January 2017

What day when Nellie was picking out of control Mila asked me, "Mom? Can we just have a new one?" and when I asked a new what she said "A new baby person? Let's give Nellie away."  I asked what we were going to do with Nellie and she said she didn't know. I told her we couldn't get rid of Nellie until we had a plan and Mila said "Fine. I guess we can keep her."

Mila loves to sing songs now and will ask me to play her favorite songs and then only she can sing them.  She's really catching on to all of the words!

Mom:  Last one to the bedroom is a rotten egg!
Mila: Daaaaad!  You're the rockin egg!

Mila is so grown up I just can't believe it. I am both excited and scared for what's next if she's already this much of an adult.  She is the morning caring, compassionate girl in the whole world and her first priority is to help others and take care of everyone.  She is such a big help to me and her sister; Nellie has no idea how lucky she is to have her!

They are fast becoming best friends (and enemies!) and I just love their little relationship.

Mila spent Martin Luther King Jr. day at Knott's Berry Farm and had a blast!  Lexi turns 5 this summer and will start Kindergarten in the fall while Mila stays behind at preschool (she just misses the Kindergarten cutoff by 25 days), I am already so sad for her!

While she was there we took Nellie out on a date as well.  It's so crazy how different she is when she is alone and not having to compete for attention!

Mila had a couple of sleepovers this month, one with the Charland girls and a couple with Kira.  She's such a little social butterfly, already having sleepovers at 4!  When she spent the night at Kira's one night Robert asked why and I said, I don't know, no reason other than this is what girls do!

Later that night when we got home we were getting her ready for bed and she had her diaper off; I was having her repeat her colors..."Red....Green....Pee Pee!" as she peed all over her bedroom floor.

Nellie started preschool and, after a little adjustment period and getting sick the first week, she is now excited to go and loves school.  We were so lucky my parents were here and could keep Nellie for a few days while she recovered; after that first little cold she's been perfectly healthy so we lucked out!

The teachers say she is the greeter, running up to all the kids when they arrive and giving them a hug.  Every day when I pick her up and we go into Mila's classroom all the kids know her name, it's so cute.

Nellie has figured out how to take off her pants and know takes them off, mostly her jammies, whenever she wants.  Half the time I come to get her out of bed in the morning and she has taken her pants off and thrown them out of her crib.

She refuses to wear footed pajamas and wants to be naked all of the time and shake her booty while singing "boody boody boody."

This sweet little girl makes my heart so full and also brings me near my breaking point every day.  She can put a smile on anyone's face in an instant and has the silliest little personality.  She is starting to talk more and can count to three and she finally knows to say "I'm two" when someone asks her how old she is.

The girls got a haircut and Mila chopped a lot of length off of hers.  She wanted to go shorter but I said maybe we should stick with this length for now!

The girls started their Spanish class, Amiguitos, this month and they love it! I had no idea that the entire class is taught in Spanish (no English at all!) but the girls are really catching on to it.  The theme for the first half has been Superheroes and Fairies; I was hoping for more conversational Spanish but maybe this is how they learn. I will definitely keep them in this class, or another, going forward as I think it's so important for them to learn Spanish.

As crazy as the days are I try to remind myself that THESE ARE THE DAYS.  I just need to take a deep breath and remember at least one sweet moment from every day and I hope they will too.

Nellie's 1st Day of Preschool

Today was Nellie's first day of preschool!  Mila was so cute beforehand and was working with her on saying all of her friends names "so when Nellie meets them she will know who they are."  Things went super smooth dropping her off and she immediately started playing with Mila and all the new toys, but (thank God) paused for a split second to give me a kiss goodbye.  I have known for months now that Nellie would love preschool and she would transition in to it fairly well and wouldn't have the clingy stage we briefly had with Mila, but I was still sad and found myself crying a little on the way to the car.  Even Robert said after we left that he was sad too (and that maybe we should have another!); these little babies growing up make you so emotional!

I was anxious all morning but my fears were settled when I received an email from the preschool director saying that Nellie was doing really well at school and having a great time.  What a relief!  When I picked her up she was in the sandbox across the playground so I had some time to talk with her teacher.  Ms. Cassie said she had a great first day, although she was a little aggressive (hitting, pushing) with some of the other kids but they just re-directed her and that worked every time.  She said once she starts talking more this should go away because she will be able to communicate more.  I had previously planned to ease her in by sending her Tues/Thurs/Fri but that would mean tomorrow she would stay with my parents; Ms. Cassie recommended sending her again to get into the routine so I may just start her four days now, we will see how this week goes.  They said she did great at lunch and napped really well (she was the last one to wake up!).

By time time Ms. Cassie and I had finished talking Nellie still hadn't come over to me so I went over to get her and as soon as I walked up she said "Where daddy go?" and then "Home." I said you want to go home and she said yes and then started yelling "Mimi! Mimi!" as she ran for the gate to Mila's playground. As soon as we walked it she and Mila ran to each other and then Mila showed her off to all of her friends, and Nellie hugged each one of them. It was too cute.

It may be my imagination but she didn't seem to throw as many fits this evening and has said some more words and longer sentences tonight that I haven't heard before. All in all I think it was a great day and can't wait to see her blossom!

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!