I tucked him in Mommy

"I tucked him in Mommy." That is what she told me and this is what I saw! Poor Remington. He was kind enough to sit still and didn't remove the washcloth. My kid loves to be tucked in and loves to tuck others in also.

Admiring her handiwork. Old dog Remi looks amused, right? Not so much.

Tuck Me In Mommy

Sydney loves blankets, Little People and imaginary play.

Blankets+Little People+Imaginary Play=

(little people's blanket is actually a wipe! Sometimes she takes napkins out of the cupboard and uses those as blankets for her baby or people)

Not as picky as I thought

So Soybean isn't as good of an eater as Sydney is. I don't know that any child is as good of an eater as Sydney. Both in quantity (yikes) and in choices (good choices). Sydy has been a good eater from day 1 and especially after she started eating normal foods. Rarely have I ever had to cook a different meal from the one I am serving for dinner. Amazing. Chicken nuggets and hot dogs - NOT IN THIS HOUSEHOLD!! I am so happy that she has been a healthy eater.

Little Soybean on the other hand has been a little harder. She has a texture thing. Daddy says she is just like me. But each day she is trying new things and making my life much easier. I bought grapes at the store the other night, cut them up into tiny pieces, served them to her and they were gone in a flash! Also, broccoli seems to be a winner too (Sydy's favorite also). Last night I gave them a plateful of broccoli and grapes while I was making dinner. Both cleaned their plates!

Soybean enjoyed them for breakfast too.

Trapped

That is what I felt like today! Trapped in my own house...without power, without warm water, without the capacity to go anywhere! Jimmy is out of town and I have no idea how to use our snow blower. Even if I knew how to use it, what would I do with the girls? The Durango would have made it out of the garage and up the driveway, but wouldn't climb the small mountain created by the plow trucks. So here we are, 3pm and I haven't left my house for two days! Power went out this morning at around 6:45 and only after a small cup of coffee finished brewing. So I didn't have a shower and I didn't have coffee! Not a good day.

We had an OK morning...all things considered. My dear hubby called his co-worker who offered to come over to start our generator and snow blow the driveway. I told him that we were OK for now and that I didn't want him to risk parking his car on the road and trekking 250 feet of driveway with a snow blower that should have been run at least twice by the time this morning rolled around. Fortunately my buddy Sully will be over after work to plow the crazy long driveway. The girls and I are going to get the heck out of the house as soon as the driveway is clear. Not sure where we will go...just somewhere!

Good news is we got power back a few hours later - before the house got too cold and during Sawyer's morning nap, so I had a peaceful warm shower. My days don't start until I shower. I finished my coffee and we are back in business!

How do people manage without power? Without water? Oh well. We managed and we managed to have a fun morning. Both girls were perfectly content in the semi-warm house playing with their toys. I didn't worry about the laundry or any other chore, I just sat and played.

I guess if I have to be trapped, my home is where I want to be...and my babies are so entertaining.

Danger - Danger

She thinks that just because she can walk, she is capable of walking with toys in her hands now! I tell her danger danger, but she doesn't listen.

Heart Warming

It warms my heart to see moments like this. Such a sweet kiss.

Bad picture, but a sweet moment.

Birthday gift

Thanks to our families for contributing toward the gift that we got Sawyer (and Sydney). The outdoor activity center got some negative reviews for older kids, so we went with the indoor activity table. You can see from the picture below that Sawyer was thoroughly enjoying herself. Sydney loves playing with all of her Fisher Price toys on the table. Thanks again for your contributions towards this awesome gift.

Birthday Celebration

Just the four of us, but Sawyer had fun. Here are a few pictures of her enjoying her cake.

Saturday started out as a great day. We had a lot of errands to run, including picking picking up Sawyer's birthday cake and balloons. She is feeling fine now so we were going to celebrate her birthday Saturday night. Running around all morning sometimes backfires on us because the kids spend too much time in the car. We got home at nap time but neither wanted to take their afternoon nap. I think Sydney was too excited to celebrate Sawyer's birthday because I kept talking to her about it. I told her as I was trying to put her down for a nap that as soon as she woke up, we would have a birthday party for Sawyer. So needless to say, 15 minutes later she is yelling for us. Jim gets her out of bed after repeated attempts to tell her it is time for nappie time. No luck. We bring her downstairs and she tells me "I waked up Mommy!"

I made homemade chicken noodle soup (Sydney's favorite) and we sat down for dinner. Two bowl fulls later, Sydney was in good spirits. Full belly, fun playing with daddy. Then she starts gagging from laughing so hard...up came two bowl fulls of undigested chicken soup. Bathtime messed up the party plans for the night. She kept saying "I sad Mommy. I puked." Poor Sawyer's celebration got messed up again!

Finally we got to celebrate it yesterday afternoon. She was unimpressed again with the cake. She took a few tastes and that was it.

This is not what I envisioned for my little girls 1st birthday here in New York. Thankfully we had a nice party for her in Pennsylvania when I was home. We will make it up to her somehow! Pictures of her little celebration to follow.

Dominoes

My girls love to play with Dominoes. Soybean likes to just smash them together and Sydney likes it when I set them up and she knock them over. Did I mention that I like setting them up but I dread having to pick them all up after they scatter them all over the living room!!

Look how big my little Sawyer is getting. She is still walking like crazy. 50% walking and 50% crawling. She knows she can get to something faster is she crawls, but she likes to practice walking.

Sydyisms again and again

I should devote an entire blog to Sydyisms. She is so full of it. Again, I mean that in the very best way. I put her down for a nap at 2pm most everyday. I get her a sippy cup of milk, make sure that her monkey and baby are in the basket beside her and then I tuck her in. Normally she will drink her milk right away and a few minutes later I hear the footsteps across the room as she puts her cup on the nightstand or dresser. She has changed her routine. Now - a few minutes after I tuck her in, I hear "Mommy....Mommy." I go up to her room and she tells me "take it Mommy, take it" as she hands me her empty cup. Then she cuddles back in and falls asleep. Yep, now I have to run back upstairs to get the cup! Wonder how I can break this habit? It is so adorable but so annoying because I am usually trying to get Sawyer down for her nap at that time.

She makes me laugh.

Bad Hair Day

This is what she looked like right after she woke up from her long nap yesterday. She's got crazy hair. Looks like we will be heading to the salon sooner than later. I have decided to do bangs on her. It suits her face better than being all one length. Crazy hair. Sydney's first haircut was at 14 months but I think I will be taking this little lady in right away. My precious little Soybean.

I really tried to make something pretty

I am having memories of a failed attempt at making a half birthday cake for Sydney a few weeks ago. Well I attempted to make Valentine's Day cupcakes and I failed to make them pretty. Oh, I try really hard to decorate my tasty treats, but I always mess it up. I might take a cake decorating class. That would be fun. Then the treats would not only taste good, they would look pretty.

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's. We spent the day taking care of a sick baby.

Officially Walking

Sawyer Molly is officially a walker. She now walks as much as she crawls. Yesterday and today she has been really showing off her walking skills. When I put her down after holding her, I put her on her feet. I have been doing this for a while. She used to stand there for a minute and then plop down and crawl away. Now I put her down and she starts to walk! Yeah! She is also getting up perfectly from a sitting position. She doesn't have to hold on to anything. Pretty impressive!

She is feeling much better today and the fever seems to be gone completely. She still isn't eating much, but she is drinking plenty of milk and water.

Me thinks with my tongue

Yes, my kid thinks with her tongue sticking out...always has...probably always will. Nana commented about it when we were home last week so I was so happy to catch her doing it this morning as we were crafting on her new floor table.

Sydyisms again

She is so full of it...I mean that in the very best way! My funny little girl. She has such personality and I laugh most of the day with her or because of her (sometimes I scream too). She has been really talking up a storm lately. I mean really making long sentences and coming up with such funny comments. She does a lot of imaginary play and she will often take her shopping cart or purse and say she is "going shopping" and "I'll be right back!" as she holds her hand up to make sure that I don't move from where I am at the moment.

Here are some recent pictures of my crazy lady.

This is the face I get when I ask for a nice picture. What a "are you talking to me" face. Always.
I wasn't joking when I said (in a previous post) that she eats Goldfish crackers with a spork or spoon...funny kid. She will reach in the drawer to get a spoon anytime I get her a bowl of fishies.Such precious moments when they are getting along and Sydney is sharing. More and more I see them playing nicely together. Except this morning when they were having a tug of war over a basket full of blocks! Neither won that battle as I took the basket away and firmly told them that if they don't share, they lose privileges...yeah, they totally understood that!

Anytime I mention that we are going to the store, she will rush to the mudroom and grab her coat and hat. This day happened to be somewhat mild so I told her that she didn't need a hat. I spent a lot of time doing her hair and didn't want it to get messed up with a hat...guess what, she didn't listen. Love this expression.

Sick Baby

Poor little Soybean spent the last few days with a high fever. We haven't even been able to celebrate her birthday here in NY because she has been so sick. The girls and I travelled home on her actual birthday and then Jim was out of town on Saturday so we planned to celebrate her b-day on Sunday, but her fever was still really high. I think her teeth are bothering her and one of them popped through the other day. She seems to be better today, but she still had a small temp this morning. Poor kid. I wonder if that was why she was so out of sorts when I was home in PA. Teething is rough!

This was not how I envisioned celebrating her first birthday, but I guess I will go with the flow and wait until she is back to her usual happy self. Poor baby.

Walking like crazy

Somebody is doing a lot of walking these days! She will take lots of steps and she especially loves holding onto our finger and walking all around the house.

Sawyer's B-Day celebration in Pennsylvania

We had a little party for Sawyer Molly while I was visiting my family. I bought her a Dairy Queen ice cream cake and Grammy treated the family to subs and pizza. Sawyer took a few tastes of her ice cream cake. Sydney was far more excited to eat the cake.Just in case we forgot, Sawyer held up one finger to remind us of her age!

Jared's Birthday Celebration in Pennsylvania

I was so happy to travel home in time for Jared's birthday! Nana and Pap Pap hosted a pizza party for him. I can't believe that he is 11 years old already! He is so sweet and loving towards my girls. He spent a lot of time hanging out with Sydney and making Sawyer laugh. Here are a few pictures of him on the night of his birthday.

Nana made him a cookie cake and Jared and I had fun decorating it.

Busy Week in PA

I spent a week in Pennsylvania taking care of Bethany and Jared while Jess and Paul were out of town. We had a full week of running around like crazy people. Bethany, Jared and Sydney were so awesome. Little Soybean was a challenge for me on this trip home. She clung to me and wouldn't let anyone help me take care of her. This was very hard for me to deal with because it is so unlike her normal behavior. She is certainly more shy than Sydney, but she usually warms up to the family within a few minutes of our arrival. This trip was very different. She would cry when I left the room. I can't figure out what the issue might have been, but to say that I am extremely tired after having her attached to my hip for a week, is an understatement.

I really had a great time running around with the kids. Sydney absolutely loves her older cousins and had so much fun hanging out with them. She sat with Jared for hours while he played his games. Guitar Hero seems to be a big hit with my kid!

The two lazy bums watching a little TV together and all wrapped up in the Penn State Snuggie!

Little Soybean enjoyed eating Goldfish crackers without the fear of Remi and Izzy stealing them from her. Mom and Dad's dog wouldn't bother stealing food from the kids. She avoids them as much as possible! Poor Bree doggy. She doesn't like it when we come to town!Bethany and Sydney loved coloring pictures together on the new floor table Aunt Jess and Uncle Paul got her.

Sawyer Molly hanging out with Nana Molly... one of the few moments she let someone else hold her!!

Sawyer Molly Turned One Year Old!

How is it that my little baby turned one year old yesterday? I can't even believe that a year has past. She has brought such joy to our family and I can't even imagine what life was like before baby #2. She turned a year old last night around 10:30. I say "around", because the only official record of her time of birth was the 911 call Jim placed as we delivered her along route 890 on a very cold night.

The things I love about my little girl are too many to count, but here are the things that come to mind right away.

1. She is always smiling and laughing...she is the happiest baby ever. I always call her "ridiculously happy."

2. I love how she rubs her ear when she is tired and drinking her bottle.

3. I love that she is such an independent little lady. She is very curious and adventerous.

4. She gives the biggest hugs ever. She will climb on our laps and wrap her pudgy arms around our neck and squeeze.

5. She is feisty and tough and will stand up for herself when she and Sydney are not happy with each other.

6. She babbles so much and has the sweetest expressions when she is talking.

7. She is my little cuddle bug.

8. She laughs so much and she is especially entertained when Sydney does something funny. Her belly laughs are the best.

9. Her sweet toothy smile.

10. She is such a Daddy's girl. She gets so excited when he comes home from work and she crawls to him so quickly.

Here is a photo of Sawyer just moments after the ambulance dropped us off safely at the hospital. What a surreal moment.

Here she is at one year old. The crazy expressions are priceless. She is priceless. And we love her so much.

More birthday pictures coming soon.

Valentine's Pictures - Attempted

Yes, attempted is the right word. Not exactly what I had in mind, but we tried. I hate the lighting in my basement studio...plan to change it soon enough. Just not in time for these pictures.

Anyway, I am going to try to get the one good picture of the two of them together printed out for Valentine's Day cards, so here are two pictures of them separately. Both girls were not too happy when I took the lollipop from them. Yucky sticky mess.

Sydyisms

Sydney, Sydney, my silly little girl. She has some funny tendencies.

At nap time I allow her to take a cup of milk to bed. She drinks it right away and then I hear her foot steps out of bed on her way to her dresser or night stand to drop her cup off. It is so funny.

She eats her Goldfish with a spork (spoon/fork). She asks for one anytime she eats them!

"Right here" is her way of telling me where she wants me to put something.

"Come Mommy" as she takes my hand and directs me somewhere.

Sorry for all of the posts without pictures. My memory cards are full and the time is limited. More pictures of the girls soon!