Girls' Get-away

 

For the first time EVER, I left my kids for the weekend (Thurs-Sun) to enjoy a weekend with my sisters-in-law and a couple friends. We stayed at a GOREGOUS home in Scottsdale, Arizona, thanks to Catherine's brilliant planning and invitation. So relaxing. Pedicures, great company, reading, lounging by the pool, napping, and the best restaurants in town made for pretty much the best weekend ever. Also, it turns out my kids didn't seem to notice much that I was gone. I'm 32 weeks along, so with Baby Boy coming at the beginning of the new year, this was a perfect last chance to get away, child-free, while I still could.

 

 

 

 

 Our view

 

 

Mock-tails on the terrace

 

 

Sunset in Scottsdale

 

 

The ladies

 

 

32 weeks 

Caught in the act!

 

Entertaining themselves while I clean the house...

Eating with her fingers while holding her fork... <3 br="">

At the beginning of January, Annalise became a Sunbeam at church. She joined her new class with gusto and confidence and never looked back or was shy or nervous. I sat in the back of the room to watch for the first little bit and it was so cute and fun to see her be very proactive in raising her hand and volunteering to answer questions. Our sweet big girl is an angel. <3 p="">

 

 

 

15 Months

At 15 months, Karina has become hilarious. She says hi to LITERALLY every person we pass in grocery stores, parking lots, on the street. She will repeat anything you ask her, even saying thank you (which her 3 1/2 year-old sister still won't do because she is usually too shy). She spends most of her time bouncing and screaming with happiness and people still act impressed that she can walk- apparently she looks very tiny. She only wants Mommy to put her to bed (being dealt the daddy-card produces screams like she's being bludgeoned by her sister- not that we would ever know what that sounds like) and she says, "Hi Daddy" or "Hi Mommy" or "Hi Yeti" when she sees us, along with "Ho-mee" ('hold me') and roars like a monster with her claws in the air when you ask what a bear or a tiger says. She does monkey noises too. She also nods and shakes her head very purposefully when you ask her anything, though if she has no idea what you're talking about the answer is always yes. She is very imp-ish and runs away screaming and laughjing when you want her to come. She loves to take a bath ('bah!') and is very sad when Annalise gets out of the car and she is left behind. She is so funny and precious and sweet and cute it is insane. :)

Karina

Little Karina is 14 months old, average in height, and 5th percentile in weight. She says the words Daddy, Yeti, ball, cup, doggy, poop, hi, and no-no-no while shaking her finger. If you ask her who my baby is she points to her chest and says Kar-Kar. She sings and dances to the Cat in the Hat show ("Go go go go!" and "Up up up up!") If you ask her for a diaper she will go get one and can point to her head and her hair on command. She is a little confused about the face- every time you ask where her nose is, she points to her mouth. :) She is obsessed with the cat, drools like nothing I've ever seen before, wakes up all night long, and gets the same reaction frequently: "She is too little to be walking!" Right now she has Hand-foot-and-mouth Disease. She and her sister play and laugh and scream together all day long.

A berry by any other name...

Since she is such a seasoned blueberry-picker, a couple of weeks ago my mom bought Annalise the book 'Blueberries For Sal'. Dave held it up to her tonight and asked if she remembered what it was called. She thought about it. "Little Sal Has a Grape," she replied.

10 Months

A week before she turned 10 months, the eczema on Karina's face magically disappeared. At her nine-month apointment (that happened the day she turned 10 months) the doctor said she was right on target for when it usually clears up. Her ankles and the backs of her knees are still red and scaly and itchy but she looks so much better now that you can really see her sweet face. :) If I feed her dairy products her face explodes into a frenzy again, but she seems to have no issues with wheat (the doc thinks she is allergic to nuts though) and she doesn't seem to have a problem eating things with small traces of dairy in them. Her head-size was 90th percentile, her height 31st percentile, and her weight was 18th percentile. She has not been an actual eater of any foods until last Thursday when out of the blue she ate about 20 freshly-picked raspberries! It was so exciting! She didn't spit them out or drool them away- she actually swallowed them! And then today she ate about 15 freshly-picked blueberries! Clearly berries are our friends. :)

She can walk behind a push-toy, clap, wave 'hi' and 'bye' and wiggle her tongue in and out of her mouth when prompted. She is madly in love with her sister and the cat and continues to allow herself to cheerfully be held by anyone that wants to. The doctor was frankly shocked at how happy and smiley and friendly she was at the appointment (quite the opposite of Annalise who did not stop screaming once at her own 9-month appointment) and told me, "You realize this age is the HEIGHT of stranger-danger, right? And she has none!" She and Annalise have had their first babysitter come twice now and both are happy as clams about it, to say NOTHING of how their mother feels. Tonight her fourth tooth (second on top) poked through. She is growing up!

Karina at 10 months:

Congratulations to Annalise on her successful adoption into the Old Navy mannequin family. They welcomed her with open, albeit rigid, arms. 

My Little Blender

• This morning, Annalise used her new softball bat on the baby when she didn't know I was looking. Then while I nursed the baby I heard her dragging a kitchen chair down the hall. I ran in as glass started breaking- she'd taken it into the office to reach a bag of chocolate chips she'd spotted, hidden from her on a high shelf (if we leave them in the pantry she'll climb up and get them)- as she grabbed for them, glass jars rained down. When I went to check on her during her time-out for this, I found she had escaped and was back on the chair trying to get to the chocolate chips again. Then she accidently spilled a cup of chocolate milk all over the leather couch. Then she did a million other things. 

  
  

  

  
  

Funny girl

The Woodburn Tulip Festival

We drove out to the Tulip Festival and it was so beautiful!

Heart-shaped flower. <3

The flowers were so gorgeous I could have taken pictures for days.

They looked like a watercolor to me.

More than the flowers, Annalise enjoyed the bounce houses and her first pony ride!

Hmm...

This morning, I turned around and Annalise was pounding on Karina's head while the baby sat there, stunned. "Stop it!" I exclaimed. "Don't do that- she hates that! She's just a baby!" To which Annalise replied, "She not a baby. She a drum."

Since I'm eating no wheat or dairy due to Karina's allergies, we have to be more creative with treats- there is generally nothing from the regular store that I can snack on- so we have to make our own. Annalise is just fine with this. She ADORES baking. Here she is making some mean gluten-free dairy-free brownies. There is always much stirring.

...and at least as much tasting.

After our brownies we took a walk. This sweet little dress was mine when I was little. It's so fun to see it on her. :)

Backyard Fun

Oh how glorious the weather has been. It's led to much time outside, especially in the backyard, which Dave works hard to make nice for Annalise. She loves to romp around, poke things with sticks, peep into neighboring yards, chase bubbles, point out airplanes, and chatter sweetly to herself.