Happy Father's Day 2015

Father's Day miniature golf fun

Happy Father's Day to a wonderful husband and dad of three now (eek!). Elise recently took a golf summer camp and begged to go to Golfland for Father's Day. It was as hot as can be out and the girls did really well in the beginning before melting down toward the end. Poor dad, he always keeps his positive spirit and optimistic outlook even when the rest of us girls are losing it around him. Thank goodness he will have a little boy soon to offset some of the girl craziness in the house. In the end, we all made it through and we've since decided if we ever go during summertime again, it will be in the evening. Happy Father's Day to a very special dad. We love you!

The girls found some shade by the castle

The Four Month Baby Bump

The 20 week baby boy bump

Stats:  I've made it to 20 weeks, uncomfortably, but hooray. I took the Maternit21 test at 10 weeks and we learned that we're having a baby boy back in early April (around 13 weeks). It's somewhat crazy to be able to find out this early now AND with 99% accuracy. We did a baby gender reveal, which we hadn't done in the past with the girls, and the surprise reveal was quite a special moment to celebrate along with family. Baby boy is due to arrive October 19, 2015. He will be six years younger than Elise and four years younger than Alina. The age differences mean I will have a couple of great little helpers when he arrives.

How I feel this time around: Nauseous. I will admit that morning sickness with our little guy has been less than the extremes I had with the girls, but I've still suffered through it and there have been plenty of mornings where I've just felt plain awful. Even though I am 20 weeks, I am still throwing up here and there. I'm hoping to be over most of it soon because I don't have the luxury of much free time  while working and taking care of two kids. Also, I am carrying pretty high with him, so most my clothes are already fitting uncomfortably. Time to go shopping.

Food cravings: Steak. It's the only actual craving I've had this entire time and I started having it around 8-9 weeks, so well before we learned it was a boy. I suspected it may have been a boy based off this odd craving, because with the girls all I craved was lemons and fruit. I typically eat red meat maybe once a month at most, but the craving of steak cooked in butter and garlic has been pretty strong. I even like the smell of it cooking.

Weight gain: Let's not even go there...HAH! Ok, so I feel about twice the size with baby boy as I did with the girls. I am just blaming this on the fact that I haven't been able to work out and that he's my third baby. My belly definitely popped out much early than it did with the girls. My appetite has been more extreme and I've had less morning sickness than I did with the girls. I probably need to cut myself some slack here, he's a growing boy and I will continue to fuel "his"/my appetite.

Special moments - I haven't felt a ton of movement just yet, but if I lie back on the sofa we can now see my belly button dip out and back in depending on how much he is moving inside. It's cool to watch, just knowing that he's becoming very active in there. We are still celebrating the fact that will get the opportunity to experience having a little boy. I have enjoyed every moment raising our two girls and all kids are different personalities regardless of gender, but on the same note it will be fun to partake in the active rough and tumble aspect that I hear so much about. I also have had so many moms tell me of the pure love and sweetness that they share with their boys and I am looking forward to claiming this little guy as my mama's boy!

Kindergarten Basketball Fun

Elise's basketball team practice and game

Elise expressed some interest in playing basketball, back when she was in preschool, so naturally we were excited to get her on a team with some of her other Kindergarten schoolmates. Of course, the first practice and game was a battle of parental self-control as we watched her energy level go from quick running at the start to a gradual skip down the court follow by playing with her braid and nervously chewing her hand for the last half. Thankfully, she did develop enthusiasm and put forth more effort into future games although the second she was thrown the ball she made sure to quickly pass it to another teammate like a hot potato. There were some very talented little players on her team and I'm pretty sure The Bears went undefeated the entire season, yay. Ultimately, it was a wonderful experience in getting her familiarized with an athletic team environment. I think Elise is more in her element with dance and gymnastics, as it just doesn't come natural for her to be aggressive or physical with other kids, but we still definitely plan to sign her up for next season. She had fun and loved her fantastic teammates and coaches!

More Gymnastic Fun & Sweet Moments

Sweet sisters holding hands

At the girls request, we enrolled them back in gymnastics on Saturdays. They both love it so much and enjoy getting to spend 45 minutes exhausting all their energy. After class one Saturday morning, I was quick enough with the phone camera to catch the sweetest moment; two adoring sisters holding hands while walking to the car. I know it seems like something you'd think they always do, but not so, this is a special and rare moment. They are the best of friends, but at the same time locked in a constant power struggle. They fight over toys, food, tattling, semantics, mom and dad time, and who gets to push the garage door button or feed the cat. It can get a bit overwhelming at times, and usually Elise is the culprit for starting many arguments because she assumes the big sister role means getting the first say in everything. Alina is great at pushing Elise's buttons and finding devious little ways to retaliate back. 

All that said, they are finally getting to a point where they are moving beyond the constant bickering and realizing how much they love to play with each other and be affectionate. Can we get a hallelujah on this one! I love seeing my girls show each other affection, and while I know that fighting will always come with the territory, I hope to see many more of these occasions where they take time out for sweet moments; even as simple and fleeting as holding each others hands while walking back to the car after gymnastics class.

Saturday morning fun at gymnastics class

Las Vegas Trip 2013: Vegas After Dark - Part I

Elise posing with daddy by The Luxor Sphinx

Mommy and Elise by the Sphinx

The Luxor lit up at night

The busy Vegas strip after dark

Vegas night lights

 

 

Vegas after dark, really is the ideal time for site seeing and exploring. 1. It's much cooler (translation: still damn hot, but not 100+ scorching degrees out) 2. You can walk a mile without sweating to death 3. The Vegas night lights shine all bright and things feel more festive 4. People watching goes into full force. The only downside to Vegas after dark is kids and their nightly schedule. This is why for one night, and one night ONLY, you let the kids stay up way past their bedtime and drag them along with you. You convince them that it will be fun, by telling them they may get to see a pirate show, a volcano erupt, and/or fountain display, then you choose one of those because unless you have multiple days or you've planned everything meticulously in advance, you will likely only get to fully see one of these options. As we all know, kids wear out fast, they are unpredictable, and are surely guaranteed to resist compliance at the most inopportune of times. That being said, out of all three of those options above, we ended up watching the Mirage Volcano strictly out of convenience. The girls were excited at first and walked all the way up to the railing for the closest view possible. When the show began, their excitement turned to indifference. Once the first round of scorching hot flames shot up from the water, they both made a beeline for the exit (translation - ran and hid behind daddy). After the show was over, Elise expressed how the pirate show would have been "way more fun". Note to selves, volcanos and kids don't mix, but hey at least we got to see a bit of Vegas after dark.

The Mirage after dark

The girls ready for the Volcano

The Mirage Volcano Eruption

Um yeah, they were not fans. No future volcanologists here

It was much more dramatic than what I remember as a kid

We managed to get a family shot after the chaos

Tie Dye Dreaming - Baby Hippie

Our messy little baby hippie

Still super cute...even after eating dirt :)

Momma had a bit of fun dressing up baby doll Alina in her first tie dye onesie. I bought it for her, when I was still pregnant, at a local craft fair. I must point out that her grandpa and grandma fully cosign on this look. They were known to be "hippies" back in their day hah. I figure that these photos will make them smile....gotta do em proud, right? Alina really got into the role, she even went so far as scooping up a handful of dirt and proceeding to eat it. I mean if you dress your kid up like a hippie, you have to be prepared for them to become "one with nature"; what am I saying, it wouldn't matter what she was dressed in because she would have eaten dirt anyway! Good times...love our messy little hippie baby :)

Tie dye onesie, barefoot, dirty face = free bird baby
 

Sayonara momma, it's time to explore!

Realities of a One-Month-Old

Our little baby doll Alina turned one-month-old on 9/12/11. One thing we have really taken notice to is how incredibly strong she is. Alina has been holding her head up since birth. After I feed her, I always place her over my shoulder and pat her back to burp her. She will usually either burp or spit up, but afterwards if she is still hungry she lifts her head, slightly opens her mouth and starts bobbing on my shoulder, she will then push with her legs and arms and crawl back down to nurse! I guess I shouldn't be amazed by this, but Elise never held her head up or did this until much later, so it is a bit surprising to see her doing this so early. When Elise was hungry, she just smacked her mouth like crazy and flailed about. Alina doesn't waste time, she just bobs her head a few times and then decides to move herself to where she wants to be. It is so interesting to see all the differences between them, especially even in these early few weeks.

I'm cute, but beware - I spit-up...A LOT!

Another, not so glamorous reality of having a one-month-old is the non-stop baby puke. My arms, chest, stomach, neck, legs, clothes and even my hair have all become prime targets. Alina spits up like it's going out of style. She's projectiled on daddy and I more times than we can count. Elise is wise enough to know not to hold her after she eats because, as she so eloquently puts it, "she spits" - isn't that the truth! I know in the next few weeks it will start getting better, but right now she's our little puke machine. Nothing can prepare you for the massive amount of laundry you will be doing in the first month; it really is neverending and spit-up clothes have to be washed fairly quickly. I look forward to getting past all the spit-up accidents, but other than that Alina really is the easiest and sweetest little baby doll around.

Daddy got a chance to feed her the first bottle

Admittedly, feeding her has been more tiring this week. Alina tends to have on/off days. On days - she's more alert and nurses regularly while off days - she just wants to sleep and little will wake her, even at feeding times. While she's perfectly content with this, it is not exactly ideal nor comfortable for mom. Fortuntately, breastfeeding IS easier the second time around. I think I've only declared that I wanted to give up one time in the past month. The first time around, I said it more times than I can remember. Even through bouts of mastitis and thrush (which were both equally painful and discouraging) I've pushed through and am finally arriving at an easy/second nature attitude towards her feedings. I must say, that it is an incredibly rewarding feeling to know that your baby is content and feeding well. It makes the path there, and any struggles along the way, all worth it in the end.

Happy, sleepy girl

While I love spending each and every special moment with Baby Alina, the stickler in me is having a difficult time accepting that certain things just have to be put off. It drives me crazy to look at my floors right now, they are in desperate need of cleaning. The sofa has been transformed into a laundromat and Elise's toys are overtaking the most random parts of the house. Burps clothes are strewn across our bed and the dishes are calling my name. Also, work is piling up in my office inbox. Plus, I have a ton of pictures I want to post and photo albums I want to complete, but unfortunately working on photos is my last priority right now. Ultimately, I've come to a point of acceptance that this is the way things will be until I get Alina on a regular daily schedule. After all, taking care of her is my main focus and as exhausting as it may often be, I wouldn't have it any other way. Love you baby girl!

This little doll keeps me going strong!

...and this one reminds me to cherish each
moment because the baby stage goes by so fast!

Elise at 18-Months-Old

Daddy with our little toddler

It's safe to say that at 18-months we have a full fledged toddler on our hands. She loves to explore everything and her vocabulary has grown tremendously. She now strings together sentences and phrases, and it's amazing to see how much she retains. She can name all her favorite foods, animals, toys, shapes, colors, Disney and other favorite characters, and so much more. We have baby flash cards and she can identify nearly all the objects on them without a problem. She can also locate any objects in a picture book that we ask her to find. She can count to 20 and she sings her ABCs all the way through G and then hums the rest, it is so cute! We are literally surprised everyday by how well she can communicate.

One of the funnier aspects of her speech, is that she will sometimes mispronounce words and they come out sounding more like four letter words that shouldn't be repeated. The worst one is frog, somehow she forgets the "r" and adds a "k" to the end and it ends up sounding pretty bad. We were at the store, when she saw a frog toy, pointed to it, and started yelling it loudly, while sticking out her tongue (the baby sign for frog). I think the people walking by were shocked, so we had to quickly reinforce "yes honey F-R-O-G". Crisis averted! Thankfully, we've worked on her pronunciation and she is able to say such words correctly now.

Cuddly Elise sporting her new beanie 

 

 

Another thing that mommy and daddy just love, is how affectionate she's become! Prior to this age, she would rarely slow down to cuddle, hug or give kisses. Now, she tells us when she wants a hug and loves to say "kisses" and give us smooches. We've been adoring all this newfound affection from her, though she has already learned to leverage such sweetness to get what she wants from us. As far as we're concerned, it's a much more preferrable method than fussing, so we can't complain.

Weight - 26 lbs 11oz (50 - 75th percentile)


Height - 34 1/2 inches (Above 95th percentile) - Our little beanstalk!

At 18-months, Elise's appetite changes on a daily basis. Some days, she wants to eat all day long, while others she barely even touches her meals. I know most toddlers go through a growth spurt around this time, so we do our best to feed her appetite on the days she needs more. Lately, she's been a big breakfast eater. She loves when we make her scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, cottage cheese, and waffles or english muffins for weekend breakfasts. She likes to sit in her chair and slowly eat all her food, but the second her hand get messy she's yelling for mommy or daddy to "wipe yucky", our cue to clean her hands. For lunch, she's been enjoying sandwiches recently. She loves turkey and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but mommy must cuts them up in small pieces otherwise she won't touch them. She also loves fruit; her recent addiction has been grapes. For dinner, she usually eats what mommy and daddy have. Lots of chicken with fresh vegetables, rice, pasta and we've even given her tacos and fajitas and she never turns her nose up to anything spicy, just like her parents.  

Ordering us to allow her to play on the desk and continue making a mess

While Elise is usually sweet and affectionate, we can't leave out the realities of having a curious little toddler. Lately, she loves climbing up every chair and other piece of furniture in the house, and making a mess out of everything she can find. When we catch her, she gives us a huge grin and then proceeds to tear into whatever interests her. She loves to attack mommy's computer and play with the pens and stamps on her desk, which have since been put out of reach. The funniest thing is that she now tells us, "it's ok I up here", as if that gives her permission to wreck havoc! She's slowly learning the art of manipulation, and just how far she can push her limits.

We have just started to introduce Elise to the idea of potty training. We got her a brand new pink potty that plays a song when she uses it, and she loves it. For the first few weeks, she just sat on it saying "my potty" over and over, not really sure what to do, but since then she has went pee on her potty maybe 5-6 times over the past month. We had to laugh at ourselves, as we were watching her like a hawk and thrilled the very first time she finally did it. Proud parents alright. It is still super early for full on potty training. From what I've heard, most kids aren't fully potty trained until around 2 1/2, so she has a good head start.

Perhaps the most exciting news, is that she has finally accepted her bedtime routine. Both mommy and daddy have to be there to put her to bed, and she points at our mouths and says, "mommy song" and "daddy song", and we sing and hum her bedtime lullabies each night. When we put her in the crib, she throws out all her blankets and toys, except Tinkerbell, and lays down and says "night, night", "love you" or "bye, bye momma, bye bye daddy, see ya", and that means she's ready to fall asleep. We've been so proud of her new nightly routine, because in the past she always cried at bedtime. It feels good to know that she can express when she is ready to go sleep all on her own. She also makes sure to let you know when she is awake the next morning. We usually wake up to "momma, dadda, where are you?". After hearing that, we can't wait to go get her out of her crib and get hugs and kisses from our happy little morning baby!

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Daddy and Elise by the giant tree

Mommy and baby

Cute little munchkin

We took little Elise to the mall last week to see the giant Christmas tree and to meet Santa for the very first time. The scenario would be best described as awkward. She had no idea why we were pushing her toward a stranger and was rather suspicious of this new Santa character. He gave her a candy cane, which helped ease her worries for a bit, but once she was placed on his lap, she immediately started calling for us to come to her rescue. Out of seven shots, the photo below was the one that Elise looked the least concerned in! It's a funny photo and I'm sure one day she will question why on earth she wasn't smiling in the presence of Santa.

First photo with Santa



Solid Foods; Bringing diaper changing to an entirely new level of unpleasantry

Since the introduction of baby food and formula, Elise's once mild and non-offensive diapers have transformed into malodorous stink bombs! Mom and dad have both become adept at breathing through our mouths during such stinky diaper changes. I love that she is branching out into the world of solids, but I now have a new appreciation for how easy diapers were before solids.

Baby GAS...the painful reality!

Ok, so here's the deal, in the past month baby gas has taken over and made the half hour after eating pretty miserable for little Elise. After her feedings, she tightens her body, pulls her legs up to her torso and cries in pain. It's awful to see her so uncomfortable and also so helpless in attaining relief. We burp her, pump her legs, pat her back and often even give her mylecon drops and while this all helps a bit it is still ever-present. I have changed my diet multiple times, to see if I can make things better for Elise, but all to no avail. We've accepted that her body will need to gradually adjust, but in the meantime GAS has temporarily become a four letter word!

The awkward truth about our seven week old

Little Elise - Seven Weeks

Ok, so I’ve pretty much decided that we have the squirmiest baby known to man! Trying to put on her diaper has become a real struggle. In fact, just holding her still is a struggle. She squirms all over place and is very strong! She loves to test her limits and push off my body with her legs. There have been quite a few occasions where I’ve had to quickly grab her so she didn't springboard off of me. I have been giving Elise more play mat activity time so she is able to get her energy out. When I put her on the play mat, she kicks out her legs and feet like she is peddling a 10 speed! She is so vivacious and spirited. It is an absolute joy to watch so much liveliness emanating from such a tiny little body!

She is getting cuter by the day, but she still has her endearing little awkward moments. I went to take a video of her, as she was looking so precious and cute, and all of a sudden her eyes went cross, her mouth went sideways, she let out the biggest yawn and then gave her signature yell. Clint and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Parents are always quick to divulge all their cute baby stories, but you rarely ever hear the awkward truth about newborns until you experience it firsthand as a parent. Babies are the funniest little beings. Sometimes when Elise poops, she goes cross eyed and balls her hands into fists ready to let loose. She burps and farts like a sailor. What’s even funnier is that mom and dad are now proud and praise her each time she gets out a fart or burp. I mean, we have to be for our own personal sanity, because if she isn’t able to get them out, she will be screaming and crying until she does.

One very cute thing Elise has started this week, is experimenting with her little voice box. Now when she smiles she lets out a coo every so often. It is so thrilling to hear her little voice emerge. Right now she makes sounds only occasionally, but each time she does it makes me so excited to hear more. I love her tiny little voice and sweet noises.

We also got little Elise together with her cousin Tyler (who is just over a year and half). It was the cutest sight ever! Elise made the funniest little face, as she was a bit unsure about all the new people. It was absolutely priceless. She raised her eyebrows, widened her eyes, and dropped her mouth wide with a look of pure uncertainty. After a while, she finally mellowed out and we took a few photos. Tyler was so sweet and gentle with her. He got excited each time she made a noise. We look forward to watching them both grow up together!

Little Cousins - Elise and Tyler!

Her unsure expression!

Warming up

Finally a smile!

Six weeks along and the slow transformation is upon us

Elise alert at six weeks

Clint and I keep saying that Elise is now slowly transforming into a baby. The first 4-5 weeks, she was more like a little machine; eat, sleep, cry, burp, dirty diapers…on repeat, and not necessarily in that order. She now exhibits all the signs of a baby in the making. She’s finally able to stare up into our eyes and really recognize us. She smiles more frequently now and is constantly alert and attentive. Each day a little something new emerges. Daddy and mommy are greatly enjoying this transformation. It has made us appreciate each fleeting moment with her, as we are quickly realizing how fast the "newborn stage" passes by. It's funny because even at a few weeks old, we keep saying she was growing too fast. But now that her growth is coupled with noticeably new development it has become exciting!

Another thing, that has been cracking me up this week, is her constant arm flailing in her sleep. Almost any sound has the potential to trigger her reflexive arm flailing. Sometimes she just does it out of nowhere. It is so funny and cute. Daddy and I get a kick out it.

Daddy has also been having some fun with baby girl by making her “dance”. He holds her upright in his arms and essentially puppeteers her to dance to different songs. It is an absolute laugh riot, and I have taken a couple baby dance videos starring little Elise. Yes, her parents have gone zany on her and I’m sure it won’t be the last time.

Her new hairline

Elise’s hair is another new topic. Her head has started to outgrow her original hairline, so now she has short lighter hair coming in on the front of her head while the back is all dark. Poor baby has what resembles a balding mans hairline. Of course this is just temporary, but it is quite funny! She has also been having her funny little "baby monkey" moments. I had to post the photo below for evidence.

Elise sleeping like a baby monkey :)

Daddy also found a bit of time this week to put together Elise’s baby jumper. Although she can’t hold her head up yet, daddy found a way to modify it so she could test it out. He put blankets behind her head and back to hold her upright, and books on the ground so she could have something to push off with her feet. It is so adorable seeing her in the jumper! She is so tiny and has a long way to go before she can touch the ground with her feet. After daddy made the necessary modifications, she was able to start pushing with her feet a tiny bit. It was thrilling for us to watch. Pretty soon, she will be bouncing around like crazy.

Testing out her new jumper

Diaper changing 101

Ok, so I’d heard all the stories of how many diapers babies go through a day, and it always seemed like a mountainous amount. We were prepared to be up to our ears in diapers, and figured it would be one of the more time consuming aspects of caring for a newborn. Thankfully, this has not been the case. Elise does go through her fair share of diapers (on average 7-8 a day), but the actual diaper changing process isn’t bad at all. Daddy has been great about changing diapers these past few weeks. He stepped up to the plate and, believe it or not, wanted to take on the task. Of course mommy loves this as she is already consumed with feedings. Also, thanks to all my wonderful friends and family at the baby shower, we have a massive supply of diapers, which we anticipate will last us a couple months!

While the diaper changing process isn't as bad as we expected, we still have a few words of wisdom for future parents. Diaper changing needs to be quick and fast! Think of it as a race; a race to beat the baby in making you their own personal diaper. If you leave a window of time between diapering, chances are you will get messy. Clint learned this first. He was changing her and she peed. It doesn’t sound so bad, since she is a girl, but in actuality it was just as messy if not more. Though her pee didn’t shoot upward it still shot outward with plenty of distance and landed all over dad. Clint was caught completely off guard. It also happened to me except I got both pee and poop splattered all over. Now all diaper changes are quick and fast to avoid future disasters!