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So many words already!

Mikayla is growing up so fast! At 13 months she can really communicate what she wants. She says baba for bottle,hi, bye bye (and waves), bath, dada, mama, night night,shoes, ball, hat, teddy, more, umums (food),assa (Alyssa), signs for snacks and says "uh-oh" when she drops something.

For the first time ever we left her with her Papa and Nonna (Mike's parents) for 2 whole days and did FANTASTIC! Mike and I went to Tahoe for a wedding and our first time ever leaving both kids together. I'm so proud of my baby for not only surviving but also thriving during her first weekend away from both of us! Of course, Papa and Nonna are amazing sitters and love the grandkids so much that they made it that much more comfortable for the girls to take over their home. :)I am so thankful for them!

Fantastic, beautiful and fun weekend! We missed the girls but boy did Mike and I really need it!!

Mother's Day 2010

Sometimes I wonder how I got here. 4 years ago, I was sitting at a desk job doing the daily grind. I couldn't wait to get home, see my husband, have a glass of wine, watch TV and just be ME! Now I'm "just a mom". Hmmm, I guess part of me is lost but yet I have gained soooo much!

I have 2 beautiful yet very strong willed girls of whom I devote my each and every day to...they are most definitely my job. I am on-call 24 hours each day with no vacation. It is NON-STOP. Hardest job I've ever had and my bosses are a 12 month old and 3.5 year old. Go figure. It is definitely not glamorous. It consists of sleep deprivation, changing diapers, TRYING to stay calm when they break down, LOTS of patience, wiping away tears, kissing boo boo's, worrying when they get sick, constant feeding (them of course not me)...I forget to eat and when I remember it is something easy - a hot dog, a sandwich, a piece of toast. But I digress. Let's see. Hmmm...grocery shopping, laundry, housework, making sure Alyssa isn't abusing Mikayla, cooking, School drop off, school pick up, laundry....Oh did I mention laundry? Believe me, my house is not spotless, I simply don't have the time and I will never be able to catch up. It is stressful to say the least but I would not in a million years change it for the world. I am lucky enough to be able to bond with my girls throughout the day and enjoy the special moments of their growing-up and their milestones. These kids are my WORLD. My EVERYTHING. I will never have this time back. I get to look at the world through their eyes and see what a wonderful world we live in. When I take a moment to reflect, I am able to see how fortunate I truly am and what absolute blessings God has given me. I am thankful for it all...I am thankful to be their mom. Our children are precious gifts...let's enjoy this time spent with them. They grow up too fast!

Happy Mother's day to all the mom's out there. I hope some of the day is spent being able to relax somehow. :)

Mikayla - 9 months old!

Alyssa-ism's

Little Miss Alyssa has been learning so quickly and talking so much lately that I felt the need to write this post about things she has been doing and saying. She has been cracking us up so much and though this age is quite challenging (especially pregnant), it's also very rewarding! I'm not sure where she gets it from (wink, wink) but she is pretty bossy!

Here are just a number of things she has said lately:

"Mommy, you have baby in tummy but I have num nums in mine"

Talking to my tummy "Come out (insert baby's name)"

While at the pet store, she said "The doggies, they are sooooooo cute! The mice they are cute too!"

And when asked if Alyssa is cute? She said, "Yes, Alyssa is very very cute!"

She knows the magic word "please" and she orders people to "sit down right here or right there"

When you sneeze, she says "Bless you" and when she sneezes she says "cuse me"

When we were at the grocery store yesterday, she was leaning over while in the cart, a lady who wasn't watching where she was going accidentally nudged her. She then said, "Mommy - she HIT me" and kept saying it over and over again. Hilarious!

After dinner one night Alyssa asked for a cookie. I had made a batch of safe (dairy free) chocolate chip cookies earlier in the week but felt that she had her fair share. Plus, she had been having some icky diapers from all the sugar. So I told her that there are no more cookies and that we would have to go buy some. She looked at me ran over to the door and said, "Go ride car...buy cookies." I couldn't help but laugh. Then I said, it's raining outside, we'll go another day. To which she responded by getting her jacket with a hood and said, "Put hood on".

Sometimes kids say the funny things...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We spent a quiet New Year at home. After Alyssa went down for bed, Mike and I watched a movie. It's quite different when you have a child. I watched the countdown on TV and then turned off the lights and went to bed! Welcome 2009! This year we will blessed with baby girl #2 due in mid April. It will be a hectic year I'm sure as we chase after our 2 year old and take care of the baby. I can't wait to meet this little girl though and see what she will be like. She's quite active in my belly but I sure hope she ends up to be a calm and happy child. No allergies would be a plus! :)

Alyssa and I have been searching for a big girl bed since she will need to give up her crib for baby #2. She has been quite excited about it...it's finally on order and will get here 1st week of March. I hope the adjustment isn't difficult. Crossing our fingers and praying!

Christmas 2008

Christmas was a blast. Alyssa was certainly spoiled by the family once again. Santa was also good to her and brought her tons of Dora the Explorer toys including her very own backpack just like the one Dora uses! John and Neil spent Christmas eve at our house. We had a great dinner and had some pie that Neil and I made earlier in the day. Then we opened presents. Alyssa was in heaven!

On Christmas day we went to Nonna and Papa's house. We went to church then went back home and opened presents. Alyssa was once again SPOILED. She got so many toys and clothes from everyone. We went to Katie's house for hors 'deuvres and to see how her house was decorated. She also had a mini house with a tree like Nonna. We went back to the Nielsen's for dinner afterwards where we met up with Nonnie, Joe, Tony, Heather and baby Ava. It was a fun filled day!