Fun Brother

Okay, okay, I know you are all sick of hearing me talk about how much I love my kids and how fantastic they are (okay, not fantastic and certainly not perfect) but this week they have been pretty amazing, especially with Vanessa. I am a mom that takes advantage of my older kids when I can. Once again today I took advantage of Andrew after school. He was playing with Vanessa so I decided to quickly vacuum upstairs. I came back into the living room to find him and Vanessa watching TV...



The box he is sitting in is his race car he made last night. What can I say...the kid cracks me up!

Crazy Hair

Vanessa has cradle cap. Andrew never had it but Ally had it pretty bad. Holly, my hair girl, told me to use olive oil and a comb to get it out. Last night before bath I decided to start tackling Vanessa's hair. Her hair is long enough and thick enough that you really can't see it, but I know it's there so I want to get rid of it. I worked on it until she cried and then gave up and put her in the bath tub. After getting her out and dressed I noticed that her hair was sticking up everywhere so I decided to have a little fun with it. I made it stick up everywhere it wasn't and tried to 'style' it a little. Ally thought it was hilarious!

Brotherly Love

Yesterday Andrew stayed home from school 'cause he wasn't feeling well. I didn't think he was too sick (he acted fine) so I decided to take advantage of having him home. I put him in charge of entertaining Vanessa so I could vacuum downstairs really fast. When I went downstairs she was sitting in her Bumbo and when I came back upstairs she was sitting on the couch. He had her sitting there and he kept pretending like she was hitting or kicking him and he would fall to the floor. She was laughing so hard.



Like Ally, Andrew is amazing with Vanessa! He loves her so much and just wants her to be happy! After watching them for a little while I decided to get some pics of them together. I think they turned out cute, but hey, I am biased.

First Attempt at Rice Cereal

The other night I gave Vanessa her first rice cereal on a spoon experience. I had been putting some in her bottle to help with her spitting up but then she was having stomach issues so I stopped the rice cereal and switched her formula which seemed to help. She is consuming so much formula I decided it is time to start working on the cereal and solids. I put her in her Bumbo chair and started feeding. Wow! This girl does not like rice cereal. She actually had me laughing really hard because I would put it in her mouth and she would make this really sour face and then force herself to swallow. I tried and tried to catch a picture of the sour face but I couldn't quite get it.



The next morning I tried again and she took about three spoonfuls and then she wouldn't open her mouth anymore. The little turkey! She already knows what she wants and doesn't want and knows how to get her way. Too bad for her she has a Mom that won't give up though!

Sisterly Love

The other morning I was in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast and could hear Ally playing with Vanessa. I was happy that she was keeping her entertained so I could get a few things done. When I was finally finished I walked by the living room to see this...



Ally was helping Vanessa see the TV better. It was really cute and thoughtful of Ally and Vanessa seemed content so I went to make my bed. The next time I walked by I found this...



Ally kept rocking back and laying down and then she'd rock them back to sit up. It was really funny to watch. Vanessa got fed up really quickly, much to Ally's dismay.
Ally really loves Vanessa and is so cute and loving with her. I love to watch and listen to her playing with Vanessa when she doesn't know I am.

Do You Think She's Teething

One night Vanessa was extremely, EXTREMELY cranky!!!! Nothing would please her, not even being held which always seems to work. Finally I put her down and gave her a puppy to play with and this is what we found...





Poor thing, no wonder she's been so cranky! She seriously chewed on that toy for 1/2 hour. I'm glad we get our teeth when we are so little and really can't remember the pain.

Christmas

The kids woke up around 7 this year. Since I was a slacker and didn't make my usual Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls we just had cereal and toast. The kids seemed quite hesitant this year to dig into the presents. I really don't know what it was but they both just went into the living room and sat on the couch. But, once they got started, there was no stopping them.





Everyone was happy with their gifts this year. Even me since I finally got my Kitchen Aid mixer. Woohoo!!! Jim was really happy with his Nook. It was a great Christmas because we got to spend the day as a family enjoying each other and making memories. My family came over to our house this year for Christmas. It was fun having them at our house for the holiday. The next day we went to Jim's parents' house to exchange gifts and then went and saw Sherlock Holmes. I LOVE the holiday traditions we have. And, I am sooooo grateful that our families live so close by so we can enjoy the holidays with them. We always miss Dave, Laurie and their kids and Tricia and Tim at these times of year but it just makes us enjoy the time we get with them even more!