Another week of two under 2

Pics of the girls! and The Month by Month

If I could change just one thing right now, I would love love love it if Izzy could sleep until at least 5:30am every morning. She gets up every morning between 3:30 and 4:30. In this instance and I try not to say this too often, but why can't she be like her sister?! That way Gary and I could get some decent sleep to function throughout our next busy day. I'll take the spit up, the teething, hissy fits being thrown b/c she doesn't want to come inside, Cheerios all over the floor for just 1-2 more hours of sleep.

Ok. I'm done whining.

On a happier note, the girls keep growing! Izzy is getting heavier (I know this b/c of the weight of her in the car seat seems to surprise me now and again). She's up to 6 ounces every 4 hours or so. She talks to us a lot - maybe more than Anna did and gives us cute smiles. She still has maintained her curly hair with a tinge of red color. So cute. She's doing really well on her tummy, lifting her head for more than a couple seconds now (she'd rather suck on her hand or arm) and almost ready to roll over from her tummy to her back and her back to her tummy. Genius I tell you! She's still battling a cough, that we treated for 10 days with antibotics but hasn't gone away completely yet, that sometimes she coughs so hard to throws up. Kind of scary but she just doesn't know how to clear her throat or stop coughing without calming her down again. We may visit the ole doctor's office again.

Ms. Anna is extending her vocabulary and motor skills daily. "No" is quite popular but she says "love you" and even tried "love you, too", "ready to go", "bear", "ball", "eye" and a lot more that I can only remember when I run through all that she knows. She knows what a birdy says "tweet tweet", car goes "vroom vroom" and about a quarter of the alphabet in Zoo Phonics (sounds and motions). Some things we don't need to prompt her to do like doggy, cow and ball. She got some small puzzles for Easter and mastered those that day - who knew! So we busted out the puzzles Aunt Sheila got her for Christmas and did really well with those too. She is loving being able to go outside and play on her "side" (slide), collect rocks and rake in the dirt. We got her a scoot around bike (no pedals) and she likes it, but doesn't always get it. Don't think Izzy's the only one reaking havoc - Anna is starting to only eat certain things and will learn that she'll get what we put in front of her or she doesn't eat. Tough love, I know. She drops when she doesn't like something or hits. She's hitting the terrible 2's, still teething and learning how to express herself to us. I know it's all typical and we handle it fairly well.

The 'rents are holding their own. Work is busy for me, show time! Gary's job is going well, too. So for that, we are thankful! We have a nice stream of side business, trying to kick start Blossom Studios and revamp Paper and Ink. Hopefully it'll be a means to an end - for me to stay home! We've (meaning me) started seeds inside and some already had to go back into the earth (peas and beans) as they got too big for their britches and my lack of watering didn't help. But the others are all manageable and eagerly awaiting the outside. I have all the plans in my head ready for the girls bathroom - something a little more girly b/c I know we have girls! Hehe. I'll post pictures of the projects and the room itself once I find the time. With my cronic blog reading, I have many DIY projects I'd love to do, but again, time is the enemy and I have none. So once the girls get on the same schedule, I'll have some more time to work on these things.

Thank you for all your prayers and cards in the passing of Gary's grandpa. It means a lot to us and the family. We're starting a new tradition by having Grandma Tuesday's. On Tuesdays, Gary's picking her up and having dinner at our house, then bring her to the store for groceries and back home again. She enjoys being with family and seeing the girls, so it's a pleasure to do it!

We're also keeping busy with doing fun stuff outside, like taking walks, bike rides, trips to the park, trips to Frederick Meijer Gardens and in the next couple months, the beach! Anna loves being outside and the fresh air doesn't hurt either!

Well, that's us at the moment. :)

Love to all!
Gary, Christie, Boog and Izmeister