Caitlyn's 2nd Birthday

We had a busy week last week as we celebrated Caitlyn's 2nd Birthday. She had a great time!! We went to Gymboree and all the kiddies loved playing on all the equipment, dancing and trying to catch bubbles. The birthday girl wore the cutest little outfit and loved being the center of attention. After all the playing was over we went into the party room for cupcakes, ice-cream and juice boxes :-) It was a really great place for the party as the activities accommodated a range of ages. All the boys and girls seemed to really have a good time.

Caitlyn received some lovely gifts (clothes, dolls, books and toys). Now Amy is asking when will it be her birthday.... Last week Caitlyn also had her 2 year well visit at the doctors and she now weighs 25lb 10oz and is 34 3/4" tall. She is a little bigger than Amy was at the same age but seems to be the same as Amy in that she is tall for her age (75th percentile) and fairly lean (only in the 35th percentile for weight).

Amy is a little sick this weekend with an ear infection, so it is antibiotics again for her at the moment. I am going to follow-up with her pediatrician next week as I think she will need a consult with an ENT and possibly tubes to stop these recurrent ear infections. But for now she is having some Mummy/Amy time, getting cuddles and watching some of her favorite movies.

Next week the girls and I are going out with Blake and his family to the pumpkin patch to enjoy all the Fall activities, paint pumpkins, build scarecrows etc. Then the following week is Halloween, so trick or treating for sure. Will post more pics then.

Cheeky little ones growing up so fast

Once again I seem to have taken forever to update this blog. Sorry to those of you who like to read it often. These days I am just so busy and wiped out by the end of the day I just never seem to get around to doing it. A couple of weeks ago the girls and I went and had some photos taken so I figured it would be nice to post some recent pics. Fortunately this time they both behaved really well and I was able to get some really cute pictures. I know I say it often but it continues to amaze me how quickly they are both growing up. Amy develops more little personality (a.k.a attitude) every day and Caitlyn doesn't seem to be afraid of anything and is always getting into something. Caitlyn still doesn't talk much really but is saying more words now. I guess she will be just like her sister in that Amy didn't talk until she was at least 2 1/2.

Caitlyn's 2nd birthday is next month and I have booked a small party at Gymboree. I'm sure the kids will love the play area and who doesn't love cake and ice-cream afterward? I bought her the cutest little outfit with the number 2 on the front for the birthday girl. Amy is still doing her ballet and tap at daycare and they have a concert coming up in the fall at the Boerne Dance Festival. While I'm sure all the little ones will probably have a hard enough time standing in line I'm sure it will be cute to see all the little ones perform for us.

We're all getting excited about our trip to Australia too at the end of the year. Let's just hope the excitement lasts for the length of the flights!!

Summer is here

It didn't take long for the hot weather to start in San Antonio. These photos were taken Memorial Day weekend when the girls were with their Dad. They love splashing in the water. Amy gets to swim twice a week at Daycare and she really looks forward to it. She asks every morning "Are we swimming at pre school today?". Caitlyn is a little more apprehensive of the water but once she is in there she has fun too. It will be fun during the summer though being able to take the girls to the pool!

On Monday they are both moving up to new classes with new teachers. Hopefully they will adjust OK. Caitlyn is usually OK and likes just having a new room with new toys. But Amy gets attached to her teachers and likes routine so changing teachers she can get a little upset.

Last Saturday the girls had fun at Olivia Garner's 1st birthday party. They got to decorate party hats with all kinds of stickers and glitter and of course Amy had to find the little fake gems and add some bling to hers! Then they got to enjoy birthday cake (made even better because it was ice-cream cake!) Yesterday we went and had lunch with Ashley, Chris, Blake & Devyn at Sea Island. Despite the 90 degree weather the kids wanted to play on the slide. The poor little things looked so hot and Amy's face was nearly as pink as Mummy's shirt. They had fun though.

We are now getting excited because Uncle Tim will be here to visit soon. Mummy may have to produce the Elmo guitar Tim bought Caitlyn for Christmas and make it go off at some opportune time (like when he is trying to sleep in) then he will realize there is no volume control nor off switch and the slightest little movement sets the bloody thing off.

Easter and Spring 2010

It's hard to believe Easter has now been and gone. This year is just going by too fast. Both of the girls are continuing to grow and develop their own little personalities. They both of course were excited about Easter and Caitlyn got the hang of hunting for Easter eggs really quickly. She loved snacking on the goodies that were inside the eggs. Amy has had a few ongoing problems with her asthma and is off to see an asthma/allergy specialist on May 10. At the moment they think it is more allergy related and the poor little girl is now taking 2 more medications. Hopefully after May 10 we'll get it more controlled.

They are both still having fun at daycare and each day they seem to come home with new stories or activities. In the last couple of weeks Caitlyn has been naughty and bit a few kids in her class when they try to get a toy off her. Of course the situation is not helped when big sissy sits there and tells how good she is and that she doesn't bite! (Thanks Amy for rubbing it in). Amy will sit there and recite all the rules to Caitlyn.................no biting, no pinching, no pushing etc and then on Friday on the drive to daycare we hear No throwing mulch! I'm like where did that come from :-) Amy loves her rules and of course Caitlyn just laughs at her.

With it starting to get warmer we'll be going for a swim each week. I bought the girls the cutest new little swimming outfits (matching of course), so I'll get some pictures when we're at the pool for the next post.

Spring is here!

The cold weather seems to be finally behind us and we are having some great sunny days (which is nice on the weekends!) It's hard to believe it will soon be Easter. March has been another fun month for us girls and we are certainly reaching some milestones. As many of you know potty training with Amy started over a year ago. Since that time I have tried getting her to use a potty, a step-stool with a Dora toilet ring and tried bribing her with M&M's, Tinkerbell underpants (whatever it would take). But she just refused to even sit on the potty (clothed or not). She would scream and stiffen up so I would let it go and try again in a couple of weeks time. I was starting to think she will be at school still in diapers. Well about 2 weeks ago we were at babies R Us buying diapers and Amy announces she wants a pink potty. I thought great so of course I buy the one she wants. We get home and for 3 days she wouldn't go anywhere near it and even told me I can take it back to the store. One night before bath I had Caitlyn undressed and sat her on the potty. Low and behold she tinkled in the potty - little sissy used the potty before Amy! The other night out of the blue while I was on the phone with Tim, Amy walks into my bedroom naked with the potty and she had pooped in the potty all by herself :-) Now for the last week while she is at home she tinkles and poops in the potty, no prompting necessary! She will undress herself and go and use the potty. Looks like friendly competition from Caitlyn did the trick. We are going out this weekend to buy her some more underpants. Although she did tell Grandpa Jeffrey the other night that he had to buy her Tinkerbell underpants.

Amy is so funny with little things she does - she certainly won't do anything until she is ready. Each day now it seems she comes home from preschool with the funniest little phrases and mannerisms. She is so brutally honest too. In the bath the other week I was washing her hair and told her how her hair is getting darker like Mummy's, she said "Yes, dark like you and silver". Gotta love it when your child points out you have grey hair. Caitlyn too - she isn't talking yet but has her own little personality. She is so loving too, she loves to give kisses now and wave goodbye. When I pick the girls up from preschool I get Caitlyn first and take her to Amy's class room. All of Amy's friends come up to me and want to play with Caitlyn so I put her down on the floor and all the little boys and girls hug each other and say goodbye every afternoon. It is so cute to watch!

The girls were with their Dad last weekend and he took some cute pictures of them sitting in a field of blue bonnets. It was cute seeing them hug each other. Another nice Spring weekend coming up this weekend too. So we will be off to the park today for sure.

Growing up way too fast

It's been another busy 2 weeks for the girls and they are both growing up so fast. The phrases that now come out of Amy's mouth continue to shock/entertain me everyday! Not to mention the fact that she is only 3 - god help me at 13. The other night (like most nights) I was asking Amy if she wanted to use the potty. She told me "No, just at pre-school." We then had a bath and after bath I asked her again. She refused again and I said "Well you use it at pre-school." Her response, "Actually.....no I don't." I guess you had to be there to hear her attitude. I had to turn away so she didn't see me laugh. And her latest word of the week seems to be "Remember?" For example..........."I told you last week Momma. Remember?" Where does she get this stuff? She also bugged me for the last 2 weeks to get her hair cut. Since she has never really been to the hairdresser and she is so into her hair clips etc I kept asking her if she was sure. Apparently she wanted to get her haircut like Emily's (a little girl in her class). Peer pressure at 3 - my god. So after 2 weeks of nagging I took her to the hairdresser yesterday to get her haircut. It does look adorable, just cut to her shoulders. She says she is a big girl now! Of course the big girl won't let me get a photo of the new hair style.

Caitlyn is an expert walker now and gets upset with me if I try and carry her to the car. When we leave the apartment in the morning she walks from the living room out to the garage and then tries to climb up into the car. She has also learned how to give real kisses and is so cute when she says "Uh-oh". There is a pause in between the sounds and real emphasis on the "oh". Somehow with all the trouble Caitlyn find I am sure she will need to use this phrase a lot!

Mummy did have one victory this week though. Monday night both of the girls decided they didn't want to eat the chicken and pasta they were given for dinner. So they got it again Tuesday night. Caitlyn nibbled a little but not our stubborn Amy. So Amy got it again Wednesday which is where I think she realized that Mummy wasn't letting up. So then on Thursday night they both ate all their carrots and peas!! Too scared that they may have been able to predict Friday's dinner I guess.

Amy turns 3!

Well another month has flown by for us and the girls are just grwoing up way too fast. Fortunately we have not had any more illnesses to worry about so that is good news. Caitlyn is now walking everywhere and getting into absolutely everything, more often than not things she shouldn't be in of course. I don't normally give her messy food to eat as I usually prefer a peaceful dinner for the 3 of us (i.e. mummy wants to be able to eat her dinner without tidying up mess every 30 seconds). However, the other night I gave her some of my spaghetti and sauce - she went to town. Absolutely loved it!! She of course got her hands and face messy but for the first time didn't actually drop half of her meal on the floor. She had a tantrum when it was time to get down from the table! She was having so much fun eating it I couldn't resist to take photos.

We also had a fun week this week - Blake is now officially a big brother, I went to visit his new baby sister Devyn in the hospital on Tuesday. Amy was all disappointed because she wanted to go to and didn't understand why she wasn't allowed in with the newborns. In a few weeks we'll visit at home though and then I'm sure her and Blake will be in their element. Then of course it was Amy's birthday yesterday. I didn't plan any big party this year, we just went across the road to Brindles and had some yummy ice-cream. The girls then went to their Dad's and kept on celebrating I'm sure. She did get some lovely gifts though and of course Tinkerbell featured in there. She also now has an adorable dance bag for her ballet and tap stuff. I also got her a cute little girls charm bracelet. It came with a heart charm and I also bought her a fairy charm (since that certainly reminds me of what she is into at this age). I will be taking Amy for her 3 year check-up tomorrow so we'll see how much she has grown and hopefully find out whether she needs to continue with the twice daily pulmicort.

Things are tough for us right now with everything that is happening but I am so blessed to have those 2 little girls in my life. I love watching them grow and change and develop their own little personalities. No matter how tired and exhausted you are at the end of the day getting a hug and a kiss from them before bedtime each night is my idea of perfect!

A new year

Here is the first post of 2010. We didn't really do anything to bring in the New Year, in fact didn't even make it to midnight (but what's new there!) Amy has been able to start back at daycare after her month off recuperating. She is in a new class with new teachers but seems to be adjusting well. She is especially excited because now she is old enough to start the ballet classes they have on a Thursday. While Grandpa Jeffrey was here we went and bought her leotard and shoes that she needs. She looks so damn cute. This week they are doing tap which I think will become her favorite because she loves putting the tap shoes on and dancing in the kitchen on the hard floor already.
Caitlyn on the other hand continues to be my "mischievous" child. She is 1 and I already had to the front office! She bit someone at school the other week while fighting over a toy. Thankfully she hasn't repeated it. She is walking more though and is very proud of all the extra things she can do now (usually revolves around getting into some cabinet she shouldn't be in. She had her 15 month check up on the 7th Jan and she is now 30.75" and 21lb 14oz. She's like her sister though in that she is not saying any words yet. So she probably won't talk until she after her 2nd birthday too.
Grandpa Jeffrey went home on the 8th and we miss him. While he was here Amy had an obsession with counting red cars and McDonald's. So now during the week we keep a tally so that she can tell him on Sunday's when he calls how many she has seen. Both girls have also seemed to carry on the game of squirting water on me while in the bath. Thanks for teaching them that one Grandpa Jeff!
It has been really cold here in San Antonio (well for Sth TX anyway). However, I'm about to get a lot colder when I head to Boston tomorrow for the week. I think the high all week is 38. Hopefully there are no snow related travel delays. I am busy today washing and getting the girls stuff ready for them to spend the week with Jerad. So I'll go and finish that and post again later.