Summer preschool

I decided it would be fun for Isabella if a few friends got together and started a summer preschool one day/week. Today was our first day and the theme was rainbows. I stole all of the ideas from this super homeschool mom. Thank you, thank you.
We started off with a "hello" song and then read a book about rainbows. The kids then did their rainbow craft and decided they'd had enough crafting and went outside to jump on the trampoline. Once they were sufficiently sweaty, they came back in for the alphabet game which lasted all of 2 minutes. We moved on to the water and food coloring activity which they loved, followed by snack time and more jumping on the trampoline.
I learned a few things today.....kids just want to play. I planned several other activities but it was obvious they weren't interested so Isabella and I did a few of them this afternoon.
Preschool should be fun while also being educational, but having fun is really all that matters when you are 3.

37 weeks

As much as I want this little guy to come early because the round ligament pain is just about to do me in, I am enjoying getting more than 3 hours of consecutive sleep a night. Also, I could do without the enormous weight gain and the swollen feet. Yeah, early is good, but I doubt it will happen. (sigh)

anything for a laugh

Olivia spent at least 15 minutes today pouring water on her head and face with a cup because she was getting a great laugh from Isabella. I think this girl is going to be the entertainer in the family.

3 decades

Today I turned 30. Yes, hard to believe. Farewell twenties.
As I reflected for about 5 minutes while singing the girls to sleep tonight I came to a few realizations.
I never imagined myself in this place at age 30. And by "this place" I mean with two beautiful girls and one little guy due to arrive in a few weeks. I also never thought I'd be the happiest I've ever been in my life. I never planned on those things. What I did plan on was completing a master's degree by age 30, perhaps running a few more marathons, and working in a few trips abroad for fun along the way.
All of those things don't matter anymore. What does matter is my family and that is really the only thing that means anything to me. My twenties were good to me, but I'm really looking forward to my thirties.

trying to keep up

Olivia likes doing everything that Isabella does and yesterday she decided she needed to wash the dishes because of course she just can't let Isabella have all of the fun. So, she climbed onto the stool all by herself and started saying, "aqua, aqua.." Dish washing kept her entertained for about 20 minutes and it's a good thing I could care less about these kitchen floors as there was probably more water on the floor than in the sink when she was done.

Happy Father's Day

Alright, let's stop pretending that we always have family home evening and that the girls quietly sit totally consumed by the lesson. For three minutes today this was the case so I had to grab my camera because I don't know when I'll see that again.

Father's Day was spent enjoying time with dad. The girls crave attention from him and for a day he was theirs. I know the girls had the greatest time and I think Jason liked it too.

My daredevil

Olivia is definitely the daredevil of the family. She loves to jump off of and climb onto just about anything and everything. Tonight she took a header off of the side of the couch and ended up with a golf ball sized bump on her forehead.

We taught her how to do "butt drops" on the trampoline and now she thinks that she can do them on any surface, hard or soft. This video is of Olivia doing "butt drops" in the water.

She was also the first one to run out into the pouring rain during a very powerful rainstorm. Check it out here.

Oh, and she also came up with this ball rolling maneuver all on her own.

A couple of things

I love living in driving distance of the beach or as they call it on the East coast, "the shore." Today the girls and I and my mom packed up and headed to Ocean City. We got there early on a Monday morning and the beach was almost empty. The weather was perfect and the girls had the greatest time playing in the sand and in the water. The beach is a lot of work, but it's so much fun for the girls that it makes the trip and all of the sand that we bring back with us worth it.

Second thing...tonight was night no. 2 of the girls sleeping together. Olivia was almost asleep by the time I put her in her crib (in Isabella's room) and I thought that I was victorious. Ha, not so fast. When I went back upstairs I heard both of them giggling hysterically. I thought they would just fall asleep, but then when things got quiet, Jason went in to check on Olivia just to make sure everything was alright and accidentally woke her up and then the whole bedtime routine started over again. Tonight they were both asleep by 9:45 (15 min earlier than last night) so I guess that's some kind of an improvement, right?

Sisters

Tonight is the first night that the girls are sleeping in the same room. I want to make the transition several weeks before the little guys arrives so that the girls are totally fine with the move before rocking their world again with a new baby. Plus, I'm sure if I wait, not only will I be up in the middle of the night with baby brother, but with the girls as well. Not good.

When I put Olivia in Isabella's old crib tonight for the first time she freaked out. She was really crying. I decided to close the door to see how things played out. Isabella immediately tried to comfort Olivia. Outside the door I heard things like ..."Olivi, don't cry. You're ok. Do you want to sleep with my puppy? He's really big. Do you want your baba (bottle)? Oh, Olivi don't cry, you're sleeping with me now." After several minutes of this back and forth I decided to go in and pick up Olivia because she was still crying and not calming down, despite Isabella's efforts. When I looked into the crib, I noticed that Isabella put every stuffed animal and doll into her crib that she could find, including Isabella's favorite blanket. So cute.
I rocked Olivia for a few minutes and put her back down and she was fine. As of now, they are both sound asleep in the same room together. I'm just hoping that no one cries out in the middle of the night and awakens the other one.

It makes me happy knowing that the girls are sharing a room now. I have such fond memories of sharing a room with my sister and know that my girls will make many memories of their own.

A getaway

Jason and I decided to take a weekend getaway before baby brother arrives. We decided to head to Rehoboth, DE. I've heard nice things about it and it's far enough away that you feel like you're getting "away" and close enough to drive to. We're staying at a cute B&B just blocks from the beach.
Last night we walked on the beach and boardwalk and enjoyed a wonderful dinner. Today we did a bit of outlet shopping and I hit a few home runs in the batting cages. We also squeezed in a game of putt putt and will probably bike around the town and sit on the beach this afternoon.
In the meantime, the girls are having a lot of fun with abuelite, Yaya (my sister) and Darwin. I'm sure they don't even realize we're gone.

I'm doing a happy dance...

because I took the CCRN exam today and passed! Yay, yay, yay

Can you devour a popsicle?

Olivia doesn't know how to carefully lick something such as a lollipop or a popsicle instead, she devours it. So fun to watch. This might be her approach to life....jumping in all the way.

A dinner conversation

As the girls get older, I find that it's harder and harder to have an adult conversation when they are around. Once Jason and I begin talking, it doesn't take long for one of them to act out in some way to get our attention. Last night, Jason and I were sitting at the kitchen island eating dinner and trying to converse about the events of the day. I kept hearing Isabella yelling something to us from the living room. After several attempts of us trying to converse and Isabella yelling out, we finally stopped the conversation and asked her what she was saying...it went something like this:

Isabella: "Daddy, can you hear my toots?" (yelling)
Jason: "Yes, Isabella, I hear them."
Isabella: "They're really loud daddy." (very proudly)
Jason: "That's great Isabella."

Great recipe

I've tried a few homemade play dough recipes but this is by far my favorite one.