Road trip

We spent this past weekend in Maryland to visit family. During our trip we also enjoyed a visit to the Baltimore Aquarium

It was great to see family and catch up. I enjoyed intoducing the girls to everyone. It has been years since we have all been together and of coarse the trip went by too fast. Which is always the case when we are having fun!

Can you say messy eater? I am sure she enjoyed every bite (that which made it in her mouth)

Sophia chillin' with Daddy

and Isabella discovers video games for the 1st time

I find it funny how hard it is to get a good photo when there is a toddler and a baby in the photo. So I am including the 1st one which shows Sophia's sweet smile and Isabella shark teeth. Isabella was showing off her teeth in anticipation for our trip to the aquarium.

Here we go, this shot is a bit better.

My cousin Rob met Isabella and Sophia for the 1st time. They bonded pretty quick and the girls felt very comfortable with Rob.

A big sailor and a bitty sailor

Isabella was not a huge fan of the shark teeth...take a look at that expression on her face!

Who is that pretty girl in the mirror?

Looks like Isabella found the perfect seat to see all the fishies! (thanks rob)

I even learned how Nemo got his name. Another name for Clownfish is Anemonefish. If you drop the 1st letter and the last few letters you get Nemo. Pretty neat huh?

A sleepy sloth in the rain forest

Proud grandparents

Samantha enjoyed meeting her cousin Sophia for the 1st time

Now the road trip would not be complete without some entertainment. As we were heading home to Richmond, Isabella dolled herself up with nutella "lipstick".

Sophia slept great in the car and we only had to make one stop each way to nurse.

and Isabella finally passed out, about an hour from home.

Despite daylight savings and sleeping away from home, the girls adjusted well. I enjoyed getting away to spend time with family. Its always a nice feeling to be back home, sweet home.

Fun x 2

Last week was twice the fun! Sophia had her 1st play date with Miles. Sophia is 2 weeks older than Miles so it was neat to watch them try to do the same things. Isabella can always find something to keep herself busy. She has been putting 2 babies (or bears) in the shopping cart just like Mommy.


The Sister Squeeze
Sweet Sophia is 4 months old now. She loves to watch Isabella and its cute to see them interacting. Isabella wants to play with her baby sister and now that Sophia can grasp objects it makes Isabella very happy. Bell likes to bring toys to Sophia and even shares her special Elmo .

Last week we enjoyed a nice visit with my cousin Stephanie. It has been years since we have seen each other but it did not seem like a lot of time had passed. Isabella had a blast with Kiersten (Stephanie's step daughter) and was so sad to see her leave. I hope we can get together again soon!

Isabella enjoyed being picked up by Kiersten. I thought it was super cute when Kiersten said to Isabella "you are so cute, I wish I had a car seat so you could come with me".

Just as we were enjoying a nice week of visitors we all came down with a horrible cold. Will and I are just starting to feel better but poor Bell and Sophia are right in the thick of it. They have both had fevers around 100 degrees for the past 4 days. Neither of them have much of an appetite and just want lots of snuggle time. One thing they both enjoy is bath time and I figured out a way they can enjoy it together.

For good measure I have to post a pic of our sweet cat Poca. She was the only one who remained germ free last week.

As I type this the girls are sound asleep. I hope tonight is a better night than last night. Sophia has a horrible cough and could not sleep well so I ended up spending most of the night in the rocker in her room. Its a good thing the chair is comfy since that is where I slept last night. Lets hope tonight I get more than the 2 hours of sleep I had last night.

Its so sad to see both girls so sick. Who knew a cold could hit so hard? In between the runny noses, coughs, fevers and spitting up my daughters still have plenty of smiles to share. I am very thankful for those sweet smiles.

Funny Face

Breakfast is a great way to start the day. Will made a special breakfast for Isabella over the weekend and rather than calling it a smiley face she called her plate a funny face. And of coarse there is a Mr. Funny Face
We enjoyed a make your own pizza night at home. Isabella was focused while making her own pizza. She made the dough and put all the toppings on. Well, a few of the toppings went in her mouth to sample. ;)
Taste tester approved

After dinner the girls went for a ride in the high chair!

Last week was Will's birthday. It was fun making the cake for Will with Isabella at my side. She enjoyed making the chocolate icing in the mixer. I even let the mini chef lick the spatula clean!!

Isabella is now at the age where she enjoys opening gifts or "surprises" as she calls them.

singing happy birthday to Will...

Make a wish

Sophia enjoys sitting up (with help) and looking around. We put her in the high chair at dinner and enjoy having her sit a the dinner table with us. It makes the meal complete. Here is Sophia enjoying her bumbo.

soft, pink, and cute!

Look at little momma feeding her stuffed lamb. She used a neck pillow as the boppy.

lil' helper

Isabella is a lil' helper. She likes to help Will around the house using her own tool set. She carries around the bag of tools and calls it a purse. She also likes to play with cars and her favorite car is the firetruck. But above all she still loves her baby dolls. Isabella loves to help me in the kitchen too. We made cinnamon rolls from scratch that were delicious.
Arts & Crafts time is a popular time in our house

Someone is ready to go...

There is always time for her babies

Sophia is growing like a weed and is already wearing clothes that are size 6 months even though she is only 3 1/2 months old. She is still a happy and content baby but has reverted to now waking up every 3 hours at night. Lets hope its just a growth spurt so we can all catch up on our sleep.

Poca, our cat, is very friendly with our girls. I think she really likes Isabella because Poca does not want to leave Isabella's room at bedtime. Poca is also fond of Sophia and cuddles right next to her.

Sophia is still not a fan of tummy time but is getting better at it. She is so close to rolling over from her back to her stomach. I am sure she will be crawling before we know it so I am enjoying this precious baby stage.

I like to capture the interactions between Sophia and Isabella. It is sweet and sometimes funny to see them interact with each other. Isabella covers Sophia with her blankets and even shares her baby doll. Sophia lights up when Isabella talks to her.

Isabella thought it was so funny that Sophia fell over when Isabella stopped supporting her by sitting up too. See what I mean ... funny stuff!

Sophia's favorite piece of baby equipment is the swing. She loves to watch the mobile move and gaze at herself in the mirror.

Isabella has now moved on from the bassinet regression to the bouncette. My girls are both growing up. Ha ha!

Daddy and his girls

This past week was Will's birthday. Stay tuned for photos of our small family celebration.

Here are the finished plates from Isabella's birthday party last week. Isabella painted her plate on her own. Will painted Sophia's and added a footprint butterfly. Very cute keepsakes from Isabella's birthday party.

Lil' talker and ABC's

Finally some video of my little darlings...

Sophia is a little talker these days. Not only has she found her hands, but she has also found her voice. We love to hear her voice and hold a "conversation" with her.

Isabella is building her repertoire of songs. She can sing lots of songs; Twinkle Twinkle, Old McDonald, Ring Around the Rosie, ABC, 5 little Monkeys Jumping, Rock-a-bye Baby and Happy Birthday are a few that come to mind. But out of all the songs ABC seems to be her favorite. See what you think for yourself.

Stats

I forgot to add to yesterdays post that Isabella has grown almost 5 inches in one year and is now 34.5 inches tall. She is still a little string bean and only weighs 24 pounds. For kicks and giggles we weighed Sophia while we were in the pediatricians office yesterday and at 3 months old she is almost 14 pounds! Sophia is catching up to Bell pretty fast.