  It was a special little moment for her and I.  I can't wait to take her for her first salon pedicure, that's a mommy and daughter memory that I am really looking forward to.  It will be a few years before she is ready for that, so in the meantime we will occasionally do pedicures together. :)  I need to go nail polish shopping to get some Marissa safe polish.

Such a big girl, she's turning into a little lady. 

Checking out her toes

So pretty!

Monastery Spring 2012 & Other Adventures

Whew, my poor blog has been neglected.  I've been swamped and trying to stay afloat.

As a quick re-cap, Danny was on travel all last week.  Which means I had 2 kids, 2 dogs, a house, a job and a multitude of other things to take care of.  Needless to say, I was uber excited when Friday rolled around and my better half returned home.  Single parenting is not for me.

This past weekend we made a day trip up to the Monastery (where Danny and I met, almost 6 years ago)!  Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 6 years.  A lot has happened in 6 years. :)  But I digress...(what's new?)

We had a nice time, though it was a bit rushed getting up, driving 2 hours, hanging out for a bit then heading home and getting the kiddo's in bed.

Eating homemade icecream!

Our attempt at a family picture

Grammy, Dylan and Me.  This was Dylan's first (outside baby) Monastery.  The last time we were here we announced that Marissa was going to be a big sister!

Marissa is getting so smart.  She can almost count to 5.  Sometimes she forgets 4 and she usually won't say 1, but when you hold up your fingers she will tell you what number it is.  She will repeat the alphabet to K but then the letters are sporadic.  She can point out B, M, O, R and a few other letters when she sees them.  She has started playing pretend and I must say she cracks me up.  The other day she brought her doll out to the coffee table, laid down a burp rag and then went back to her room and got the diaper cream.  She was pretending to change her doll's diaper, it was so cute!  I got her one of our old newborn cloth diapers and put it on her doll for her.  She also loves having "tea" with her tea set and she has started pretending to feed her animals and dolls.  She even not so pretended to give Dylan a raisin the other day.  I looked over and Dylan is smacking his lips and sure enough she had fed him a raisin.  I am really going to have to keep an eye on her.  Sneaky, sneaky!  But that was nice of her to share with her baby brother. ;)  Let's hope she does that in a few years...

Dylan has started solid foods.  So far he has had banana, sweet potato and avocado (homemade, of course). :-D  He wasn't much on the bananas but he seemed to like the sweet potato and avocado okay.  It will take him a little time to get used to the idea of pureed food.  Marissa was such a champ at eating, we'll see if Dylan is the same.  He certainly doesn't look like he's missed any meals so far.

Butterfly Kisses

Today I slept in until almost 10 am, woke to Marissa bringing me a homemade Mother's Day card and a picture frame with butterfly kisses from her and Dylan.  Danny had breakfast and hot coffee on the table waiting for me. I felt like a queen!  He is such a great husband and father and he knows how to pull at my heart strings.  I don't need fancy jewelry or lavish gifts; one made from a little craft paint and paper is all I really need.  I will cherish this forever!

Danny is off to New York for travel for the week, I miss him already.  I guess distance makes the heart grow fonder.  I'll probably take some free time to do some reading, craft and the other part of my time will be busy with the kids and working.  

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Rock and ROLL!

It was a normal Monday evening, sitting in Marissa's room reading stories, playing with blocks, getting Minnie Mouse jammies on, listening to a coo'ing baby and a wild haired toddler jumping on daddy yelling "nay, nay" as I said "giddy-up" and then...Dylan rolled for the first time!  I'm so happy that Danny and I got to see him roll from his belly to his back for the first time!  He only did it once, but the look on his face was priceless.  He kind of looked around the room like "hey, how'd I get here?"  Pretty cute!

I love his gummy smile.  He is such a happy little guy!

Okay, maybe he's not always happy...

Cousins ~ Knox (16 Months), Dylan (4 Months) and Marissa (20 Months)

Dylan - 4 Months

My little guy is 4 months old today.  He did very well at his appointment and only cried for a minute when he got his shots.  Such a tough guy!  The nurses all swooned over how cute he is.  I know I'm partial but I do think he's pretty handsome.

4 Month Stats:

Weight - 14 lbs. 3 oz. - 37th percentile

Height - 25.25 inches - 65th percentile

Head - 16 inches - 14th percentile

According to our home scale he weighs 15 pounds...so it seems to be off by about a pound.  So I guess that means I am a pound lighter, too...right!? ;)  10 pounds until my pre-Dylan weight!

He's been sleeping most of the afternoon, I suppose shots take a lot out of a little one.  I hope he isn't too fussy when he wakes.

Wet Bags, Wipes and Baby Gifts - Oh My!

I attended a friend's baby shower this past weekend and I made lots of goodies for their little girl!  I hope they enjoy and get good use out of these items.  I had fun making them. :)

Cloth wipes made of super soft flannel.  These are double sided so they are nice and comfy for a tiny tush!

Taggie/sensory blanket for Miss Sydney

Zippered wet bag for cloth diapers (yay for more CDing mommies!)

Ladybug hair clips - you might remember these from Marissa's 1st Birthday. They were so cute I decided I had to make more. :)

TGI (my) F

Thank goodness it's my Friday (TGIMF)!  Work has been busy which is great because the days go by faster.  Dylan seems to be settling in well at the sitter's.  This morning I dropped the kids off in the pouring rain (I love going to work feeling like a wet dog, but I digress), and all the little girls gathered around Dylan's car seat yelling "Dee Dee, Dee Dee."  He already has the (older) ladies swooning after him.  Such a ladies' man!

But seriously...how could you not love this chub?

I can't believe he will be 4 months old on Monday.  I feel like it was just yesterday that he was just a little flutter in my tummy.  He is such a sweet little guy, maybe a touch of a momma's boy and loves his big sister.  He loves following her around the room with his baby blue eyes and smiles at her when she talks to him.

A few people have asked how it has been with having two babies that are 16 months apart.  Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing!  They have brought so much love and joy to my heart, a lot of work too but oh so worth it! In fact, if Danny would let me...I'd probably do it all over again. ;-)  He says I'm baby crazy, I say we just make beautiful babies.

Marissa is such a chatter box these days.  Some of my favorites right now are:

"Tink yew" - Thank you
Help
"aww bet-ew" - "All better" when you kiss a boo-boo
Is stuck - when something gets stuck, like her shapes in her shape sorter picnic basket

I *think* she tried to say her name today, it sounded like "sissa"...not really that close to Marissa but it was still pretty cute.

Today as I was getting the bath ready and she was running around naked, I wanted to go ahead and get her jammies picked out and was cleaning up her room a bit.  She comes running down the hall into her room and yells "MOMMA!"  I guess she was trying to tell me that it was time to get in the bath.  She is my wild haired beauty.  She melts my heart every day.  I'm pretty certain Danny gets tired of me saying how cute our kids are, but they seriously amaze me on a daily basis.  If there was ever a purpose for me to be on this earth, it was definitely to be a mom.  They are my whole world!

Back to the sitters...I dropped the kids off this morning and I was trying to get Marissa to give me a kiss goodbye.  She was a bit distracted but another little girl came up to me and started pulling on my shirt and saying bye to me.  Marissa ran over and if looks could kill, well, that little girl wouldn't have stood a chance. Marissa gave her the stink eye and then gave me a big hug and a kiss.  I think she had a touch of jealousy!  When I pull in the driveway after work to pick them up Marissa is always waiting at the door or window and I can hear her screaming momma before I even get out of the car.  She does a little dance and jig, flailing her arms and can barely contain herself.  It's nice to know that she misses me just a little.  I'm so glad that I only have to work three days a week.

I can rarely get a picture of her looking at the camera, but I was able to get some action photos the other day.  Dylan was just sitting in his bumbo watching Marissa when she decided he needed to be cleaned up a bit.  Such a good big sis!  {Check out my new pillows, ay!}

She even shared Minnie Mouse with baby brother, note that she did not share her beloved "Teddy" with him!