Thursday, January 29, 2009

Haircut #2

I took Anna in for her second haircut yesterday; it was painful to watch. Anna didn't cry or throw a fit but rather when the lady went to put the cape on her, she shut down. She closed her eyes, put her hands on her mouth and did not move for 10 minutes. We put on an elmo video, I tried talking to her and even offered her a balloon - nothing. It usually takes Anna a few minutes to warm up to people and you can tell she is nervous by her tongue hanging out of her mouth - but this was the worst I've ever seen it! Thankfully as soon as the haircut was over she was back to her normal smiling self asking for a lollipop and pink balloon. It may be a little while before Anna's next haircut :).

Voila - haircut #2

Voila - haircut #2

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Random

I succumbed to peer pressure and added 25 random facts about myself on Facebook so I thought I would post them here as well:

1. Just talking about sour patch kids makes my mouth water.
2. I panic whenever there is “too much” food in our pantry.
3. I have an aversion (to say the least) to textured metal objects.
4. I enjoy scrapbooking but lack the time.
5. I’m married to the most intelligent man I know; I rarely have a conversation with him that I don’t learn something new.
6. I have had a best friend since the day I was born and I still talk to her almost daily.
7. I was once a cynic about text messaging but have been converted and now keep in better touch with people.
8. I compulsively check my email - perhaps this comes from sitting at a desk all day when I was in the working world.
9. I have a weakness for expensive jeans (specifically Joe’s).
10. I absolutely love being a stay at home mom.
11. I loved being pregnant (both times).
12. The first diaper I ever changed (besides a baby doll’s) was my daughter Anna’s the day we came home from the hospital.
13. I have visited over 15 foreign countries but never seen the Grand Canyon (and desperately want to).
14. I once went bear tracking in Alaska with a guy who sampled their poo.
15. I have a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt collection.
16. I never forward chain letters but for some reason felt compelled to do this.
17. I have put panty hose over my head and run screaming through a dorm hallway - what?? don’t all colleges have this tradition?
18. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior when I was 16.
19. Whenever I rent a chick flick I watch it at least twice before returning it.
20. My all time favorite movie is You’ve Got Mail and I like to put it on while I fall asleep when my husband is traveling.
21. I still watcj tv shows at their scheduled time and feel like I’m one of the few people without a DVR.
22. I don’t enjoy watching professional sports but love some ACC basketball, Go Duke!
23. My Rockband name is H Bomb (given to me by my husband)
24. I took 16 years of dance but am still embarrassed to step onto the dance floor at weddings.
25. My current favorite color is the color of my laundry room - carrot stick orange.

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Ugliest Loaf of Bread... Ever

So here it is:

Loaf of bread??

I couldn't help but to share a picture from my morning baking and perhaps bring a little comic relief this Monday afternoon. I'm still not exactly sure what went wrong. My husband tells me it tastes even worse than it looks. There have been some successes with the bread baking including yummy cinnamon rolls and fluffy dinner rolls; perhaps I'll stick to those for the time being.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Snow Day

The snow today was beautiful! When Maddie went down for her morning nap I couldn't resist going out to play in it. I dressed Anna the best I could but she was still miserably cold and didn't last but about 10 minutes. My husband said only in the south would someone go out in the snow in jeans :). The temperature will be back in the high 50's by the end of the week so I need to enjoy the snow while it lasts - this may be it for the year.

Snow Day

Friday, January 16, 2009

Sleeping Soundly

Here is Anna just minutes after climbing into her new big girl bed:

Bunk Beds

Ever since we took Anna's pacifier away back in October, naptime has been a fight. Somedays Anna would nap, somedays she would play quietly in her room, and somedays she would scream. Bedtime was a similar scenario except Anna would often ask to sleep on the futon that was in her room. Whenever asked, Anna would tell us that she did not like her bed though I imagine she would agree to just about anything if it meant staying up a little while longer.

When we went to Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago Anna slept in a double bed by herself and did GREAT. She would cuddle up in the bed and go right to sleep. After that we decided it was time to move Anna into a new bed and the day after we returned from the beach we went searching for the perfect bed for Anna.

Despite my initial anxiety, we ended up buying bunk beds from a friend at Fred's Beds.

Bunk Beds

They arrived today and are perfect! The ladder is hidden away in the closet and if anytime Anna starts trying to climb them we can easily convert them into two twin beds. Who knows, maybe one day Anna and Maddie can share them.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Maddie at 8.5 Months:

Despite Maddie being under the weather for a few days, she hasn't slowed down one bit. Here are a few of her new feats:

Walking across the room with a pushtoy:

Anna helping Maddie "walk"

Playing with anything her sister plays with:

Table Time

Riding together

She is cruising along the couch and can let go and stand for a few seconds on her own. She can balance herself up on her knees and !!! just last night she climbed up our entire flight of stairs (with my husband behind her of course). It's time to get the baby gates out!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Christmas #4 at Myrtle Beach

The Saturday after Christmas we drove to Myrtle Beach to meet up with my husband's sister, her husband and daughter. We had a great time playing on the beach, swimming in the pool, and shopping at the outlets. Anna loved following around her older cousin Tori.

Beach

Anna on the beach

Mid-week Oma (my mother-in-law) joined us and we took off to the aquarium. Anna LOVED looking at the fish; I had a great time just watching Anna get excited.

Ripley's Aquarium


Sunday, January 11, 2009

Grocery errands

Ever since we moved Maddie out of the infant car seat I have been trying to figure out the best way to run errands with both girls - I'm finding out the best answer is don't! I thought this looked like a good idea:










Maddie was well secured and having a great time; Anna didn't think it was so great to share "her" car. Anna had a fit when Maddie touched her steering wheel and the rest of the shopping trip was with Maddie in the car and Anna walking.










My experience at Target the next day was not much better. After five minutes in the store, Anna was falling on the floor and Maddie was trying to stand up in the cart. There's got to be an easier way :).

Friday, January 9, 2009

Growing up

I was going through some old photos today (in hopes of putting together a scrapbook for Maddie's first year) and found this photo from the day we brought Maddie home from the hospital:

Anna and Madelyn, side by side

Both of my girls have grown so much in just eight months.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Christmas #2 & 3

Christmas Eve morning we decided to open presents as a family. Since the girls had already gotten their kitchen they just had a few small gifts left to open.

We then headed to Burlington for Christmas Eve lunch with Pop (my dad), Divi, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Stephanie, Uncle David and cousin Marley. There the girls were surrounded in presents! Anna didn't mind, she gladly opened them all, even the ones that weren't for her.

Christmas Eve at Divi & Pop's

Christmas Eve night we headed to Danville, Virginia to visit with some of my mom's family that we only see once or twice a year and then it was back home to Raleigh to get in bed and start over again.

On Christmas morning we were back in Burlington at 9:30 to have breakfast and open presents with Mimi (my mom). Once again there were TONS of presents for the girls.

A few hit presents were Maddie's Leapfrog choo choo train

Christmas Morning at Mimi's

Anna's tricycle

Christmas Morning at Mimi's

and Anna's Fisher Price camera which takes real digital pictures.

Christmas Morning at Mimi's

Then we went back to Pop and Divi's for a final Christmas lunch and secret santa exchange. We were all exhausted!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Peekaboo

Anna & Maddie both love to play peekaboo. In the past it has been Anna playing peekaboo with Maddie but Maddie has now learned to do it herself. It is adorable!! See for yourself (she really gets rolling at the end).

Where to Begin?

When I saw the preview for the movie Four Christmases it hit home - we too do our best to visit four sets of families over the Christmas holiday (thankfully not all in one day though!). Our holiday began the weekend before Christmas with a visit from my father-in-law and just ended on Friday after a wonderful trip to Myrtle Beach with my mother-in-law. Here are a few highlights from our four Christmases and everything in between:

Christmas #1 - My husband's dad and his wife came down from Maryland for a quick trip. We had a great time together filled with presents, ham and Anna & Maddie's new kitchen. Anna got a really neat easel that she enjoys putting her magnetic letters on.

IMG_8844 IMG_8823

Later that week we enjoyed a Christmas dinner with my best friend Suzanne and her family. Suzanne and I have seen each other on Christmas day for as long as I can remember but with our expanding families it worked great this year to have a night of our own together.

Christmas with Aaron, Susu and Lily

To be continued...