Day 293

Today was HOT. My goodness, it's almost impossible to enjoy the day when it's so darn hot! Mama wasn't feeling great, so maybe that had a little to do with it too. :/

We stayed home today-- Papa was home from work, so we really just did naps and played outside in the back yard for a short time. Here's P enjoying her big luxury pool:

Daddy took the girls for a short walk before dinner to give me a "serenity now!!!!!" moment. (Girls, it's a Seinfeld reference, I hope that show is still around, reruns, when you're older.)

Mama needed some quiet time. 

Tomorrow is Labor Day, and Dad works, but we are going to be keeping it low key anyway. 

Here's the girls when they returned from their walk... Night.

Day 292

We hung around the house most of today-- spent lots of time with naps, then in the backyard & with our new pool. :) The girls love it! Since both girls had, ahem, used the restroom before pool time, I let them go in their birthday suits! Lots of sunscreen, of course, it's been SO HOT lately, but they loved it-- P was giddy about it. :) Later we went out for a stroll and I decided to put Luciana in the stroller without her car seat-- success! Firstly, she loved it, loved able to see the world more, instead of just my face! Secondly, the girls had fun sort of interacting-- P made a big show of patting Lu's head every few minutes, I think to sort of welcome her to her big girl world. :) (Oh, the things I come up with!!!) 

We had a good day. Oh! Have to mention: when I asked P where Daddy was today, she replied, "ahh work"!! What an angel, my telling her this has finally sunken in, or maybe she's just finally saying it. Either way, verrrrry cute.

Goodnight!

Day 291

We had a really fun day all together. :) Papa is home, and we made the most of a nice summer day. After P's nap, we swam in a bigger pool we got, one that we could all go in...

But since I had an optometry appointment, I couldn't go in, so Lulu and I just watched. I'll take her in another time, she'll love it! 

During my appointment, Papa took the girls to the park, where I hear they all had a great time, meeting new friends and playing...

Back at home, we had pizza for dinner-- P loves pizza. :) The girls had a nice bath and went to bed without a fuss-- they were both pretty tired! Mama & Daddy are too. Goodnight!

Day 290

Our day:

Wake up at 6ish, feed the girls, play until it's time for Luciana's nap. Then, Penelope and I play for a couple hours, during which time Lu wakes up from her nap. We then put Penelope down for her nap, then feed Lulu lunch & play for an hour or so. Lulu and I lie down to rest (Mama needed a little rest!!) and Lu fell asleep.... Ahhh, 20 minute rest was heavenly! I run down to tidy up, get some laundry folded & get P's lunch ready, because she would surely be starving when she woke up-- she napped straight through lunch-- and waited for her to wake up. Fed P lunch, and I won't bore anyone with the rest, Target, dinner, baths.... :)

I guess the moral of the story is: we had a long day! No more naps at the same time. :'( It makes things a little tricky, but we are trying different things each day to see how we can make our day a little more... Tidy, or workable. 

One amazing part of today-- having Luciana fall asleep snuggled up to me... It's one of the best feelings ever!

The other amazing part of today-- when Penelope counted to TEN!!!!! She isn't even two yet... She is my amazing and smart big girl! She and Luciana sort of rubbed noses while we were all on the bed this morning-- it was the first time I saw Lulu so close to P without pulling her hair. :/ Anyway, it was a sweet moment, seeing them smiling at each other, nuzzling.... It was awesome!!!

We had a day for the books (or blog, haha) and I am thankful for it, for my babies. We are happy Daddy's home tomorrow, I'm betting he can't wait to juggle two babies!! :) (He loves it, and is pretty good at it.)

Enough rambling, goodnight.

Day 289

Well folks-- it was about 200 degrees out today. Yes, we could've fried an egg on the sidewalk, had we felt like eating dirty eggs. :/ After Papa came home (early) from his class, we decided to take a walk down to the beach. We packed up the stroller and headed out.... We made it to the corner before we both felt like the skin on our arms was frying like bacon-- not a great sensation. We decided to make it a trip to the park, and once we got home, we headed out to the backyard & filled up P's kiddy pool! We all got in, Daddy and I put our feet in, and cooled all the way down. New family rule: (once we purchase a snazzy outdoor thermometer) NO GOING ON WALKS IF ITS 200 DEGREES OUTSIDE! Sheesh, poor kids were melting. 

(Mommy doesn't love the heat, if you can't tell by now.)

I thought we'd be cooling down a bit after we'd had a couple cool-ish nights, but no luck.

Here are the girls enjoying our little pool party... Night!!

Day 288

We finally got to see Papa today! He'd been gone for three and a half days, and be surprised us by coming home a bit early. :) Happy girls, we sure did miss him. We are still transitioning to new nap schedules, experimenting with different things to see what will become our new. norm. It's killing me to be so unsure and to be guessing, but we'll get to our military tight schedule again soon enough. ;) We need order with two under two-- as much as we can get!  

We didn't do much today except run out for more yarn-- I'm working on some other things for the girls rooms... We'll see how it goes, I feel as though I haven't been crafty for 100 years now! 

Everyone is asleep... House is super quiet, save for all our ceiling fans and the girls' noise fans (we have little fans in both their rooms, facing the floor just to make noise & drown out the noise we make after 7pm!) I have to stay up just a little bit to enjoy the rare silences, to tiptoe to each girls room and brush hair off a little face (P) or readjust someone who turned diagonal (Lu!), just to see my babies looking so peaceful. God is good. Night!

Day 287

Wow, what a long day! The girls are both shifting nap times, and we are all trying to find our footing and decide on a new schedule, something that the girls can count on and that Mama & Papa can work around. Penelope used to take a morning nap around 3 hours after waking, but now we are trying either before or after lunch, 12:00. Today was juuuust before, she just couldn't handle life anymore, she was so cranky!! Lulu is taking her morning nap 2 hours after waking, and a second one after lunchtime. Her days of 3 and 4 naps are long gone. :/ But-- she is growing up, and I couldn't be more proud, and more pleased at seeing her developments each day. And at this age, it really is each day that she's learning something new. Today she started really trying to crawl... She seems to want to get from A to B, so that's where it begins. Penelope is still developing lots too-- her speech is really great. The lexicon on this child, it is amazing!! She truly listens to everything we say, and soaks it up. I'm not sure if this is typical, but she can count to ten. We have to get her going, but she can do it, she knows it! Daddy and I make a point to count every chance we can, and she remembered it finally! :)

Today we didn't make it out anywhere except for a walk to the grocery store and to the park. I had a trip to a new park for a picnic planned, but the naps sort of ran our day, and we were all exhausted come evening. 

That's all for today, folks. Here's a cute pic of sweet angel face Lu:

She is so beautiful, always smiling, and is happy always. Both our girls are such blessings to us, thank God for those sweet little angels. :)

Night.

Day 286

We woke up very early today-- P was crying, she got her legs stuck in the slats of her crib. :/ We all cuddled in our bed for a while & took a few pics:

Later, Aunt Holly & Lily came over to play with the girls, and Mama went to run a few errands. They always have fun with those guys! Penelope will be talking about "Li-lee" for days after each visit. :)

She even blamed spilled Cheerios on her today, heehee. Poor P Nut, she was dead serious and got mad when I laughed!

Mama did a couple projects for the girls room, and managed to get them up in their rooms... 

P's room

Luciana's room-- I made a garland from a bunch of pom poms I made with yarn! :) 

Here they are close up...

Anyway, Mama is very into crafts, and once I get going.... Well, I think we'll see some more hand made decor in the girls rooms. :)

Night!

Day 285

A few pics from our day......

Baby was trying to eat Mama's phone, heehee!

G'night.

Day 284

Luciana had her 9 month well check today. She weighs 15 lbs (4 lbs since her 6 month check), and is 26" long, just an inch more than last time. Her head circumference is an inch more as well, don't remember that number off hand! Dr. Lau said she looked great, as was happy with her growth and development. After her checkup (she did well almost the whole time, cried just a little) she had some shots-- she cried her little head off. :/ Papa is the shot parent, meaning he is the one to hold the girls' hands and comfort them while it's happening... Mama just can't watch that needle if it can be helped. She was just fine after a little nursing. :) Our angel! Penelope, on the other hand, was so scared for her little sister! As soon as Dr. Lau began her checkup, P started crying (pretty hard) and saying "Lulu" over and over. :( We all thought it was pretty sweet, her concern.

We came home, ate dinner and called it a day. Papa goes back to work tomorrow, so us gals will find something fun to do and count the days until we are all together again. I'll be working on both girls rooms (decor mostly), and have some pics as soon as I'm feeling finished! It's fun! 

Goodnight.

Day 283

The girls spent the morning with their Grandma Gayle and Lily-- they always have fun with them! :) Too bad Mama always forgets to snap a pic or two of all of them together. :/ 

But........ Here are a few from our afternoon. 

Lulu plays with a hand me down from Anabella, who gave it to Penelope, who gave it to Lu:

The girls at their favorite time of day:

Lulu wearing her fireman's hat.... P goes to snatch it....

And that's where it ended up:

Good day, but we are soooo ready to see Papa tomorrow. For one day. :/ But we'll take it!! Goodnight. :)

Day 282

We had a good day, just us girls again. Penelope and Luciana are beginning to interact, finally, actually sort of play together! Today I watched as they both sat on a chair and put a headband on & laugh at each other. I'm not sure I've ever seen them play together! Very sweet. :) I also saw P gently hand her sister a toy-- she's learning how to be a good big sis, we are so proud. Once in a while we'll see throwing of toys, or grabbing, but no hitting or anything mean. I think that's pretty darn good! Let's hope it lasts.

Goodnight!

Day 281

Day one of Papa being gone after his 2 week vacation-- not fun!!! :( We miss him so much. P is able to voice her frustrations now, and I think she was more than a little miffed that her Daddy wasn't right there to tickle her and dance around to make her laugh.  She is just learning that she has an opinion and that she can let us in on it, and it isn't always agreeable. :)

Today we ran a few errands while the cleaning lady did her thing at the house. It is quite nice coming home to a spotless (and fresh smelling) house!!

I'm starting to work on really decorating the girls rooms, after Daddy did both their closets, they feel more finished. It's been fun combing the net for cute ideas, and I've started a few projects. I'll post pix of the rooms once they are done.

That's about all for today. No pics! Night. 

Day 280

We spent today at home... Just left to restock groceries. We have had a crazy last two weeks, all (most?) of it fun. :) The girls have dealt with all the up-and-go very well. P seemed a little bored today, actually, I think she's getting used to doing something exciting every day! 

Daddy will go back to work tomorrow, we'll see him in a few days.... We will miss him! We are thankful he has the type of job that allows for all that time off, though. :)

Today we fixed up Luciana's room some, hanging shelves, an old Raggedy Andy pic that once belonged to her uncle Daniel, and Mama organized her closet. It's nice to be home and feel like doin' stuff. :)  

Here's me and Lulu-- she's wearing Penelope's hat... Night.

Day 279

Beach Day!!! Boy oh boy, we were nonstop today-- it all began way too early, too. Girls up at 6am, we got right up, fed them breakfast & then out for a morning walk. When we got home, put the girls down for a nap, and got packing for the beach. Our friends Andrew and Bianca came over and we all piled in the minivan and headed to the beach-- Strands here in Dana Point. We stayed til 3, and climbed about 700 stairs to get back to the car. :( Daddy doesn't seem to mind this part... Weird. We got home, visited a bit with our friends, then got dinner, baths and Peppa done. Whew!!! After putting the girls to bed, we just collapsed, exhausted!!! 

Daddy will be going back to work day after tomorrow, so we have one more day together... We'll stick close to home. :) 

Here we are at the beach-- Luciana is in the Ergo. She was whiny as soon as we got to the beach, she was tired. After about an hour, I had to put her in the Ergo and walk her up and down the beach so she could nap. It worked. :) She enjoyed the beach, and so did P. Notice the bin we brought to the beach, filled with sea water for P to play in. She LOVED that!! 

Goodnight.... Finally. :)

Day 278

We took a day off and stayed home... Whew! It's hard work being on summer vacation! :) We are getting very used to Papa being home, though.... It's going to be tough when he goes back! We are enjoying waking up together & hanging out, all of us, in our bed, and his help at breakfast.... Not to mention all the fun places he's taking us. Boo for work. ;)

Today we hung out in the backyard-- P playing in her baby pool, Lulu sitting on a blanket with toys. I watched Daddy string up a hammock, and got a great laugh when the string snapped. :) It was about a 5 inch fall, no harm done, just funny. The girls are still enjoying their nightly bath together, and Luciana is able to sit in the water without my help-- she loves the water just like Penelope does, and they play very nicely together. :) We are still waiting for her to sleep all night. 

Goodnight. 

P.S. Beach again tomorrow. I'm giving myself a pep talk for the D-Day preparations in store. :/

Day 277

Today we:

1. Woke up at the CRACK OF DAWN (wellll, ok, it was 7... Felt early) 

2. Tried very hard to get girls to nap, neither of them wanted to!! 

3. Took 3 hours to pack up the bikes for a beach day while we waited for the Stevens fam to come over.

4. Rode bikes to Doheny Beach & enjoyed a fun day at the shore :)

5. Watched Penelope put her face in the sand and take a big bite of sand.

6. Washed the kids & tried our best to get all the sand off them.... Not an easy task. 

7. Hugged and kissed those beauties about 1000 times each.

We had a fun day, we are lucky Papa wants to go to the beach, and end up going, because we'd never get out there on our own! It's always fun. :)

Both girls are asleep, not a peep yet from Luciana (it's 10:27)-- we're hoping she's pooped from the long day & wants to sleep all night. It has to happen one of these days! Right? :/

Night. Here's the only pic I took all day:

Day 276

Today we went to our new favorite indoors play place-- We Play Loud. :) We just had to bring Daddy there to see how cool it is, and he liked it too. Penelope got to really experience it all, while Luciana mostly rode around in the Ergo, watching all the kids play. She did get to do a few things, like:

This Merry go round-- she really liked this!

And....

This was like a water bed (girls, a water bed is something out of the 80's-- I don't know why they ever went out of style;))

And more! She really had a good time, as did P. Next time we go there, we'll be sure to bring Daddy if he's free again, so much more fun with him there!

We are enjoying our "summer vacation", all of us... Here are a couple more pics. Goodnight. 

Day 275

Today's summer vacation outing: swimming pool with our friends! We headed to our friend Cyrus & Trenton's neighborhood association pool in San Clemente, a nice big place with plenty of seats and umbrellas. Loved it. The pool water wasn't freezing either-- yay!! I took Luciana in, and she was kicking and paddling with her hands the entire time, laughing and smiling... She loves the water, she's her Daddy's girl, that's for sure! Penelope was jumping in, going under the water, swimming (with her floatie on) and having so much fun-- she's just as natural as a fish in any water. :) We went home, had dinner and that was our day: fun! 

Here are a few pics.... Goodnight.

(Note Lu pulling her buddy Trenton's hair :/ )

(Lu had yogurt in her mouth)

Day 274

We finally went to the park with our friends again today, just Luciana and Mama. It was so very hot, though, we didn't last very long, and I didn't work out much because it was just too hot! Later, us girls just hung out at home while Daddy took Lily to the beach to help her learn to surf (which she has picked up quiet well, so quickly!) After they came back, Daddy and I were able to sneak away for some sushi while the girls stayed to play with Aunt Holly & Lily. :) We don't go on dates regularly, but we do try to get out as often as we can, and always choose to just sit still and eat!! 

We both purged our phones of photos today, so no pics again. :/ It's almost 11, and I've already given Lulu her middle of the night feeding, so I can go to sleep now!! Night night!

Day 273

Since Daddy has had all this time off from work, we had plans to do all kinds of stuff-- and we've been doing lots! Today we agreed to a day off, to do stuff around the house, and maybe not rush around, and lug all the girls stuff around! :) It's nice to be home, anyway. Well, by 2ish, we were all ready for a walk outdoors, so we went to the harbor for a bit, got some fresh sea air. Love it here!!

Lulu has been such a dream-- she is the happiest baby, and really the only time we hear her really cry is at night. Usually she goes right to sleep, not a peep, but tonight she had a hard time. Mama is waiting to hear her cry a little later so I can go in and give her her middle of the night feeding, and of course 100 kisses and snuggles. :) 

That's all for today, no pics! Goodnight.

Day 272

We visited Granddaddy today at his house for lunch. The girls had a good time, both were in a good mood almost the entire time. :) Granddaddy was honored at his church service today for his time as a war corespondent in WW2, so he kept his uniform on for us to see-- he looked great!! I have to mention, this was the actual suit he wore 70 years ago!! We are lucky to have him in our lives, we love him very much. :)

We walked down to the bluffs to see the ocean....

Once we got home, it was business as usual: dinner, baths, Peppa & bedtime. The girls are super with their routine, only P is beginning to whine just a tad when we announce "it's time for bed, let's go upstairs". I think it's time where she's realizing she wants to stay up later!! :/

Luciana is still working on being a great sleeper, some nights she is doing okay, and some not so great. The important thing is that we stick to our guns with not nursing all night-- I think it's helping. 

Here are a couple pics from bathtime... Night.