Sisterly Love

When Leah was first born, and was basically a cute little blob, Eliana would often ask when she would be able to do various things with her little sister.  (When can she play with me, when can she ride a bike with me, when can we watch the Wonder Pets together.)  My pat answer would be, probably when she is one-year-old.  It was hard for me to even believe myself at the time, but the predictions have come true!  The girls are learning new ways to play together every day.  They often involve Leah sitting on Eliana, and Leah poking Eliana in the belly button.

The girls really love sitting in front of the computer watching Sesame Street clips. Eliana appreciates her new privilege of being able to touch the computer, and new skill of manipulating the mouse.  And Leah loves the music and wiggles around in the chair to the beat of each song.

Eliana’s favorite: Change the World
Leah’s favorite:  Elmo's Got the Moves
Pete's favorite:   Patti Labelle sings the Alphabet

This works out well until Leah starts touching the keyboard and messes things up, but it usually buys me a good fifteen minutes to finish cleaning the kitchen or cooking dinner!

The girls now take baths together, play in laundry baskets together, and sit together at the dinner table.  Spaghetti dinner has never been quite so messy! 

 

 Leah has started going to Eliana’s preschool in the “playcare” room, and while they don’t see each other much while at school, the common experience seems to have bonded them.  At pickup time I go to Eli’s room first, and then we walk together to Leah’s room.  Leah is now in the habit of running over to Eliana first, and patting her back or hugging her as soon as we walk in the room.  Then she notices me. 

Picture Day!

It was picture day at school today!  And since I really don't have time to write much, but could not resist sharing these cute pictures, it is picture day here too!

Pajama Party at the Library

Artist at Work

Reading Corner

              The child that won't go in a playpen or crib happily spends the afternoon in an empty bin

Giving Kisses

 

Smiling 'cuz she can sit on bench like a big girl

Smiling for a Lollipop (Yes, I resorted to bribery)

Riding a bike like a REALLY big girl!

Little Leah Turns One Year Old

       HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAH!!  (Well, Happy Belated Birthday!!!)

Our little Leah has turned One Year Old!   She had her first taste of “Happy Cake,” which was a delicious strawberry shortcake picked out by Big Sister.  We kept it low key, mostly because my neck is still recuperating, but boy do we love our sweet little Leah!!!

Here are some of Leah’s new developments: 

Graduated to the big bathtub and starts hyperventilating with excitement when she hears the water running.

Learned to fold her hands when we pray at meals and bedtime. 

Plays peek-a-boo.  Gives high-fives.  Tries to eat belly-buttons.

Says MaMa, Nana and banana (the last two sound eerily similar).  Tries to imitate other words and sounds.

Eats lots of people food and very little baby food.  Loves eggs, crackers, banana bread, apples, cheese, cheerios.  Swats you away when you try to feed her anything on a spoon.

Has five teeth, with at least five more on the way.

Loves music and has a wide range of dance moves.  Much to my dismay, she has expressed a strong preference to the music of the Fresh Beat Band.

                                             ELIANA

Eliana is also growing and developing wonderfully!

She is back in school and enjoying every moment of it.

Her favorite book at the moment is Jumanji.

She is recognizing more and more letters and the sounds that they make.

She loves cooking.  Her specialties are cracking eggs and peeling garlic cloves.

Eli is definitely the comedian of the family, and her long standing act is pretending that she is a baby.  She does a fabulous impression when she climbs into the exersaucer and says “Ma-Ma, Da-da, Ma-Ma, Da-Da,” Cracks us up every time.  And then there is the Poopy Face which cracks Pete up every time – don’t ask!

Eliana is also a big fan of music and dancing.  She often makes up songs, and at times can be heard singing about leaving her wallet in El Segundo.

And in the past year our little Eliana has really grown into her role as a big sister.  She may torture her little sister, but she also looks out for her, protects her, makes her laugh, and truly loves her.

The Best Laid Plans

A few days after my last post, I woke up with excruciating pain down my neck, shoulder blade and arm.  Summer was just beginning; there was excitement in the air and plans for all kinds of family fun and vacation days.  It turned out to be herniated and bulging disks in my neck, and six weeks later the saga is still ongoing.  So, despite our best plans, the summer has been filled with doctor visits, physical therapy, acupuncture, and cervical steroid epidurals.  Of course, God has blessed us in the midst of this trial, as with any trial we've experienced.  The kids have enjoyed lots of visits from Gran, Nana, Papa and Aunt Jessie, as I've needed lots of help to be able to take care of them.  (For nearly a month I could not even pick Leah up!)  Our family and church family has faithfully prayed for us and supported us.  And Pete has had the opportunity to be even more of a hands-on Daddy than he already was, as some days he has needed to do absolutely everything for the girls.  As I have been gradually getting better, we've even managed to do some of the fun summer things that we had planned.  

Eliana made it to the beach twice, and loved running in the waves.  She had her first bus ride while visiting Gran on Roosevelt Island and loved every minute of it.  She had her first train ride on an excursion to Franklin Square (Philadelphia, not NY), and her first taxi ride.  Eliana is also back to wearing underwear, after taking a hiatus because she wanted to be a baby.  She is learning to recognize more letters and taking an interest in spelling and reading.  She can count to ten in Spanish, thanks to Dora!  Eliana is looking forward to preschool starting again in the fall, especially because now she will be with the “3’s.”

Leah has just turned 11 months old, and took her first steps a few days ago.   She says Da-Da all the time, but has yet to say Ma-Ma.  She has four teeth, and a great appetite.  She is sweet as can be, blows kisses, waves bye, gives lots of hugs, dances whenever she hears music, and loves her big sister.  I can't believe that Leah will be one year old in less than a month.  As I reflect on the past year, I must say that it has been a rough one.  Since Leah's birth, we have struggled with one health issue after another between Peter and myself, while trying to manage life with two little girls.  The struggles have made us even more appreciative of all of our blessings, and of the many “easy” years that we have had up until now!  We are grateful that none of our health issues have turned out to be anything all that serious, and we are so thankful to have two girls who are happy and healthy, and who are developing so well!  It does make me wonder, where would we be without our faith in God, a strong marital union, and the love of our family and friends?  While it is true that I am hoping that the year to come will be a year of excellent health for everyone, I will trust God, and his plans for us.  

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

Happy Summer!!!

Summer officially began yesterday!  While this has less significance because the kids are not school-aged yet, there is always something exciting about summer!

I always loved fairs as a child, and Eliana does too!  Here she is at the June Fete.  She loves rides of all kinds, and had her first funnel cake.

 Look at that smile!   She's thrilled to finally be driving her very own motorcycle.

Leah's new favorite past time is taking shoes in and out of the shoe box, trying to eat them, standing up and looking out the front door, and (Papa, you should stop reading now!) licking the door - just like Eli used to!

 Believe it or not, the girls have actually been sharing a few moments of play together, here and there.  (Usually ending with some form of grabbing toys or pulling hair, and then tears, but hey, it is a start!)  If you zoom in you can see two tiny little teeth poking out of Leah's extremely inflamed gums.  That explains all the sleepless nights around here!

Here is Eli driving the choo-choo train at Alvethorpe Park.  She is all ready to go in the pool, but alas the pool was closed for chlorination.  My Eli was a good sport though, and had fun at the playground anyway.

 And Leah's been enjoying the playground too.  She likes to swing, crawl around in the mulch, and try to climb things.  She doesn't keep the hat on for very long though.

Ahh, what is better than a sleeping baby?

Really? March??

Is that really the last time I posted?  It really is true that the two little girls are leaving me very few free moments!  It is now June.  JUNE!  And I have a new commitment to the blog.  I WILL POST, even if it is just two sentences, and some cute pictures!  While I'd love to spend an hour detailing the newest accomplishments and latest milestones, an hour I simply DO NOT HAVE!

So for now, I will give you a few months worth of pictures to make up for my negligence.

The Princess & The Peanut

So, I haven’t posted in a while . . . but it is not totally my fault!  I had a partial thyroidectomy in the beginning of the month due to a large benign nodule on my thyroid.  Big thanks to Nana and Papa for stepping in to care for the girls.  With the grandparents spending a week here, and then the girls and I spending a week in NY, the experience was quite enjoyable for everyone. (Although I do blame them for Leah’s newfound insistence on being carried at all times!)   

What’s new with Eliana:
 
My Princess Eliana is now fully potty trained!  Makes life easier in many ways, and harder in others.  She LOVES going to public restrooms – the supermarket, turnpike rest stops, doctor’s offices – you name it!  Often multiple times in a row!  She LOVES to tell you she has to go pee-pee and cannot hold it any time you’re driving in the car.  Or, on a walk.  Or, in church.  You get the idea.  She also likes to take off her pants, panties, and socks, every time she goes to the bathroom.  And her most fun pastime is hand washing, which she will gladly do for a solid half hour, until she is thoroughly soaked from head to toe, if given the opportunity.

Eliana really enjoys helping me cook, loves to be read to, and loves imaginative play.  Most often she likes to pretend she is Dora, and I am Boots.  Or, she is Caillou and I’m Rosie, and Leah is Gilbert the cat.  Or, her favorite:  I’m Aunt Jessie, she is Sara, and Leah is Weezy the cat.  Eliana also had her first trip to the dentist – which was a huge success!  It was worth it to wait until she was a little older, because she tolerated it much better now than she would have a year ago.  And she had her first trip to the aquarium.  Highlights for Eliana included the stingrays, the penguins, and the water fountains.  Choosing words carefully, lets just say El has been especially spirited of late.  Her most recent Bible memory verse was Ephesians 6:1, "Children obey your parents in the Lord:  for this is right." and at times she will begin to quote this scripture when she knows she is misbehaving.  So yes, she is “spirited,” but she is also so brilliant, hilarious, creative and loving, and I certainly wouldn’t trade any of it! 

1st Visit to the Dentist

Spending the day with Big Cousin Sara in NY

What’s new with Leah:

Leah, my little Peanut, can balance herself sitting up, and is thinking about crawling.  She has gone from a laid back, easy baby, to a baby who wants to be carried all the time and cries, fusses, or yells when she is put down.  I joke that she is turning into Eliana because of this trait, and also her tendency to take 20-minute naps!  She is teething and drooling on everything and everyone.  She is no longer allowed to teethe on me because she gave me two big purple hickeys on my chin that look like grotesque bruises!  (I won’t be posting a picture of that!)  She is eating solid foods – starting with rice cereal, and in the past week sweet potatoes – and seems to have a great appetite.  And the girl has a lot to say – she talks nonstop.  Best of all though are her smiles, and when she wraps her arms around my neck to hug me!

First Rice Cereal:  Given by Daddy, the "Master Feeder"

Love that Smile

My Funny Girls

What’s new with Eliana?  

Today we had a BIG breakthrough:  For the first time ever, Eliana kept her underwear dry ALL DAY.   She even went on her first outing, to Trader Joe's, with underwear on!

Eliana is still figuring out her relationship with Leah.  Her favorite new pastime is to stand extremely close to Leah so that Leah reaches out to her.  Then, Eliana screams, “Mom!! Leah’s touching me!!”  Or, “Mom!!  Leah’s drooly on me!!”  This can easily happen a hundred times in a day.

In other cuteness, this afternoon, I told Eliana that I was about to shut the television as her show was ending.  I've been warning her that too much television will turn her brain to mashed potatoes.  As I went to shut it off, she wailed at the top of her lungs, "But Mommy, I want my brain to turn into mashed potatoes!!”  So, I guess all my warnings about mushy brain didn’t exactly convince her. 

One of my favorite things about Eliana is hearing the great questions that she asks.  As we were reciting her new Bible memory verse, (Genesis 1:1:  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth), she asked with great curiosity, “Did God create them both at the same time?”  And later, knowing that her Auntie lives far away in North Carolina she asked, “How many years would it take to drive to Auntie Rhonda’s house?”

And lastly, special thanks to Eliana’s guardian angel.  She fell out of her “learning tower,” and banged her head, neck and back onto the hard tile floor in the family room.  The whole thing happened in slow motion, as I struggled to scoop her up off the floor while also holding Leah.  She cried for about a minute, before assuring her still worried parents that she was fine and ready to keep playing.

What’s new with Leah?

Leah has found her vocal chords, and her latest trick is a combination of high-pitched squeals and ear piercing shrieks.  Her favorite time to do this, of course, is right at Eliana’s bedtime. 

Leah is also following in her big sister’s footsteps.  She takes great satisfaction out of teething on my chin.  As soon as I hold her face up to mine she lunges her mouth at my chin and starts chomping away, just like Eliana used to.  The second way she is acting just like Eliana did is quite amusing to me, but not so much to Pete.  Mostly in the evening, when she is tired, she cries hysterically when Pete picks her up and tries to comfort her.  I come running in to the rescue, and Pete passes Leah over.  Not only does Leah stop crying instantly, but she also turns her head around to look at Pete and gives him a huge, ear to ear, toothless smile.  Is she mocking him, or just happy that she has her Mama?  You decide!