Bathtub

I was running very behind the other night and needed to save some time because Hannah was getting hungry. So, I decided to throw Hannah in the bathtub with Emma. Emma was washed and her hair was already cleaned. Bo brought Hannah in and I held Hannah up in the tub. I was not sure how Emma would react, but she was so sweet. Emma pretended to put the shampoo in her hand and then she washed Hannah! She got the washcloth and gave Hannah her bath. I did not prompt her or anything. She just took control and thought she could handle giving Hannah her bath. It was so sweet. The next night we tried it again. Emma started patting the water next to her - I realized that she wanted Hannah to get in with her. She again started taking care of Hannah. Even though Emma is a young "big" sister, she understands that she is older. I can' t wait to see them actually play together when Hannah can move around a bit more. Everyone I have talked to with kids close in age have told me how easy it gets because they will entertain each other so well. I have already seen that for a long time but now I am seeing how Emma is loving Hannah and taking care of her. They are the sweetest little babies!

( I would put up a picture of them, but I know that someday they will both hate me if I have bathtub pictures on the Internet - so here is one of just me and Hannah after Emma was out of the tub!)

After bath time, Emma brought her golf clubs into Hannah's room. She wanted to play golf instead of getting on her PJ's. Bo thought it was great.

Feeding Hannah

Hannah has been eating rice cereal from a bowl for a few weeks now. I tried some baby food green beans with her on Saturday (February 27th). She was not too thrilled about the green beans. We will keep trying! But, we got some cute pictures of her. I cannot believe that she is almost five months old. She is developing so fast and is so intrigued by everything Emma is doing. She is putting everything into her mouth and she is also playing with her toys more. She is getting very curious about things. Being a mom a second time around really helps you notice the little things that babies - I know what to look for and what to expect this time.

Valentine's Day

Today was Valentine's Day and we had a very laid back weekend. Our weekends have not been the most exciting recently due to my working on my thesis this semester. After the kids go to bed and on the weekends I pretty much dedicate myself to the computer. This weekend, I put away the work, only because I am waiting on revisions, but it freed up some time to just relax.

Bo and I managed to get BOTH babies down by 8:30 on Friday night, which was amazing. We decided to buy Couples Retreat on demand, since we have not sat down and watched/been to a movie in forever. However, halfway through it I fell asleep! We did not have huge plans for each other this year. There is just simply nothing that I need and I do not see spending a ton of money on roses anymore. We are also thinking about a possible trip soon - hopefully. So, we just got the girls a few little things and focused on them.

Emma got the new Minnie's Bowtique Clubhouse DVD, a Valentine Minnie Mouse, a Minnie Sippy cup (seeing a pattern?), Minnie's Valentine book, a sticker book, and the book How Do I Love You.

Hannah got a Mickey plate, a Valentine Minnie Mouse, Elmo's Valentine book, and the book Hugs and Kisses.

We went to church and then went to my mom and dads for lunch. They gave them more books, valentine elephant stuffed animals, spring outfits, hairbows, and other little things.

Emma gave me a card with her painted handprints in it! We came home and had an amazing dinner - leftovers!

I think Valentine's Day takes on a new meaning as you get older. When you are dating you and anticipate "the gift" that marks Valentine's Day. When you are newly married, you may just roses and dinner. Now, I am happy just being able to sit down and breathe a little. I have not had that in a long time! I remember the Valentine nights of The Melting Pot, roses, wine, etc. Tonight we had spit up, crying, noise, laughing, dinner spills, dinner cleanup, bath time, snack time, book time, bedtime, and cleanup/preparartion for tomorrow time. It was wonderful. Happy Valentine's Day!

Emma's Words

I thought it would be fun to write down most of the words Emma is saying. She is pretty much repeating everything that we say. But, these words are words that she says constantly and without us saying, "say ......." This is her everyday vocabulary.

Mama

Dada

GaGa (for grandma)

Donald Duck

stop (one of her favorites - and she says is it when she is annoyed)

I'm stuck

snow

baby

mote (this is for remote, meaning, I want to watch a movie - and she brings us the remote)

mall (yes, I am pretty proud of this one - "Emma, where do you want to go?" mall!!!!

roll

Mick Mouse

cup

Choo Choo

Pappy (pacifier)

Ruff Ruff (dog)

please

cook cook (cookie)

She is certainly growing and I cannot believe she is almost 18 months old. The time is really going by so fast.

Hannah is 4 months old!

Our precious Hannah turned 4 months old on February 3rd. She continues to be an adorable baby! We are feeding her rice cereal in her bottle for her nighttime bottle. She continues to sleep through the night and is going down around 9:00. She can hold her head up so well and smiles, talks and laughs all of the time. She laughed so loudly in church recently that I couldn't believe it. She also loves to bounce on her legs and likes to be held outward so she can see all that is going on. Emma loves her so much and kisses her all of the time. She is a very ticklish baby especially around her neck. She also has started blowing strawberries and making all kinds of "spitting" noises. We just love her to pieces and I am so lucky that she is such an easy and happy baby. We love you Hannah!

Snow Day(s)!

I couldn't believe how much snow VA actually had! It was the largest amount of snow we have seen in a very long time and has caused us to be out of school for three days. It started on a Friday night and lasted all day Saturday and into the evening. The temperatures have stayed so cold and it just keeps freezing over. The main roads have been cleared but the neighborhoods, including ours, are still pretty bad. Here are some snow pictures!

The first day, Emma was more skeptical of just being so bundled up and not being able to walk very well in her all of her gear. She kept saying "noooooowwww" for snow.

The next day she was little more into it. She knew what to expect. The snow just about covered her little boots! She was having so much fun and didn't want to come in at all. Little Hannah only saw the snow from the window! I was not going to bring her out in it. I hope it shows this much again when they are both a little older so they can play together and we can make a snowman. Emma is so prone to ear infections that I just did not want to keep her out too long.

So Big!

Here are just a few things that Emma has done recently that shows how much she is growing. She is saying so many words right now - one of her favorite being, "stop." That is just wonderful! She will say it with true meaning too! She is repeating a lot too - so we now have to be very careful of what we say. She is understanding humor, especially on her cartoons. Her favorite movie right now is a sing along video of Disneyland. She knows the order of the songs and she knows all of the characters. When she wants to watch the video, she brings us the remote and says, "mote!" Emma has also learned what it means when I say, "naptime" or "night night time." She starts to stomp feet and cry out, or go to the nearest person thinking that that person will not make her go to bed. I can surely tell that she is developing into a toddler and beginning to learn and take things in on her own. It is amazing how much she knows and what she understands. We just love her so much and I wanted to show some of things she is doing now.

Emma brushes her teeth every night while I dry her hair after her bath. She loves to brush her teeth and it took quite awhile to get her to learn to put her toothbrush back in the cup when we are done!

Emma loves to paint at my parents' house. These were taken when my mom had her at her house one day. She knows where the little smock is kept, gets it out of the drawer, gets her book and takes it to my mom to paint.

Emma loves to help bake. She is making brownies here and loves to help me make cookies and cakes at home.

My Helper

I keep mentioning how Emma is being such a help to me by entertaining Hannah. Here are some pictures of her in action. She loves to put her little Disney figurines on Hannah's swing and at my parents' house she took her three favorite stuffed animals (that she must sleep with each night) to Hannah. Hannah watches Emma like crazy and has this look on her that she just cannot wait to move around and play with Emma. I can already tell that they are going to be so close and really have a wonderful friendship.

Pooped Out!

I had the day off of work for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. So, what else do I do, but go to a mall? My mom, sister and I decided to go to a mall in VA Beach that we rarely go to. It has the closest Disney Store and I wanted to stock up on some Valentine/Easter presents for the babies. I also had some Limited and Gymboree bucks to spend! We had a great day! Emma LOVED the Disney store and only confirmed more that we soon need to take a trip to Walt Disney World! We ate lunch, shopped, shopped, shopped, did the whole changing diaper process, Aunt Lindsay bought Emma some Dairy Queen, Emma ran around in a sitting area while they ate snacks and I fed Hannah a bottle. It took Emma and Hannah a whole ten minutes to fall asleep on the way home. This is the picture of Emma when we got home! Lindsay took her out of the car, took her coat off and put her on the couch - and she still was passed out! It was so cute!