America's Next Top Models?

We took the babies for their second professional photo session. The first, in case you were wondering, was just a little over a year ago, and maybe it doesn't really count but they were there, you know. You can see those early pictures on this link.

The session was at Sears, I went on a recommendation of a coworker who took his newborn there and gave a good review. My sister J also said they did a good job so I booked them. Below are some of the highlights. We (I) ended up buying the disc, which includes all the shots plus some enhancements that were cute. That was a little pricey but it beats sitting down and picking out poses. I am so bad at that I would rather pay to sit at home with a glass of wine, look them over, ask mom and the sisters which ones they like, and get my own prints.

I took along all the props you see in the pictures. Thanks S for the balloon suggestion, it was a hit! And if any of you do this I would skip the cupcake smash. Anna wasn't interested, in the end I had to schmear some icing on her face for the close up. Alex liked it (of course, look at him) but the mess was mostly scattered around their legs and diapers, not worth the hassle of getting them undressed and then having to clean them up. Could have been that the cupcake was one of six from the Acme and it pretty much sucked.

Oh yes, Anna is standing on her own. She has been making little tiny shuffle steps with her right foot, sometimes turning in a half-circle, which is pretty cute. Alex is not standing up yet, but just yesterday he has started to crawl not on his knees but on his feet. I can tell he wants to move faster but his knees are slowing him down, poor guy.

Sweater for Anna

I did it! I made a wearable item! I got a little impatient and the sweater came out a little short, but next time I can make go longer. This was also the first time I made modifications to a pattern, the bottom is supposed to curl up like the sleeves but I don't like that idea so I made it a ribbed pattern like the neck.
The best part? NO SEWING. I didn't have to sew together any of the finished pieces. This sweater is knit entirely in one piece.
It took a while, but I don't exactly have all the time in the world these days! If the color looks familiar, it's because I used the same yarn to make a hat for Alex earlier in the year. And I still have enough left to make some other projects I have in mind.

The pattern came from this blog: Soulful Hues Hobbies & Random Thoughts Thanks Shellee!

Mother's Day the First...at least it wasn't a nursing tank

My first Mother's Day was pretty uneventful. My expectations were a bit high, it being my first one and all. Z got me roses, and we got take out from the best place on earth, P.F. Changs, so in all it wasn't a total loss. The part of the day that really got to me happened when I went in the restaurant to grab the take out. As I was leaving the cashier said "Happy Mother's Day!" Now, she really had no way to know I was a mother. OK, maybe I was wearing an over sized (yes, maternity) tee shirt that might have had a stain or two on it, but that is not necessarily an advertisement of motherhood. It was probably just a reflex, like saying Felize Cinco de Mayo! Completely harmless. Or at least I can say that, now that I am finally a mother. So it made me smile, and be thankful that I'm not in a place where I would have been shattered by that statement. It was more like Thanksgiving Day for me and I enjoyed immensely.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Alex not loving the grass so much.

Kung Pao, you never stood a chance.

Weakness

Today was such a beautiful day, I am so glad I had the day off. Nope, the daycare provider isn't sick again, this was a planned vacation day, and I really lucked out. The babies and I took a walk around town after lunch. We stopped for an iced latte, went into Hipster Home, and visited my favorite local yarn shop, The Knitting Basket, where I dropped sixty bucks (I know, baby shoes and yarn, I have an addiction, people!).

Here is one of the yarns I bought. It's Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, the color is called Boot Camp. So J, if you're coming down on Sunday bring that sock pattern!

Right now Alex is napping it off and Anna is playing quietly, checking me every once in a while to make sure I'm still in her line of sight.

This morning Alex and Anna discovered the bowls in the kitchen cabinets. The stainless steel bowl stole the show, it makes the best noise when dropped on the floor.

When Alex is napping Anna cannot resist him. She loves to terrorize him!

A Shoe In

Today my daycare had a sick day so I got to spend the day with the wigglies. I have discovered just how awesome it is to simply lay on the floor. Anna and Alex have the most fun crawling all over us, whenever Z or I are in the 'pen' with them. It's the best. So we spent the morning at home. Playing, reading, napping, all the fun stuff. After lunch we headed to the mall. It has been my mission, ever since Alex started to 'cruise' or furniture walk, to get the babies into shoes. Their socks wear out so quickly now, it's just time.

So off we went to Stride Rite. Yikes, they are pricey, but I couldn't resist. Plus they have a twin discount! 10% off. Excellent. Here is Anna showing off her new togs:

And here is Alex hanging out in the background. It's more like a tribute to my little sis, J. Hope she'll get the joke...

And because I thought the last post was a little Alex heavy, or maybe I just remember it that way, here's a rare smile from Anna.

Elements of Nerdiness

I know I sound like a dork but I got a chance tonight to play with Photoshop Elements tonight and actually learned something that I'll really use! My biggest fear was spending money on a program that I wouldn't understand how to use, but the mini tutorials are really helpful. Here is one picture I played with of Alex.

Before:

And after:

It's still a little dark but I like the way I got it to look warmer. So there's more to learn but I'll have to take what I can get in one hour increments.

I took some other pics of Alex this weekend for fun.

So spiffy in his Huggies!

Here is Anna hanging out with cousin S. at Grammy's:

And as promised, a view into the new living room 'space' we've created for the babes:

Nine Months

The babies had their nine month well visit last Wednesday. Overall the appointment went well. Unfortunately Z couldn’t come to this one but my daycare provider was super nice and filled in. I may be ready for certain things, like running onto a grenade range holding two live grenades to my chest (“Right handed Drill Sergeant, RIGHT HANDED!”), but dealing with two babies by myself while they get their shots is NOT one of them. It turns out I could have relaxed a bit, Anna didn’t cry when she got her shot. Such a big girl!

There’s not a whole lot to report except, WOW, I can’t believe they are nine months old already. They have officially exceeded their gestation. I’m so unbelievably busy, each day flies by. We made plans to go to the Outer Banks in August and I was worried that it was so far in advance I wouldn’t be able to wait that long, but at this rate I’ll be scrambling to get everything ready in time!

I also have a new laptop, and just installed Adobe Photoshop Elements. I’ve been playing with it tonight with some recent pictures of Anna, doing her Downward Dog Yoga move she’s been showing off lately. Alex has really taken to crawling, motoring around while Anna seems to have stalled and shifted to trying to stand up. But instead of moving to furniture to pull herself up, she’s making the attempt to get her legs under her and stand up on her own. It make take her longer that way, but she’s pretty stubborn. Meanwhile Alex has been pulling himself up everywhere possible.

With the new outbreak of mobility has come “the corral.” We bought a portable play area to set up, so now our living room looks more like a petting zoo. The results are mixed. Alex is lukewarm and Anna is leaning towards a veto. Shocking. I’ll have to post some pictures of it later, I don’t have any downloaded just yet. I’m still in denial that it exists.

Below is the picture I’ve been working on in Elements. At this point I don’t even know what I did, but I loved using all the different tools.

An update on Anna’s sleep training: on target. There’s a bit of fussing during the first ten minutes, I think that may always happen, but overall it worked. I had two experienced moms tell me it would, and I’m glad I finally put my foot down and tried it. While talking to my sister I told her the best thing to come out of it (for me) is the validation in parenting. Some people might argue that point, sleep training isn’t for everyone, but it was the best thing I could do for my family and for Anna. And the biggest roadblock of all, Z, said to me, “You know, she’s crying less now,” pause, “you’re right to do this, I’m proud of you.” It may sound like he’s being patronizing, but it’s just his style of speech. This was a big deal for him to say, and for me to hear. Out loud.

So to end on a lighter note, in the post below is a video of Anna that makes my day every time I watch it.