BIG Steps

We've been planning to take Clara's pacifiers away for a while now. For most of her life, she's only used them for sleeping and she's always been really good about it. Since the time she was a couple of months old, we could just pop the paci back in when she woke up in the night and she would go right back to sleep--no feeding, no rocking, no effort. I think I loved the thing as much as she did. We (and by that I mostly mean me, not Sam) kept putting it off for different reasons. However, I knew I wanted her to be good and done with it before the new baby comes. So, we finally decided to make the big break up last week, after she finished the antibiotics for her ear infection.

In the morning, I walked with her out to the dumpster and had her put the pacis in. She did this without so much as batting an eye. I, on the other hand, wanted to cry. When did my baby get so big? She cried for about an hour when I put her down for a nap so I just decided to get her up. Bedtime went pretty well, mostly because she hadn't taken a nap and she was exhausted. After two or three days, she didn't even cry when I put her down and now, just under two weeks later, she doesn't even ask for the paci anymore.

The same day we took away Clara's paci, we decided to REALLY crack down on Abby's sleeping habit. Ever since she was about five or six months old, she has sucked on her blanket (or really any piece of fabric) to fall asleep. When we moved her from her crib to a bed, she started sucking on the flat sheet. We've taken it off before and she would suck on the comforter, pillow case, bunnies ear, etc. I was convinced she would take her pants off and suck on them if it came down to it. We've tried all manner of bribery but nothing was working so I decided to just keep removing things from her bed until she stopped, even if it meant sleeping naked (okay, maybe not that extreme). The first day, I took off the sheet and she sucked on her "Abby blanket." I gave her one more night and then took the blankie away and that night she didn't suck on anything. She's had one relapse when she had the stomach flu and she sucked on the comforter at naptime. We were all pretty bummed about it but she was determined to make it at bedtime and she did it.

They are both doing great and I am so proud of them. We've already been through a fever, a night of puking and some bad dreams. There are two major down sides. The first is that they have been waking up quite a bit earlier in the morning. We anticipated this (Clara would often wake up early but we'd just plug her to go back to sleep) and hope they will start to improve in the next couple of weeks. The other is that Abby has all but given up napping. But, it's totally worth it. Their teeth, especially Abby's, were really being effected and when your dad is a dentist, that is a problem.

Hooray for my girls!

Whole Foods Kids Club

My friend Kimberly discovered that the Whole Foods near our house has a Kid's Club activity every Monday and she invited us to go with her. Today, the kids got to make their own pizzas, which ended up being a lot of fun.

The got to shape their dough. Do you like Abby's rubber gloves? Clara wasn't feeling it.

 

 

Then, they spread on the sauce.

Next came the cheese.

And last was the pepperoni.

Clara had to sample some of her cheese.

We walked the pizzas over to the pizza oven and then the kids colored while they cooked.

They ended up tasting delicious. Abby said that her pizza tasted better than other pizzas.

We will definitely be back for more Kids Club activities!

Pregnancy Update

I am 29 weeks today. Everyone keeps telling me how fast it's going but it doesn't feel very fast to me. I actually feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER, but, I guess I sort of have.

 

As usual, I have been slacking on taking belly pictures. It may have to do with the fact that I feel ginormously huge already but that is mostly just a lame excuse. Isn't getting huge sort of the point? So, here I am, in all of my ginormous glory.

 

As with previous pregnancies, I experience just about every pregnancy woe you hear about, in small doses. Vomiting? Check. Swelling? Of course. Back pain? You betcha. Constipation? Oh yeah! Rash from my wedding ring? What, you don't get that? I deal pretty well, but I, admittedly, have the occasional meltdown. These meltdowns usually come when I realize I still have almost three months left. And, when you've already been pregnant forever, three months seems like a long time.

So, here's to the last trimester. May it be swift. May it be abbreviated.

New York City

We went on a trip with my parents to New York City. We left after church on Sunday and hit some pretty terrible traffic. After checking into our hotel we went out for pizza and came back to put the girls down for a late bedtime.

 

The next morning, we ate breakfast and then took a Subway ride downtown. Abby was very excited about the Subway. It was all she would talk about before we left for the trip. The adventure didn't disappoint. The underground train ride was a hit.

 

Our first stop was the 9/11 Memorial. It is a beautiful tribute to those who lost their lives.

Clara started to have a bit of a meltdown so we left the memorial and went to Trinity Church. The warmth, nice music and a diaper change calmed Clara down and we walked down Wall Street and hopped on another Subway ride back to Time Square. We grabbed some lunch and then took the girls to Toys R Us. They were in heaven checking out all the toys.

At this point, we went back to the hotel to give Clara a nap and relax. My pregnant body was pretty exhausted from walking all morning. I was having a hard time getting around. Our hotel was within the security area for New Year's Eve so we went to a close place for dinner.

After we put the girls down for bed, Sam, my mom and I made our way to Time Square. We didn't get far before hitting the edge of the crowd. After standing for a little while, a barricade changed and we were able to get a bit closer.

Unfortunately, we were still too far away to hear anything and the atmosphere was more grumpy than exciting. When we realized we still had three and a half more hours of standing with strangers touching us and people smoking weed around us, we decided to call it quits. I felt kind of lame but I think it was a good decision. I'm not sure how my body would have fared it we had stayed until midnight. It was fun to be down there for a while and be a part of it.

When we got back to the hotel we ate ice cream bars and I dozed on the couch until just before midnight and then went to bed. Quite the turn of events from what we had planned.

The next morning, we went to FAO Schwarz. Clara had to hug all of the animals she saw.

The girls and I played the big piano.

We walked down Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center to see the big tree and watch the ice skaters.

We finished our trip by picking up some cupcakes at Magnolias Bakery.

 

It was a fun little trip. The girls coped well with the cold and had a really good time. Abby didn't want to go back home.

Snow Play

We had our first sizable snowfall of the year and Abby was dying to play in it. We let her play for a few minutes before lunch but that just wasn't enough. She came out of her room after "quiet time" wearing just her snow pants (backward) and boots.

 

These snowpants are size 18 months so they are a bit of high waters on Abby.

 

 

Clara didn't last long outside. I don't think the fun outweighs the cold for her yet. Abby, on the other hand, could have stayed out there all day.

 

Sam and Abby built an adorable snowman. Sam was particularly proud of its hat and I must agree that it was very nice.

Sam asked Abby is she was ready to go in and she said no but when he offered hot chocolate, she decided that she was pretty cold afterall. She loves hot chocolate.

Disney on Ice

Grammy and Grandpa took us to Disney On Ice. The main performances were condensed versions of The Little Mermaid, Tangled, Brave and Beauty and the Beast. The show was amazing and we had a lot of fun.

 

Abby loved every minute of it. She was in her timid mode where she doesn't show much emotion. She gets overwhelmed by really fun things and gets really quiet.

Clara danced and clapped along. She did really well until the very end. The show was two hours and she got restless at the end so Sam had to take her for a little walk.