The happy eater and the garden fairy

Sophia has had a big week. Her 2nd tooth has broke the surface (bottom front) and we thought it was a good time to start her on solids. Sophia dined on rice cereal for her first solid meal at the Chez Schaefer.
Initially Sophia did not have much of a reaction
But then she seemed to enjoy it

Isabella shows how a big girl eats

Sophia wanted more

Yup, I like it!

Needless to say Sophia has started sleeping much better at night. Normally she wakes up 2x a night to nurse but last night she slept from 9pm - 5:45!!! woohoo. Lets hope that trend continues.

Isabella enjoys having a baby sister. She loves to read to her and...

... feed her too. Sophia loves to grab on Isabella and look at her. Its so sweet to see how they light up for each other. Sometimes Sophie grabs a hunk of Isabella's hair and pulls to which Isabella responds " my hairs okay".

Sophia shared her 1st ride in a swing with her big sister.

This was the week of the tu-tu. Isabella wore it rain or shine both during the day and night. The tu-tu did not come off except for bath time. Rushing out to check on her garden

waiting patiently at the gate

The garden is a magical place at 8am when the dew glistens as the sun peaks through the clouds. The birds and squirrels are busy enjoying an array are bird seed as they flutter about.

Isabella is our garden fairy. She comes out to water the plants every morning. Not only does Bell water the plants but she also gives the plants lots of love. She watches the strawberries and tomatoes as the ripen and even reads them books. Lucky plants, huh?

Tomatoes

Lettuce

As a family we enjoy our backyard but unfortunately Isabella thought that included the street. Now I am excited to say we just got a fence!! To Isabella its like a giant play yard. And to Will and I we can now breathe a sigh of relief that Bell is safe in our yard. We also wondered how long it would take for Isabella to be able to reach the latch to open the door. Well, within a few hours of the fence being installed Isabella wanted to show me something...she said " I climb the fence Mommy"

My little monkey! and no she cant reach the latch yet (thank goodness)

On Earth Day we went green for an art project. The cardboard was recycled from a box and the painting utensils were all from our tree. Isabella enjoyed the new experience and made a beautiful piece of art.

Isabella and Sophia enjoy story time before a nap

Isabella thinks it fun to sleep in Sophie's bed and Bell can hop in there really fast! Here she is below in her sisters bed.

The next night was a repeat performance including her sisters paci

So proud of herself!

I am so proud of my sweet daughters. They are such a blessing.

Here are a few videos from the week... Enjoy!

Our happy eater


The 1st bite

Sleepy time girls

Lion, tigers and bears oh my!

Last week we went to the Richmond Zoo with our playgroup. It was a surprisingly chilly day so the zoo was not too crowded. Neither of my daughters have been to the zoo so I was excited for them to see the animals.

The easiest way to get a group photo of 7 kids is with them all strapped in and yes, we all love BOB strollers
There were lots of animals that Isabella recognized and a few new ones too. The giraffe and the monkeys seemed to be the biggest hit with the kids. Although, my favorite was the beautiful peacock that spread its feathers for the Mammarazi.




Bell checking out the Rhino

A neat aspect of the Richmond zoo was being able to feed the giraffes (and a few other animals too). Isabella was not too interested in feeding the giraffe but the giraffe wanted to nibble on Isabella.

Did you know that a giraffes tongue is 18-20 inches long? Wow.

I guess that giraffe knew how sweet Isabella was... Our final encounter was to the bird sanctuary where we were able to feed the birds. The girls were exhausted after a morning of fun.

Isabella is getting into dress up clothes these days. Some days she is a ballerina and others a Miss Fix it .

This has been a big week for Sophia. She rolled over from her back to her tummy and she can sit up for a few seconds.

Day is done, gone the sun...the girls snuggle in our bed before bath time.

Snuggle with Sprout (i.e. Calliou, Elmo or Bob the Builder)

Sweet dreams little ones

Toothless Grin

We can say goodbye to that sweet toothless grin since Sophia's 1st tooth is in. I must say that Sophia is handling teething very well and Tylenol is a huge help. In retrospect it seems that Sophia is handling this better than Isabella...now is that just the personality differences or me being more experienced as a mother? Either way, the toothless grin is on its way out. Hello sweet baby teeth. Guess its about time to start Sophia on baby food!We have been enjoying lots of time in the backyard as the weather has been perfect!! Today I planted a few more veggies in our garden...I added sugar snap peas, green beans, lettuce and sweet peppers. Yum! Isabella helped water all the seedlings. We all are enjoying the garden. Since we seem to have a green thumb, I made our likeness in an egg family. The grass took a few weeks to grow and Will styled all the "hair". EGGstra cute! Can you tell who each egg represents?

My little gardener
My little garden gnome
Playing tag is fun!

You cant catch me

We had a fun week! A few playdates, a visit from my cousin Rob, a birthday party and a trip to a petting zoo.

As I type this the girls are in bed fast asleep gearing up for tomorrow. I should do the same. Time for another fun filled week!