The Best Part of the Day

At dinner, we all talk about the "best part of our day". Tonight I asked David and Celia what the best part of their days were. David said it was picking up his framed diplomas (a Father's Day present). Celia said something that we couldn't quite understand and had to get her to repeat at least 3 times....finally we figured it out: "Loving my family". There are just some moments that take my breath away. David and I are so blessed with our two wonderful girls.

PJ Day

Last night, Celia got sick, real sick. The whole ordeal started at 1 am and lasted about 2 hours before Celia could finally fall back asleep-just in time for Emme's night time feeding to start. Celia felt much better this morning, but we were all tired. So, today we had a very low key day. We stayed in PJ's most of the day and didn't leave the house except to check the mail.

We watched Winnie the Pooh and Mickey cartoons, read books and played with her kitchen. I had gotten Celia a set of wood fruit for her kitchen that has velcro so that it can be "cut" into pieces. Celia spent the afternoon playing with it and making fruit salads. It turned into a wonderful family day, I just wish it hadn't started with poor Celia being so sick.

A Conversation with Emme

Emme is now at the age where you can have a "conversation" and she loves to chat. Her eyes light up and she really responds as if you can understand her. It is currently one of my favorite pastimes.

All of these wonderful new skills are just as exciting and awesome with Emme as they were with Celia. It is neat to see how different the personalities are even at 2 months.

Photo contest

Okay, so I am spending too much time at home (don't worry I start work again soon), but I entered Celia into a Parents.com contest. The photos are open for rating and comments, so feel free to stop by and rate them (5 stars of course), recommend them and comment. To get to them:

*go to http://www.parents.com/
*in the "don't miss" drop down box, select photo contest
*on the left side, in the search box type Celia and the group that comes up should have her picture in it, you click on it and can rate and recommend it.

I only added the pictures on the last day (yesterday), so there aren't many ratings, but I think they actually have judges to choose the winner and the voting just get's Celia's picture on the main Parents.com web site.

The minimum age was 6 months, so I couldn't enter Emme.

Boating

We went on a boat ride on Sunday that toured Charleston Harbor. Celia loved it. Before we went she kept asking if the boat would be green. I said maybe, but asked what other colors it might be and we listed out all the colors I could think of. I didn't think it would be green and I wanted to prepare her so she wouldn't be disappointed. But, what do you know, the boat was GREEN.

The Sailor Dress

This is Celia dressed up for David's installation. She was watching Winnie the Pooh as a distration while we fixed her hair.

Cousins

David's sister, Rachel, her husband, Andrew and their baby, Cana came to visit. Cana is 3 wks younger than Emme. It has been so neat to have the whole crew together. Last night, they had some group floor time. Pictures are courtesy of Andrew.

Celia has really been into flash cards lately. She likes the alphabet ones the best and is getting really good at recognizing the letters. She still is learning F, Q, V and W.

Celia has had a wonderful time playing with Aunt Rachel and Uncle AP. She also is really enjoying having two babies. She constantly asks where Emme and Cana are so she can keep track of them.

Emme is less aware of our guests, but I know in a few years she and Cana will be great playmates at holidays and reunions.

David, Rachel, Andrew, Cana and I all went to downtown Charleston this morning. We saw Battery Park, Waterfront Park, Rainbow row and lots of historic houses, It was neat just walking around the peninsula.

After lunch, we picked Celia and Emme up and headed to Folly Beach. The water was pretty warm and it turned out to be a great day. Celia loved the water and spent lots of time jumping waves, playing in the sand and practicing her swimming. Emme wasn't such a fan of the water and especially the waves. It was windy and every time the wind hit Emme, it caused her to hold her breath (natural baby instinct), so she spent most of her time in a covered area just off the beach. I think she still enjoyed the ocean air though. We really need to stock up on beach gear like pails for sand castles, a beach umbrella, chairs. But of course them we would have to figure out how to transport it.

All in all, it was a great day.

New School

Celia and Emme started the new school today. It seemed to go well, but I am not calling it a success until the end of the week. When we went and dropped Celia off, she cried some, but the teacher was very sweet and held her, talked to her, and tried to distract her. You would think these are givens, but they didn't do it at the last place. The director has cameras in the room, so we were able to watch and see that Celia quickly settled down. When we picked her up, she said it was quieter and she liked it. She also knew her teacher's name, which she also didn't do at the last place. So far, so good.

School

Since the last post was about how well the girls adjusted to school, I figured I should update you on what has happened since.

The girls started school 9 days ago. Celia loved her first day. On the second day, she happily went to school. When I went to pick her up, she was participating in the activity, but was crying and holding her blanket. It all went downhill from there. She started falling apart when it was time to go to school. Her complaints are that it is "too loud" with "too many boys and too many girls." It is understandable since she was in a class with just 8 kids before we moved and now has 18 in her class and the class doesn't seem as disciplined.

Each time we got dressed or went to the car this weekend (to church, for errands, etc.), Celia would start to cry and say she didn't want to go to school. As soon as we assured her that she wasn't going to school, she quickly became her normal happy self. When she gets home each day from school, she says she doesn't want to go back, in the mornings she cries and says she doesn't want to go. It just breaks my heart and is starting to wear me out.

Now, Celia has been through a lot this spring..a new sister, a new city, a new home, a new church, a new school, so I am sure there are transition issues plus she is two years old, so this all could be normal. Then on Monday when I dropped her off, two kids were throwing blocks while the teacher watched. When David picked her up, she was quietly sitting next to her teacher chewing the corner of her blanket while the other kids banged on the tables. Her teachers say she is getting better, but while she may not be crying the whole day (like she did last week), she is not herself at all.

So, we are moving her and Emme (who is happy to sleep and eat anywhere) on Monday to a new school. This one will have 12 kids in the class and seems more structured. I am just praying she adjusts to this school more easily. Stay tuned.

Emme's 2 month visit

Today was Emme's 2 month check-up. I didn't get a chance to take pictures, but here are the stats.

Height-24 inches (95 percentile)
Weight- 10lbs 15 oz (50 percentile)
Head- 14 3/4 inches (25 percentile)

For anyone who followed Celia's growth, it is kind of funny that Celia had such a proportionally large head and Emme's is small. I guess they average out.

Emme was in a great mood at the visit. She smiled and laughed at everyone...until the shots-3 of them and then she was mad.

My favorite part about the new doctor's office is that the nurse held her and gave her the shot. At the last doctor, they would have the parent hold the baby's arms down and stand so the baby only saw the parent's face. I always hated being the one that Celia was looking at when she suddenly felt a stabbing pain (or 3 of them). She always got this look of betrayal.

Now Emme has 2 months to recover.

A New School

The girls both went to school (day care) today. They each had a new outfit. David has Mondays off so we got them ready together and packed them up to head for school.

As soon as we got to Celia's classroom, she was off to play. We could not get her to stop long enough to take a picture or even say good-bye to us. The rest of the day apparently went just as smoothly. When I went in to pick her up the first thing her teacher said was, "She is really bright." She loved being back at school. Her favorite part of the day was "singing Little Star" (twinkle, twinkle) and "playing in the room".

Emme's day went just as smoothly. She was asleep when we dropped her off and asleep when we picked her up 3 hours later (I have to ease into being away from her). She had woken up once and had 1/2 ounce of a bottle, but that was it for her activities. I am glad they both did so well and that Celia is looking forward to going back tomorrow.

After Church

After church, we came home and changed into our play clothes and just hung out at home. It was a busy week and the girls start school Monday. I am excited that Celia will be at school making new friends and I will have some down time, but a bit anxious about entrusting her and Emme to someone else's care.

Pastor Dave

My grandmother, Mamaw, has requested pictures of our church and house. She says that she wants to be able to imagine us here until she can visit. So, these are the pictures of David's office. He hasn't gotten it all put together yet, but I think it looks very "pastorly". David was getting his robe on for the late service while I took the pictures.

Bumbo

Emme can now hold her head up steadily. This is the criteria for being able to sit in a Bumbo. The Bumbo is meant to help her practice sitting up by herself and build those muscles. She actually seems to like it...for awhile. She talks and smiles. Then she gets tired and tells us that she is done.

Sunday Efforts

David leaves for church before the girls and I wake up on Sundays so I get the girls ready for church by myself and try to get myself ready, too. He lovingly helps me prepare for this task by helping pick out clothes for them on Saturday night and ironing them, if needed. Today, I got Emme all dressed up and super cute. Then she fell asleep in the car on the way to church, stayed in her car seat asleep the entire church day (including the pot luck after service) and only woke up when we returned home. I guess that means she can wear the dress again next week.

10 Dresses

Grammie sent Celia a box of precious dresses..10 of them. Grammie also made bows to go with each dress. As the person who gets Celia dressed for Sunday church and Wednesday night dinner, I am thrilled. I will try to get a picture of Celia in each as she wears them.

If you're happy and you know it...

Breakfast with Celia

It isn't easy to catch Celia on film. She gets shy when she knows the video camera is on, so I had to be sneaky to show how verbal she is. She talks so well--in complete sentences and is very clever. Please pardon the sound of the laundry in the background.

Time with Emme

I always grab the camera right after Emme has been especially happy and talkative. This is another one of those times, but you still get to enjoy a small smile and the general cuteness of Emme.

Carolina Girl

My girls gave me birthday presents to help me settle into my new state. The palmetto (palm tree) and moon are on the South Carolina state flag and show up everywhere. Of course, the girls chose pink and green. David gave me a necklace with a palmetto tree. It has been a great day.

Sleeping Progress

Emme slept for 6 hours last night and went 8 hours (not all sleeping) between feedings the night before. I am hopeful that we will have a normal sleep routine around here in the next few weeks.

Sonic Toy

The toys you get at the drive through are usually not keepers. We typically put them aside for Goodwill and I generally think they are not environmentally friendly as they probably end up in landfills. Sonic, however, provided a very useful toy this week. A critter catcher. We caught a pesky fly that was living with us and released him to the outdoors. That, at least, is environmentally friendly.

Emerging Photographer

Celia loves to take pictures. Usually they are of the ground, an arm, a tummy...and then there are the times when she has the camera backwards. I still think it is a great picture of her beautiful brown eyes.

Art Time

Celia reached a milestone. When she drew a cat, it actually had eyes, a nose and mouth. Up until now all pictures were a group of circles or scribbles.

Moving Damage

We moved a very long way and only two items were broken (pretty good odds, I think). Sadly, one of those items was the kitchen Emme gave Celia. David was able to take the top bar off so that Celia can continue to use the kitchen.