December 2016

Was December even 31 days?! It flew by so fast I don't believe it.   We started off the month taking Christmas pictures and while I had planned on doing them just with the girls this year Robert and I happened to have color coordinating outfits as well and I am so glad I included all of us because the pictures turned out so good!

Robert received a promotion at work and, starting in January, will be working undercover narcotics for the Department of Homeland Security.

Robert and I had a couple of holiday parties: my client party, my work party and Robert's work party, as well as Father Pat's annual Christmas dinner. We are ready for a definite detox come January!

Poor little Mila keeps getting bamboozled by Nellie and her biting whenever she gets frustrated.  On her part, Mila is pretty forgiving and Nellie always feels really sorry afterwards and wants to make it better, which is a good sign I guess.

The girl's visited Santa and both had smiles for the picture! Mila told him that she wanted a dollhouse and a candy cane.

We celebrated Christmas with Nana and Papa on Christmas Eve, which was so nice having them in town and opening gifts at Christmas time.

Christmas morning it was just the four of us and of course this is the one time that both girls to sleep in (even if just slightly!) while Robert and I were so excited for them to wake up and see what Santa brought (and spent 2 hours building the night before).  Santa brought Mila a big new dollhouse (just what she asked for!) and a purple scooter for Nellie.

Christmas morning we drove up to Palmdale to celebrate with Grandma, Grandpa, Tio, Great Grandma and Pop. So nice that we could see all of our family (minus the Brown family :( ) within just a couple of days together.  Hopefully next year we can all get together in the same place!

Mila is turning into such a little lady and is so much fun to be around.  She is so aware of all of her surroundings now and we are to the point that we have to be careful as to what we say/do around her.  When we were in the car one day she started singing "Oh my gosh, look at her butt" and when I aked her where she learned that she said "Here, mama," pointing at the speakers in the car.  Oops!

Teacher: Mila, when did you turn 4?
Mila: After I turned 3.

Mila had her annual Christmas party at school and did great. It was so cute to see her practicing all of her songs at home and then performing in front of all the parents/guests at school.  She was totally fine in front of all of those people but would get embarrassed when I asked her to perform at home for our family friends; so cute.

 

Mila with three other little girls (Kira, Isla and Fillipa) from our mom's group that also go to her preschool.  So cute that they have all "known" each other since they were 3mo and less old, still hang out and are friends.

Mom: What present would you buy for your mom?
Mila: *Shrug*
Mom: Well what does mom love?
Mila ...I don't know...wine?

Dad: When I grow up I wanna be a teacher.
Mila: Daaaaaaad. You're already an adult!

Mom: Last one there is a rotten egg!
Mila: I don't wanna be the walking egg!

Nana and I took Mila to her first play, Elf the Musical, at Segerstrom Art Center in Costa Mesa.  She did great, although kept saying what a long movie it was (!), and asked that we stayed the whole time. I thought she might have been a little young to go but she was really into it.

Nellie went to preschool a couple of times for observation and I just know that she is going to do great there.  She completely forgot about me while we were there, going to the teachers when she needed help with something. I am so excited for her to get into a routine at school.

Mid-December marked the end of her time with Kerry (and Siena), which is sad but I am excited for her to interact with other kids her own age and learn the rules of school (patience, following directions, etc.) I am hoping that she is communicating more and is potty trained by the summer!

Nellie is still all about her babies, taking them basically everywhere she goes, including to bed and in the car.  She doesn't like to share them and she can't focus on anything until she knows where they are and has them by her side.

Nellie has an amazing amount of blankets, babies and stuffed animals in her bed that she insists she sleep with every night. However, every morning she has thrown everything out of the crib except for her two babies and two blankets.  It's too funny.

She turned two on December 18th and woke up with her birthday song, which she wasn't sure of at first but then loved and danced with Mila (who she calls Mimi) to it in the kitchen.

We had a small party for her on her actual birthday, a puppy dog theme since that is a close second of her favorite things after her two babies.

She also had her 2 Year Old Doctor's check up and got a great report.

Looking forward to a January of new routines, getting back in shape, the start of Robert's new job/schedule and a new Spanish class for the girls!

Nellie's 2nd Year Check Up

Nellie had a great report at her 2nd year check up.  She is 34 1/4in tall and weighs 27lbs, 13 oz, which puts her just over the 50th percentile in both height and weight. They did an eye scan, which she passed, and gave her a flu shot, which, of course, she hated.

I had a couple questions for the doctor; the first in regards to her ears.  Nellie has always been extremely sensitive about her ears and doesn't want any one touching them.  Dr. Brouwer checked them out and said they look fine and that some kids are just really sensitive about that area.

I had also asked about her language skills because she isn't talking (well that we can understand anyways) as much as Mila was and as much as the other kids during our preschool observation (granted they are a little older than Nellie).  Dr. Brouwer said her babbling and having conversations about everything and basically "talking" non-stop is exactly what she wants to hear.  So that was great news.

Other than that, the doctor asked how much she eats (a lot) and is fine with a lot of snacking as long as she gets at least one good meal every three days or so.

So thankful we have a happy, healthy little goose on our hands!

*FOMO - fear of missing out

November 2016

The girls started out the month each with a trip to the dentist.  Mila loved everything about it and was an absolute pro; Nellie needed a little more handholding.

Mila had her trike-a-thon at school.  She I raised money and she was able to ride her scooter at school.  I made her record a video asking her family to raise money; it's pretty adorable.

We went to Siena's (Kira's sister) first birthday party at the park.

And later she had a sleepover at her house.

Mila went over to her house around 4pm; Aimee and Matt (without kids) and Garret were over and Nellie was LOVING being the only child.  Thinking back I realized that Nellie hasn't ever really been alone with both of us since she was tiny little baby, still dependent on us for everything.  Seeing how happy she was being the only child reminded me how we ned to make time for each of the girls by themselves (easier said than done!).

Mila learned all about Thanksgiving and had a feast at school, although she told me that she only ate the mashed potatoes and the pie.  She loved talking about pilgrams and the Mayflower.

We had the village watching the girls during the first three days of Thanksgiving break and the girls loved spending time with the Lloyds and the Kings.

And then we spent Thanksgiving at Robert's parents house along with his brother and grandparents and had a great time celebrating with his family.

With Thanksgiving over, that means that Lucy is back!  She spent her first night in the girls room, spying on them.  At bedtime Nellie promptly threw her on the floor and Mila ran out of her room like a crazy person yelling what happened.  The next nights she was in with the toothbrushes, hanging from the chandelier,  riding a train and drawing on Mila and Nellie's pictures.

Nellie is talking so much, it's about a 50/50 chance that you can figure out what she is talking about.  Once you can figure it out, though, it's absolutely adorable!

I am loving the age that the girls are at. They love (most of the time) playing together and it's even more fun that Nellie is talking because they can communicate much more.  Mila loves to help out and teach her new words to say and Nellie loves everything that includes being like Mila so it's a win-win.  They love playing with their babies, the Barbie trailer (which Nellie likes to climb IN and then play), and pretending to be Mom and Sis, which includes Mila (Mom) going to work while I (Grandma) watch the baby and Sis (Nellie) just follows her and does what ever she says.

Can't believe Christmas is less than a month away!