Have A Coke And A Smile

I need more sleep.

I just asked Leah if she'd like yogurt for breakfast - she nodded and sat down at the table. I promptly went to the frig, pulled out a Diet Coke, opened it, and put it down in front of her.

"Momma?" she said in her little voice.

I cannot believe I just did that!

What We've Been Doing

Sorry for the bloggy break there - we've been sick. I have a sinus infection and mild double-ear infection, Leah has had a cold, and Gary has also had a cold. In the past 24 hours, Leah has thrown up on me (while I was on a conference call, no less), gotten poop all over her new Christmas shoes (they were a total loss - couldn't even clean them with a toothbrush), peed on the floor, climbed up on my bathroom counter and unrolled most of my dental floss, and broken one of my favorite dishes. She also keeps stealing baby Jesus out of the various manger scenes we have around the house and shouting, "MY baby Jesus!" I'm running constantly and can barely keep up with her in between popping 800 mg of Motrin and holding my head because it hurts so badly.

Anyhoo, we've been busy the past couple of weeks! We had a Christmas activity extravaganza last week - I hosted a Christmas brunch for over 30 women from my Bible study (we had a great time), Gary and I attended Beth Moore's Christmas event, we attended a friend's Christmas show at her church, and we drove with friends to have dinner in College Station, TX and see the lights at a local light display - it was so fun! The girls were so exhausted, they fell asleep on the way home (see picture). On Sunday, I took the girls to the mall to have their hair cut and to do a little shopping while Gary worked.

I spent the first part of the week napping whenever possible, and now I'm scrambling to get caught up with work and get our Christmas letters out the door.

It looks like we're going to have a white Christmas in Oregon - it's down in the 20's there and they keep getting snow! Fortunately, my parents were able to find snow boots for the girls so they can play in it. Snow boots are hard to find down here where the weather is often 70 degrees. :)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

This is a pretty typical getup for her - what you may not be able to see is that she's wearing 2 pairs of her sister's High School Musical panties over the swimsuit. :)

What happens when a 2-yr-old helps herself to her momma's purple eye shadow...

Wordless Wednesday

She has her Uncle Craig's eyes...

Halloween Fun

We had a FABULOUS time on Halloween night. We live in the coolest neighborhood - everyone here is so incredibly friendly and welcoming - and they love to get together! We went to a house down the street where practically the whole neighborhood gathered to eat pizza and socialize for about an hour before we all took the kids trick-or-treating. We had lots of little princesses and other characters! So many cute kids...

We are so blessed to be living in an area where the families like spending time together, visiting, watching the kids play outside, and being true friends to each other - this is what I grew up with and it is so fun that our kids have it now too...

The picture on the right is Leah and her BFF, Sydney, who is a month younger than Leah. Sydney has 2 older sisters, one of whom is in the same grade as Anna Claire. Sydney was Snow White, and Leah was Sleeping Beauty.



My favorite mermaid - Ariel. :)




Ariel (Anna Claire), the Alien (Samantha), Jasmine (Sheridan), Snow White (Sydney) and Sleeping Beauty (Leah)

Wordless Wednesday

My favorite Halloween picture ever of the girls - this pretty much summarizes their personalities...

Nesting

After we got unpacked, there was a bunch of stuff that still needed to be done but I just couldn't face doing it - I was on overload. Well, I'm really trying to focus on those things now that will make my house look "finished" - returning a plant I successfully killed to get a new one, replacing a set of blinds that broke, hanging pictures, etc. So, I've been busy nesting. :)

The girls are doing well - Leah is keeping me on my toes - she is very insistent on her own fashion choices every day (which is fine unless it's 45 degrees outside like it was this morning when we took AC to the bus and Leah wanted to wear something sleeveless). She has also hit a major growth spurt and has been eating us out of house and home. She's even waking up in the middle of the night asking to eat. We've also been potty training and it's going pretty well - I'm surprised she was ready this early but once she decided to do it, I got out the potty and the rest is history.
There are so many little kids in our neighborhood - and a few of each at the girls' ages, so it's fun to play together. We often walk down the street after Anna Claire gets off the bus and we play for awhile. I snapped this picture the other day of the little girls - Mia, Sydney and Leah - they are all very close in age and have a fabulous time together. Aren't they cute?

Anna Claire is LOVING school and cheerleading. She has the best time at her games and had the opportunity to attend a dance clinic last Friday night with the local high school's dance team. They learned a routine, learned how to cheer to the fight song, and then got to sit with the dance team and perform with them and cheer on the football players at the game on Saturday night. She thought she was SO big and important! When she got dressed, she came down in her t-shirt and hot pink leggings. I told her it would be better to put on her navy blue leggings because it matched the school colors better, and that if she wore the hot pink leggings, she'd be the only one wearing that color. She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and said, "EXACTLY." It turned out to be a good thing that she had her pink leggings on - she was easy to spot on the field!

We have some fun outdoor things planned this weekend that we're looking forward to - the weather here is SO beautiful right now! It's a little chilly in the mornings, and about 80 degrees in the afternoon - low humidity, sunny, a light breeze. Just amazing - I'm loving it!

Sitting At The Table, Just Doing A Little Homework

I'd like to point out that Leah was wearing shoes and socks in this picture...

First Week of School - Finally!

OK y'all - go get yourself a drink, go potty and then come back and pull up a comfy chair, because this is going to be a long post...

I FINALLY found the cord that connects my camera to the computer. And I was sick the last 2 weeks with bronchitis so I have a bunch to catch up on.

First, we'll cover the first day of school for Gary and Anna Claire, which was last Monday. We have a tradition that I get up early on the first day of school and make a nice breakfast for Gary before he leaves. I made blueberry muffins and eggs. Here's Gary enjoying his breakfast - doesn't he look ready to hit the ground running? :)

When I woke Anna Claire up at 6:30 am, she rubbed her eyes and said, "Momma, it's still NIGHT outside. Is this the time I'm going to have to get up every day?" I said, "Yes, honey," to which she replied, "We should find me a school that starts later so I don't have to get up so early." I didn't have the heart to tell her that once she gets to high school, she'll be getting up even earlier!

Here's Anna Claire's new backpack and lunch box - Barbie backpack, High School Musical lunchbox.

Here's Anna Claire in front of her school...she is SO excited to go in and see her teacher! Mrs. K is newly married (3 weeks!) and has taught for one year in another school district. She graduated from Baylor and is so cute. Anna Claire kept looking at her and saying, "You're SO pretty..."

Leah decided to take the bull by the horns and hang up Anna Claire's backpack for her.

My sweet girls - Leah wants to be big so badly!

Anna Claire absolutely LOVED school - and is still really enjoying it. She has met some great little friends - both in her class and on the bus. She informed me this week that she'd prefer it if I didn't wave goodbye to her once she's on the bus (apparently I was embarrassing her).

Gary had an equally great first week of school (now 2 weeks) - his kids are very polite, and his co-workers have been so helpful and friendly. He is teaching in a school that's only 3 years old, so it's a real treat for him to have the latest and greatest technology, his own classroom, and even better - the school is less than 3 miles from our house! No commute! It really is so nice, and we are getting to spend lots of time together as a family as a result.

So, in other news, we were spared Gustav's devastation - which we were very thankful for. We're hoping that there aren't any other hurricanes that come our way.

I am really enjoying getting to know the ladies in my neighborhood, working out with them at the Y, and spending time with Leah. It's amazing how quickly her vocabulary picked up after Anna Claire went to school last week. She is really talking a lot. Leah definitely misses her big sister, though - she walks around the house saying, "Shissy.....Shissy" (her way of saying "Sissy", which is what she calls AC). I am also enjoying working from home - I have a pretty good schedule of working during Leah's naptimes, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays while she's at Mother's Day Out. I also often work a couple of evenings a week after the girls have gone to bed. So, I have the flexibility I need but still get to keep my feet wet in my work, which I love.

We are going to our first high school football game this weekend, which will be fun. They play at a local stadium that seats 30,000 people! I cannot wait to see what this is all about. Anna Claire is SO thrilled that she will be able to watch the cheerleaders. She begins her cheerleading lessons next week, so she'll be taking notes, I'm sure.

Leah's Second Birthday

I haven't forgotten. There's a 2nd birthday post coming for Leah. I just have some great pictures I want to download into the post and I can't find the cord to connect my camera to the computer.
More details coming this week, I promise. She had a fabulous birthday last week and loved the celebration.

Just didn't want you to think I'm a slackin' mama.

Momma Anna Claire

Overheard this morning over the baby monitor:

Anna Claire opens door to Leah’s room.

Anna Claire clucks her tongue and says, “LEAH! I am SO disappointed in you for taking off your diaper and throwing it on the floor. You are going to get a thump on the heinie!”

No response from Leah.

A few moments later, Anna Claire says, “Leah, now repeat after me…Que pasa, que pasa, que pasa!”

No response from Leah.

This One's For You, Kristin

A girlfriend of mine, Kristin, has three beautiful children, two of whom are girls. Since Anna Claire was 3 months old, Kristin has been kind enough to pass down the clothes that no longer fit Katie and Annie, and we have been SO unbelievably blessed with some beautiful outfits! Seriously, my children dress better than I do!

So, this morning I put on one of the sweetest outfits given to us - and I had to take a few pictures of Leah in it so Kristin could see how much we love Katie and Annie for sharing with us...thanks so much! We continue to enjoy the clothes more than you know.

(and Leah is not crying in the last picture - she's laughing!).

18 Months Old!

Leah is 18 months old! Her 18-month mark was actually on Monday, but I didn’t get a chance to post anything until today.

It’s so funny how different she is from Anna Claire. While Anna Claire was more than a pound heavier at birth, Leah is clearly a much bigger baby. Anna Claire is more petite in features, foot size, head size (she was in the 5th percentile). Leah, on the other hand, is in the 49th percentile for weight, the 85th percentile for height, and a whopping 95th percentile for head size. She had her checkup yesterday and all went well. We had to laugh when the nurse practitioner referred to Leah as “highly spirited.” We would completely agree. We have our hands full. She is in the throes of tantrums, and shows all the signs of being extremely strong-willed. She also has a much more active temper than Anna Claire. But you know what? Honed correctly, and used for good instead of evil, these are great traits that I want my little girl to possess. I want to raise daughters who know right from wrong, aren’t afraid to be vocal about it, and who have a clear sense of themselves. So, Gary and I have some work ahead of us, but it will be worth it in the long run.

Leah now enjoys playing with her baby doll, her Fisher Price Little People, and doing anything her big sister is doing. Leah especially loves to hunt down magic markers that Anna Claire may have left lying around, and colors on anything she can get her hands on. She is also experimenting with our reaction when she turns the TV off, dunks her head in the toilet, and stands on the dining room table. So far it hasn’t been favorable. She can’t stand to wear clothes, so we’ve had to cut the feet off of her sleepers and turn them around backwards so she can’t get them unzipped and take her diaper off.

A big thank you to my cousin Autumn for her encouraging words about tantrums last week. Because Anna Claire never did that, it’s hard not to take it as a personal failure when you have another child who constantly makes her displeasure known. Autumn gave me some great tips for how to deal with them and they’re working well (and I’m a little more relaxed). Autumn and I have children who are similar ages, so it’s been fun to compare notes.

On Saturday night, while Gary was still in Houston, the girls and I went out to dinner with our good friend, D. for some fajitas at Rio Grande. Leah LOVES fajitas. When I asked her if she wanted more, she did the sign language sign for “more”! You have to know how long I’ve been signing to her to really appreciate the magnitude of this. Until Saturday, she had looked at me like “Momma, you can sign ‘til the cows come home, but I am not a trick pony and I’m not going to do sign language.” Seriously, she’s quiet in her defiance but makes it clear that she has no intentions to comply. Anyway, I was very excited and she is now so proud when she makes the sign for “more.” The only problem I’m finding is that she often signs “more” and then gets frustrated when I can’t figure out what she wants “more” of – she does it somewhat randomly.

Leah’s vocabulary also continues to expand – something we were concerned about at her 15 month checkup. She’s just talking a little later than Anna Claire did. Her pronunciation is getting better and sounding less garbled, so it’s evident that she’s hearing better as a result of the tubes we had put in last October. She still says just a few words, but she is showing some improvement.

That’s about it on the Leah front. I can hardly believe she’ll be two in August – where did the time go?