Currently

I've been getting pretty desperate to figure out ways to get Syd to nap again after all of this rolling over business started...

I tried for 2 days to get her to nap flat on her back and she wasn't having it.  Refused to sleep on her back and cried the entire time.  So here we are again...tummy napping.  I have to use a blanket as a roadblock to prevent her from rolling over while going to sleep, then I move it once she's down.  It's working well...for the moment.

 

Yesterday, she took a 3.5 hour nap!  And woke up like this :)

Syd isn't very good at selfie pics

Millie, on the other hand, can rock a selfie

We've been enjoying the indoor playground Little Giggles on Friday mornings.  Mills is so considerate to let baby slide first...

She's very into hand holding lately.  I think Cayden goes along with it to keep her from screaming.

MDO news: when I picked Mills up from school on Thursday, her teacher told me two things: 1) she walked around all day holding Mason's hand.  Watch out, Sawyer, there's a new kid in town. 2) she went pee pee in the potty!!  We haven't been working on this at all, but she's been slowly showing some signs that she's interested.  I know she still isn't quite ready to be potty-trained, but apparently watching the other kids go in the big potty at school is going to help us out in this area.

Papa came to visit Friday night.  Millie walked around all day saying Papa Papa Papa...showing him stuff and having him play with her.  She kept him pretty busy.

Syd enjoyed some whisker kisses...reminds me of my own Papa

JKK wasn't home to do Millie's bedtime routine Friday night, so Syd got in on the reading action.  I think they both enjoyed it. ;)  I love how Millie is just accepting Syd into her life and not getting jealous.  I'm so proud of her on a daily basis.

Today, we had a 1st birthday party to go to at a neighbor's house...you can see I'm looking at Mills like she's the silliest thing I've ever seen.  And she is...

She couldn't see the bday boy going after the cake, so daddy gave her a lift...he's nice like that.

Last weekend, Sawyer brought us some peaches from his grandparents peach farm.  FYI - Paula Deen's peach cobbler recipe is easy and super yummy.

Beck & Syd!  Sad news: Amanda's hubby has a job that is taking them to Brazil for 3 years beginning in January 2014.  Millie is going to be heartbroken to say goodbye to Cayden, and I'm sad that Beck and Syd won't get these next few years together to form the same kind of bond.  But I'm trying to look at the positives and they will be back before Mills & Cayden go to kindergarten, so I'm sure the kids will pick up right where they left off.  Plus, they get to live in a beautiful South American country for these next few years, so it will be exciting for them and I'm sure it will fly by.  In the meantime, we are trying to spend as much time as possible with them this fall.  Can't wait to take these four to the pumpkin patch!

Sydney Rolls Over!

Big news...Syd can now roll from front to back!  Yesterday morning, I left her asleep on her tummy in the moses basket, and when I came to check on her a bit later, she looked like this.  Surprise!

She pretty much perfected the move by the end of the day yesterday.

Unfortunately, when babies learn new skills, it often disrupts their sleep habits.  All of a sudden, she no longer wants the moses basket.  So yesterday afternoon, I cleared off the 'ol pack-n-play and plopped her down for a nap.  Without much fuss, she fell asleep like this...for all of ten minutes.  The rest of the day was spent crying during nap time.  If I put her on her belly, she just rolls right over and gets upset.  If I start her out on her back, she gets upset.  I guess it is going to be sort of awful for her until she gets used to napping on her back.  Poor Syd.

However, all of that rolling over made her so tired that she slept for 8 hours last night, got up to feed, and then slept another 2.5 this morning!  And just to be sure it stuck, Mills & I made her roll over for us again this morning. :)  See Video Here

Mother's Day Out - Year 2

Millie's little school started up again today!  I could tell she was excited because she actually let me get her dressed and take her picture without much fuss this morning.  She even let me paint her toenails last night.  I love having girls. :)

This morning, she walked right into her classroom and started playing...no crying or any hint of sadness that mommy was leaving her.  What a difference a year makes.  Then when I picked her up this afternoon, she wouldn't even get up to come see me.  She wasn't ready to leave.  I'm glad she likes school so much, but for the sake of my feelings, I wish she had faked it a bit. ;)  Her teacher said she didn't nap today at school, which explains her bizarre behavior this afternoon.  She was an emotional roller coaster and had to go to bed a little early tonight.

Her talking has absolutely floored us lately.  Three examples all from today:

1. Once I finally got her out of her classroom this afternoon, she sprinted to the front doors...actually running as fast as she can.  Hilarious.  Anyhoo, once she got to the doors, she turned around and yelled across the lobby "come on mommy!".  That's her new catchphrase...she'll say "come on guys!" when she wants us to chase her or when she thinks we should hurry up.
2. After driving home and getting her a snack, she asked for some more crackers.  I told her no, she already had enough snacks in her bowl.  Then she said "why not?".  Just like that.  That probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but she hasn't really questioned why before and certainly not in the right context.
3. Later this evening after dinner, she pointed out a spider on the wall to JKK.  She said "oh, a bug...it's a spider...let me get a shoe".  JKK then asked me when she turned 14. ;)

Syddles isn't talking yet, but she has started laughing a little bit!  I love that sound.  We had a good day together while Millie was in school.  We went shopping!  I'm glad I'll get some one-on-one time with her on these school days.  Such sweetness...

I love my girls.

Syddles...Just Because She's Cute

Darling...even when she's spitting up ;)

A Morning with Sawyer

Sawyer's parents needed a babysitter Saturday morning, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity for a playdate.  Millie had the best time, and I'm pretty sure Sawyer did too.  He is such a champ...I can't believe they were able to just drop him off with people he had never been around before and he was just fine.  Millie would not have reacted the same way.  Anyhoo, the kiddos were able to cram a lot of fun activities into those few hours yesterday morning.

Picnic on the sunroom floor...watch video here

Swinging

Jumping

Feeding the ducks

Pool time...watch video here

The frog sprinkler conjured a tiny rainbow :)

Playing chase

These two were pooped out by lunchtime...such a good day for Mills!

The Sweetest Sound...

A fellow mom pointed out recently that the sweetest sound is that of the garage door going up at the end of the day when daddy gets home.  Truth.  Sometimes I find myself counting down the minutes.  It's like the cavalry is riding in to save us from these tiny beasts....and ourselves.  Another pair of hands to hold the baby and another set of eyes to watch the sneaky toddler...and another adult to talk to!  Of course it isn't only that stuff, it is also because I enjoy his company and want him here with us all the time.  He would tell you this is true because I ask him almost every day if he is taking vacation from work to stay home with us.  Sometimes I even annoy myself. ;)  Anyhoo, this was just a random thought for the blog book because it made me laugh reading about it the other day...because it is just so true.  #SAHMdeepthoughts

Speaking of JKK...here he is with his girls when we were leaving Millie's school yesterday.  Millie got to meet her new teacher, Ms. Kimber, and see her new classroom.  She also asked if we could go see her teacher from last year, Ms. Erika; it was so sweet to see Millie give her a hug.  I love that she loves school.

TGIF!  More cute pics...

Quick Heart Update

Today was Millie's one year checkup with the cardiologist.  There were no procedures or tests done; the doctor just listened closely to her heart...for quite awhile.  I was sooo proud of our girl; she stayed perfectly still and didn't make a sound the entire time both the doctor and the intern were listening to her heart.  Of course, it was because she was frozen in fear...I mean, they are both men.  But still, she was such a good girl and they even kept us waiting forever.  The verdict is that the hole is still there, but the good news is that he can tell it is getting smaller by the sound it makes.  Thus, it is in the very slow process of closing.  He said the majority of these defects are closed by the age of 5, so he doesn't want us to come back for another 2 years.

Since we were there with Syd, the doctor went ahead and listened to her heart as well.  He found absolutely no trace of a defect or anything out of the ordinary.  Phew!

Here's my post from a year ago, if you want to take a walk down memory lane. ;)

It's that time of year...

Back to school time!  I love fall...hurry up fall.  Doesn't it make you think of that scene in You've Got Mail?!  "I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils, if I knew your name..."  I love walking the school supply aisles at walmart and stocking up on back-to-school clothes that won't get worn for months.  Sigh...ohhh, to be young again. ;)  Millie doesn't start school again until next week, but we do get to take her to meet her teacher and see her new classroom on Thursday!  Can't wait for that...and yes, she's already asked if Sawyer will be there.

Saturday, Millie woke up asking to go to Chuck E. Minnie Mouse.  Somehow, we convinced Amanda & family to meet us up there.  Both kiddos were running around like mad men...sensory overload.  We did manage to corral them in jeep together for a few minutes.

Classic Mills & Cayden: this is one of those rides that takes a picture of you and prints it out.  It caught a nice moment of Mills yelling "NO!" at Cayden for getting to drive the car.

Hi Syddles.  I never get any pics of her on these little outings because she's always asleep in the Ergo carrier.  Such a good girl...

And look how sweet baby Beck is...

The weather has gotten super hot again, so this week we've played outside in the water a couple of times.  These two crazies decided to combine snack time with water play.  Turns out those goldfish crackers cannot swim.  ba dum chhh

Grey was over for a playdate on Sunday to play in the sprinkler; these two play really well with each other.

Millie has really started to enjoy playing with others just in these last few months

"Oh hiiiiiiiii Syd" says Millie 20 times a day; she's very sweet with her

Syd and Stella

their skin tone is clearly not the same :)

We laugh about how Mills and Cayden fight like brother and sister....but sometimes they are sweet with each other too.  Like today at Little Gym when Mills got tired and laid down for a break...Cayden started loving on her.  Well, first he poked her in the eye a few times, but then he ended up just sort of petting her. ;)

Last week we had a great little picnic in the park with Amanda, Cayden, and Beckham.  Amanda wrote a little post about it here.