A Little More Cowbell

Baseball Fun

2009-11-04T18:00:00.006-05:00

My dad is a HUGE baseball fan, especially of the Phillies. Growing up, he would watch every
Phillies game on TV. He took me to many games as a child and I have fond memories of him and I (and sometimes my brother) cheering on our team!

For the second year in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies are in the World Series. It is a very exciting time!! This year they are playing the New York Yankees (tonight is Game 6, the Yankees are in the lead 3-2, so it is a big game!).

Last year they won the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. I remember it well because Hannah was born in the midst of the World Series. I remember being the hospital and watching and sitting in bed with her watching the games. There was a HUGE parade in Philly after they won (which I did not attend, but watched on TV).

Fiona went to her first Phillies game two summers ago, when she was 18 months old. She had a great time then and sat through the whole game (even with a rain delay)! She loved the Philly Phanatic and even made one at the "Build a Phanatic" store.
My parents took us to another game this past summer, Fiona's second and Hannah's first. Again, Fiona enjoyed herself and watched and cheered! Hannah did not get too into it but we caught her cheering a few times with everyone.

Tonight is Game 6 of the 2009 World Series! GO PHILLIES!!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-03T21:53:00.004-05:00

Halloween was very fun this year, even thought I was not feeling great since I was recovering
from the flu.

Monday was the Royersford Halloween parade. Kids from the town march in the parade in their costumes and give out candy to people watching. I was going to bring the girls but that was day 2 of the flu and I felt horrible. My friend Julie was the hero and picked Fiona up and took her! She had so much fun and came home with a bucket full of good treats! She was so tired when she got home and went right to bed!

On Friday, Tom and I took the girls trick or treating at the Outlets with Kim and Owen. Fiona had to find the stores that had a pumpkin on the door, go in and say "Trick or Treat" and got some good stuff! The girls had lollipops when we got home. Hannah's first taste of candy!

We walked around the entire outlet center and the girls made out like bandits!!

Saturday morning was Halloween. I drove the girls to Chalfont to see DeeDee and PopPop. We had lunch and they showed off their costumes and got fun presents from them! After it got dark, we went trick or treating around our neighborhood. Fiona was so cute, making sure she said "trick or treat!" and only took one candy from the bowl (we prepped her). She also always made sure that Baby Rara got a candy too. She made sure everything was fair! It did start to rain a little bit but by then, their buckets were full so we ran home and called it a night.

Fiona went to Owen's house to eat the Halloween gingerbread house and watch It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. She was exhausted!

Happy (late) Halloween!!

Just for fun......

Hannah Turns One!

2009-10-29T21:53:00.008-04:00

My baby girl turned One on Saturday, October 24th. We celebrated with a black and pink polka dot party. She had a ton of fun with good friends and family all around her. She is the only child I know who would not dig into her cake but, instead, required a fork and spoon in order to eat it. She has entered the phase of learning to feed herself with utensils and wants every opportunity to do so.

Spoon Please!!!

SEE! Much Better!

She got some cute gifts including a Foofa doll (She loves Yo Gabba Gabba), a baby doll and stroller of her own, lots of clothes, a piggy bank, a talking dog toy and more!

She also went today for her one year well visit. She got 4 shots (3 regular vaccines and one flu shot) which she was not very happy about. Her stats:

Weight ~ 18 lbs 8 oz. (10th percentile)

Height ~ 29 1/4 inches (55th percentile)
Head ~ 18 1/2 inches (90th percentile)

She is a peanut with a big brain!

Also at 12 months she has started sleeping through the night! It is glorious. She did it for the 1st time the week before her birthday. I realized it when my alarm went off for work that I had not woken up all night! Since then she has done it every night but 2. She is easy to calm though and get back to sleep if she does wake up (big difference from before!!)

She takes 2-3 hour naps everyday, in her crib, by herself! We can just put her down awake and leave the room. Again, big difference from just a few months ago.

She has taken a few steps starting at 11 months and now will walk about 1/2 the time. She needs to work on her balance but does great lowering herself down and standing back up.

Hannah loves to dance, loves dolls, sitting in chairs, doing things by herself, and putting things inside of something and then removing them.. over and over again.

She says a few words here and there, mostly mama and sometimes dada and we think we got her to say "Elmo" today. She has pointing downpat, along with clapping, blowing kisses, waving hi and waving bye.

Hannah is loved by everyone, even Fiona, who misses her when she is not with her little sister. I am so happy to have her in my life!

Edited to show off Hannah's super awesome invitation

Want one? Go to http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5540045

Flashback Friday of a different sort

2009-10-09T22:35:00.004-04:00

Thanks for the idea Mel.....

Dear Santa....

2009-10-05T12:28:00.004-04:00

Christmastime is well under way in the German household. Fiona knows who Santa is, understands that he only gives toys to good kids, that he is currently making her toys for her, and that he comes right before her birthday.

Whenever we see something at a store that she wants, I say to her "Who should you ask for that?" Her response "Santa!" and that ends that, she doesn't even bother asking for it anymore.

Whenever she is acting out (which for her is not really that bad) I tell her that if she doesn't listen/behave/act nice that I will have to tell Santa. She immediately says "NO!" and her behavior changes.

I love Santa.

Best story in regards to Santa......

We got a Toys R Us circular in the Sunday newspaper this week. One page has a bunch of Snow White themed toys. She is in love with this page. She likes to pick out the things that she likes, stare at them and show us and tell us what she wants the most, etc.

With all of the talk of Santa this weekend, I decided to show her the picture from last year of Fiona and Hannah sitting on Santa's lap.

Fiona proceeded to bring her circular page to the computer, put it on the keyboard and started talking to Santa, telling him all of the things she wanted. It was so cute!

I cannot wait for Christmas this year!!!

I am really bad at this

2009-10-05T12:25:00.001-04:00

I am a slacker.

That is all.

Halloween!

2009-09-08T10:41:00.007-04:00

This year, Fiona is really starting to get into Halloween. She knows that she goes to people's houses and says "Trick or Treat" and they give her candy. Fiona is just like her mother and LOVES candy. I raised her well.

Yesterday, our topic of converstation was Halloween Costumes. On Saturday, we got a One Step Ahead catalog in the mail. The 1st 4 pages were filled with costumes, which is what started the current Halloween fascination. Yesterday, Fiona changed her mind about Halloween costumes many many times

We started with Elmo. She was adamant about being Elmo.

Then she saw this witch costume in the catalog and wanted to be a witch. This lasted most of the day.Then I started to add fuel to the fire and searched for a Little Mermaid Costume on Amazon and found this one. She loved it and said that she had to be that!!! . Last week, we were watching Dora and Dora asked the audience "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Fiona was watching intently and answered Dora..."I want to be Princess Belle." So on Amazon, I searched for a Princess Belle costume and found a ton of choices.... Princess Belle became the new favorite.

This next costume request kind of came from nowhere. She had seen a Snoopy pillow at Dee Dee's earlier that day and had asked where Charlie Brown was...All of a sudden she blurts out "I want to be Charlie Brown". So we googled Charlie Brown and showed her pictures and asked her "Do you want to be Charlie Brown for Halloween?" She answers "YES!"...

That is how we ended the night, with Fiona set to be Charlie Brown for Halloween. Will she be Charlie Brown? I highly doubt it. My bets are on Princess Belle or Elmo.

Good thing Hannah has no opinion yet. She is going to be a chicken (same costume that Fiona had when she was a baby!)

It's a party...

2009-08-31T22:02:00.002-04:00

My big 3-0 is Wednesday, September 2nd. Tom threw me a (total) Surprise Birthday party on Saturday 8/29. It was a complete shock. I had a great time.... Let me start at the beginning....

My best friend Lora turned 30 in April. Her husband, meaning well, planned a family trip to the zoo. Not quite the most exciting celebration. We joked that my 30th would have similar plan.. maybe I would get to go to the Aquarium. Lora mentioned that she would have to check in on Tom to make sure he did not plan a trip the Zoo or the like.

Back in June-ish my sister was home for a visit. She said she was planning on one more visit to PA before the end of summer and said it was the last weekend in August. I filed that in my memory since I miss her and like when she visists.

August is approaching and I begin to wonder what I will do to mark the end of my 20's. I mention it to Tom and he kind of blows me off. I make a few suggestions with no real response (typical).

Come mid August, I ask again and Tom tells me that on the evening of August 29th, we will be going to dinner to celebrate. I start asking questions..."Do we need a babysitter?", "Where are we going?", "What time are we leaving?".. all of which are answered quickly with no real detail. This drives me NUTS. I love to plan, I love to have control, I need to know things.. not knowing what my plans were was seriously making me mental.

What did I do? I had to let it go. I could not nag and/or keep asking questions. I figured either
A) He was trying to plan a nice dinner with a few people there to surprise me and I would ruin the surprise by nagging
B) He had nothing really planned and I would find out and get all up in arms, starting a fight and ruin any potential good time.
So I let it go. But told everyone and anyone that would listen about my plight and my inability to truly let go.

Here comes Saturday 8/29....my sister is in PA and we have plans to go to lunch and get manicures and pedicures. We did this last year too so it did not seem out of the ordinary. She came over at 11 and we were gone by 11:15 ish. We went out for a late breakfast, went to CVS followed by a mani/pedi. Kara was texting a few times during out outing but that is normal.. people text all the time.

We start to go home and she plans to stay awhile and hang out with the girls. We are driving in my Dad's truck that she borrowed and I am looking at the pictures he has of Fiona, not at all paying attention to my surroundings. We get back to my house and walk to my front door. I hear people talking and laughing but assume it is coming from the neighbor's house.. truly not thinking anything of it.

I open my front door and the 1st two people I see are Jackie, my good friend from work and my best friend Lora who lives in Arizona. Jackie yells "Surprise!", followed by several other shouts and faces appearing from my dining/living room. I get choked up a little and just laugh. I was SHOCKED.

As I moved in closer I see all my friend's from work, their husbands, their kids, my grandmothers, parents, neighbors, etc. There is a HUGE spread of food and tons of beer and drinks. I am amazed. Truly amazed. People even kept arriving after me!

Tom had texted Lora (my best friend from AZ) back in MAY to ask her to try and make it. My sister had planned this back in the start of summer. Tom coordinated the food with my parents so that I would not be tipped off by the stockpile of stuff in my house. He also had the guests bring a dish or an appetizer and some drinks. He ordered and picked up a cake for me, just the way I liked it... BIG icing flowers all over it!

He did this all for me. The man who HATES making plans, made them back in May.... the man who HATES large crowds of people had 30 plus people in his house... the man who is not a big fan of parties in general,... planned and threw one for me. The man who I thought may not make a big deal of my birthday made a HUGE deal of my birthday.

I kind of cry thinking about it. I felt very loved that day... by both my friends, family and Tom too. I am lucky to have such an amazing group of friends who are generous and fun. I am lucky to have a great family who help out with every turn in life. I am very lucky to have such a caring husband who will exit his comfort zone to make me feel this special and happy. I will always remember my 30th birthday as a happy time!!

Thank you to all who helped me celebrate!

Oh How I Love Ferber

2009-08-26T21:37:00.007-04:00

Do we recall Hannah's sleep "issues"? A quick rundown....

Must be nursed and/or rocked and/or held to go to sleep.
Must be careful when you put her down.. if she is not 100% in her deep sleep she will wake up and scream.
Process must start over.
Some nights it took me 45 minutes and lots of stress to get her to sleep (not to mention entertain a 2 year old while I did it).
Wake up every 2-3 (4 if I was lucky) hours.

Weekend of 8/15, Tom and I went to a wedding. My mom stayed with the girls overnight. I warned her about Hannah. She was unfazed. When we got home, she reported that Hannah slept from 9 PM until 5 Am. WHAT? Did she go to sleep easy? Yes.. just cried a few minutes.. WHAT?

I got a short lecture about how I needed to stop the crap and teach her to put herself to sleep. That night I used the same old routine and she woke up every 2-3 hours. Shoot me.

That is when I decided enough was enough. That Monday (8/17), the doctor at CHOP (for her pooping issues) assured me that she was physically fine and mentioned Dr. Ferber to me.

Off I went to research and that very night I implemented his plan.

Here is what my night was like:

8:15 PM-Nurse, cuddle, rock for 10 minutes... put Hannah down awake. Commence crying.
8:18 PM-Enter room, give pacifier, pat on back , SHHHHHH. Leave by 8:19 and 30 seconds. commence crying.
8:22 PM-Enter room. See above.
8:27 PM-Enter room. See above.
8:30 PM-Crying slows. Stops.
8:32 PM-Crying begins again.
8:32 PM - Enter room. See above. Small cries when I leave.
8:35 PM-Silence. Sleep.

She slept until 4:30 ish AM!!!!!

The next night I extended the times between re-entering the room. We went a total of 10 minutes.

Wednesday night - Same routine, nurse, cuddle, kiss, in bed awake. Cried 2 minutes... sleep. THROUGH THE NIGHT

Thursday night - See above. Total crying... 10 SECONDS. Yes, seconds.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and now Tuesday night..... Same routine. Put in her bed awake. She rolls over and goes to sleep. All. by. herself.

I am amazed.

She sleeps for long stretches at a time.. waking between 3 and 5 AM to nurse and go back to sleep.

I was convinced that doing this would make her withdrawn, untrusting, more clingy, and miserable the next day. I was wrong. She was her normal self, absolutely no change.

Ferber is NOT crying it out. He has a systematic way to teach babies to soothe themselves to sleep and when they wake up in the middle of the night so that they do not need their mother to help them. I love him.

Here is some information that I used to come to the decision to try his method:

August .... Through the years

2009-08-12T17:54:00.009-04:00

Ok, so only 4 years...but still fun

2006

2007

2008

2009

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-12T17:49:00.005-04:00

Sleep Like a Baby

2009-08-11T08:32:00.007-04:00

After a good night's sleep, people often say "Wow I slept like a baby". They were obviously not talking about my kid.

How is it possible to give birth to a fantastic sleeper and then a really terrible one?

Here is a sample of Hannah's sleep yesterday---

8 AM - Awake for the day

11AM - 12PM - Nap at DeeDee's

3:30PM-4:45PM Nap in the car

8:15PM - This is when I began the process of getting Hannah to go to sleep. I had her down and out and in her crib by 8:25 when Fiona burst in to say "HI". Start over.

8:30PM - Keeps falling asleep in my arms but when I put her down she screams. Two times I let her cry for two minutes.. . that worked well **Sarcasm**

8:50PM - Finally asleep.

I think it was 11:49 pm. About 19 minutes after I went to bed. Awake....Back to sleep rather quickly.

1 AM ish...awake again. I gave up, brought her in bed with me.. we both pass out.. this is a hazy memory.

3 AM: Tom comes to bed ... I pick up Hannah and put her in her crib.

3:37 AM: Wakes up and screams. Get her back to sleep by 3:41 Am

4:07 AM: Awake. I give up again and bring her into bed.

5:37 AM: Awake. Eats, back to sleep

7:30AM: Awake for the day.

HELP ME MAKE HER SLEEP LIKE A BABY!!!!!

I Must Really Love Them

2009-08-02T22:35:00.006-04:00

Today I took both girls grocery shopping with me (their father was hungover from a Bachelor party). I have only done this one other time. That day, Fiona sat in the top/front area and Hannah stayed in her infant seat inside the cart with the food carefully placed around her. It was not ideal

Let me preface the next part of the story by saying that I HATE the car carts. They steer like crap, they do not have good balance, they are heavy, she gets in and out at her leisure, and unloading groceries is a total PITA and they are just a regular nuisance. I always tell Fiona that they are broken and we have to get a regular cart (she still believes me, I am so mean).

Today I decided to try the car cart. I figured that Hannah could sit in the front basket part buckled in and Fiona could ride in the car part. Fiona was ecstatic. We got to the 2nd aisle and Fiona was already out of the cart and wanting to sit with Hananh. Sigh. So I put her in the front part with her sister (they are big and have room for two in that front basket). By the 4th aisle, she wanted to get down and go back in the car.

Trust me, she is 2 and it is NOT worth the fight, so back to the car she went. By the end of the 4th aisle she wanted to get back in the front with "Baby RaRa". I was trying not to curse. I think I might have though. Then I got a brilliant idea... put Hannah in the car with Fiona and bribe her with candy to stay put and be nice!

So I did just that. I unbuckled Hannah and put her in the car, buckled in tight. I gave Fiona the job of teaching Hannah to drive (these beasts have TWO steering wheels). I told her that if she was nice to Hannah and stayed in her car, she could get candy from the bulk candy aisle (my favorite place on Earth). It worked! They had a blast and I even kind of, sort of, felt like I was shopping alone. I had all this room.. it was amazing.

Fiona picked gummi watermelons today. The one and only time she will hear me say "Do NOT share these with your sister."

The only thing that I found was Hannah sucking on a pack or Rolo's at the checkout aisle. I swiftly took them from her and put them back (poor guy who buys them).

All together it was a success and I may have to get one again.. but only if BOTH girls are with me, otherwise, those things will be "broken" again.

Vacation - Days 2 and 3

2009-08-02T09:48:00.004-04:00

On Day 2 - Fiona decided that it would be a pool day. We went for an early morning bike ride into Assateague Park. The trails and sites are amazing. We saw so many animals (birds, a baby elk, etc.).

Afterwards, Tom & Hannah took a 3 hour nap while Fiona and I went to the pool, to the candy store and for a walk to look at more ponies (and pet them!).

We went to a Go Kart/Mini Golf place where they had a huge inflatable slide for Fiona and toddler play area. Fiona peed in the toddler play area. We left.

That night was much better than the 1st. We got smart, and put Hannah's pack and play in the bathroom so she could sleep in silence and we could be "loud" in the main room.

On Day 3 (Saturday) - We got up early and went to the beach.....for SIX hours. The girls had so much fun. The highlights included Fiona getting a mermaid tail (courtesy of Tom), jumping in the waves, finding seashells, and Hannah pooping in her swim diaper (but the poop had "disappeared" by the time I went to change it... GROSS)

That night we had pizza, followed by a long bike ride (which both girls fell asleep followed by some toad hunting at our hotel. The hotel had a makeshit "beach" and the toads loved to hang out there at night. Tom and Fiona chased them and even caught a few.

We drove home Sunday..we had a great time!

Vacation - Day 1

2009-08-02T09:41:00.005-04:00

This year, we vacationed in Chincoteague, VA. We visited there mainly to see Assateague Island, a national state park known for its wild ponies, natural setting and beaches (it did not disappoint). We arrived in Chincoteague on Thursday, July 23rd after 4ish hours of driving. We stayed at the Blue Heron Inn. It was located right near the entrance to Assateague. The room was very small, but we were not planning on spending much time in it so… it should be okay, right? They had ponies penned on site, a small play area, and a pool.

The first thing we did was drove our car onto Assateague to check it out. On the way in, we saw a ton of egrets and other birds in the marshes and bay areas. We made our way to the beach, parked and checked it out, even though we were not in our bathing suits! Fiona loved it and had fun touching the water and getting wet.

We left, got ready for the beach and went back so we could do it the "right way"

We ate dinner at Steamers all you can eat crab place. After the girls and I finished we left Tom to eat all he could, while we went for a walk. We ended up at The Bear Factory (a place like Build A Bear). After Tom was full of crab, we went back and the girls each made their own stuffed animal (well, Fiona made Hannah’s for her). Fiona made an elephant that she named “Mike” and Hannah got a monkey that Fiona named “RaRa”.
Meet “Mike”

We attempted to all go to sleep and it was hellacious. We ended up with Tom leaving with Fiona to drive around the island to get her to sleep and me staying with Hannah to get her to sleep in silence! They both woke up a lot that night.. we were not looking forward to the next 2 nights (which proved to be not like this terrible night).

A Wholesome Family Outing

2009-07-21T10:37:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, July 12th, we went to see the Phillies sweep the Pirates (we hate all Pittsburgh teams) with DeeDee and PopPop. It was Hannah's first game (Fiona's second). It was a lot of fun and, as expected, the girls had a great time and were very well behaved. Hannah loved to clap along with everyone else and Fiona loved looking around at everything going on (nosy like her mother). Of course DeeDee spoiled them with souvenirs and caricatures. Fiona even got a really big foam finger that she now likes to use to poke Tom when he is sleeping.

Getting ready to go!

My Dad and me with Hannah

The view from our seats

Fiona at her first game last year (July 2008)

A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words

2009-07-10T23:20:00.016-04:00

We went to Sesame Place on Thursday (July 9th). It was a great time. I took both girls and met DeeDee there with 3 of my cousins (Brett-5, Claire-3 and Lainey-2). Fiona got to meet lots of characters and was beyond excited! Here is our day in pictures.....

Not cut from the same mold

2009-07-09T22:37:00.011-04:00

It is funny how two babies can be so different. We all have said (or heard) the phrase "everyone's kid is different" and well, it is true.

Hannah and Fiona are so different, it is almost like I have to figure things out all over again! While I love her to death, Hannah is more difficult than Fiona.

A highlight of their differences....

Sleep

Fiona slept through the night starting at 5 weeks. By sleeping through the night I mean 9 PM ish until 7 or 8 AM. She took 2-3 naps at the same time every day. She went down awake and put herself to sleep with no problem. To this day, she is a great sleeper.

Hannah has yet to sleep through the night. Our longest stretch has been 8 PM until 4 AM (not that bad!!). For the first 3 months of her life, she slept in her vibrating bouncer seat. She loves to sleep in bed with us and prefers to be rocked to sleep and usually demands it. Her naps are sporadic, maybe 2 a day for about an hour each. However , tonight I put her to bed awake and she went to sleep on her own.

Eating

Fiona was (and still is) a good eater. She ate a lot and anything you put in front of her.

Hannah turns her nose up at baby food. She wants the real thing! She barely nurses or takes a bottle all day. She has been known to drink 4 oz. in a 9 hour period... and not complain at all.

Cuddling

Fiona was not a cuddler. She was content to be on her own and would sit and cuddle here and there but I definitely did not consider her a cuddly baby

Hannah is as cuddly as they come. She loves to be held, talked to, to hug, and snuggle into you. Love it.

Poop

Fiona=clockwork

Hannah.. well 2 medications and we are still figuring it out.....

I love both of my girls so much and in no way think that one is better than the other, just different. I was a little naive to think that the second baby would be just like Fiona and to think that it would be a breeze since I was an "expert". HA. Hannah had other plans for me!

While they are so different, they are also similar in some ways. They are both very laid back and neither are cranky. They are happy little girls who are (generally) easy to please and love to smile!

Fiona at the dentist

2009-07-07T21:22:00.003-04:00

Today Fiona went for her 6 month check up at her Dentist (Dr. Pyke in Pottstown). We talked about the dentist the two days prior to her visit. I told her what they would do and how they would clean all the "yuckies" off and make her teeth "sparkly like a Princess". She was so excited to go.

We got there and she was anxious to go in and told everyone in the waiting room that she was going to get her teeth cleaned. When her name was called, she went right with the hygeniest with no hesitation.

Fiona sat in the seat all by herself, let the hygeniest clean her teeth and even let them use "Mr. Thirsty" (the sucky thing). The dentist said that she should be very proud of how well she did and that she has no cavities! She got a bag full of toothbrushing supplies, a button for her Crocs (she picked a soccer ball), a certificate for a Happy Meal and her name in the newspaper!

The dentist said that I should not rush taking her pacifier away and gave me some tips to get her to give it up. We shall see....

YAY FIONA!!!

8 Months Old!

2009-06-24T21:47:00.004-04:00

Hannah is 8 months old today! Time really does fly, the past 8 months have been a whirlwind. My baby is getting so big! She can crawl, do a "London Bridge", pull herself up, stand holding onto something, crawl and get herself back into a sitting position, and has started to eye up the stairs!

She loves her baby food and has started eating more table foods, including carrots, peas, bread, animal crackers, Gerber puffs, Cheerioes, blueberries and pizza crust!

Her sleeping is a work in progress, but with the the help of The No-Cry Sleep Solution (thank you Lora!), her nighttime sleep is greatly improved.

She has the bluest eyes, the best personality and the cutest smile. Her big sister Fiona is her idol. They play so well together and the one person who can always cheer her up and make her giggle is Fiona. Fiona is a fantastic big sister and really loves her "Baby Ra-ra".

Father's Day... a day late

2009-06-22T22:48:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was Father's Day. While it is a lame holiday, it is still fun to do something nice and to hear Fiona to say "Happy Dada Day" 400 times. On Friday, I took her to AC Moore to pick something out to make for her Dada. I was thinking a picture frame or a box...but no.. she wanted a giant clothes pin! Seriously. I tried to talk her out of it but she is 2 and was very adamant about her gift! So we got the big clothes pin.

Fiona painted it on Saturday morning and glued some decorative wooden things on it for fun.

After giving it to Tom.. he said to me "I don't get it". There was nothing to get.. it was a gift that a 2 year old girl chose for the best dad ever.

Funny?

2009-06-21T23:07:00.005-04:00

I think I am a funny person, in real life. But as I read my blog... it bores me. Oh well. I guess my writing needs work and I need to figure out how to get the "real me" to come across in my writing. I guess we cannot be good at EVERYTHING, and this must be my weakness, since (as we all know), I pretty much rock at everything else.

Now I am babbling.

Here is a picture. Ok, two....

First Day of Summer!

2009-06-16T22:10:00.008-04:00

I do not have to work for the next 10 weeks, so today was my first day of summer! We had a great day.... a was able to go to Target.. ALONE.

I also got my new laptop. I was able to get both girls to nap at the same time, even though Hannah's nap was only about a 1 hour long cat nap (ongoing battle). After naps, we went for a walk around the entire neighborhood, with Fiona leading the way telling "That way!". We played bubbles with the new bubble gun and ran around the yard. After dinner (spaghetti!), we worked on the new puzzle I got Fiona at target. It is 24 pieces and for ages 3+. She did really good with it and just needed some help locking the pieces together. I love summer and cannot wait for the fun things we have planned!!

Jumping In Puddles

2009-06-14T22:04:00.002-04:00

We had a wonderful weekend! On Saturday we went to DeeDee & PopPop's house. It did rain and that allowed Fiona and I to have some fun. During a break in the rain, we went to the run and jumped in puddles. It was pure fun, fun that every child should have. We spent so much time out there jumping and splashing.

On Sunday, we all went for a bike ride on the Perkiomen Trail through Valley Forge National Park. Tom pulled both girls in the bike trailer. I pedaled behind them, listening to Fiona sing, Hannah giggle as Fiona tickled her, and Fiona calling out to me, just to make sure I was still close by.

I love to see my girls enjoy every new experience. They are such happy, nice girls and it is great to see them smile and enjoy life as children, something that doesn't last forever.

I also learned that I really, really need to begin carrying my camera around with me. I have NO pictures of these fun events. Lame, I know. Here is some file footage....

Top 10

2009-06-10T21:09:00.008-04:00

Here is my "Top 10" List of baby/kid websites. Enjoy... I hope you find something useful.

1. Baby food ideas beyond the jar....for babies. It also has a 'sister site' for the bigger kids.

2. Best invention EVER.. the Moby wrap.

3. Fun to search and find some deals....http://babycheapskate.com/.

4. Babysteals. I have never bought anything from this site.. I think the stuff is crazy expensive and therefore, not a 'steal', however, I find myself checking it every single day. So it makes the list.

5. Fun site for toddlers. They can bang ... I mean play.. on the computer.

6. Great organization to give back to.

7. I love to look at Gymbo clothes... I rarely buy them.. and never at full price.. but I look. A lot. Old Navy is more my speed.

8. When you have girls, bows and jewelry and dress up are the norm.

9. This site is fun. More stuff to buy... or just stare at.. or fill your cart with, look at your total and then exit out calling yourself 'crazy'. But they are all 'bargains'..so... the more you spend, the more you save.

10. Finally, I trust this site. It is a good resource for medical advice and opinions. Dr. Sears has a family of pediatricians!

I would love to add more to my library!!

New to me

2009-06-10T16:58:00.002-04:00

I have never blogged. I do not even think that I am a good writer. However, I am going to give it a shot. Why? I like the idea of having a record of my girl's life....sharing stories with people....and just having a 'hobby'. Tom says I need a hobby and since I hate to exercise, this might be a good one (plus it is free). I like to talk so this may be the answer...... enjoy (I hope)....