Tutus are back

Madison has taken a little break from her tutu wearing since Christmas time.  We have had plenty of dress up times, but the tutu has stayed in the box – playing second fiddle to the little blue princess skirt she got for her birthday.  Well, the tutu came back out of the box this weekend, and frankly, I can’t not take a picture of my girl in a tutu.  So, here is a little fun with the tutus and hair pretty….

                  

On a side note, Ellie did not eat all night last night.  Note I said, “did not eat” as opposed to “slept through the night”.  She woke up twice, but I rocked her back to sleep with her pacifier.  She had had enough milk during the day, she didn’t need more.  We’ll see how tonight goes.  If I can get enough bottles in during the day, the night should be quiet.  AND… Madison slept until 7:15am!!!  That is almost as incredible.  Well, I should clarify that she did get up at 4am and want her diaper changed, which, to her credit, was super wet.  Let’s hope for a good start to the week.  Hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing Sunday with the beautiful sunshine.  I do believe we will head to a park later this afternoon.

Tummy Time

Just thought I would show you how strong Ellie is.  It is the first tummy time pictures that I have taken.  She does a great job.

            

Been a Little Busy

This is just going to be a little writing.  I feel like I have been swept up in our daily schedule and am just trying to keep my head above water.  The girls are good; it is just hard.  It would help if Ellie learned to sleep through the night all the time (note previous post and my giddiness at that which did not last).  I can't let her fuss/cry it out because she shares a room with Madison.  Madison has been waking up early.  So, I get a little guest every morning while I make lunch and eat breakfast.  I look forward to the end of the school year as I always do, but this year I am anticipating it even more.  When I think about this, it is a little sad.  It means that I am hoping the next month is going to fly by.  That is a quarter of Ellie's life that I am wishing away.  I am trying to appreciate the changes and experiences we have with her. 

For instance, she is getting strong!  She can lay on her belly and hold her head off the ground at almost 90 degrees; one day she will roll over.  She loves to stand up (with help of course), and her little legs are so strong!  When she is crying and mad and you try to change her diaper, you can barely get her pjs off because her legs are so stiff.  She trys to laugh when I make funny faces, but we are still waiting for the full-blown laugh.  She flashes a grin that is fantastic.  And she watches - really watches - what everyone does, BUT she especially tracks her big sister.  I think that she is going to really like Madison, and want to be like her as they learn to play together.  Madison gives her kisses, so I am sure Ellie feels that love already.

And then there is Madison.  She is amazing the way she is changing too.  Yes, she has been more whiny and clingy - it could be me going back to work or the fact she wakes up so early.  BUT she is also so fun.  She loves to play kitchen, take notes, and she is starting to want to read books.  She also loves to sing and make up songs to dance to.  They are usually sung VERY loudly and off-key, but she is having so much fun doing it!  She cleans up toys in the evening, and she snuggles on my lap to read stories.  This morning, I "got" to cuddle with her from 4am til 5:30am.  (Note the sarcasm in the word "got") - the thunderstorm woke her and she wouldn't go back to sleep.  BUT as I thought about it on my way to work, I realized that, too, was a little gift.  I kept asking her as I was running out of energy and patience, "What do you want me to do for you?"  And she just kept looking at me and crying.  Finally, exhausted, I laid down on my bed.  She climbed on top of me and plastered her little body to mine.  She just wanted to be close - as close as she could be.  And you know what?  That is special to feel that loved.  

So, yeah, I am exhausted and I want time to fly, BUT I don't want to miss the little moments, so I recorded them here to remind myself why it is all worth it. 

Should I jinx it?

So, it has been heavenly (*see downside below) here at the Yoh house for at least the past three nights.  Ellie has taken her bottle around 6/6:30 as normal.  She has been happy, too.  Typically, our night involves a double bath - big sis and lil sis - followed by a pretty quick departure to bed of lil sis.  I think Madison likes that part because then she gets us all to herself for about 30 minutes before she needs to head to bed.  Ellie has made it all the way until the morning 2 out of 3 nights.  The other night, she took a bottle at 11pm, and then kept sleeping.

The downside?  Madison now thinks she needs to wake up to cry at 4:30am.  I rush in there because I don't want her to wake Ellie's amazing sleep.  Then, by 6:15 (which she did this morning and disrupted my early morning blogging) or 6:30, she wakes up AGAIN for the day.  Ridiculous.  If she was in her own room, I would just let her cry a little or throw a fit if she didn't want to stay in there.  All things are different when you are trying to train the littlest one to sleep. Now, I will say that I have to wake her up three mornings a week to take her to the sitter by about 6:30, so that we can get ready, out the door, and me to work on time.  I am sure this is not helping her.  Summer cannot come fast enough.... for many reasons.

Have a great week everyone ... and hope I didn't jinx this blissful sleep by blogging about it.

Work and Weekend

I am officially back to work as of Tuesday.  It is like riding a bike.  I enjoy the kids I am working with this year, and they have welcomed me back with smiles.  I do not enjoy leaving the girls with someone else, but I believe they are both well cared for and it is only for 7 more weeks.  Work is exhausting.  I usually have to get up one time a night with Ellie, and then I wake up for the day at the obscene hour of 5:30am; so, my night is super short.  I am trying to stay ahead at work.  So far it is working.  I had almost all of my IEPs at the beginning of the year, and I only have one left.  That is a relief.  It was crazy busy at that moment, but well worth it for the present. 

This weekend, Jeremy’s parents came Saturday and Sunday to let us go on a date for my birthday.  We went to Abuelo’s at Easton on Saturday night.  Then, to see Hunger Games on Sunday.  The book is awesome; the movie is good, but feels a lot longer than the book.  I say read the book and watch the movie on video.  It was still nice to just go out.  Thanks, Grandparents for coming to spoil the muchkins (and us).  Gloria had just been to the annual sale of Vera Bradley purses/accessories with friends.  She brought us each a souvenir.  Check out Ellie and Madison with their little purse. 

           

Ellie turned 3 months this past week as well.  I can’t believe how quickly her first three months have gone.  I can NOT wait to go to her 4 month appointment and see how long and heavy she is.  She is growing, growing, growing!  She is so much fun as she gets older – smiles, kicking, watching, eating her hands, drooling, trying to talk, holding her head up.  It is great. 

Today we went to the park for a bit to get out of the house.  Madison wore her dress and sandals along with her “new” backpack, which she adores.  Here are some pictures.

         

                      

Easter

I only have a few minutes before I crawl into bed.  So, this post will be mostly pictures and few words.  Enjoy our Easter memories…

Our Family

    

Madison with some special “friends”

       

The Girl Cousins in Aunt Sherry’s hats

 

Easter Egg Hunt

    

A Few Last Moments during Spring Break

Madison wanted a picnic blanket on the floor.  After I spread it out, I headed to the kitchen to wash some bottles and do some general clean up.  When I came to check on her again, I saw she had neatly set the blanket with spots for many guests.  We invited the monkeys and the babies to join us.  Then, we took some pictures with the tripod.  She usually just takes pretend pictures with the tripod, but I actually put the camera on this time.

    

                                   

Madison has started to like to kiss and hold Ellie.  She also likes to talk to her and tell her stories.  I think Ellie would like this IF Madison didn’t have to be right up in her face when she did it.  Ellie, to her credit, tolerates it pretty well.  Ellie also enjoys watching what Madison does while I hold her.  She is intrigued by her singing, dancing, playing, and pretending.  I hope they become good friends.

                               

A Few Little Memories

So, we have been bustling around.  We spent the weekend out of town with family … again.  It is fun to be with everyone, but another weekend away to pack for, to be away from our bed, to be out of our element.  So, here is a little of the shots we have taken over the past week or so…

The Park (our favorite place on beautiful days)

                                           

Baby Growing Up in Cloth Diapers

Sisterly Love

My View While Walking One Day… It doesn’t get any better :)

Girl Sports TWO tails… (ignore the dusty mirror – our house is in need of a good cleaning)

   

Bathtime with her cousin, Megan, at Grandma’s house

Modeling a new dress and sandals at Grandma’s house

                                             

The Zoo Day without Ellie!  What freedom :)

      

                                

  The Zoo with Cousins

                                              

My Little Monkeys