so sweet....

... it makes my teeth hurt! these moments more than make up for poop on the walls, sleepless nights, tantrums, and elimination diets. ah, sisterhood.

fyi

just in case anyone ever needs to know: carpet cleaner works well to take poop off walls. go ahead, ask me how i know.

sylvi at 12 weeks

prince and princess

ah yes, nothing like trying to squeeze your piggies into toddler sized plastic heels. good times, good times. my favorite line from the evening's fun? it'd have to be isa telling phil, "no daddy, you're not a pwincess! you're a pwince! now don't fall down in 'em!" i think daddy is going to need some practice with the whole thing.

HUGE shop sale!

because it's february, the seemingly longest month of the year! atleast it seems that way if you live in a cold climate like we do. so in honor of spring coming sooner rather than later, there is a MID-WINTER SHOP SALE going on right now! Dresses are 25% off (this never happens people!) as well as tees, onesies, blankets, and more. Won't last long so don't miss out!

picture this:

isa and daddy are cooking Crash Hot potatoes in the kitchen (click on that link! they are so good!). isa is wearing an orange shirt with matching red/orange striped pants. and a pink and purple tutu. and a super hero cape (turned backwards and now used as an apron, of course) with magic fairy wand included. she is very clearly directing this little cooking show and demanding, "we need garwic salt! and spices... da green ones!" only to follow with, "now we gotta spwinkle da cheese daddy! more cheese!"

it's ridiculously cute but since it's taking place while i am occupied with the littlest one, i can't get a photo. so instead you get a wordy little recap. enjoy :-)

steam bath

sylvi gets comfy for another evening steam bath! who knew a sink would make such a comfy Roo seat.

flashback!

we're doing a special 12 Week Old flaskback this morning, in honor of Sylvi's twleve week birthday. so here is Isa at nearly the same age. i need to go back and look at isa's baby book, as i am curious of the stats. but it's safe to say that they really don't look much alike! and i think isa had twice the cheeks by this point! though they are both pretty darn cute, if i do say so myself!

Happy Twelve Weeks Sylvi!

how is it possible that Sylvi is already twelve weeks old? *sniff sniff*

but so it is, the littlest one turns turns twelve weeks today! unfortunately she has a small case of the sniffles but it's not holding her back much. she is still her sweet, smiley self even when sick.

We love you Sylvi, happy twelve weeks!

A is for Artist

this winter has been all about art in this house. isa loves pretty much anything to do with it and mommy doesn't mind it either. the toddler art classes have been great motivation as well, and a good lesson that almost any object can be used for a toddler art project. so we've stocked isa's little desk (which now has a lock, mind you) with crayons, markers, scissors, glue, glitter, paper and other supplies. we've also strung up some ribbon for her to display her masterpieces-- she loves this part and is quite proud of what she's created.

kicking around

practicing...

...for the beach and soaking up a little winter sun.

storytime

here's a little saturday morning storytime action. the local bookstore has an hour of stories for children every saturday morning. as you can see from the photos, it can be hard for a toddler to actually focus in a place that is filled with fun books and stuffed animals and a wooden train. so who knows how much of the stories they actually get, but it's a good reason to get out of the house if nothing else!

on another note, i think we're becoming known around town as "the people with the camera" as we always seem to be taking pictures at such events. you'd think we were the paparazzi stalking celebrity babies or something! but i suppose that's how it will be for this generation of blogger kids-- it's one big digital baby book. and this big ole camera is practically an appendage.

conversations with isa

the other day as isa, sylvi, and i were laying in bed...

isa have brown eyes, mama.
sylbi have blue eyes.
cats have big eyes so they can see at night.
owls too. they have big eyes too and see at night.

happy birthday charlotte!

Happy Second Birthday Miss Charlotte!

This morning we had the honor of helping Charlotte celebrate at the Children's Museum, complete with cupcakes and face painting. A fabulous time was had by all. We hope you have a lovely birthday Charlotte!

what about sylvi?

when you have a very strong willed toddler around, it's pretty easy to lose track of a mellow little baby like sylvi! the blog is no exception, so i thought it was due time for a little Roo update. hard to believe she will be three months old soon! it's all going by entirely too fast.

as i've blogged about before, sylvi has a very sensitive stomach and has been on reflux meds for several months. good news is that the reflux meds work well, not so good news is that at this point sylvi's stomach is no less sensitive than it was on day one. we are hoping that the older she gets, the more she will be able to tolerate and the more i will be able to eat. a bread mishap (it was baked with whey in it) meant over two weeks of gas and sleeplessness and unhappiness around here. although in general, i would never characterize sylvi as 'unhappy' in the slightest. she is actually an incredibly happy and laid back baby. she smiles from the time she opens her eyes in the morning until she finally closes them at bedtime. she didn't get the nickname sweet sylvi for nothing!

you can't see it in these pictures, but i think she might just be a blue eyed baby. her eyes have gotten alot lighter since birth and are now a beautiful dark blue. her hair doesn't seem to be falling out either, which should be fun! as i am sure you can see from recent pictures, she is doing a good job of chunking up... complete with chubby cheeks and legs too.

new dress out-takes

it's been ages since isa cooperated with a photo shoot, but today i got lucky! there might have been some bribery involved, but i cannot confirm that ;-)

stay tuned for the Chinese New Year dress to make it's debut in the shop soon!

conversations with isa

isa sings:
cows give us milk, cows give us milk,
hi ho dairio, cows give us milk.

da horse give us juice, da horse give us juice,
hi ho dairio, horse give us juice.

bathing beauties

"gotta wash 'em up mama!"

"dat horse is dirty! has dirty feet!"

"stir up da water!"

"wash 'em up. need a washcloth mama."

conspiracy theory

i am pretty sure they are conspiring against me. they must be. surely they are.

anecdotes from toddlerland

there are some moments that just cannot be fully explained. that only the parents of toddlers (present or past) can understand. last night we had one of those moments. to preface a bit, we were all in the kitchen after a long day of no-napping for isa. it was almost time for bed and we were all just trying to make it through the last half hour of the day without a tantrum. sylvi was in the sling and isa was milling around getting ready for a bath, when she came upon an ultrasound picture on the fridge. phil explained that this was a picture of sylvi when she was in mommy's belly. we explained that isa used to be there too and we had similar pictures of her as well. at this point, i jokingly told phil under my breath that some days i think isa would love nothing more than to crawl back into the womb-- a sentiment i have heard spoken by many toddler mothers in the throws of seperation anxiety, countless fits, or general clinginess. well folks, the rest was history, as isa proceeded to throw one monstrous fit over the fact that she couldn't actually crawl back in my belly.

i kid you not. she was distraught over this fact and cried and screamed and clawed at the pouch sling (holding one bewildered sylvi) for a solid ten minutes. all the while crying, "i wanna cwral back in da woom! i wanna be in mommy's belly!" repeat ad naseum. being that i was wearing her sister in the sling, which could be easily confused in a toddler mind as being 'in my belly' we thought maybe she just wanted to get in the sling herself. so we tried, as daunting as it was, to get isa comfortably in the sling. but no dice, she could not be convinced. there was no substituting. she wanted to be back in the womb and that was that. obviously this could not be arranged so we rode out the tantrum with as many hugs and snuggles as we could and made note to never ever mention such a thing again.

meet Roo...

how about a little introduction-- good morning blog, this is Roo. Roo, this is blog.

it appears that Sylvi officially has a nickname! we are nickname people around here (no surprise there right?) so it was just a matter of time before the littlest one had one too. Roo came about for a number of reasons, but mostly because she loves to be carried around in the 'kangaroo carry' most of the afternoon. and because she usually ends up with a rooster mohawk hairdo after her bath. and because it sounds really cute when isa says: good mornin' Sylbiwoo!

on a similar note, a friend commented the other day how remarkable it was that 'Goose' had stuck for so long. these are friends we've known since before Isa's birth, and who became even closer friends when our kiddos were born within days of each other. so they were there for the first moments of goosedom and have watched the name evolve over the last few years. here's hoping that 'Roo' will have the same staying power!

playtime

done!

the haircut! finally, it's done! after yet another tear-filled tanglefest, the mommy decided that enough was enough. the hair had to be cut. so i got my sharpest scissors, put on a video for the goose, and started cutting. it actually went remarkably well and isa could've cared less. at one point she looked up and said, "hey! you're cutting my hair!" in her bossy little toddler voice and then went right back to watching her video. i cut about 3 inches off before it was done and it looks so much better! and the tangles are much easier to tame. so there you have it-- no more public meltdowns, no more hour long combing sessions, the first haircut went off without a hitch, and it even looks pretty darn cute, if i do say so myself.

sylvi smiles

Red Canyon winter

Not quite as pretty or expensive as this one, but here's a photo-stitched image of a Lander, Wyoming landmark (click on it for higher-res full screen image). This is the view of Red Canyon, on the way to South Pass. You get a good idea of how mild the winter has been as evidenced by how much grass, sage, and rock is showing. Usually this landscape is quite blanketed in the white stuff at this point in the winter. One of Isa's first hikes was along the red cliffs towards the right of the picture. Another Isa note, she tinkled outside for the first time ever not long after this shot was taken. I'm sure there will be many more...

we like barking

Isa and daddy had a busy weekend - including this trip to the Wyoming Stage Stop dog sled race. We saw the usual suspects there, including Morgan and Emmie who are daughters of one of my co-workers. Bennett Hutchison was also there to enjoy the barking. As serious as Isa's face looks, she had a blast! The weather was beautiful, and Isa made her first TV appearance, as Emmie was interviewed on the K2 TV network out of Casper. You don't see Isa (I don't think), but Bennett makes an appearance. Click on Feb 1 10pm news. I don't know how long this link will work, but if you can hang in there (or fast forward) for 9 minutes and 50 seconds, you can watch the piece. This is Isa's most regular annual recreational event so far, as it was her third trip (out of three chances) to see the dog sled races.

CPSIA delayed!

maybe you've already heard the good news, as it's all over the internets now, but that crazy CPSIA law has been given a one year 'stay' by the Consumer Product Safety Commission! wooohooooo! this is definite good news for so many people, myself included. you can read more of the specifics here, but this 'time out' will allow for the agency to review the law and make effective and practical changes for companies both big and small. hopefully the end result will mean safer products for our kids, and reasonable mandates that will also keep companies like Mountain Aven Baby in operation. a very sincere thank you to all of you who did your part to help!

lessons of toddlerhood

what have i learned in parenting a toddler? have two of everything. lest you just make it that much harder on yourself, your friends, your child, and their playmates. if there are two kids obsessed with wands and sparkles and costumes... well then you'd better have atleast two of each of them! this is the story behind alot of the recent crafting around here. isa and charlotte have been bitten by the dress up bug and being that they were born to crafty mothers, this meant there needed to be something handmade for them to dress up and play with. so a little brainstorming and sewing landed us with a whole trunk of capes and tutus and wands and all things sparkly. so this post is a failed attempt at photographing the first dress up party from isa's trunk. the pictures are a blur. and while that may not make for the best photos, it does say alot about the playdate. it was a blur of glitter and satin and more than one tantrum-- which leads me back to my lesson-- you'd better have two of everything.