A Day In The Life…

Chloe’s Zhu Zhu(?) pet from Gigi & Papa.

We have a Love/Hate relationship with it.      

…Because I can’t stand how cute the back of my kids head is…

 

She may be all business in the front,

but she’s definitely got a party goin’ on in the back. :)

True Story: Chloe hates brushing her teeth.

Like Kick and scream bloody murder for the entire 2 seconds she lets me get a toothbrush in her mouth…

…That is…

until I bought her an electric Elmo tooth brush.

She brushed her own teeth for a good 20 minutes today.

Thank you modern conveniences.

 

Not Depicted in our synopsis of the day: The 2 trips to the park, one of which resulted in a full-blown tantrum all the way home until we did our very first timeout.

She was NOT pleased.

But, she stayed in the vicinity for her minute.

Except she started slowly scooting onto the other tiles near the end.

Haha.

Sad and funny all at the same time.

Since I rarely ever post twice in a day… if you haven’t seen it, I have a post on our big 5 month old girl just below this one…

Lauren is 5 months!

              Time sure does fly when you're having fun.

I'm a few days late for this. So sue me.
Lauren, I never thought 5 months would sneak up on me like this.

I feel like it was just yesterday that you were coming home from the hospital.
We were so proud to be taking home our beautiful girl with a head full of dark hair.

You and I rode together in the back seat, your fingers wrapped tightly around mine.
And just like the very first time I looked at you,

I couldn't imagine loving you more...

But everyday our love grows more than we imagined possible.
You shine as brightly as your sister and fill us with a love I have never dreamed of.
You think Chloe hung the moon and she thinks you're pretty cool too. (For now at least)...

Tonight I read to you girls on the bed in your room and I got up to get another book and when I came back, you girls had both rolled towards each other on the bed, your hands were clasped and your foreheads were touching and you were just looking into each others eyes.
It was one of many of the moments I'll never forget.
You are just a dream.

You go to bed around 6:30 and we don't hear a peep until around 3:30 am for a quick bottle and you're back out until around 7:00 am.

You love your exersaucer, your swing, your playmat, your BebePod…

... Ok, you like basically everything…
You are just SO DANG HAPPY!
Although you do barf. A lot. A whole lot.
Weirdest part? You are still smiling then.
You roll from your tummy to your back, your back to your tummy...

Basically any which way you want.

You do crunches like you've been doing them all your life. You must have some strong abs.
You screech/talk/babble like a pterodactyl (the dinosaur) and it is so fun to hear you explore your voice.
Ohhh Lauren, you just make me want more babies.

You are content to lay on a blanket in the grass watching trees overhead or clouds pass you by.

You are so patient.

You aren't clingy or needy but you love attention.

Best of all??

You make life just *that* much better!
We love you peanut!

Ahhhh...

This is the life.
I just put the girls down for their nap and I need to get some thoughts out.

Here's an idea of our routine because I'm OCD and want this written down for my memory:
4am or so, Lauren gets a 6oz bottle and goes back down until around 7.
Chloe has been getting up at 6 lately (it was 5 until daylight savings!) so I go in her room, give her pacis back to her and give her a couple books to read for a while.
7:00ish: Chloe Breakfast
8:00: Lauren 1-2 oz. Prune Juice. Yes. Disgusting.
8:30-9:30: Lauren nap/ Chloe & mommy time.
9:30: Lauren 6oz Bottle.
10:00-11:30: Walk the BIG hill by our house, go to the park on the way home
11:30: Chloe Lunch
12:00: Chloe & Lauren Nap/Mommy shower, lunch
2:00: Lauren 6oz bottle
3:00: Chloe up. Either go to the park, run errands or just hang out at home.
5:00: Dinner for Mommy/Daddy & Chloe
6:20: PJ time for Chloe/Lauren
6:30: Chloe Bed, Lauren 8 oz bottle & Bed.

This week, my goal has been to push the girls in their gigantic double stroller to the top of the gigantic hill by our house. I think it's about 2 miles round trip. I could be wrong. All I know is that it's hard. REALLY hard. I huff and puff as if I were the big, bad wolf. Could it be because of the gigantic stroller, a 1.5 year old and a 5 month old PLUS her car seat that I have to push up the hill?
But I digress.
I can't help but really enjoy our walks. We're surrounded by nature, the sun shines down on us and it just feels SO right.

I have so much running through my mind lately, a lot of stresses and a lot of joy. I have been restless in my sleep but happy in my heart. How is that possible?

I guess it's time for me to get my thoughts out so here goes...

I'm on a quest to be the best person I can be. I want to be the best wife to my husband. I want to be the best mother to my girls. Lately, I've found it's just as important to be the best person I can be to myself.
I've been eating healthy for once. WEIRD, I tell ya. Except for the fact that I have ZERO willpower. SOMEONE brought a cake into our house after I had successfully eaten ALL of the other sweet treats here so there would be nothing left for me to eat. I have been picking at it all day. ARGH. I've adopted a don't buy, don't eat snack policy and it has been working. Until this dreaded, oh-so-delicious cake. Which is almost gone...

...Hence the daily excruciatingly exhausting hikes up the big hill. I can't think of a time that I've been happier, ironically.
I can't help but feel like this is what I've been called to do.
I stay home with my girls. I cook dinner. I am a housewife/stay at home mom.
There may not be a whole lot of respect behind that title, let alone glamor but I don't care.
I am the luckiest person on this planet.
But I'm also realizing that does come with a price.

As the girls get older, I've developed a sinking feeling that the joy of being home with my girls and getting me time with them during the day while they chill in the stroller...well, I've felt like I'm on borrowed time.
I know at some point I need to go back to work.
It feels like it's a selfish indulgence to stay home with them and rely on Chris to provide for us. He's done a great job but I need to get my head out of the clouds and really enjoy the time I have left.
But in my head, I'm so grateful for staying home with them that I almost trick myself into thinking this IS my career. That I am making money doing what I love.
And there's the catch.
I'm not.
I have champagne taste on a beer budget.
I love our neighborhood but all I can contribute to staying here is caring for our children and loving my life. (And eating cake while I blog. STUPID cake.)
Hardly enough to pay the rent.
Is this making any sense?
I didn't think so.

I don't know if I should be getting my MBA and going into healthcare administration... I don't know if I should just bite the bullet and go to nursing school...Maybe I'm meant to work in a retirement home... then again, I'm beginning to think the decision is too hard and I should just go work at Target.
WOW. This is the most random blog post ever.
I just wish time could stop and we could stay just like this forever.
I'm happy here. Like this. Our girls are amazing. AMAZING. I never EVER in my wildest dreams imagined life to be so fun with them.
I never imagined I'd have a husband who supported my desire to stay home. I never imagined I'd be married to a man who really just wanted my happiness above all else.

I feel like it's a catch-22. I want to own a house here so we have stability like I always had growing up. I knew where home was, it was safe and a wonderful neighborhood to grow up in. I want that so badly for my girls. BUT, to do so would require me working which means that I lose out on the precious time I have with them right now. Which feels so selfish because that is what Chris does on a daily basis. I wish there was something I could do from home to bring in an income.

Ok. I'm done letting my thoughts spin out of control here.
But have you ever had one of those days where the birds are singing and you just love life THAT much??
P.S. Chloe met another new friend at the park this morning.
P.P.S. Lauren smiles at me the entire time I push her in the stroller. I cant' resist smiling and talking and giggling with her which makes me even more winded on the hill. Maybe she's just making fun of how out of shape I am.

Wow. Random post.
Papa and Gigi are coming up tomorrow.
Chloe is so excited. The last few days she's been really into working on putting words together... She loves to ask, "Where papa go?" AKA "ba Papa Go?" and when I ask her where Papa went she says "I no no" AKA "I don't know".
So there ya have it.
Fudge.
In all her delightful glory.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star…

…Do you know how loved you are?!

Today in the car, Chris noted that Chloe kept making a diamond shape with her hands when the Twinkle,Twinkle song was on.

I instantly realized…

…She didn’t think I was crazy everytime I sing Tinkle,Twinkle Little Star…

She was copying me!!

“Like a diamond in the sky”

I love this stage.

(Minus the tantrums)

I can’t believe how much she changes on a daily basis.

Have I mentioned she also decided that today was as good of a day as any to start singing lyrics?

She graced us with a beautiful rendition of Twinkle,Twinkle…

(Or at least one phrase!)

“Up above the world so high…”

LOVE that kid.

On a side note, today I sneezed and I heard a pretty close ‘bless you’

One for the record books: Lauren had her first ‘solids’ last night.
We took video of it and it was pretty comical but it’s so long Blogger can’t handle it. I’ll find a way around it eventually because you have to see Chloe get in on the feeding action. She loved feeding Lauren…and her shirt…and her neck…and of course Lauren loved Chloe’s attention.

No matter how messy it got her.

Milestones.

Ahhh...
Yet another milestone.

Chloe is 1.5 years old.
She is changing right before our eyes.
And I love what I see...
(I choose to look past the whining and tantrums that seem to come along with this age)
She knows that when she puts on her outfit for the day, a bow is a must-have accessory.

She says 'bow' as if I need reminding that she’d like a bow.
And she wears one with pride.

And reminds me if she happens to pull it out.
She brings it to me and says, "bow" and patiently holds her head still so I can put it back in.
I know. Miraculous.

Today I realized she says 'Thank you' whenever you give her something she wants. Seriously. She has manners. It kills me.

Except when she toots. Then she laughs. Hysterically.
So I take back the part about her manners.

This morning, I also found her with my brush combing through her curly locks yet again. I asked her to put away the brush and she repeated 'brush' back to me clear as day.
Just like yesterday how she said about 5 new words (including Apple) clear as day. This morning I opened the fridge and she saw her sliced apples in there and she kept saying "apple, apple, apple" until I gave her one. To which she replied, "thank you".
I know. this sounds like no big deal. Ohhh but it is.
We've gotten by without her really talking and she understands almost 100% of what we say to her but to hear her actually vocalize her wants is incredible.
Until now, she has been talking incoherent sentences with a couple words we recognize thrown in, but now her words are really starting to make sense. I love it.

Does it really get more fun than this??

Impossible.
She's really into inside jokes.

She'll be a class clown is my guess.

If you stick out your neck like a chicken or a crazy person, she does the same thing and leans towards you until you can't help but laugh. (hard to describe, I know). But she looks hilarious doing it and really gets a kick out of you playing along.

She also plays a ‘blinking’ game. She likes to take turns blinking with you, no matter where you are in a room, she's happy to play along.

She loves going to the park, walking all the way there pushing her stroller.

She loves hanging out in the street and following the big kids as they speed along on their bikes and in their little battery powered Lightning McQueen cars.

Oh, and let’s not forget about her relentless adoration of this Princess Tea Set her daddy bought her.

   

Let’s see… Chloe is more than happy to point to her…

eyes (and say the word too!)…

…ears…

nose (and say noooo for nose!)…

*HEY! Where’d my nose picture go?!*

…mouth…

She’ll also be more than happy to point out your body parts. If you’re really lucky she’ll throw in a finger up the nose, perhaps one to dig around in your mouth or gouge out your eye :)

All these milestones and exciting times aside, she is not without tantrums

.

I think a combination of teething and budding independence is too much for her some days.  But no matter how tough of a day she’s having, her smile can still melt the most stressed mama. Or dada. :)

(Have you noticed she’s never far from her bracelet and bow!?)

No clothes, but don’t worry…she’s got her accessories!

Sooo our dear Fudge, happy half birthday.

We celebrated today by spending 2 hours (and a few choice words) putting together your very first car.

You sure seem to love it… Even if you choose to crawl through the window.

You’re becoming such a fabulous young lady.

I enjoy walking with you while we both push our respective strollers up and down the street.

I love kissing your chubby little cheeks, playing with your curly-Q hair and looking deep into your GORGEOUS hazel eyes.

But my favorite?

Those random moments when you forget your independence and you feel an overwhelming need to give or get a hug or a love.

Your arms around me is pure heaven.

We love you, girlie!

P.S. Lauren loves you too!!

Ohhh sweet Lauren.

Sweet,Sweet Lauren.

Phew. That took me pretty much all day.

Well, other than setting up that crazy/cozy coupe.

...GO?...

Chloe LOVES to say "Go" now and put her hands up like she doesn't know where something has 'gone'.
I feel the same way about my time these days.
I'm about to hold my hands up and say...
"Go?"
Because it's flying by.

I have SO many pictures.
And so little time.
So much changing and going on here.
All of it good!