It's For You!

Butterflies Everywhere!

Last Sunday, we went to the botanical gardens to check out their butterfly exhibit. While the exhibit doesn't officially open until this weekend there were a ton of butterflies in the conservatory. It was a balmy 80 degrees in there. It was a nice change of pace from the snowy weather outside.

Allison loved being in the conservatory, especially running back and forth through the cave and looking at the waterfall. For the most part she didn't even realize there were butterflies in there, except when I pointed them out to her. Then she didn't like them so much.

Mia was along for the ride and enjoyed being out with her parents and big sister.

Since we have a membership we will probably be spending lots of time there this spring. It is a great chance for Allison to get out and run about. We can't wait until it warms up and we can take advantage of the Children's Garden once again.

Allison checking out what was going on.

The butterflies had landed on several spots making it easy to get a close-up view.

Allison checking out the great open road ahead of her.

Mia happy as can be.

Not too sure of her bench mate.

Finally deciding that sharing a bench with a butterfly wasn't so bad after all.

This looks sums up the morning.

A Creation by Allison and Dad

Brian and Allison have fun playing with her Duplo blocks. Brian stacks them up and Allison knocks them over. This by far has been their highest tower.

An Artistic Creation

I'm trying to get better about doing art projects with Allison. I've given her crayons and paper, but she usually just tries to eat the crayons. We bought some of the "magic finger paints" that only appears on special paper. Allison likes playing with these because of the texture of the paints because they have a greasy feel to them. However, the only problem with the paints is that it takes forever for the color to appear on the paper, so she doesn't even realize that she is in fact painting.

So we decided to buy Allison some real finger paints the other week. She had more fun painting herself than the paper. She also enjoyed trying to touch Brian with her paint-covered hands. When it came time to clean up, we plopped her in the kitchen sink and rinsed her off with the sprayer.

A Blessed Day

Last weekend we celebrated Amelia's baptism. Our family joined us in this celebration. Once again the family baptism gown was worn. This was the 11th time it has been used since my oldest sister Jodi wore it as a baby. It has been passed down to all the grand-daughters in the family.

For the most part Amelia did well; she only fussed for a little bit but settled down in time to be shown to the congregation. Our pastor, Frank, was a little nervous to hold Amelia because his wife, Carole, who is the co-pastor, is usually the one to hold the babies. However she recently had knee surgery and was unable to attend the service that week. Allison also was very well behaved. She was very curious looking at our extended family in the pews. Prior to the baptism, our choir sang a song that incorporated a drum that really captivated Allison's attention.

After the service, we had a luncheon for our family at the church. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Allison had fun seeing her cousins, however she became a little frustrated because all the older kids wanted to pick her up and carry her around (she is just too big for that now, she is not a baby) Plus it was near her nap time.

For more pictures check out http://moreofallison.shutterfly.com/ Click on Feb 2009.

Weight Check

We brought the girls in for their 18 month and 4 month checkup. They did great with their shots. It was a little traumatic at first, but nothing a roll of smarties (for Allison) and a bunch of hugs and kisses (for Mia) couldn't handle. Allison weighs 24.6 lbs and is 30 inches long. She is my little shortie. She didn't grow in height since her last appointment, however the doctor wasn't concerned about that. Hopefully she has a growth spurt soon.

Ms. Mia weighed in at a healthy....



15 pounds and 7 ounces. That is approximately two pounds heavier than Allison was at four months. No wonder why the car seat seems so heavy when I carry her. She is 25 inches tall.

Brian and I are very lucky to have two healthy and happy kids on our hands.

Happy 4 Months

Amelia celebrated her 4 month birthday last week on Friday the 13th. In case you are wondering, she will not celebrate her first official "Friday the 13th" birthday until 2017, when she will be 9 years old.

I am having a hard time believing that she is already four months old. This came up quickly. I realize we have several milestones just around the corner - rolling over, starting solids, and her first laugh. We have come real close to a first laugh, however the sound doesn't quite come out yet. Amelia has had what I call "silent" laughs - it looks like she is laughing, but I don't hear anything. Maybe she takes after me since I tend to have a silent laugh too.

Amelia is sitting in her Bumbo chair. At first she didn't care for it, however she is doing much better now. It is nice to be able to put her in the chair and free up both hands. Amelia can watch me work when I get dinner ready and it seems to serve as a nice change of scenery for her.

Amelia has been waking up in the middle of the night as of late. I knew I shouldn't have said she was sleeping through the night and hex it. I'm thinking that she may be waking up and wanting to play. I want to try one night not giving her a bottle, but rather putting on her musical soother in her crib. However, she is very loud when she wakes up. She likes to lay in her crib and "sing." I am afraid that she is going to wake up Allison and we will then be dealing with two kids awake in the middle of the night. Hopefully this doesn't last much longer and she goes back to sleeping through the night (like she did last night).

Amelia's hair is lightening up a bit. She still has a full head of hair though. As you can see from her picture, Amelia has a full set of cheeks; the girl likes to eat. We have bumped her up to 6 ounces of formula per feeding. We will find out how much she weighs at her and Allison's doctor's appointment tomorrow.