Going to MeeMaw's

Chris and I had a wedding to attend today and so the girls went to MeeMaw Kathi's today. They always have fun over there and it is nice to that we have an option for them to stay the night so we can enjoy our friends' celebrations from time to time. On the way to the reception, a tornado came through and golfball and softball sized hail came through with lots of wind. We barely missed getting hit by the storm. As we were driving to the reception, we could see a dark sky ahead and wondered what we were going to hit. We knew about it but were hoping we'd miss it. Luckily for us, we did. However, as we drove by the 15+ people who had moments before were plummeted with hail and strong winds. All of the cars had at least one window busted out, some had more. There were piles and piles of white hail on the side of the road and you could see damaged trees all around. It was definitely a site and we were blessed that we left when we did, dropped of Lexi's medicine, and two red box movies. Had we not done these last minute to-dos, we would have definitely been right in the middle of the storm. So scary!

Home with Daddy

Although Lexi has two ear infections and lost her voice, she is still her happy, smiley self. Here is a picture of her smiling at daddy while getting her nebulizer treatment. She is such a doll! Daddy stayed home from school to take care of baby Lexi. He said she was good all day for daddy.

Double Ear Infections for Lexi

We went to the doctor today. They were happy I brought her in because she has an ear infection in both ears. She has a slight case of brochiolitis from when she previously had RSV and so she has lost her voice. I took off work to be with my baby. I just feel so bad for her. She sound horrible and her voice is just so sad. She screams out, but nothing comes out - it breaks my heart. We have some amoxicillin for her and we are doing some albutorol nebulizer treatments for the next 10 days. I hope my baby girl gets better. Doctor was just happy she didn't have any signs of RSV. They put something on her foot to test her and said that she is 100% oxygenating which is supposed to be great. So just some nasty ear infections. My poor baby! Lots of TLC from mommy today.

Lexi's Sick

Daycare called earlier today saying that Tia was teething and needed some tylenol. They mentioned that Lexi didn't seem like her normal self and wasn't eating as much. When Chris got home with Lexi, we were both in a panic mainly because her eyes were sealed shut with this green goop. She lost her voice and couldn't even cry, and her no appetite. She sounded horrible. It was after hours and so I planned on taking her tomorrow morning so we would just watch her intently while she slept to make sure she remained okay. My poor baby! I know daycare brings on lots of sickness...I guess here we go!

Movie Time

Now that we have two little girls, it is pretty hard for us to have any uninteruppted movie time at home. We do watch movies a lot, but usually Tia watches them with us and we are constantly getting up to get this or do that, put them to bed, feed Lexi, change one of them, etc. We manage though. Me, well, because of Lexi's night feedings, I go to bed as soon as I can which is 9 at best. Last night after going out to dinner with family, we decided to watch a movie. It was after 11 and I figured, why not! What was nice is I had a glass of wine and, you guessed it, Chris had a glass of milk with some chocolate. Those are our indulgances, mmmmm. I didn't make the whole movie but it was still nice to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie together while the girls were both fast asleep.

Night Out - Birthday Celebrations

We had a great time tonight! My mom came in from Thailand and my sister came home from school so we could go to Frazer's (our normal birthday gathering place) to celebrate Sam's birthday. We had dinner reservations at 7:30pm, so after dropping off the girls to Aunt Leslie's, I decided we'd celebrate Chris's birthday by hitting a place that is named for choco-holics - The Chocolate Bar. I hadn't been there in over 10 years, but I remembered where it was and have always wanted to take Chris there. So we went and it was super yummy. We shared a Tiramisu Martini and a to die for Chocolate Brownie with ice cream. wow! Yep, we had dessert before dinner, but that's okay. The cutest part is that Chris got a glass of milk and the waitress said 'wow that is the first time anyone has requested a glass of milk who wasn't a kid', lol. It was really nice! We had a great time at Frazers too. Frazer has been a personal friend of our family for years. Sam's dad and Frazer were best friends and worked at Talayna's Pizza place together back in the 80's before Frazer's restaurant ever opened. Since Sams' dad passed away in 1998, Frazer has always given Sam the royal treatment when we go. He prepares the best cakes and always gives her the sweetest presents. He also gave us a free round of wine, which I was happy about. Most of us either had seafood or the filet and boy was it yummy!

Hakuna Matata

When you have children, you often spend many days watching kids cartoons, shows, and movies. Tia loves Disney movies because they do a great job of adding singing to their movies so you can hum or sing along. The three movies Tia has are the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Tangled. I can't wait for her collection to grow! She goes back and forth between Lion King and Beaty and the Beast being her favorite. One thing is for sure, we have watched these movies probably close to a hundred times collectively. On Saturday mornings, I'll pop in a movie while Tia is eating breakfast. Daddy is usually asleep and it works out because Tia gets to watch some movies on the big screen. I'll get to tidy up the house while she eats. What ends up happening is the movie will cycle through at least 3 times, maybe more depending on how busy I get. I often don't pay attention, but will notice that it started over from time to time. Tia acts like it is the first time every time. I love it when she sings. Well, of course, being parents, we tend to get songs caught in our head and of course sing them from time to time. I know I do. Chris definitely does. Chris told me a funny story about work one day and how he was in a meeting with some colleagues and they were worried about some projects and he blurted out 'Hakuna Matata', which means no worries. Of course the Lion King would be so proud and of course we laughed. I love how we pick things up, but sometimes we don't even realize we are signing or saying things. All in all, I'm glad that Tia gets to watch a variety of movies and DVDs. She loves Elmo, Barney, Baby Mozart, and of course her Disney Movies.

Pretty Nails

Tia gets special treatment when she goes to Aunt Jenny's house because AJ paints Tia's nails. Tia LOVES it and expects it now every time she goes. AJ even bought her some of her very own nail polish colors for Easter so now she can have pretty nails all of the time. This picture is so cute because she doesn't want to mess up her nails so she is holding the sippy cup with her palms and no fingers. She will walk around for hours with her hands out so they don't get messed up and she will blow on them so they get dry. I love it. Even days afterwards, she'll say 'pretty!' and of course I always agree, even when they are messed up here or there. The concept is the cutest because next to shoes, Tia is loving having her nails done. The other thing is lipstick. I don't wear lipstick and haven't for over 10 years mainly because I had my lips breakout in some weird peeling frenzy and it wouldn't stop. They looked horrible and hurt. It was caused because lipstick dries out my lips. So I wear Blistex Medex every day and have for years. I love it and it keeps my lips moist. Tia screams how much she wants some for her lips too and gets so excited when I put a tiny dab on her. I know she'll be a tomboy at some point, but at this point she is a super girly girl at it's best. I love it though!

Potty Training for Tia

At daycare, they do a great job of putting Tia on the potty several times per day to get her going on potty training. She has had many stars over the past months where she has gone. However, there is still much work in front of us. Someone told me that when your child goes all night without a dirty or wet diaper, it means they are ready for potty training. Well, Tia has always had a wet diaper. I am happy to report that this morning, her diaper was wet as can be and so it is a sure sign that she is getting closer to being better potty trained. I hope it is an easy transition....guess time will tell!

Back to Work for Mommy

I went back to work today. I was actually excited to get back into it and see everyone. It wasn't bad getting up and although I was pretty tired, I seemed to do well on my first day back to work. I kept energized and the day zoomed by. All of my coworkers were so sweet to welcome me back. My alarm went off at 5:00am. I snoozed a couple times and work up at 5:30am, took a shower, got myself ready, and packed all of our bags for the day. I went in and fed Lexi, changed her, and got her ready. Then I went and got Tia ready. I loaded the girls up and we were on our way about 6:30am. Traffic was busier than normal, but I made it to daycare by 7:00am. I got to work about 7:45am. The timing seemed to work. I actually don't technically have to be at work until 8:30am, but I have always been there by 8:00am and after I had Tia, I have been there around 7:30am. It isn't that I'm an early riser or a morning person, but rather, I like to make sure I get plenty of time at work. We received flex time this past year which has also made it very nice. I can also work from home four times a month, if I'd like. However, I would rather be in the office. With the flex time, I'm able to work a few long days per week and then take off early, if need be. The icing on the cake for my first day back to work from maternity leave is that I got a raise and a promotion - yay! I am now the Director of Integrated Marketing & Communications. This is something I have been working towards for some time. June 5th, I will have been with my company for 6 years and I have been striving for a Director title. I'm excited to bring so much to the table this year and 'earn my keep' there. So being back to work is just fine. I could have taken 12 weeks, but decided to go ahead and go back this week instead. I am meant to be in the office. As much as I'd like to think I could be a stay at home mom, I don't think I'm programmed that way unless I had to be. So being back is nice!

Fun Day

I had a crazy busy weekend with the Cardinal's Home Opener with some girl friends on Friday, a bridal shower during the day on Saturday, a bachelorette party Saturday night, and a Thirty-One meeting I was running on Sunday. I wanted to give Chris some relief, but also let the girls spend some time with MeeMaw and Aunt Jenny. So I dropped off the girls to MeeMaw Kathi's house around 6:00pm on Saturday. They got to stay the night and MeeMaw even let them take a bath together which is the first time for them. They did great and had a blast. I picked the girls up Sunday around noon and dropped them off at Aunt Jenny's. Of course, AJ painted Tia's nails and Tia ran around having a blast. She didn't nap all day, so I knew that crankiness or crashing were in her future. This picture is of her as soon as we left Aunt Jenny's house after my meeting was over. When I got the girls home, it was crazy for me and Chris because both of them were crying. Tia was cranky and wouldn't go to bed, but staying up she just was a pill (but it was still early). Lexi was crying harder than I had really ever seen her and I was thinking she was frustrated she couldn't fall asleep. After about 20 minutes, we were able to get them both calmed down and to sleep. But I think it was because they had a fun weekend with family!

Tia and Lexi's School Pics

Tia and Lexi's school pics came out. I am sooo excited because their sister picture is adorable. Tia is a ham in all of her pictures. It was Lexi's first day of school, so she was probably wondering what was going on, lol. For anyone who wants to purchase, go to www.images4kids.com. You can order by 04/18/12 Access Code: NKW5-15 Password (Tia): 60691 Password (Lexi): 20620

Lexi's Color

Lexi's fingers have a dual tone to them. The skin on her finger from the fingernail to her first knuckle is the same coloring as mine - brown. But the rest of her hand is white. After doing a lot of research online, it says the color of their knuckles will be what their coloring is later in life. If this is true, then Lexi may have my coloring. Regardless, I know she will tan easily. Tia tans great. It may be hard to tell that my kids are quarter Asian, quarter Italian, but they are. They'll love having darker skin for sure.

High Maintenance to Mellow

It is crazy that 11 weeks of maternity leave are almost over. I was considering taking that last week of maternity leave, but decided I'm ready to get back to work and into a normal routine. I get a bit stir crazy and I really enjoy the human interaction of work, not to mention feeling needed. I told my Assistant at work that if Lexi wasn't sleeping through the night by the 12th week, I'd probably take it. However, I've decided that I'm used to functioning on little to no sleep so what's another week. Lexi still doesn't sleep much longer than a few hours at a time through the night. Last night her feedings were 9:30pm, 12:30am, 3:45am, and 6:45am. I hope every night that she'll just skip one OR sleep 4 or 5 hours at a time, but it hasn't happened yet. I guess she loves her food hence why she grew from the 25% to the 90% in weight within a month. Although she isn't sleeping long at night, she has gone from super high maintenance baby to super mellow baby. It was like a switch went off about a week or so ago. She wanted to be held constantly, she wouldn't take a pacifier, she hated the swing and bouncer, and she would let you know that she wasn't happy. She is not a fussy baby at all. When she cries it is very easy to know what she wants, however it usually meant she wanted to be held. However for the past 10 or so days, she can be in her carseat, bouncer, or on the floor just chilling out. She looks around, smiles, coos and talks, and just is super mellow. At Easter on Sunday, all the guys were in the living room watching Golf/sports and she was sitting in her carseat watching along with them. She never fussed once time and of course everyone took turns feeding and holding her throughout the day, but she just chilled out in her carseat for long periods of time. This is great for daycare, but also for us too. In the morning, I get the girls ready and I can feed Lexi, change her and then let her hang out while I get Tia ready. It is so nice. I was afraid she'd want my undivided attention froth minute she woke up - but not the case. Let's hope she continues to be super mellow and happy. Her smiles just melt me!

Easter 2012

Easter was quite fun this year over at Aunt Jenny's house. It was a nice family get together and the girls had a great time. Tia got to easter egg hunt and she got a lot of gifts. The bigger kids (me), got to partake in some yummy martinis throughout the day and night. In fact, Lexi and I stayed over at Aunt Jenny's and Tia went over to MeaMaws. It was fun to get together. God bless Jesus for being alive and saving us all!

Lexi's First Time at Church

We hadn't been to church since Lexi was born. With her having jaundice, RSV, and a cold...it just seemed like keeping her inside and away from crowds was the smartest thing we could do. But, she is doing great and is all better so we decided Easter weekend would be the perfect time to take Lexi to church. She went to the nursery and did great. Tia was in her class and they raved at how cute she was. Chris and I enjoyed the service, as always.

2 Month Check-Up for Lexi

Today was Lexi's 2 month check-up. Her height is 22.5 inches which is in the 50th percentile. Her weight is 12 lbs 4 ozs which is in the 90 percentile (note that at her 1 month appointment she was at the 25 percentile). Her head is 39.5 cm which is in the 65th percentile. She looks great and her lungs and throat sounded great so no RSV. She does have a cold right now, but no fever. It just has to run its course. Doctor was happy with her progress saying that she is doing 3 month old level stuff. She had three shots too. Boy do I hate watching my baby girls cry in pain from the shots. I just feel like I'm betraying them when they give me that look of 'Mommy, help me', but I know that these immunizations are important. So all is good and she is doing great. I am so excited since she had a rough start, but my girls are fighters and I know they always pull through. She has been sleeping better meaning she isn't making as much noise as before. I think her gas problems are getting a bit better. She still doesn't sleep more than 3 hours, some times 4. I am sure this will change over time though. So happy she is doing great!

I No Want It

Tia's little sayings are just the cutest. The latest thing is 'I No Want It' when she is done with something. On the way to school, she said this several times when she was done with her sunglasses, milk, and toy. It is so cute. She is starting to form full sentences. Even when you put her to sleep, she says the cutest things. She'll say 'Go Away' when she is allowing you to leave her to go to bed on her own. So darn cute!

Insanity Workouts

I am on day 38 of 60 of the Insanity Workouts. Wow! They are insane, but I am seeing results and every workout brings sweat and tears. I have been super determined to get back into shape after having Lexi. Last time, I had heard that the weight just falls off if you breastfeed and if you didn't gain too much weight - well maybe for those under 30, but for me, I didn't lose anything. I started walking/running and eating better a few months afterwards and it finally started to come off.

So when I had Lexi, I weighed about 176. I lost about 10 pounds after she was born and hovered around the 165 mark for a few weeks. Then after I hit 4 weeks, I started the Insanity workouts. I had heard that the Insanity workouts build muscle first and then you start to lose weight later. So I didn't get discouraged when the first two weeks, I hovered around the 160 mark. The third week, I started to lose a pound or two. I could really feel my muscle developing and my legs, arms, shoulders, top part of my abs, and a few other muscle areas were super tight - I was happy about that. But my mid-section was ugh! Finally this past week, after hitting the half way mark of the Insanity Workouts, some pounds started melting off, as someone told me it would. I went from 157 last Monday to 150 today. Yay! My mid-section still needs a lot of work, but it was very refreshing to see that my weeks of hard work are starting to pay off. I would like to get to my pre-baby weight of 140, and hopefully beyond - but we'll see.

Now the workouts are the only thing that have helped. I have been eating like a Saint as well. I know that once I hit 30, I had to eat well and workout for weeks before I started to see results. So this time would be no different. I have been using the Weight Watchers Points Plus system. I have never been a good eater and I'm still not the best, but by using the points, I can at least manage my intake and start to see results. I use the app iWatchr that rocks. I log my food and workouts - I have been under my daily point allotment almost every day. Of course, every now and then I have an off day (wineries), but over all, I've done great. Chris is using it now too and he lost 15 pounds super fast - guys are so lucky!

So I still have a lot of work to go, but I feel on track to getting to my goal weight. I can't wait!

Tia is Amazing

I can't even explain how great Tia is. She is growing into such an amazing young lady. I just love hugging and kissing on her, but I know sometimes she wipes them away because of course she is getting her independence. Her manners are awesome! I have to take the credit because Chris and I have constantly made sure we use great manners and show her that we expect the same from her. From saying 'thank you very much' to 'bless you' to 'please' to 'excuse me' to so many other great sayings. I am so proud of her. Tia is a great big sister too. She amazes me how loving and protective she is of Lexi. There have been many instances where she won't let Lexi out of her sight or if she doesn't go with Tia, she asks about 'Baby Lexi'. She is constantly wanting to help with her blanket, bottles, diapers, etc. Tia is super happy and loves the outdoors. She has great independent play, but also loves having our attention from time to time. No complains from this mommy about my little girl who is starting not to be so little anymore. I am blessed and I thank God every day for her (and Lexi). I love you Tia!!

Lexi's First Day of School

Today, Lexi had her first day of school. She woke up super happy, as you can see in this adorable picture. Chris took her to daycare along with Tia and she got settled pretty easily. I forgot her bottles, so I had a great excuse to check in on her around 10:00am. She seemed to be doing pretty good. Her crib has the cutest baseball themed mobile. When she got home that night she seemed to be pretty happy still so I felt like she had a great first day at school. I love First Academy. They do a great job. Tia can count in Spanish, she knows a ton of songs, 25+ words in sign language, and so much more. I know they truly care about my girls and do a great job. I feel very secure having them there and I am blessed for First Academy.

MeeMaw Katma's Graduation

We had a great time attending MeeMaw Katma's Graduation from Sanford Brown College in Medical Assisting. It was a really nice ceremony. Lexi did great because she was being held the whole time. Tia had fun playing with all of the family members. We celebrated at Corner Pub afterwards. Congrats MeeMaw Kathi!