A few random pictures from January 2009

A fun craft project! Anna say "Cheese"

Playing with water!

Painting Princess

Sophie's Party!

This falls into the "better late then never" post. The first weekend in January Anna and I headed up to San Francisco to celebrate Sophie's graduation from Grad School! We are so proud of her and her new job at Convent in Atherton! John and Lilly stayed home and did some daddy daughter bonding. It was Anna's first plane trip and she did great! We got there on Friday afternoon and got our rental car (and car seat because that got lost- actually it went to Portland with the people who did not get off in Oakland). We picked up Sophie and went to lunch. From there we headed to Monica and Alisa's house to get a better car seat and some toys - we ended up playing and chatting for hours - so much fun. We brought Sophie home and headed to Gail's for a wonderful dinner with Sophie, Gail, Effie, and Kathleen. (Anna and I stayed at Gail's both Friday and Saturday night and she was the most amazing hostess!!!) After dinner we chatted and went to bed. Saturday morning we headed over to Effie's to get ready for the party. We spent the day getting prepared. The party was amazing! Effie and Kathleen thought of everything!

My baby is growning up!

Some times I feel like Anna is 14 months going on 14! She is so independent and confident. It is so amazing to watch how she can get onto and up anything. She has such a determined personality. She loves playing with other kids. We have been going to My Gym and music class and she just loves it. She also loves the church nursery. She gets in there with the other kids - most of whom are older then her and just enjoys herself. She also loves babies - so funny because she basically is one, but like I said she really thinks she is a big girl. She loves to go over to Karina's twins when they are in their seats and kiss them and try to get them out! It is also cute to see her react to her friends. When she sees Luke or Brady she just lights up. Anna loves to dress up and already LOVES shoes - she likes her shoes and any other shoes she can get her hands on. She brings them to me to put on her feet and even tries to put them on herself sometimes! She does still have "baby" moments - she is a snuggle and she still has that wonderful baby smell. I am going to miss that smell so much. Sometimes I just want time to slow down. She is growing up so fast. Lilly liked being a baby, but Anna just wants to get on with it.
Anna loves to play in the bathroom and loves wearing lots of clips!Lounging with a bottle - she loves her babaSisters Playing!

Big Girl drinking from a cup and sitting at the "girls table" - we had to get rid of the highchair because Anna wanted to sit in a big girl chair next to her sister!

Baking Days!

Lilly has been so into baking. We are having so much fun. This is our afternoon activity while Anna naps. Lilly is getting quite good and loves to share her goodies with Daddy when he get's home. She is so proud of herself and I love seeing her confidence. This week we made - blueberry muffins, banana upside down cake, pound cake, and bagels! I love to bake and cook and I love sharing this activity with Lilly. I can't wait until Anna is old enough to join us!

The Little Things

It really is the little things in life that make it fun! Here are a few things that I really like

Clean In-Style Gloves - you can find them at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5786053 - I just got some for me and a pair for my cousin for her B-Day. I wash a lot of dishes and they have saved my hands - they are also fun to wear and somehow make washing all those dishes a little more bearable.

Reusable Oilcloth Sandwich/Snack Bags - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5107577 - These are wonderful and wash great! I was using soooo many zip lock bags and now I hardly use them!

Flip Flop Fancy Dresses - My friend Connie makes these are they are so cute! http://www.flipflopfancy.etsy.com/

My Clips - http://www.theclipfairy.etsy.com/

Zippy Wristlet - I have decided that I am going to make one of these - Les is lending me her sewing machine - we'll see how it goes! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5565246

The Mommy Mafia

The Mommy Mafia - I know it is a funny name. Brian, Karina's husband came up with it a few years back. This is the name of my amazing play group! We have been getting together every Thursday since September 2005. There have only been a few weeks in those years that we have not been together. It all started one warm September day. Leslie's parents were out of town and she invited myself, Karina, Gioia, Michelle, and Jessica. The babies were just that babies (Lilly was 2 months old) and Gioia was still pregnant. We sat around and chatted - the big kids aka Big Jack and Big Lily played. It was just so nice to be with other people who were mom's - I was new to this mom thing. We decided that this would be a great weekly gathering. I was going back to work pt and Thursdays seamed to work for everyone and the rest is history. Over the next few months the group grew. I invited Christine who's husband was working with John at the time. Leslie invited Rhonda, the wife of her childhood friend. Jess invited Paulette, who's husband works with Joseph. All of the kids were born between January 2005 and October 2005 - except the "big kids" Big Jack and Big Lily - both born December 2003. So the original group was - Leslie, Zoe, Jessica, Karina, Gioia, Michelle, Rhonda, Paulette, and Christine - Amy and Liz joined later. We have been through so much - the birth of babies (there are now 20 and 2 more on the way), surgeries, breast cancer, miscarriages, loss of parents, and all of the joys and struggles that go with being a mom. We support each other and rally together. We are friends because of our kids, but we are friends without them as well. We all cherish our Mom's Night Outs and our annual Mom's Night Away. So often I think about how lucky and blessed we are to have each other and that our kids are equally as lucky and blessed to have each other (Lilly loves "her friends"). We do not judge each other - there is nothing but love in this group. They have all made me a better mother and a better person.

Love, Love, Love, Love, Crazy Love

The title just popped into my mind. I Love me girls and life is crazy! Lilly sometimes has tough days. Yesterday was one of those days at school. She gets overwhelmed and just can't control herself. When I picked her up at school yesterday at school she was crying. That kind of cry that mother know is not just something little - she was sad! She knew that she had not behaved and was mad at herself. It was the kind of cry that makes you cry (right there in the pre-school classroom with her). This has not happened in a while. There is a new girl in her class and Lilly got excited and that leads to her being overwhelmed and not being able to control her emotions and her actions. To top it off her backpack was not on the hook when we left the room and that lead to a meltdown. The backpack was located, but not until after we got home. I decided to take her to McDonald's for lunch - I do not reward "bad" behavior, but she knew what she did wrong - both the teacher and I talked to her. I needed to turn the day around and make the second half of the day positive. McDonald's was Great!!! There was 1 little girl in the play area when we got there and she came right up to Lilly. She even brought her toy and some of her food to our table to eat with us (she was there with her dad and he was busy with her baby brother). Once the girls had eaten they played very nicely and some other kids joined in and it was great. Lilly played nicely with all the the kids and the day was saved! When we got home our wonderful neighbor Marge and her son Grant came over and played for over an hour - another positive interaction. Lilly and Anna took baths and john came home and played with them until bed. As I reflected on this day I realize more and more how much Lilly needs me. I try not to beat myself up about the fact that I went back to work (even though it was only 2 or 3 days a week) when she was little. Maybe if she had the stability of just me caring for her when she was little maybe she would not have the issues she has -maybe she still would. I did what I thought was the right thing to do then. She was with people who loved her, but she was bounced around - a different person each day of the week I worked. Like I said I try not to beat myself up about it, but some days it is hard not to. It is days like yesterday that remind me why I am willing to give up the luxuries that were once taken for granted to be home with my girls. We don't go out to eat, buy new clothes, get my nails done, have our house cleaned by someone else (except when my mom is generous enough to pay for it), etc. and it is so worth it. We are working on Lilly's issues and I have no doubt in my mind that she is going to have a GREAT life. In some ways these tough days make me love her even more - I hug her harder and hold her longer - she is mine and I would not trade her for any other child in the world. I am just glad to be with her.