She Ain't Sick - The Video

At least when Chloe is sick she is still cute and incredibly happy.  It makes staying home all day enjoyable!

Letter to Miss Belle - 14 months

My Sweet Belle,
It's been 14 months since you came screaming into our lives.  It's hard to believe how quickly that time evaporated and how much you have changed.  Rides in the car are now enjoyable as you reserve your five-alarm scream for times when you are truly upset.  Your shrieks, giggles, and belly laughs consume most of your day along with your ever expanding vocabulary.  Your first word was "uh oh" and since then you've added, momma, dada, dog (doh), cat, book (booh), banana (na-nuh), shoes (sheesh), more (mo) and your first phrase, what's this (whaaz izzz). 

You love to play "I'm gonna get you" and you laugh from your soul as I chase behind you.  Sometimes I like to hide behind a door just so that I can pop out and startle you.  You scream like a grown woman and then you break in to the most glorious laugh.  You love it, which cracks me up, because I don't think I would find it very funny if daddy did that to me all the time.

You are becoming so confident in your toddle and at times you want to move faster than your tiny baby legs will let you.  You are insisting on walking everywhere we go just like your big sissy and we are happy to let you explore your new found independence.  I realize it won't be long until you are running and skipping right along side her. 

You are my binkie and blankie baby, and I love it when you walk around the house dragging your blanket behind you.  And, when you are really tired, you lay down on the floor with it as if to snuggle down for the night right there.  You are a daddy's girl already, and for this I'm forever grateful.  The sight of you snuggled up against his chest melts my heart.  You are getting so big, although you still look tiny in his arms.  Those are moments that I want to remember forever.

> You have 5 teeth; 2 on top, and 3 on the bottom

> Cheese is the only thing you do not like to eat

> You are finally drinking milk

> You weigh 19.2 lbs and have finally graduated to stage 3 diapers

> Most of your clothes are size 6-12 months, although, you are long, so onsies are 12-18 months.

> You love cars, trucks and things that roll

> Watching you play My Little Pony with sissy in the bathtub melts my heart

>  You love the dog to the point of abuse; you hang on her, pull her fur, and squeal with delight.  She doesn't mind, thankfully

>  You love car rides and often pass toys back and forth with sissy; you still sit backwards and you don't seem to mind

> You sleep 11 hours at night and often wake up screaming after 2-3 hours; you scream until we place you back in your crib and then you sleep peacefully until daybreak

> You give the most wonderful hugs

What I wish for you, my sweet Belle, is that you use that voice of yours and that you stand up for what you believe in.  That you continue to communicate with the world and that you never feel like you need to hide within your own skin.  That we will have a relationship that is open and honest and that you never feel like I will judge the choices you make in your life.  I believe communication will be your gift, as you are very vocal about your likes and your dislikes, and you always have been.  I hope you use that gift for the good.

I hope you grow up to be proud of who your are and how you are being raised and that our home is always a safe spot for you.  And sweet baby, I hope you know how much you are wanted and adored.  So, scream on sweet baby, giggle with joy, and let the whole world know that you are a gift from God.  You are a tiny blessing and you complete our family.  You make our world perfect.

Love Always,
Momma

My Love Tank

Have you ever woke up on a Saturday morning and thought that life was just as it should be?  That's what happened to me this past Saturday, and it was heavenly.  I woke up, unprovoked (sans alarm clock, barking dog, crying kid, frustrated husband).  The kids were happily playing with daddy, the coffee was brewing, and things seemed that they were just as they should be, and believe you -me, I soaked it in, because these moments are rare in my life. 

I grabbed my coffee, put baby down for her morning nap, and settled in next to Cam on the lanai (big screened in porch that contains the pool and is indigenous to the state we live in, for all of you northerners).  She played with her barbies, I soaked in the view and listened to the birds (cue Golden Girls theme song) and then daddy delivered breakfast to me. Say Whaaa?

So, we slowly started our day, and when baby woke up from her nap, we put on our swimmies and headed downtown to the Marina.

Somehow this view just never gets old

The girls had their swimsuits on and geared up for some water fun in the fountains.  This was Chloe's first experience and boy, did daddy watch her like a hawk.  She loved it, and I snapped some pics with my zoom lens from way on top of the fun.  There was no way I was takin' my camera anywhere near all those rugrats and water.  Initially, Cam wanted to stay home.  She wanted to swim in her own pool, where there is "lots of water" and she can swim under the water, but when we got there, she pulled out her horsies and a bucket and ended up having a great time.

And then after the soakin' good time, we swapped lenses and took some family photos in front of a giant yacht, which I wish I owned, but then again, I am a claustrophobic nut job about boats and water, so that probably wouldn't work out so swell.  It made for a sweet picture, though.  Check out Cam in my shades!  She asked to wear them, and she just might be the raddest, tooth missin', 4 year old ever.  BTW, she has 2 more super wiggly teeth in her head, so man, she's gonna look crazy!

and, then, the babies napped like they had never napped before, and the hubs and I watched Wyatt Earp (why, I dunno no, it was on tv so we watched it, and it was actually kinda entertaining) and the peace continued well in to the evening. 

I think sometimes God knows that I need a break.  That I need a moment to soak in my life, the daily miracles, and all of my blessings.  An opportunity to peacefully put things in perspective.  To realize that God doesn't make mistakes and that the world with all of its stresses and joys is exactly the way it should be.  I had that on Saturday.  It was refreshing.  And now that my love tank is full, I can continue on for the next 362 days until a day like this happens again. 

The One Where Hubs Yoga'd on the Baby

It's Tuesday night, about 8:00 and we are settling down for bedtime. The kids are bathed, Chloe is eating a graham cracker and the entire family is in Camdyn's bedroom picking up toys and winding down for the night.

It's story time, so I pick up one of my favorite books to read to the girls. Girls - plural. Cause when they are both participating in story time I have to read a book with minimal words on each page, and bright pictures. This cute little book accomplishes that and Chloe, with her 13 month old attention span, can almost pay attention to the entire story.  Did I mention that it rhymes and it contains the phrase "Llama Drama" which I snicker at every time I read it? 

So, there we are, all three of us snuggled on top of Camdyn's twin sized bed.  Chloe is on my lap swatting at the pages, Cam is leaning over my shoulder and I was reading theatrically.  I was entertaining them and thinking to myself that I should volunteer at their school to read stories to the children, because, I'm really good at it.  In that moment everything seemed right with the world.  The kids were peaceful, the hubs was sitting on the floor listening intently, or praying that my squeaky voice would stop - take your pick. And, we were bonding.  Seriously, this might have been my June Cleaver moment of the week  month year. 

So, I should have seen this coming. I should have heard the Jaws music somewhere in my head and known that the moment couldn't last, that somehow things could only go downhill from here.  But, that's not what I was thinking when baby Chloe leaned forward, and crawled off my lap and then swung her legs down over the side of the bed and scootched her little body down until her feet hit the floor.  Clearly she didn't want to hear the last 4 pages of the book.

So, I continue reading to Camdyn and look up just in time to see the Hubs like this! 

He's doing yoga in Camdyn's bedroom during story time, which doesn't seem like a big deal except... THE BABY!   OMG!  The baby is standing right below his MAN ASS that is three feet up in the air (he's 6'4" y'all, his feet were damn near the ceiling) and he has no idea that she is there!  In the .2 seconds it took me to assess this situation, I yell "LOOK OUT!" It's too late.  The man ass is already on a downward decent and sweet baby is within striking distance.  CONTACT.  BABY DOWN.  Chris rolls up to a seated position, his eyes are the size of a dinner plate.  He looks at me in SHEER FREAKIN' HORROR. 

Now, I must pause and offer a little comfort to dear Hubs and my readers who are probably floored that the baby was attacked unknowingly by an ass (literally. I am not referring to the hubs here because we do not name call - EVER).  But, from my angle, it wasn't that bad.  I saw the way she fell.  She fell straight backwards, kinda in one piece like the way the wind knocks over an empty garbage can.  Her feet were knocked out from under her and she fell on to the carpet. She wasn't crushed, as in, hit from the top and squashed down in to the carpet, now that woulda been bad. 

Baby was silent for a second before the 5 alarm scream.  Now, if you've never actually met my child then you have no idea how loud her scream really is.  I swear, she's gonna sing opera one day.  She'll be this little bitty half pint on the stage with a set of lungs that can swing the chandeliers.  My point, she was loud.  The peace?  GONE.  The moment?  GONE.  POOF.

So, I sit there.  No reaction.  Just watching the hubs as he scoops baby up and snuggles her screaming little red face in to his chest.  "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SHE WAS THERE?" I did.  It was too late.  I was reading a book, looking at the pages, I had no idea that you felt the urge to do yoga right then.  Enter Camdyn.  "Momma why is daddy yelling?"  "Because, he is scared for Chloe, Sweetie.  He got really scared." And, he was.  I don't think I've ever seen the man so scared except for the one time Camdyn had the seizure.  Remember that?  If not click here. Or the time Chloe had the Vaso Vegal reaction (note to self, blog about that on a day I'm feeling blessed), or the time she choked on a puff, or the time when Camdyn choked on an apple.  Okay, so I've seen that look on his face a few times, regardless, it isn't pretty.

Now don't you worry.  He's pretty much professional at calming the baby down and she settled down very quickly in his arms.  The hubs, however, took some serious calming down from me.  I went down the list:  She's fine.  It's carpet.  It's really hard for a baby to break a bone.  See she's walking.  It just scared her.  WHEW.

I left out the blame.  I left out the WTF were you doing yoga for anyway question (I figured he was probably bored and trying to keep his mind off  my shrieking voice).  And, I wished desperately that Chloe had stayed on my lap until the end of the story so that WE could have soaked up just a few more minutes of blissful family life. 

And, later that night, while the kids were sleeping soundly in their beds, and we were turning out our light, I chuckled to the hubs "You did yoga right on top of the baby.  Like....you totally yoga'd her."

The Similarity Stops Here

I've caught myself comparing my kids to one another a lot recently, and it bothers me.  It REALLY bothers me.  I don't want to start a pattern where Chloe is always being compared to her big sister.  I'm afraid it will mean a lifetime of feeling like she does not measure up, or on the flip side, it will make Camdyn feel her baby sister does no wrong. 

The whole comparison thing starts out pretty harmlessly.  I mean, from birth, it's hard not to compare them physically.  They are twins separated by 3.2 years.  The similarity at this age is almost creepy.  And, yes, I dressed Chloe in the same nightgown in an effort to recreate the image of Camdyn, but I had to because they are totally twinies.

I told ya it was freaky.

And, then Chloe started to grow, kinda, at a really slow and petite pace and I was amazed at how two kids from the same gene pool could be so vastly different in appetite and sleep habits.  Camdyn was a 95th %tile baby the whole way, Chloe, well, she's in the 5th.  Camdyn would eat forever, she never got full and she would never refuse food.  Chloe doesn't eat when she's not hungry and she never ate around the clock, even as a newbie. 

Here they are wearing the same outfit.  We call this the lettuce leaf hat, because on Camdyn's round head it totally makes her look like a head of lettuce, which I HEART BIGTIME.  Chloe is 4 months old in this outfit, therefore the cute expression on her face.  Camdyn is 8 weeks old, therefore, the blank stare. 

And then Chloe started hitting her milestones, teething, sitting, crawling, 1st foods, standing, weaning, walking and the comparisons continue.  The comparisons seem so harmless at this age, but I wonder, at what age do they start making a dent?  Do, I have this issue simply because I have two girls or do parents of different gender siblings face the same challenge?

I don't know, maybe I need to read a book on the topic or something.  How to raise each child like they are an only child, or something along those lines.... Or, maybe I just need to shut my cake hole and stop myself from uttering comparisons to friends and strangers who pose the questions.

The one thing I know for sure, is that I want both of my girls to embrace their differences and to feel loved and appreciated for the individuals that they are.  And, I really, really, really, hope that they grow up to be BFFs. 

Bokeh Bokeh Bokeh

Remember this post where I so discretely gave the hubs options for Mother's Day?  Well, he took the hint with all the graciousness in the world and promptly emailed me the shipping confirmation a mere 20 minutes after I posted my options.  I guess he didn't even want me to think he was considering option number 2.  And, yes, Momma gets what Momma wants, sometimes, mostly, almost never, but usually.

I couldn't wait to get home and try out my new lens.  So, that is exactly what I did on Mother's day.  It was a gorgeous sunny day, but too hot, and the baby had just clonked her head (the hubs wants it noted that she did this under my watch and upon my return from the trip he handed over a perfectly in tact, healthy, happy baby, with not a scratch or bruise on her - yay for daddy) and for some reason I didn't take one picture that was worth a damn. 

Yesterday, at the park I decided to give it another shot.  It's cloudy, but not as hot, and for some reason when my kids are playing with other kids (unlike Sunday) they don't mind my lens in their faces quite so much. 

Now, for all of your photography lame-o's (and I am one of you), you probably don't get the title of this post, or the point of my new lens.  So, let's visit Wikipedia, shall we?  Since you are my hostage, here goes:

In photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."

Basically, my new lens has a wicked blur factor.  It's best for portraits which I think will come in hella handy with my rugrats, oh, and it is really fast, like amazing shutter speed!  COOL, huh?  Although, these pictures aren't crazy good, they did allow me to explore my lens a little.

Cuteness and Picture Commentary Straight Ahead (or below, if you wanna get technical)

Baby Girl is now saying "What's This?"  Only it sounds like "WHAZZ-IZZ." She points and repeats it over and over until you finally tell her what it is that she is looking at.  This morning, on our way to school she did this over a squirrel, and yes, I promptly told her "That's a tree rat."  

One of the best things about bringing my camera to the park is that I get to take pictures of Becky's kids, who are ridiculously adorable, and so photogenic, and even when I don't get one good picture of my kids, I almost always get one of hers. 

Counter Clockwise from the top:

1) Becky says "Give each other a kiss" So, the girls lean in, I fumble for my camera, and they give each other a giant princess style, when Harry met Sally, kinda kiss on the lips.  It was seriously 3 seconds long, so how I missed it with my super fast camera is beyond me.  But, I did.  And, what I show you here, is Camdyn pulling away with her lips still puckered and Madison beaming with joy.  Becky meant a kiss on the cheek, but they are totally besties, and they can kiss however they want to.

2) Madie playing on the slide and just looking gorgeous because she is

3) Cam hugging Madison, because even though they fight they really love each other to the moon and back

4) Just adorable

And then we have babies, who are going to grow up and get married, because they just have to.  And because Becky and I need to be related so that our married kids can say that they have the best in-laws EVA.  And so that Madie and Cam can be sisters... in law style.  So, it's all been worked out.

Counter Clockwise because my mind goes backwards like that:
1) The man child looking pensive and adorable and like he just walked out of an Abercrombie catalog.  Seriously, the child has great genes.
2) Ladybug buns.  I just love it.  And now that she is walking and you can see it, it's so cute! And, her little PediPed shoes that I bought at a consignment shop, brand new, never worn, for $8 are hella cute too!
3) All that hair.  We are so jealous.  I mean seriously, is Chloe ever going to grow some hair.  Bald is beautiful, though.  Oh, and the Bokeh in this picture is working...
4) Miss Belle was having great fun throwing acorns and mulch down her onsie and then asking "Whazzz IZZZ?"  So, we'd help her fish them out and then she would do it again.  It probably won't be long until Sawyer is offering to help with that ::snicker::

So, if you take nothing else from the 2 minutes you spent here today.  At least you saw some damn cute kids and you learned the word "Bokeh."  And in the styling of my 4th grade teacher, Miss Key, "Now, go forth and and use it in a sentence."

Splish Splash

On Saturday, we took the chitlins to the splash park so they could...um...splash.  And play in the water, and enjoy the fresh air and frigid water.  This time last year, Chloe, was 4weeks old, and she spent her time at the splash park in the stroller, sleeping soundly to the sounds of the water fountain and kids screaming.  Around September, we actually attempted to take her in the water and she screamed and hollered and retracted her legs so fast, there was no chance baby girl was swimming.

Then, this year.  Ahhhh.  She loves it!  You can just tell by lookin' at her!  

Okay, so their coordinating Gymboree swim suits look way cuter on then they did on the rack.  I love 'em. Although, Chloe's was waayyy big.  It has the swim diaper built in, and it was so huge (size 6-12 months) that if she had an accident it surely would have ended up in the pool.  Good thing she didn't.  Oh, and me in a swim suit in April....egads! 

We stayed for an hour and had a soakin' good time with friends.  Now that baby likes it, I'm sure we'll be here often throughout the summer.

Credits to Becky for taking all of the pictures.  If it wasn't for you there wouldn't be a single picture of me with my kids - ever.  Love you!

Thankful on Thursday

Thankful on Thursday. Yes, I am. This is my first time participating in this blogging trend because I generally try to be thankful and grateful on a daily basis. But, I took these adorable pictures at the park on Monday (Chloe's 13 month birthday) and decided what better way to use them, then to give a big shout out for some of the things that I am thankful for this week.
Here goes (and in complete random-ness):

1). Health. Today, as I type this, everyone is healthy. Last week, Chloe had a phantom bout of diarrhea that I swear to bejeezus only happens at school and never at home, but today she is healthy, and we are all healthy and I just gotta appreciate that. With 2 kids, these days are rare!
2). My momma's banana bread recipe. Nothing can put a smile on the hubs face like fresh baked banana bread. I indulged him the other night, and it felt good, to make him happy. To do something for him, and then to sit down to watch 24 together and taste a piece of my childhood. I hope that my kids end up having memories of fresh banana bread in the oven and the taste of it on their lips like I do. It brings me home every time.
3). The hubs, who is home more often than he's not, does more than his share of the housework, cooks, does kid crap, and is generally pleasant to be around. I may not thank him everyday, but I definitely am thankful that he is my partner in this chaos.
4). My sweet baby Chloe who looks more and more like her daddy everyday. As she took her 1st steps last week, she reminded me just how fleeting infancy is, and just how precious these days are. I am thankful that I get to wear the mommy hat and that I got to be there to witness her very first steps.



5). The Park. Daily. It saves me. The laughter, the gab, the fresh air, the good times, the memories.
6). My kick azz camera and the photos that it takes with very little skill on my part. I've found a hobby!


7). Friends. Like these. The kind that you have known since you can remember remembering and the kind that know you deeper than anyone else in the world. The kind of friends that you don't talk to often but you never miss a beat. The kind that listen, the kind that mostly gab away, and the kind that you miss when they are gone. Ya'll are irreplaceable!



8). Emotion. Like this. The ability to cry, to empathize, to not-build walls. The ability to be genuine, wear my heart on my sleeve and not regret it. The ability to hug and comfort. I hope that this part of me never changes, and that my girls inherit it.

Surely you are Thankful for something today, right?

Wordless Wednesday (mostly, kinda, whatever)

So, I've never posted for Wordless Wednesday, but thought I would give it a shot this week. Daddy took most of these adorable pictures this past weekend while I was at the dentist.

I'll shad up now and leave you to your viewing....

Twinkle Toes

And Chloe's 1st steps happened like this:

It's about 5 pm on Tuesday, April 13th. As I round the corner to Chloe's classroom, I hear all of these adorable baby squeals. It took me a moment to decipher, are these happy noises or angry noises? Okay, she's happy. So, I enter the classroom and it takes a moment for me to spot her little bald head. There she is! She is standing up and holding on to the toy shelf. So, I say, "Hi! Miss Belle!" She squawks with delight and begins to creep down the shelf as fast as she can. Now, I decided I would make her come to me, so I stop and squat just a few feet from the corner of the shelf. I hold out my hands, and before I know it, she is walking! Straight to me! With arms out to the side for balance, and legs spread out as far as they can be! I squeal with giddiness, as does Chloe, and her teacher. I asked, "has she been doing this all day?" Nope. Those were really her first steps! Ahhhh.

Chloe took her first steps in the adorable Minnie Mouse onesie that we bought her at Disney. On the front, there is a picture of Minnie and the words "Twinkle Toes." How fitting. So, although Chloe's 1st steps did not happen in the bathroom, next to the bathtub, they did happen in this little outfit, and I did get them on video later that night. For some strange reason blogger won't let me upload it, I'll keep trying.

As an update: This past weekend Chloe began taking steps to nowhere. She would sit in the adorable PBK chair that Gramma gave to her, then she would stand up, and she would just walk off in the direction of no one. No, coaxing, or googling needed. It's so strange to watch this petite little thing set off on 2 tiny baby legs. Toddlerhood is really just around the corner.

Mondays...

Feel Like This....

Hello Cold Pool

The pool is now open! It's crazy, but it's true and it's only open because kids are resilient and can apparently tolerate 72 degree water. My mom and I would only get in up to our knees, the chitlins, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get completely soaked.

On this particular evening, we were out by the pond feeding bread to the turtles and then Chris said to me, "distract the kids while I get in the pool." So, he sneaks off, puts his swimmies on and gets in the pool. Suddenly, I say, "Camdyn! There is a giant turtle in our pool!" She runs over to the lanai with the greatest concern, peers through the screen, and then shouts, "It's not a turtle! It's DAAAADDDY!" That was quickly followed by a few "I wanna swim(s)" and she was stripping her clothes off before I could even bring her suit out of the house.

Now Chloe is no dummy, and she wants to do what her sissy does, so she started squawking for some swim time too. Luckily, daddy can handle them both in the water!

This summer is really going to be a ton of fun!

Don't you just love this picture of Gramma! I think she should use it for her FB profile pic, cause it is that good. And, Gramma is cool like that. I shot this using my zoom lens that I received as a Xmas gift from the hubs. It's been patiently waiting in my camera bag for months, and I decided to give it a try. I think I really like this piece of glass, although I'm dying for a telephoto lens with a wide aperture (Note to Hubs - Mother's Day is comin' up)!

Camdyn works on her kicks and her scoops. That missin' tooth still cracks me up. She really does look like she is 6 instead of 4.

So, this zoom lens has a bit wider aperture than my stock lens does, and it does a better job blurring out the distractions in the background. Did I just refer to hubs as a distraction? Why, Yes, I did! And, he totally is, and on so many levels, and in an awesomely good way!

Ruffle Butt

I love me some Ruffle Butts! Seriously, if you have a baby girl, you have to checky checky these out. Chloe actually got this diaper cover from her Auntie Liz before she was born. I thought it was way cuter than the royal blue one that went with her Easter dress, so she wore this one under her dress instead. In order to enjoy it, the dress had to come off (it was warm in the house anyway) and we let Chloe scoot about in all of her Ruffle Butt cuteness!

Chloe is doing this super-dramatic baby roll where she flings herself down on the floor, then rolls on her back and then kicks her legs up and down and squeals with excitement. It's hella cute and completely dramatic!

This is the actual Ruffle Butts ensemble that Chloe received as a gift from her Auntie Liz on her 1st birthday. We just wanted to try on the top to see if it fits (size 6-12 months) and it does...totally! And will probably fit all summer long. Whoo hoo! The little ruffle butt diaper cover that goes with it is so cute I can't stand it. If you wanna see it or order one,CLICKY

Of course, Liz had this personalized for Chloe which makes it that much sweeter. We love it, Liz. THANK YOU!!