Fluttering

My best gift yesterday I received in the wee hours of the morning. 'TBD', as my dad temporarily named the growing baby, danced and I felt the movement for the first time this pregnancy. I was all sighs and smiles :)

Tangled

Just finished combing thru Guinevere's hair. It took over an hour. Her tangles had tangles... So much so it resembled a bird's nest. For real! I was pleased we got through it and I didn't have to cut out the mess. However I did decide after returning to silky soft hair to give her a trim. I cut about 1.25 inches. This was her 3rd cut. Again, I'm so glad we got here - phew. 

Another go round with poop play?!

This morning Adelaide woke me with her usual calls/shouts. I was hoping to let Guinny sleep in since she stayed up late, so I was going swoop A' up and leave the room. But as I opened the girl's bedroom door a strong smell overcame me. I found Adelaide standing in her crib with her footsie pjs unzipped (down to her ankle), her diaper off, fudgy poo on her butt, hands, and a little on her face. Her diaper was open sitting next to her and the majority of the brown goodness sitting in a neat pile in the middle of her pillow. There was also smears on her blanket, pjs, and Cookie Monster friend. If she wanted to 'paint' she could have done a whole lot of damage with this load. I think she just wanted it off and wasn't going to wait on me. Needless to say my morning started with bathing Adelaide and laundry. Hahaha... Already laughing about it :)

My super power is diminishing

In previous years during pregnancies Rick gave me many compliments about how I acted, grew, looked, and my general health. I claimed pregnancy as my super power! Don't get me wrong, I still experienced some pretty typical morning sickness, blood sugar drops, swelling, weepiness/moods, fatigue, shortness of breath... But all in all was in a great mood. While expecting the girls I worked thru; actually with G, I worked even the morning of. With Adelaide I planned to do the same, but ended up taking a day or two off beforehand. This go round I'm at home and it seems much different. 

G time

Guin earned her first trophy this past weekend. She participated in a in-house gymnastics exhibition. She took her turn and listened to her couches. She did more and had more fun than during her dance recital; a year and a half makes a big difference! Also the more she's able to do things like this the better (less shy) she'll do. One funny thing... During the show (while waiting her turn) she waved me over. I went because I thought she needed help with her runny nose. It ended being for a request of popcorn that they were selling to the audience. Hahaha!! I told her I'd buy some for her after she was done and reminded her to pay attention to her couches. After it was over, Rick asked her what her favorite part was. Guin first answered 'everything' then 'popcorn' but corrected herself and said 'getting my trophy'. It was a good time!

(On the right trampoline)

(Holding her trophy)

Next we went to cousin Josey's birthday party. What fun - food, cupcakes, crafts, movies, games, and play time! It evolved to a sleepover and Guin said that 'this is the best day'. The next day they had donuts for breakfast and pizza with 'blue juice' for lunch.Though she butt heads with Aden, she had a great time! (Her first sleepover at the Phillips house went pretty well... She ate, she had a dry night, she played... And shifted her behavior after the threat of calling 'Mom'.)

Our growing flock

Playing well together :) Guinny is showing Adelaide the ropes... of being a big sister!

Yep, we are expecting baby #3 in late May/early June 2014.

Watch your plate...

The other day, we discovered that Adelaide no longer struggles climbing on our dining room chairs (the high kind) - she helped herself to Guinny's plate, finishing her hard boiled egg. Big sis was not too pleased when she returned to the room to an empty plate. Grandmama swiftly stepped in and made her more :)

Halloween 2013

This season's first dress-up was Saturday 10/19. Guin was a flower fairy and Adelaide a pirate. We attended the Disney Store's holiday activities where Aunt Katie was working the craft station. They made trick-or-treat bags (Monsters Inc themed) then collected goodies (penguin stickers, fruit (real fruit - dried), and trading cards) from the other stations. Also G participated (well, i carried her, but she did smile the second time) in 2 of the costume parades around the store. They both seemed to enjoy the activities. Sorry  no pics. I know, I know - boooo no pics.

2nd dress-up, Friday 10/25: Guinny, Bapcia, and I attended our homeschool group's Halloween Party at the Park. She wore her Vanellope Von Sweets outfit. She was super excited to play, trick-or-treat for trinkets, play games, and have a picnic lunch. We are pretty new to the group but Guinny was great at chatting and making friends with the older kids (still has some ways to go with same age kiddos though).

3rd dress-up, Saturday 10/26: I told Guinny she could dress-up if she wanted to. We were running errands and not outside much so I let her wear her 'princess Teona' dress, which is really just a nice dress from Nana and not a costume. And Adelaide was a fairy, again just wearing a special outfit (not a true costume but a t-shirt with small sewn on flappy wings), 2 mini pony tails, purple pants, and her butterfly sandles. Both were adorable and got oooohs and aaaaahs at the stores :)

4th - Halloween Day: ran errands and visited the mall for play time and holiday free-bees. Guinny started as Spider-Man then switched (reversible costume) to the 'bad Spider-Man' otherwise called Venom. Adelaide was Darth Vador. Both super duper cute!

5th and final - Halloween Night

For trick-or-treating and playtime with cousins G was Cinderella and A was a flower/flower fairy. Again super cute and finally got lots of pics! (Between me being slow and G being camera shy we didn't get much from earlier activities.)

Brave big girl

So we've been realizing how cool our kid is :) 

1) high tolerance fear factor (for 4) - likes action, science fiction and 'spooky icky things'. Enjoys movies like Star Wars (original 3), Spider-Man(s), Iron Man(s), X-Men/Wolverine(s), Shark-nado. Though she occasionally needs explanation (bad guys, good guys, Mother Nature, just pretend...), she is engaged and entertained. She likes to 'scare the kids' by dressing up as bad guys or having creepy decorations and treats. (She doesn't do the jump out kind of scaring, which I'm thankful for.) She loves Halloween and has not been timid in the past by spooky houses. She's excited to taste her 'sticky icky treats' from the Dr Dreadful experiment sets. 

2) physically adventurous - likes to practice her gymnastics and swimming (face in/under water and all). Enjoys to climb and play on playgrounds both big and small. Eager to learn to ride her bike.

3) she's friendly yet protective - she likes to play and make new friends but when she feels that there is an injustice she won't stand for it. When a big kid bumped into lil' sis she told the big kid that they need to be more careful around babies and that they should apologize. She doesn't get pushed around or pressured. She likes to take turns (or lead) play but doesn't tend to feel the pressure to follow. She'll play alone (or 'take a break') rather than being bossed around by strong personalities

4) *note worthy but not new, her love of food and flavors - tho her spice/hot tolerance has decreased, she still likes trying new things and enjoys strong, mild, complex, and simple profiles alike.

I know she'll have her own set of challenges but it's so nice to see that we've been able to help her limit some of our childhood fears/limitations.

Being social... Now we're recovering :)

We had a busy last few weeks. Got to visit and play with Bupcia at the Dallas Museum of Art along with Ken, Joy, and Krystopher. The theme was the 5 senses. A few days before that, we had dinner with the same group. I realized Guinny would benefit from learning a few more board/card games.

We went to the Grapevine Aquarium with Scott and Darci. The kids seemed to really like it! Not as successful of a choice, we followed that up with dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Kids were too hungry to enjoy :( 

And most recently we had the opportunity to visit with cousin Jon and Katie and their girls! Guinny and Zelda really hit it off! (Pics from our visit to the pumkin patch)

Now we are being lazy at home, catching our breath :)

More play!

The girls loved having cousin Sophia over to celebrate Grandmama's birthday. What a wonderful afternoon-evening! Outside play with bubbles, Dinner, story time, dessert, card game, coloring, and lots of chatting :)

Living room camp out

Sweet Guinny

So big sis has had a treat for the last few nights :) She got to set up her 'nest' and sleep in the living room. This was prompted by Adelaide's rough nights. Though G is a heavy sleeper, Adelaide's constant air-raid siren one night woke her. So we decided to let G have a few nights out of the room while Adelaide re-adjusted to sleeping thru the night.

 

Last night was a SUCCESS! Both girls went down without too much trouble and slept soundly thru the night. Not waking until after 8am! 

With everyone rested, watch out world. Lol :D

Milk

This week Adelaide was introduced to cow's milk. This was to help her along in weaning from 'mama milk'. She started weaning on her own but upon plateau-ing I decided to nudge us along (after working thru a bit of guilt). 

To elaborate, G and I had a different nursing relationship. Though I joked about being a milk machine back then that nick name is more fitting now. I think this is in part to me being a working mom (outside the home) while G was a baby. And now I have the opportunity to stay at home with the girls. Then, I missed G so much while I was away at the office; I cherished our cuddle time. Now, With Adelaide, I'm lucky to see/share in the little moments every day. I cherish our bath times, tickles, and play. And at this point nursing has become more of a chore than a bonding or nutritional need. Again this pains me to articulate because I'm still a bit conflicted. She's a great eater, both quality/variety and quantity. She's growing and alert. I know we're ready to move on. I think deciding this vs being forced along is new (with G I broke my foot and needed pain meds so we had an abrupt end). 

Wish us luck during this time! Once adjusted, I hope to return to our smooth sleeping routine.

Playing Pretend

Our G likes dress up/and make believe, Her common characters are spiderman, a lady at tea, a pirate, princess jasmine, a ball player, a gymnast, a chef, teen Titan people... A variety. 

Recently, A has become interested too. Though she seems to focus on crowns. So much so she sometimes sleeps with one on her head or cuddles it. Lol, so funny - so cute. She seems like the rough and tumble type but she's the one that's fascinated with the crowns and headbands (not so much with hats). 

*I'll try to capture a few pics to share :)

Field Trip!

Our first homeschool field trip was to Lego Discovery Center, yesterday. We were lucky to be able to coordinate with a friend which is another homeschool family. :)

We played with letters, numbers, and shapes, we made bricks (guided tour), we saved the princess (ride), toured mini DFW, built and raced cars, and generally enjoyed the slide, huge bricks, duplos, Legos, karaoke stage... 

Now that Guinny (and I) know the lay of the land little sis' will come along next time!

A few cute snap shots from earlier this year

Fancy hair

Living room camp out with my girls

Ride at the mall with Aunt Katie

Climbing/hiding in empty closet at grandmama's apt (during move)

Cuddles!

I was looking thru my phone's pics and thought I'd share a few I was particularly fond of :)

Eeeeeeww!

GROSS! This is what was left... after Adelaide took her diaper off wandered in the kitchen and pooped. Huh, where's the poop - you may ask. Frankie (dog) ate it! Well, I guess it's easier to clean up now. Can't think about it much more. Yuck, makes my stomach turn .

A few party pics

Some pics from Adelaide's pre-party photo shoot