6 Months Already!

How time flies - our little baby Pepper is 6 months old already!

We had her 6 month check-up last week and here are her stats:

Height/Length: 26" (56%)

Weight: 15 lbs. 2 oz. (31%)

The Dr. was a little concerned about her weight - she has slipped down percentile-wise since her 4 month check up. We talked about her eating and sleeping habits (she is a catnapper) and decided not to supplement at this point, but we'll see where she is in 3 months after eating some food!

Developmentally, she is doing great - starting to sit up, wiggling/rolling/inching herself around (she figures out how to get to her toys when she wants them), and interacting with everyone - "talking", "singing", smiling and laughing. She absolutely loves to watch Nikki running around and playing.

She seemed to take to food A-OK:

In case you like live action (don't mind the big sister hamming it up):

She has found her tootsies and likes to get the socks off so that she can eat them too:

All in all, I am trying to get ready for an exciting (and worrisome) year. I am starting to notice what types of toys/knick knacks Annika is leaving laying all over the house (and I worry); I am starting to notice how quickly Piper moves around (and I worry); I am thinking that Annika is going to start offering her other foods (and I worry). I think the next year or so is going to keep us plenty busy!

Must keep reminding myself to pause and enjoy it!

Time for Christmas Pics

Happy New Year!

What a busy and exciting holiday season! One of the beauties of the teaching profession is that you always have a winter break. Usually, my winter break starts the week before Christmas; I usually use this time to complete my shopping, get my cards out, etc. This year, we worked right up to the Friday before Christmas - uh oh! On top of that, there had been ongoing issues with Norovirus at the girls' daycare center; they had to close down to protect everyone's health. Of course, Piper got sick the Sunday night before returning to daycare - so, we kept her home for a couple more days. On top of that, she had a cold that turned into double ear infections and pink eye on Christmas day! Poor thing - she hung in there though!

Anyway, without further adieu, Christmas was AMAZING for Annika. I think that her favorite part the day of was opening the presents. She took note of what was inside, then moved onto the next - needless to say, she opened everyone's presents for them.

Mickey Mouse Santa hat

The FIRST present of Christmas

Santa's Present - a shopping cart

Helping Piper open her presents

Play-Doh was a big hit this year!

Grandma E brought more presents!

OOOH - a pink guitar!

A VERY BIG game! (courtesy of Nana and Papa)

Minnie Mouse top to bottom!

What fun!

Bubble Wrap is also a hit at our hosue

This one makes lots of noise!

A cute pony for our little "sicky"

Minnie Mouse slippers x2!

Sisters - playing together!

And . . . decorating cookies!

All in all, a pretty happy Christmas!

Long time, no blog!

WOW! Who knew time could fly SO fast! Did you know that it is almost Christmas? What just happened? OK, OK, I know - I have 2 kids and a full-time job - by the time I get to stop moving, I just want to go to bed. All right, enough whining . . . let's get caught up!

The last time I blogged was to share the Halloween pics. We've been a busy little family since then!

"Running and Jumping" class:
So, it was really called Wee Gym class and was offered by the La Mesa Community Center. We called it "running and jumping" class because that was what Nikki did for the full half hour! It was a really nice Saturday ritual for a couple of months and man, it burned off some of her energy!

Waiting for class on day 1

Doing a somersault by herself

Jumping!

Parachute

More parachute 

The balance beam

One of my favorites!

Piper's "Gym" class

As you may have guessed, Piper has been doing some exercises of her own! She is officially rolling from back to front and front to back - this girl also can't stop moving. We have even started putting her in the exersaucer. Although her feet aren't quite touching yet, she enjoys herself for a while.

Enjoying some "tummy time"

Rolling!

Exersaucer

Even though her little feet don't reach!

Family Visits

We've also had some family visits. Uncle Phil came out for a few days - very excited that he got to meet Piper (although I didn't get any pictures of him with her) and get to know Annika a bit more. They had a blast at Sea Port Village chasing ducks and such.

And, Nana and Papa came down for Thanksgiving. We all had a very nice time visiting and playing (and eating) Of course, we sent Nana home with a special gift - a cold!

Piper and her Papa

Nana with Piper

What should the caption be for this one?

Conclusion
I feel much better now that I have got all of that out there! Both of the girls are growing so fast and I am absolutely loving this time. Annika is talking and singing and using the potty and doing puzzles and . . . so much more! She is so observant and quick and fun. She has her first Christmas performance on Friday and I am having a hard time containing my excitement! I also can't believe how fast Piper is growing and changing; she is becoming so interactive and is such a wiggle worm - getting more difficult to change a diaper and get her dressed. Annika is also taking more notice of her and interacting with her. The only time it bothers me is when she throws open the door to Piper's room first thing in the morning when Piper is still sleeping . . . 

Once again, I didn't realize my life could feel this full!

Halloween Happenings

Halloween season is over . . .

We had plenty of fun (and wardrobe changes)

Nana had sent a t-shirt and matching onesie for the girls:

And, of course, we wore them on our way to the Pumpkin Patch:

LOOK - a goat!

Petting the goat!

Duck races!

"Milking" a "cow"

Hayride with Grandma E

Family Photo - that's Piper in the carrier!

Which was FANTASTIC! It is a 20 minute drive to Lakeside and they have tons of activities (as you can see). It is an operating dairy farm and we went right through the middle of the cow barn during the hayride - got to see a baby cow being born (I spared you those pictures, but it was pretty fascinating). I think Annika could have played some more, but it was coming up on naptime! They sell Christmas trees in November and December - we may have to go back for that!

For Halloween, the girls got to dress up and Trick or Treat at daycare. Annika was Strawberry Shortcake and Piper was a giraffe. Here they are in their costumes:

Our little giraffe!

And Strawberry Shortcake!

Me and my girls!

They were both tucked away in bed before the Trick or Treaters came out in our neighborhood - not that we get many due to living on a pretty steep hill.

To wrap up the Halloween fashions, Aunt Robin sent some fashionable Halloween presents too:

Halloween socks for the big one!

A pumpkin outfit . . .

. . . with pumpkin hat for the little one!

Annika had a blast with some gifts from Grandma E as well - she loved the "candy corn" soap - couldn't wait to get into the bathtub and play - and baking (and eating) Pumpkin Spice muffins! She even made sure that Piper got to try out all of her new rattles (little sock and wrist rattles)!

All in all, a fun Halloween season! I think this is the last year that we will be running the show. Annika is starting to understand a bit more about what is going on around her, when things will be happening, etc. She is definitely starting to be interested in candy - chocolate is her favorite; M&Ms were a hit! I imagine that next year, she will tell us what she wants to be for Halloween and that she wants to go out Trick or Treating . . . we'll see . . .

Other than that, we all seem to have a bit of a cold at this point, but are hanging in there - I can't imagine that the big swings in weather have been helpful - raining one week, Santa Ana conditions the next!

Well, Starbucks has their holiday drinks and cups out; all the ads are talking about holiday sales, holiday shopping, and the new year, so I guess we are officially in holiday season - whew! The girls took pictures at school this week; hopefully they turn out adorable and our Christmas cards are done! Cross your fingers!