Keeping up with Alette and Abria

Friday, February 12, 2010

#3

We got dumped on over the weekend, then hit again a few days later with storm #3. The amount of snow on our sidewalk is unbelievable. As a mom, I have many times in which I look at Alette and think 'wow, she is so much like me'. However, when it comes to her oblivious attitude towards the cold I am left thinking 'wow, we are so, so, so different'. Despite a relatively cool house, she takes off her pjs each night so she can sleep in just her panties. She constantly complains that her feet are hot and loves to run around barefoot. One of her favorite dress-up outfits is her summer sundress...the girl just doesn't seem to get cold. It came as no suprise then that she willingly spent 3 hours outside yesterday morning 'helping' Andy shovel and creating her own snow house. I lasted about 30 minutes outside with her today.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A Sight We Seldom See

I am not sure why this photo came up sideways-and I am not tech-savvy enough to fix it. Anyway, Alette is rarely napping these days. I took this picture on her 4th birthday, which may be the last time she actually napped. Yes, it is in the hallway. Despite her lack of napping, Alette still wakes up at crazy-early hours. To try and alleviate the problem of having her in our room way too early, I bought her a digital clock and told her she is not allowed to come into our room until the first number was a 7. She may turn on her light and read when the first number is 6. Yesterday I stumbled down the hall to use the bathroom, only to be greeted by a wide awake and enthusiastic, energetic smile and hug. Then she asked 'mommy, what am I supposed to do when the first number is 5?' I felt like I had to tell her to go back to bed but it was pretty obvious that sleeping wasn't going to happen. I can understand waking up early, but to wake up early and be bouncing around and happy is truly the domain of childhood.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

More Snow

The girls had a terrific time in the snow. In the midst of the storm, Andy took them out while he started shovelling. Abria loved it and sobbed her little heart out when she was brought back in. Alette probably would have stayed out until her body froze. Once it stopped, they headed out for the backyard-truly the most snow I have ever seen there. I'm not a terrific 'play in the snow' person-it is entirely too cold for me. I nominated myself to be in charge of supplying warm clothes and hot cocoa once the outdoor play was done. The forecast is for up to a foot more tonight so I'm afraid I am going to have to get myself out in it eventually.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Snow

This picture will be no surprise to anyone living on the east coast as we are in the middle of a terrific snowstorm. I am just amused by the idea of Abria looking through the stormdoor at the snowstorm :).

Monday, February 1, 2010

A family that reads together....

Our cat is not one to miss out on the action (or inaction as reading may be).

Friday, January 15, 2010

Dancing

I think the girls are dancing...Abria loves music and Alette just likes to be silly.

Ponytails

Way back when I was pregnant with Alette, Andy and I were heading off to an ultrasound appointment. Not just any ultrasound, but the 19week one when the technician can tell the sex of the baby. Andy and I were discussing gender preferences and like most future parents, Andy stated no preference and only wished for a healthy baby. I however, wanted a girl so I could indulge in pink dresses and do their hair. Alette has proven to be the quintessential girl-yes, she loves to wrestle her sister and run around like mad, but she also prefers dresses, and loves anything pink, purple, or princess related. Imagine how happy I am that Abria's hair is (barely) long enough for ponytails. Capturing the 'do in a picture took almost as long as putting in the ponytails.

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.