Puddle Jumpers

We just had to get out of the house today and with the Girl feeling better, nothing was going to stop us from doing exactly that - not even a little bit {a lot} of rain. We dressed appropriately, and armed with umbrellas and oodles of snacks, we headed to the zoo. The Girl lead the way with Lil Sis sandwiched in between and Baby Miss with the best seat in the house - strapped into the Baby Bjorn {which J was wearing} and snuggled nicely under J's zipped up hoodie. If you look closely you may be able to make her out. There were quite a few

species that didn't seem to mind the wet weather either, among them these flamingos.

We unanimously agreed that the meerkats were our favorite sight of the day.

They won my vote right off the bat by posing so perfectly for a picture. They were naturals!

We shed some layers and dried out a bit over lunch and hot cocoa.

There was a whole lotta this going on and it was debatable which the Girls found more fun - seeing the animals or puddle jumping.

Always tops my list as one of the most impressive animals.

The Girl was actually asking me to take her picture with various sculptures throughout the zoo and I of course enthusiastically obliged

her requests! By the time we left the Girls had long since given up the umbrellas, deciding that it was much more fun to get wet and as a result were completely soaked. But we had so much fun and it was wonderful to be out in the fresh air - invigorating after having been couped up in the house all week with the crummies.

Epidemic

Thankfully this tiny one was spared, the Girl and I were not. Wednesday night I wasn't feeling too well and by 8:00 I was throwing-up. After the first incident I hurried up and got all the Girls to bed, Baby Miss included. Fortunately the worst of it was over for me by 1:00am and blessedly all my Girls slept the entire time. The Girl's turn came on Thursday and unfortunately for her, she has not been feeling well since. J is home now and I just hope that he doesn't get it now too! {The hat Baby Miss is wearing - I made it! Not too shabby for a first attempt.}

Ugh!

Yesterday's post was certainly not indicative of what was to come later that night. I had just gotten Little Sister into bed 20 minutes before and was reading with the Girl in her bed when Little Sister started to cry. Very uncharacteristic for her and so I went to investigate and boy was I not prepared for what I was about to see. Vomit. Everywhere. Masking her face, clumped in her hair, on her chest and shoulders and covering every baby in her bed (all three of them), her Pillow Pet and her Sing-a-ma-jig. Ugh! Half an hour later, after a bath, evacuation of toys from the crib (sadly the Sing-a-ma-jig was trashed) and clean bedding I put Lil Sis back down and finished up reading with the Girl. No sooner had I finished then there was more crying and more vomit. Repeat above steps. This time the couch cushions were removed and it was draped with a sheet, 'Happy Feet' was slipped into the DVR and a miserable 2-year old was transferred downstairs. Of course the Girl made a case for the unfairness of not being able to watch a movie and despite having school in the morning I was not up for an argument so I allowed her to occupy the other couch and stay up way past bedtime. This

morning Lil Sister was still not feeling great and so the double stroller was in order for our trek down the street to the bus stop. It was

Baby Miss's first spin in it and she seemed to enjoy it. They looked so cozy that I just wanted to squeeze right in between them. Later in the

day, this is what I saw get off the bus and run across the lawn toward me. It was one of those sights that required a double take. She looked like a crazy, mismatched native of some rainbow feather tribe. These masks were their craft project, so freshly made that the glue hadn't even dried yet. There was a lot of this going on for poor, sweet

Little Sister. She occupied the couch nearly the entire day and you know your child is feeling crummy when they fall asleep during 'The

Little Mermaid.'
Luckily, this little one seems to be feeling just fine!

Flying Solo {Until Friday}

J left this morning. He had an early flight to catch. He's off to California for the work week to take a course that is work-related. So it's just us Girls. I'd have to say that so far we are off to a good start as this morning we made it to church way earlier than we ever do when J is here. Not to say that we are late because of him, quite the opposite. I guess this morning I just knew I'd have to have my act together as

I wouldn't have any help. Now we are just hanging out and enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon. The only thing on our to-do list is to call Poppie and wish him a very Happy Birthday. He is doing terrific at home. Already done with his outpatient physical therapy and easing back into his normal everyday routine.

The View From the Top

Baby Miss took an inaugaral spin in the Baby Bjorn today. At her check-up our pediatrician noticed that she's got a little bit of a flat head in the back and said that it could easily be remedied with more tummy-time. As Baby Miss is not a fan of tummy-time, that's not really a viable option unless we want to endure the sound of screaming and so we dug out the Baby Bjorn as an alternative. She seemed to like it and I'll never tire of this view. {Love how she's grasping the drawstring to my hoodie!}

Stats

Baby Miss had her two month well-child check-up this afternoon. Here are her stats:

Weight: 10 pounds 3 ounces (25th percentile)

Length: 23 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 14 3/4 inches (15th percentile)

She has gained 4 pounds and grown 4 inches since birth. And although at 6 pounds 3 ounces she was the smallest of my Girls at birth, she is definitely outpacing her Big Sisters in growth rate.

For comparison here are Lil Sister's two month stats:

Weight: 8 pounds 9 ounces (4th percentile)

Length: 22 3/8 inches (50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 15 1/4 inches (45th percentile)

(Unfortunately I do not have the Girl's two month stats for comparison. At the time she was two months old we were living in another state preparing to move back and I fear the papers got lost in the chaos.)

2 Months

Wow! This is all happening much too quickly. My littlest little is already 2 months old! Remember when you were a kid and distant relatives (the kind that pinch your cheeks) would ask you how old you were then make a fuss about how surely you couldn't already be that old followed by a comment along the lines of, "My, where has the time gone?!" I never really understood what they were talking about and thought for sure that they were either delusional, had a poor sense of time or were just making small talk. Now I get it. Now I know. Once you have your first child time exists in a vacuum, where it is seemingly sucked up at alarming rates. If that weren't bad enough, it seems to go by quicker with each subsequent child. So here we are and Baby Miss has left the newborn phase of her life behind. At two months old she continues to be a champion sleeper (no sleep-deprived parents in this household) logging in at least six straight hours every night, usually more, before waking to be fed. When she is awake she is as content as can be (unless she is hungry) and loves to lie on her activity mat and stare up at all of the brightly colored toys hanging from the bars above and sometimes will even stretch out her arms and reach for the one dangling nearest her face. She is strong and holding her head up as well as putting weight on her legs. She is starting to find her voice and the sweet sound of it brings a smile to my lips. Speaking of smiles, this girl is full of them and we love it. There is nothing about her that doesn't bring us complete joy. We love her so as do her sisters.

Tiny Dancer

This is the face of one very excited, tiny, little dancer. She's used to watching from the wings while Big Sissy learns ballet and every week I must stock my arsenal full of snacks (Goldfish crackers and Raisinets) to insure that she stays put on the sidelines. So imagine her delight when I told her that she was going to get her chance! The anticipation had been building for days. We arrived a few minutes early for class and there was another class just finishing up. Little Sister could barely contain her excitement and it took a lot of distraction and fast talking to keep her from running out and interrupting the other class. Then she had to wait another agonizing 15 minutes while the

instructor patiently answered the barrage of usual questions that come up at the start of a new session from the horde of parents clustered around her. Luckily, during that time Lil Sister was able to run and dance to her heart's content. Seeing as how this was her first official, organized "activity" it was a family affair. And the Girl played the part of knowledgeable older sister as her ballet class takes place in this same room and with the same instructor. Mrs. S was even gracious enough to invite the Girl to help her 'demonstrate' some moves to the littles. Did I mention this is 'Mommy and Me Creative Dance'? Oh yes, parent participation is required. Unfortunately this Mommy has two left

feet, no rhythm and even less coordination (if that is possible). But every single minute was worth it as the huge dimpled grin on Little Sister's face emanated pure joy, simple and sweet. She had the time of her little life and kept checking to make sure that Daddy was watching, sometimes even racing to where he was sitting to get a kiss or give knuckles.