Toddler Tales

The girls are getting better at playing together lately.  They don't really fight yet so they are so cute to watch how they interact together.  Lucy gets such  kick out of grabbing Eva's hair or just pulling her down. Eva just yells "MOOOOOM, BAAAABY" and I run over and unclench Lucy's grasp.
Lucy loves any toy that Eva is playing with, so as soon as she sees Eva playing with something, she peers over to see what she has and immediately wants it.  Eva absolutely loves books, and Lucy loves to rip pages out of her books.  It's a good thing Eva is so easy going with Lucy or it would be cat fights all day.  I can already tell we're going to have trouble with Lucy.  If you take something away from her or turn her away from where she wants to be he screams and throws herself back into a full-blown tantrum.  God help us when she hits the terrible twos.
Lucy still doesn't sleep through the night so I'm stopping breastfeeding.  She doesn't really nurse during the day anyway, and she mainly uses me to pacify herself ALL night long.  I can only hope this helps because I am at my wits end without ant sleep.  I mean, come on, she is 14 months.  I need sleep.

Happy New Year

Well, what a new year it has been!  We have been so sick over here!!!  This nasty virus has definitely gotten the better of us.  My poor babies have been throwing up so much it has been so hard to watch. And to make matters worse our washing machine broke on day one of our little funfest over here.   If this is a sign of what this year has to come then I just might stay in bed until 2018.  I can say this has been a good lesson in patience.  Or at least a reminder of how little patience I have.  That is going to be my goal for this year.  Have  more patience.
 This has really been a tough year for me.  And I probably say that every year.  Nothing worth having comes easy.  I need to appreciate the difficult times.  Be more present and aware of my role in this life I have built.  I love my little family more than anything and I want to enjoy every moment.  So with this fresh year (and a freshly disinfected house) we can focus on what's important, our family.

Christmas Bucket List

Well, Its a little over a week until Christmas.  Am I ready? Not even close.  I always have so much excitement all year long.  I put so much pressure on myself to get the most out of the holiday season that I barley get anything on my list done.  I cannot be the only one like this.  So, I decided to put together my Christmas List and get my act together.  Now that the older kids are on Christmas break we can focus on having fun and maybe get some of these things checked off my bucket list.

25.  Make and decorate sugar cookies.

24.  Visit with Santa.  There is the most nostalgic little Santa house near us, with the cutest Santa and Mrs. Clause.  I used to visit Santa here when I was a child.

23.  Make a Holiday playlist.

22.  Make fireplace s,mores and listen to Christmas music.

21.  Make hot chocolate and drive around looking at Christmas lights.

20.  Have a gingerbread house party with a best house contest.  The other day in the store I found gingerbread house accessories.  Total game changer!

19. Make an advent calendar.

18.  Donate toys and clothes to local charities.

17.  Write a letter to Santa.

16.  Read Christmas books.

15.  Go sledding.  We bought the girls the cutest little vintage sled.  

14.  Watch as many Christmas movies as we can.

13.  Make a snowman.

12.  Have a family photo shoot in the snow.

11.  Go on a horse drawn sleigh ride.

10. Buy a new red nail polish.

9.  Have a white elephant gift exchange.

8.  Sneak a kiss under the mistletoe.

7.  Make the bed with Christmas sheets.

6.  Wear glitter everything.

5.  Buy new Christmas jammies fir the kids.

4.  Have a festive breakfast or brunch.

3.  Make paper snowflakes.

2. Make cookies for Santa.

1.  Put the kids to bed early on Christmas eve and shake jingle bells before they fall asleep, like Santa has arrived and is delivering our presents. 

Love List

1. There is nothing better than filling your house with the scent of the holidays & I am obsessed with this little stove top conconction to do just so!  In a large pot, combine 1 sliced orange, 1 sliced lemon, 4 cinnamon sticks, 4 bay leaves, 2 tbsp. whole cloves, & 1/2 cup of cranberries with 4 cups of water and boil.  Wondering if you could just bathe in this 
2.  This blanket looks so luxurious, I haaaave to have it!!!  And its 50% off right now.

                                                            cloud nine blanket

3.  These pajamas are beyond adorable.  I wonder if I can convince my whole family to wear these for Christmas.

                                                                  pajamas 

4.  Soup!  It has been so cold here lately I have been craving soup nearly every day.  I usually just throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it simmer.  Last week the only thing I had was maple chicken sausage.  So I threw it together with some carrots, celery onion, potatoes and tomatoes.  And it turned it soooooo good.  Sweet and spicy, and so hearty.  I will definitely try to recreate this one, and write down the recipe ;)

5.  I am loving all of the Christmas crafts lately.  I wish I had the skill to pull all of these off .  I'm might just have to attempt this one, it's just too pretty.

paper dresden wreath

6.  These leg warmers!  Maybe it's the '80's girl in me, but I will definitely be dressing the girls in these.  Even if we get the side-eye from Andres.  

We have a Walker!!!!

Well this happened .  Little Lucy finally taking a few steps.  What you don't see in these pictures is Lucy crashing to the floor.  Eva was so excited to see Lucy walking that she hugged her so hard that she lost balance and  fell to the floor.  Poor baby now has a bump and a bruise on her head.  

ps. sorry about the quality of these photos, these moments happen so quickly.  I' just glad we got it documented. 

xoxo

I Love Lucy

What can I say about Lucy. She definitely has the cutest little personality. She recently discovered how to squeal. Let me tell you. It was sooooo freakin cute.  Once she heard herself she got louder and louder. All I could think about was what have I gotten myself into now. She has also been learning to navigate the house pretty well. She throws her little legs over the side of the bed and just slides off without any fear. I have a tiny heart attack ever time. This little girl is so much fun though. She is always laughing and making noises. She'll have a conversation with you in grunts. She has been getting a lot better at her sounds. She can repeat almost any word in her own little Lucy voice. We love to dance together as a family and tickle and play. Especially dance. When she hears music her little hands pop up and wave along with the music. She looks over to her dad and me to see if we're going to scoop her up and dance. 

Just like her momma Lucy definitely has a temper. When you take away a toy or don't let her do what she wants she will throw her self back into fit throwing position and SCREAM.  We are in for a treat I tell ya. At this point Eva and Lucy don't fight, and I am so very grateful for that. With two teenagers also on the house I could not handle that yet. 

I love this little girl to pieces. I could kiss her and squeeze and take bites out of her chubby cheeks. I love her more every day. 

Xoxo

My Eva

Oh my little girl. She's still my little baby but every day she acts s little bit more like a big girl. Last week out of the blue she asked me for something ( probably a bottle ) and called me mom. Not momma or mommy like she does 500 times a day. Just mom. And it stopped me dead in my tracks.  Maybe it's just me, but I feel like this is the first step in my losing my baby.  I want to savor this time as long as I can. She has recently started getting a little jealous of Lucy so she does end up in my lap a little more often to get her mommy fix. And I don't mind 😉.  The other day Andres and I were sitting on the floor calling Lucy to take steps between us. Eva ran in between us, stepped in front of Lucy to show us that she can take steps and walk too. She had a huge grin waiting to see my excitement for her steps. I never want her to feel jealous or left out.  I will make a million mistakes as a parent, but it's always encouraging to know that every day, every moment is a chance to do your best and just love them. My baby is and will always be my baby, no matter how big she gets. I hope she always knows that and how much I love her.