Day 262

Update about last nights sleep: Luciana slept from 11-5am! :) That is the longest stretch she's had since she was around 4 months old. She is slowly wanting more and more sleep at night, and just in time for me, who was on the verge of madness! ;)

Today we played outside with all the water toys we could find-- it was another hot day. The girls both had a great time. :) Later we had a visit from Aunt Holly & Lily, and they stayed to have dinner with us. What a nice day! 

Goodnight.

Day 261

Long day. Hot day! We went to the beach today, after Papa came home from a class he's been at the last three days (comes home at night). We had fun! Our bike lock decided to change it's own combination while we were playing in the sand, so we had to walk home. :/ What a jerky bike lock!! It was super hot, did I mention that? Still is-- we are all sleeping with our ceiling fans on high, and doing all we can to keep cool without ac!! 

That's all for today... Oh, but I should mention, Lulu loves being at the beach, and is sitting so well on her own that it's finally an enjoyable experience for all!! Penelope plays with her shovel and pail, and goes (not very far) into the water with Daddy, and it's all just so cool! We love the beach, so it's a treat that we can actually be there again. Thankful. :)

Goodnight.

Day 260

It's just so darn hot lately. And humid. And the kids just don't seem to notice, really! We keep cool at home in the morning, before the house heats up, then we have to head outside or somewhere else... Just gets too hot! After a few errands, P played outside & I let Lu splash around in the kiddie pool a bit, which she just LOVED. :) She's sitting up perfectly now, and is NOT ok with just hanging out in her bouncer-- she wants in on all the action around her, it's cool to see her become more and more interested in the world! She also sits unassisted in the bathtub with her sister, but Mama still helps, for now. I think she'll move pretty fast from here, crawling, and stuff... Our angel is 8 months old, and we see her getting more and more beautiful, she's so smart and has such a laid back personality. :) We love her so much. 

Here is a pic of her playing on the rug this morning:

And here in the bathtub tonight:

Night!

Day 259

We had another HOT day here. :/ I can't imagine how much hotter it would've been if we lived further inland! Thankful for our gorgeous ocean just a mile away, I gives us those fresh breezes we need! We were just hangin' around the house today-- Papa has a class in Downtown LA the next few days, so we have him home evenings, which we love. :) We: went to market, played in the kiddie pool & with P's water table (Lu loves it when I dip her feet in!), went back to the market when I began cooking dinner & realized I forgot a couple things, then had a yummy dinner once the girls had their bath. Look how cute they are....

We are hoping for either cooler weather tomorrow, or a great idea on how to keep cool during the day. It's torture roasting at home, and until Lulu can handle being in the little pool on her own, we don't dare to go in just yet. Too bad babies don't know how to stay quiet in a movie theatre!!! ;)

Here's a cute pic of Lulu and I that I sent to my parents today.... Night.

Day 258

We had rain today, and we had a nice day at home, just missing Papa.  Here's a sweet moment I captured before morning naps... Goodnight.

Day 257

We had ourselves a very nice Saturday-- we invited Anita, Matt & Anabella over for some BBQ & swimming (in our very luxurious kiddie pools). :) We ate burgers, hotdogs & chicken from the grill and the girls ran around together the whole afternoon. They get along great, don't fight, and were both very sad (crying) when it was time for them to go home. :( I love it when we can all get together, and we all really had a good time.

My beautiful sister is 4 months pregnant with her second child, and is looking amazing! She is just starting to truly look pregnant, and is glowing. :) She's such a trooper, too-- no complaining, and easy going like always. We are all anxiously waiting to find out what they're having, a boy or a girl!!!

Here are a couple pics from today. Goodnight!

Day 256

Our day began with a trip to the beach with our friends. :) We were all up, had breakfast, packed and in the car by 9am-- this is no smal feat!! Gosh, it was a lot to do so early, though. I sure did miss Daddy, who does all the heavy lifting of packing for the beach! We visited Baby Beach, a section of very calm waters, perfect for the little ones, and there are babies and Mamas everywhere, so we all sorta help each other. :) By the time 11:00 rolled around, both girls were crying, tired, and soooo ready for their naps. I had to high tail it home, and get them in bed. They both slept until 1pm, and I even got in a nap-- which I totally needed! The late nap threw the rest of our day off, though, and the girls have been sorta behind the entire way. :/ We may have to tweak the summer beach mornings a bit, but it was still a good time, and we always have fun with our park friends.

After the girls woke up, we played in the backyard... I know Lulu is getting restless seeing P run around, and wants to get movin' herself! She is growing so fast now, I don't doubt she'll be right there with her big sis soon. :)

 Here are a few pics from our day. Goodnight.

Day 255

We had a nice day... Hot, but nice. :) Ran a few errands in the afternoon, and tried to have lunch at Panera, but it didn't work out. I sat down, and we were so loud, I just had to leave. :/ The girls egg each other on, with their yelling now. And, Lu can now reach P's hair when they're both in the double stroller... This means she pulls it. :/ 

It was a long day today! 

Mama is so super tired.... Night! 

Day 254

Today we went to the OC Fair! :) We went on a whim, and had our lunch there. By the one hour mark, we were all melting under the hot sun, so a little more walking, and we called it a day! P loved all the sights, but Lulu was the way P was last year-- oblivious! :/ It was a good time, still. By the time we got home, we got dinner started, and the rest of the evening went quickly. The girls had a long bath, and bedtime couldn't come fast enough!! Both girls were asleep before their pretty little heads hit their crib mattress. :) (no pillows yet!) 

Here's a pic of Lu in the morning-- she woke up from her nap before P did, so we hung out in Mama & Daddy's room...

And these from the fair....

That's all for today.... If it's as hot tomorrow as it was today, we are gonna get ourselves in some WATER! Goodnight.

Day 253

We came home from our two-day vacation at the Laguna Cliffs Mariott... What a nice time!!  Mama slept 8 hours in a row-- pretty much the best gift anyone could have given me, and riiiiiiight when I needed it. Daddy knows just when I'm at that point, thankfully! Lu, when you're older reading this-- know that as many sleepless nights as we've spent together, you are worth it. A million times over, kiddo, I love you! :) But..... Yeah, no sleep. Kinda rough. :) 

We were up and checked out of the hotel by 9, and home to our babies again! I missed the girls SO MUCH! It was incredibly hard to let go and just relax. But, it made coming home super sweet! I had plans to take the girls to the OC Fair, but those plans fell through... We came back home (to a spotless house, we just got a cleaning lady!) and spent the rest of our day together. We say bye-bye to Papa tomorrow-- we'll miss him. :( 

So-- it's 10:27pm. Lulu went to sleep at 6:45. We haven't heard a peep so far. I'm kinda chalking it up to her last two nights without Mama, without milk!!! Maybe we (and by we, I mean Mana & Holly) trained her to sleep better!!!! We shall see. We shall see. I'll report tomorrow.

Goodnight. We have no pics from today. :(

Day 252

Day #2 of Mama's birthday gift (still at the Mariott!) Today Papa and I ate a long, leisurely breakfast, then took a nap. It could've ended there!!! We woke up & took a hike on the beach to find some "caves". Welllll, we (I) stumbled over lots of rocks and then got to a very scary part half covered in water, with a view of a beach just around a very dangerous corner. I panicked, shed a few tears, and begged to go back!! Daddy helped me back and we made it to the hotel again in one piece!!! We then had the girls over for some swimming-- and just to visit... I missed them so so so so much! :'( It was so incredibly hard to see them go at the end of their visit. We are about to go to sleep now, and I am excited to wake up, fully rested and see my angels! :)

What a fun trip, and I'm so grateful Daddy is so sweet to me, to all of us. :) He is always surprising me with stuff like this, and I'm sure as you girls read this , he's still doing it. (He better be!!!) ;)

I miss my babies more than I knew I would after only seeing them a few hours ago.... Here's some very cute and funny pics from our day (and one of Lu from yesterday). Night girls, Mama loves you more than you'll ever know!

Day 251

Well, today Mama turned 37. I can't say I feel any older-- but I do feel luckier and more in love (with my little fam) than I ever knew was possible! What a great year, happy to start a new one! :) 

So, we had family over for lunch this afternoon & in opening Papa's card for me, I found out he was taking me away to Laguna Cliffs Mariott (a beautiful place about 1 mile away from home)! Mana & Aunt Holly stayed with the girls and we'll be here two nights!!!!!!! I'm happy to possibly get some sleep, but I really miss my babies!! :/ It's crazy how fast it happens. Still, it's such a treat to be away for just a short time, and enjoy a quiet dinner with Daddy, have a conversation, and we even played Scrabble (our absolute favorite game). :)

We'll see how our baby angel does in the morning, or later tonight if she really needs her Mama. 

And now..... Goodnight for real!!!! ;)

Here's a couple pics of Lulu in her jumper, which she loves now.

Day 250

Day one of Papa being home for four days-- it always begins with waffles. :) If you girls remember anything about your childhood, I bet waffles (and/or pancakes) will be a big part, and they are GOOD. :) P eats them with us, but Lulu is still loving her rice cereal with bananas for breakfast. When she sees me mixing it up, she gets impatient and whines. It's very cute! 

We went to a few yard sales this morning & found  many treasures, among them a very cute khaki baseball hat for Lulu. Later, Daddy took P to the park when Lulu napped, this gave me a very nice, very quiet 40 minutes of not moving. After I heard Luciana yelling, we just cuddled on the sofa until those two came home again. As nice as the quiet is, we missed them. :)

Here's a few pics of Luciana in her new hat. I guess it's sorta misshapen, but how cute is she?! Our angel! :)

Day 249

Today, Lulu showed me that she is a picky eater like Mama. :/ She usually eats oatmeal or rice cereal mixed with bananas (her all time fave) or other iced fruits and veggies. Today I was out of all her favorites, and we tried a new kind of cereal, and a new fruit mixture... She would not eat it! I guess I can understand her-- she likes what she likes! But, she did try peach yogurt for the first time, since she didn't want the cereal, and likes it. :) 

Today we had a very low key morning, and then went to the park & on a few errands after morning naps. The girls are happy to run boring errands of we go to the park first, where P can run wild for a bit and get her sillies out. It's a fair trade, I think. :)

Lulu is still working on pushing her little tooth out, and it's going okay, I think. We'll see what she is like once that thing really starts coming out!! Poor baby, I know it's going to all happen at once! :/

Well, Papa is home tomorrow for four days, and it's Mama's 37th birthday on Sunday, so we get to have fun the next two days, I'm so so so happy we don't have any house projects, or appointments, or cleaning, or any other blah things to do-- yay! (We actually like the house projects, but a break is always good.)

Mama is praying, literally praying for a good night's sleep for our sweet little Lulu. Waking up every hour can't be good for anyone's health!

Here are some pics from today-- Lulu in the play pen, somewhere she can fall over and not hurt her head, and a place where Brutus (P) can't manhandle her. Also-- a couple of us girls tonight before bed, on the couch watching Peppa. Night!

Day 248

Luciana is not sleeping well still. The sleepsack only lasted three hours, then she went back into her sleepsuit. She wasn't really loving all the freedom of not being sort of swaddled. :/ She still wakes up 4-5 times every night, and now that she's teething, I assume things aren't going to get easier. :/ On the bright side, she's an absolute angel, eats like a champ, and is never any problem (in the daytime!!). She would just be too perfect if she slept through the night!!

Here's a few pics of Lu after her bath, and during our Peppa Pig family time on the couch. :) She was getting sleepy. So is Mama... Goodnight.