4/5 Months and Vacation

Sadie just passed her 5 month mark, I was a month late on getting her into the doctor's office. Second mom syndrome? Anyway, here are her stats:

Height: 24.3 inches (29%)
Weight: 14 lb (40%)
Head: 40.5 cm (22%)

She is such a joy to have in our family. She is sleeping through the night and she just sat up for her first time a few days ago, if you count 1 second as sitting up. We've tried rice cereal, but she is still not sure what to think about it. She puts up with Erica in her face all the time and actually seems to enjoy the attention. This picture describes her best:


We also recently took a trip to visit my parents. My dad was celebrating his 65th birthday and they just completed their new home. Here is a view from their home. It's beautiful!!


This trip was a chance for Erica to play with a lot of her cousins. It was a quick trip and we, unfortunately, didn't see as many people as we wanted. Thanks to everyone who helped us get around.

I was a little terrified to fly by myself with the two girls. I had barely made it to the grocery store for the first time by myself and now I was flying across the country, with a lay over. I planned for the worst, used pull-ups and had strangers hold Sadie. We had some typical meltdowns and owies, but in the end, we made it without too many problems.

We got their Friday evening and my dad picked us up. He drove us 2 1/2 hours to their new home. The next morning (my Dad's birthday) we all went to breakfast at a local restaurant. Then we went to a 24th of July parade and a fair. Erica liked gathering candy at the parade and petting the baby goats at the fair.



That night we had a birthday party.


Erica's cousins played with her non-stop. It was amazing. I'm used to having that girl by my side all day long. She went for hours without seeing me. It was great! These girls love all the same things she does - princesses, Barbies, kitties, etc. They provided all the creativity and energy for watching Erica. Erica really misses them - can you tell why?


The next day we all hung out and had foil dinners together. We also got to meet the newest member of the Phillips' family - Esme. This is Roo and Annie's daughter. She makes Sadie look like a giant.


On Monday we went to an arcade. This was Erica's first time. She didn't quite grasp the concept of winning tickets until she realized she could use them to buy candy. She ended up winning 100 tickets in one of the games.


After the arcade we went to a water park. She spent most of her time like this:


The next day we just played around the house and packed up. We were spoiled with great food, baby sitters and lots of stuff for the girls.


Silly faces:

Who wears it better?

My dad drove us half way back to the airport on Tuesday. We had about 30 minutes to stop in and say hello to Troy's Grandpa. He hadn't met Sadie yet.

I have no pictures of the rest of the trip, but these are some highlights:

-We met up with Troy's mom for a few hours because we happened to find out that we were in town at the same time.

-We stayed at my brother's new house because he lived closer to the airport. His poor wife was so nice to throw a BBQ at the house that evening we arrived, had 8 kids sleeping at her house that night - only 3 were her own, let me sleep in her bed while she took the couch and then she drove me to the airport the next day. What a great sister-in-law.

-We also met up with one of my long-time friends Jenn and saw her 3 kids. She came to the BBQ. We just happened to be in town at the same time too.

-If you've made it this far in the blog...The airline snapped the handle off my stroller. Um, is breaking 3/4 inch plastic pipe normal wear and tear? I will be writing the airlines about that one. At least it happened at the end of our trip on our very last flight and Troy was there to help me out.

Bedrooms and Painting

I have never painted rooms before, but I really wanted to paint the girls' rooms. In the beginning, I didn't even know that primer was white and I had to watch a YouTube video about how to tape a room.

I had a great group of friends who helped me figure it all out, lent me supplies and even came to help paint. Thank you, thank you. I never would have been able to do it without them or my husband.

I had planned to have their rooms all done before Sadie came. However, she decided to make her entrance 3 weeks early, which put our plans on hold. Now, after 5 months, I feel like we are pretty much done.

SADIE'S ROOM: Light purple, animal theme, Troy installed a ceiling fan.




ERICA'S ROOM: Pink walls, multi-colored bedspread with matching decorations (still working on that), pink curtains, Troy installed a ceiling fan.

These Girls Crack Me Up

(most of the time). Here are just a few random happenings I don't want to forget about.

SADIE

We love to go boating (although it doesn't happen nearly as often as we would like). I am not comfortable taking Sadie on the boat yet, so last time we went, our lovely neighbor watched Sadie for us. She has an awesome camera and captured this great picture.


Sadie is 4 1/2 months old now. She probably weighs about 13 pounds. I have her check up in a few weeks and can get more accurate stats. It's terrible, but I was so much better about keeping track of Erica's milestones. I even have playdates recorderd from Erica's first year. I am just now trying to catch up on Sadie and I only have about two things written down. It's not that those moments are any less important, its just that things are so much busier now. It really comes down to "should I feed you guys or write some things down". By the time evening rolls around, I barely get a blog post out now and then.

Anyway, as for this week, Sadie is taking 3-4 naps a day, she drinks about 6 ounces every three hours. She usually sleeps through the night (about 8pm to 6am). She is very smiley and laughs a lot. She loves to watch her older sister. Recently, she has started to demand a little more attention. Overall, she is just a very pleasant little baby and we are so happy to have her.


ERICA

What to say about this one?!! She gives me my highest highs and my lowest lows all in the same day. She is an extremely happy girl and loves to joke around if she is well-rested and in a good mood. Thank goodness, this mood is increasingly more present. She loves to dress up, play with princesses, Dora, doll houses, Barbie, etc. She has also discovered the art of picking her nose.


When she is tired or out-of-sorts, we have many challenges. She reverts to saying (meaning whining about) things we love to hear, "I can't stand up", "I can't, my legs are wobbly/slippery", "I can't...[something that she's been doing by herself for months]".

She starts dance and preschool in a month. I can't wait for her to become a little more independent and try new things. I am also anxious about how she will do with being away from mom. That has always been a challenge for her. Hopefully, the transition won't be too tough. Swim lessons has been like pulling teeth this summer. She has great teachers, but she has serious anxiety about new situations.

The other morning, I heard Erica talking in her bedroom, which she usually does after waking up. We peeked inside and she had the blanket over her head. She was singing, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and doing the actions over her blanket. It was pretty funny.


Last weekend I decided it was finally time to clean out our couch cushions. I was fearful of what might be growing there. It ended up being the best part of the day. Everyone should do this with their kids:
1. You find all sorts of their treasures that have been missing.
2. Your dog finds all sorts of treasures to eat.
3. There is a big pile of cushions on the floor that act as a great jumping pit.
4. In the process of returning the cushions to the couch, you can build a fort.


Some Erica quotes (Aunts - help with this one):

-If I ask her to do something, "I'm busy." Hmmm, where did she learn that one?

-"Hold you me." This is a progression from what used to be "Hold you", but she has since realized that "me" should be in there somewhere.

-"You wanna read me an Erica story?" She loves when we make up stories about her.

-"You wanna share with me?" Used when she wants something you are eating.

Favorite Foods: Milk, Lucky Charms, Raisin Bran, apples, fruit snacks, raisins, ice cream, chocolate, cookies, chips, beans, meat, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, Otter Pops, watermelon

Favorite Movies: Dora, Barbie movies

You Know You Watch Too Much Dora When...

#3 - Your 2-year old can tell you the name of an episode within 5 seconds of turning it on.

#2 - Your mother sends you this for your birthday:

#1 - Your husband sends you on a Dora Adventure for your birthday celebration:

If you can't read the text, he sent me out to lunch by myself (no kids) at Beyond Bread. Then I got to have a foot massage. Troy's sister watched the girls while I was gone. It was an amazing birthday.

(All those dots are to designate the length of time Dora waits in silence after asking a question).

Thanks Sweetie. I love you!!! I had a great birthday.

"I'm so sad. I miss Sonja."

We were so lucky to have Aunt Sonja/So-So/Troy's sister come visit us for a week. We got to boat, swim at the Cove, go on a million errands, eat a million Otter Pops (literally), jump on the trampoline, do slip-n-slide, play with Barbies/princesses/PlayDough, watch princess movies, etc.


On top of all that, she watched the girls so Troy could take me to the Melting Pot for my birthday and while I went on a birthday day out.

Needless to say, we miss her terribly. We had so much fun with her. The title of this post is what Erica said to me all afternoon the day Sonja left. I agree.

She brought princess presents for Erica and made cute headbands and a onesie for Sadie.

Amazingly, Sonja finally convinced Erica to put her hair up. I've been trying for years, but apparently the Aunt has the magic touch. Erica is already prepping for her ballet recital that is in 3 months.

Note: What NOT to wear to The Cove: