Thank Heaven for Little Girls...

Last night I was awoken by both girls...crying...at different times. This is a rare occurence, as LG sleeps great and Pressley has started to last until 2:30 or 3:30 before waking up (knock on wood). Anyway, I had just nodded off to sleep (about 10:37 p.m.) when I heard Pressley cry like someone was pinching her. "Great," I thought, "she is going to be up all night." I went up to her room and scooped her out of the crib...instant contentment. She just needed me to hold her for a few minutes. There is something about that nightlight glow of a nursery that makes you look at your tiny little baby and think about how much greater your life is now that you have her. I had one of those moments, and although it was fleeting (she fell right back asleep and I laid her down before she 'crossed over' - more on that later), it was precious.

Then at about 1:25, I heard Lilly Grace start to whimper. I waited a few minutes (probably only like 45 seconds) to see if she would go back to sleep, and when it was obvious she was not going to, I went up to her room. She saw me and whispered, "Hey Mommy, I need my pappy." I fished around in the bed until I found it, stuck it in her mouth, and started to turn for the door. That's when the little arms went up, begging, "hold me." I obliged, and for the second time that evening, I spent a quiet moment with one of two little princesses. I held Lilly Grace close as she fell back asleep, with her arms around my neck and her head on my shoulder. I thought back to when she was Pressley's age and remembered holding her tiny little fingers in the middle of the night in that very chair. I thanked God for her then, and I found myself thanking Him again...this time for giving me two precious little girls. I hope I never forget those sleepy, nightlight moments...

On a side note..."crossing over" - definition...the difference between light sleep and deep sleep. When a baby is in light sleep, it is easier to lay them down for the night because the jostling of putting them in the crib will not jolt them into that funky falling reflex where they throw their arms out in an attempt to save themselves. If they are in deep sleep and you move them, they freak out and wake up. I can tell when Pressley is in light sleep because she smiles to herself like she knows a secret that no one else does...so cute.

Calling Humpty Dumpty!

Janet has this week off, so I have been home with both kids all week (well, actually just yesterday). Anyway, poor Lilly Grace has no one to play with since I have to hold Pressley all day, so she has resorted to calling various nursery rhyme characters on the phone. I am attaching a video of her phone call to Humpty Dumpty...notice the concern in her voice. She will definitely be the child that takes care of us when we are too old to take care of ourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o12HIh0IS0w

OMG No kids...what do we do now??

I cannot believe I am saying this, but we are CHILDLESS for the next 12 hours!!! It feels really weird. In fact, on the way home from dinner, Mike said, "Is it strange that other people have our kids?" I swiftly replied..."heck, no." Besides, we didn't pawn them off...they were solicited by both sets of grandparents. My Mama and Daddy have been chomping at the bit to keep LG, and Dee asked to keep Pressley overnight (I am still not sure why because we warned her repeatedly that she probably would not sleep). Anyway, we took advantage of the situation like two completely lame, no longer cool, thirtysomethings...we went to Chili's and then grocery shopping at Wal Mart. All we were missing was the minivan...

I did have a really kickin' meal of Mushroom Jack Fajitas and like the best dessert I have every eaten...it was a chocolate chip brownie with walnuts, drizzled in caramel, chocolate syrup, and nuts, with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream on top...it was like every good thing all in one...warm, cold, gooey, chewey, cakey, DIVINE!!! I started Weight Watchers two weeks ago, and I had to save almost all of my daily points and my weekly flex points, but it was totally worth it.

On a side note...we decided to make a conscious effort to take more pictures with us and Pressley, since we are falling behind on second child duty...see attached :)

Happy Birthday - Round Two

Lilly Grace had her second round of birthday presents today! I swear she thinks she has a birthday every week...she even asked for candles and a cake today. She got a present from Grandmother today because we were out of town when we had her party, and when we got back Grandmother was sick and could not come over for a while. Anyway, she got a really cool water/sand table, which she proceeded to splash around in while I was in class. Mike said she asked (more than once) for her shoes to be washed out...imagine that. What is it with that child and her feet???

She also got a new kitchen from us as a belated birthday present. I kept trying to get her one after we came home from the beach, but Toys R' Us was always sold out of them. Who knew kitchens were such a hot item? She had fun "making brownies," which is what she always says she is cooking when we ask. Apparently, she decided to out her milk in the play fridge because we just found it. Good thing we did or it would have been STINKY!

Black Friday

First of all, let me just say that Lilly Grace is particular about things (that's putting it mildly). Anyway, she apparently woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning because she was not digging the fashion selection for the day. I always pick out her clothes and lay them beside her in the mornings while she watches TV. This morning, I decided she would wear the oh so adorable outfit that her Nana bought her, which she was fine with. The problem is that she was not happy with the shoe selection. The thing is...she only wears Crocs (just one of her many quirks). She owns a pink pair, a green pair, and a UGA pair...none of which match the oh so adorable outfit. Nana, being the great Nana that she is, bought her a black pair to match. After a few weeks of trying to get her to wear them, I finally made her this morning...MELTDOWN!!! She pitched a major fit, but ended up wearing them anyway. Who knew a two-year-old could be so picky about shoes. You would think I had just strapped dynamite to her toes. Anyway...exhibit A...black shoes.

Well, that's not the only black thing she got herself into today. I was cooking dinner, and she was playing on the computer when I heard her say, "I'm gonna color." A few seconds later I turned around and she had a BLACK PERMANENT SHARPIE in her hand, which is like every parent's worst nightmare. The good thing is that I caught her before she did too much damage...exhibit B...body art. Oh my!

My Budding Photographer

Okay, so every time I take out the camera to capture every possible "Kodak Moment," Lilly Grace insists on taking pictures herself. I thought I would share some of her recent work...okay, I helped her aim a little bit, but she's got pushing the button down pat.

The girls are doing good...Pressley is as unpredictable as ever. I think God gave this child to me in order to teach me a lesson about what an obsessive planner I am. It all started with her not being ready for induction (like I planned), and it has not stopped. She refuses to get on a schedule, despite the fact that I am working WAY TOO HARD to get her on one. Although Mike finds this hilarious (he loves watching me squirm when my plans are foiled), I am getting a bit frustrated. Maybe I just need to chill...

My Little Couch Potato

I sometimes wonder if letting Lilly Grace watch TV all the time is going to make her turn out like the kids today...tuned in to technology and tuned out of life (pretend, imagination, etc.). The thing is, she is way smarter than I was when I was playing Swiss Family Robinson in the back yard and staying outside (being active) until the sun went down. The television today is so educational...hello...we were watching Scooby Doo and Looney Toons. The only thing we were learning was how to solve a mystery (albeit an obvious one) and how to outsmart a wily animal. In her two years, Lilly Grace has learned words from three languages, her shapes, all of the colors, how to count to twenty, and various songs and dances. Now I am not saying that our excellent parenting skills or superb genes have not played a part in her intelligence (haha), but we weren't all that smart, were we?

Case in point, she is watching "Ni Hao, Kai Lan" right now. She is yelling "shee-ya," which is Chinese for "snow." Not that this particular word will benefit her here in Georgia, but the point is that she looks at us sometimes and says things in different languages, and we cannot understand her. I guess we're the stupid ones:) Oh well..."she-a she-a" (thats "thank you" for those of you with kids that are not allowed to watch TV).

Nothing Sweeter than a Sleeping Baby

EXCEPT A SLEEPING MAMA! Pressley kept me up all night long crying her little eyes out. Fortunately for her, she didn't have too much going on today, so she is currently snoozing. That means she'll probably be up again tonight...the vicious baby cycle. You know, everyone always says "sleep when they sleep," and that is a good idea, in theory. The problem is that when I was telling myself (at 3 a.m.), "oh, I'll just sleep whenever she sleeps tomorrow," I was having the delusion that I didn't have another child who would be up at 6:30 a.m. Then I thought (this morning at 6:30 a.m.), "oh, I'll just sleep when I get back home from dropping off Lilly Grace at the babysitter." That would have been fine except for the 32 oz. cup of coffee that I had to drink in order to be able to stay within the yellow lines on the road to Janet's house to drop her off. So here I am...wide awake while Pressley is in dream land.

BTW, I have been working diligently on Lilly Grace's digital album, and I am about to start a beach album. http://www.shutterfly.com/ is the busy mom's answer to scrapbooking!

Happy Birthday Lilly Grace!

It is hard to believe that it has been two years since Lilly Grace joined our family! Her birthday was fun...we celebrated at the beach with a Dora party. The entire week before she kept singing "Happy Birthday" to herself. The day after the party, she said "I want Dora happy birthday Lilly Grace." She has mentioned it a couple of times since.

We had a great time in Florida, thanks to Nana and Papa Chuck. We ate ridiculously expensive food (Seaside is WAY overrated). We about choked on our shrimp when we saw a $380 teeny bikini at an outdoor shop next to Bud & Alleys. I guess when everyone is rich they feel pretty safe leaving an expensive (did I mention it was $380!!!) bathing suit out on an unsupervised rack. I obviously did not belong...

Lilly Grace was not a big fan of the beach, much to our chagrin. She refused to put her feet in the sand (I am not exaggerating), and we had carry her like a monkey hanging from a tree with her feet dangling in the air from the boardwalk to the towel. Then she would pitch a fit if a grain of sand got in her shoe...she would say "take it off...it's stuck." Finally, we gave up and stayed at the pool, or as Lilly Grace put it...the "swimming cool." Pressley, on the other hand, is definitely a beach bum. We set up a tent for her and she sacked out immediately upon laying her down...hmm, maybe I should set her sound machine to "ocean."

We finally got home after an interesting ride. I believe I heard Mike say "welcome to hell, Jennifer" at least twice. I am so glad to be home in my bed. Mike was happy not to have to sleep on pillows that "felt like they were stuffed with wadded up shirts." Oh, the simple pleasures we take for granted!