January 2016

Happy New Year! We have a one year old and a three year old on our hands, we are losing our minds!!!!  These two little geese are turning into being the best of friends but, boy, are they getting into a lot of mischief as they go.

Mila is starting to learn about the value of money and asks for it all of the time. We are trying to instill her her that when someone gives you money it is a gift and you need to say thank you; in order to get money on your own you need to earn it and have a job.  She now periodically asks for jobs and currently makes her bed, matches socks in the laundry and puts the silverware away (the going rate is a quarter!).  She recently started a cooking class at school (in addition to soccer) and has since learned how to carry her plate from the table to the trashcan, clear her plate and then carry it to the sink.

Mila is cultivating many friendships and it's amazing the drama she encounters at this early age.  I am dealing with daily who is friends with who and who didn't want to be whose friend that sometimes I need a flow chart to figure out what's going on.  Mila's current best friends are Kiki/Sissa (apparently they come as a package deal), Kira, Jillian (new addition!) and Lexi (which is touch and go because Lexi is BFFs with Shay Shay who Mila is not friends with); it's a preschool telanovela.

Nellie has had quite a time lately.  One day she started developing an extremely high fever (103-104.8 at times) and the doctors predicted it was roseola and that the fever would break in five days and then develop into a rash; sure enough this happened right around the same time that Nellie had her one year check up and got her shots, which sent her down again.  During this time, as well, she was/is cutting her bottom molars and is just a force to be reckoned with.   Honestly, the end of January cannot come soon enough!

Robert worked his payback (Sunday) this month and it was the first time in ages he didn't have a trainee so the girls and I went to see him at work.  He had a great time showing them around the department, his police car and how the sirens worked and both girls loved the attention and all the goodies they received.

Both girls are getting much better at playing together and I am amazed on a daily basis the patience Mila has with Nellie. She frequently gets frustrated and irritated with her ("Ohhhhhhh Nellie!") but never in a mean way and she always takes the time to help her or explain (yell) to her why she shouldn't be doing something.  I don't know how we ended up with such an amazing big sister but it is going to be epic watching how fiercely Mila protects a sister that can hold her own in the world. They will be a force to be reckoned with!

Nellie is learning more words and currently knows "mama," "dada," "baby," and "quack;" she will shake her head "no," and, if she's in a good mood she will sign "more" and "all done" for you.

Nellie started gymnastics, which I hear (thank God for Tori) is amazing, and we are currently looking at preschool/Jr. Kindergarten options for Mila.  I'm not really sure when these girls started growing up but we are soaking it all in as fast as it comes.

Robert and I are doing great, we are chugging away at our schedule and we have are continually faced with the fact that it's important to support, not compete with, each other; we're not perfect but we make it work and we value each other.  Two kids is no joke and it's exponentially harder than one, especially with both parents working full time.  I know neither of us would change it, though, and I think we thrive on the craziness; if we led a ho-hum life we would wonder what we should do with ourselves.  We really are the luckiest.

Nellie's 1 Year Dr. Appointment

Nellie had her 1 year check up today and it was quite the ordeal! She weighed in at 21lbs, 4oz and was 30.5in long, right on chart, although long and lean.  The doctor said she did great and that she's developing right on track and that we are doing great (wahoo!).  I asked about milk as we have been giving Nellie whole milk and she is NOT a fan.  She much prefers 1% or even almond or rice milk. Dr. Brouwer said she actually doesn't recommend whole milk and that we can give her whatever she likes and she will still get the nutrients so that's great news.

They took a picture of her eyes in the dark for an eye test, which she passed with flying colors.  Because she had low iron levels at her 9mo appointment we had been giving her an iron supplement daily (sorry second child) most days; they re-tested her again at this appointment and the doctor confirmed that her iron levels are normal and we can discontinue the supplement.  Unfortunately this test consisted of a finger prick that set everything into a tailspin as Nellie lost her mind when she was poked. By the time I calmed her down the nurse sauntered back in and it was time for four vaccines (chicken pox, MMR, HepA and PNU) and there was no calming her down after that.  I got her home, we snuggled in the chair for a while (yes!) and then she was fine. Nothing a little mom love, snugs and a paci couldn't fix.

Nellie's 1st Birthday Party

Happy birthday to our little love! We hope you had a great birthday, and I think you really did. I went with  a rainbow theme because you are our little ray of sunshine and the day couldn't have been better.  You absolutely loved the cake and didn't waste a second devouring it.

Nana, Papa, Aunt Sissy and Uncle Bret weren't able to make it to the party because baby William was being born but they had a special celebration planned for you when we arrived just a few days later.

Kansas & William Davis Brown

My sister gave birth to William Davis Brown on December 17th and I couldn't handle even waiting nine days to meet him....it was too long!  We left California at 6pm on Christmas evening (well we were supposed to leave at 6pm but we were delayed awhile) and ended up landing in Kansas City around 1am on the 26th.

William and family came over early the next morning and it was love at first site.  Mila had a little cough but there was no keeping her away from this little man. She was instantly smitten and wanted to hold him all of the time.

The weather was "nice" (if 30s-40s is your thing) the first day and then it dumped snow all of over the city, which made it FREEZING and hard to get around.

That didn't stop us from getting out and about after being trapped inside for the morning.

Robert and I took Mila to Fritz's, a hamburger restaurant where you order via telephone at your table and then your food is delivered by a toy train.

Mila was amazed by the whole thing and had a great time.

Lots of our days were spent catching up on our sleep (Nellie slept until 8am every day in Kansas!), being lazy around the house, watching Netflix, or snugging this cute little thing.

Although Robert and I had to leave the house at least once a day before we went stir crazy!  We took the girls to the aquarium, had more barbecue in one week than most people eat in at least a month and we went over to Susan's for dinner one night before the boys left for Peru.  I started nannying for these three boys when they were nine and seven (and continued for five years!) and they and their mom, Susan, have been such an important part of my life sense..  We realized at dinner that we all hadn't been together since the day of my wedding!  

This isn't even when I first started...they are in like 7th and 9th grade here!  Look how young we all look!

I took advantage of the cold weather and dressed Nellie is some of her warm, cute frocks, although she had no time for pictures.

And then we spent some more time loving on this little guy

We celebrated New Year's Eve with the girls at 7pm (thanks Netflix!) and Robert and I snuck away for some drinks and a quick dinner (more barbecue!) before coming home and ringing in the New Year with the East Coast before heading to bed.

It was a nice long trip where we had the luxury of doing whatever we wanted (or not) and, before we knew it, it was time to go home.  

We flew back to California on New Year's day, headed home to catch some football and spend the weekend with our little family of four.  Shortly after arriving home Mila started breastfeeding all of our animals/dolls again,  it's comforting to know some things never change :)