One Week Down!

Well, we made it through our first full week of me being back at work! It was hard to be away from my kiddos but we will get into a routine. It made us enjoy our time together this weekend even more.

Spring weather came briefly so we enjoyed a long walk. Lyla loves the Moby wrap! 

When I woke Noah up after his nap, he said, "Mommy, get Lyla down by me and us under the covers together!" He loves to cuddle with his sister. Unfortunately the flash makes Lyla look like she's not enjoying it or it made Noah close his eyes! 

Daniel's dad used to play hide-and-seek with him before bed. Daniel could hide wherever he wanted, but once his Dad found him it was time to go to bed. This was one of Daniel's favorite memories from childhood, and one he wanted to pass on. So tonight he introduced that game to Noah. For some reason I can't get the video to load. So you'll have to go to YouTube to watch it. Click here.  It makes us laugh. :)

My Valentine Cuties!

I know she doesn't look happy...she is. :) We were just quickly approaching bedtime, so her smiles are few and far between. 

Love them!

My parents stopped in for a visit earlier this week. For some reason, we only paused for this quick snapshot with Grandpa. 

Last Day

Lyla had her two month check-up yesterday. She was a champ. She's right on track in development for the most part (though just a little lower in gross motor than in other areas) and measured in at 22 3/4 inches long and 11 lb 12.4 oz. Right at the 50% for both. Just about perfect. :)

I go back to work tomorrow. Very mixed feelings...I miss my job and am so excited to see everyone and to get back to doing what I love, but I know I will miss all of this extra time with my kiddos. Prayers would be appreciated tomorrow, as I know I will be a crying mess when I drop them off!

To "celebrate" my last day home, Noah, Lyla, and I went to breakfast with Emily and Cole. That isn't documented by pictures but it really did happen!

One more round of pictures before I lose some of my time...(I know these probably all look the same to you, but I can't pick a favorite!)

Two Months!

Two months with our happy little girl. She is such an easy baby. Still not a great napper--one day she will take a great 2.5 hour nap (like yesterday) and the next she won't settle down for more than 20 minutes at a time (like today). But I'm not complaining since she is still doing delightful 8-10 hour stretches of sleep at night (including an 11 hour stretch earlier this week!) and is still happy as can be. She is sharing her smiles more and more freely, which makes Noah giggle with delight. Her spitting up is much better, which means less laundry, thankfully. She is still in size one diapers, and just looking comfortable in 0-3 month clothes (not swimming in them anymore!) but we are switching to cloth diapers now, so here comes more laundry! Enjoying my last few days home with this sweet gift.

Likes: Cuddling next to her brother, being swaddled when she sleeps, laying on her playmat, watching ceiling fans, burying her face into Mommy's or Daddy's chest or arm while snoozing
Dislikes: Tummy time, getting strapped into her carseat, napping in her bed

Here are a couple of Noah's two month pictures for comparison: (As always, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger).

Snow Day!

We had yet another snow yesterday...school is cancelled again today, and while I could have taken Noah to daycare, I decided to enjoy the day with him since I will go back to work next week. Thankfully, Lyla also thought this was a good plan and took a 2 and a half hour nap (this was after she slept a 10 hour stretch, ate, and slept almost 4 more hours!) so I could give Noah some much-needed and well-deserved one-on-one time. (Ignore the bed-head in all of these pictures...we didn't have anyone to impress today.)

We started by making waffles for breakfast. Daddy got to enjoy some, too, since his office opened late.

Noah loved tasting the batter! 

So excited to be helping Mommy!

Noah is getting used to my constant picture snapping---he actually "ordered" me to take this one after he smeared batter on his mouth! :) 

After breakfast, Noah helped Daddy shovel our walk and driveway. 

...while this little cutie snoozed on...

Noah and I moved on to a Pinterest activity...dropping colored vinegar into a pan of baking soda to make bubbles. We used old cleaned out medicine droppers. Noah had a hard time grasping the "squeeze and let go" concept of filling up the syringe, but finally got it. Pinterest said, "This kept my 2-year-old busy for an hour!" Pinterest lied. :) After about 5 minutes, Noah just picked up the bottle and dumped the vinegar into the pan. Still made for fun bubbles! 

Then we worked pipe-cleaners into the holes of a colander. When I told Noah Grandma Sampson gave him the pipe cleaners, he responded with, "That was nice of her!" haha. Yeah, Buddy, it was! 

Then we used the pipe cleaners, pompoms, and googly eyes to make a bumble bee and a zebra. Noah loved it. 

And finally I introduced Noah to the quiet book I've been working on. I started this when Noah was about 6 months old...then I thought maybe I would give it to him when we were in the hospital having Lyla. But it wasn't quite done. Then I thought I would give it to him when we went to Pennsylvania for New Year's. But it wasn't quite done. I finally decided it was done enough to play with it today, though I still have some other pages I want to work on and add. We had fun exploring the barn complete with animals that stand up on clothespin legs...

...and driving the car from one garage to the other...

...and changing the seasons by adding leaves or flowers to the tree...

...and pretend painting...

...and weaving a tennis racket and buttoning flowers. 

What a fun day we had!