Day 323

Since our house was being cleaned today & we had to skedaddle, we decided to pack up the bike trailers and ride down the beach and sit on the sand. We didn't want to make it a real go-in-the-water beach day, but we probably should have-- it was hot hot hot! Penelope was soooo mad she couldn't go in the water with Daddy (who had no problem going in, even though we had no towels!)  Later, we took turns doing our own things (haircut, nails) and when I was out, the girls and Daddy went to the park! They just love it there, and we always have a good time, so I'm glad they went. We had a very physical day, and both girls had to go to bed early. Naps were kind of messed up by our weird day, too, so that doesn't help. :/ 

We are happy we have Papa for one more day.... Now, for some pics! Night.

Oh, forgot to mention-- Luciana is now riding in the bike trailer without her car seat, which she LOVES. :) :) Our little bitty girl is growing up, what an angel!!!

Day 322

The girls just got to see Daddy for about 20 minutes before bed tonight. He is finally home. Exhale! :)

We spent all morning and early afternoon on naps and lunch, then headed out for groceries and a little errand for P's birthday. Both took about 2 hours, and we were home with just in time for dinner, baths and Bubble Guppies. (New show. They stopped playing Peppa Pig at 6pm!! :( ) 

We plan on doing something fun tomorrow, taking advantage of Papa's two days off. 

Goodnight!

Day 321

We visited Daddy at work today. We packed a lunch and headed over! :) The girls had fun playing with him....

Luciana is doing this thing now (pic above), I wonder if it's prep for walking?? Either way, she's having fun, and we aren't rushing her. :)

We get to see Papa tomorrow, but not til evening. Then two days all together.

Yaaaaaaaawwwwnnnn, goodnight.

Day 320

Tonight, after the girls went to sleep & after I ate a big ravioli dinner, I wrote in the girls' baby books. :) Of course, I had to go back and read them from the beginning... It was so sweet. We were very new at it all (in P's book) and I laughed at how we thought her not sleeping at night was a sign of something life threatening! Wow. :/ By the time we got to Lu, we were still shocked by the newborn phase, but had a better handle on it all. We knew we were a complete family once we saw Lulu's face, that we wouldn't have anymore kids... Even seeing/reading how miserable it was being pregnant, I still look at that time through rose colored glasses (is that the saying??) We are happy, us four, and through each hard(er) phase the girls go through, we still find humor, amazement and beauty. And here we are only at the start. Let's hope we make it through with this attitude!  ;)

Today I captured Lu bouncing in big circles in her Johnny Jumper:

When Penelope gets the idea she can walk through that doorway while Lu is doing that, she usually gets knocked down. Hard. :/ Poor baby! Never learns.

As of today, Luciana being almost 11 months old, she is learning to keep up with her sister, and the two have juuuuust begun to play together. But, barely. :) They are gentle with each other, but P has to be reminded of this sometimes when she gets excited. She hugs her sister, and shares (when gently nudged), and laughs when Lu does. Best friends already!

Goodnight. 

Day 319

Here are the girls while I ran their bath....

Lu was tired tired tired, laid out, waiting to be washed like royalty. P was busy messing with things on the counter... Probably something she wasn't supposed to be messing with! :)

We had a good day. Saw a huge spider & our awesome neighbor/contractor/all-around-handyman Tom came and debs the day, since Papa is at work. Phew!!! We would've had to stay at the Mariott tonight, heehee. ;)

Goodnight.

Day 318

We had a rough night... Both girls were tag team awake from 3:30 on. :/ I'd get one back down & the other would wake up. I finally brought P into bed with me at 5:45, put on PBS Kids and fell back asleep. Lulu was up for the day around 6:30. Man!! :/

We had a fun day down at the harbor, still. Daddy took Penelope kayaking for the very first time (she loved it, was well behaved) while Luciana and I walked alllllll around the harbor. She was in her big sisters stroller, and loved that, being able to see the world, not facing me. It's been windy, making a sand storm at Baby beach, so we didn't stay while P and Daddy played in the water-- we went to Trader Joe's in traffic instead! 

Lulu is becoming a big girl-- rides in the shopping cart, instead of the Ergo, uses big girl stroller, crawls super fast, and is just loud as she can be, making herself known in any room. :) We are so proud of both girls, what sweet girls they are. 

Mama was playing with a photo app today, haha. :)

Night!

Day 317

Today's post will be short-- I'm just so tired! (I hope I'm not getting sick, I've been tired all day.) 

Nothing super eventful today, so I'll just share a couple pics.

I found these floatie things at Albertson's, 75% off, end of summer sale, and had a feeling we'd use them in and out of the water....

(The 10 minutes between both of them being blown up were insane-- they were fighting over the one, and I had to be a ref! I know next time, I'll wait to give whatever it is when they are both ready.)

And here is our little tired angel before bathtime. It happens around 5:30, and she's just had her dinner, so she's real tired and just ready for sleep. She loves the bath, though, and it helps her to want to stay awake until bedtime. :)

Well, my post wasn't as short as I'd planned, so that's good! Oh, I should mention-- Lulu had her second flu shot this morning, and she did amazing!! Cried for 5 seconds, then was in Mama's arms and was all better. :) What a trooper. Penelope said "uh-oh" when we started walking toward the exam room! She knew what was up!!! She worries, poor thing! 

Also, Penelope and I were dancing to some music on a show we watched after the bath, and Lu joined us, bouncing, waving her hands! So so super cute!

That's all. Night!

Day 316

Highlight of a pretty uneventful day: taking a bath with my baby girl Luciana :) I love how she just lie on her back on my belly, super secure and confident. She kicked, splashed and then I turned on our lights-- our bath has a crazy light show feature-- and she loooooved it! Also the jets. ;) We just hung out at home, and Papa is at work. He is currently fighting a fire on a barge, I think that's what it's called?, down at the harbor. Poor thing, he's been up since forever ago!  :( 

I cropped this pic as much as I could to keep it sweet, and not revealing. Goodnight. 

Day 315

We had ourselves a lovely day at home, and Daddy was there for most of it, too. :) We started our day with all of us in our bed, after P woke us up with yells of, "Maaaamaaaaaa!!!" :) It's a drag to wake up, especially since I'm actually sleeping more, but it's also sweet that she's a big girl and can say Mama. So, Lu was up shortly after, and we managed about 30 minutes of all of us silently lying in bed watching Curious George. It sounds like "whatever", but it is so very nice. 

P and Daddy went to the park, Daddy went to the dentist, me and P played with water outside, and we had pizza for dinner. Unfortunately, the only bad part of today was that I think Lulu is suffering from teething. :/ She wasn't her normal happy, smiley self today, and she wanted to be held all day. She's sleeping soundly now, so hopefully she's okay. 

Here is the sweetie pie-- I took these while it was just her and I playing, during P's nap... Night!

(And just look at how big P is!!)

Poor kids, they are smothered with kisses & hugs all day long-- they just push me away, hahah. ;)

Day 314

Lulu and I had a little after morning nap outing together today-- we had a couple errands to run, so we left Papa at home to watch football & P was napping. We had a return to Old Navy, look at the hat my baby tried on:

She didn't buy it. :)

We spent the rest of the day at home , just enjoying having Daddy home. The girls loved watching him mow the back yard, prune the trees and clean up! It was cute, they watched him like he was a movie. 

Lu is sleeping better these days, but las night had an off night. I guess it's bound to happen. 

That's all, goodnight.

Day 313

Luciana is contributing to sleep very well at night. She wakes once, and goes right back down. :) I have to admit-- I'm still not sleeping great, as my body is still accustomed to waking multiple times, but it'll get better! 

We had friends over for dinner tonight (Papa's friend from work & his wife), so our day was mostly preparation and regular stuff (meals, cleanup, baths, etc.) We had a good day, and are just happy we get to have Daddy home tomorrow... Even if he's watching football, he'll be home. :)

Oh, Lulu and I did grocery shopping today, while Daddy & P napped-- she loves riding in the shopping cart now! No more Ergo or car seat, she is more and more a big girl every day.

I'll be sure to post pics tomorrow. Night!

Day 312

We stayed home all day today, waiting for  the installer of our new plantation shutters. Those people always want to come right in the middle of the day, so you can't really do anything but wait! But, it was worth the wait-- they are gorgeous! We now have the ability to shut out the morning sun, hopefully enabling the girls some great sleep, until 10am!!! Ha, right. 

We played, colored, sang, danced, brushed our own teeth, said new words, splashed in the kiddie pool, hugged, kissed, and had a good time. 

We also fell off the bench at the kitchen table, refused breakfast, pulled hair, threw the ball at someone's head, screamed, cried, fallen off the chair into the toy box, crawled into a table & bruised the cheek, refused lunch...... I could go on, but I won't! We still had a good time, and I considered today a good day. Having two under two is tough, but there are so many fun things about it, I'm so happy we get to do it.

So, Luciana tried to eat a bagel today, with Mama watching like a hawk, since she has only two tiny teeth....

She was "whatever" about it. :) Oh, and I have to mention-- whenever one of the girls gets hurt or in trouble and cries, the other feels her pain and cries too. It's sweet, funny, and loud. 

That's all.... Time for some sleep! Lu is sleeping great, still. Only wakes once and it's usually in the beginning of the night. :)

Day 311

Well, guess who is all of a sudden crawling now?! Luciana Mary, that's who. :) What a cute crawler, too, her "steps" are really small, and she looks so happy to be mobile! I saw her take a couple "steps" yesterday & predicted she'd be crawling in a week... She just needed a day of trying, I guess! So sweet.

Daddy and I both had dentist appointments today, so that ended up being our whole day. We didn't take the girls anywhere except for an evening walk, which was quite nice, because THE HEAT IS GONE!!!! Yay!!!! I'm so relieved I didn't go out and buy 3 more fans like I almost did. This summer has been super up and down weather wise, and I'm just ready for it to be over.

Here are a few pics from today:

The first one, Daddy stood her up like that, she didn't stand on her own! And the second-- he caught this moment while he was doing dishes. Sisters playing together, this is how you melt a Mommy's heart! :)

Goodnight. 

Day 310

It took our baby girl 310 days of practice to... Sleep through the night!! :) Great timing, Lu-- do it on a night that Mama can't sleep a wink! ;) Last night was brutal! Penelope kept waking, she was so hot. I went in to give her water, put her hair back in a pony tail, and soothe her back to sleep a few times. Daddy, who was exhausted & needed rest for work today, went to bed at 8, but had to have a fan 3 inches from his head! It was a loud fan, and I wouldn't have been able to hear the girls cry, so I slept in Sofa City-- in the playroom/livingroom. Lulu slept sans swaddle, in just a onesie  and seemed to have the best night of us all! She didn't wake once, but of course I kept waking just out of confusion, habit, and fear, to be quite honest! I kept thinking of awful reasons she wasn't waking up... But, my common sense won, and I stayed OUT of her room! She and P woke a minute after Papa left the house at 4:45. :/ I changed P's diaper, and she went back to sleep, and brought Lu to our bed, and she slept a couple more hours too. Here's what I woke up to this morning:

I had a hold of her arm while we slept... Didn't want her rolling off our bed! Poor P fell once, and we aren't having that happen again. 

So today was hot. Whatever, it's becoming the miserable norm. We were out for a couple hours, and when we got home again, I noticed it wasn't nearly as hot as it was yesterday at that hour... It is still hot, but cooling off slowly. 

Tonight before dinner, I saw Luciana crawl a few "steps"!! :) Our angel is doing it! I made a huge deal, scooping her up to cover her face with kisses, and probably scared her a little. :/ Point here: she will be super mobile within a week. Yiiiiikes!! 

That's all folks. 

Day 309

90+ degrees out again... Ugh! We are all just miserable in this darn heat.

This morning I had these two beauties in my bed :

We all lie there for a bit after both were awake at 7:45. 7:45!! What a heavenly feeling to sleep later than the butt crack of dawn. We had to clear out of the house while it was being cleaned, so we ran a few errands, and strolled around an airconditioned mall until they were done. Once back at home, the girls had to nap in their HOT rooms... I felt like I was punishing them!! :/ Terrible.  After they were awake, we cooled off in our pool:

(See, Lu, I covered you up ;))

I have been giving the girls cool baths as well... They seem to like it.

And lots of water!! Even for Luciana. I tried to get her to drink it from a bottle, no go. A cup, she wasn't getting it, so I spoon feed it to her, and she loves it. :)

That's all for today. It's just too hot to move, type. :/ Night.

Day 308

Ah, lots to say, but I'm just so tired. Luciana isn't sleeping well tonight without her swaddle. :/ She was fine from 7 until 10:30, and that's when she just got very fussy. I put her back in a swaddle around 11:30, because she just wouldn't stop crying, kicking, and fighting me when I tried to rock or nurse her. Left to cry in her bed, she just got even more upset, so I just swaddled her. She's sleeping again, and I need to try to sleep too. 

We went to an indoor playground with some park friends, called Jump n Jammin', in Mission Viejo. The girls had a ball, and we got out of the heat for a while. :) It basically feels like an oven outside, at high noon. :( We have to be out of the house for the cleaning lady in the morning, so we'll see how hot it is-- maybe park, maybe we'll have to be indoors again. Here are a few pics. Night.

Haha, Lu's face here!

Day 307

Broken record alert! IT'S HOT. Like, real hot. We put both girls to bed with two fans going, and Lulu is sleeping without a swaddle for the first time in her life! 10 months, and she's sleeping like a baby should! :) Granted, it's only been two hours since I've taken her out of it, so we'll see how it goes, but I think she wS hot as heck & is feeling much better with the air hitting her arms & legs, just like we all have. I'm proud of her, in any case!!

We went to see Aunt Holly's house today-- she and Lily moved back down here from Oakland, and we are super happy they are back. :) Daddy helped her with moving, so we went to visit, and felt awful that they had to do it in the crazy heat we are having. :/ We came home, I put the babies in diapers only, gave them cool baths after a cool dinner (cereal) and tried not to roast too much. I can't wait for fall. I have a feeling it's nowhere near. 

I've been working on some projects for the girls' rooms & here is the latest, for Lulu's room:

It's small... And this one is in progress:

I sat stitching, watching Sleepless In Seattle (I've never seen that one!) alone (Papa passed out for the night at 7, right after the girls) and sweated... Just sitting there. Ugh! Ok, I will stop complaining now! Goodnight.

Ah! Just got a few pix from Mana from Holly & Lily's... 

Day 306

We are still dealing with excessive heat here. The girls and I are trying our best to keep cool any way we can: pool, hose, ice water to drink, and I even took the long way home from the store today so we could enjoy the ac just a bit longer. :) I promise not to complain when it gets cold, I will smile that gets annoying! 

We had a long day today, and P didn't nap well, and that threw our whole day off. Lulu is kinda crawling just a little more, giving her Mama the best, most proud feeling ever, today! :) She's dying to follow P, so she's making herself do it. 

Here are the girls during bathtime tonight... And somebody's call for help :/ 

Thank goodness for the silence between 7pm and 11pm (when, of course, I then miss my babies. Go figure) 

Daddy won't be working tomorrow, but will be helping Aunt Holly move back into her Long Beach house. The girls are gonna be so excited to see him for breakfast! :) Goodnight.

Day 305

What a hot day... I must sound like a broken record, but it's just as hot as it can be. We three gals were all in terrible moods as a result, today, thank goodness Papa was at work. He would've headed for the hills!! :/ We were up at 6am, and naps were had early-- thank goodness. Both girls went down within half an hour of each other, so Mama actually got a break. I continued work on some cute things for the girls rooms-- embroidery, kind of. After lunch, we did Costco, playtime, dinner and baths. We all roasted the whole time, except for P, she got to swim in her pool for a little bit. :) 

I got to nap for a bit with Luciana in the morning. P was still asleep & I heard Lu cry. I go upstairs to get her up, but I can tell she's still tired, so I lie down with her, and snuggled as close as I could. She is a champion snuggler, a real pro, and we enjoyed abother half hour of sleep. Heaven!! Smelling her sweet baby smell, her chubby little hands squeezing my arms, I was just in la-la love land with my baby girl. :) I know one day she would cringe to have me wrapped around her like that, so I'm enjoying it now! 

Here's what I finished in the last few days. Haven't decided who will get what yet.

And here are the girls at Costco. It was Lulu's very first time in the shopping cart! She love love loved it! The only problems were when they wanted to sort of poke, prod & grab at each other and their things. Lu kept trying to snatch P's food samples-- and P wasn't having that! Or Lu was mad when P wanted to have her arm around her neck... In a nice way, but Lu didn't like it. They did enjoy it, too, wasn't all bad. :)

That's it... It's 11:09pm and I just heard you cry, Lulu. Here we go! :) 

Night.

Day 304

Fun day for the Rindge fam-- we went for a morning walk, complete with donuts, at the Dana Point Harbor. P whined almost the whole time, and to her credit, it was soooo hot. After naps, we got dressed and packed up and went to Baby Beach, an awesome beach right near where we were walking, a super kid & baby friendly beach, obviously. :) Penelope and Papa went swimming:

She is a little fish, definitely her Daddy's girl. Luciana wanted to swim, she was so excited when I let her wade, but I don't have swim diapers for her. That's going to change! She and I hung out on the blanket like always. :) My little sidekick. 

We enjoyed today from start to finish, and now the girls are asleep, surely exhausted from all the swimming, running, playing, horsey riding (Dada's back), laughing and hugging. 

Here I am feeding both girls their breakfast at once. Someone is always mad that it isn't their turn for a bite. ;)

Goodnight. 

Day 303

This is how life passes... Day by day... We've already had our sweet baby Lulu home for 303 days?! She'll be one year old. One year. It's been so much fun watching this little tiny baby become a person-- we see her sweet personality now, she is so so sweet. She loves: her big sister (she adores P-- all P has to do is hug Lulu & she is beaming), her Johnny Jumper, napping with Mama (snuggled up, she actually lets me hug and kiss her!), banana baby food, bathtime (she could be in the worst mood & bathtime makes her laugh), and she is a big time Mama's girl. She doesn't like: lying on her belly, veggies of any kind (a child not liking vegetables? Unheard of!), wearing a bib, and not being able to crawl yet is starting to really annoy her. This is why I think she'll be crawling soon-- she is dying to follow P around and get to the good toys. We keep helping her until she gets it, but we don't rush her. She'll get there when she's good and ready. :)

Today we: unpacked the jam packed van from camping, cleaned the house, the girls and Daddy hung out in the back yard in the pool while Mama went to the nail salon, and then dinner & baths. We have Papa home tomorrow, so we are going to try and enjoy our day all together. 

That is all. Night. 

Day 302

Camping trip is over!! We woke up, are breakfast, then took a walk to the playground....

After playground, we went to the beach. Penelope went in the water with Daddy (waaaay out paddling on his surfboard, Mama had a panic attack) and Lu & I played on a blanket:

P and Papa also played in the sand, and Lulu loves watching her big sis play....

I walked Lulu up and down the beach in the Ergo so she could nap. I walked for an hour, so she could sleep about 20 minutes... Man! :/ We called it a day after that, said bye bye to our friends Cori, Jimmy & Mia and hit the road. Took us four hours to get home. We are all exhausted, and so happy to be home!!

That's all. Yaaaaaaaawn, goodnight.