FTPDF

Happy Weekend!!!  It is 10pm and I'm JUST getting to blogging the week.  Though, to be fair, I have been working on my pictures for the past 45 minutes or so.  Usually I'm good about working on them through the week so that by the time Friday comes, my blog post doesn't really take that much time.  But for some reason this week, I didn't do anything FTPDF picture related until about 9:15pm tonight.  It takes a lot of time when I have to put all the collages together at one time.

Anyway.  Callie.  Callie, Callie, Callie.  She was off preschool this week, so she got to have extra time at home (Monday) and with Pa (Wednesday).  She starts their summer program on Monday, so it will be back to a usual routine.  I think that will be nice.  She was LOVING being outside this week.  And her sweet little face has started sprouting the faintest of freckles.  I'm hoping they get darker as she spends more time in the sun. 

Favorite Thing #1: 4-year-old freckles in the sunshine
Maya says, "Excuse me while I check the weather on my phone."

The stinker baby has become slightly obsessed with my phone- to the point where she occasionally gets mad if I don't let her have it all the time.  So I pulled out my old iPhone to give her, and it worked.  Stinker.

Her new thing this week is standing.  She still doesn't want to crawl, though she gets up on her hands and knees better than in the past few weeks.  But she is pretty solid now when she stands and holds on to something.

Favorite Thing #2: Progression of baby skills

I'm also working on baby sign language with her- mostly when she is eating.  I don't really think she has it yet, but I got a video today that makes it look like she might.

Favorite Thing #3: A baby who eats.  A lot.  Anything.  And gets crabby when she either wants more or is all done. 


IMG 3150 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

I was off school on Monday, so I got to be home with the girls.  The weather was AMAZING, and it was truly the best day.

Favorite Thing #4: A little post-bath porch time in the morning

Favorite Thing #5: The preschooler can help fill her own pool.
(Though since the water was pretty cold, I did bring about 10 buckets of
hot water from our bathtub out to the pool...)

Favorite Thing #6: Keeping cool in the pool.

Favorite Thing #7: SPLASHING and JUMPING


IMG 3024 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Favorite Thing #8: Another round in the pool later in the afternoon

Favorite Thing #9: The rest of the day: Finding lilacs, relaxing, trying
some tart strawberries, and going to Target.

Favorite Thing #10: Tuesday.
I had a hard time leaving that face in the morning.

Favorite Thing #11: Playtime at G-ma and G-pa's house and yard.

Favorite Thing #12: A girls date at Davanni's with gluten-free pizza!

Favorite Thing #13: Those CHEEKS and that SMILE.

Favorite Thing #14: Some more time outside in the pool, followed by some time
in the bath tub.  Yelling for joy.

Favorite Thing #15: Time at Boom's house and a visit to see Bops and
Auntie Yoda for lunch.

Favorite Thing #16: Time with high school friends!  I have known these
ladies for a LONG time.

Have a great weekend!

TBT

Ohmygosh we are THISCLOSE to summer.

So, to celebrate, my first throwback is pictures of the babies during their first experiences in a little kiddie pool.  Callie was just about 5 months old and Maya was 10 months old.

I was holding Callie up by her swimsuit straps (her swimsuit is one I wore when
I was a baby).  Maya was able to sit up and play on her own.

Next, we have babies standing with fairly obvious 98th percentile heads.

Then we have babies at a restaurant.  When Callie was a baby, we bought cute little placemats that we could put down so she didn't have to eat off the table.  Maya's table spot was clearly just wiped off with a baby wipe and then food dumped down quickly so she could go to town.


 

Poor 2nd baby

 

Finally...sweet baby faces. My favorite kind of TBTs.

 

 



The Lesson I Learned About Laundry

Here are a few pieces of background information before I tell you a story.

1) Over the weekend I went a little nuts at Target and bought a number of matching summer outfits for the girls.

2) I'm terrible at laundry.  It is a multi-day process that usually involves piles of clean laundry in various rooms of our house, all the time.

3) Callie enjoys/insists on dressing herself most days.

So we were hanging out on the porch this morning, playing peekaboo and trying to keep the baby happy.

It was time for Callie to get dressed, so she went upstairs by herself and VERY excited to surprise me with one of her new outfits.

She was upstairs for awhile, but when I called up the stairs after a few minutes she answered that she was good.

She came downstairs and presented herself in her new outfit.

The picture does not even do this outfit justice. SO TIGHT.
SO VERY TIGHT.

I just stared at her and a number of thoughts were racing through my mind: Ohmygosh, did I buy my daughter booty shorts?  Is this how they make clothes now, super tight even for 4 year olds??? She looks like a little hoochie mama."

I casually asked her how the clothes felt, and if they felt too small.  She was noncommittal.

And then I remembered.  Her new clothes and Maya's new clothes (which were the same outfits) were in the same pile on the floor in Callie's room.

So I checked the sizes on her current oufit.

Yep.  She had put on Maya's 12-month size clothes.

And we both burst into giggles.  I helped her peel the clothes off and she went back upstairs to find her own 5T size.

So. Much. Better.

I guess I need to up my laundry skills.  Big time.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Memorial Day Edition

Happy Sunday!

I'm loving this weekend.  Why? Because there is still another day!  But I'll wrap up what we have done so far, because it has been fun.

Remember when I told you on Friday that I was going to get a picture of Maya's super sad face?  Here is an example of what I'm talking about it.  And it isn't even as sad as some of them are sometimes.

And she's reaching out for me.  Dagger to the heart.  ALL. THE. TIME.

Anyway, Let's see...some highlights from Saturday (and a few pics from Sunday that I added by mistake) include:

*Playing at home
*Paper doll stickers
*Visiting Great-Grandma and showing her
Callie's preschool memory book

*A night out with friends!
*A flight of different ciders to try!
*Bowling!
(Thanks G-ma and G-pa for babysitting and putting the girls to bed!)

And some Sunday highlights:

I got them in matching clothes, but did not get an adorable
matchy-matchy picture.  This is the progression of what happened
when I tried.

We got some porch furniture from my aunt and uncle, so it was finally
nice enough to actually put it out and make a cozy spot.

I got some company for my 5 mile run!  We ran downtown
and it was great.

The girls had fun at the condo (and park), and Callie and I even got an ice cream
treat on the way home (but no cone eating was done- just ice cream licking).

Later on the Wicks family came over and we walked down to the park
and went out for dinner.  Callie and Sydney even found a "fairy house!"
At dinner Maya continued her vegetable trying extravaganza, with zucchini,
red pepper, and some different kinds of beans.  She is awesome.

My mileage goal this week was 12 and I did 12.6 plus about 3 miles of walking.  Next week the mileage starts to get serious- my goal is 15.

Since I started this post with such a sad picture of Baby Maya, here is the sweetest picture EVER, to balance it out.

Those eyes.  Those cheeks.  Seriously.

Hope everyone is enjoying their long holiday weekend!

FTPDF: 10-Months-Old!!!!

I think it might be time to abbreviate my Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday posts to FTPDF.  Every Friday that I have to type all those words my fingers get tired.

Not really.

But abbreviations are always easier.  And at this point in my life, easier is good.

Guess which little chica is 10 months old today?????

I wore my pearls to celebrate.

Not really.  It was "fancy day" at school.

Anyway.  I can't believe that we are within 2 months of having a 1-year-old.  In many ways, it doesn't seem like that is possible, because she is such a little baby cling-on.  Literally.  She CLINGS to me.  Pretty much constantly.  If she is not in my arms, but I am visible or audible, she is pissed.  Her face is SO SAD when she sees me and I am not holding her.  So I hold her.  I know I'm not helping the situation at all, but I can't stand to see that SUPER SAD face.  I'll have to get a picture of it sometime, and you'll see what I'm dealing with.  It is not even sufficient for me to be sitting right next to her with my arm around her.  She has to be ON me.  And then once she is, she has to twist her body around so she is never in the same position for very long.  Facing me.  Facing out.  On one hip.  On the other.  Upside down.  Right side up.  I gotta admit, it is exhausting.  But I'm just trying to soak it in and remember she won't want to be with me this closely forever.

But.  Then there is the older one.  She is starting to get tired of Maya's Mommy Monopoly, and is showing it in a variety of, um, interesting ways.  That is me being very diplomatic.  This weekend I'm going to try really hard to spend some good one-on-one time with her in hopes that she'll chill out a little bit.  We'll see. 

On to the pictures, etc.

My first favorite thing is Maya's new trick for this week: clapping!


IMG 2868 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Favorite Thing #2: Hanging out at home after work (even when I wasn't
feeling well- on Wednesday I cheated with some gluten-filled chips
and paid for it...blech. Gluten is the devil.)

Favorite Thing #3: Hanging out with Auntie Yoda, Craig, Auntie Mari and Josh.

Favorite Thing #4: Watching Maya eat.
On the left we have her eating a Mum-Mum right after her bath.
Later we fed her spinach lasagna and immediately regretted that
we gave her a bath BEFORE dinner.

Favorite Thing #5: My ploy to get a cranky preschooler to smile-
mood face pictures!
Unfortunately her hair kind of covered it up.

Favorite Thing #6: Summer is SO. CLOSE.
Our tree in the front yard has bloomed and is beautiful!

Favorite Thing #7: Staying on track with my exercise.
I pushed Callie (all 37 pounds of her) for 1.5 miles in the jogging stroller.
I did a ridiculous interval workout on the treadmill and have never been so sweaty.
I'm feeling stronger and seeing results.  It feels good.

Favorite Thing #8: Time at G-ma and G-pa's house each week.

Favorite Thing #9: Time at Boom's house each week.

Favorite Thing #10: We had a visitor- a baby deer we named Rainy.
Chris called community service officers to come get her, which they did.
Then they brought her back because they talked to animal control, who said that
Rainy's mom would most likely come back for her that night.
So they nestled her back in the garden, and lo and behold, she was gone the next
morning.  She was ADORABLE.

Favorite Thing #11: A Friday evening stroll. 
Callie was very curious about the sounds coming from the pond by our house.

 

I am so very excited for a long weekend.  It looks like the weather will continue to be warm!  Maybe summer will finally be here...?!?!?!? 

Have a great one!

TBT: The 53-Months-Old Edition

IT'S THURSDAY!

My first throwback: babies in the same jammies looking at the ceiling (for some reason).

And then babies who almost look like they are holding hands with each other.

Finally, to veer off from my normal throwbacks, I want to talk a little bit about my big 53-month-old girl.  Her last day of her first year of preschool was yesterday.  I can't believe how much older she looks.

This year has been full of transition for her, and she has taken it all in stride.  There have been ups and downs, but she learned so much, had amazing teachers, and made some good friends.   Her self-portrait has shown how much she has grown, too.

She will be going to the summer program at her preschool regularly throughout the summer, so it wasn't too big of a good-bye yesterday, but it still seemed like a milestone. :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

Aaaahhhhh...it was another lovely weekend.  The sun was shining.  We played outside.  We did fun things.  It went too fast. 

I really love weekends.  I just try and be present in every moment and soak it all in.

Let me show you why.

Saturday

4.3 miles at 6am.
562 miles burned before 7am.
Amazing.

This precious girl was still asleep at 7:30am.

We had our 1st visit to the farmer's market with Boom and Bops.
I got a yummy chai tea and Callie got a gluten-free muffin and balloon animal.
Maya kicked and kicked and yelled a little too- her telltale happy signs.

Callie helped Bops clean on the deck.
We visited Gi-Gi and watched the girls play.

We went to the Held's for Charlie and Mabel's birthday party.
It was awesome to watch the lifelong buddies run around and play
tag and...er...push each other down.

More birthday party fun!

Sunday

What a BEAUTIFUL day.

Shopping at Trader Joe's is always fun!  So much to see...

For the past 2 weeks, fan pictures have been selected and posted on the
Lynx facebook page.  Guess who's picture was selected today- on GAME day!!!?!?!?
Thanks to Boom and Bops for sending it in.
And in case you were wondering, it currently has 585 "likes," more that double what
most of the other fan pictures got on the other days.

I can't get enough of this baby and her smiles.

Chris and Callie went to the Lynx home opener.  Callie even made a sign.
We are sharing season tickets with my sisters again...but now that there
are four of us, we can't all go and smush into our 2 seats.
So Maya and I watched from home.
They won.  In overtime.

This is the "Mom, I see you eating your burrito. I want some NOW" face.

Tonight I did my 3rd session with Moms on the Run.  It is great.  It kicks my butt every week and after the 30 minute run we do strength training, so my butt is kicked even more.  My mileage goal this week was 12 miles, and I did 13.5.  I'm still tracking calories (during the week- I give myself a little freedom on the weekends) and am down about 4 pounds.  Next week's goal is another 12 miles.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  Looks like we might finally have a warm and sunny week ahead!