Winter Blahs and Springtime Dreaming

Is anyone else having the same winter time blahs that I am experiencing??? I am having a seriously hard time getting motivated, a bigtime lack of energy, and some serious yearning for some warm sunshine. This always happens to me this time of year. I should try and plan a Hawaiian vacation for every Feb. (I wish). It usually starts in January, and goes until about the end of March. Then, in April, it at least gets warm enough to get out for a walk or a trip to the park.

In an attempt to do some Springtime dreaming I dressed the girls up in some new spring outfits I bought for them. It helped a little I guess!

Makeup party

After 4 days of not leaving the house due to snow...and being locked up with two toddlers, Ella and I decided to have a makeup party. When she woke up from her nap (before Hailey) we took out her little makeup kit and went to town. The product was what I thought we would be seeing in 15 years from now...and it was a bit scary. Nonetheless, it got us doing something besides watching Dora and boots, and took up some of our afternoon. Oh, and we also did finger and toenails.

This video is why I got pregnant with Hailey. I had come home after a night out with my girlfriends and my husband had put together this little video from when I delivered Ella. It was supposed to be of Ella's entire first year, but this is how far he made it. I watched it and cried. The song playing...Cannonball...was the song we listened to on each of our 3 trips to the hospital (2 false alarms and 1 induction). After watching that video I knew I wanted another baby. I thought we would try in a couple months but the very next month (thanks to a bit of Merlot) we were pregnant once again. It is funny though...the video does not have the same effect on me anymore...thank God or I would probably have 5 more kids by now!

12th Man

Even though the Seattle Seahawks did not make it to the Superbowl this year...we are still huge fans in this household. My husband never missed a game and even traveled to Seattle to catch a few live. Every Sunday he and the girls would make a big deal about taking out the 12th man flag, unrolling it and placing it outside the house. It was their little ritual. I found these little Seahawks cheerleader outfits on sale at Target last week and I could not resist. I tried to buy them in big enough sizes so they could wear them next year during the season. I hope it works out. They look so adorable in them!

Bye Bye Bottles

At Christmas time, Ella was still taking a bottle for her nap and bedtime. She is 2 1/2 and I thought it was probably time to say goodbye to the bottles. A friend of mine from preschool gave me the idea to leave them out for Santa in exchange for presents. We spent the two weeks leading up to Christmas talking about what we were going to do, and told her that Santa was going to take her "babas" and leave her toys; and Santa would then bring the bottles to baby Chase (the 6 month old baby of a friend of mine). So, when Christmas eve came, she helped us put all the bottles in a bag and left them next to the cookie for Santa. The next day all her bottles were gone and she had a ton of toys. The first couple of days were a bit rough. She would cry at bedtime for a bottle and say "I a baby, I need a baba". But we would just remind her how Santa took them to give to baby Chase. She seemed to be okay with it. Even now, occasionally she will say things like "baby Chase has my babas".

I have heard of similar tactics used for getting rid of binkys, such as leaving them for the binky fairy, or exchanging them for a new toy/bike. Thankfully we didn't have the binky to deal with, but the bottles were just as bad. The Santa thing worked well for us...I just hope it doesn't make her have a lifelong hatred of Santa!

I'm Back

Hi all,

Trying to get back into blogging. A lot has gone on in the last few months...keeping me away from the computer...but I am getting back!

Here are my updates:

1. Hailey is now 15 months old, and feisty as hell. She is a chubby little thing still, only has 4 teeth (with a huge gap between the front two...which is so endearing), runs all over after her sister, says a ton of words (if you are listening) and FINALLY is sleeping through the night! (well, at least until 4:30 am). She is BEAUTIFUL. She is an old soul. Her entire face lights up when she smiles. She is my baby.

2. Ella is now 2 1/2 years...almost 3. She is our little dare devil. I really think she is part boy. She jumps off of everything in the house, and then ends it in a flip. I should probably get her into some sort of gymnastics class. She is also BEAUTIFUL. With a head full of golden curls. She goes to preschool one day a week, and loves the art table the best. In fact, she stalks the art table waiting for someone to leave so she can jump in. She is currently really into Dora the Explorer, and playing tea parties with her little sister.

3. I have been off of work for about 6 months now and am feeling ready to go back. I have been dealing with some back issues, and think I am finally to the point where they are worked out. I am also finally getting some rest due to Hailey sleeping through the night, so that helps everything in general. I will probably go back to the NICU, but am thinking about splitting my time between the NICU and the birthcenter. You see, I have a undercover desire to be a lactation nurse, and in order to take that certification you have to have a certain number of hours working with breastfeeding moms (and no, your own breast feeding does not count or I would already be there...for sure...Hailey still hasn't totally given it up). We do work with breastfeeding in the NICU, but not as much as in the birthcenter with all the big healthy babes.

I have also gotten into making jewelery thanks to the teaching of my sister in law Melissa. It is a great hobby, and a great thing to give as gifts. I can become a bit obsessed and sometimes once I start, I can't stop!

4. Grant just finished a year working for Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and is going back to Bechtal starting this Monday. He liked his job at Battelle, but is also excited to get back to Bechtal. His newest toy is his new I-phone from apple. And yes, I am majorly jealous. I want one too!! It is very cool. He also got guitar hero for his Nintendo Wii for Christmas and enjoys that as well. He is very much in love with his girls, and spends all of his free time with them (and me). I am pretty sure he has succumb to the fact that he is going to be surrounded by girls :)

As I am writing this I am listening to a new (to me at least) artist named Tony Lucca. If you all have I-tunes...look him up. I am in love with the song called "Feels like love".

Well, that pretty much sums things up for now. I will post some photos taken by my very good friend and photographer, Tera. Her web site is http://www.photographybytera.com/ ...check it out. She took these family shots last fall and they are the ones I used on my Christmas cards. As soon as I figure out how to post video, I will post some of the clips from our Christmas...which was a blast.

Hope everyone is doing well....and Happy New Year!

Still Here

Not sure if people are still logging onto my blog...but we are still here. It has been a long time since I have posted last...this I know...things have just been a bit busy, and I haven't felt very blog inspired. Nonetheless, I will update now:

1. Hailey is crawling all over the place, pulling herself up and working SO hard to take steps. She walks all around the furniture and with her little push toy. She FINALLY has pushed through her first tooth after months of teething. She is still a little piggy and at her 9 month check she weighed almost 24 pounds. She is adorable and fun and I love this 9-12 month age.

2. Ella is talking MUCH more. Just yesterday she went upstairs and half way up she turned to look at me and said "I'll be right back okay mom". I don't know why that was so profound to me, but it was like she was actually communicating. She starts preschool in two weeks. She goes one time a week for 2 hours. It is a co-op, so I have to be in the classroom once every 3 weeks or so. We have two other close friends in the class.

3. As a family, the summer has seemed to fly by. We went to the coast in July with a stop in Portland to go to the Zoo. We went with some very close family friends. We also went camping for a couple of nights, which the girls LOVED. Last weekend we were up in Sandpoint, ID for a wedding that was held at the top of Schweitzer mountain...very pretty. We may head back to the coast for Labor day weekend, but that has not been confirmed. Other than that just our daily life seems to keep us busy. We have done a lot of visiting with friends and family, swimming, running through the sprinkler, and sleeping when we get the chance.

4. Two of my close friends have welcomed babies in the past 2 months. My friend Mandy from nursing school welcomed a baby boy named Eli on July 13ths. My very good friend and neighbor, Tera, welcomed a baby boy, Chase Matthew, on July 22nd. Since Tera and Chase live just around the corner I get to see them a lot and get my baby fix in. I just have a thing for newborns.

I hope everyone else is doing well and enjoying their summer. I will make an effort to blog more often to keep you all updated.

I will leave you with some photos from our July trip to the coast! Enjoy