Day with Friends at CA Academy of Sciences

We spend our first day of vacation at the CA Academy of Sciences in San Francisco with the Wonderlick's and their friends. We had a great time. That museum is the best because it meets all of our children's needs. Izzy's favorite part was the white alligator. Rees liked the large fish tank next to the penguin exhibit that she got to watch for about 15 minutes while Sister was taking in the penguin feeding. My favorite of course is the Leafy Sea Dragons. Paul liked the large, carp like fish at the bottom of the rainforest. We can't wait to go back. There is so much to see and do. Cannot wait for our next visit.

Helping Mommy Bake

We have been baking, baking, baking. Here is what my friend has learned that she likes. Yummy! (No eggs, of course).

Just some bits of our life

I am so lucky to have a kid who loves broccoli. I mean look at her. She is completely happy to eat it right out of the bag.

Every morning Izzy finds "Elf" who we hide because she thinks that he is going to tell Santa how she is doing. She also opens up a door to reveal the chocolate candy. Yummy!

Reesie Lily at 6 months. Such a cutie. She is almost sitting independently and is beginning to get up on her knees. She loves tummy time so she has become really strong with her arms. We have even caught her scooting backwards on her knees. She also moves about 6-8 feet from where we put her on her mat. She is moving. Getting scary!

Izzy came home from day care and this is where she ended up. Just like this for hours. She is loves going to see Ms. Kristina, but she comes home so tired :)

A picture of Rees and I out in the cold watching Sister and Daddy throw rocks in our "Lake Plumas".

Day 5

Today we saw SANTA. I officially have done it. I have stood in the one hour line to have our 2 minutes with a man dressed up as Santa. The kid in front of us freaked out so Paul and I were holding our breath, but Izzy did a great job. She even told him what she wanted: a dog, a sponge, and a pogo stick. She even got a trip around the Merry go round. We also got to see the mall after our fire. There are so many stores closed. It is quite a sight. We are glad though that the mall was able to reopen and we were able to enjoy the stores.

Day 4

For Day 4 we made gingerbread cookies. It is a lot of work to make cookies with a preschooler who really wants to help with every aspect of the cooking experience, but rolling and cutting cookies with her is a true test of patience especially when the dough is starting to melt. I also learned how hard it is to outline and put buttons on a cookie with frosting. I finally got impatient and just covered them. They look like mummy gingerbread cookies.

Day 3

For Day 3 we watched Polar Express and ate cookies and had hot chocolate with big marshmallows. It was yummy. Some day I will actually see the whole movie, but both Paul and I fell asleep on the floor next to her. We are exhausted after work so we hung in as long as we could. She seemed to love the movie.

Day 2

We wrote our first Santa letter today. She is so cute thinking about all she wants, yet she doesn't have the words to tell me. A lot of the time she ends up with the phrase "I don't know", when she really has so much to say. We put it in an envelope and had every intention to put it in the mailbox at Macy's but we forgot. So she remembered after we left the mall and I told her I gave it to Santa. I think that is okay.

Christmas Day 1

Today was our first day of 25 Days of Christmas. We started the day with opening our first door of our Chocolate Advent calendar and finding "Elf". We got in the car and found the Christmas music channel. Whoo-hoo. We programmed that and we are practicing our songs. Izzy's favorite is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Then we talked about why we celebrate Christmas. It was funny because I asked her do you know who was born on Christmas and since she is three and has a brand-new sister, her cute response was, "Reesie". I had to remind her it was Baby Jesus. Then we helped Daddy make gingerbread cookies for his class. What a day.

25 Days of Christmas

I am so excited to start a new tradition in our house, 25 Days of Christmas. I loved watching Sarah B. do this last year with her two kiddos and I want to do it with Izzy. So I have made a calendar and put one event for each day. So stay tuned to our Christmas adventure.

Reesie at 6 months

Rees went to the doctor today and is 18lbs 12.8 oz, 28.5 in, and has a 17.24 in head circumference. That puts her at 92%, 100%, and 84%. I am not surprised by the weight. She is really packing on the pounds now that she is able to keep food down. It would be a wonder what she would be at if she had been medicated this whole time. She is just like her sister. She'll on the heavier side until she walks and then begin to thin out. The height again proves that she is going to be one tall kid. I don't remember Izzy ever getting 100%.

Izzyism #2

Dear Santa,

(She was telling me what she wanted when she was getting out of the bath tonight). I want a sponge (just like Reesie's). A pink one though. A duckie (which she just got two from Grandpa). And a po-go stick.


Yes she said, po-go stick. After I was done laughing from her randomness. I had to find out where she saw a po-go stick and realized at day care their older daughter has one which explains why Izzy was bouncing up and down in the living room earlier in the evening.

Izzy's 1st Dance Recital

Here is a video of Izzy's 1st Dance Recital. We were so lucky to have Grandma Pat help put Izzy in dance classes which gave her something to do when she was at home with Paul. She went once a week on Mondays till Paul started his job and then she started going to a Pre-K class on Saturdays. So she didn't really have a whole lot of time to practice this dance, but she did pretty good. We were very proud of her. The tu-tu was so cute, but as you can see from the video it drove her skin crazy and she was constantly yanking on it to help with the itching.

1st Snow for Izzy (and Humboldt Pics)

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Izzy's 1st dance recital

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Rees

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Day Care

We have been going to the best day care in Natomas. My girls just love going to see Kristina and Aaron. They are happy and Izzy cries everyday when she has to leave, which if you know Izzy, means she loves it. They have lots of animals which Izzy is happy about. They also feed her yummy foods. Lately, she has been getting pancakes for breakfast. They also go to the park almost everyday which is awesome since Izzy is crazy about parks. I love coming in and seeing Izzy painting or tracing letters. They have also made brownies and cupcakes. Yummy. My favorite Izzy comment was the other night I made spaghetti and she looks at it and says, "Where's the meatballs?" Kristina had made her spaghetti with a meat sauce a few days previous and she wanted to know why her lazy mom didn't make her some too. It is so nice to be able to leave my girls, who I just adore, with people I know are going to take care of them like they are their own kids. It makes leaving them easy and thank God I do not hear Izzy crying when I leave like I would when I would drop her off at preschool. That is hard to leave her when she is crying. Now she doesn't seem to even realize I have left. If you want to know more about our day care. I can let you now. Just leave a comment.

"When will Jesus turn the lights back on?"

We had some lightning the other night and I wasn't sure if we would also get thunder as well. So I had Paul talk with Izzy about what we might hear and see after she got out from her bath. He proceeded to tell her that lightning was Jesus' way of turning on the lights to find what he is looking for. She was fascinated by this. She sat with Paul and I in the dark in our living room looking out through the big windows and kept saying, "Mommy will you tell me if you see Jesus turning on the lights?" Then she would proceed to ask Paul the same. Now everyday she asks us if Jesus will be turning on the lights again. So I ask, is there any lightning coming soon? My kid wants to see Jesus turning on and off the lights. Can you imagine the story Paul will be telling her for the booming thunder we get once or twice a year?

Izzyism

Izzy in the parking lot says, "Hey there some kids. Can I talk to them?" Then says, "Maybe they're like that girl that wouldn't talk to me." I said, "Ohh, the girl at the bookstore. Your right! She only spoke Russian." We get in Wal-Mart. She sees some more kids, waves, says hi, they don't really respond, and she pipes up with, "They only speak Spanish, Mommy." What! How does she know this?

Dear Santa (from Rees)

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is some knit hats. Have you seen my head? I have no hair. Unlike my big sister, who at 5 months Mommy could barrette, I have nothing. Do you have any warm hats for me? Any color will do. Just make sure they are big enough to go over my cute little ears.

With Love,
Rees

October/November 2010

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Pumpkin Patch

We went to our favorite Fall playground, Bishop's Pumpkin Patch. Here are some of our favorite pictures from this week. We still have at least one more visit before Halloween.

Almost 5 months

Rees is almost five months old and is such a beauty. She is 16 lbs 15.1 oz and almost 27 in. She has the longest eyelashes and toes of course. We have made a great discovery for her just this last week after her doctors appointment. We learned that she has Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER). For almost four months we have dealt with daily spit ups that were so large we were changing bibs and clothes almost after every feeding and when she was put down at night after eating she would continue to spit up which caused her bedding to be wet. Within one treatment of medicine, she is like a normal baby. She spits up a little, but what we conclude is normal. The best part is, is that she is not tied to a bib. She is free. Otherwise, she is rolling and cooing. Oh, and the smiliest girl every. She is a pleasure to be around.

2010-10-19

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My Beautiful Girls

Izzy helping fix Rees' walker.

Practicing eating her oats.

That beautiful smile.

Growing up

I love this kid.

4 Months Old

Can you believe it? She is already 4 months old. I cannot tell you how lucky I am. She is a mother's dream. Sleeps through the night, likes car rides, is super flexible, loves baths, a good eater, likes tummy time. I mean please. Where did I get this kid? She even eats oatmeal on her her second try and totally gets it. She opens her mouth up wide, closes it over the spoon, moves it around her mouth and swallows. She is beginning to roll over and it so funny too. I think she surprises herself when she does it because her eyes get so big. Oh, and the eyes. They are gorgeous. Long and full eye lashes. We laugh almost daily at her head of very little. Izzy had a ton of hair by this point and Reesie (that's her family nickname) could not get a baby barrette in her hair to save her life. She's a smiler and a talker. Again, Izzy smiled, but Rees smiles! And talks. If this is any indication of her as a teenager, hello debate team! She is just a joy. We are so lucky God gave us her and that she was kept safe during our recent car accident. We love that baby.

Our Week

Well, as you can see from the below pictures, we have angels. Paul was bringing the girls home from dance class when they were hit by an 82 year old, out of state driver who said he didn't see the red light doing 65 mph in a construction zone. The CHP report stated that he only realized 14 feet before he hit our car. Which to me seem impossible that he couldn't see the red light since their is large flashing lights and signs saying their is a light coming up and from the top of the bridge to the limit line is .3 of a mile. So my girls took their first, and please God their last, trip in an ambulance to be checked out. This is why we spend so much money on their car seats ($180 each). They did EXACTLY what they were suppose to do and neither of the girls were hurt. We also were so lucky to have such great neighbors (it happened less than a half mile from our house. You can actually see the signal from our house) who saw the accident and pulled off to help Paul with the girls who were really scared and shook up especially Izzy who is constantly talking about the green car (which was a blue van) going down, down, down the hill or how the "paper" (airbags) came out of the car and got her dusty. Also, family. We are so blessed that God has given us the families we have. Paul's mom, dad, and sister were up here within the hour to help and my parents and sister were equally concerned just distance keeps us from them also being here. Paul was hurt and hopefully will feel much better soon. So we are trying to figure out how we are going to manage with one car and actually we are kind of excited to see if we can do it especially with the money we are going to save. We are trying to do everything right and follow the rules but God continues to test us. So we have a beautiful house, health, love, and our bellies are full, oh and I have a job with health insurance. We have ABSOLUTELY nothing to complain about and with this event we are learning new lessons about life.

2010-09-20

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14 Weeks

Thought it would be fun to compare the girls at 14 weeks.