Tis the Season

Tis the season.... the time to update the blog.  I've had many people ask me when I'm going to update it.  And when I checked to see the last entry, I was embarrassed to see it was back in JULY.  Since my baby is almost 20 months old, I figured it's about time.  Unfortunately, I don't have the time to make proper detailed entries of the past 4 months.  So I'll try my best to do it right :)  And I apologize that uploading of photos isn't working :(

July ended with taking the kids to Bluff Point State Park to go on a hike with my friend and her kids.  It was an interesting experience as my kids are almost 10yrs younger than hers.  But it was a fun to watch the kids interact.  Evan's experiences come from his family and nature isn't the strongest strength of my family.  So when Evan had another chance to explore creatures of the sea up close, he jumped at the chance with a bit of hesitation.  The kids took Evan with gentle hand to find baby crabs and other water life.  And it was great to see Evan be interested in nature and not just balls and sports.  Haley spent her time at Bluff Point eating in her stroller.  And Evan was so tired that he was pushed in the stroller while I carried Haley back from the beach to the car.  And it was great to spend the afternoon at a local point of interest... and it's free!!

August:  As part of Dan's birthday celebration (turning 40 in July), we spent a day in NYC including a Red Sox vs Yankees game at yankee Stadium.   As our family and friends took care of our beautiful babies, Dan and I got to spend quality time together and have fun in the city!!  And then a week later we had a wonderful vacation to Ocean City MD.  We got to do more variety of things instead of just the beach.  It was a fun filled trip that included the beach, the pool, the boardwalk, mini-golf, the batting cages, amusement parks, outlet shopping (and I got to get more pieces of my china), golf, tennis, ice cream and laser tag.... I'm sure there were a lot more adventures but I can't remember that far back.  There are photos posted.... click here.   I think we had our usual gang and we all had fun!!

Sept: was the beginning of the fall season.  We spent time at the apple orchard and Haley had a wonderful time chomping on those apples.  It is also the beginning of the school year.  However, Evan missed the cut-off for preschool this year.  So no school for him this year.  But he did join a soccer camp.  At first he had a great time but eventually got bored playing with the 2 & 3 yr olds.  But Haley got into the groove of things and really took a liking to it.... and she's got talent.

October was a bit uneventful except for HALLOWEEN!!  This was Haley's first time trick or treating and Evan's first time really understanding Halloween.   Click here for photos.  Evan also had a chance to ride his BIKE.  He took $5 from his piggy bank and bought a red bike with training wheels at a friends yard sale.  Dan took him around the neighborhood and he did great.  Then the next day "I" take him and he skins his knee  100 feet from our mailbox... but that didn't stop him from wanting to get back out there.

November brought Evan's 4th Birthday.  This was the first time I hosted a child's party at a venue other than my house.  Evan wanted his party to be at the bowling ally.  We had about 15 kids (plus their parents) bowling with bumpers and under the fancy lights... and a lot of excitement.  Haley didn't bowl but she was very good as she watched and enjoyed being held by all the adults waiting in line to hold her!  November also brought the falling leaves and raking.... as a home owner... I HATE falling leaves!!  Sure it's cool when you go to the apple cider mill and the kids play in them.  But they are not cool to rake and bag or to have your car slide on the wet leaves on the street.  November also brought a milestone for Dan and myself... we celebrated our 5 yr wedding anniversary :)

December:  No snow yet!!!  Our house is beaming with holiday cheer and Santa excitement for the little kiddies.  Our tree is up and the ornaments are on and the super playyard is up to protect the tree.  Dan and I discovered during our first Christmas together that we both 'collect' ornaments as souvenirs from vacations.  We also discovered that we had ornaments from the same places!!  This year, we had the pleasure to reminisce with our son as we pulled out those ornaments out of box.  And even weeks later, I'll overhear Evan tell his little sister... "baby, don't break the ornament that mommy and daddy bought on vacation".  Yeah, Haley didn't listen but it was cute to hear.

So far that is my life in review for the second part of 2010.  I probably left a lot of things out.. but I did the best I can during my blog update during nap time.  I hate that it's been so long since I updated the blog.  And I will do better.  Unfortunately, I don't think that our PC likes uploading photos b/c I'm having a hard time lately doing so.




 

Fall into Fitness

So this is a different type of entry today.  It's a story of accountability.  I made a vow in May of this year to loose the baby weight.  I joined weight watcher's online to assist in reaching my goal by my August beach vacation.  That gave me 3 months to loose 30lbs... OK, it wasn't realistic but it was my goal. So now that it's Sept, did I loose that 30 lbs?  NO.  I had lost 8 pounds in 2 months and some out gained it all back in ONE week.  And then life went back to the way it was.  Unfortunately, that life isn't working for me.

So I have decided it's truly time to get my life back... to get my body and energy back and to get my clothes back.  In the past 4 years, I've had 2 babies and gained  35lbs.  I love my 2 babies but now was to shed that 35lbs. 

So I have joined the universal effort to loose weight.  My employer has decided it needs to trim the fat.  My employer has sponsored a Fitness Challenge.  You join a team and track your min exercised, steps taken and weight loss.  My competitive nature has peaked my interest once again to develop a lifestyle change that will trim my fat.

There is no magic pills that will get me to my goal.  The old fashioned diet and exercise.  It's simple math... I have to burn more calories than I take in... logical if you ask me.  That leaves me with all the challenges in the world. 

1) How do I fit exercising into my schedule?  With an hour commute (each way) to and from work, that eats 2 hours of my day.  Luckily, I only go into the office 3 days a week and that leaves me 2 days during the week to find 45-60 minutes of exercise.  AND now my office building has a company gym.  So I vow to use it twice a week for 45-60 min.  So why am I sitting here typing instead of working out.... b/c it's 10:30pm and I'm tired.  But since I made it to the gym today and was able to log in 12,000 steps already.  So I vow to get at least 12K steps a day!!!  I need 15K steps a day to truly loose the weight... but small steps.

2) How do I eat healthy?  I had been a victim of convenience for meal planning during my working hours.  But my cheapness, is also motivating me to pack my breakfast (as I leave my house at 6am) and my lunch.  I think I've found some healthy quick and easily portable meal options.  And that leaves DINNER.  How do I get healthy dinner meals prepared in 30 min for my family of 4 (including 2 picky kids).  I think today's dinner of baked salmon (seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon, spray butter and old bay seasoning) with a side of butternut squash made for a healthy and filling meal.  But what do I do on the nights I only have 15min to get dinner ready.... ANYONE with meal ideas?  Please send along.

So this is my attempt of accountability... this is my challenge... to loose those 35-40 lbs by  May 1!  I'm in a wedding in June and really want to look GOOD... and I have 2 kids that I'm going to have to keep up with in the coming years.

Mid-Summer Days

Mid Summer is here.  And CT seems to have been suffering from heat waves.  Yes, summers are hot and yes, summers are humid but this summer seems to be both and DRY.  Not sure why I can't remember that every year instead of feeling surprised.

One of my goals of the summer and every year, is to explore local tourist attractions here in CT.  I'm always interested in why people move to CT and why they vacation here.  CT has a lot to offer that I either take for granted or just don't know about.  Last year, we began to make Bluff Point a pleasant activity for the family that doubles as tiring out the toddler.  So July has happily been a month of enjoy local events as a family.

We began our month with the beach concerts.  Some of our family local bands hold free concerts at the beach and it's a great family friendly event.  Thanks to my friends on my commuter van, Dan, the kids and myself attended a couple of these concerts.  Evan's favorite part of these concerts was the fact that there is volleyball there.  Haley loves the people and playing in the sand.  Dan enjoys the family time.  And I got to socialize with friends my age with kids and friends in general!

Last weekend, we all went to Ocean Beach Park in New London CT.  Have you ever been? Well, neither Dan nor myself as ever been (well not for over 20 years).  We met up with a friend of mine and her family.  Unfortunately, since it's such a busy place, we didn't get any photos except.. two :)  But the Park itself was great.  There is the beach.  It's a bit rocky compared to our town beach but still a clean beach.  Then we headed over to the splash pad.  And all the kids enjoyed that including the big kids.  After lunch and some more sand playing, we headed over to the cove portion of the park.  My friend, Tracy, was heading that way to meet up with her husband and son.  They decided to enter the park via kayak.  And at the cove, they went crabbing.  And this was a great experience for Evan.  Evan is so focused on sports and balls (volleyball, tennis ball, basketball, any ball).  And this crabbing experience has re-introduced  nature.  And since I'm not the most 'nature loving', I'm hoping to expose the kids to other kids who love nature.  And on our way home, we stopped at Captn Scott's for a lobster roll!!  The best lobster roll!!


Now we have a month and a half left to the summer and still many plans ahead.... just hope we can to enjoy at least one of them... enjoy the rest of your July!!







 

Happy 4th of July!!!

July is here and what a force it is.... the heat wave hitting the northeast is 'brutal'.  But luckily we have air conditioning and a kiddie pool and live near the beach (although it's not cooler unless you are IN the water).

Our busy holiday weekend began with a family BBQ at my brother's house in NJ.  It was definitely nice to see my family and have them see the kids.  Unfortunately, the heat left the kids tired but not that cranky.  My brother has always been proud of his cooking skills and both her and his wife put on a great day full of good food and fun games.

One problem that did arise was getting my 3 yr old to share his toys.  Evan insisted on bring his baseball bag (wiffle balls, bats, bases) nerf football, bucket of golf balls and his golf club.  When Evan woke from his nap, he was in angst to see an almost 2 yr old playing with his football.  That is when Evan's sportsmanship shined (or NOT).  Evan began collecting his toys and demanding that we go home!  He was done b/c he didn't want anyone to play with his stuff.

It was a day trip for us and we hit the road around 9:20pm.  I remember the time because we had to battle the fireworks crowd on our way out of town.  And it was definitely a fun experience driving down the NJ turnpike and see various fireworks displays for that first 30 minutes of our journey.  And as MY luck has it, the next hour of that journey was stuck in bridge traffic.  And the humor is that I seem to have this luck of getting stopped on the highway due to an accident.... and not a small accident but an accident that closes the highway.  So I'll stay off the highways next weekend.

Then came the FOURTH of JULY!!!!

LORDY LORDY, LOOK WHO'S FORTY!!!!

That's right... Dan turned 40 on the 4th of July.  We didn't have a big blow out of a party for Dan b/c he's not the 'center of attention' kind of guy.  When asked what Dan wanted for his birthday, he said he already has" 2 wonderful kids and a beautiful wife" and didn't want anything more.... yes, he really did say that!!!

Haley turned 15 months this week and what a little girl she is.  She walks and has been trying to run after her brother for a game of chase.  Haley is also trying to master climbing... trying EVERY chance she gets.  She loves to climb up the stairs, onto the couch, into toddler chairs and onto everything she can.  Unfortunately, this activity must be supervised to prevent serious injury.  But with every fall she has off that little toddler chair, she quickly learns what she did wrong.  She'll be a master soon.  This week has also found an expanded vocabulary for the little girl.  She has added ball, mommy, bunny and up to her repertoire.  The other growing Haley has been doing is GROWING.  She wore her first pair of shoes in June and by the first weekend in July, she got a blistered from her shoes being too small.  She grew 1 size in 1 month.  So she and I went shoe shopping together.  Since it's warm weather and she is a kid, the goal was to buy  a pair of shoes that can wore for universal occasions.  But in typical princess form, Haley came home with THREE new pairs of shoes: sandals, flip flops and shoes (for those cold days/nights yet to come). 

Evan is growing in many ways as well.  He still has his obsession with balls and basketball.  But his logic and articulation is also expanding.  But my favorite new thing of Evan is his desire and ability to play on his own.  Using his vivid imagination, Evan creates that new fun world in the bedroom while I get to spend important quality one on one time with Haley (as Evan usually ends up demanding my full attention all the time, Haley has great imagination and play time).  One of the more interesting logics Evan has adopted is listening to my rules and then proposing "his" rules.  That's the funny part that I'm not allowed to laugh at.... but I do find sweet.

I can't believe the summer is already brought the warm heat of July.... that means the summer is official and the clock is ticking... not looking forward to the cool fall nights.

Welcome Summer

Life is keeping us busy this summer. It doesn't help that we want to do EVERYTHING with the kids. So much so, that sometimes it feels like there is too much going on every weekend... but it's fun and keeps them calm on Mondays at daycare.... as they recoup.

June activities for the family included a trip to Lake Compounce Amusement Park, Children's Museum of SECT, trips to the park and of course the beach.

My company sponsored a family event with a day at Lake Compounce. It wasn't the ideal day to spend at a park and water park... but it was free :) AND we even got to take my niece, Emma. Unfortunately, it did rain for half of the day but that didn't deter us. Emma thoroughly enjoyed her first ride on the kiddie coaster. Given she hated rides, she got to experience her first bumper cars (didn't like that) and the kiddie coaster (and she went on it 3 times). Evan enjoyed all the rides including the giant ferris wheel, the kiddie coaster and Thunder rapids. Haley only got to go on 1 ride but LOVED it pure joy... the Carousel. Check out the photos... click here.

We are lucky to have a children's museum close to us. It's a great educational and social experience for the kids. And it's a safe place to take 2 energetic kids.... or 3 kids, depending on the day. The museum did some renovations over the winter. Some good, some, well, just a matter of my opinion, not so good. And in the mind of a 3 year... not good. But hopefully, the new exhibits will generate business for the museum (to keep it in business) and continued education and enjoyment for my kids and others. I guess new exhibits at the museum will provide kids a variety and expanded educational experience.

The warm weather has provided us the delightful opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and simple things like parks, playing in the yard, inflating the new pool and the local town beach. Evan has certainly taken advantage of the nice weather by playing outside as much as he can. His favorites (in no particular order) is shooting baskets (and playing defense), tennis, soccer, golf (and not mini-golf but he loves that too), football and of course baseball. And let's not forget Evan's desire to watch the Red Sox, the World Cup, Wimbledon and the US Open!! He is his dad's son for sure.

The interesting thing about my 3 year old who is now 3 and a half... it's a 'flip that switch' moment in maturity. He still has tantrums but he's language and thought process has taken a nice step forward. And the nicest is Evan's expansion of things to do to keep him busy and playing by himself. His imagination is going wild and he enjoys playing with dinosaurs, monsters', superheroes, and friends (if only he can see them). Toys that have sat unused for months or years are getting a new life.

And with the summer comes cool down. Dan and Evan bought a new pool this year as last year's pool got a hole in it during a late season storm. So on a day with Dan was home solo with the kids as I had to go to work. A fun day in the pool occurred and I got to experience it via camera and video.

And next stop the beach. I grew up loving the water as my parents took us on a beach vacation every year. Plus, with the local community pool, we all grew to love the water. And whether it is through experience or genetics.... my kids love the beach!! During Haley's first visit to the beach, this year, she just walked into the water like nothing. And on subsequent trips to the beach, she'd get mad if we touched her in the water. She's a bit dramatic and loves her independence... but one tumble and roll in the water, persuaded her to hold mommy's hand.

And next the busy weekend of July 4th!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy 'unofficial' start to the summer. The long Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and left tired people behind. This weekend used to be used for long road trips. But once kids come into the picture, an 8hr drive to stay for only 48hrs is not worth it. Instead, we find local fun to enjoy.

We kicked off the weekend with a lovely BBQ at my in-laws. Even though they live in a 55+ community, it's the down home feeling with a great backyard up against the woods. It was a very sunny day. The food was yummy, the weather was perfect and the kids ate and played. If they weren't eating, they had to play. Haley enjoyed walking around the yard with determination to grabbed everything she can from her grandma's garden. Evan did his usual playing ball. And he even found time and energy to go walking in the woods with his daddy. This afternoon BBQ left us tired and full!

Sunday had a great experience of visiting the Mystic Seaport with friends. Evan, Haley and I were joined by my friend Tracy and her 4 yr old son and almost 3 yr old daughter. It was a fun day. We were able to board ships and experience a little bit of the 'old days'. The kids loved looking overboard AND exploring areas not open to the public. We ever were able to board the Amistad, which recently returned from it's trip to Cuba. OK... I didn't get to board b/c my baby girl had skipped her morning nap but apparently insisted upon the afternoon one.

I'm proud to tell everyone that we got in free by using the museum passes from the local Library. You'd be surprised what resources are available to you. I don't remember the last book I had check out. But I've gotten to use museum passes or discount tickets. I've rented DVDs and my kids have participate in the storytime.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Signs of Summer

The signs of summer. I have such vivid memories of being a kid during the summer months while I lived in PA. We lived in both the suburbs and the rural area of Lancaster County. And as a kid I had a great time during the summer. My summer consisted of catching fireflies, riding my bike, the local pool and the backyard sprinkler, the ice cream truck and the freezees in our freezer. I remember mowing the lawn on the riding mower and playing freeze tag or TV tag as the sunsets.

Being a mother now, I want to give my kids the same memories. And I wonder HOW did my parents do it. Some of those memories are with my friends and brothers. And all those memories were in our neighborhood. And I really hope that 30 yrs from now, my kids have such happy memories.

To start, they had the official first day of summer... the "pool" was open at daycare!! As you can see Haley enjoyed her first time in this pool. Her first time in a pool was in FL and she loved it then. This is a kid who hears the bath water running and pounds on the door to get in. And what a day for the pool. And if you've read my past blogs over the past summer, you'll already know that Evan LOVES the summer and pools or the ocean.

So again this year is to experience more of our little SECT and the wonders of it all. So many people flock to this area for vacation and yet, I barely have visited those attractions. And as the kids get older we'll find the time and energy to experience what's in our backyard.

Last year, we rediscovered Bluff Point and hiking with the kids. I think I enjoyed this more than Dan. But it was an educational activity that provides physical fitness and tires those kids out. This year we'll be going to Lake Compounce, Essex Steam Train and hopefully another State Park... maybe Devil's Hopyard and Gillette's castle. And hopefully we'll make another trip to Mystic Seaport or Aquarium. In fact, our calendar is already 'booking' up... of course, if it rains, then our plans will change.

Welcome Summer.... don't go by too fast!!

Time is flying by

Well, it's been exactly one month since my last entry and I have to apologize because I meant to do this once a week not once a month. So now I have to update...

April was a tough month. I learned that I'm not the type of person that can get pulled in ten thousand different directions all the time. Luckily I did realize I have the best husband ever!! April brought the deadline for my annual audits at work. This year was a bit harder than others b/c it coincided with getting our office/dept ready for moving. Throw on top that my dad's routine outpatient procedure resulted in internal bleeding and other complications and his subsequent one week stay in the hospital. Funny though.... on April 20 I went to the local hospital to pick up my father who was being discharged and I was taking him home. And it was just one year earlier on April 20, 2009 I went to the hospital to pick up my daughter when she was released!! Weird coincidences!!!

So again, I just want to give props to my wonderful husband. He is calm under pressure. He is reliable in difficult times. And he's my rock!! And my life would be miserable if I didn't have him.... ok... enough :)

Many fun times and firsts occurred in April and early May... a first for me... I dropped my kids off at a friend's house for a birthday party while I went into work on a Saturday. It felt strange and scary to do so. And I knew that these friends are trustworthy and I had nothing to worry about.... I think I was worried Evan would be too much trouble... but the trouble reared it's head when I got there. Why? How? Kids always act up for parents. And my kids are no different. They are perfect when being watched by others and need a time out every 5 minutes once mom or dad come around :)

Kidz Karnival: A local event sponsored by Dan's job and the local Navy family association. It was fun this year b/c Evan really enjoyed the amusement rides!! I never would've guessed that Evan would love heights like me... and we took a spin on the ferris wheel. And his favorite time up on the wheel was when we were stopped at the very top and see the tops of trees and houses!! We could even see Dan and Haley eating an ice cream sundae :)

This past month also brought a great milestone for Haley... she took her first steps. Yes, it happened at daycare. She had been taking a step or two here and there. But it was Cinco de Mayo when she took about 5 or so steps. And she's enjoying the new mobility. However, she does resort to crawling when her patience runs out.... which is often.

And Mother's Day... well, Haley doesn't do well when she ends up skipping her morning nap. That Saturday we did some time at children's museum. And on Sunday morning, Evan and I ventured over to 'Day out with Thomas'. It was a wonderful time. And we plan to go back and take Haley and Dan. Thomas the train won't be there but the train will be back on track.

OK.... so from this day forward, I'll keep this journal updated more often than not... so more than once a year!!!

Look who's ONE !!!!

So it is now official... Haley is 1 year old!! She was due May 24, 2009 and was delivered 7 weeks early on April 5!!! Haley was a tiny peanut the day she was born but a fighter none the less. Considering her early arrival, she proved that she can keep up with her peers. She started at below 5% in weight but is now between 50 and 75%....

As her birthday fell during the Easter weekend and my very busy time at work, we decided to have a small party. In all honesty, after Evan's blow out First birthday party and me falling sick soon after it started, I didn't want to plan a huge thing and then get disappointed.

We first attended the local Easter Egg hunt before all the guests arrived at our house. Then we also had a hunt for the kids at the party. You'd think a 3 yr old, two 9 yr olds and one 11 yr old could find all the eggs. They did their best but still didn't find all the eggs. We just found one the other day.

And the big question??? Did Haley eat cake... she's my daughter... of course she did and she had ice cream too :) It may have been a small party but it was fun none the less.

We didn't have any games except for the Easter egg hunt... and as the kids went running wild, the parents watched in awe of the chaos. We didn't have fancy foods but had a delicious cake and yummy ice cream. We had a beautiful sunny day and a happy little girl who enjoyed the love attention given to her by all her guests.... so much so, she didn't like being alone that night.

Click here for pictures

As I know you want to know :0 What is Haley been up to lately? She loves to eat!! She loves to chew and eat whatever food we are eating... especially if it has a crunch to it! And if she doesn't want to eat it, she'll shake her head... no!

She's still cruising around crawling everywhere. She is rapidly mastering pulling herself to standing in order to be able to reach something. There is always something in it for her :) She hasn't tried to 'walk' yet. However, she has started walking using her push toy and is loving it!! She gets so excited. And when she gets 'stuck' she'll shimmy it until it's free to go straight again.

And the other bit of news I'm sure everyone wants to know? Is she talking? Her first official word is dada. My college education in linguistics taught me that dada is the easiest for a baby "worldwide" to say. So I'm OK with that. Her first sentence came this past weekend as her daddy had to go into the office on Sunday morning.... she said "bye bye, daddy"... it wasn't clear as day but clear to all in the room, including a 3 year old!!

Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER !!!

This was an amazing Easter. It was Haley's first Easter and Evan's first real experience with Egg Hunts and the idea of what Easter really is.

BigY Egg Hunt: That's right. The local BigY grocery store held an egg hunt. If you are not familiar with BigY. It's a grocery store with a little Y inside... Little Y is a little daycare inside the store... and the egg hunt was in the aisles :)

It was very cute to see all the kids from ages 2-9 search their designated aisle for the eggs hidden in the baking aisle or the pet food or even the Mexican foods :) And as the turn out wasn't huge, there were enough 'golden eggs' for each of the 10 kids age 5 and under. So Evan found his golden egg (which much help from his mommy) and got a purple sand pail filled with goodies. And Evan was so happy that he kept all the candy and gave his sister the little blue bunny :0

Easter Sunday.... Church services started with a bang as Evan darted out of the church as I chased closely behind in my heels!! The kids loved the Easter baskets and were thrilled with the egg hunt at grandma and grandpa's house after Easter dinner.

Growing up fast...

Another month and a half has gone by and much has happened in the life of the Bouges.... well, in the life of the Bouges' kids.

Haley is now 11 months and rapidly approaching 1 year. When we last left Haley, she just began to crawl and had 2 teeth... she is now sprouting tooth number 6 and yet to get her 2 front teeth. Correction, just last night, I found the sprouting edge of a front tooth.... of course this came along with much irritation and crying on Haley's part... poor thing.
It's inevitable that you will always compare developmental milestones of your kids. You, "at this age, Evan was... blah blah". And I certainly not different than the average person. However, I really have a hard time remembering unless I look back at photos. So how do they compare?

At this age they are both crawling really fast and pulling themselves up. However, I feel that Haley is often more likely to "be gone" if you turn your back. One minute she's playing at your feet in the kitchen and the next second later you look down and she's gone... and she's half way down the hallway. Evan was more focused and didn't roam... AS much. I have a vivid memory of Evan cruising on all fours in the Air and Space museum in DC... and people weaving around him :) But Evan had more strength in his legs and would stand more and walk along stuff. Haley is still learning this... and learning fast.

Feeding: Well, I think Evan was always sure to make eating a priority and he stayed focused. Haley... ah not so much. She doesn't drink as much in quantity... which is fine but she needs to get the minimum amount of milk and that doesn't happen. AND Evan was made sure he ate his food :0 Haley... we'll I don't think she remembers to eat unless we tell her. Guess this means she may be a girl who isn't focused on food growing up...

Fine Motor skills: Well, Haley has surely gotten the idea of feeding her self... meaning, she has definitely mastered the 'pincer grasp' and putting things in her mouth. And compared to Evan... both on the same track.

In fact, they both seem to doing the same timeline... except for TV. We aren't sure why, but it appears that Haley LOVES TV. She has some favorite shows... like Mio Mao on the Baby First Channel and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or baseball. Evan wasn't really into TV at this age... not until he was about 2.... or older. However, they both seemed to love the winter Olympics!!

And the best comparison that I'm proud of is that they don't cry.... we'll at this age... Evan would only cry during separation anxiety and... not sure when else. Haley does have some separation anxiety but she CRIES when she's tired and will cry herself to sleep at night (for about 1 min). And neither cries with strangers (though perhaps they should later).. neither cries/cried when they woke up... and they both LOVE to be outside or looking outside through the picture window. And Evan LOVES playing outside now.

New Photos added

On the move!!!

Life moves quickly when you have kids.... actually life always moves fast when you aren't ready for it. It was only last week, that our little girl began her exploration of crawling. What a great feeling it was when I went to pick her up and she crawled across the room into my arms... and that grin of her delight.

Haley had been trying for weeks to get the groove of crawling. She'd get on all 4s and rock. She'd watch as her brother, cousin and even parents and friends would try to show her how to crawl... but Haley just couldn't figure out the co-ordination of moving those hands and feet without falling on her face. With her fall, she'd get herself back up and try again. But it was Jan. 22, that marked her successful crawl across a room to reach her destination... MOMMY :)

And then... I got the text yesterday... a photo text.... Haley had gotten to daycare around 10:45 yesterday. And by 11:30, I got the photo sent to me. My baby had crawled over and pulled herself to a standing position to get a toy. Was it a fluke? NO... she did it all day long. PHOTOS

The big question is... are we ready... NO.. who ever is. Haley's curiosity gives her a determination that propels her into the next developmental stage. Sure crawling isn't a milestone but for a baby who was born 7 wks early.... she's hitting those milestones, right on time!!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year to All !!!

The new year greeted us with a little bit of snow... seems like we'll be getting a lot of snow this winter.

A new year brings many hopes and wishes and resolutions!! So as most people do, Dan and I made the resolution of getting thinner and living a healthier lifestyle. To aide us, Santa brought us a Wii Fit Plus and we love it!! We set it up New Year's morning... and love it. We didn't love the numbers it spat at us or the looks of our Mii but that'll change in time :)

Evan's Firsts:
1/2/10 : Evan and Dan went on a quest to go sledding. They attempted to glide down the hill on our side yard but the was so light and fluffy that Evan just sank. So with 2 sleds in tow, they headed over to Washington Park. And they had a blast!!! PHOTOS HERE

1/3/10: Evan and Dan went bowling today. Evan has been wanting to go for months now. And we keep saying.. we'll go, we'll go... but today was the day. Unfortunately, Haley's cold kept she and I home but Dan took some photos :) The bumpers were used, so it wasn't all gutter balls. In fact, Evan did pretty well. He was hoping to get a green ball and he got one (We think his favorite color is green). He even wore the 'special bowling shoes'. And he was fascinated with the idea of the 'ball return'... you know "where does the ball go after it hits the pins :)" And even know, he asks about going bowling again. PHOTOS

1/4/10: Evan and Dan (The dynamic duo) had their first day at basketball camp. Through a local organization, they attended the special camp for 2-3yr olds and parents. And as expected, Evan was one of the best kids there. He learned to shot (which he already knew) and learned to dribble one handed. Apparently, coach Dawn threatened to blow her whistle and take the ball away (turn over) if the kids use both hands. So Evan was very conscious of keeping that second hand away from the ball. The camp is only for 4 weeks but it's only $25/twice a week for 4 weeks and about 45-60 min ... AND he gets a cool reversible jersey!! and he'll be wearing it for years!!

Haley is having some different firsts going on this year. My little baby girl turned 9 months old this week and she decided she wanted to sit on her own. Meaning, Haley can get into the sitting position by herself from her belly. She's been so close to crawling that we were sure it would happen in 2009. But alas no... she gets on all 4s and comes close but becomes a lobster. Haley has mastered the cruising around the room to get what she wants. She doesn't do the rolling too much but she knows how to get what she wants. And then today (1/8/10) she briefly crawled (maybe 3 steps)... but she had such determination and such pride and joy in doing so. I was so excited but realized... YIKES... she's mobile!!!

And for the record, Haley started out 7 weeks early weighing 5lbs and 19inches. And today she weighed in a 18lbs 6oz and 29inches tall. She's dead on avg in weight falling in the 50th percentile and above avg in height in the 90th percentile. I just can't believe she's 9 months!!