We've had some pretty cold days around here lately. And it's killing me to be this cold and not have any snow. In fact, Miss Daisy keeps thinking the frost is snow and trying to get some in her mouth!
Another sweet sister moment. I was doing dishes and Daisy kept bringing in books to "read" to Dani.
Daisy got a lollipop in her advent calendar and wanted me to take a picture of it.
Let the wrapping begin. I do not enjoy this task, and Darin does, so most of the wrapping falls to him.
A sweet sisters moment captured.
Raspberry Torte makes an appearance at the nativity scene. (Love this about having kids around!)
And a newly crafted ornament hangs on my tree until I take it down for an ornament exchange. (More on this later.)
Packing their Christmas dresses up for them to wear to a wedding this weekend.
Walking by these little matching piles has made me smile all day long. Love being the mama of two delightful and adorable little girls.
Now if only I had the cash required to dress them alike every day...
get their pictures taken!
Thanks to Darin, for the shots of the princess, and the ones of the girls together. Thanks to Miss Karen Russell for the amazing photoshop file so I can round my photo edges. (Karen also taught the online photo class I took last year.) Thanks to Gran for the adorable penguin costume. And thanks to JoAnn fabrics, for putting your halloween costumes on sale two weeks before Halloween!
And one behind-the-scenes shot for your enjoyment.
I was sweeping the kitchen the other day and things were a little quiet in the playroom. I came around the corner to find this beautiful scene:
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE watching these two together. The magic of siblings.
I took the girls to get their pictures taken on Saturday for a MOPS fundraiser. I had a Children's Place coupon that had to be used in October, and since their holiday dresses are released this month, I snagged my first matching outfits for my girls and dressed them up for the photo.
I packed along my camera and tried to get my own cute shot while we were waiting for the professional. Let's just hope his turn out better than mine!
"Dani, you look awesome. Daisy, please smile for Mama."
"No, Daisy, not like that. Smile nicely. Don't squint your eye."
"Great kiddo. But Mama's over here. Look at me."
"Okay, fine. If you won't look at me I'll just focus on Dani."
"Whoops, that's not working so well either."
"Time to give Dani a pep talk."
"That's better, but gee Daisy, what is so interesting in that corner?"
"Uh, Daisy. I think your sister is falling over."
"Okay, that's better. But you don't really need to rub her face."
This, I believe, is the point where I busted out the fruit snacks bribe for one nice picture.
But she still couldn't manage to look at the camera.
Or smile nicely.
I think it's time to give up and go home.
Believe it or not, the first picture I took was the best of the bunch. Oi!
Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to our purchasing of this lovely double stroller. With about 8 gift cards and a 15% off coupon, we were able to purchase this lovely at Babies R Us just before vacation.
I really wanted a side-by-side, even though it's pretty wide, I could envision countless fights about who would get to ride in front of the sit & stand models. But, there will probably be lots of fights over "MO-OM, she's on my side!" with this model.
See? Daisy's already trying to hold her sister's hand for the picture!
We also love that the seats go up and down so easily, allowing us to use it with both the toddler and the baby, as well as be able to use it for quite a while.
Here, Miss Dani is hanging out while the rest of the family was swimming.
Oh, she's so cute, we must need a closeup!
All summer long when we'd walk to the dining hall for meals, Daisy would choose to walk over riding in her stroller. Now that we've got this guy, she always picks stroller.
Thanks again!
The other morning Dani and I went to get Daisy up and after laying Dani down on the bed, I had to run and grab the camera.
Daisy must really love her sister to share her special Nemo blanket with her! (Even I don't get to share Nemo.)
I took a few minutes to play with my depth of field and got this cute shot.
And one of my baby and her goofy grin.
And my favorite shot of the morning.
Blanket on the floor, baby on the blanket. Pretty standard procedure around here, especially in the evenings as we work to keep Miss Dani awake.
Big sister wants her own blanket to lay on too. Happy to oblige.
Then the other day, Daisy spread out her own Nemo blanket, grabbed a book, and told me she was "laying down ona my banket".
Then she showed me a picture of "Baby Dani, seeping" in her book.
Life around here is never boring...
This morning I woke up with the idea to take my best girls and my Mom on a little picnic playdate. One of my favorite parks around here is about 15 minutes up the road in a town called Home. They have an awesome play area and lots of shade.
Here's my Momma, cuddling the baby so I can play with Daisy.
And Miss Daisy, fearless on the big slides today.
We even brought CC along to guard our chairs.
Wish this one wasn't so blurry.
My picnic buddies.
And, lastly, my favorite shot of the day.
Last Thursday, on Darin's last day of leave, we took our new little family for an outing to the dizzy park in Port Orchard. Dani and I were happily sitting on the park bench nursing away under a lovely coverup (thanks Auntie Jen!) when a little girl walks up to me.
LG: "What's that?"
Me: "A baby."
LG: "Can I see?"
Me: "Not right now."
LG: "Why not?"
Me: "Because she's eating."
LG: "Oh. How?"
Me: "She's breastfeeding."
LG: thinking "How does that work?"
Me: thinking...how best to answer this..."She drinks milk from my breasts."
LG: "Oh...Can I see?"
Now, any good La Leche League mama would have whipped it out and given this little girl an anatomy lesson. Me, I was a bit freaked out about sharing with the rest of the park. I was desperately searching for a mother to come and save me, but no mother was to be found. So I told the little girl no, and sent her back out to play.
Darin told me later I should have told her to "go ask you mother" and seen what sort of reaction that garnered from said mother.
And here are some fun pictures Darin took from our afternoon outing.
And look at me. Officially the mom of two sweet little girls.
Is there anything cuter than a little baby in a big carseat? I know it won't be too long and she'll fill it out.
We talked our doctors into letting us go home on Friday instead of Saturday and it's been so nice to get settled at home. Of course, it's also been wonderful to have the help of my parents and the friends bringing meals. We'll see how life looks when Darin's back at work and my parents hit the road again.
So far Miss Dani is a great baby, although she does seem to be of the opinion that when she's awake she should be eating. My little snacker likes to eat about once an hour, and always seems to get hungry right when my food is hot and on the table. (What is that sixth sense in nursing babies?)
She also has a love affair with her hands (which you saw on that video below) and it means we're constantly pulling them out of her mouth while trying to get her to latch. Hopefully she'll figure it out soon!
So far she is a great sleeper and we have logged several 4 and 5 hour stretches of night-time sleep since coming home. Heaven!
And is there nothing better in the world than snuggling a sleeping baby on your chest? I think not. (Gram & Dani)
What is it about sleeping babies that makes them loose all muscle function?
There are two things in life this kid clearly doesn't enjoy: baths and diaper changes. In the hospital she really enjoyed the head massage while all wrapped up and washing her hair. But clearly was not a fan of the sponge bath. And the one bath we've given her since being home was met with mighty resistance. Man, our kid has good lungs.
Big Sister Daisy has taken to calling Dani "my baby", which is only slightly confusing because she received a new baby doll from Gran last week too. So we're always clarifying, "baby Dani or baby Doll?" Most often she's asking what Baby Dani is up to or where she is.
Daisy has taken to her role as big sister quite effortlessly. She loves to see "her baby" and giver "her baby" kisses. She's learned how to throw diapers in the diaper pail, pat gently to help burp, and hand us wipes upon request. She gives us updates about Dani's status while riding in the car, and gets excited to serenade her.
We are so very blessed and I pray often these two will grow to be sisters with a life-long love and bond.
We took Miss Dani to the pediatrician on Monday and it turns out our little snacker was already up to her birth weight and beyond. We were pretty proud parents to hear how rare such an occurance was, and took extra pride in being told they wouldn't need to see her again until her one-month visit. Ah...the silly things that make us parents puff up a little.
Weekly photos began today and for those of you curious, you can see the last-minute prop decision below. Since Danielle is a derivitive from Daniel, Darin thought this cute little animal of Daisy's would be appropriate.
That's all for today...off to take a nap!
Our second day in the hospital was wonderful. We rested, watched some TV, worked on nursing, took a few laps around the unit, and cuddled with our cutie. Our visitors didn't come until later in the day, which was perfect.
Mom and Dad came back with big sister Daisy.
Darin's dad, Erwin, made an appearance.
Auntie Debbie came by after a meeting in Seattle and stayed a good long while.
Darin's boss (Steve) and his wife came by bearing flowers and a balloon, which Daisy quickly laid claim to.
And our last visitors for the evening drove down from Lakewood. Aunt Tiffany, Uncle Trevor, and Aunt Dakota.
And all our visitors left just as smitten as we are.
