6-4-14 Today is mama's first day
of summer break! We went on a hike with Auntie Demi up Millcreek Canyon. I took
the carriers and Lily rode on my back and Violet was on Demi's. The girls were
great! We saw some doggies and some pretty wild flowers. We heard a lot of
birds singing and sang a few songs ourselves! It was super fun!!! At dinner, we
had asparagus, pork, and quinoa. Violet looooves asparagus! I cut the top and
bottom off of the stalks and she ate about 10 of them!
6-5-14 We went to Liberty Park
this morning to walk with a friend who is moving to Georgia. We went to the
playground too and Violet liked the swing but Lily wanted nothing to do with
it. She was interested in the water spraying and got a little wet!
6-8-14 Swimming! We went swimming
for the first time this morning! I found some super cute swim suits at Old Navy and we were
given two floaty saucer things. Some friends invited us to a relative's condo
to swim. It was a little cold with the breeze, but the water was nice and warm.
Violet held on to mama and Lily to daddy. After some time, we tried the
saucers. Lily hated it, but Violet was chill with it as long as I didn't let
go! After swimming, we went to the condo and had a lovely picnic on the balcony
facing the warm sun and the mountains up Emigration. Mimosas for the parents
made the morning complete!
Lily loves dancing! I sing,
“Dance, Lily, Dance!" and clap my hands and she dances in a circle. Then
she'll get a little dizzy and stagger and laugh! Violet is talking so much!
Most of it is baby babble, but she says baby all the time! A few weeks ago I
bought the girls sandals. Of course Lily loved them and wanted to wear them all
the time (still does). She got a little blister on her left foot. She must have
learned “owie" at daycare because now, weeks later, she points to it and
says, “owie." It's almost faded. I wonder if she'll keep saying it after
it's gone!
The girls have had allergies and
runny noses. They actually don't mind when I wipe their little noses! Lily will
even take a kleenex and try wiping her own nose!
6-9-14 This morning we went to
Liberty Park to walk with our friends Kim and Amelia. After we walked, we went
over to the playground. This was our third time trying out the swings and
Violet loved it! She was smiling the whole time this time! I tried to put Lily
in and she screamed so we'll try again another day. I held their hands while
they each went down the slide and they really liked that!
6-11-14 Lily will shrug her
shoulders a few times when she walks around. This morning, Ryan was holding
Violet's hand and bringing her to me for morning mama milk and Lily walked over
and held her other hand! So sweet!
Violet's been saying uh-oh! She's
really been talking a lot the last few days!
Lily is very task oriented. She
likes taking her diaper to the trash, putting on her shoes, turning on the air
filter in their room, and taking things to mama or daddy.
I put a little froggy potty in the
bathroom because they've been following me in and acting a little interested,
even though it's probably too early to start potty training. They can sit on it
with their pants on to get used to it. Lily sat on it twice but now is unsure
about it, but Violet loves sitting on it!
6-12-14 Violet said bye bye today.
She's still talking all day long! She waves hello and bye bye with her silly
wave. Her hand is pretty limp. Lily walks around with her bear under one arm in
a football hold. It's so funny!
In the car Lily is always taking
off her shoes. Then I hear her say, “OwieOwieOwieOwieOwieOwieOwie.” She is
hilarious!
They've been great eaters all week
for me at lunch and snack time. We always start with a veggie, usually a purée.
We've had carrot & strawberry, spinach & zucchini, and broccoli &
golden beet. Those are all homemade. We had some soft whole wheat pita bread
left so I gave them small pieces of that with yummy hummus on top. We've also
had turkey meat and cheese, one of their favorites! For dessert this week,
we've had small pieces of kiwi, plum, banana, and pear. They are such good
eaters!! Even when they don't like something, they usually try it. Sometimes
we'll start with small pieces of tomato. Lily doesn't really like it plain yet
(she loves cooked tomatoes in sauce), but she loves it in cottage cheese!
Violet loves veggies! Asparagus, peas, green beans, tomatoes, all soft and cut
up small.
We went to Grandma’s work this
morning and when I got home I had an email from her. It said, “The girls are
delightful, full of life, energy and happiness. I love them to
pieces! My family makes me the happiest.”
We'll be heading to Chicago in a few days. We're really excited! We hope the girls have fun and do well on the flight. I've been continuing to nurse just for our trip. It might come in handy on the plane and at bedtime. After that, I'll probably start weening them completely. It's bittersweet, that's for sure. I NEVER thought I'd go this long! I didn't know if I'd last 6 months when they were born! It's more special than I ever imagined it to be. I'm sure it will be harder on me than them to finish.
6-15-14 We got up early to get to
the airport and fly to Chicago! The girls were pretty good on the flight. Violet
got a little fussy so I nursed her a little and she napped. Took the train into
the city and Lily slept for a while on the train. A woman at the train station
said, “Gorgeous! You have the president and vice president all in one
basket!" That was so sweet! Were able to check into our hotel early, which
was a relief because normally check-in isn’t until 4:00. After we settled in
our room a bit, we went to Trader Joe’s for some breakfast and snack foods and
whole milk for the girls. Violet and I had a quick nap while Lily and daddy
went out and explored a little. We had snack in Grant Park which is right
across the street from our hotel, and then we walked around the city. We ended
up at Millennium Park. It was really crowded! We saw “The Bean” which is a big
stainless steel sculpture, and the Ghery Amphitheater. We shopped a little around
the park and had a quick dinner. The girls had their own little playpen/crib to
sleep in. They did well! We brought sheets from home so at least they’d have
that familiarity. It took Lily a little longer than usual to go to sleep since
we were all in the same room. So far the girls have done amazing! We hope the
rest of the trip goes this smoothly!
6-16-14 This morning we took the Metra
train to the Museum of Science and Industry. They have a lot of cool,
interactive exhibits. The girls’ favorite was a big incubator with about 30
baby chicks! Violet was making all sorts of cute noises and they were both
smiling and pointing at the chicks! It was so adorable! We also saw a Disney
exhibit which had a bunch of original Mary Poppins movie stuff. That’s our
favorite Disney movie! Afterwards, we walked over to see the beach and then
took the train back. If the girls were older and didn’t need a nap, it would be
a fun day to go to that museum and then hang out on the beach. They were pretty
tired though. They both napped a little at the museum. We missed the train back
by about a minute! We waited at the station and they got a little antsy.
Luckily Ryan has Choo Choo Soul on his phone! That saved the day! Once we
finally got back to the hotel we decided to rest for a bit. I wanted to go to The
Art Institute of Chicago, but they close kind of early and there wasn’t enough
time so we'll definitely go tomorrow.
6-17-14 This morning we went to
the Shedd Aquarium! It was so fun! The girls were great and loved seeing all
the marine life. They had lots of opportunities to get out of the stroller and
walk around, which was nice. As we were walking back, we started talking to a
woman who lives in Chicago and loves it. She took her little boy to the
aquarium. He was a little younger than our girls. She said the restaurant Yolk
would be a nice place for lunch and she was right! It was delicious and the
girls were well behaved and ate really well. We planned today a lot better and
made it back to the hotel in time for nap. Yesterday we got back later than we
wanted to, so they didn’t nap as well. We then went to The Art institute of
Chicago. There is so much great art in that place! One of their special
exhibits was on glass paper weights. It sounds silly, but they were so
incredible! The whole time I thought of my Grandma Flo because she collected
paper weights. They were so intricate and displayed vertically so you could
really see the details. We decided to take the subway up to Chicago Avenue
where there’s the Magnificent Mile shopping. We had a great view of the river
and enjoyed the other end of the city. We’d have loved to take a boat tour, but
we’ll have to do it next time when the girls are older. For dinner we went a
pretty fancy place! Again, we were pleased with how well the girls were at
dinner. We think a lot of passerbys were surprised we took kids there because
Ryan said he noticed people’s faces and they seemed surprised we took kids to
this restaurant! I was oblivious to that! I was just enjoying my wine and my
yummy Mahi dinner. We sat outside and got rained on for about 30 seconds!
Luckily no more than that. Today was a pretty perfect vacation day!
6-18-14 We went out this morning looking
for a park for the girls to play on. With all of our exploring we hadn’t seen
one around! Google maps showed a few that looked closer than they really were. It
was too hot and humid to search too far so we didn't end up finding one. We packed
our bags and had to check out at noon. It started pouring rain when we checked
out so waited in the lobby for about 15 minutes until it let up. We walked to
the Field Museum, which is next to the aquarium (both about a 10 minute walk
from our hotel). We thought this would be a nice place to hang out for a few
hours since we had to check out at noon and our flight wasn’t scheduled to
leave until about 8:00. There were lots of fun things to look at and the girls
walked around a lot. Violet walks well when she’s holding one of our hands, and
now Lily goes to her and hold her other hand. Violet likes it as long as Lily
doesn’t pull her along too fast! At one point we sat down to rest in a big lobby
area downstairs. They had four big comfy chairs and lots of space for the girls
to toddle around. Plus not many people go down that way. There was a woman
pregnant with twins right there with us! She was nervous but excited and asked
us a bunch of questions. She seemed less stressed when she left so hopefully we
gave her some peace of mind about having twins! It’s pretty great, if you ask
me!
We then walked around the pier and
the lake. It’s so relaxing by the water. Daddy had a polish sausage and I had a
chocolate ice cream cone that I shared with the girls. They were so funny!
Usually they have ice cream with a spoon so this was new to them! They ended up
with chocolate ice cream all over their lips and a little on their noses. When
we got back to the hotel to get our bags we found out that our flight was
delayed 45 minutes. Luckily the girls fell asleep in the stroller so we hung
out in the lobby for a while and they slept. It was a nice rest for all of us! It
started raining again, but not really hard. We got out the umbrella and the
rain cover for the stroller because it was time to head to the train to go back
to the airport. The girls said, “Choo choo,” the whole way there! Check-in and
security was quick, but the food court was super busy! I finally found a table
after waiting for someone to stand up and leave! I had a delicious chicken gyro
with peppers and zucchini and yellow squash. I’ve never had a gyro with all
those veggies and I loved it! We put the girls’ jammies on at the gate. Lily
was screaming and we were worried. Luckily, we sat next to some sweet black
ladies from Ogden that sang soulful baby songs to her. We didn't take off until
almost an hour after our delayed time! Those two women saved us by entertaining
the girls so much! She didn’t fuss at all! Once we were in the air, she had
some mama milk and slept on daddy the whole time. Violet fussed just a little,
trying to get comfy. She had some milk too and then slept. Wow they were good!
Demi picked us up and we were in bed by 1:00!
6-19-14 Today we were recovering
from our trip, and trying to get back on our normal schedule. They napped well,
but early, before lunch. By dinner time they were so tired. Violet took a 10
minute catnap before dinner, and Lily fell asleep at the table in her
highchair! We tried to wake her up, but she was out like a light! Violet was
super hyper at dinner! She was being a little goofball!
6-21-14 Lily loves Violet so much!
As soon as she wakes up she stands up and looks for Violet in her crib, she
gives her hugs and kisses all the time, and says her name, Bi, holding out the
I sound. When we are walking with Violet, Lily walks over and holds her hand.
Violet loves Lily so much too. She smiles and laughs with her and touches her
hair. She’s usually gentle and doesn’t grab it. She holds her hand at the
table. She doesn't say Lily's name yet, but when you say, “Where's Lily?"
she points to her sissy!
Violet let me paint her toenails
on her big toes. They're purple, like mine. Daddy loves them! Lily wouldn't sit
still long enough for me to even try!
6-23-14 At bedtime, they always
blow me kisses and wave night-night. I don't even have to ask them to! Such
sweet girls! How did I get so lucky!?!? They are both starting to wave by
opening and closing their hands.
6-24-14 We had an appointment with
Margaret, the dietitian today. Violet weighs 17.2 pounds and Lily weighs 18.5
pounds. They’re still making good progress and following the curve. They’re
both in the 2% for height! They’re way under the curve still for weight, but I
really don’t care anymore. Margaret is so pleased with their progress that we
don’t need to see her anymore! She is so sweet, I will miss her.
6-25-14 I love being home with my
girls!! They are so sweet, so smart, and so funny! We have a blast every day!
Today Lily was scooting down the stairs on her bum. Violet got some of her
confidence back and was walking quite a bit. We went to Book Baby at the
library today! It was a lot of fun! We read books, sang songs, and danced
around! I hope I can take them every week!
6-26-14 Lily's been telling us
when she has to poop. She says, “I poop," or “poopy." So today I took
her into the bathroom and took off her pants and diaper, and then put her on
one of the froggy potties. She peed a little and pooped just a little! Then
Violet came in and sat on the potty too! I'm not sure if I can start toilet
training before they can pull their pants up and down and before Violet is
walking steadily! I am looking forward to being done with diapers though!!
We went to the park earlier today
and of course Violet loved the swing and didn't want to get off. It's just like
when she was really little and loved the baby swing. My parents said that I
loved it too. We would both be in there for hours if we could. Lily even helped
me push Violet a little bit! I think Lily thought about how much fun the swing
is because after Violet got out she walked over and started touching it with
her fingertips and then pushed it a little. I picked her up and she didn't
fight me this time. She just sat there a minute, not swinging then I pushed her
a tiny bit. That was ok. Then I pushed her a little more. That was not ok so we
stopped. She liked it a little and was even smiling!!
6-27-14 Lily is definitely right
handed. Violet seems strong with both hands. She always eats with her left, but
today was throwing balls better with her right! We think left is her dominant
side though. Ryan and I are both right handed, but I can do quite a few things
with my left. Violet's a lot like me! Lily's a lot like Ryan!
This week I put the slide we
bought them for Christmas out in our living room. I needed something new for
them to play on to release energy when it's too hot outside. I put balls in the
splash area and there's a little ladder and a red slide. They absolutely love
it! Lily is fearless on the slide going down on her bum or feet first on her
tummy. Violet loves climbing in and out of the ball pit and tossing out the
balls one at a time, or climbing to the top of the stairs and looking out,
standing at the top. They bring their stuffed animals in the ball pit and then
lie back, relaxing in the balls. They have such a great time playing together!
6-28-14 Violet finally decided
that she's brave enough to walk! She was walking all afternoon! I called my mom
to tell her and she said that she's just like I was. Cautious and likes taking
her time. She said, “You weren't in any rush!" I also called her to tell
her that Violet loves rocks like I did as a child. We went out back to play
with Bella and Jimmy, and Violet played with the rocks almost the whole time.
Later I showed Lily a picture of
Sarah's daughter, Charlotte, on Facebook. They are friends and go to Mary's
together. She said, “Jibberish, jibberish, Char-wotte. Jibberish, jibberish,
Char-wotte,” and didn't want to give me back the phone! I think she misses her
friend! We went upstairs for bath time and Violet was still walking after bath!
She was walking down the hall naked and I said we'd better get her jammies on
so she doesn't pee in the hall! She wanted to walk more and more with me on one
end of the hall and daddy on the other with Lily walking too. She paused and
even totally turned around without falling! She fell down and then stood up all
by herself!!!! That was the first time she’s done that! She was able to do that
over and over again! I think we've made a lot of progress today! Lily has been
so supportive of Violet. She holds her hand and helps her up and gives her hugs
and kisses. Ah, sissy love!
6-30-14 We went to Liberty Park this morning to walk with our friend,
Giulia. At the playground Lily loved the swing! At first she didn’t want to
move that much. She was happy to just sit in it, but soon she was swinging
almost as high as Violet! Both girls were smiling and laughing! They didn’t
want to stop!
I can’t believe they will be 18 months old on Thursday!
They are growing so fast!!!
