Keeping up with Alette and Abria

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Cousins

Alette was so excited to visit Pippi this week (her cousin from Conneticut). The day got off to an exciting start as the girls searched the house for easter eggs, then it was off to the library to hang out in the tree house. Lunch was at PJ Pancakes-where Alette and Pippi practiced their penmanship on the walls and roof. Anne kept repeating 'only at PJ Pancakes may you write on the walls', hopefully the lesson sunk in. After a quick stop to shop, we headed back to Anne's to play. The girls dressed up as princesses (Pippi in her new regalia, Alette in Anne's nightgown), made castles and colored.
Before falling asleep on the ride home, Alette pronounced Pippi her 'cousin and her friend'. perfect.

Finally it's spring....well, almost

Warm weather made a brief appearance this week. We hauled out the toys and enjoyed.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Sisterly Fun

Good thing Abria is sturdy.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Our Happy Baby!

I had two prayer requests when I was pregnant: 1. a quick delivery (wow, did that get answered with a big YES!) 2. a good eater. Well, we have entered the world of solid food and there really isn't a food that Abria dislikes :) She's happily downing all sorts of cereals, vegetables, and fruit. Lentil casserole? not a problem! Meanwhile Alette is on a all peanut butter sandwich diet-its her food of choice for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. Somehow she still believes that she is going to teach Abria how to eat grownup food.

Abria is at a golden age. She can sit unassisted, thereby greatly increasing her range of activities. She loves to sit on her blanket, surrounded by a variety of toys to chew and shake. However, she cannot crawl yet...so she basically stays where I place her. Alette loves to bring her toys but doesn't have to worry about Abria coming after her toys. So, how long will this period of bliss last?

Friday, February 27, 2009

First Haircut!

After much procrastination, anxiety, and fear, Alette got her first haircut! She LOVED it, the anxiety and fear was all me. I'm just not ready for my little girl to grow up. The place was perfect-Sweet and Sassy totally caters to the princess in each little girl. Alette loved the pink cape, the purple chair, the glitter in her hair and the sparkly sticker on her cheek. Completely ridiculous I know...I used to mock parents like me.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Hurray for Grandparents!

Abria gets her daily cuddles from grandpa.

A sunny but chilly day at the boardwalk in AC. Imagine three adults, a toddler and a baby all in one room. Imagine trying to sleep with your toddler. It sounds possible, but somehow I ended up on the very small couch the first night. At least on the second evening I got smart and put Alette to bed on the couch right away.

We've had very little snow this year, only enough for my mom to make a small snowman family in our front planter! I am not sure why there are icicles spiked into their heads...

Grandparents mean...not having to clean diapers, wash dishes, give baths, fold clothes. It also means Alette has two more people who will read stories, build towers, join tea parties, solve puzzles and color. For Abria it means getting picked up at the first sign of a whimper, lots of cuddles, and always having a lap to sit on. Needless to say, my parents' visit was a blessing for everyone!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Time for Spring

Despite the groundhog's prediction of six more weeks of winter, it seems a bit more spring-like with the every so slightly warmer weather. All week Alette begged and begged to ride her tricycle outside. Being the mean mom that I am, I refused to let her go out in the 22degree weather-I didn't even cave in to the tears and whining. Finally it rose above freezing on Sunday and we went out! After 10 minutes Alette announced she was 'all done' and ready to go back in. Such a toddler....At least we were out long enough to get some cute photos.

Recent Words of Wisdom

18months

At 18months, Abria weighs a whopping 28 1/2 lbs and is 34" tall. She is a bundle of energy-she loves dancing and clapping to music, scribbling (unfortunatley not always on paper), chasing her sister, and playing with her toys. She's using more and more words but still communicates primarily by pointing and making the sign for 'more'. She's had a continual cold for the past few weeks, I've never used so much tissue in my life. Morning naps are a thing of the past :( but thankfully she is still taking a long afternoon nap.

Okay, it's not a REAL gingerbread house...

Our attempts at a gingerbread house was a fiasco this year. We mixed the dough, rolled it out, cut the patterns, put it together...only to have it fall apart. So we put it together again....only to have it fall apart again. I even tried to use duct tape and the glue gun. Finally we ditched it. I was determined to have a house for Alette to decorate so we built a cardboard house, then 'glued' on graham crackers with icing. So far it is till standing although the candy decorations are slowly disappearing.

Abria

Our last dr. appointment was not fun. Abria had a major fever and was feeling rather rotten. So the immunizations were put off a week...nothing like procrastinating the awful stuff. She's dropped to the 90th percentile for weight (although with her puffy winter fleece on-below-she looks huge!) and is off the chart for height. Not a huge suprise with a 6ft. tall mom! She loves her books, turning on and off the lights, climbing onto tables, and petting the cat. She's walking....abit. She's still pretty convinced that walking should only be done when holding onto someone's hand.

Abria

Politics According to a 3year Old

I was listening to B.Obama on NPR last week and decided to further Alette's awareness of politics by engaging her in discussion. This is how it went:
me: Alette, Barak Obama was on the radio, he's going to be our new president. Isn't that good?
alette: Obama's good?
me: yes, he is. Mommy and Daddy like him a lot. We think he's good.
alette: he listens to God?
me: I think so. We're excited that he's going to be the president.
alette: I want duck for president.
I think we have a ways to go before she's up to speed on her political saviness. Who can blame her for wanting a fun loving, mischevious duck for president though?

Introducing Abria Hope

During pregnancy I prayed for a quick delivery and a nonfussy eater. Abria came into this world on Friday, July 18 at 9:00pm, half an hour after we arrived at the hospital. With a full head of dark hair, and a voracious appetite, she behaved nothing like her older sister. Abria's now nearly 18lbs, and is a happy, content baby. She loves chewing on her hands, squealing, shrieking, and taking baths. We are still waiting for her to sleep through the night! She doesn't always need to get fed, but seems to delight in babbling and squealing at all hours. Somehow her big drooly smile makes it all worthwhile.