Ramblings

In a quest to get more in the habit of keeping up my blogging skills, I am sitting down with my coffee (ok, the coffee is already in my tummy but I am keeping the cup beside me as a sweet reminder) and pulling some stuff out of my brain.

Piper is three months old now. She has mastered rolling from back to tummy and has such a strong neck. She holds herself up while on her tummy and looks and looks. She loves being held on your hip while facing out and it is favorite activity to just be carried around with me and watch the world go by. She has accomplished rolling from tummy to back a few times now, but doesn't have any idea how she does it (but then again, rolling onto her tummy usually gets her frustrated after awhile too). You can see the beginning stages of her laugh coming through and she loves to talk to you, with her coo-ing becoming even more controlled. She is in love with her sisters and lights up in a big grin when she sees them or when they pay any sort of attention to her. Her playmat is her favorite place to hang-out. We have a version (courtesy of our neighbors) which plays lights and music above her and she loves to watch it; I have caught her smiling and coo-ing in delight at it. She has also started grabbing at toys and holding on. It's especially sweet with soft toys and little baby blankets. She just snuggles right into them.

She's not too keen on taking naps, being more of a cat-napper (15-20 min at a time) but when she sleeps at night she does indeed sleep. That child came out of the womb going to bed at 11pm and for the life of me I can't get her to budge off of that schedule. When we had Daylight Savings Time there was a glimmer of hope that she would start going to bed at 10pm instead, but she is slowing inching back towards 11. I am not complaining though. Even though she doesn't nap, she is a happy camper while awake and is usually pretty content to hang out on her playmat or bouncy seat when I am busy. And even though she goes to bed at 11pm, she been getting up for only one feeding about 6am and then up for the day aroun 10:30am, which mean I have been getting about 6 hours straight sleep - which energizes me so much I have been happily staying awake after her morning snack and accomplishing so much (even if my only accomplishment it having 'Sarah Time').
Piper has almost outgrown her bassinet; she is reaching ened to end almost. I think it will be time to pull out the 6 month clothing here shortly, as Piper seems long to us. I don't have any exact measurements right now, but the 3 month onesies are a little hard to button at the bottom. She also officially moved up a size in diaper this week. I worked hard at powering through the last of the Size 1 diapers and broke open the box of Size 2. All in all - my baby's growing up!

Ava is loving preschool and being a big girl. She wants to help me with everything. And I do mean everything. Folding clothes, cooking dinner, etc. Last weekend I did some baking with her, letting her put all of the ingredients in the bowl, stir the bowl, and lick the spatula. She had a great time. And although we didn't nearly the amount of muffins and scones made that I wanted to, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. Because (as I told myself over and over that day) isn't that what it is truly about?

Ava jumping on the spare mattress

Ava has selective memory, but her reasoning skills are going to overtake me some day. She knows she gets candy for going poopy on the potty but can't seem to remember that is supposed to be having quiet time and leaving mommy alone. She always busts out the "if I do this, then I get this" argument and her favorite number at the moment is five. "I want five apples", "I need five cookies". Five. And don't try to give her another number, it has to be five.

A little mommy-daughter camera fun

Lily continues to speak more - and I continue to understand her more. Her latest favorite phrases are "go outside play", "I wuv you" (melts your heart!), "read it with me" (as she brings you a book and crawls into your lap) and "I do it mommy" (for pretty much anything from climbing onto her changing table or washing her hands). She loves to talk on the phone whenever she can, especially to daddy at work. Once upon a time Lily was an excellent eater, but seems to have slipped away from this habit do to my own slacking. I have given in far too much for snacks and juice and hence we have been battling around mealtimes for her to eat her "real" food. I have caught on though and am fighting back; if the girls don't want to eat, fine. But they don't get fruit or dessert (or the beloved crackers Lily cries for) and if the meal is breakfast or lunch, then the unfinished food stays on the plate on the table until someone gets hungry. Then they can finish it. I think Ava finished her cereal one day at 2pm. Some days have been pretty rough with Lily melting down because she is so hungry, but refusing to eat what has been prepared and me steeling myself for the tantrums knowing I will not give in! Luckily for Elliott, this power struggle is usually done by the time he comes home.

Working on "her" computer

The girls found my Disney Movie Club flyer and read it before dinnertime.

Elliott has been working alot on their internal audit, but this week it was all wrapped up and he entered a quieter period, gratefully just in time for the holidays. He has been dedicated to excercising every morning and I am very proud of him. He continues to fun farther each morning and do it at faster speeds. We have been trying to watch what we eat around the house. Our diet: Don't Eat Crap. We hear it can be highly effective when combined with excercise.

As for me, I have already started a Things to Accomplish in 2010 list. Right now I have:

1. Go to a blog conference
2. Master making bread
3. Visit a state fair (preferably TX)
4. Attend a continuing education class

I can't wait to add to it! I have also decided to restructure my life a bit and slow down on teaching coupon classes. If somebody approaches me then I would be happy to do it, but I will not be pursuing leads and the other business-y portions of it all. Takes too much time. And I wnat to focus on other things. Like my kids. And Elliott. And myself. I have decided I need to do projects, whether sewing, cooking, baking, or otherwise to simply keep that part of my soul nurtured. Sounds new age-y perhaps, but I don't want to get lost in the shuffle and be unhappy and wonder "where did Sarah go?" Believe me, I have racked up alot of projects I would like to do, some of which I just showed you. I have alot more!