Easter 2012

While I miss celebrating Easter with my family in North Carolina I am so grateful that we have family close to go share the holiday with!  It is awesome to be able to sit around and laugh and joke with family, even if you have to depart early due to a 3 year old that won't quit yelling - she had too much sugar AND it was almost her normal bedtime.

We had good food, good laughs, good company and I wish we could all get together and do it more often but since none of us are rich we all must return to our normal lives. 

This year, for the first time, we had the Easter egg hunt on Saturday!  We asked Aunt S to hide the eggs and she did an absolutely amazing job!  They were hidden in places and ways that I never would have thought to hide them.  They were nestled in branches of bushes, perched in window seals, sitting in chairs, leaning up against trees, behind brooms and rakes, and I believe there was even one placed ever so perfectly on a piece of plastic piping!  I was so happy that I asked her to do it because I had planned to just put them in the grass and that requires absolutely no creativity at all!  So now, Aunt S will be the designated egg hider each year!

Y, of course, found the majority of the eggs and she did most of it with little help.  Q found 9 eggs with my help but she would have been more than content had she only found 2 - one for each hand.  She also had little interest in the chocolate that was inside the egg, Y was an entirely different story...which ended in that yelling and screaming mentioned above.

On Sunday morning the Easter Bunny arrived before heading out to church.  Y's basket had lots of princess items mixed in with a little Tinkerbell and Strawberry Shortcake, plus a beautiful towel embroidered with her name and a chocolate bunny.  Q's basket also had an embroidered towel as well as some bath toys, I guess the Easter Bunny knows that Q can't have chocolate yet so he didn't bring her a bunny.  Both also received a really cute stuffed friend from Uncle B and Aunt S which they can sleep with in their bed/crib.

Since we celebrated with Easter Dinner on Saturday we were able to have a nice relaxing day after church.  We received so many complements on the girl's dresses this year.  They are from The Children's Place (big surprise) and I loved that they were so similar but slightly different in design at the top.  I also knitted each of them 2 shrugs, one in pink and another in purple, and had them each wear it in the opposite color.  Y got to wear purple because it happens to be her favorite color...for this month anyway.



The Fox Boys

First Dentist Appointment

Y went in for her very first dental checkup on Tuesday (April 3).  We had been prepping her for it ever since we scheduled the appointments 6 months ago at our last checkup and I definitely think it paid off.  She wasn't scared at all and was actually quite excited to do it.  She did flinch a few times when they used the tool that sprays waters in your mouth and the one that subsequently sucks the water and saliva out of the mouth but she adjusted to it fairly quickly.  They also attempted to do an xray but Y just couldn't manage to keep the bite-wing in place - I suppose her mouth still isn't quite large enough for that.  But then again, I even hate biting down on those things, it's never comfortable.

We may have the world's greatest hygienist ever, and she may be a big reason as to why we haven't switched dentists yet.  She was great with Y and according to her Y may have been one of the easiest first-timers she's ever had.  After Y was all finished Y asked if she could stay and help with Daddy's teeth!

The best part was that Y had a perfect checkup without a single cavity!

Having a fluoride rinse

Q at 8 Months

Q is still one of the sweetest, most mellow babies I have encountered!  She smiles at pretty much everyone, especially when they comment on how beautiful she is, and when I have meetings or other church related stuff you hardly hear a peep out of her.  But don't be fooled, this girl is a talker!  If there's a toy in her hand more than likely she is babbling to it.

She can also prove to be quite demanding, most of the time that involves food and any item that she wants but I won't let her have, namely my cellphone and iPod.  She's a really good eater so far she has eaten everything I've given her with the exception of those little Gerber puffs, she's not a fan of that.  Also, the days of being able to hold her while I eat are long gone!  In fact if she even sees me chewing while I'm holding her she opens her mouth and starts to move it towards my face as if she's going to eat me, it makes me laugh every time but for some reason she never does this with B.  Maybe because she associates me with food.  She throws fits if she wants something that someone else has, as mentioned above.  Mostly with me it's my phone or iPod but she's also done it with Y a few times over a toy that Y happens to be playing with.

As far as gross motor skills go, she has continued to roll over.  Many people told me about how when their child started rolling they'd use it to get from one place to another until they learned to crawl.  Yeah, that's definitely not Q!  If you put her on her stomach she will almost immediately roll over to her back, grab the closest toy and be content with it.  When she tires of that toy she will roll over onto her side and reach for a new toy, once she has the toy in hand...back to the back she goes!  haha, I'm pretty sure she's going to skip crawling all together or she'll crawl like Y did initially, scooting on her back like an upside down inchworm!  She is pretty steady at sitting by herself now though we always have to stay close of have a pillow behind her because she likes to throw herself backwards at random.

She's happy and healthy and so much fun.  She loves to laugh at her big sister and her big sister loves to make her laugh.  I really love watching them together in moments like that.  B and I sure are lucky!

Easter Egg Hunt

Y has never been to an Easter Egg Hunt...with other children.  We've had one every year since she could walk but since she (prior to this year) had no siblings and no cousins anywhere close, she didn't have any competition in those hunts.  And we were always out of town or otherwise busy for the church Easter Egg Hunts.  So this year we decided we'd sign her up for our township Easter Egg Hunt.

I had anticipated an Easter Egg Hunt like that of my youth, where we dashed around trying to find the most eggs - it was a competition.  So when we arrived I was more than surprised to see that there was a line which curved around in a parking lot.  You waited in this line to go to different "booths" to find an egg hidden under straw which had been laid in the parking lot.

It was neat and well organized and while I understand why they do it that way, I really wanted her to experience what I consider to be a real Easter Egg Hunt.  In the end, each child got the same number of eggs and the same amount of candy and prizes but I missed the competition aspect of it.  I guess what truly matters is that Y had a fun time - and she did.  Looks like I'll have to wait for Q and any unborn siblings to get older so we can have those competitive hunts at home.

They also had a few animals there for the children to pet but Y would only pet the bunnies.  The other animals were a piglet, chicken, calf, and a momma goat with her baby.

Visitors

Nana B.'s sister, Tia Edith (tia means aunt in spanish), came to visit for a week while her husband, Uncle Darrell, had to work in Toronto.  We were able to go and spend the weekend with them in Canada.  We hadn't seen them since we last went to Utah in 2009 so it was great to get together to talk and spend some time catching up.  It was also just plain nice to get away for the weekend as we haven't been to Canada since New Year's.  It was warm and so we were able to spend lots of time outdoors which always keeps Y happy. 

Now we just need to convince more family members to come for a visit...

fun with Grandpa P

Enjoying a trip down to the bridge.

Beautiful Weather

We have been experiencing the most beautiful March weather, it really reminds of more of North Carolina than Michigan.  This winter has been surprisingly warm anyway but 80 degrees in March just doesn't happen in Michigan, or at least it hadn't happened since I had lived here...until now.  I have been loving it and the girls have been loving it, we've spent quite a bit of time outside playing and just enjoying the warmth.  This year has been a nice change and I know for many reasons we need the snow here in Michigan to replenish the Great Lakes and other sources of our water but I can't help but be excited about this weather.  Here are some photos I took as we ventured out on the first of many successive warm days.

Y loves the "tall grasses" that run in back of our condo complex, she always goes there with Grandpa P

Y's Version of Clean

Y and Q's room has a tendency to become really messy, really fast and Q is not yet able to contribute to the messiness so I end up telling Y to straighten up her room quite often.  Sometimes it happens but most times it doesn't.  On this particular day we were having a friend over and so I told her she had to clean up her room.  I was busy in the kitchen cooking and she said she was going to clean her room all by herself, which made me more than happy! When she had finished she called me to come look and I could tell that she was so very proud of herself.

I walked out of the kitchen and stepped towards her room and I was so astonished by what I saw I called for B to come and look as well!  Here is what I saw:

That's pretty amazing, right?!?  She's cleaned her room a couple times before but never that thoroughly and so I step into the room to check out the rest of her handy work and I see this:

and this:

I was so proud of the effort she put in but at the same time I was trying hard to suppress my laughter.  I should add that the next day when I went in the closet I found even more toys that had been "cleaned up."  As you can see in the photos she was so very happy that she had cleaned her room all by herself and if this is a tiny step towards teaching her to be independent, then I'll take it!

7 Months

Wow, time is flying by!!  Q is 7 months old, I can't believe it, but I am loving every minute of it!  She has really started to gain a lot of personality now, i've probably said it before but I'll mention it again.  I can see such a difference in her and Y's personalities already.  They both were/are very laid back and content babies but Y was far more serious and not extremely friendly towards other people, in fact I frequently get comments about how "unfriendly" she can be - I've learned to accept that it's just part of who she is.  Y on the other hand seems to smile at everyone, doesn't mind allowing others to hold her, loves to make us laugh and loves to have the attention of those around her.

If I, or even B now, walk into a room and do not immediately recognize her she can throw quite the fit, but most of the time she's pretty happy.  The reflux is really nonexistent now, she eats solids like a champ, sleeps great most of the time and yesterday she rolled over for the first time all on her own.  She wants to grab anything and everything, if it's in your hand she wants it.  I always get comments on how good of a baby she is because she really just "goes with the program."

We consider ourselves to be the luckiest parents on the earth to be blessed with our two girls whom we love beyond measure.  Our lives are infinately better because of all the joy they bring us and the love they have for us.

Here are a few pictures of our youngest princess taken today.  I still can't believe it's been 7 months already!!!

 

Acorns

Y, like many kids her age and even older, picks her nose.  I know even many adults pick their nose at some point but most at least do it in private.  Well that's not the case with Y, she will pick her nose pretty much anywhere and lately I've been trying to correct her and I figure that the best way to get her to not do it in public is to get her to stop doing it at home.  What follows is a very brief discussion on the topic which happened today as she picker her nose:

Me:  Y, do you need a tissue?
Y:  No.
Me:  Do you need a Q-tip?
Y:  No.
Me:  But you're picking boogies and a tissue or Q-tip might help you.
Y:  I'm not picking boogies, I'm picking acorns.
Me:  (Delayed reaction attempting to think of what to say next) Acorns can't fit in your nose, sweetie.
Y:  (Very matter of factly with a serious face)  They're small acorns.
Me: Laughing, a lot!

I thought of saying something about squirrels and acorns but then decided against it because squirrels eat their acorns and since she hasn't ventured to the point of tasting her "acorns" yet, I figured I'd leave well enough alone!

Introducing...Leaf

To say that Y has a flair for the dramatic and quite the imagination would be a HUGE understatement.  Today, after finishing dinner she came to me dressed in her Tinkerbell Halloween costume (yeah, shoes too!) and a hat which was bought for her about 2 years ago for Easter.

She said, "mommy look at me," and I told her she was beautiful and asked her what her name was.  She twirled for a while while she thought of a name and then she stopped twirling and said, "Leaf, my name is Leaf."

And there you have it!