Cheese! (grilled cheese that is!)

Making the same thing for lunch rocks my world. It is oh so nice that Leo is now eating finger foods regularly. I will admit that I had a minor anxiety attack when he didn't catch on as quickly as Sophia and was still eating baby food on our Wisconsin trip, but now he's feeding himself in full force. The only problem with this scenario is the freezer full of purees that I spent time, money, and precious freezer space on! Booo! Actually, I did add some of the puree to store bought tomato sauce for dinner last night, and Charlie and I agreed that we think it made it better! Of course Sophia had no idea and my plan worked perfectly! I'm going to have to try more of those tricks before it spoils, but I have of a ton of it.

Leo is also drinking his formula from a sippy cup all day long. He still gets his bottle at night, but honestly, I think we could take that away too and he wouldn't bat an eye. It took him a while to catch on to this concept as well, but one day he just did it and the rest is history. I think it's going to be much easier (fingers crossed) than I originally anticipated to wean him from formula and onto milk. We are going to try regular cow's milk (as opposed to soy) and see how he does. He eats cheese regularly, and a little yogurt, but that's about it in terms of dairy, so I still have my reservations. Worst case scenario, we put him on soy milk. I'm not too worried, especially since he'll already be used to the taste! I will probably start mixing in the milk to his formula in the next 2-3 weeks, so we'll see how it goes.

It's nice to sit down for family dinner and eat as a family. It's nice that Leo can now be a bit more flexible with his schedule and go longer between feedings. It's nice that some of those tiny baby habits are behind us and we can move on to bigger things....like walking! ;) Part of me will absolutely miss those baby days but for the most part, I look forward to the growing up!

Indoor Fun

Julie and Francesca

Sophia and Luca exploring their firefighter side

driving the big rig

It has been sooooo hot here this last week that we've been trying to keep ourselves busy indoors during the heat of the day. We hit the Great Mall last week and it was great times (all up until we lost Belinda that is, but luckily that's behind us!) Inside the mall are a few play areas and it's usually pretty dead so the kids have plenty of room to run around. Plus they have a fire museum with a vintage truck the kids can climb on and that is always a good time.

I also tried to find theme clothing for the kids upcoming parties, but my go-to place, Carter's, failed to deliver this time. :( Actually I found a few super cute things, but they were all long sleeved and I'm just not sure it's going to be that cool in another month! (hard to believe it's only a month away, but that's another story!) I did buy the shirt for Leo that I really liked, figuring he had another week into September and maybe, just maybe he could wear it on his birthday, but I'm not holding my breath and I am holding onto the receipt!

The First 48...

...or maybe I should say the first 4 - 8 (hours that is!). Kathleen was correct, these first hours and days are critical and luckily, we caught a break! Belinda is home and safely in bed with her mommy tonight. Thank God for small miracles! As I was running on the treadmill tonight, after giving up more hope, I got the call. A security guard had spotted a mysterious object on the top of the claw machine and went to investigate. Upon arrival he realized it was our girl. A little dirtier, but mostly no worse for the wear, Belinda was rescued. So, we made the long haul back out to the mall in rush hour traffic to reunite with our loved one. Sophia was beside herself with joy. We celebrated (thank goodness for Daddy's forethought to pick up dinner while I was in gridlock) with some sandwiches. I also read her Belinda Goes to Paris before bed. We're going to try and keep a much closer eye on that little one from here on out!

Amber Alert

Belinda

(the baby in the middle)

has gone missing...

It's possible I may be more traumatized than Sophia, but we seem to have lost her beloved Belinda. We have "lost" her before but it was always a situation where we knew exactly where she was when we left her, in this case, not so much. We have it narrowed down to somewhere in the mall. Lovely, huh? Yes, I have already called mall security and every store we entered, but no-go. This is not good. Sophia had a total meltdown about it and even I got teary eyed! Seriously, you ask...but yes it's true. All the places took our number and will call us if she turns up, but I don't have a lot of hope. We went back to the mall and scoured all the other places we could think of, and again, no luck. She was visibly shaken by the time we left the mall without her and after some water and snuggles, she did get to sleep while cuddling another of her babies, but she keeps telling me she wants Belinda. It's very heartbreaking. So Belinda, if you're out there and can hear our pleas...please come home, Baby...Mommy Sophia misses you so much!

Contrary Mary and her Sidekick Destructo

So, I'm hoping that this is just a phase and not a personality trait, but I'm not so sure. Sophia is in a very contrary stage right now and it's all I've got to not loose it! EVERYTHING that we say is incorrect, wrong, ridiculous, and not even a little bit true. For example, we were driving yesterday and Sophia asked if I had seen the kid on the bike I replied no, because in fact I hadn't seen it. Very adamantly from the backseat came her insisting that I did see it...no I didn't...yes you did..! You get the idea. Most of the time I just give up and let her roll with it but inside I'm annoyed. Please tell me this will stop??! Or is she me?? ;) Other than that, we are really happy with her creativity and outgoingness lately. She is really getting good at being silly and understanding jokes. She loves to play games and she is becoming even better at keeping herself entertained (she's always been pretty good at that, though). She is still a great big sister and always concerned about Leo. She's not a great sharer of toys, but that will come in time (or else!) and she loves to play with him and snuggle him.




Leo on the other hand has entered the destruct-o phase of life. He has now discovered how toilet paper unrolls, tissue endlessly pops up and the grand allure of the bathroom cabinets. If he's in a room for a few minutes it looks as if a tornado has hit it with play food, puzzle pieces, books, and toys everywhere! I still continue to be worried (paranoid or not, I'm truly not sure) that he isn't hitting his developmental milestones. I mean he's very happy and his gross motor skills are good, but his fine motor skills aren't that great and he is not interested in reading books at all. He literally just wants to crawl around, take stuff out and put stuff in his mouth. I try and sit with him and play games, but he's not into it. Charlie tells me it's just him "being a boy" but it doesn't ease my mind. He doesn't really wave, I don't think he has any clue on pointing and I feel like with only a little over a month left until his 1st birthday he has so much yet to accomplish. On the up side, he does seem to be pretty verbal. He babbles constantly and enjoys hearing himself talk! He uses lots of different sounds and says Mama all the time, but only says Dada occasionally. Sometimes it sounds as if he's trying to repeat words we tell him but he does things so inconsistently that I never know if he's "learning" or if it's just a fluke. I know I'm a worrier and you all probably think I'm nuts, but I do worry about him.




We're getting so close to both their birthdays and I just can't believe that another year has gone by so quickly! It's both exciting and worrisome, (as I mentioned!! ;) but I do love the time I get to spend with them!

Double Double

everyone loved to play Elefun!

safari vogue

present time!

Lauren gets ready to blow out her candle!

Now it's Aubrey's turn!

Sophia enjoys the cake too!

lovely ladies!

Two cuties turning two! Hurrah! Their actual birthday is tomorrow, but we helped them celebrate this past weekend with an elephant themed party. It was fun had by all playing games and eating cake! Happy birthday, Girls...we all hope that this year is filled with more joy, laughs, and learning!

Clogs!

Here we are in our fabulous clogs, we had to break them out of the box as soon as we were home! Aren't we cute?! Sophia has a gay old time dancing around in her shiny shoes and has had many compliments already!