The Last Days of Summer 2009

Wow! Time goes by way too fast! It was a very eventful summer, full of lot's of excitement and spending time with friends and family!

Ella at our house/baby party having a blast!

Of course the girls did what they do the best: Kept us busy and GREW! Claira is starting to recognize faces and baby babbled an awful lot, she loves to blow us rasberries and keep everyone awake at night.

Claira, I wonder why she's yawning in the middle of the day? Oh yeah, because she was  awake all night!

We took many opportunities to go out and explore our new neighborhood while it was still warm out (and because it was cooler outside than in) Ella loved to learn about Dogs, Houses, Trees, Cars, and to not open your mouth while you are looking up at a tree.

Ella and Dada, "What a big TREE!" Ella runs faster than the camera can take a picture!

Mama, Ella, and Claira

Claira loves to take walks in the stroller

For some reason or another, I feel the need to dress them alike while I can, I think it's the cutest thing in the world, the poor girls probably think im crazy, but hey, why not?

My sorry attempt to get them in the same picture without Ella injuring her baby sister, Ella shows compassion for a baby doll who has an "owie" on her head, but doesn't make noise.

Claira, her paci marks remind me of that Juviderm commerical...hehe ("parenthesis have a place, but not on your face")

I asked Ella what the bucket is for, she said "a hat"

Ella is loving our new house, especially the huge backyard and the complete access to every room in it. She has already perfected the art of the "fake-out" she like to fake getting an owie so I will let her have a sucker (her favorite are Dum-Dums) I have finally became privy to her scheme and nixed the whole thing. We have tried Potty Training, but no luck, she loves to sit and play on her potty and loves to wear big girl panties, but the whole going on her prized potty isn't something she is interested yet, but thats OK, she's still young and i've got the M&M's waiting for when she's ready.

 Well, the day has finaly come to get rid of those darn paci's! OK, I said it before, it's true, but this time is for real! I am not going to be one of those parents that let their 2-year-old run around with it in their mouth. So far we had cut it down to only at Bedtime and she usually takes it out and throws it on the floor when she fell asleep but I hadn't completely taken it away from her at bedtime until about a month before her second birthday! It was so easy, I told her to say night night to them, and that night I threw them away! She cried a couple of nights and asked for it, but I think that was only because it became routine to give it to her along with her story and her lovies, so off they went, never to be seen again! I am so pround of her, and honestly I think I was more dependant on it that she was!

Claira-Bear LOVES to smile, especially big open-mouth smiles. Sometimes her smiles are so big that you can see the inside of her cheek sticking out, it is the most adorable thing, but also very hard to catch on camera! The very best way to make her giggle to to make silly noises and blow raspberries on her tummy, or you can just have Ella pay any sort of attention to her, she loves to watch her big sister play, laugh, talk and smile.

                                                                            Claira, 2 months