Monday, June 30, 2014

June 2014 - 17 months old

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!!! 

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