Big girl bed!

So, I think I figured out Aria's sleeping issues! Today at naptime she got up twice. She never gets up like that at naptime. She was crying a very frustrated cry, like she didn't actually want to be up. I asked what was wrong and she pointed at the crib railings. It hit me (and I'm not sure why it took so long) she was hitting up against the crib rails and waking up. I should've figured this out sooner bc she is a crazy girl when she sleeps. She flails (sp??) around all over the place, and whacks Matthew or (and) I on the face several times. I am not sure why I didn't assume this was the case in her crib, too. So... tonight I put a queen sized mattress in her room (just the mattress on the floor, not a box spring). She was soooo excited. I surrounded the mattress with her stuffed animals in case she fell off. We did our routine - books, cuddle time, and bed - and I told her that she has to stay in her bed. I told her good night and left and haven't heard a peep out of her since. ahhhhh...

so why is it 12:15 and I'm still up... hmmm...

I love bof ah um!

I think it's hilarious how Aria says "both of them", and "lots of them"... Bof ah um and lots ah um. I crack up every time.

Last week, Aria kept getting up in the middle of the night (yes, we are back to that...). When she used to get up in the night before, she'd start crying, but last week when she'd get up, she'd scream at the top of her lungs the highest pitched scream and scare the living crap out of me! I am not sure how I escaped having a heart attack. When I went into her room (or when Matthew did) she was not scared, she was just up, and wanted to go downstairs and play. BABY!! She's hasn't gotten up in the night this week, though (knock on wood) but it's been hard to actually get her to go to sleep at night lately. Ugh!

Speaking of screaming... she does the same loud, high pitched scream whenever she sees Mia & Jenn and Mina. She thinks they're like the Beatles, I guess. Her hands go to her face, and her eyes open up wide, and she screams like a teenager at a Jonas Bros concert. It's sweet she gets so excited to see them!

We went to the bounce house for little kids twice last week. Aria had SO much fun! - and guess what else? So did Chanson! I never thought he'd have as much fun as he did! I'd lift and lower him like he was jumping, and he'd LAUGH and laugh. There are also obstacle type courses that you (errr... the kids) run through, and Chanson thought that was really fun, too. He's just the happiest, laughing-est baby in the world!

When it is time to go to bed (at night or nap) I always say "Aria, guess what time it is" and she used to respond that it was naptime. Last week I asked her and she answered TV time! Since then, she's responded with food time and shoe time (she wanted to put on my shoes).

Aria was looking closely at my face the other day and she said "Mama! your eyebrows have HAIR on them!" haha she didn't realize that eyebrows are hair.

I need to upload some pics... sorry no pic!

s'more funnies

So, a few more funnies from our clown, Aria ;-)

On Sunday Matthew made us breakfast - YUM!! He's good at making breakfast food, and I am not. But, I won't use butter, and I pretend like Matthew doesn't either ;-) And, he lovingly places each choco chip on the top of the pancakes as they cook. True pancake dedication. Anyway... as we were eating our yummy food, Matthew asked Aria if she liked her OJ. Aria looked at him like DUH and said "daddy, it's not OJ, it's orange juice!"

Later that day she asked us for an artichoke. Um... where did that come from?

Today in the store, I was looking for Maple Syrup that was actually maple and not sugar water mixed with high fructose corn syrup (which I didn't find at Walmart...) and Aria was playing pretend, and she handed me "something" and so I pretended to eat it. Aria says (very dramatically) "Mama!! Don't eat the baby!" oops... I suppose I should listen more carefully to what she is saying when she hands me imaginary things.

Something I think is really cool is that Aria draws faces - and you can recognize them as a face. The 1st time she did it, I drew just a big circle for a head. She drew curly hair, circles for eyes and nose and a curved line for a smile - all in the right places. I couldn't believe it! So, yesterday I told Matthew she could do this, so he took her to her drawing board, and asked her to draw a picture of herself. She did even better, (except that the nose was on the forehead ;-) but, still between the eyes ;-) ) She even drew the circle for the head herself, and curly hair again, and eyes a nose and a mouth. She also writes letters. I really don't think she intends to draw what she does (it just ends up looking like a letter). But, she does say she is going to draw M's and then she does little loops like a lot of m's together. Yesterday she drew a W (and just a W) and said "Mama look - a W" She's done that with M, W, and V - so always the same motion. Oh and O, but that's just a circle.

Rolling!

Can you open your eyes a little bit bigger?

Isn't it sad that the pic above is the closest picture I have to both of them smiling at the same time ;-) ha! It's hard enough to get Aria to smile nicely for the camera for more than a split second, after which I miss the shot.

Well, it's official - Chanson is rolling over ;-) he's done it several times in the last week. He'd done it before, but not consistently. Now he's doing it more. He's so much more solid lately. I think it's from all the muscles he uses to keep his body straight as an arrow. When he's on his belly, he is almost U shaped bc his legs curve up he is flexing them so much.

He's laughing even more now than he was before. He will look at someone new, and just start laughing and smiling. (not everyone new, but it's happened a few times).

Today he discovered his feet. Never paid a bit of attention to them before (his legs are usually not bent in a way he would even see his feet bc he keeps them so straight so much of the time). I even got to see it when he saw them and realized he could grab them.

He's sleeping a LOT less lately during the day and sleeping more at night. I love it! He sleeps until 8 am, eats, and goes back to sleep until Aria wakes him up with a bazillion kisses. Today, he was sound asleep and she came up to him saying "awwww baby it is ok, stop crying" and then proceeded to kiss and hug him - which woke him up.

He doesn't fit in his 3-6 month Gerber onesies anymore. They are way too small. Do they run small? His other 3-6 month clothes fit.

It's a good thing for Aria... yesterday we were eating, and she said "the baby's crying!" and both Matthew and I told her, no, he's sleeping. Then, I thought I better go check on him (he was in the pack n play in our room taking a nap, and we were at the kitchen table eating - so not too far away) and sure enough - he was softly wimpering. Good ears, Aria! Then, later, he was fussing a bit, and Aria said "mama, he needs to eat the boobie" and I said no, not time yet. Then I looked at the clock...oooops yes it was time. Thanks again, Aria. THEN in the car yesterday, Aria says "Mama, sun is too bright in baby's eyes". Oops... better put the sun visor up. She also told us when his head lopped down in his carseat, but I couldn't have done anything about that, anyway. He'd fallen asleep and I couldn't reach him. But, still, it was nice of her to let us know ;-)

I love bananas

Aria decided to swing in the big girl swing today. She used to sit in it, but wanted to get off right away and go into her other swing to actually swing. Today she was going pretty high on the big swing, and she did great!

I almost forgot to include a good Grampa story from Aria's birthday (or maybe I already posted it... you know the whole memory thing). I was getting things ready for Aria's party, and I hear Chanson start to cry from the other room where he had been sleeping. I asked my dad to go get him. My dad came back with this awful look on his face, a baby in one arm, and his other arm stretched out ... I came over to see what happened and found my dad's entire hand was covered in poop, as was Chanson. You have to know that my dad is completely grossed out by poopy diapers, so it was especially awful (aka funny) to see him covered in it ;-) Initiation complete, Grampa! Good job ;-)

When Aria and I are playing, or when we are sitting at the table eating, she will get up and say "oh I forgot something" and then she'll point at me, look at me with a very stern face, point her finger at me and say (with a pause between each statement and a finger wave to emphasis her point) "Don't move. Don't fall down. I'll be right back". It's her newest thing bc she says this to me multiple times a day. Well, I also say this multiple times a day... like the 30 or so trips back and forth from the house to the car before I go anywhere.

Another thing she says (asks) multiple times a day is "whatcha doing?" I mean, she asks this a trazillion times a day. We'll be driving, and she'll say "daddy, whatcha doing?" he'll answer "driving"... 2 seconds later "daddy, whatcha doing". This goes on pretty much the whole trip. But it's not just us she asks this to - she asks everyone.

Every day she says she is going to go poo poo on the potty. She says "I'm gonna go poo poo on the potty and get choc-o-late chips and a lollipop!" We have told her that she will get chocolate chips and a lollipop if she goes in the potty many times. Well, the other day she said she was going to go on the potty and get chocolate chips, and a lollipop and a hello kitty cake. Hmmm... now you're stretching it. But, hey, if it works... ;-)

I love cuddle time at night before bed. I've mentioned our routine is brushing teeth, reading books, cuddle time, and then crib. We talk and sing a lot during cuddle time. She asked me to sing a song the other day, and so I sang "Aria is going to go to sleep in her crib, and tomorrow she is going to do something fun" and Aria took the song from there without missing a beat and sang in a very high voice "because Molly has blue water". I think she meant Molly & Jeff's pool water.

During cuddle time today, she tiltled my head to the side and said "mama, close your eyes and say I love bananas". I cracked up a little, and shut my eyes and said I love bananas. I opened my eyes and she just had a big grin on her face. Later she asked me to say it again, and so I did. She said "no no no, Mama! Like this" and she tilted her head and closed her eyes to show me. I have NO idea where this came from, but I guess the tilting your head part is important.

Another fav song she likes me to sing (why I'm doing all this singing, I don't know... she makes up what she wants me to sing and then wants me to sing it... have you heard me sing??) is the song about "Mia is at home, sleeping in her Elmo bed..."

Something she's said for awhile, and that I've never figured out where she got it from is "bop it". When she wants me to push a button, or hit something she says "mama, bop it!" Not sure on that one, but I love when she says that for some reason.

Oh and she is back to calling me Mama. I'm happy ;-) Mom is much too grown up. Although, for a day she called me "mother". Mother? What on Earth!? She got it from "the Land Before Time". She also likes to call me different names, and then I have to answer to it for the next few hours. This week so far I've been Molly, Emily, & Uncle Chris.

Aria has a good memory. She does not inherit that trait from her father or me, that is for certain! She really memorizes her books. I just start a sentence and she'll finish it. It amazes me how much she has memorized!

Every night she goes to bed listening to Norah Jones. Tonight, when she was listening to the 1st song, there was a line that said "wish that I could fly away". Aria got her concerned face and said "don't fly away, Jones!" She always calls Norah Jones "Jones".

The other day we were playing and Aria says "in the snow you wear a hat and you wear shoes! Mama, it's fun!" then she got up, and said "op! forgot shoes!" sits back down and pretends to put on shoes and says "ok mama, all set!" and stands up... and says "op! forgot hat" pretends to put on a hat and says "ok NOW I'm set!" Then she wanted me to do the same, and then Chanson to, also. Where does she learn this stuff? Sesame Street or Yo Gabba Gabba bc she's only been in snow as a little baby.

She was eating guacamole today, and called it "pock-eh-MO-nee". Not sure how that translates to Guacamole, but...

See the princess PJs and green flip flops in the pic above? Aria doesn't want to take either of these off ... ever. I put clothes on her to leave the house, but as soon as we're home, she takes off her clothes and wants her dancing PJs back on.

When I ask her what she wants to eat she says "Choc-o-late food". Ever since watching Willy Wonka that one time, she's been asking for choc-o-late.

Speaking of Willy... Aria noticed Chanson's boy parts today. Aria and Chanson had just taken a bath, and afterwards Aria was jumping on the bed. I then started to lift Chanson up and down like he was also jumping. He was laughing a LOT! Then when we stopped jumping, Aria noticed his boy parts, and she got this look on her face like "WHAT is THAT!" (I'm trying not to laugh) and she looks at me and says "Mama! It's BLUE!"

Not so terrible 2's?

A few people have asked me recently how we have escaped the terrible 2's, and how Chanson is sooo easy going...

Well... truth be told this is not in fact the case, entirely. Aria does disobey, and she tests us a LOT. Sometimes I'll clearly tell her not to do something, and she looks us right in the eye and goes and does it anyway, and as she does it you can just SEE the satisfaction in her face... like HA now what are you going to do, Mama? Chanson sometimes is very needy and I can't get a thing done all day (take today, for instance ;-) A few things about this; I don't think there has been a time that Aria didn't disobey since she was able to talk, so it's no worse now than it was before. BUT, timeout has been successful at getting her back on track. Now, she does like time out, which is very strange (very!), but... I feel like her discipline is easy bc it works. She is a good listener, though, much of the time. I guess I expected it to be much worse than it is ;-)We are blessed that she doesn't throw tantrums or fits. And Chanson - he is a great baby! But, he IS a baby, and babies are needy. It stresses me out when I am trying to clean the house or make dinner (or do anything, actually) and both kiddos are needing me. So, I just didn't want you all to think I was living in some dream world bc of how my posts have been written. I just like to stress the positive when it comes to my kiddos (and should take my own advice, and be more positive in every area of life! I'm working on it!)

Now, if Aria REALLY misbehaves, we put her to work... ;-)

A week of growing!

Just a short one to tell you all about how much Chanson has grown this week! He all of a suddent started getting more coordinated. I mentioned he is grabbing for things now. That has increased quite a bit this week. He can get his paci back into his mouth if it is close by (not if it is laying next to him, I mean... he can't reach for, pick up, and put the paci in his mouth). He also folds his hands a lot. I just absolutely love that he does this bc Aria did the same exact thing, and I'd almost forgotten. It's funny to me that siblings would have something like that in common - but he does it just like she did. Maybe it's common and I don't know it... just don't tell me if it is ;-) so I can go on believing it's their special trait ;-)

This week Chanson and Aria started interacting. Aria has always tried to get Chanson to interact, but, until this last week, he just stared at her in amazement, or smiled at her. The other day, Aria was playing peek-a-boo with Chanson, and when she'd say BOO, he'd start to laugh! It was very cute to see them play together!!

He is making the absolutely cutest baby sounds lately. Lots of talking and cooing.

He also has been making spit bubbles with his mouth. He tries to keep it going for a long time - it's funny!

He's getting big, and barely fits in his 3-6 month onesies! They fit but are getting very tight (in lenght, that is)

He has also slept WONDERfully this week! Thank you, baby! Ahhhh sleep!

Speaking of which, that is what I should be doing right now! I think there was more I was going to say but now I forgot... I'll post more later! So, as Aria would say... PEACE OUT!

Isn't he sweet?

Look at that face! Aww I just love him!

I can't remember what milestones occur at this age (he is 13 weeks) so I don't know what he is supposed to be doing. He is just starting to grab at things. He follows things when they move in front of him (but he's done that since he was 3 or 4 weeks old bc he did it when Ahna and Papa were here). He's really alert, and looks like he is really taking everything in and trying to figure it out. I always wonder what he is thinking. He kicks constantly - which is no surprise to me! He kicked for all of my pregnancy like a blackbelt! He isn't crazy about tummy time, but tolerates it. He usually just likes to suck on his hand, or whatever is under his face, so defeats the purpose of tummy time. Speaking of sucking on his hand... I cannot get those fingers of his out of his mouth! He's constantly sucking on them. I replace it with a paci, or just take his fingers out - but what do you do when you're in the car? Or in the middle of the night when he gets out of his swaddle?? Oh please don't be a thumb sucker! I can't take a thumb away like I can a paci! Ugh! Anyway... He is always holding his body so straight (that is why we do the airplane game I mentioned before). I measured him this week, and he is 25 inches and 13.5 lbs.

Did I mention he's the sweetest boy in the universe?? ;-)

Fun!

I love this picture of Aria! Not just bc to me, she is the cutest lil' girl on Earth ;-) but, bc it shows her face when she is as happy as she can be! I want her to smile like that all day ;-) Making her happy is fun ;-) She is actually being pushed on the swing by daddy, and smiling at Daddy and Uncle Chris here. Emily took the pic. I was away changing a poopy diaper. haha! The night this picture was taken, we went to see fireworks. Aria AND Chanson loved them! I knew Aria would (although, she said she was scared a few times, but then never took her eyes from the sky). I thought Chanson would either be scared or would be oblivious. I was wrong! He watched with BIG eyes the whole time. He loved it! That was fun. I love the 4th of July and I love fireworks!!!

OK so I have a lot to write, so, hopefully you'll stay with me ;-) Who knows how long it will take for me to write this bc Aria decided not to take a nap today (except 20 mins in the car). UGH! She just took off her dress bc it was "wet" (it isn't) and needs a new dancing dress. She is waiting for me at the stairs as I type this. She would wear 50 different dancing dresses a day if she could, I think

I'm surprised she used the "my dress is wet" excuse. Usually it's "the bugs ate it" or "the bugs got it" not sure where this came from, but she says it at least 5 times a day. Probably more. It's not always an excuse, just a statement. Most times, it makes no sense. She said the other day that Lauren had a birthday party, but no cake. I asked why, and she said "cuz the bugs got it". Lauren did in fact have a birthday, but she did have cake, and there were no bugs on it ;-) When I was putting her to bed the other night, she said "the bugs eat mamas eyes?" I said no, the bugs won't. She asked if they'd eat daddy's eyes? baby's eyes? It's really strange. I don't know where she gets it from, but she brings it up almost every night before bed. I hope she doesn't have nightmares or something. I've tried to ask her, but haven't come up with anything yet.

I have to say that Matthew and I are really thankful to have such a sweet girl. She is just a really good kid, and has been so easy to discipline. She definitely has her moments, and needs to be corrected sometimes, but, she just responds really well to it. She doesn't ever throw fits or tantrums. Even the other day when she went to the doctor, and got a dum dum. She LOVES suckers. She started eating it, but I had to take it away while we drive (the top ends up coming off bc she chews it off somehow) and I was afraid she'd cry bc she was enjoying it so much. I just told her I had to take it while we drove and I'd give it back. She said "ok! here you go" and handed it over. She still loves time outs. Seriously she really likes them, still. But, they are effective, so I just keep it up. It always goes like this, though. I say "Aria, if you do that one more time, you are going into time out" and then she says "OK Aria in time out" and goes into time out. Weird... The doctor asked how discipline was going and I told her this. She'd never heard of a kid liking time outs before.

Oh speaking of her doc appt. She is:

26 lbs

33.75 inches tall

Both are 50%. So, now Aria and Chanson are 50% in both height and weight.

Anyway... here are some daily funnies

Aria was looking at her arms in the car, and noticed there was hair on them. She said "mama! I have whiskers! Look!"

We were walking to our car in the parking lot, and Aria spotted a pink car. She was insistent that we get into the pink car to drive home. I tried to tell her we had to drive our own car. I think it would be nice, however, to be able to pick whichever car I wanted to drive home in ;-) (although I do heart my VW!)

As I was putting her to bed, she said "mama, Aria go to the moon." I guess she wants to be an astronaut when she grows up.

Aria makes up songs ALL the time. I'll find her just sitting there singing about whatever it is she is doing at the moment, or she will start singing in the grocery store, etc. She's made up songs about Uncle Chris and Emily, even. She also wants me to make up songs. Matthew, Aria and I were in the car the other day and she asked us to "sing a song about little boy, and drinking water in the shower?" she said. I thought she wanted two different songs, but she corrected me when I did that by repeating her instruction again. Eventually I got it. What she meant by "sing a song about little boy", is Mary Had a Little Lamb. She sings it "Mary had a little boy, little boy". But, she wanted me to add the part about drinking water in the shower... (which she was just doing earlier that day... drinking the water in the shower and singing about it in the shower.) AND she wanted all 3 of us to sing it all together.

Speaking of singing... when she goes to bed, we have a routine. Brush teeth, read books on rocking chair, and the cuddle time (while sitting in rocking chair), then crib. During cuddle time, she sometimes wants me to sing. I usually sing "I love Aria" to the Frère Jacques melody (with an added syllable). At the same time I sang I love Aria, she started singing with me, saying "I love mama". I thought that was sweet!

A strange thing that happened... I was driving to a music shop, and turned the wrong way. I knew that I turned the wrong way, but didn't say anything about it. Aria was in the backseat, and as I turned the wrong way, she said "Going the wrong way, mom". How on Earth did she know that? It was strange. Then I u-turned, and I asked her if I was going the right way now, and she said Yes.

She thinks it's funny when you throw her stuffed animals in the air and they fall down. She thinks it's hilarious sometimes. Always has. Now, she takes her stuffed animals, throws them in the air, and when they fall, she gets a very concerned look on her face and says "awww, the bear bonked his head" or "awwwww, meow meow hurt the foot" and she cuddles them to make it all better... and then throws them again. She also has a lego Elmo you can put together and take apart. She likes to take off his legs and arms and laughs as she does it. She wants me to take off his legs and arms, and just laughs and laughs as I do it. Should I be concerned??

I love the way she says certain words... my fave is definitely Oakie (Cookie). I love it when she sings "C is for Oakie". That cracks me up! Some of my other faves are "bobalies" for batteries and how she says California cal-eeee-for-neeee-a. My dad gave her snickerdoodle cookies, and she thought they were "Mr. Noodle" cookies, and kept calling them that.

She is still ending most questions with "right, mom?" She's started lately to end statements with "I think" She says it "I theeeeenk" like she is Speedy Gonzales. An example of this... I've been testing other types of milk to see if she likes it, now that she is 2 and doesn't need whole milk. I drink soy milk, so sometimes I'll ask if she wants to take a drink of mama's milk, and she tries the soy milk. She USED to like it. Well, lately her reaction to soy, rice, or almond milk in her sippy cup has been ..."ewwww. Different one! Mama's milk, I theeeeenk. It's dirty, I theeenk. Mom, it's old, I theeeenk. Aria's milk please?" and she'd repeat these over and over. I think I got the point! :-)

She was counting the other day, and it went like this... "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,16,17,twelveteen. YAY! Aria did it!" Hmmm... She doesn't always say twelveteen, but she ALways skips 13. She's like an elevator.

Aria got to play a real violin the other day. I almost started to bawl it was so darn cute! I CANNOT wait to get her one! The violin is a 1/32 size. It's like a Christmas ornament. She held it up really well, too! She is already doing "mississippi hotdog" with her bow, too ;-)

Another thing she keeps doing is having little convos with herself, but it sounds like she is talking to someone... like this "Aria go sit on the couch? Yes? OK? Ok! Aria will" She does this a lot, not sure why.

She likes to preted to make me food and then bring it to me to taste. The other day she made me "stir fry" I thought that was interesting... usually she makes me oakies. Today she put her Dora figures in a crib, put a lid on it, and stuck it in her play oven. Again... should I be concerned?? :-) Do I see a little of Uncle Adam coming out in her? OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few days ago, out of the blue, she asked me to paint her fingernails, put ponies in her hair AND wear her sunglasses. I've never tried (or asked or suggested) to paint her fingernails, but I'm sure she just wanted me to bc I'd painted her toenails for her birthday. The ponies and sunglasses though.. I've tried and tried to get her to wear either, and gave up long ago. Now SHE wants to wear them! Her ponytails are funny, though. They end up little puffs. Aria says she wants BIG ponies.

Aria is calling me MOM almost always now. Where did Mama and Mommy go? I think it sounds so grown up when she says it. Daddy is often Dad, but he still is Daddy a lot of the time.

She also loves to wear flip flops, which I think is just about the cutest thing ever!

Chanson... no funny stories for him, but, he sure thinks life in general is funny! He just has this irresistable smile! His eyes really sparkle when he smiles or laughs, too. What a happy boy! He's doing great with his routine. It's the same as it's always been, only stretched out to every 4 hours for the last few weeks or so. He's THREE months old TODAY! Still sleeping well, for the most part. I definitely cannot complain. He is just a really good baby! He likes to play airplane. We hold him up high, parallel to the ground, and move him around like an airplane. He keeps his body straight as can be. He likes to stand up, too. If you put him in a sitting position, he'll straighten his legs most times and stand (of course, we're holding him around his waist). He's just a little love!!!

Aria still loves him! We went to a baseball game on Sunday, and left Chanson with Mina. Aria was sooo sad he didn't come with. She cried and wanted the baby to come with. Here I was feeling guilty we hadn't had any JUST Aria time (Sunday was the 1st time she was away from Chanson since he came home from hospital).

OHHH this is really long!!

ARIA IS TWO!!

Well, the pictures speak for themselves... this birthday girl had SUCH a fun birthday!!! Thank you, everyone, for coming to her party, and making her day that much more special! And... thank you JENELLE for the awesome cake!!

We had a birthday weekend - started on Saturday with her Yo Gabba Gabba party. She woke up that morning, and the 1st words out of her mouth were "Mama! Mama! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!". She had a GREAT day! It was so much fun. She loved opening presents (she got lots of dancing dresses - you all know how to make a girl happy ;-) and a toy cash register (which she hasn't stopped playing with since) and books (always a hit! even a book with a matching Duck to go along with the story!)and new dancing PJs that she loves. Thank you everyone!

The next day was Father's Day and Aria's birthday. She was happy to share her day with Daddy! I told her to go into the room and tell Daddy "thank you for being such a good daddy" and off she goes... but says "Thank you for sharing, daddy" She was actually telling him he was good at sharing, not really thanking him for sharing her day, but, it was fitting ;-)

We celebrated Father's Day all day, and then had a family birthday for Aria at night. We gave Aria a kitchen, and she loves it! She got some fake food and a grocery cart from Mina and Grampa. Seriously, she is having a blast with all these new things! Here are some more pics ;-)

I do have lots more Aria & Chanson news... I'll have to get back on here very soon!

All about Chanson

So, Chanson has been doing great! He is getting very big! He's in 3-6 month clothes now. His torso is long, and so he can't fit into the smaller onesies, but can fit into some 0-3 mo pants.

His hair is definitely curly. It curls when it is wet. And it's red. OK hold the Ronald McDonald comments, please ;-) I don't think the red is going to stay bc the new hair is coming in so light.

He already likes to be roughed around. My mom was driving the car and there was a curvy area in the road, and so she swerved a little exaggerated (but safely ;-) bc she thought Aria would think it was fun. Ends up Chanson thought it was fun, started laughing! He also likes it when I take his hands and pull him up from laying down to standing, and then when I lay him back down, and he's a few inches from being on the bed or couch, I let him drop, and he laughs.

He laughs and smiles a lot. It seems like he smiles more every day. He laughs when people do "Pat-a-cake pat-a-cake bakers man" and roll his hands, etc. I have a video I will add, but I want to get a better one. My mom was doing pat-a-cake and he was laughing reallly hard, but by the time I got my camera, he wasn't laughing as hard.

Hmmm... what else what I was going to say? He's sleeping well - depends on the night HOW well, but he has slept from about 8-6 twice (with a dream feed at 10:30 or 11). That is what I'm hoping for tonight, too! ;-)

Due Date ;-)

Check out the cutest toes in ALL the world! ;-) AND sparkly shoes that are sandals, too. What more can a girl ask for??

You might start to wonder if my children are ever dressed... yes they are ;-) but not lately. Either the upstairs or downstairs AC has been broken. Today, it's the downstairs... ugh.

As you can probably guess from the title of this blog.... today was my due date 2 years ago. Ahhh memories! Can you tell I'm already getting nostalgic? Wait another 3 days... is she REALLY going to be two?? Really??

OK, so a few funnies. I should just do daily funnies so my blogs aren't so long.... bc Aria cracks me up constantly, and I really want to have it all written down. Since I don't keep a baby book... this blog is it ;-) I always said when Christina was a baby that I was going to write down all the millions of funny things she did, and I never did. When it's happening I think that I couldn't ever possibly forget this! But... then I do. I think I need a notebook for each area of my life, so that when I'm in a home with Alzheimers, I can read them ;-) Sometimes (well, always) I feel pre-Alzheimers. I guess you call that Baby Brain.

The other day at LTF, I'd gotten Aria some of those "healthy" puffs (like cheetos). She was eating them from the bag, and I reached over and ate one. She got her furrowed brow face and said "mama! spit it out!" and put her hand under my mouth so I could. I guess I was supposed to ask first... ;-)

Lately, when she wants to go somewhere or wants something really bad, she says "c'MON people". She says it very emphatically with hand gestures, and it cracks me up. She sounds like a comedian when she does it.

In the middle of the night 2 nights ago (the last slumber party before the AC upstairs got fixed) she woke up a BAZILLION times. One of the times she woke up, she sat up straight and said (loudly) "Mama! Where's Uncle Chris?" My answer? SLEEPING, baby! Another hour or so went by, and the same thing happened, only she asked where Uncle Adam was. I guess she was having uncle withdrawal.

Yesterday, MiaJenn & Chris came over and gave Aria her birthday present bc they are going to be out of town this weekend for her party (sob sob sob!) Aria opened up a whole set of kitchen utensils, and pots and pans (and even her own spatula!!), and cups, and plates. She LOVES it. They stayed for a few hrs, and as they were about to walk out the door, Aria said "thank you for the present" and then as they were walking out the door she said "thank you for the cake". I thought that was really sweet bc she'd opened the present right away when they got there, but still remembered to say Thank You before they left. I was a proud mama ;-) What a sweet girl.

OH I think I forgot to tell you, when I went back to blonde, I came home and Aria gasped and said "MAMA! You're a princess!"

Yesterday morning, Aria had woken up Chanson as he was laying there, and he started to fuss. She went into Mama mode and started saying ohhhh, baby. Then she tried to get him to take the paci, and no luck. She tried a few times, and was very gentle. Then she looked at me and said "Eat the boobie, I think. Here ya go Mama". I thought it was sweet she was trying to figure out what he needed. Actually, maybe she just wanted him to be quiet ;-)

She traces her magnet letters on her color board with markers. I thought that was pretty neat. She's getting more coordinated all the time. Did I tell you (OK here I am forgetting twice, see what I mean about the memory?!) that she drew a picture for Mina and we asked what it was, and she looked at us like... DUH! and said "it's Lines". True true - the whole page was covered with different colored lines. She did the same thing once when she drew a page full of circles. We asked what it was, and again... DUH "it's circles" she says.

She has been saying things lately that we have NO idea where it comes from. Today we were eating breakfast, and she said "daddy plays baseball". Just a matter of fact like that. First of all, I don't know how she knows what baseball even is, and second of all, she's never seen (or heard that I know of) that Matthew plays baseball. THEN she went into this in depth (we understood half of it) rambling about how baseball is played. "the guys are all together, and they hit the ball like this" (and she does sort of a swat) and on and on.

OK gotta run! Time flies when you're blogging and I have to teach a lesson in 5 mins, and still have to get dressed! (I mean change.... I AM wearing clothes, even if my kids aren't)

More funnies

When Aria was born, and my brother came to visit, he said something along the lines of "I bet you can't wait until she is this age" and pointed to Sydney, who was 2 at the time. I remember thinking he was crazy - how could anything be better than having a newborn! NOW I know what he was saying. Two is a fun age bc they are so darn FUNNY!! Don't get me wrong... I LOVE having a newborn, too, and am remembering why I loved having a newborn.

Anyway... here are some Aria funnies ;-)

We taught her that Aunt Ruth Ann lives in Arizona. She calls it "Ari-Sonia". I love it! (my sister is Sonia)

Aria talks to Chanson and says "hi" or "I love you baby Chanson" or whatever. So I started using a super high squeaky voice and pretending like he answers and says "Hi" or "I love you"back. Now she pretends Chanson is talking to me, and uses the same squeaky voice. Cracks me up!

When I wave at someone while I'm driving (to say SORRY ;-) or Thank you) Aria thinks I'm waving at her, so she always says "HI Mama!". I'm smiling as I write this, and it makes me laugh every time.

Aria was sick last week. ;-( poor baby had a high temp that wouldn't go away even with Motrin and Tylenol. I called the doctor to talk to her about it, and when I hung up the phone, Aria asked who it was. I told her "I was talking to the doctor bc you are so hot. She said "Mama, I'm not hot. I'm COLD". Poor baby was cold from her fever.

We were driving home from Church on Sunday, and we passed a field full of cows. Aria says in a very excited voice "LOOK!! Cows! ... and more cows! ... and dinosaurs! and Lions!" getting more and more excited with each one. Did y'all know there are dinosuars and lions in Texas? AND they are friendly with the cows around here.

It's been VERY hot here in TX, and the other day we went to Sonic to get an ice cream cone. Aria had her 1st ice cream cone when Ahna and Papa were here, and it was so cute to watch her eat it. I guess that sounds funny, but, I can't help it ;-) Anyway... we ordered an ice cream cone and an empty cup. Aria was squealing and putting her hands up in the air and saying "I'm so excited!! Empty cup!" over and over. I thought she didn't realize that an empty cup was just that. An empty cup. But, when she got it, she was still really excited. Then... the next day, she was on the phone with Mina and was telling her about what she'd done the night before, and what she told her about was the "empty cup". Too funny - never knew an empty cup could be so exciting!

Aria has her 2 year doc appt soon, and I'm looking forward to seeing (in inches) how tall she's gotten (I can't keep her still enough to do this myself ;-) Just today, I had poured her a glass of milk and set it on the counter. She reached right up there, took the milk down, and started to drink it. I never thought she could reach up there to get it... it wasn't even on the edge. She didn't spill either ;-)

Oh this is one of my favorites! And it's an explanation to one of the pics above. This is the furrowed brow face I've been telling you about. Well, she wanted Matthew to do something, and Matthew said to her "I need to eat, Baby". She got the furrowed brow face (which is also her "whatcha talkin about, Willis" face) and asked me "Daddy's going to eat the baby!?" Oh my gosh I cracked up!! She thought he'd said he needed to eat (no comma) baby.

To explain the 2nd picture above... Aria wanted to take a shower, so we let her ;-) she had a BLAST! Can you tell? We were right there to assist if she needed it, but she was loving it!

The 3rd picture above is how we've been sleeping the last 3 nights... all together! Our AC is broken upstairs. We are praying (hard!) that this doesn't mess up Aria's wonderful sleeping habits. She hasn't slept in our bed since her baby whisperer sleep training several months ago. I have to admit, though, that I am loving the cuddle time. I confess, I confess.

The 4th picture.... Matthew made us all dinner tonight while I worked out. When I was done working out and showering and came out into the kitchen, Matthew showed me this pic. I guess she was playing with the water in a bowl, and so he filled the sink with water for her to play with as he cooked. THEN she wanted to go in... so he let her. It kept her occupied, that is for sure. She loved it ;-)

Lastly about Aria... she took a 4 hr nap today. WOW!

OK, so I need to upload some pics of Chanson! I'll do that soon, and post some more. He just looks so much like both Grampa H's! He is still a sweet boy, and just so content almost all of the time. His sleeping has been great some nights, and not so great others. The good thing is that the earliest he gets up is 4ish, but goes back to sleep with the paci. The bad thing is that he is restless from about 4-6 and needs his paci often. I'm hoping this is just a short phase! I liked him to sleep until 6! Let's go back to that, why don't we? Good idea! ;-)

He rolled over a bunch of times with my mom the other day. I saw him, but was in the other room. He hasn't done it since then, though, so we'll see if he does it more soon. I'll keep you updated, my loyal readers ;-) hehe!

I am just so curious to see what color his hair will turn out to be! It is fire engine red around the base of his head, but on the top it is growing in blonde. Aria's hair was almost black when she was born, and it stayed dark around the base of her head for a long time. They have the same grampa hairdo ;-) hehe! Just different colors.

Chanson is a BIG smiler! And his smile is so big, it turns into a laugh. I love it! Can't get enough of it! When he smiles I always tell Aria he's smiling at her bc he loves her so much. She smiles so big, and just beams! She loves her brother, that is for sure!

Wow this is the longest blog ever!

Oh, but had to include a video. ;-)

Funny Aria

A few funnies from Aria today ;-)

Today she was saying Mina was going to come over, and maybe Grampa, too. And then she said in her low big voice "Grampa's TALL!" with emphasis. My dad will be happy to hear this ;-) To her Grampa is tall. (he is 5' 3" ;-) Maybe she thinks I'm tall too!!

We were wrestling around today, and, she got really close to my face. She looks at me, and gets this funny look on her face (kinda like she was thinking "what the heck?") and she says "mama has polka dots"... huh? I ask her where, and she starts poking me all over my face (my freckles...)

She was swinging today and I asked her where Aunt Kat lived. She asked "and Uncle Jake?" I said yep - where do they live? She says "and Dee-lella?" Yep, and Diella, I say. Then she asks "and Ethan?" I say yep, and Ethan. Then she says Pennsylvania. She knew they were a family!

My sweet Aria stories ;-)

Matthew has taught Aria to show everyone her muscles... they call it the "gun show". He put his shirt on her after her bath (she probably requested it ;-) the other day, and then showed us her guns.

When I am working out, she calls what I am doing "tricks". The 1st time she said it, she said "mama, stop doing tricks!" Now, she does mama's tricks... lunges and squats.

We were at Mina's house, and her little dog, Edie, jumped up on the couch. Aria said "NO Edie! Get off the couch!" At our house, the dogs aren't allowed on the couch, but at Mina's house they are. We explained that the rules are different at Mina's house. Aria's little eyebrows went up, and her eyes got big, and she headed straight for the coffee table and climbed up on top of it. She's not allowed to get on the coffee table at our house, so since the rules were different at Mina's house, it must be OK! I tried not to laugh, and explained that not ALL the rules are different at Mina's house.

Her imagination is so much fun! She hands me imaginary things still ( I mentioned this before, I think) - but a few times, she handed me something, and I asked what it was, and she said "Uncle Chris and Emily". I thought... hmmm, now what do I do with them? If she hands you food, it will almost always be chocolate (which she adds a syllable to... cho-co-late (wait... IS that adding a syllable? I just say it Choc-late). I don't even think she knows what chocolate is (she started saying this after watching Willy Wonka - one of my all time fav movies!). She likes to pretend to cook something and feed it to you. I think the best one was when she fed me something, and I asked what it was and she said "snake"... I should ask BEFORE I eat it. She even has pretended her friend, Mia, was there, and was talking and playing with her.

She knows where most of her relatives live, now. Aunt Sonia is in Minnesota, Uncle Adam & Aunt Sarah are in California, Ahna & Papa are in Pennsylvania (and Aunt Kat, Uncle Jake, Aunt Alethea and Uncle Jeremiah). As I'm teaching her their locations, I'm thinking to myself.... do all of our relatives live in the states with the longest names? She says them well, though. She enunciates the syllables and even gives California an extra syllable (Cal-i-for-ni-a). I try to teach her a new one a day... guess what state we'll add tomorrow? Ar-i-zo-na... Seriously, can't SOMEone live in Georgia or something, and give the kid a break ;-)

I thought this was really cute... I was in the kitchen, and Aria was in the living room, where Chanson was in his carseat in the stroller (we were about to leave to go somewhere). I hear Aria doing the piggies with Chanson's toes "wee wee wee all the way home".

I heard Aria singing Happy Birthday to You" in her crib a few weeks ago (over the monitor). Not sure how she learned it bc we don't sing that one unless it's someone's birthday. Later, I sang it with her and stopped at the "happy birthday dear....." bc I wondered where she learned it, and thought whatever she filled in would help me figure it out. Well, she said "Jesus". I have asked everyone if they taught her that, and no one has... but every time she sings it, she says Happy B-day to Jesus. Very sweet!

I was thinking... she is now talking like a "person"... not that talking a lot makes you a person - but our conversations have gotten so much more involved and interesting. I love to hear what she is thinking and that she can tell me so well now! She noticed a nick in the wall today (I was surprised she noticed it) and she said "mama, what happened to the wall?" just like that. The whole sentence. Earlier in the day today, she was picking out her dancing dress to wear, and she said "but, mama, I HAVE a dancing dress on!" (her PJs were like a dress). It feels like she gets better with her vocab every day. Oh another one from today... we were in the car, and the sun got in her eyes, and she said "The sunshine is bright in my eyes."

She keeps telling me to "stop it!". I realized that I need to stop telling HER to stop it bc it doesn't sound very nice. When she says that to me now, I ask her to repeat it and say "mama, could you please not...(fill in blank)" She is doing much better ;-) and so am I.

Time outs are working well for her. She still "likes" them, so I'm not sure how it's punishment. Maybe it's just giving her a break, away from what she was doing wrong. She almost always stops doing what she was doing after time out. If not, she just keeps going into time out until she does. The other day, she was touching the toaster oven as she sat on the counter in front of me (she loves to "help" with whatever I'm doing and sit on the counter in the kitchen next to me). I told her NO - never touch the toaster oven (she was opening it). She wouldn't listen, so I said if she did it again, I was going to put her down and she couldn't sit on the counter. She did it again... so off she went. Then she walked to the wall and said "time out, right mama? 1- 2 - 3". OK... I never told her to go to time out, but since she was there... ;-) she finished out the 60 seconds and away she went. Hmmm....

I've mentioned before that she always says "God bless you" when someone sneezes. Well, the other day she was crying - hard. In the midst of her crying, Chanson sneezed. She stopped - midcry - and said (in a non-crying voice ... can we say she was fake crying!) "God bless you, Chanson" and then continued to "cry" as she left off. Drama already!

OH and one thing she does that I think is cute... when she asks a question, she ends it almost always with "right, mama?". For instance... "we're going to go see Grampa, right mama?" I don't know why, but I think it's really cute.

She sometimes calls Chanson "sweet baby", as though that is his name. "sweet baby come with, right mama?"

To end on a very sweet note... the other day we were reading books before bed, and Aria put both of her hands on my face and looked me directly in the eyes and smiled, and said "my mama". I just love that little girl!

Chanson smiling ;-)

This is a game that Chanson and Daddy play.... well, Daddy does, anyway. Matthew is putting his finger over the softspot on Chanson's head, which is why he's saying "touching your brain"... he's not really poking into his softspot, don't worry ;-) For some reason, it makes Chanson smile and laugh a little every time.

Happy 2 months, Chanson!

Here is a video of Chanson and Aria. Aria loves to hold him. I say in the video "see, he doesn't need you to be rough with him". I'm talking to Matthew. We both (Matthew and I) think it's funny that he was more rough with Aria as a baby than he is with Chanson! You'd think it'd be the opposite. I guess Matthew has Aria to be rough with, so he's more gentle with Chanson. (not rough in a bad way...) BUT Aria, on the other hand, wants Chanson to be as big as her, and she can get a bit rough. She, of course, never hurts him, and we wouldn't let her be TOO rough... but it's hard sometimes to get her to understand that he is a baby, and you can't do certain things. Just wait until Chanson is bigger than her... payback time!

Chanson had his 2 month appt. He is:

Weight - 11 lbs 10 oz - 50%

Height - 23.25 inches - 50%

Head - I forgot, but 70%

So, he's right in the middle. I was surprised he wasn't either higher on the height percentile, or lower on the weight percentile. He looks tall and lean to me.

His stats may say he's average, but, we know he is not ;-) OK OK... I'm biased ;-)

But seriously - he's doing great! (except he was up a lot last night... I like the sleeping until 6 am thing much better!)

Aria and the Harmonica

Aria has taken up a new instrument... the harmonica ;-) So move over, Blues Brothers, here comes Aria!

Grampa is a...

Can you believe how big she has gotten?? She looks like she is almost too big for the baby swing here. She's going to be 2 next month. Unbelievable to me!

I have a couple of funny Aria stories (or I think so, anyway ;-)

Aria was sitting on the potty and so she got to play with stickers with while she sat there. She stuck the stickers all down her leg. After she "tried" to go potty, it was naptime. She didn't want me to take the stickers off her leg, so she went to bed with them on. After her nap, she was thrilled to see they were all still there... until she bent her knee. She cried out and asked me to take all the stickers off, so she could bend her knee. I went to take one off, and realized that over the 2.5 hrs she napped, the stickers had really stuck to her skin... oh no! I was afraid to take one off bc it would hurt. I pulled it off really fast - like a bandaide, and Aria laughed HARD. Each sticker I ripped off, she laughed harder and harder. It had to have hurt at least a little each time - but she thought it was hysterical... funny girl!

Today, we were talking about boys and girls. I asked her "is Aria a boy or girl?" she said "girl". I asked her if Chanson was a boy or girl, and she said boy. Is Zig a girl or boy? Boy. Good job Aria! Is Mama a boy or girl.... she says boy. Nope, Mamas are always girls, and Dads are always boys. Is Daddy a boy or girl? Boy. Is Mina a girl or boy?... she says boy. Nope, she is a girl. You get the point ;-) we went through SEVeral people. So next, I went through everyone again, but, I phrased it like this; "Mama is a .... (pause)" and let Aria fill in the blank and say "girl". "Daddy is a ....?" Aria says boy. "Mina is a....?" Aria says girl. Next I said "Grampa is a...." and Aria said...

PENGUIN!

Haha - apparently Grampa is neither a boy or girl, but a penguin.

Sweet Chanson

Don't I look like my Great Grampa H? I'll post a pic of G-Gpa H in case you don't know who he is. I am very proud to look like one of the most amazing people in all the world!

The older he gets, the more he looks like GGpa H.

Chanson is doing so well! He is just such a sweet baby. Aria even calls him that "awww sweet baby!" ;-) She still loves her brother all the time. She's never once shown a bit of jealousy or been anything but sweet to him (maybe a little rough, but still sweet ;-). I just love that! I hope they are best buds always

He is sleeping really well. He went through a get up every 3 hr phase, but for the last week (or more?) has slept until 6 am every day. He will get up within 5 mins of 6 am every day. How does he know it's 6?? He's like an alarm clock. I started giving him a paci when he'd wake up every 3 hrs, and if he took it without fussing, I knew he was not hungry. Sure enough, he took it, and within 3 days didn't get up anymore (just the the baby whisperer promised ;-) did I tell you how much I love her??) He doesn't use a paci at all to go to sleep at night, and now, not even during the night. He does use it to go to sleep during the day, though.

He is getting big - fast! The scale at our house says a little over 12 lbs, but we'll see what the baby scale says at his 2 month appt next week. We measured him yesterday, and he is 23 inches. I put him in an outfit today that I thought looked huge... and it fits very nicely!

He is smiling AND laughing. He started laughing on 5/16/09. He smiles and laughs at foreheads. It is really interesting, but true. He so far has only smiled and laughed while looking at our foreheads (and a few times while looking at himself in a mirror... probably looking at his own forehead ;-)Uncle Chris says he would like his large forehead. I disagree, Uncle Chris, you don't have a big forehead... but anyway... he did smile a lot for Uncle Chris yesterday. Uncle Chris is a big fav around here!

He also loves ceiling fans. Is there a baby out there that doesn't like ceiling fans? Aria was mesmerized with them, as well. Another love is the TV... so I never let him sit in front of it - ever. I don't need him addicted to TV at 8 weeks old ;-)

I know I told you his hair is red, but, it is fire engine red! I need to get a pic that shows that. It's only red around the back of his head, and is growing in light blonde on top. I think he will end up blonde. His eyes have light green coming from the pupils outward. I am hoping he has green eyes like mine ;-) Aria has the beautiful brown eyes I prayed for, and now I hope Chanson gets green. I'll settle for a brown eyed boy, though - brown eyes ARE my fav! But, can my children have ONE thing that looks like me??? ;-)

OK I can't resist telling you one cute Aria-ism ;-) She called Zig (our dog), Pup-Dude. :-)

A few fun things

Daddy has Aria trained right! ;-)
Fun family time

Daddy & Son

Tuckered out!

I've been meaning to update you all on the kiddos, but I have been really tired... Chanson has decided not to sleep like the lil angel that he is. I am not sure why, but, it happened with Aria, too. At about 6 weeks (exactly 6 weeks with Aria) they start getting up every 3 hrs maximum. Why oh why?? Baby whisperer says it's bc they need more calories during the day, so I'm trying to feed him more all day. Baby whisperer also says that if you don't feed them more during the day, and they continue to get up every 3 hrs to eat, they will just get used to that, and keep it up (Aria did...) I'll let you know how the more calories during the day thing works out...

Chanson is doing really well, otherwise. He is smiling now, on purpose. The 1st real smile that I saw was on May 13th, which is my Gramma's birthday, so that made me really happy. He smiled at Aria a few times today, and even she exclaimed each time "oh Chason smiled!"

I gave him a bottle on May 2nd, and he took it really well. I was happy about that for sure! Actually, I may have already mentioned that (baby brain...) I have been trying to give him a bottle a day so he continues to take it well.

A few cute Aria stories...

Today she was watching a cartoon that was about how not to get a cold. I think it was Sid the Science kid? Anyway, the kid's mom had a cold. Aria came up to me with a concerned look on her face and felt one cheek, then the other, and said "mama cold?" and then blew on my face. Not sure why the blowing on my face (maybe she thinks you blow on something to cool it off as well as to make it warmer?) I love how she makes me look at things through a child's eyes. Of course to her, when she hears mommy has a cold, she thinks mama is cold, literally.

Aria is really using her imagination a LOT these days. She pretends to pick something up off the ground and hands whatever it is to me. Then I ask what it is, and it will be anything from cookies, to a bird, to a puppy, to a birthday cake, to "more toys". She will bring me a bag, and say "surprise!" and I ask what is inside, and she will tell me. Today, she handed me a big candle, and said "happy birthday, mama!" and wanted me to blow out the candles on the "cake". She looks at the clouds and tells me what she sees. She makes up stories about the birds in the back yard about where they are flying to.

One of her favorite imagination games is one I've mentioned - going on a trip. Recently as she was playing "going on a trip" she went to find her purse (can't leave home without it! ;-) she always grabs a bag of some sort when she goes on her trips) and came back and told me she was going on a trip to see Uncle Chris. Then she said "Love Uncle Chris". She loves her Uncle Chris!

Speaking of loving... when she REALLY likes something, and I ask her if she likes it, she will respond with I LOVE it. I asked if she liked cake, and she said I LOVE cake. Tonight at dinner, I asked if she liked fish, and she said she LOVED fish (which she did! New favorite food - tilapia!)

She also loves her brother. A LOT! She just cannot get enough of him. She hugs him and says "love him" or calls him her friend. I love that ;-) I also love when she calls me her friend as she hugs me. That really warms my heart each time.

The other day, Aria woke up yelling "somebody! Cake! Pizza! Somebody!.... MiaJenn!" I thought that was funny, and shows that she is my daughter. Cake, to me, is a perfect breakfast!

Aria loves airplanes and motorcycle bikes. Whenever she hears or sees either one, she brightens up and says "airplane!" or "motorcycle bike!" and points at whichever it is (or asks to go outside to see it if she just hears it).

We started working on forward and backward walk overs with Aria ;-) On the big work out ball, she bends backwards on it, and we roll it as she puts her hands on the floor, and then we help her over. She thinks this is a lot of fun!

Ring around the rosy is the MOST fun though. That is her favorite game, I think!

Oh, and she calls gingerbread cookies "spiderman oakies". This cracks me up!

Getting bigger

I'll write an update on my babies later, but wanted to share a cute bath pic with you for now ;-)

Here is a video of Chanson doing his thing... ;-)

BFF

Click here to view these pictures larger

I have a hard time picking which pictures to upload... so I just upload them all ;-) Mia wanted to sit on Aria's lap (or was it the other way around?) These 2 are sooooo cute together!

Ahna & Papa

We had SUCH a fun week with Ahna and Papa! Chanson got to meet them for the 1st time, and Aria couldn't get enough of them. They were all playing within minutes of them walking into the door. Aria woke up the 1st morning they were there, calling "Ahna! Ahna!". Matthew and I wondered if she was saying Ahna or Mama? Then we heard her over the monitor, again, clearly saying "Ahna! Papa!"

Aria loved playing puzzles and computer games with Papa. She loved reading books and hula dancing with Ahna. She got a full week of just playing and being silly. What a lucky girl! Chanson got as much cuddling time as any baby could wish for. He loved all the loving and snuggling. And... Mama not only had fun hanging out and spending time with them, but enjoying lots of help. Who knew how much one could enjoy a shower with no kiddos in the room or making breakfast with BOTH hands! I think I changed half the number of diapers, too. Mama Mia is having withdrawal this week!

Aria was very sad at the end of the week (Mommy and Daddy and Chanson were, too ;-( ) to say goodbye. We keep wondering how the week went by soooo fast. Aria keeps asking where they are.

Here is a video of Ahna & Aria playing.

Here is a video with a message for Ahna & Papa

Happy 1 month birthday, Chanson

Above are a few pics from Easter (4/12) that I forgot to post. Aria had so much fun dying Easter eggs, and I think Chanson looks just sooo handsome in his Easter outfit ;-) ... and one of Aria that I just love ;-)

I cannot believe it's been a month since Chanson was born! WOW time is flying!

Chanson is doing great! As of Monday, April 27th, he weighed 9 lbs 9 oz and about 22 inches (we took the length measurement, so not sure how accurate that is ;-). He's a growing boy! He has baby eczema, just like Aria had... but it's clearing up from the cream they gave us. He is still sleeping great, and just is a calm, angel baby. He likes tummy time, and does well with holding up his head. I need to take a pic so you can see ;-) He can now fit into his 0-3 month clothes, but can still get into some of his bigger NB stuff, as well. He wears a size 1 diaper, but, we can still get the NB size on him. They're small, but we have some left and want to use them. He smiles a LOT in his sleep, and has smiled quite a bit awake, too. He smiled at Grampa today ;-) As he gets chubbier, his dimple gets more pronounced. You know I'm a sucker for dimples! I don't think I've ever mentioned, but his hair is red! I wonder if it will stay that way or turn blonde. My mom has auburn hair, and her dad had auburn hair, so we'll see. I really think his eyes will be green like mine. I can see green in them when I look at them from the side.

Aria is still loving her little brother! She is still kissing and hugging him every chance she gets.

I keep meaning to tell you all an Aria story, and keep forgetting (or maybe I've already told you and should look back at posts... I have SERIOUS baby brain these days!). When we drive in Matt's truck, it's really bumpy. When I was pregnant, the bumps would make me wince every time there was a big (or even semi-big) one. Speed bumps were the worst! So, one day (I was probably 8 months preggo), as we went over a bump, Aria got a very concerned look on her face and said "ohhhh" and then she patted me on the arm and said "Mama, you OK? Belly hurt?" I couldn't believe that she could tell by my reaction to bumps that it hurt... and that it hurt my belly. I reassured her that Yes, I was OK, and thank you for asking. Every time we'd run over a bump she would ask "Mama, you OK?" and pat my arm. She started asking everyone else in the car if they were OK, too. She still does this, even though I'm not pregnant anymore. I thought it was sweet that she was so sensitive to me!

Aria is now doing better at filling in the small words in sentences so she is using more complete sentences now. So, where she used to say "paper broken half" she now says "The paper is broken in half" or "the paper broken in half" (sometimes she gets them all, sometimes not).

There are a few things she says that crack me up every time. She does a game where she pretends to be scared of Ziggy... and she screams, runs up to me, and says "Mama ! Ziggy get me! (pause) Long time!" She says the "long time" part really fast. I have NO idea what this means, or where it is coming from, but she says it allll the time. She also calls Cookies "oak-ies". She has been saying AWESOME (with big emphasis) a lot lately.

Hmmm what else? She is completely in love with our friend, Chris (Miajenn's daddy/hubby... MiaJenn is the joint name that Aria made up for Mia (her friend) and Jenn (Mia's Mama). Whenver I tell Aria that we are going to see Miajenn, she gets excited ... and then says "and Chris, too!?!" Matthew and I were going through the letters with her the other day, and saying B sounds like buh, buh, like Bubbles, and Bee and Big and Bug. M sounds like mmmmm like Milk, and Mama, and Mia, and Mooo and Aria said "and Chris, too??" Anything that includes Mia must also include Chris, right?

The other day, I cleaned out Aria's crib to wash her blankets and boppy. As I was putting her comforters back into her crib (I stack them all up so it's soft where she lays) she kept asking me to stop. She didn't want the comforters back in her crib? Ok... Then I put her boppy in there, and she wanted me to stop... OK, interesting. THEN I started to put her stuffed animals and dolls back in, and she didn't want them in there, either. I then put Aria in the crib, and started handing her her favorite animals. She'd throw them out of the crib. I thought to myself "great! now what is she going to play with as she falls asleep, and when she wakes up?" She would play with her animals every day before falling asleep at nap and night. I finally gave up, and left, thinking she'd call me wanting her animals back in there. Well, I was listening to her on the baby monitor, and she was playing - as usual. I thought WHAT is she playing with?? Her crib is empty! She ended up playing for TWO HOURS that night. I went in there at one point bc I started to think she was actually talking to someone... but of course no one was there. She was just laying in her crib... talking away. This was probably 5 days ago, and each time she goes to sleep and wakes up, she plays... with nothing in her crib. I thought it was interesting... she must have a great imagination!

I almost forgot to mention.... she can finally do a sommersault all by herself ;-)

Did I tell you how much I love my babies?????

Pictures from Mia

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