Always Dreaded

I really like a clean house, and I do my best to keep our house tidy. However, I am never motivated to mop our kitchen floor or clean the bathrooms.

It's been a really long time since I've done either of those chores.

Now, I think I might as well wait until the New Year.

Very Merry

We had a great Christmas with all of David's family. I'll post more pictures when I find our camera.

Leah had so much fun playing with her cousins, it's a good thing she has lots of new toys to distract her when we are home by ourselves.

Lots of Time to Play

This was the first time Leah was old enough to really play with her cousins. It was so fun to watch her laugh and jump and squeal with delight. Sarah had lots of people to hold her and love her.

Christmas

It was fun to wake up Christmas morning with all of David's siblings and neices and nephews. It was a whirlwind of excited voices and wrapping paper. Leah hardly noticed her gifts, because she was too busy watching everybody else.









We are grateful to have Webcams so we could "see" my family too.

Cousins

The cousins were all together this year, and boy did they have fun!

Nativity

The grandkids put on a couple versions of the Nativity. This was my favorite. Mainly because of the shepard and wiseman and Jacob as a camel. Sarah was a cute baby Jesus, and Leah really only cared about sitting on the yellow chair.



We also sang songs and heard about Grandma and Grandpa Stathis' family Christmas traditions growing up. The big kids did a good job conducting and putting everything together.

The Sweetest

At four months, she is still the sweetest little baby. We love her so much and can't imagine life without her as part of our family.

Here are some of her likes:

* Sleeping. She prefers it to eating. If she's really tired and hungry at the same time, she will take a little 10 to 15 minute nap and then wake up to eat.

* Leah. Even though she is still a baby, I can see how much she loves her sister. She always gives her HUGE smiles.

* Clutching her blanket and rubbing it on her face. We tried a little stuffed animal blanket like Leah's bunny, but Sarah wasn't interested. She prefers this white light weight blanket in the picture.

* A dark room when she sleeps. When we aren't at home, she buries her head in my elbow with her head facing the floor.

* Toys. She used to cry a lot in the car, until I started giving her toys. She likes grabbing them, throwing them, and sucking them.

* Smiling. When someone smiles at her, she can't resist smiling back. We're glad she shares her nice, big smile often.

Sarah is a really predictable, easy baby that has brought nothing but pure joy to our family. We often joke that when Sarah cries, we must be either really negligent or pushing her past her limit, because she rarely does.

Four Month Stats

Height: 25 1/4 inches, 75th percentile
Weight: 12 lbs 13 oz, 50th percentile

Conversations

She loves starting the day off with a little chit chat.

A Lullaby

David and I went to see the Vienna Boys Choir perform tonight. They were so adorable and so incredibly talented. We both fell in love with the words to this ancient lullaby.

Sleep softly, my darling child
Yes, my child, you are so beautiful in your crib,
That I feel as if I could not part from you.
I wish you with all my heart the sweetest of rests,
For the angels from heaven tuck you in.

I wonder when parents stop checking on their kids as they are sleeping. It's magical to see them resting so peacefully.

Clothes

It's been a few months now that Leah has been very opinionated about what she wears. Getting dressed in the morning usually requires us to have a lengthy discussion about her outfit.

If all her clothes are clean, it's rather simple. She will wear her pink shirt with her pink leggings. If those are dirty, she goes with her other pink shirt with the pockets and her teal pants. If both of those outfits are dirty, we are in for some more convincing and disappointment, until she finally agrees to wear something else.

Today, though, was the first time she expressed her opinion about my outfit. I was wearing a sleeveless green shirt that she loved. However, as soon as I put on my white cardigan, she started to get really concerned.

Leah: "Mommy, take it off."
Me: "No sweetie, I'll be cold without my sweater."
Leah, with a very disgusted face: "Mommy, SWEATER OFF!!!"
Me: "Sorry Leah, Mommy likes this sweater, and I'm going to wear it."
Leah, trying a new approach as she stroked my arm, "This off, PuUUlease."

I also took a new approach and distracted her by taking her downstairs to color to get her to stop pestering me.

As the day progressed, she would continue to ask me every few hours to take it off. Finally, I agreed to remove my sweater right before dinner in exchange for her doing something for me. She immediately complied, and she couldn't have been happier.

I thought I had a least a few more years before she would be embarrassed about what I was wearing! I also had no idea that she would be so particular about her clothing. I'm pretty sure she won't wear any of the new clothes I bought her for Christams.

It's beginning to look like Christmas...

This week has really felt like Christmas at our house.

We wrapped a few more presents for under the tree, and tried to get a picture of the girls dressed up in red and white.



We went to Christmas parties. Leah liked watching Santa and talking about him when he wasn't close by. She didn't want to sit on his lap, but loved enjoying the sucker he gave her.





Tonight we made sugar cookies. Leah loves the dough as much as I do. She kept sneaking it when we weren't looking.



David and I have also watched a few cheesy Christmas movies.

Bumbo

A friend let us borrow hers, and it's been an instant hit.

Sarah loving the bumbo and her hands.


Leah waiting patiently for her turn.

Wher Da Duckie Go?

This made me smile, and I just had to take a picture.



I can see Leah carefully cover the duckie's face up. I can hear her voice as she looks around curiously and questions "where da duckie go?" I can hear her laugh when she removes the pink top and squeals with delight at the duckie underneath.

Sometimes I wish I could just bottle her up and keep her exactly as she is in this moment so I will always remember the way she runs from the living room to the kitchen. How she is always concerned about where everyone is and is truly only content when everyone is together. How she insists on wearing her pink shirt with the pockets with her pink leggings as often as she can.

Time is going by much to quickly.

Pretend Play

We all have colds at various stages in this house. Sarah is all sniffles today so I decided to take it easy. I'm still in my pjs and the house is a mess.

While Sarah has been sleeping, Leah has been having a lot of fun playing pretend. She's done it before, but today I really noticed it.

It started with her getting the Russia babushka doll off the bookshelf. She plays with it often. This time she took all the dolls apart and then started a little conversation with them at the bookshelf. It went something like this as she put them back one by one behind the books.

Do Doo do Do
Bye
Bye
See you later
Okay
Okay
Lock the Door

She's also played for the last hour with a piece of toilet paper, a creepy black dog Emily bought her from a 50 cent vending machine, an equally creepy kitty a waitress at Outback gave her, and a spare key.

Tummy Time

...goes like this at our house.

Thanksgiving at the Lake

The lake house is the perfect getaway. It's just a two-hour drive away. With no TV, Internet, or computers it makes for a very relaxing long weekend. The weather was perfect. We ate great food and enjoyed each others company.











I love the picture of Leah sleeping on David's chest. She never falls asleep like that so I was very surprised when I found them.

I guess all the Thanksgiving excitement combined with running outside and riding bikes took it all out of her.

Auntie Em

Or Lemily as Leah calls her. Emily is the perfect aunt, sister, and friend. She is so selfless and caring and willing to help. She is also sooo much fun! If there is a party, Emily is there. More often than not she is the one hosting it and getting everyone together. She has an infectious laugh, and is always up for an adventure. Naturally, the girls just love her.



We started planning our trip to Utah before Sarah was even born, and Emily offered to fly back with me so I could stay longer with the girls. We are so grateful for her help. She took time off work to stay with us, and I couldn't have asked for a better flying buddy.

Flying with kids is never fun, and I was especially nervous about our late flight back. Leah had been going to bed around 5:45 or 6 pm in Utah, which was the exact time that our flight took off.

Now, I was smart enough to know that she wouldn't sleep, and she didn't. We were lucky to have two empty seats next to us, but unfortunately we were sitting about 10 rows apart. Knowing that Leah would be extremely tired and as a result very emotional, I decided I would stay with her. Emily would hold Sarah.

We prepared as much as we could before the flight. We put on pajamas, changed diapers, and handed out snacks. We boarded the plane last so Leah could run around as much as possible, and we could try to get Sarah to go to sleep. We boarded. I held my breath.

Leah settled in pretty easily and made an immediate friend with the person sitting next to us. I could see the back of Emily's head, and she seemed to be doing well.

As soon as the fasten seat belt went on and the plane started to prepare for take off, I heard Sarah start to cry. Oh no, I thought. I shouldn't have even worried, because less than two minutes later Emily had her fast asleep with a little rocking and her binky. Emily is a natural at taking charge of situations like this where other people might panic or worry.

Overall, the flight went really well. At one point, when Emily came back to say hi to us with sweet Sarah sleeping in her arms, she kindly told me I had a raisin stuck to my forehead. Great. I also managed to sit in silly putty. I guess it must have looked pretty bad, because a lady behind me on the escalator politely tapped me on my shoulder to tell me I sat in something nasty.

Sunday Morning

My parents have church at 1pm, which means the girls are dressed in their Sunday clothes by 9am. I wanted to get a picture of the two of them together.

Sarah was up for it.


Leah wanted to take the picture. Here she is saying "Smile Sarah."


Of course once Sophie joined us, she turned her attention on her.


We leave tomorrow, and I'm not looking forward to the flight. My sister, Emily, is coming with us. Thank goodness!

Our flight here was great. The flight wasn't full so David and I both had aisle seats next to each other with empty middle seats next to us. Sarah sprawled out on one middle seat and slept, while Leah sat on the other one admiring the jewerly and painted nails of the sixteen-year-old girl sitting by the window.

Lots of Visits with Family

Papa and Gama Carrier

Newly retired and loving life!

Fries, Hot Chocolate, Naps, and Legos

I think Leah had fries for lunch three days in a row.


She also tried hot chocolate for the first time and loved it.


Sarah loved the swing.


She spent lots of time building stuff with legos.

Halfway Mark

It hit me, as we were planning out our activities for the rest of the week, that our trip is almost over. The time has gone by so quickly...

When we return to our normal lives, I'll post lots of great pictures. In the meantime, here are a couple of the girls enjoying Grandma and Grandpa's bean bag chairs in the nice warm house. It snowed yesterday, and there is more snow predicted for tomorrow.

Leah is upset, because she wanted Sarah to sit in it all by herself.





After Leah was satisfied with seeing Sarah pose for a picture in the bean bag chair, she let Grandpa get her situated. He put in the Disney movie Ratatouille. She didn't make it past the opening credits, but he ended up watching the entire movie.

Sophie

Leah spent most of her time looking after Sophie. She would anxiously await for Sophie to come upstairs in the morning, and then she would say, "MORNING Soph!" with a huge smile. She took her on walks, made sure she had water, and lots of exercise. She pretty much chased her around all day.

Great Grandmas

I'm so glad my girls were able to meet my Grandmas. As one of the oldest grandkids on both sides of my family, I cherish the few pictures I have with my great-grandparents, even though my memory of them is very vague.

As far as Grandmas go, these two ladies were the best. They loved all of us Grandkids, and they always made me feel special.

Meet Billie Lou Croshaw Carrier.



Interesting fact: Her parents wanted to name her something else. Her Grandpa changed it to Billie Lou when she was blessed as a baby.

When I was growing up, her house was always stocked with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, red licorice, and scotcheroos. She encouraged us to be creative, and always had an endless supply of paper for us to draw on.

While her memory isn't as good as it used to be, she still is always able to bring a smile to my face. Leah played with tiny green animal figures hidden in blocks and alphabet puzzle pieces at my Grandma's feet, while Grandma recounted how she had four kids in five years. I might have heard it a few times, but I didn't mind.



Meet Betty Jean Warner Sides.



Interesting Fact: She is a twin and the oldest of eight children. Her twin sister was very prissy and boy crazy. My Grandma was not. In fact, when they were 16 my Grandma tied her twin up to a tree in an attempt to thwart her intent to run off and get married.



Grandma Sides lives just around the corner from my parents, and we often wandered over to her house when we were craving something sweet. There was always vanilla icecream in the freezer, and more often than not a homemade pie on the counter.

She loved to cook. Up until last year or so she canned every season--peaches, tomatoes, beans, mustard pickle, chili sauce. I guard her cinnamon roll recipe as a family secret. Everyone wants a copy of it when I make them around Christmas time.



The last year has been a tough one for Grandma Sides, her physical health is deteriorating. As a result, her kids made a difficult decision to move her to a very nice assisted living center where she gets 24-hour care. We tried to visit her everyday. Leah had fun eating her licorice, butterscotch candies, and vanilla wafers. I might have enjoyed eating them even more than her.