April 28, 2009 - 5 months, 2 weeks and 3 days old.

Lily sat up all by herself!

This is about a whole month and a half earlier then Grace did. I don't really have anything else to say except, I am so proud and so sad. It's all going by so quickly. But my Lily sat up like a big girl and played with a toy for about 2 and a half minutes before falling over. She has since done this a number of times but not with any greater success. She gets to trying to follow Grace with her eyes and the slight shift in balance pulls her over. I will post pictures shortly.

Video: Refusing to sing her ABCs

You give me fever...FEVER!

Well we're on vacation and the girls must have picked something up on the plane or in the airport. God knows we spent enough time there! Both girls came down with a fever yesterday and have been fussy and uncomfortable the last 24 hours. I keep hope that it will be gone each time they wake from a nap, but they sleep fitfully and haven't shaken it yet. The last thing I want to deal with is a doctor's visit while on the road. But both girls were up all night last night.

My poor Grandparents. I know that they want to see us and are dying to get their hands back on the girls. But they are in their 80's and I am as afraid for their health as much as I am concerned that my girls just rest and get better.

I must say that even with a fever and red tired eyes, Grace is quite the ham! She chased a neighborhood cat around the yard yesterday and painted herself with cupcake frosting this morning. Here's some of her adventures with the cat yesterday.

Grace & Mallory's Tinkerbell Birthday Party

So tired....

Where to start... our 8 hour trip to Florida on Thursday turned into a 14 hour ordeal. We were supposed to land in Tallahassee shortly before midnight after a 3 hour layover in Atlanta. What happened instead was, we circled Atlanta for 40 minutes due to severe weather, then landed in the middle of a spectacular electrical storm. We were the last plane to land in Atlanta due to this spectacular storm and were forced to sit on the tarmac, 50 yards from our gate, because all ground personnel were forced inside for safety reasons so there was no one to bring the plane in. We sat (and socialized) for an hour while the storm raged and somewhat passed. Once inside the terminal we trekked 3 terminals to get to our gate. Now... if you've ever flown into or out of Atlanta's airport you know first, you never fly into and out of the same gate, hell you never fly into or out of the same terminal. So we landed in terminal A and we lugged ourselves; Grace in the car seat with wheels, Lily in the baby bjorn and a big ole carry on bag, to terminal C. And yes, I walked... We get to the gate and it says we depart on time. "Sweet!!" quick diaper change, splash some water on my face, back to the gate... we now depart an hour late, getting us in at 1:30am... Okay, it's fine... but 1 hour late turns to 2, 2 turns to 3... we finally get to Tallahassee a little after 3 am. However, it could have been so, so, so much worse than it was. Grace made friends with everyone at our gate. She provided the comic relief and eased the stress, anger and tension of the situation for more than a few people. As every deplaned in Tallahassee they all said "Good night Grace Elizabeth" ( Yeah, I must have sternly saidher full name a lot before Grace started entertaining the masses) At baggage claim I was introduced as the woman flying alone with two little girls, one of whom was a "singing, counting, peek-a-booing darling." Grace must have sang her ABC's 10 times if she sang it once. And all in the gate area watched and waited with the same bated breath as a parent, to see if she really could do it. Grace loved the attention and the applause, so she repeated that performance quite a few times. She sang Pat-a-Cake and Ring Around the Rosie, she played peek-a-boo with anyone and everyone. Counted to 16. There were a few people who wanted to know why '16'... And granted, it does seem like a random number, but once I explained that we have 16 stairs between the first and second floors of our house they understood. Everyone got a good laugh out of trying to get Grace to name colors, something we are still working on. And though it seemed a bit creepy, a few people asked if they could take pictures of Grace with their phones to email to their spouses who were hearing about her as they were getting flight arrival updates. Needless to say Grace kept the peace a the gate and I was grateful for the help and the entertainment Grace got out of it.

So we land at 3 get to the house a little after 4 and I get the girls to sleep by 5am. I was watching the neighbors wake up and get ready for work and my day had not even ended yet. But my in-laws would be here in a few hours. I got 4 and a half hours of sleep, a shower and a LARGE cup of coffee in time for Grammie and Grampa Hurley to arrive and the weekend began. Friday was pretty laid back we relaxed a bit, settled the girls in, visited with everyone and ran a few quick errands to prepare for the birthday party on Saturday. Saturday morning the girls slept in until 9am (6am AZ time) and I got to sleep (yipee!), so I caught up on a few of my missing hours of sleep, but it was time to prep for the party. So more errands, grocery, pick up cake and the entire family was here. Aunt Gaye (pronounced 'Ant' not Aunt down south) and her brood, Uncle Jamey, Pierce and Mallory, who would celebrate her 10th birthday with Grace. Aunt ('Ant') Jill and Uncle Gordon, Nana Gwynn and Papa Brian, Grammie & Grampa Hurley, Uncle Rory and My Grandma Dottie and Grampa Bunny. Uncle Sean and Auntie Kensley were not able to get here but will be moving in next week. And a few cousins, neighbors and friends. Grace had the best time, palying in the pool, eating a Tinkerbell cupcake cake and getting Dora's backpack were among her favorite moments. It was a long day but a nice party. Grace even sang "Happy birthday to me, Grace!"

Two days in and we are all worn out! It has been a good weekend so far and while Grampa and Memaw work the next few days the girls and I will try to recover and get ready for a weekend filled with College graduation events next weekend!

Today Grace joined Grammie and Grampa Hurley at church before they started the journey down south and we'll have a big chicken wing dinner with my brothers, Kensley and my Grandparents tonite... I love the chaos of family and love the quiet of living so far from family all at the same time, but so far it's been a GREAT visit!!

Picture to follow...

Should be packing...

or sleeping... The girls are both down for a nap, at the same time, I know... amazing right?? I should be packing, we leave Thursday but I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm excited to go, but the thought of packing... it requires thought and organization and it hurts my brain right now... I just spent 20 minutes sitting in the kiddie pool in the back yard. It wasn't quite the same as the pool this morning. After our walk with Rylan I shot up to the new pool behind our house for a quick pre-lunch dip. IT WAS HEAVEN! The water was the perfect temperature (won't last, it's almost 100 today) and the shallow part was completely shaded and there was a breeze that kept Lily laughing while Grace and I swam. We will be on our way back to the pool to swim with Kelli after everyone's nap.

The only down side to the pool adventure this morning was a bird... A small bird was bobbing half drowned in the skimmer by the steps. Feeling very sorry for the poor creature, who'd been there lord knows how long and was probably hypodermic; And not wanting to be swimming in a pool with a dead bird, I scooped the thing out and laid it down in the sun. Broken foot, leg or wing, I don't know but the bird is not long for this world. Flopping around helplessly and suffering on it's back most of the rest of our time there was pretty sad to see. Grace wanted to touch it. I must have heard "Wanna' touch it!" a million times. I tried to explain that the poor birdie was hurt and we needed to leave it alone. Grace got very upset that the bird was hurt and wanted to kiss it better... yuck! So the more I explained it was hurt and we needed to leave it alone the more Grace got sad and upset. She was still talking about the hurt birdie as I put her down for her nap. As rough as she can be with Lily she really is a sweet, empathetic little soul.

The birdie is not the only thing Grace has been obsessing over today. We spent the entire weekend with the Millers. From Play Group on Friday, dinner out with them on Saturday, Dinner here with them on Sunday; Grace thinks that Rylan should live here and we should spend every waking moment with Rylan and 'Mon-ca'. As we parted this morning post walk, both Monica and I were telling the girls that we were going swimming, Rylan to her lesson and Grace, Lily and I to the pool. Grace did not understand why in the world Rylan would ever go swimming with out her? Where was Rylan? Why wasn't she at the pool? When were Rylan and Mon-ca going to be there? It was the same last night when they left to go home? Why was Rylan leaving? How come Rylan no go sleepy time here? The girls were cute last night though, playing dolls, blowing bubbles, creating chalk masterpieces on the block fence, holding each others hand as they took turns going down the slide. I'd say it's so good that Grace is going to grow up with Rylan as a sister, but Grace has a sister. And I wonder with Lily so close in age to the girls what the dynamic will be as they get older...

Lily's up, time to resume so semblance of productivity...

Attack of the almost 2 year olds!

Brian and I took the girls and met Robbie, Monica and Rylan out for dinner last night. We went to a local pizza place, casual, early and with the knowledge that our kids would be standing up in the booths, most likely engage in a pizza fight and be unable to control their squeals of joy at seeing each other. They act as if they haven't seen each other in years every time they get together (even if it's only been hours) Brian and I are working on our expectations and hang ups about how a two year old should and should not behave in public. Both raised by strict mother's with high expectations of our behavior in public, we are not sure how to navigate these waters. We want our children to behave as we did when out in public, but are not sure how to achieve this... So for now, Grace is loud, and active and... We don't often venture out with the girls, but last night was a BLAST!

So, Grace and Rylan decided that Robbie and Monica's side of the booth was the "fun" side and spent most of the meal jumping up and down on the booth and playing peek-a-boo with the various couples and groups brave enough to choose the booth behind us. There was some back and forth between the two sides of the booth, lots of sharing of pizza, a few giggle filled shoving matches between the girls (knocking each other over was very very funny to the two of them) Then they got brave. The poor teenager sitting with his back to the girls and his father were the objects of some head patting... much to the horror of Brian and myself... But they were very good sports.

After dinner the whole gang of us headed to the neighborhood playground to play under the lights. It was an absolutely beautiful evening (I even saw a shooting star). The girls ran around, got the rest of the ya-ya's out! Much to my joy, Rylan has been able to get Grace back on the slide. So while I miss my west coast Muffy (miss you like crazy Julie!!! You too Muffy!!) I now have my "Arizona Julie". I'm lucky to have women in my life who are as crazy and loving and accepting as I do.

Friday Play Group

Today our little group (not so little anymore, I'll expand in a minute) did something very different. We went to McDonald's and let the kids jump and bounce and run and play in this fabulous play area. I will be the first to admit that I am rarely a fan of these types of play areas. Kids run a muck, parents don't supervise, it has not ever been a pleasant experience for me, but Bonnie... well Bonnie came through in a BIG WAY! Bonnie and Katie discovered this fantastic McDonald's play land at the 303 and Bell Rd. We all are considering making this a more regular location for our get together. Everyone made it today except Janine and Charlotte. But since Charlotte is only 8 months old, it was not the ideal play group setting today. But Grace Elizabeth was happy to learn that Vincent's cold and Landon's & Taylor's ears and throats we all better and the could be there today!!

I was thinking on the drive over that it's amazing how long we've had our little play group and how quickly the time has gone and how we've multiplied. It feels like just yesterday it started out, Bonnie, Rachael and me. We each had 1 child and thought a more intimate group of 3 would be the best, least chaotic setting for our kids to grow and socialize. Grace L. joined us pre-Vincent and Rachael was about to have Landon; our group was growing. Before we knew it Bonnie and I were both expecting and our group had gone from 3 kids to 5 and was on it's way to 7! Soon after Monica and Rylan moved to the neighborhood and kept Taylor, Landon & Vincent company while Bonnie and I tried to figure out life with 2 kids. Now Rachael is about to have another beautiful boy in August and Janine moved here with her darling little Charlotte. We will be 10 children! I think that's more kids than the Vistancia Mom's Club! And we went from 3 - 10 in the span of about a year and a half and only added 2 moms!!! Well 3, but Grace L. has really been with us from the get go. She started hanging out with us months before Vincent arrived... Time flies and families do grow in leaps and bounds!!

This is a snap shot of today's fun!!

Yes, Rylan and Grace (who are attached at the hip these days) are wearing the same dress. Thanks to Aunt Emily (Rylan's favorite Aunt!) the girls can go out on the town as twins... They are hysterical!

Sad day...

Kelli and Brian left me today... (yeah, it's all about me!) The moving truck was here at 8am on the dot. They loaded up and were off in like an hour... I am not sure what to do with myself. I have tried to put on a brave face. Tried to rationalize that they are only down the street in a new neighborhood, but still in Vistancia. I have tried every way possible to be happy for them and relieved that they will be settled in by the time Charlotte (Charlee) arrives in the next few weeks, but nope... I am just sad! Kelli is my Jersey Girl! My friend who gets my sarcasm. Who throws sarcasm back in my face and tells me the absolute brutal truth. We share too much, talk to loud and laugh a lot! We drive the Brians crazy but love that they get how much we love each other!! Kelli is the one thing that makes me homesick for the Northeast, but fills that void at the same time! We hang out in each others homes in our PJ's we yak over the fence and between bed room windows and back yards. Kelli knows when I am up with Lily in the middle of the night because my bedroom window and her bedroom window are only feet apart. If they opened we probably would have had some child like pulley system or walkie talkie or some other silly way to communicate with each other.

Kelli and Brian are gone and I feel like a child who's best friend just drove away, waving from the back seat of the car, never to return... I feel left behind and sad! Yup totally melodramatic, because they are like 2 miles away, but it's not next door and it's not in Desert Trails, so for now... I am going to wallow...

Bye Kelli! I miss you!!

"Happy Easter Now!"

I don't know where the 'now' came from or why Grace adds it to her "Happy Easter" salutation, but she does... Today was a good day. Lily and I woke Grace at 6:30am. This is not 'normal' I would almost always and on any other day never ever wake Grace. A few minutes in the morning with only one child is a precious commodity, but today was Easter in Scottsdale, so I would need Grace to take an early nap. In order for that to be a success waking her seemed the right thing to do, besides, the Easter Bunny had been here!!

Grace happily woke to Lily in her crib next to her and chirped a happy "Good Morning Sister!" Down stairs to the living room where Mr. Bunny left a pile of goodies. a basket for each girl, Grace's with gifts and treats, Lily's with empty eggs just looking pretty (she'll never know... unless she reads this one day, but...) Lily did have a few gifts from the Grandmothers and Grace happily unwrapped both her gift and Lily's as well. Again, priceless moment missed. Grace tore off the wrapping paper painfully small piece after painfully small piece and when she finally got to the box she exclaimed...."Aaaaaa, look it!" and put the box down unopened and moved onto the next gift as if the box was it. And the best part, she was more enthused by the unwrapping of the gift than by the gift itself.

So, nap and off to Scottsdale for a yummy Easter ham dinner with "Uncle" Dottie and Uncle Buck. Some how Easter just is not Easter without ham and jelly beans (not together, but you know.. ham and jelly beans!) However, my love of Easter's ham dinner is not the most interesting thing about the day, in fact it is so very uninteresting, but I somehow felt I needed to state for the record that Easter is not Easter without ham! Anyway, on to the day's happenings...Dottie as always spoiled my girls. Easter baskets, candy, stuffed ducks, toys, eggs, bunny ears, She is awesome! She even hid eggs around her house and took Grace on her own private Easter Egg hunt!

Grace played very well with Molly (pictured in the bunny ears that Grace put on her) and scolded Danny for barking, Tally for licking and Dublin for scaring her in general! I thrilled that she is gaining confidence and comfort with the dogs, especially since they are such big dogs! Though Grace was very excited the whole drive about seeing the horses and while she was insistent we keep going out to see them, she wouldn't feed them, pet them or allow me to take her into the paddock with them. She does however love to 'cluck' at them and squeals with delight when the walk over to the gate. I still have hope that she will be an equestrian but if she and Lily don't take up riding I am still going to start again! (Well, I suppose add that to the list of when I find a minute for myself I might...)

Maybe next year, when Lily is a year and a half, we'll restart my old family tradition and go fly kites on Easter or something fun like that...

Anyway... here are my Easter Bunnies!

How Grace looked before she decided that

t-shirt, diaper cover and mary janes was a better look!

"Look mommy! I'm the Easter Bunny!"

Favorite thing about Aunt Dottie...

She doesn't hesitate to don bunny ears and be silly with my girls!

Lily actually liked the ears more than Grace did...

~

Hence no photo of my girls together in their ears!!!

Not her happiest look, but she still is adorable!

MOLLY!!!

Eggstravaganza

It's raining! When does it ever rain in Arizona? And it's raining today!

Grace, Lily, Brian and I made plans to go to the Vistancia Easter Eggstravaganza today with Monica, Rob & Rylan. It was supposed to be outside on the lawn next to the pool and Mountain Vista Club, but due to the rain it was in the gymnasium. (bummer) We got there early and Grace was able to get a temporary tattoo and play in one of the bounce houses sans insane crowds and kids. She got very excited about seeing the Easter Bunny but was hesitant to get too close. I missed the chance for tattoo pictures and bounce house pictures...(even with two parents to juggle two kids, it still does not always leave a free hand for the camera.) But I was able to snap a few shots of Grace, Rylan and Monica during the Easter egg hunt. I was not able however to get in front of Grace to take the photos (pushy parents etc...) I did however wish desperately that I had brought the video camera as Grace soon figured out it was easier to take eggs out of other kids baskets instead of fight over the ones on the ground! HYSTERICAL!! Bonnie, Eric, Katie and Eric were there and We snapped a picture of Wendy with little Maya, but were not able to maneuver the crowds to say hello. Grace's old gymboree teacher Miss Chris was there with her daughter Sam. All in all crowds and pushy parents Grace had a blast. She is still talking about seeing the Easter Bunny and how much fun the bounce house was with Katie and Rylan.

Happy Easter!!

Katie (in pink) Grace & Rylan (in white) with Monica

Grace figuring out it's easier to hunt for egg in other kids baskets...

Wendy & Maya Papaya!! (front and center)

My girls, terrified of the Easter Bunny...

Grace: "The Easter Bunny scared you!"

Me: You mean the Easter Bunny scared Grace?

Grace: "Yes!"

The sun is shining, the kids are napping, the house is a "mess"... 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

I have a minute to myself, and instead of showering, (swim lessons this morning then walk with Rylan) I am blogging. We've had a good week, a few temper tantrums, but overall a good week. Bri's on the road as usual, but the sun has been out, the weather windy but beautiful so we took full advantage. Monday after our walk with Rylan (That's that Grace always says... "Walk with Rylan?") we filled the pool in the backyard and swam. Tuesday morning instead of our walk with Rylan we went with Rylan and Monica to the community pool and swam. The girls had a BLAST together. We would have put them in the same swim class. We convinced Monica that if she joined Aqua~Tots the only instructor to have was Mary, but what to do with Lily? So we do swim lessons on different days so Monica and Rylan can watch Lily. I love having "Grace and Mommy have alone time". So the girls have not been in a big pool together. Splashing in our backyard doesn't count. They played on the stairs, showed off for each other with kicking, bubbles and scoops. Grace went under a few times... it was really nice. The best part is Monica and I were on the same page that swim time with this kiddos is not Mommy time. As much as I think we'd both like to swim a few laps or lay in the sun, heck just enjoy the peace and quite in some fresh air, 30 minutes was the kids max. 3o minutes for them to play expel some energy and head home for lunch and naps. Grace loved being back in our community pool so much and Lily was such a good little doobie sleeping the whole time that we returned the next day while Monica and Rylan were at Gymboree. I must have been some form of aquatic life in a previous life, because water just makes me happy. Life so far away from the ocean has not been easy, but at least I can enjoy the pool for 9 out of 12 months here.

Tuesday night the girls and I walked alone. We skipped our morning walk with Rylan so that Lily would sleep at the pool and then had to take Lily to the pediatrician to look at a rash she developed a week and a half ago. Our walk was amazing... The sun was setting, a breeze was blowing, I really love the desert this time of year, that time of day, it's breathtaking! As a treat for Grace who's tantrums seem to be more and more frequent we walked our route backward ending up at the playground for 15 minutes of running around. We have not been to the playground in 3 months! It was really nice. No kids, no noise, a near full moon rising, Grace loved it. We invited Monica and Rylan to join us last night for the same walk with a stop off at the playground, but it was windy and a bit chilly so we did not play long. But still a good walk and nice way to end the day.

Yesterday I came across bubble bath that was aroma therapy bath for babies. Of all the options I chose "Calming" Lord knows at the end of the day, by the time dinner, bath and bed time rolls around, I am spent, the kids are spent, they both "need", neither can cope, Brian's on the road, I only have two hands... It just seemed that we all needed a little "Calming" IT-WAS-HEAVEN! It smelled like the essential oils they use when you go to the spa for a massage (mind you I HATE spa massages, I need some big old Swedish, military, type woman to dig her elbows into me, not the fluffy, foofy, la la massage... but I digress) Grace played nicely, Lily kicked and splashed with a smile on her face. Grace didn't try to drown Lily, Lily didn't cry on the floor in her PJ's while she waited for Grace's bath to finish... it was... "calming" Then downstairs for bottles and quiet time. Lily fell right asleep (oops! I try to keep her up 'till at least 9, it was 7:50) I put Lily down in her crib, shut her door and went down stairs to get Grace. Wait... Grace is going to get to go to bed with out Lily screaming in the background, because Lily needs to be fed...held... comforted... given two seconds of my time for the first time all day... What?? This is awesome!! I can put Grace down with out counting to 10 in my head and reminding myself to take deep breath and that "Grace deserves a calm happy good night from me as much as Lily deserves to be picked up right now, but Lily is going to have to wait, and It's not Grace's fault so don't bark at her that she needs to hurry up because Lily is crying because Lily is fine and she can wait until...." Yes, that's the random rapid fire thought process going on in my head while trying to put Grace to bed and tune out Lily. I think I must do a pretty good job of it to because Grace had no sense of urgency about anything when Lily is crying. Grace has no clue or cue to hurry up, pay attention or help Mommy so that I can comfort Lily. Anyway...Grace finished her bottle got her teddy and walked quietly and calmly upstairs for bedtime. Turned on her lady bug, started her CD player, said "Good night Mommy" and lay her head on her pillow... This stuff is the stuff miracles are made of!! If I had not needed to throw a load of laundry in the wash, empty, refill and run the dishwasher and pack the swim bag, I would have soaked in a tub of that stuff myself!

Okay, so today... FANTASTIC swim lesson, nice walk with Rylan, quick lunch, both kids are napping, the house is a mess... Yeah, I so should be figuring this mess out, I mean I created a bomb went off kind of look here last night... But I had to post pictures, no not of the mess, of why there is such a mess. Grace really likes to open doors, not because she can, but to hide. If the front door is not dead bolted, or the garage door is not dead bolted we have a serious accident waiting to happen on our hands. Grace climbs into the kitchen cabinets, into the pantry, into the hall coat closet, all to hide, she thinks its funny. And to tell you the truth, it kind of is. I remember hiding and play in my closet as a kid. Heck I vividly remember getting in trouble for climbing into my toy basket and repeatedly doing in, fully knowing, even understanding that I was not allowed to do so and that if caught, I was going to get in trouble. But it was a big basket and it was fun! So... Pantry, not safe, hall closet, not safe... broom closet under the stairs not safe... but it's a catch all disaster with no rhyme or reason to anything that is in there... So, It's no longer a broom closet...

Random pics from this week...

"Kissa my tushie mommy!"

Lily hanging out...

"Look I'm wearing bracelets!!"

Easter Eggs

I thought in addition to the recent photos of the girls that we were sending the family for Easter, Grace should make the Easter Cards we sent. But I have recently sent her art work to everyone already, so I *tried* to be creative. I cut out I don't know how many ovals. White for the "egg" on the front of the card, then a rainbow of colors to put inside the card. (gotta love construction paper!) We started with crayons, this was my intended medium, so it was perfect when Grace asked for crayons!! She soon tired of trying to color small oval pieces of paper with crayons and asked for her paints... "Well... it would go faster if I let her 'paint'." So out come the paints and she is doing an amazing job! In fact the eggs look beautiful. With a little supervision and timely switching out different colors to ensure that each egg is colorful and they are not all brown... She did a fantastic job! Then the phone rang... Yup, you turn your back for one second...



This is what she began to paint while my back was turned...

Here is how some of the eggs turned out...

Warning....

Random bag lady wandering the streets of Desert Trails.

If you see this fashion faux pas, do not attempt to help her,

she is accessorized and dangerous...

Yeah, this is what happens when you let a 23 month old accessorize unsupervised...