Gymnastics Girls

This afternoon we met friends at a local gymnastics club for their open play time. Quite fitting as the Girl and Miss A first became acquainted in a gymnastics class together. Besides the two of them, there were only three other kids there so they pretty much had the place to themselves for an hour. Not bad for $5.

This picture looks like, "Hold on Miss A, I won't let you fall!" In reality, "Let go Miss A, I can do it myself!" These two can bicker on endlessly...we liken it to sisterly love.

Look at that flexibility!

Riding the pommel horse. Giddy-up!!

Running down the trampoline path to the foam pit at the end. They always stopped just short of jumping in.

Miss A, always the good friend..."I'll catch you!"

Oh the hilarity! The Girls had to take turns boosting, or trying to boost one another (sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't) up the side of the bouncy castle to get to the slide. It was too slippery for them to climb. Us Moms watched from the side (we weren't allowed to get in and help) and couldn't help but giggle at their attempts of helping each other out.

Are those pants with ruffles (you may be asking yourself concerning the Girl's attire)? No. It is a pair of capri pants, or as she calls them - "short-sleeved pants," over a pair of "long-sleeved pants." The Girl is desperate for warmer weather and sunshine. She only wants to wear tank tops and capris so layering is our compromise, at least until spring-like weather arrives.

Time flies...

when you have kids!! Today Baby Sister is 6 months old!!!! How did that happen?! Seriously. That had to have been the quickest six months of my life.

In six months Baby Sister has gone from a 6 pound 6 ounce bundle of joy whose days consisted of a continuous cycle of eating, sleeping, crying and filling her diaper to a little person with a joyous personality who smiles almost all of the time. Now she giggles, talks (ba, da, ma, ga, grrr, high shrieking), rolls over, bounces in her jumperoo, grabs for and holds things and can

almost sit on her own (she has the back and neck strength, balance is the only issue).

I'm excited to watch her continue to grow and see what she accomplishes in the next 6 months. But I'm in no hurry. Take your time sweet Baby Sister.

Have you ever...

...had so much fun that you just zonked out, right in the middle of what you were doing?

Popcorn Garden

The other night we were eating popcorn when I noticed the Girl digging through the popcorn to the bottom of the bowl. Then I saw her trying to sneak "seeds" as she calls them. I told her that she can't eat the kernels as they are hard and might break her teeth. She informed me that she wasn't eating them but rather picking them out so that she could save them to plant and grow her own popcorn.

Always Smiling

This itty-bitty sweetie-pie is almost ALWAYS smiling. It has a contagious effect and as a result our household is quite cheerful most days.

Not so much.

Apparently the Girl thought that she was missing out on something special regarding the rice cereal that Baby Sister has been enjoying. Maybe it was the way that Baby Sister devours it spoonful after spoonful or maybe it was just the plain and simple fact that Baby Sister was getting something that she wasn't. Either way last Monday night as I was preparing rice cereal for Baby Sister, the Girl asked if she could have some too. Despite my repeated warnings that it wasn't very good and she probably would not like it the Girl was still adamant that she have some. So I made her her own small dish and then she took it and sat down next to Baby Sister. This was her reaction after the first bite - trying to force a smile that says, "Yum!" While thinking, "Ewww, this stuff is horrible."

And this is the face after her second bite. (The blue tongue is not a result of the rice cereal, but of the blue raspberry flavored Dum-Dum that she'd had just moments before requesting the rice cereal.) As is quite evident from these photos, rice cereal is great for babies but not so much for the rest of us!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Belated Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is what I would've posted had I not been forced into an involuntary blog hiatus due to a nasty virus taking over my computer on Tuesday. The virus was masked as a security feature and would not allow me to access any websites. Fortunately, I have a husband who is a Renaissance Man of sorts and he was able to rid my computer of the aforementioned virus along with a handful of others that were hidden among various files.

Anyhow, our Girls got their green on and we celebrated by making little 'Pots o'Gold' as dubbed by the Girl.

Yum!!

Yesterday Baby Sister got her first taste of rice cereal. We figured that she was ready to try it after watching her intently study us during meals in the past few days. As soon as she saw the spoon she started diving for it and although I think she was pushing more out with her tongue than she was taking in, I'd have to say that she liked it. Of course by the time we were done she was wearing quite a bit of it too.

And today we add yet another milestone to the growing list - she rolled over for the first time! Just like big Sister before her, she is taking her time in the physical realm of activities. This afternoon I put her on her stomach, she does NOT like tummy-time and today she got mad enough to do something about it. With very little effort she rolled over and onto her back. J was not in the room when it happened so I called him in, put Baby Sister back on her tummy and immediately she flipped back over, all the while loudly voicing her displeasure at having been put on her stomach again.

Ahhh...these truly are the best days of my life!

Jumparoo!

Yesterday was Baby Sister's formal introduction to the Jumparoo. She didn't do a whole lot of bouncing but she spent the

entire time standing, rather unlike the Girl who had noodle legs for the longest time. Baby Sister seemed to enjoy the experience although she couldn't decide what to focus on - the flashing lights, the music, the spinning toy, the textured beads. Oh what fun!

Another comparison picture

Just another comparison picture of the Girls wearing the same outfit. These pictures of Baby Sister were taken yesterday and she is now 5 1/2 months old. The picture of the Girl in the same outfit was taken when she was just over 3 months old.

Confessions of a (FAR FROM!) Perfect Momma

All of a sudden the Girl has been having "accidents." Frequently. Two back-to-back in as many days and three total in the past week. Yesterday was the most recent. We'd just gotten home from preschool and she was sitting at the kitchen table watching me fix lunch. I'd asked her when we got home if she needed to go potty as she'd not gone all morning. She said she didn't. Now, not five minutes later I turn around just in time to witness a very large puddle forming on the floor beneath the chair and the Girl staring at me expressionless. By the size of the puddle it was quite clear that she had been holding it for a very, very long time. I was so angry. I raised my voice and started scolding her...she laughed in my face. What was I to do?! I swatted her behind and instantly regretted it as past instances have proven that spanking isn't an effective mode of punishment for her. I'd already taken cartoons/tv away the day before when she'd had an accident. So I took her upstairs put her in the bathtub, cleaned her up, fed her lunch and then sent her back upstairs to spend the rest of the afternoon in her room. As I was cleaning up the puddle on the floor and throwing soaked clothes into the washer, I could hear her upstairs playing in her room. Reading happily away to her dolls and stuffed animals no doubt dressed in a princess gown. Hardly seemed like punishment to me...and then I saw them. The cookies - 4 remaining mini Chips Ahoy in a plastic cup on the counter. Left over from the day before when a friend came over to play and brought them to share. The Girl had asked for them earlier and I told her she could have them if she finished her lunch. That was before the accident and we'd both forgotten about them since. So out of spite I ate them, all of them. Extremely childish I know, but boy did they sure taste delicious! Later that evening the Girl remembered them and asked if she could have them. I told her "no" and when she asked why not I told her that I had eaten them because I was mad that she'd peed on the floor. She had a fit. Hmmmm, that certainly seemed to grab her attention. Maybe I should keep a jar of "her" cookies on the counter and whenever she starts misbehaving I'll just start plucking them out and popping them into my mouth. Totally immature but it may just work! Ha!

A Good Little Clicker!

Bookworms

The Girl loves to be read to and she loves to read to Baby Sister. As you can see, Baby Sister loves it too. There's nothing sweeter than to watch the two of them interacting. The other day I was in the kitchen putting dinner together and Baby Sister started crying. Pretty soon I heard the Girl singing, "Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away. This year to save me from

tears..." (We sang that chorus over and over during the holidays, as I couldn't remember any of the other verses.) The crying stopped and a few moments later when I went to check on them, the Girl was lying on the blanket next to Baby Sister still singing softly to her. I treasure these moments as I'm sure when they get older these tender interactions may be few and far between. As a big sister myself I know firsthand.

Incognito

I did not do this...at least not initially. I walked into the room and encountered the Girl smashing these glasses onto Baby Sister's face. Baby Sister was such a good sport about it, just lying there squirming a bit and trying to lick the back of the nose and mustache. I immediately rescued her but then decided that it was just too cute not to take a picture and so of course I put them back on her.

The Donald

Here is Baby Sister sporting a head full of hair with a little help from the Girl. A do that would make Donald Trump proud!

Berry Sweet!

Two berry sweet little Girls. So sweet I could just nibble them up!