Miraculously, both girls slept through the night.  Amelia complained a few times of being cold, so Nashon had to get up and put a blanket back over her.  About 6 am Nashon finally put her in his mummy bag with him and they slept that way for about an hour.  Morning came, breakfast was cooked with the help of Isabell and off she went to play.  In the dirt with her cousins.  Climbing,  running, digging, and picking as many dandelions as they could find.  In fact, she managed to entertain herself the entire time it took to break down camp and pack the car (who knew that camping for one night required so much STUFF).  Other than the drive taking almost an hour longer than planned to get home, it was a nice drive.  Both girls napped in the car and played well, only a few crying fits from each of them.

It was nice to see Nashon’s sister and cousins again, and it was a good trip.  We plan to do another trip next year, but hopefully we will pick someplace that will take reservations in advance, and is a bit cooler (or has shade at least).  The other thing that would have made it a better trip, is if Mia was able to toddle a bit more on her own without needing us to hold her all of the time.  Hopefully she will take a few more steps before our next camping trip in a few weeks.

The Easter Bunny found the girls at our house this morning, and Isabell has been enjoying frequent Peeps; I think it a very good thing that they are only out once a year, or our lives would be awful with her asking for them every 10 minutes. Right now they are being eaten when she tinkles on the potty; she has had 2 days of dry diapers except at nap and bed times. This INCLUDED the trip to the festival; she tinkled in her little potty in the back of the car AND in a port-a-potty.

The last few pictures are from Isabell’s project today. She created her own “very hungry caterpillar” book this afternoon. She did ALL of the gluing by herself. Then when she was done she turned the book around and read it to me, one page at a time. She was careful to point out each of the pictures to me, and asked me to help her count the fruit.

Amelia is getting better at rolling over! She is consistently going tummy to back, and is about 95% of the way over when she goes from back to tummy. She is trying to get from sitting into hands and knees, but tends to get one leg stuck under her, and if you try to help she extends all her extremities and goes flat on her tummy. I can’t believe how fast time flies, and how big she is already! She will be 8 months old next week…

But today, Isabell told her teacher “No off potty. I still tinkling!” and then SHE TINKLED IN THE POTTY AT SCHOOL!!! We are very excited that this may be the beginning of the end of diapers for Isabell. I can’t wait for her to use the potty all the time!

That said, lets talk about the new things going on in Amelia’s life. We went to the doctor last week for her four month well child check up. Things looked good, and there weren’t any concerns. She is now 15lb and 5ounces, and 24.5 inches long. She is growing every day, and had practiced some new tricks. She has been trying to reach out and grab things for some time, but she is now 100% successful at stealing things from our hands (or the hair on our head, or glasses on our face) and putting them directly into her mouth. Isabell thinks this is grand, and often will get toys for Mia to “play” with. Amelia has also been practicing sitting up. She loves her bumbo, but isn’t great on her own yet. If we get her on the right kind of surface (i.e. the couch crack) she will stay upright for a bit, and if she’s reclining on our lap she will pull herself up into sitting. But when you place her on the floor, she keeps her hands on her knees until she tips to one side. She has also gotten a lot better with rolling over. She is getting pretty good at rolling tummy to back, and will pull herself from back to tummy when you give her something to pull against. She is getting cuter each day; her eyes are still blue, but her hair seems to be getting more blonde or reddish. We may truly have one kid that looks like a Steffen, and one that looks like a Fowler; only time will tell.

Both girls are back in school 3 days a week now that I am back at work. Isabell really loves being around her friends, and was more than ready to go back. She has only cried at drop off once (with Nashon), and is generally doing well there. However, we have returned to the land of super snotty noses and a yucky cough. Gotta love being around other snot factories. Amelia is no exception; while her cold isn’t nearly as bad as Isabell’s she is still congested and we are happy once again to have her on the reflux wedge that sits her up when she’s sleeping.

Isabell has made another jump from toddler to little kid, and has begun asking “why” about everything in her world. For any of you who have spent time around a small child, it is one of the most annoying words in the English language…and she’s only 26 months old. She got a little kitchen for Christmas, and has enjoyed playing with it and cooking food and having tea parties with anyone that will sit down with her long enough to enjoy a cup of tea. If you ever get bored, feel free to come over and entertain her; she seems to have gotten over being afraid of everyone, and generally will initiate play with just about anyone.

Isabell is just growing like a weed!! We’re still working on potty training, and most nights she’ll tinkle in the potty before bed. Morning is still another story. She wakes up like her mother (cranky) and does best if left in her bed to read for a few minutes before she gets out of bed. The result, however, is that she wets her diaper before she gets out of bed, and then cries when asked if she wants to sit on the potty. Isabell is perfecting her jumping, and is now practicing jumping forward while walking/running. She has turned into quite the little helper, and will take dirty diapers to the trash can (both hers and Mia’s). One of her favorite things right now is to help me with the laundry. She likes to sit on the bed and hand me hangers one at a time; and it actually IS helpful.

Nashon and I are still figuring out how to be parents to two kids. It’s hard to make enough time for Isabell when Amelia wants to be held all the time, and Isabell has attached herself to Nashon whenever he’s home. She doesn’t kick Mia out of his lap, but does insist on being in it with her when she MUST be there. We find we don’t have a lot (or any) time for “us” these days; we used to have after Isabell went to bed, but Amelia hasn’t figured out how to go to sleep that early yet. So if you have any suggestions on how to find the adults in parenting, please feel free to share!!!

I started back to work this past week; just on Fridays for now, but it’s enough. I brought my paperwork home with me, but it’s rather difficult to find time during the day to complete it before Nashon comes home, because the small people sure want a lot of my time! I have another month or so before I go back full time, and want to try and enjoy it. Nashon has also increased work back to 4 days a week, which came just in time for us. I think he’s missing being at home though. He rather enjoyed spending time with Isabell and playing with her. They have been enjoying swimming in the heated pool; he may enjoy it more than Isabell does.

All in all, we’re figuring it out. We aren’t drowning in newborn anymore, though I can’t believe Mia’s already seven weeks old. Isabell is adjusting to her new roll as big sister nicely with little set backs (except for her new found love for the binky she wouldn’t take as a baby). And Nashon and I will keep looking for time for the two of us.