It's Contagious. . .

Dance Party!

Since we got back from CA the weather hasn't been too bad- high 40's, 50's and even reached 62 one day- definitely bearable! But I feel a storm brewing and I'm not too excited about it. I'm tired of bundling my girls up like this (picture below) every time we leave the house:

When we're not just going for a walk I find myself packing tons of extra stuff (blankets, gloves, scarves, extra layers, etc)- for just in case! Along with all that, I've got the diaper bag, camera, sack lunch (cause we always seem to be driving home right at that time), and infant carrier! Let's just say getting out the door is quite the ordeal! I like having my morning outings with the girls (even if it's just to the store), but sometimes it's just not worth the hassle. But if we don't make it out in the morning we're stuck inside- ALL DAY LONG!

I'm learning to become more creative (and a little more flexible) with what we do with our time. This afternoon, while going through toys, Madi pulled out her "My Little Pony" and requested to wear her tutu! Since this rarely happens I had to pull out the camera!

I put on her "My Little Pony" DVD, and we had our own little dance party!

(Not the greatest pictures- I have so much to learn- but you get the idea.)

Madi's not much of a dancer, so of course I'm entertained when she actually gets into it!

Update

I'm happy to report that taking away Madi's binky has gone incredibly well (so far). If I would have known it was going to be this easy I'd have done it a long time ago. Well. . . probably not- I actually wonder if it's gone so well because she's older and much easier to reason with. Who knows! Much to my surprise, Madi has not yet had the desire to cut open Anie Monkey to dig out her old binky. In fact she didn't even ask about her binky at all yesterday. As for how she's sleeping without it:

Saturday night- after 2 hours of talking and reading in bed she fell asleep and did NOT cry the entire night! I was thrilled! She had one little nightmare, called out once for Mommy, but then went right back to sleep.

Sunday we weren't home from church until 2:30, she talked and read in her bed for 2 hours- no nap, but more importantly- NO CRYING!!

Sunday night: Went to bed a little later, but fell asleep within minutes!! Two hours later woke up crying. Luckily I hadn't fallen asleep yet so I was able to think calmly and rationally- flipped on the bathroom fan and closed our bedroom door. Cried for no more than 25 minutes.

Monday: She took a glorious 3 hour nap this afternoon and then went to bed tonight perfectly! It's 11pm now and I haven't heard a peep from her room, so I'm crossing my fingers that it really was that easy.

Note: I probably should include that I did throw in one little additional piece of bribbery. Madi's been asking about a bike for awhile. So Saturday night, fearing that she'd wake up screaming in the middle of the night for her binky, I busted out the famous sticker chart which solved her "getting out of bed issues". I drew a picture of a bicycle and marked off 20 spaces. Then I explained to her that she'd get a sticker every night she didn't cry and after 20 stickers we'd go get her a bike. It's actually worked like a charm. She's stopped asking for her binky and is now asking for her bike!

*Update- February 1*

It's now been 9 days since Anie Monkey joined our family and since we saw the last of the binkies (well, at least for Madi that is). No crying has happened since the first weekend and even better- Madi doens't even ask about her binkies anymore. Spencer and I are both incredibly shocked at how easy it was. Madi is still napping, but only about every other day. She's happy about having the quiet time though (2 hours spent in her bed- reading books, singing, and talking to her dolls and animals). Those days (the ones without a nap) Madi's in bed for the night, asleep, by 7pm! Makes the no nap totally worth it!

One milestone down- 2 BIG ones left to go (potty training, and moving into the same bedroom with Elle)!

Isn't it about time!?

My daughter is 2 and a half and she still sleeps with her binky. There I said it! Ok- well that statement's not entirely correct. She did sleep with her binky every night of her life until tonight! We finally did it, we cut off the binky! It was a big day for me. Seriously, I've been nervous about it for awhile. Yesterday I was really stressing- ask Spencer! He's been wanting to get rid of the binky for a long time and I finally agreed to his nagging. We've been talking to Madi about being "almost 3" and not needing her binky for a few weeks now. I wanted to do a slow and gradual cut off. So we went from her having the binky whenever she wanted (a year ago), to only having it in her bed, to then getting it right before going to sleep (had to set this last rule cause Madi was wanting to spend way too much time in her bed- just to suck on her binky)! I knew the next step was to take it away completely, but it was just something I didn't want to deal with- first cause I was pregnant, then because we had a new baby..... but now with Elle sleeping through the night there's no more excuses!

So this morning we headed over to Build-A-Bear. Madi was thrilled. Before leaving we made sure to pack up all her binkies. We told Madi that if she wanted to take a friend home with her, she was going to have to pay for it with her binkies. She was never too happy about this idea and I truthfully thought it wasn't going to work.

But as soon as she picked out a favorite friend I knew I was wrong. I handed Madi the bag of binkies and she quickly agreed to give them away in exchange for her new monkey.

Madi helped stuff the monkey. She even picked out one of her binkies to put inside!

Then after a quick bath. . .

birth certificate making (Madi lovingly chose the name, "Anie Monkey"- thanks Madi). . .

and outfit choice. . .

Madi was ready to purchase her new friend!

Way to go Madi! I'm so proud of you for being such a big girl and willingly giving up your binkies for a new friend. If anyone knows what you're going through it's me. I was in your shoes exactly 27 years ago!

As for how it's going.... nap time this afternoon was rough. She cried for an hour straight, was quiet for maybe 20 or 30 minutes, and then cried for another half hour. When I got her up from her "nap", she happily tells me, "I was crying for my binky. Let's clean up this mess (pointing to her animals on the floor) so that we can find it!" After lots more reminding about giving her binkies in exchange for Anie Monkey, Madi went to sleep tonight without a fuss! I couldn't believe it! She talked in her bed for about 2 hours but was asleep by 9pm. I'm crossing my fingers that she doesn't wake up a gazillion times, crying for her binkies.

6 months!

Weight: 15 lbs. 3 oz. (34%)

Height: 26 1/4 in. (70%)

(I guess she's not as big as I thought)

Elle's now 6 months old and at a super fun stage! I love this age- where she can sit up (while not yet mobile) and be completely content with a few toys.

This past month was a busy one for Eleanor. With two-thirds of the month spent in California, Eleanor experienced several firsts, including: her first plane ride, first trip to the beach, first Christmas, and her first taste of solid food.

Elle also had her first experience with pink eye while in California. Luckily I was able to get ahold of her doctor and have a prescription immediately sent into the local CVS. Her pink eye symptoms were gone so fast that I never even thought to get a picture of her eye.

Even with all the new people she met, all the new places she went, and all the new beds she slept in, Elle has continued to be an extremely happy, mellow baby. Being the chill kid that she is, she doesn't talk much. She coos and babbles quietly, but nothing loud and dramatic like her older sister would do. She usually just watches and listens. Maybe it's also due to the fact that Elle's got a fun big sister that's always keeping her entertained.

A video- to show some of the craziness that Elle gets to deal with on a daily basis!

It's been fun watching old home videos and noticing how different Elle is as a baby than Madi was. Aside from being much more mellow, Elle sleeps less, spits-up a lot more, is more smiley, easy to make laugh, and loves eating, sucking, and chewing on anything she's given (Madi never put things in her mouth).

But just like Madi, Elle already loves baby dolls! Unfortunately Madi's not the greatest sharer. Some toys just have to be played with while Madi's napping! :)

Happy half birthday baby girl!

We love you SO much!

Madi Movies

Madi's not really big into watching TV (probably because we don't have it), and she doesn't even care about it when we go somewhere where the TV is on. She likes a couple movies but never watches for very long (aside from Finding Nemo that is). But if there's one thing she always likes watching, it's the video clips from peoples blogs. If you've ever posted a video it's almost a guarantee that Madi and I have watched it. Thank you to those who post videos! Setting her on my lap and turning on the computer is the one thing that will make her hold still long enough for some hair fixin.

But of course, her favorite to watch are those of herself! It's actually quite amusing watching Madi, while she's watching one of her "Madi movies".

Again, more videos of Madi singing (sorry, I just couldn't resist).

This first one is a new rendition of "I am a Child of God"- Rap Style!

This second is a more serious performance of "Come Little Leaves"- a song my grandma sang to my mom, my mom sang to me, I sing to my girls, and now Madi loves singing to other babies when they're crying. She only agreed to a serious performance because I convinced her that Purple Baby was sad and needed to be sung to and rocked.

A VERY Happy New Year!

Christmas and New Years in California was wonderful. After such a long trip I thought for sure I'd be ready to come back. Nope! It was such a fabulously relaxing visit that Spencer and I were both wishing we could've stay a few more days. We got back on the 6th and came home to a dead car, a broken fridge, and freezing weather! The reality of "real" life hit fast! Thankfully the car started later that evening and our fridge was fixed the next day. The weather's definitely been an adjustment though. When Madi stepped outside Thursday morning to join me for some grocery shopping she exclaimed, "Oh mom, it's just SO cold!" We're slowly but surely getting used to the colder temps.

We definitely miss our family- there's nothing better than watching our girls be loved and adored by their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. After our visit in Camarillo, we spent the next 8 days in Brentwood! And oh how relaxing it was!! While the weather wasn't as warm as southern California, it was still in the 50's- making it doable for walks, playing at the park, and perfect for hot-tubbing!

Madi loved exploring and having new toys to play with. Her favorite were my parents Little People. She'd play with them for at least an hour everyday.

I had to sneak in one morning and get some video of the Little People village Madi had set up. You know they're great toys when she doesn't even notice that I'm in the doorway taping her.

The girls enjoyed playing with all the presents they got for Christmas and were surprised about having even more presents to open when we got to Brentwood.

The matching jammies were a big hit! Doesn't Elle just look thrilled!?

One thing Madi got for Christmas (from Santa) was a microphone- it really was the perfect gift for my little singer. She's learned lots of Christmas songs this year but for some reason, the only song she ever wants to sing is "I am a Child of God."

I had to do all sorts of bribing to get her to sing something else. Thank goodness Roxy was able to provide the music to encourage singing other favorite songs!

After all sorts of performances, Madi finally sang one of the Christmas songs she'd learned. Here's Madi singing, "Silent Night" while playing the music to "Up on the Housetop".

While Madi stayed busy singing and playing with lots of new toys, Elle got spoiled with tons of hugs, kisses, snuggles, and all sorts of attention. She was complete smiles the entire trip!

One of the best parts about our trip was all the help we got with the girls. I was able to sleep in, go to the gym, sit in the hot tub, take long showers, get ready for the day, go shopping, and actually enjoy meal time! It was heavenly! Oh, and of course mom made sure I got pampered by taking me for a pedicure and manicure.

Massage chair + foot rub + hand/arm massage= a very happy Anie!

Mom was also a huge help with feeding Elle, giving baths, changing diapers, and even burping Elle after I'd nurse her. It was a true vacation!

Elle especially enjoyed her sink baths!

Mom made tons of yummy meals while we were there- of course none of which Madi ever wanted to eat, but when it came to baking, Madi was the first to volunteer! We all requested peanut butter balls, so mom and Madi got right to work!

Near the end of the chocolate dipping Madi was dying to eat one. She's got pretty good self-control, but couldn't resist smelling each one.

While in Brentwood we were able to get away for two day trips. Our first one was to Half Moon Bay to see Grandma Jenkins (who turns 98 this year!!), Aunt Fay, and Uncle Bob. We had a fabulous visit! I was particularly excited for Elle to meet G.G for the first time. Of course I had to take several pictures!

I'm so glad that I remembered to get some video. Just having Grandma's voice on here makes this such a precious video.

And as always, it was great to hang out with Aunt Fay and Uncle Bob!

Our second day trip was with my parents to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We couldn't have chosen a more beautiful day to go.

Now you can probably see why it was so hard leaving California and coming back home!

Thanks mom and dad for such a fun and relaxing visit!