Daphne, 10 Months

Daphne is 10 months old! She had her 10 month appointment on 1/24. She's healthy and developing well, but she's a little small for her age. She's in the 23rd percentile, which is little considering that she was born at 9 lbs. 9 oz. and was in the 50th percentile at previous appointments. But she's crawling a lot, and FAST, so she's probably just burning through meals and milk. We're feeding her peanut butter and whole milk yogurt and pasta along with her fruits and veggies. She's a very funny little baby! At Violet's ballet class yesterday, she turned around and shook her finger with an "Ah ah ah!" (no-no!) at Violet when she wouldn't let go of Daphne's foot. She's starting to be nervous around strangers. Not as sad as some babies, but more than Violet was. Here's a picture from 1/18, little Daphne's 10 month birtdhay. Time to plan a birthday!

Perfect Saturday Morning

Violet: "Daph-a, you are my best friend!"

Daphne: "Zha zha ZHA!"

Our perfect Saturday morning. Except that Erik had to go to work, and just got home. But other than that. Love these girls!

January in West L.A.

Oh, January in West L.A. We are livin' the dream here, folks. We are enjoying every possible minute of our gorgeous, high-70s weather. Here are a few pictures of some fun park days from this week.

1/6/12
Daphne enjoys being the center of attention at the park with friends.

I kid you not, all these kiddos eating lunch lined up on a bench was too cute for words. The picture doesn't do it justice, but you know, kids are wiggly.

1/5/12

Violet enjoyed taking Daphne down the slide. Daphne tolerated it.

Officially, it was a good day.

Violet Jean, Superstar!

My baby smells like hummus.

Really, she almost always smells like hummus. And raisins. Also, raspberries and carrots and cheese.

Happy New Year, 2012!

Happy New Year! New Year's Eve is Erik and my favorite holiday. Games, friends, food... and we get to wear sweats.

Here we are cleaned up, New Year's Day, headed to a Christmas celebration with Erik's extended family.

Last picture of 2011:

Our game group this year. How many New Years have we rung in with these guys? I'll have to go through pictures for an answer. It's been a lot. Since before we were married, but I think we skipped a year or two.

Sometimes, when you work really hard making beautiful matching Christmas skirts for your daughters, and make them wear those skirts 100 times, you still never get a decent picture. Sigh. But, they are cuties, no?

Christmas

Cousins, Christmas Morning, 2012

Christmas this year was, well, tough. Both girls were sick. Neither girl slept well. By the end of four nights of no sleep, Mommy and Daddy weren't the patient parents we endeavor to be. Still, it was Christmas for children, and Christmas for children is magic. Violet really has fun with Christmas now, and Daphne loved the wrappings and toys. It was wonderful to spend time with family, and it was a well-paced day. Next year we will spend the month leading up to Christmas in a bubble, and it will be perfect.

The girls' Santa haul.

Katie and I slaved over these cookies, but aren't they gorgeous?!

Claire and Violet went to feed the reindeer, and it was hilarious. It was freezing outside, so when we told the girls to sprinkle the food on the lawn for the reindeer, Violet threw the whole ziplock on the grass and headed for the door. "No! You have to open it for them!" She opened it, then threw it on the lawn. "No, you're supposed to take it out and sprinkle it for them!" Exasperated and cold, she dumped it out all in one pile and ran inside. Claire, who knew better how to properly sprinkle reindeer food, was apparently also cold and tired as she followed suit. Both girls then ran upstairs, explaining that they had to get to sleep so Santa could come! Highlight of the night: not ONE peep out of them on the monitor after goodnights were said. Until Violet woke up sick a few hours later, that is.

Baby's first Christmas. Aw, Daph. You're so cute. Even when I can't see straight because I'm so tired. Merry Christmas, baby. I love you.

Daphne, 9 Months

Happy 9 Month Birthday, Daphne, Daphers, Dapha, Dapharoo.
You sleepless cutie-patootie, you! I love you more than I love sleep.

Quick Update

This is just a quick update, but I have to post while I'm thinking about it. This post is all gushing, and nothing but.

Violet:
Is loving preschool. Her teachers say that she is always very concerned about what her classmates are doing. She regularly tells the teachers who needs help with his or her puzzle. When her table-mate Parita's dad was late picking her up, Violet refused to leave. She went and stood with Parita, and gave her a reassuring hug. She was genuinely concerned. She has made quick friends with everyone in the class, but she sure talks about Landin a lot. I do believe we have a first crush. She also enjoys her job every week. This week she was the key monitor. Last week she was the cone monitor. Next week maybe she'll be the crayon monitor or something. They are preparing for their Christmas show next week, and she's very excited to sing "Feliz Navi-dop" with everyone.
We are also enjoying baking and crafts at home. She's an expert egg-cracker and flour leveler, and she doesn't spill... very much. She's very cute and sort of bossy in the kitchen.
She can zip her own jacket zipper.
Violet told a story tonight. We have a big book of things to find, and each page has a different theme. She loves to tell stories about the people in the pictures. Tonight's stories were just so stinkin' cute. In the second story she told, the princess went to the evil witch to buy chiuauas (yes, the dog), because she didn't know she was the evil witch! Then, the witch stole the princess, but she didn't know she was a princess! The princess escaped into the woods, but didn't know where she was. "Then her found a castle!" Naturally, prince charming was in the castle, and they lived happily ever after. Sweet Violet.

Daphne:
Talks! Sort of. Last Friday we were absolutely sure for the first time that she said, "Uh oh!" It was so cute. "Uh-oh" was Violet's first word, too. Though when Violet said it, she thought it was hilarious. Daphne seems rather concerned. And, I'm pretty sure as of a couple of days ago that when she says, "Mama," she means it. Today, she signed, "All done" by waving her hands. It was so cute. She didn't want any more peas.
Here are some milestone dates:
Tooth #4, Upper Right Lateral Incisor: 11/1
Sat herself up: 11/3
Crawled once or twice: 11/12-13
Officially a crawler: 11/16
Pulled to a stand: 11/18
Tooth #5, Upper Left Central Incisor: 11/23
Tooth #6, Upper Right Central Incisor: 11/24
Stood hands-free (and promptly fell): 12/2
Took a nasty fall free-standing after pulling up on the dishwasher: 12/4
Said "Uh-oh" (first word): 12/8
Fed Violet: 12/13
Said Mama: 12/14
So, she's been busy. She's a funny little girl, and excellent crawler. The things that make her laugh, make me laugh. She loves tickles and flying in the air, and every time I show her a hand sigh, she cracks up like I'm the funniest person in the room. She doesn't love her pacifier, and if you're trying to, well, pacify her with it, she'll take it from you and throw it across the room. That goes for anything you try to give her that she doesn't want. If she doesn't throw it far enough the first time, she picks it up and throws it again while looking you in the eye. It's extremely cute... for now. She likes to play with toys that have buttons, and thankfully she's proven to be discerning as far as what she will eat off the ground. Dangerous things like Barbie shoes get spit out, delicious things like week-old Cheerios in the corner are eaten. Both of which make mommy scream.

The Girls
...are sharing a room! We put Daphne and her naughty non-sleeping ways to bed in the other bedroom all by herself, and we shared our bedroom with Violet for a week after Thanksgiving. We thought it was going to be tough, but Daphne slept much better when she was not in our room! After a week, we moved Violet back in. Now Violet sneaks in each night and reads by flashlight until she falls asleep. So mature, I tell you! They remain the best of friends. I really hope this lasts forever. We've made their bedroom into more of a play room for them. It's really nice, and it's helping to keep the rest of our home clean, too!

We are looking so forward to Christmas this year! Tomorrow we are heading out in the car to play Christmas carols, drink hot chocolate, and find some Christmas lights. And, we love our little family!