Week in Review

We had a very fun week and pretty full of activity, which is great for Ava and maybe not so good for Lily. But we do the best we can, right? Tuesday we needed to get out of the house (not wanted, NEEDED) and break up the afternoon a bit. So I thought let's just go to the grocery store, pick up a couple of items, and wander in the A/C. I had picked up a Little Tikes grocery cart for Ava at a garage sale a couple of weeks ago so I threw that in the car, so she could shop just like Mommy. She did a great job, didn't try to take anything off the shelves, and pushed her own cart almost the whole time.

Wednesday we went to join our playgroup at Jump Zone, which is a warehouse building full of inflatable bounce houses. I thought Ava would really enjoy it, as she loves "Hopping Time" (part of the show Signing Time) and bouncing on our bed. She was a little nervous at first, then warmed up to it, then got scared when a pack of four-year-old boys invaded her bounce house, then warmed up again at the end. She especially loved being hooked up to the harness on the trampoline, where she didn't quite get the concept of jumping but loved to be hauled up in the air and swung. After naps that day I got out the plastic swimming pool we got for Ava (and apparently Jack) and let her play in it. She loves the pool! And Jack loves the pool too. They spend most of their time outside like this: Jack steals a toy out of the pool and carries it off. 5 seconds later Ava notices and gets out of the pool to go retrieve it, allowing Jack to steal another toy. And so on and so forth. Until mommy gets tired of saying "Jack!" or "Ava don't put that in your mouth", and then we all go back inside.

Thursday night during bedtime prayers with Ava, I said "Ava, prayers" and she immediately holds her hands together like she has been taught. Then she stops and proceeds to gather each and every one of her stuffed animals (and believe me, there are alot!) and say "doll, prayers", "bunny, prayers", etc. while holding their hands together. It was just too cute! I waited until everyone knew it was prayer time before proceeding.

And on a final Ava note, this morning she came running into me from coloring saying "Kleenex". I thought she wanted a Kleenex for herself (not that she knows how to blow her nose, but she likes to think she does) since she had just watched me blow Lily's nose. She ran back into the family room, sat down and said "milk Kleenex". I went over to investigate and she was saying "milk clean-up" and sure enough, there were a couple spots of milk on the floor from her sippy cup and she was trying to clean them up. Isn't she just too smart?

Which takes us to Lily - our sweet, smiley (and now laughing!), wiggly little girl. She continues to be her cheerful, talkative self which is normally utterly adorable except the other morning; 5:45am is NOT a great time to be adorable because I am less than appreciative. Mommy would rather sleep. Anyway, she is getting closer every day to crawling, which may seem like a long shot, but she really likes being on her tummy (she will roll over and just hang out there for a long time) and every once in awhile she gets her knees under her and then doesn't know what to do with them there. We'll keep you posted. She loves to move her legs though and her Excersaucer is one of her favorite spots, where she just hangs out, jumping around a bit, watching her sister run by, and squealing in delight at things. She also continues to grow at a pretty rapid rate. At 3 1/2 months she grew out of her first 6 month-sized outfit. We are going through the clothes pretty quickly around here. We are going to the doctor's on July 7th, so it will be fun to be able to report to you how big she really is then. Stay tuned.

And while we are on the subject...

I can't believe I forgot to tell you about the awesomeness of Cupcake Pops! I first saw these on The Martha Stewart Show, so I jotted down the baker's blog, and you will see it on my list to the right - Bakerella. Well of course Martha Stewart has to make things from scratch (thanks Bakerella for telling me you don't have to!) and I skipped the part about shaping the balls and putting them on sticks (I rolled them into balls and dipped them in chocolate bark, that was it), but what I ended up with was magical. It tastes like a decadent bob-bon and all it takes is a chocolate cake box mix and tub of cream cheese frosting. Bakerella has been doing several variations on them since and I love her ideas. You have to check them out!

The Best Cupcakes EVER!

OK, so not that I NEED to be making or eating cupcakes, but I was really craving a cupcake last week. I made it until Friday, when I decided to indulge myself and try a new recipe too - hey, why not kill two birds with one stone, right? Wow, wow, wowwy! These are the BEST cupcakes I ever tasted (I made the chocolate version). Seriously, these tasted like you bought them at a professional bakery.

Secrets of a Home Baker Part I

Secrets of a Home Baker Part II

Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom for the yummiest recipe EVER!! Seriously, unless you have someone to share them with, beware the temptation. OK, enough raving - but don't say I didn't warn you.

Walgreens and Smiths deals - 6/21/08

Today was a good - no, a GREAT - shopping day, thanks to coupons and sales.

At Smiths grocery store I got:

* two bags of Lipton Spanish Rice
* one pouch of Ragu pasta sauce
* one jar of Ragu pasta sauce
* package of Farmland bacon

After store sales, manufacturer coupons, and e-coupons my total was $1.46, an 84% savings!

On to Walgreens, where I got:

* two tubs of Huggies baby wipes
* six boxes of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
* two jars of Planters dry-roasted peanuts
* two tubs of Planters cocktail peanuts
* two Rimmel eyeliners

I spent $10.22 after coupons and sales, and then received $7 in Register Rewards back, to be used like cash on my next visit, thus making the trip the equivalent of $3.22, a 91% savings.

More Milestones

More milestones here at our house:

Ava is learning her alphabet, pretty much self taught (I know, bad mommy!) They sing and sign the alphabet song on "Signing Time" and they have the letter of day on "Sesame Street." So little by little she has been picking it up. Today when I was helping her pick up her wooden building blocks she started announcing "R, R!" When I looked at the block, sure enough it had the letter R on it! So I started quizzing her on other letters. She correctly identified L, W, D and when I showed her Y she sang "Y,Z" just like the alphabet song. And when she sings the alphabet song, she doesn't just sing "A,B,C" over and over again - she will sing the whole thing with little pauses. She knows the tune, she just tries to remember all of the letters. She has also been putting more and more sentences together. Today we were picking up the girls' room and she started announcing "I climbing in Ninny's bed" over and over while climbing up the crib. Then she climbed up the changing table while yelling at me "Ada poopy". She is nothing if not enthusiastic with her vocalization. Ava's imagination has been taking off too, as she learns to play more interactively. Here is a cute clip of her playing hide and seek with her favorite stuffed animal:

Not to be upstaged, Lily has managed to accelerate her progress immensely in just a few weeks. Now she is an unstoppable force of movement - rolling over and, more shockingly, enjoying playing on her tummy, finding little things to hold her interest on the floor. When we were at our friend Jen Bowen's birthday party Monday night, we took Lily in the pool for the first time and she was just going to town, kicking and kicking and kicking. She loved the weightlessness and took advantage of the freedom of movement. (Boy, am I having flashbacks of being pregnant with her when I KNEW she was going to be a wiggle worm; she was then and she is now!)

Lily has also started to reach and grab toys, especially the ones which dangle above her on her playmat. And her talking - my word, what a talker! I know Ava did her fair share of chattering as a baby but I think she can't hold a candle to Lily. She just coos, grunts, gurgles and generally blows bubbles at whoever and whatever she is paying attention to. What a sweetie!

New Photos

Father's Day Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend celebrating Elliott in honor of Father's Day. I thought it would be nice to spend more than just one day on him, so I planned a few special touches each day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) for him.

Friday I made one of his favorite candies, Peanut Butter Snowballs. I usually only make this around Christmastime so it was a nice treat and a big surprise. Saturday we went to the Santa Fe Station Casino buffet for brunch (buffets are his favorite) then home for naps (well, Elliott and Ava anyway). Naps, too, are a nice treat for Elliott. Then after naptime we went to a park where Ava ran around in the splash pad and on the jungle gym.



Josh and Lizzie and kids joined us and Ava had a blast running around with Xander. Whatever Xander did, Ava would try! That evening, after the girls went to bed, I fixed us a special grapefruit (Elliott's favorite) martini that we had enjoyed the previous weekend while dining out. It turned out pretty yummy!

Sunday Elliott slept in while I took the girls to church. When I got back I made him an omelet and sausage patties for a special breakfast. Then naptime again. :) For dinner I made some of his favorite food - chicken lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and pudding for dessert. Yum! After dinner Josh and Lizzie came over and played games while Xander and Ava ran around. All in all a really fun weekend.

Walgreens Deals - 6/13/08

Yesterday, my latest Walgreens shopping trip netted me some pretty good deals:

* Black printer ink cartridge refill
* Color printer ink cartridge refill
* Can of Maxwell House coffee
* Two boxes of Band-Aids

Total after coupons - $7.62. Not the best price ever, but when you consider a new ink cartridge will run you around $20 and a refill $10 or more, I think it is a score.

They Grow Up So Fast

It is the end of the night and I feel like writing something a little closer to the heart than normal. Elliott is off to the dog park with Jack (that puppy needs a good run) and both girls are sleeping peacefully. This leaves me with a quiet moment of reflection on how quickly life moves.

Every day I am torn between wanting my girls to just get a bit bigger so we can participate in some project, game or craft together and just wanting to freeze the moment and spend eternity in it. This week it has become all that much clearer that time speeds on, unhindered by me. Ava has shed yet another little piece of her babyhood, replacing her word "wa-wa" for the real thing, "water". Clear as bell now, no problems. "Wah-TER peese" she will say. She has also started saying her own name, something she wouldn't do until now. She refers to herself as "Ada" and Lily is "Ninny." Honestly I think Ada and Ninny are cute; why didn't we think of those?

And then tonight Lily decided to get in on the act, by rolling from her back to her tummy (several times) like she has been doing it all her life. She had rolled from tummy to back twice in the past week, but now there is no stopping her! Some people say the second child works harder to keep up with their older sibling, and if that is true we are in trouble. Ava pushes herself all day, every day -learning new words, signs, letters, numbers. With an older sister like that and the determination that Lily already has, I am afraid her babyhood will end sooner than I would like too.

I know, I know - Ava isn't even 2 yet and Lily is just three months, but every day you just see them growing up right before your eyes and all you can do is watch it happen. Nothing you can do to slow it down, only thank God that he has given you the moments that you have.

Summer Fun

I don't think Vegas can claim to be the worst weather (or even the hottest, for that matter) in the nation right now. But it is indeed summer, and as such I have been making an effort to get out and let the girls experience "summer things." Today we went to a "splash pad" (popular at the parks around here) and Ava ran around with a bunch of other little ones in our playgroup. She LOVED it! She wasn't too thrilled when the water was misting down on her, but after it would stop she ran like crazy through the puddles it created, and jumping and splashing on her own.

Afterwards she got to snack on some cookies and I bet she thought it was the perfect day. (Lily enjoyed herself too, just being a good girl sitting in mommy's arms.) I think that the trip was a huge success and we may have to incorporate more splash pad trips into our summer days.

In another nod to summer, on Monday we went with Josh and Lizzie (Elliott's brother and his wife) plus their kids Xander and Julia to their church activity of making ice cream. The recipe is:

Add 1 c. milk, 2 T. sugar and vanilla extract or chocolate syrup to a quart ziploc. Then fill a gallon ziploc halfway up with ice and add 1/4 c. ice cream salt. Put the quart bag in the gallon bag and move it around for about 15 minutes or until the ice cream starts to set.

I thought it would a fun activity for Ava to do, but it turns out she wasn't that interested (more interested in running wild with the rest of the kids through the church hall). I did the leg work and she enjoyed the results (Now why I chose to make chocolate ice cream I will never know! More mess for the laundry.) She recently picked up the sign for ice cream and now counts it among her favorites (even though she has only had the treat a few times). I do try and indulge her when I can, as it's summer and ice cream is one of the things summer is all about.

We are also enjoying coloring on the sidewalk and driveway with sidewalk chalk and I am still exploring new and fun ways to enjoy the season. Any suggestion?

Summer TV

First the writers' strike, now summer. Our TV viewing habits are completely out of whack! Luckily there are a few shows we are looking forward to (at least I am!) and we ended the 07-08 regular season on a good note. So first, the wrap-up:

The season finales of The Office and Lost were fantastic this year! So much, so much to fit in. I heard that the finale for Lost was the lowest rated one in their history. Why? It was GREAT! Answered alot, opened up alot of questions, so much happened. One of the best episodes to date. And The Office didn't disappoint either. Although Elliott and I had to go hunting on the internet for the last two minutes (since our DVR cut off), those last minutes were totally worth it!

Now the summer is here and we are back to watching summer shows. My favorites this year- So You Think You Can Dance, Project Runway (starting in July), and My Boys. If you haven't yet seen My Boys (on TBS) it is very cute and a great little show. They are re-running the last season on TBS right now and I am enjoying it all over again. As for Project Runway - can't wait! I have seen every season thus far and am always blown away by the contestants creativity (or lack thereof). I can't wait to see what they do this year.

And last, but certainly not least, So You Think You Can Dance is back. Elliott and I have gotten in to this show thanks to his sister Sarianna, who introduced us to it in season two. For those of you haven't seen it, it is American Idol for dance (literally, because it is produced bythe same guy). Last night they wrapped up the audition process and there was some AMAZING talent. When I opened up Yahoo this morning I noticed that they were profiling the show last night as their highlighted clip of the day. One of the most ridiculously talented guys dropped out but you HAVE to see a clip of his original audition. It will blow you away!



While watching the auditions it became quite clear how much Elliott and I are NOT dancers! When someone would finish we would critique them from our couch ("oh they'll make it to Vegas", "they were horrible", etc.) and 99% of the time we were completely opposite of the judges. Ha ha! We actually were so bad at predicting, I think we became quite amused at how bad we were. Well, maybe we'll become better while watching this season. So here's to summer TV - bring it on!

Freezer Group

Yesterday I was able to participate as a substitue in a friend's freezer meal group. Basically it is a group of 6 ladies who get together monthly and make 25 meals (x 6 people) to freeze for the month. The group does all of the meal planning and shopping and then we do some prep work (including full preparation of several dishes) before gathering to put the rest of the meals together on the night of.

Ava is a great big "mommy's helper" these days and my prep work for freezer group was no exception. I had to bake all the potatoes for Twice Baked Potatoes and Ava wanted to help. So I gave her the job of wrapping the cleaned potatoes in foil. She did a great job!

That night I wasn't able to stay and prepare the meals for the entire time as Ava came down with a fever and Lily threw up on me - twice! - while at the prepping site, so I had to go home. But I did manage to fit everything (minus the two dishes which were still being put together when I left) in the freezer. I had to pat myself on the back for that! I mean just look how full it is! Guess what we'll be eating the rest of the month (which is rather the point, right)?

Lily gets bigger and stronger by the day!

Walgreens Deals - 5/30/08

Another score for me! My latest Walgreens shopping trip netted me:

* 6 pack of Similac to-go bottles
* One can of Nestle Good Start Formula

* Two bags of Dove chocolates

* Edge Shave gel

* Neutrogena lip gloss

Total after coupons - $1.03!

Boston Trip

We survived! Hooray! We are back safe and sound after 7 days in our old stomping grounds and are only a little worse for the wear. The weather was GORGEOUS during our visit, making us completely homesick, and it was great to see so many family and friends. There were of course some friends we were unable to see due to time constraints (some of you may be reading this), but we could only fit in so much and our main reason to be there was for Scott (Elliott's friend)and Lisa's wedding.

We flew in on Tuesday, arriving at 12:30am Boston time. The girls flew SOOOO well. Lily slept almost the entire time and Ava entertained herself with watching "Elmo's World" DVDs on our new portable DVD player. (Seriously, how did we ever survive our own childhood without one of these??) She fell asleep during the last hour and stayed that way the entire van ride then straight into bed. Not a peep out of her until morning.

My brother Travis and sister-in-law Abra picked us up at airport and shuttled us all back to their new apartment, where they graciously hosted us for the week, even giving us their master bedroom. During our visit they got to spend lots of time with the girls; Ava calls them "Aunt Kitty (because they have two cats) and Uncle Trakus". So cute!

On Wednesday we went into Boston to visit the Museum of Science and hit the North End for some yummy pastries (I must have whoopie pies and cannolis!). Ava LOVED the children's area at the museum and seeing all of the animals that they have. As for us, it was such a joy to see the places we love through her eyes.

Thursday we took it easy in the morning, picking up Elliott's tux for the wedding and visiting a mall. We wanted to make sure Ava got a good nap in (she did) before we went to Stoneham to see our friend Pat Kilty and enjoy our favorite Asian restaurant, Sato II. Oh YUMMMM! It's true - Elliott and I planned our entire trip around food and we couldn't wait to get back to enjoy sushi and crab rangoon (the best on the planet).

Friday morning we went back to Stoneham and visited the Stone Zoo. It's a pretty small zoo but it had animals for Ava to squeal over nonetheless. That night Elliott and I enjoyed an Ava-free evening (thanks to Abra and Travis) and went to Harvard Square to meet our friends Jeremy and Mike at our favorite Mexican restaurant (and site of our first date), Border Cafe'. The salsa and margaritas were as good as we remembered. Sigh! And it was great to have a conversation without manhandling a toddler (again, sigh!).

Saturday we packed up a traveled out west to the Berkshires for the wedding weekend. Abra and Travis let us borrow their minivan and it was simply heaven on wheels. Elliott fell in love with how smooth it is and I love the space for children and stuff. We had been planning on investing in a van for awhile, but this really cemented the idea for us.

The drive was gorgeous - through the mountains, the green, the rivers, the lakes. Ahhh! I had actually never been this way before, so it was new and beautiful to me. We arrived at the hotel in time for Elliott to get in a game of golf with the other groomsmen and for me to get two girls down for naps (I have to say, I am quite impressed with myself for accomplishing that in the same hotel room at the same time). In the evening we joined the rest of the wedding party at the rehearsal dinner, where Ava managed to behave fairly well and lasted as long as we could have asked for.

Sunday was Scott and Lisa's wedding. It was the most beautiful day (they had an outdoor ceremony) and they were such a lovely couple. We have the privilege of knowing them back when they first started dating and were so excited to be able to celebrate their special day with them. Our two girls were adorable in matching daisy dresses. Lily slept alot but Ava made up for that - boy, was she wired! She was in serious "daddy's girl" mode and hollered at daddy when he walked down the aisle. She was super squirmy and I was relieved to have Elliott's pair of hands back to kiddy wrangle once his groomsman duties were wrapping up. However, she was completely in her element the rest of the evening as it featured a dance floor!! She spent the entire night on the dance floor, either dancing with herself, with the little 5-year old boy who took a shine to her, or simply sitting in the middle of the floor enjoying watching people dance around her. She ran out of energy a little after dessert, so we said our good nights and best wishes and headed to bed.



Monday morning we joined the wedding party and guests for breakfast, where we managed to get a few pastries and coffee (for me!) in us before Ava lost all patience and Lily pooped out her pants. (Sigh!) Well folks, that's our time I guess, so we headed back upstairs after wishing Scott and Lisa all the best, and packed up the van for the ride back to the city. Ava slept during most of the trip, which was lovely, and was ready to go when we stopped at our friends Frank and Laura's in Stoneham for a late afternoon BBQ. Since we left Boston we have had two children and they have had one, Bruno Anthony. It was so great to get to introduce each other to our kids and reminisce about the "old days". Back to Travis and Abra's.

Tuesday we took it a little easier, laying around the house through lunch and Ava's naptime, then (after packing all our stuff into the van) doing a little shopping at the Natick mall before heading to the airport. We were fortunate that the bad weather was rolling in just as we were leaving and that our plane was headed in the opposite direction (as all the flights to/from NYC, DC, and Philly were cancelled at the airport). Ava enjoyed watching all the comings and goings at the airport while waiting to board, and once on the plane fell asleep withing the first hour. It was a fairly smooth flight, but we were still very relieved to see our friend Babette at the Vegas airport and to get back to our own bed.

As for the aftermath, it could be worse. Both girls fared the 3-hour time difference going there beautifully, but the trip back had them messed up for a day. I think I got about 3 hours sleep Tuesday night. However, we got them back on track fairly quickly so not too bad. I picked up a bit of a cold from the plane (or allergies back home or a combo) and we are currently trying to stave that off for the girls before they succumb to it (both are a little congested).

In the end, it was GREAT to see all the people we were able to see and to be able to be at Scott and Lisa's wedding. But traveling with two under two is a handful and (even though they were as good as we could ever have hoped or imagined) I am not sure Elliott or I want to have to travel with them again any time soon. Plus all the packing and unpacking of two suitcases, two Pack 'n Plays, a diaper bag and a computer bag took its toll on me. If we were to do it again we would have to stay one place and one place only. I think it was the packing that did me in more than anything. It is exhausting!! But we have LOTS of great memories and that is priceless!