finding her feet

the roo has made a big discovery today... her own feet! watching her reach for them, grab them, and then try to figure out what to do next, is just about the cutest thing ever! makes for some super sweet pictures too-- you can just see the determination in her face. or maybe it's boredom? sylvi has her parents all to herself for the first time ever tonight, so maybe she misses the entertainment of her big sister? for her part, isa is reveling in the attention of lots of family members tonight. she went with nanny to visit aunts and uncles and her papa (great grandfather). they headed to bainbridge this afternoon and will be back at the beach tomorrow morning. as of bedtime, isa has been on her best behavior. according to nanny, she's been nothing short of "angelic" and polite and has been having lots of fun being the center of attention. we're glad she's having such a good time, but we miss her already and look forward to seeing them back here tomorrow morning! in the meantime, we'll enjoy sylvi enjoying her little toes :)

wild child

the wild child has been unleashed! isa is definitely in her element down here. and if she isn't on the beach, she is constantly letting you know that it's time to go to the beach! these pictures were taken last night on the balcony, after we spent some time in the sand and in the pool. she had a blast this morning playing in the water and building sandcastles. as usual, she has no fear of the waves, so you have to keep a hand on her most of the time if she's near the water. the rip tide is strong right now and the water is rough so we aren't letting her really venture out yet. hopefully the waves will calm down soon and she can get out and play on her "surfing board" (aka: boogie board), as she calls it! more pictures to come...

Happy Five Months Sylvi!

hard to believe the roo is already five months old! unfortunately she spent her five month birthday in the doctor's office, but she is making up for it with a day on the beach now! we took sylvi in to get checked out when we got to the beach yesterday. the little booger was not getting any better and we wanted to get her seen with plenty of time to recover before we have to fly again. it seems that the virus turned into an upper respiratory infection. so she is getting her first round of antibiotics :( she is already doing much better though, thankfully. she spent the morning on the beach with everyone this morning, complete with snoozing under the umbrella and a swim in the pool.

at five months, she is happy as a clam and smiles at anyone who looks her way. happy birthday rooster!

great grand nana

sylvi got to meet her great grandmother for the first time yesterday! need less to say, they both loved every minute of it and we are very grateful that nana made the trip down here just to see us :)

girls, girls, girls...

luckily for isa and sylvi, cousin emmie is in town! she and isa have been playing their little bums off since yesterday. and luckily for the rest of us, they get alot really well too! they are like two little peas in a pod. sure there have been a few "toddler moments" when one of them doesn't want to share or the other one gets a little bossy, but overall they have been very sweet to each other and had a blast too.

since papa bubba is out of town, and nana came to visit, poor daddy has been seriously outnumbered around here. girls, girls, girls.

roadtrippin'

we finally made it a point to take a little detour on the trip to denver. phil has been wanting to take isa to see the big (really big!) wind turbines for a while now. we finally got around to it this time on the way down to the airport. unfortunately we couldn't get as close as we thought, but it was a nice break in the drive anyway. windy photos of wind-blown children to prove it.

southbound

well, we made it! it was no small feat... days of travel with two sick babies and two exhausted parents, but we are here and trying to relax. the travel itself went remarkably well, despite the sickies and early mornings and long days and general travel chaos. the girls were complete angels on the flights, thank goodness, and have been generally happy all along. unfortunately sylvi is still not feeling well, and while she is still pretty happy by any standard, we really hope she turns the corner soon.

after two days in georgia, we are heading to the beach tomorrow. isa has had lots of good playtime with cousin emmie (they are like two peas in a pod!) and sylvi has been thoroughly spoiled by all the doting relatives. as for phil and i, we have enjoyed the change of scenery but hoping that the rest of vacation will mean less coughing and more sleep. here's hoping right?

bring on the white sand and margaritas please...

no joke.

now sylvi has it. she woke up last night with a fever over 103F. luckily, she is still just as happy as ever, though with pink cheeks and watery eyes. so here's hoping that since she is still entirely a breatfed baby, she is getting enough good antibodies to warrant only a mild case of this virusy crappola. *sigh*

boo bear, flu bear

well, it's official. the goose has the flu. or atleast that's what the doctor said this morning. she is four days into it, so at this point just riding it out seems to be the name of the game. major kuddos should be given to miss isa, who was a complete angel at the doctor's office. maybe she felt too poopy to care, but hey-- we'll take a smooth and peaceful doctor's visit any day. so we came home with orders for more nebulizer treatments and some other meds to help her breathe. and lots of motrin and tlc too, of course. isa was mildly excited about being reunited with her "dinosaur mask" (they go way back) and sat and watched her video through the whole treatment, not once taking off the mask. poor little booger, she's even cute when she's sick! so here's hoping that she is feeling alot better by friday (when we head out for vacation) and, and, AND... that no one else gets it.

new roo

yep, pretty sure you'd be hard pressed to find a happier, cuter baby than miss sylvi at the moment. so what if i'm partial?

sickipoo

well, i suppose it was just a matter of time. and better this week than next. isa and her little gang of buddies have all come down with a bug. it's been a remarkably "well" winter here so we really can't complain. and a fever is just a good excuse to lay on the couch with lots of blankets, snacks, and videos anyway! so far she is still in a good mood and no one else in the house has gotten sick, so for that we are thankful!

home depot, here we come!

ah yes, nothing says Spring like a long list of to do projects around the house. actually, around here that could mean any season really. the list seems alot more rushed at the moment though, as we try to squeeze in as much as possible between now and may 12th. we have an appraisal deadline to meet on this day and had better get crackin' if we're going to get it all done: finish the trim in the bathroom and kitchen, install two new exterior doors, landscape part of the front yard with birch trees, and maybe switch out the hot water tank too. it's not a small list! and of course we're going to be on vacation (i.e. not at home) for almost two weeks too. ah yes, the high expectations of Spring!

sidenote: this picture is from last summer. that yard you're looking at is covered in alot of snow right now.

yet another toddler milestone

taking the scissors to her own hair? check!

as overheard from the table, "Look mama! I can cut my hair too!"

and she did. just a little around the front, though not too much damage thankfully. maybe she just wanted some bangs?

flashback, a day early.

how about a thursday flashback, with lots of summer and greenery and muddy cuteness? for the sake of my sanity, please! why the drama you ask? because it's dumping snow outside. and i am so over it. granted, april and may can be the biggest snow months of the year, i do know that, but it doesn't make me any less tired of it by the time mid-april rolls around. the initial forecast said one to three feet in town. now it's been scaled back a bit. but honestly, there isn't much difference (in my head) between one feet or five feet. it's still snow!

breathe in, breathe out. before we know it, the grass will be green and the flowers will be blooming. and hopefully there will be a newly fenced back yard and a new deck too. but more on that later. for now, think happy, warm thoughts for us would you.

entertainment

sylvi's latest thing is to make faces at herself in her playmat mirror. it's cute beyond words, and apparently very entertaining too, as she can keep herself happy this way for almost a half hour. she smiles, she talks, she chuckles and coos until she just can't take it anymore... at which point she passes out from the sheer exhastion of it all!

easter egg hunt, part two

isa with her game face on.

score! a bunny!

all tuckered out.

nothing like getting your good clothes dirty after the hunt.

easter brunch and egg hunt, part one

as luck would have it, the weather was absolutely perfect on sunday! we spent the morning over at a friend's house (thanks again folks!) for brunch, an egg hunt, and lots of outside play time. since the snow was gone and the grass was starting to get green up, there was lot of rolling around, playing in the water, and general mess-making involved. and since it was easter, there was also alot of candy eating and sharing of egg loot as well (hence the chocolate faced children with stickers all over). it was definintely a great treat to be so well fed and sun exposed all morning!

easter morning

here are some snapshots of easter morning and the unveiling of the goodies. isa asks that you ignore the bedhead, as she had just woken up and we hadn't braved the comb yet. more pics to come!

easter prep

isa and i had a fun little egg dying project this morning. we have two egg hunts to go to this weekend and the egg prep was a good activity to keep isa engaged. when both isa and sylvi are home for the morning, it's really hard for sylvi to get a good nap in. with so much going on around here, and isa literally trying to keep sylvi's eyes open (literally people. she does not want her sister to sleep), it takes alot of effort to keep isa content and sylvi relaxed. a balancing act, no doubt. so this morning we dyed eggs while sylvi napped.

on a side note-- after i explained the concept of hiding and hunting eggs to her, isa ran into the kitchen and pointed to the eggs (in the pot) and said, "Look mama! I already found 'em. They're in the kitchen!" apparently she's one step ahead of this whole game?