Sunday, March 31

Happy Easter

All our favorite activities made an appearance this Easter. 

We made chow-mein noodle chocolate bird nests, IMG_2304

and sparkling colored Easter Eggs.

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Everyone had fun on the Easter Egg hunt. . .

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well almost everyone.

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Biddy got lucky.  She found the silver egg with $5 and won the raffle.  IMG_2347IMG_2349

The Easter Bunny came on Saturday and spoiled the girls rotten.

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My garden bloomed just in time to celebrate Easter.

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The girls all looked beautiful in their dresses.  

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We were so blessed to share the day with our surrogate family in OH. 

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After dinner JJ and SJ entertained us with a fabulous magic show. 

 

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Saturday, March 16

Grandma and Papa’s Visit

We love it when my parents come to visit.  It was especially fun because it was the first time they got to stay in our new house.  They flew in well after midnight so the girls made a beautiful poster to welcome them because they were all asleep.  The girls were still in school most days so we kept things pretty low key. 

We took a tour of the Wright Brothers Historical Monument.

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We visited the Museum of Art in Cincinnati and toured the Museum of the US Air Force. 

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When the girls were in school Grandma, Papa, Biddy, Nellie and I got to go explore some of Dayton's most beautiful neighborhoods, eat lunch at a famous hot spot.  We stopped in at the Esther Price Candy home store to buy some Easter treats and got a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny.

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Grandma and Papa got to attend Zana’s 1st grade play.  She did a good job being a star and shining her light.  Performing on stage is really scary for her so we were especially proud of her for doing a few dance moves and even singing a little bit.

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Mom and I had a chance to do some shopping, and get Shelac manicures at the Spa   while Grandpa watched the little ones. Grandpa got a kick out of how Biddy eats a Sam’s Club Churro- licking all the cinnamon and sugar.

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Monday, March 11

9 Months

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Can you blame us for loving this girl!! She is such a joy.  The Bellie is growing up before our eyes and we are soaking up every minute.   She is going to be climbing the stairs in no time.

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Our girl rarely stays in on place for long so it is almost impossible to get a good picture of her.  I had to physically hold her legs down on the couch to get this shot and it is still a little blurry.

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When she does sit still she sits with her legs in a split position. I think she sits that way because it makes getting to a crawling position faster.  

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Or she could be preparing for life as a ballerina.  Look at the perfect stretch.

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  I have never been a big health nut but after raising a carbohydrate monster like Biddy I decided things would be different for The Bellie. She was going to eat her fruits and veggies and love it!   I found a website that talked about letting babies feed themselves a balanced array of an array of fruits, veggies, protein and whole grains. No baby food, baby cereals, baby puffs, rice mums, yogurt melts. And I am proud to say that I have not bought a single jar of baby food, nor do I spend hours making it. For the most part she feeds herself   The only grain based carbs she eats are a few cheerios. Her favorites include slices of avocado, bananas, and pears.  She chews on snap peas, broccoli crowns and green beans.  Chicken , meatballs, hot dogs and beans round out her protein. Lately I we have tried pieces of cherry tomatoes, grapes blueberries, strawberries and tomato soup.  She loves it all and I feel so good about feeding her such healthy natural foods.   

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We sure do love our girl!

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Thursday, February 28

February

Valentines Day

I love celebrating Valentines day with my family.  We have some fun traditions that make the day extra special.  Every year the girls come home from school to find little gifts of love from Mom. This year I made each of the girls a special headband or flower to wear.  Then I send them to the mail box to collect all the wonderful valentines cards that our family sends.   Daddy always brings home something special and this year it was gourmet cupcakes and balloons for the girls and a dozen roses for me. Every year I make gourmet chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert.  

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Biddy and the Bug

We all got hit with a very horrible stomach bug (gastro-intestinal virus ).  The Bellie was sick for a week and the rest of us where feeling crummy for days but the bug hit Biddy especially hard.  She would not stop throwing up.   She was so exhausted that she fell asleep with her  head resting on the edge of the toilet bowl between hurling episodes.

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After 48 hours of vomiting with no end in sight I took her to the E.R. The doctors were great and got her pumped with Zofran and fluids within the hour.  I was shocked at how sick and  lethargic she really was.  When they put her I.V. in she didn’t even flinch.  The blood work revealed that her glucose levels where far below normal and her hydration level was dangerously low. After three hours on fluids she started to perk up.  When her sugar level reached normal again they let us go home. She spent the next week recovering.  It was a grueling ordeal for her and it sure helped me appreciate the times when my kids are healthy. 

 

JJ’s Snowman

JJ has been talking about building a snowman all winter but was sick every time we had a good snowfall. Then a late February storm dumped 4” and she finally got her chance. She dragged Daddy out to help her and together they built our biggest snowman to date. I especially love his moustache.

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Tuesday, February 12

8 Months

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The Bellie is growing up before our eyes.  She is full of non-stop energy.  We have learned to keep an eye on her as she can find her way into all sorts of stuff.  She will eat anything especially paper so we have to “sweep” up every room before we can set her down to crawl.  I made her some leg warmers because she was crawling holes in all her pants.  She has no fear and will crawl off any edge.  We had to get a gate so she wouldn’t go head first down the stairs.  A quick learner when it comes to getting around, she is pulling up and even starting to climb.  I was shocked when I wandered into the kitchen and discovered that she had climbed right up into the dishwasher.   She loves her bottle and eats lots of yummy food.  She babbles constantly and her favorite sound is adada. Her least favorite thing is getting her diaper and clothes changed as she hates being held still. I am grateful that she is a good sleeper.  She still naps in her car seat so running errands is a breeze. She also sleeps the whole night.  She is so easy and so much fun!  We sure do love our active and happy girl.

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