This week...

This week was a busy one. I am making an effort to stay on top of household chores as they come along so I don't get overwhelmed by a massive amount of things to do. I also started fitting exercise into my daily routine. I feel really good about how things went, all in all.

Lily is still a little frustrated by the fact that the TV goes off at 9a.m., but she is getting better. She has been practicing her writing and is getting very good at writing all our names...the one that is hardest for her is Riley. She is also a jabber mouth...wonder where that came from? (I'm told I was quite the talkative child myself) Since the weather has been nice, I've been sending her out to blow bubbles in the backyard and she's being enjoying lunch out there too. She has also gotten 2 bloody noses, 2 nights in a row. Such fun! Really, another growth spurt? Yikes!

Riley is growing quickly as well. His newest thing is grabbing your face so he can talk right to you- it's very cute. He became obsessed with water bottles a few days ago. They are extremely fascinating to him. I can no longer take a drink if I'm nursing because he just wants to play with the water bottle if he sees it =) He is very close to sitting up by himself. Hopefully that will be soon. I tried him on carrots this week, he's not sure about that taste yet. Next time I go grocery shopping I'm going to pick up a sweet potato to see what he thinks of that.

I am going to be busy, busy for the next 2 weeks. I'm having a family get together on the 14th- my gma is turning 75 and there are 4 other Feb. b-days as well. I'm looking forward to it, but there is a lot to be done...

Family Pictures...

Just a warning, these pictures I am posting are pretty poor quality! I don't have a scanner so they are pictures of pictures. For those of you that get a hard copy, they will be much nicer.
Anyhow, we took family pictures today. We haven't done one in 3 years, so it was time. Dylan hates taking pictures. I am also a procrastinator who doesn't like to call and make appointments. But, we made it. We got pictures. Albeit not great pictures, but decent ones. Dylan, of course, thinks he looks terrible in all of them... What can I do? I tried telling him to smile...this ones not bad.



I think he likes me=)













The kids look cute though!










The boys together! Aren't they handsome?














And us girls. Lily and I have got the cheesiest smiles! Maybe we overcompensated?

Blog stuff...

I figured out how to change the settings on the blog so that anyone can leave a comment. You don't have to have a blogger id or account. So, if you feel like commenting on something, now you can. Just click on "comments" at the end of the post. I love to get comments, the more the merrier =)
One other thing, I did start another blog-Skinny Jeans. It will be dealing with more personal stuff for me (weight, exercise, emotional yada yada). Feel free to take a look if you like. I included it in my "Blog list" in the right hand column or you can go to www.tiffskinnyjeans.blogspot.com. I am still working on setting it up and will be adding things as I go. You may also pass it along to anyone else you think might want to read it. And yes, I am ready to admit, I am a blogger geek. What did I do before I had this outlet?

Lily and the Snuggie...

It has become very apparent to me that I allow my eldest child to watch wayyyyy, way, way, too much T.V. We are making an effort to change this. It is a battle for me as well. I keep the t.v. on for Lily and as background noise all day long and sit down and watch through out the day. Not very productive for me. Anyhow, Lily is now beginning to comment on commercials and wanting everything from Snuggies to Aquaglobes. She also points out everything she sees that we own or use, be it toothpaste or toiletpaper. It can be quite entertaining at times but a little disturbing as well.
She lately has become attached to the Snuggie commercial. For those of you wondering, what the heck am I talking about, it is basically a blanket with sleeves (or a robe you wear backwards without a belt).And what did Daddy buy her today? A Snuggie! Couldn't believe it. He just thought it would be the funniest thing. It was pretty cute watching her pull it out of the bag, but really Dylan?
As you can see from the picture, she's excited.So now we have a Snuggie...woo-hoo? The t.v. was off most of the day and I got so much more done than normal, even with a grumpy baby today. I turned on my radio and listened to talk radio while I worked. Nice background noise. I love Clark Howard and Dr. Laura. Clark does financial stuff so that's informative and fun to listen to. I just have to create a different routine. But, I did good today, yay! Tomorrow, more of the same. Lily did well once she realized the t.v. wasn't coming on, no matter how many times she asked. It's better for us this way...

Mom, you have a green face!

The look on Lily's face this evening when she noticed I had applied a green facial mask was priceless! I must confess, I wanted a reaction from her. She didn't disappoint. She was just so confused as to why mommy had a green face. Well, here's why...
Mommy, decided to finish out her girly, pampered day with a facial mask. I took a much needed break today and left both children with their grandmother for a couple hours. I then joined my sister-in-law and one of her friends at the mall and had my makeup done at the Benefits counter. That was fun! It has been a while since I've done much more than slap the basics on my face. Only thing I regret was not telling the girl to go for a more natural look. I've done the heavy eye(in years past) and have morphed to a softer look for the most part. I ended up taking off half the eye shadow when I got home because I kept jolting everytime I looked in the mirror.
After makeup, I splurged more and bought myself a shirt. I know, I know, CRAZY, huh? Anyhow, I decided while Lily was getting into her pj's that a mask would probably be a nice cap to my day. It was. I am feeling good. I needed the down time and the pampering. I feel a little guilty, but I know that this day was good for my spirits and I can be a better mommy because I took the time to relax!
Something else I learned today, I can still take Dylan to work on occasion and it isn't a huge hassle. I haven't attempted the 3 a.m. trek since Riley was born, he did fabulous! I took him out of his car seat when we got home, plopped him in bed and he went right back to sleep. What a relief. Lily went right back to sleep too. It went so smoothly. I really didn't think that it would. Nice to know for the future...

4 month checkup...

Our 4 month checkup went very well. Riley is growing nicely. His official weight is 13 lbs 7 oz and he is just over 23" long. He is on the shorter side of the growth charts but that doesn't bother me since he was shorter when he was born. Lily was 21" compared to Riley's 19.5". Besides, we have a few "vertically challeged" =) on my side of the family. He does have some skin issues- just like Lily did. Thankfully, I know that Aquaphor works GREAT! The doctor gave me some samples too-yay. I had actually taken him in last week because we were having some fairly serious scalp issues and he wouldn't stop itching his head. We got that cleared up without a prescription-the doctor was a little amazed. She tends to jump to the most extreme measures right off the bat, it drives me a little nuts. I have to reign her in and ask about less intense treatments. At least I am on my 2nd child, it gives me a little more back bone =) Anyhow, he is doing great. Won't be long before he's sitting up by himself and he's already able to do laps around his crib! He does a great impression of an inch worm!

Riley's Video...

I figured out how to get sound on my videos...yeah me! Anyhow, I thought grandparents might like a little clip of Riley playing in his Exersaucer. Isn't he adorable? Lily loves to tell him all about the animals. She is such a good big sissy. I am truly blessed!

Really?

I know the weather has nice the last couple days but...
Yesterday, I saw an ice cream truck rolling through the neighborhood! REALLY?! It's JANUARY guys, come on! Guess they gotta make a living too. It just struck me as odd, kinda like this picture! Enjoy =)

Comments & Myspace layouts

I'm HUNGRY...

Lily keeps saying "I'm hungry", all the time I'm hearing, "Mom, I'm hungry". I keep thinking, "You just ate!". I measured her a few days after her birthday and then again today. As you can see, she has grown almost an inch! In less than 3 months! WOW, talk about a growth spurt. I really didn't realize how much she'd grown until I held up the ruler and saw it was an inch. I don't know why, but it's a little mind boggling me. Guess I have to get used to the fact that my little girl is growing up...

Look at me...

I'm getting so big. It's time to start eating rice cereal. Mommy can't believe how fast the time is going...

I'm not really sure about the taste of this stuff Mommy keeps putting in my mouth...






I'd rather eat my fingers. UMMM, these taste good...





I like trying to get water out of my sippy cup too. I try to hold it by myself but it gets a little heavy when it's full.

Well, that's what I've been up to lately. I'm getting really big, huh?

Destruction!

We're trying something new...video. No sound- sorry everyone. I think the mic is muted. I'll have to figure that one out.
Anyway, here is a clip of Lily (and Daddy) destroying the gingerbread house. Dylan wanted to burn them or blow them up or something equally destructive but I thought Lily with a baseball bat was funny. It's a little shaky since I was laughing. I'll have to work on my video skills. Anyhow, enjoy!

All done...

For the last week or so, I have been wallowing. Just kinda been in a funk. This morning I snapped myself out of it. What must my hubby be thinking of me? So I'm back to normal- whatever that is :P I just gotta resist the urge to fall back into that mood. It happens to us all sometimes but now, I'm soo over it. Hope everyone has a wonderful & prosperous new year. Resist the urge to wallow and do something fun!