Family Day

This morning it was a mild 75 degrees! It was heavenly!

We decided to seize the opportunity to get outside and get some fresh air, something all four of us needed desperately.

The fresh air knocked Emma out or maybe it was the 15 minutes of screaming on the way to the park.

We of course played on the playground equipment including swings and bouncy animals but then once Baby Emma awoke we decided to explore with a walk around the trail.

What a gorgeous day!

To finalize our Family Day, we took off after dinner for our favorite thing to do...a walk on the boardwalk. Yep, that will probably be our last Sat evening walk until Labor Day weekend! Although it was GREAT people watching and we got ice cream it was just a bit too crowded and weird for us :).

Playtime

I am so lucky that I have two girls that love to be at home. We stayed home all day today without any tantrums, breakdowns or tiffs. It was wonderful to play with my girls.

Emma loving her saucer. She is crazy about the green and blue bear and can push buttons on the music player along with turning herself around in her seat. You can see that we still need to put at least three blankets around her so that she will fit in the seat comfortably.

Emma even liked picking out toys from her bin. She is gaining a lot of core strength that is helping her be to be able to sit up with only one of our hands to pretty much steady her. She was even standing for a bit trying to get toys out...I just wasn't brave enough to take my hands away from her to take a picture.

Lily of course got her little people and babydolls out. So cute that Lily is now really using a lot of words and starting to talk in complete sentences. She will say I want to play... usually it's blocks or little people but most of the time she thinks faster than she can speak and it comes out little poopy instead. I'm hoping that she'll be able to say it correctly by the time school starts :).

Eye to Eye

Emma LOVES to be on her tummy.

So most of the time Lily will join her and play

Eye to Eye.

I adore them.

Grazing

Everyone knows grazing...when you know you're hungry or in a munchy mood and you just have to see what you have to eat. You know there's nothing new in the fridge but yet you just have to take a peek.We welcome you Lily, the newest member of the grazing club!

Sister Bathtime

Lily and Emma love taking baths together.

We have already ditched the baby bathtub in lieu of putting Emma into the tub with Lily. We may just be lazy but Emma actually tries to lunge for the tub when she's in the bathroom watching Lily take a bath. There have been many evenings of unplanned Emma baths just because it's difficult to try to keep her out. Seems as though we're going to have to look at bath seats sooner than we thought.

In the Driver Seat

Every Sunday or Monday evening, depending on which day Mike goes back to work, Lily helps Daddy move cars around.

Lily is always thrilled when she can ride in the front seat with Daddy or on his lap.

Back Home We Go

This morning we were up, had the car packed, had breakfast and were on the road by 930. Our first stop was on I95 at 945. Yes, Emma had had enough of the car and her carseat. I don't blame her one bit. She's facing backwards, has no interaction other than the same dumb stuffed toys she's been staring at for two straight days and she's exhausted. So, what did we do? We stopped to change her diaper and top her off with an extra bottle. She ended up passing out for an hour before we had to stop again. Four and a half hours later with me in the back wedged in between the two carseats holding both of their hands we got back home.

But, I do have to say it was better than me reaching back into Emma's carseat and Lily and I got to have some great conversations.

One conversation was about the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. We talked all about tunnels and bridges but it only lasted maybe 5-10 minutes along with me pointing things out along the way.

When we got home we unpacked the car and Lily got right to work with her blocks. Mike and I didn't pay much attention to her since we were busy unpacking suitcases, cleaning out the car and feeding Emma. All of a sudden Mike called me in to look what Lily had done with her blocks.

Lily built a tunnel!

And, a pretty impressive tunnel too!

We're not sure how she got this concept after such a short conversation let alone the design of the tunnel but she nailed it!

Way to Go Lily!

DC Day 2

While we were getting ready this morning we had the news on. All we kept hearing was that today was supposed to be the hottest day of the summer, heat index of 115. Yep, and where were we going? Into the city to do the museums with two kids under the age of 2.

Despite the heat, we had a great time!

Here are some highlights of our great day:

Metro Rides

Museum of Natural History

In the Heat

Air and Space Museum

Stroller Escapades

Lily loved every part of the trip into DC but loved that we were with Uncle Mark the most. She was attached to Uncle Mark and it was very sweet to watch them explore together.

Day 2 Notes:

*NO Lily potty accidents :)

*Extremely HOT

*Used wet burp cloths to wipe down the girls to keep them cool

*A disturbing amount of boy scouts all over DC

*Day 2 of NO naps

*We all slept a lot better in the hotel!

DC Day 1

This morning we left to visit Uncle Mark in Arlington. This was Emma's first road trip, our first time seeing Uncle Mark's new condo, meeting Kiara for the first time and the first time with two kids in a hotel room. Yep, a lot of firsts on this trip and we had a lot of fun!

We arrived at the hotel in Springfield around 3 after a relatively smooth trip up with only one megastop at the rest stop on 64 (for an hour, in which we accomplished an Emma feeding, dvd player setup, and three separate potty breaks with one of Lily's in the trunk)

After checking into the hotel, setting up camp and getting a quick snack we got back into the car to head to Uncle Mark.

Lily had no problem making herself right at home at Uncle Mark's place.

She loved Kiara and Kiara loved Lily.

Uncle Mark and his girls.

Oh, wait...this is Uncle Mark and his girls.

Lily trying to figure out how to put Kiara's leash on so she could take her for a walk.

Day 1 Notes:

* NO Lily potty accidents

*No naps

*Rough night in the hotel, no one got solid sleep

Giddy Up

Wonder how long this will be fun to Lily?

And, wonder how long it will take for her to throw Emma off of her back?

Yummy Toes!

Emma has been staring at her little toes for quite awhile now and she finally got to them!

Now every time we change her diaper up go the feet and in go the toes.

She ends up happily laying on the changing table gnawing away on her toes for minutes on end since it's very difficult to put a diaper back on her.

After a long day...

...all I need to feel better are

sweet smiles, a HUGE open mouth kiss on the cheek

and an I Love You too.

However long my days may seem they are the best ever because I can spend with my girls!

I love my precious moments and hope they never end.

I'm the luckiest mommy ever!

Hmm...

...you have somewhere to go Miss Emma?

We stood there and watched as Miss Emma planted her feet, lifted her little behind and scooted down to the edge of her bouncy seat.

I think if she could she would slump down onto the floor and crawl away. Every time we put her back up into the seat she would scoot right back down. Now we are very aware to buckle her in but can't believe that she's this on the move at only 3 months old!!

SLOW DOWN EMMA!

Building

Lily has started to really enjoying her blocks. She takes them and builds things like princess castles, ramps and fences. She loves playing with Daddy but can also sit there by herself for at least 15 minutes focusing on something she wants to build.

She and Daddy have a lot of fun!

And, a Daddy Engineer's Dream!

We Are All In

A lot has been happening here at the Check house this past week!

First, well Lily can tell you...

...bye-bye diapers!

Last week Lily and I talked a lot about going to the bathroom on the big girl potty. If you have kept track of her progress she has been on the verge of doing this for quite awhile just too stubborn to do it completely. Why would you go to the potty if you have a diaper on? It's easier just to go in your diaper. So, last Saturday we said good-bye to diapers! Of course she wears the night pull-ups for nap and bedtime but rarely goes in them.

We have continued to use her sticker charts and she is really into them. She filled an entire paper full of 40 stickers in less than a week which got her to pick out a toy at the Disney store. We are now working on a page with 60 boxes to get her next present.

We have made several trips out with only one accident (luckily Mike and I were both there) and few trips to the bathroom. She has used our travel potty twice and is getting used to it a lot more.

We couldn't be more proud of her!

Now to the second part:

We are now using cloth diapers with Miss Emma.

Our friends, The Bonfiglios, switched to cloth and actually gave us the idea. I did a lot of research and seemed something that we wanted to give a try. The thought of not having to buy many diapers was a very big incentive!

We also started this venture last weekend. Now that I look back at it, doing both of these in the same week, probably not the smartest idea but oh well.

There are endless options when it comes to cloth diapering and seemed as though we just needed to find some that worked for us. We found covers and inserts that are great so that all you have to do is replace inserts throughout the day. Not too bad.

So, now to the title of our post.

Last weekend Mike and I would look at each other because there were times that we both wanted to put Lily into a pull-up or Emma into a Huggies. And, we would just say...All In. You either commit and jump in with both feet or don't bother doing it at all.

So, yep, We Are All In.

First Movie Night

Earlier this week I happened to catch the last hour of the first Tinkerbell movie on Disney channel so I quickly hit record. Lily is in Love! She can watch that 45 minute Tinkerbell movie and sit still the entire time, well until it's time to fly and sprinkle fairy dust and then she's up participating thinking she's a fairy too.

So we decided to rent Princess and the Frog and have our first real family movie night. Running time on the dvd said 99 minutes and didn't think we would last for the entire thing, but we did! Lily sat for the first 45 minutes on her pink princess couch with her blanket eating popcorn and was intently watching everything. It was nice that she came up to cuddle for the last bit.

Emma even enjoyed watching. She sat on Mike's lap, chewing on his hand loving all of the sounds, bright colors and catchy songs.

We are definitely looking forward to watching the rest of the princess movies with our girls.

My Name Is...

Lily Check.

Lily has been able to say her name for a month or so but finally got her saying it so you could semi-understand her. Every time I attempt, she's in that funny mood where you can't understand a word she says and she just thinks she's too cute.

Well, in my unbiased mommy opinion, she is just too cute!

Boo...

...first rug burn. Dang our sensitive skin.

Don't worry, disappered by morning.

A New Activity

We are beginning to get some toys out of storage for Miss Emma. The first on our list, The Exersaucer! Lily loved this toy and we took it all over the house to keep her entertained. Luckily Emma is strong enough to enjoy this now although we need 3 blankets tucked in around her just so she will fit in the seat. We also have this set on the lowest setting so her little feet are flat on the bottom...guess that means these legs will get strong pretty quick and we'll have another early walker on our hands! yikes!!

Lily is great with Emma. She shows her how all of the toys work and even takes Emma's hand to help her do things. Emma loves watching Lily and having her nearby and has actually pushed some buttons and turned a page or two in the music book by herself. Love my girls!

3 Months

Miss Emma is already 3 months old!

How time flies!

3 mth mentionables: (other than what is on the video)

-can wear 0-3, 3 and some 6 month clothes

-eats 4 ozs every 2, 2.5 or 3 hours

-has meltdowns when we try to burp her halfway thru her bottle

-we call her "the switch" meaning she can cry and have a meltdown any second

-sleeps through the night

-only takes a total of an hour nap during the day

-is interested in our food and has gone after some

-is content sitting and watching Lily play

-likes to gnaw on my thumb and knuckles

-has the best smile

-is the best addition to our family

Inspired

by a very crafty Mama, Andrea!

I used fabric from my stash to spruce up Emma's burp cloths and have been calling them "Baby Chic" since they will fray just a bit with washing. Hmm..etsy product maybe??

Big Girl

said bye-bye to her booster seat!

Lily's Manners

Lily is a very polite little girl. Sometimes we wonder how she got to be so polite but then of course we just pat ourselves on the back :). And, I've also learned that capturing her manners and politeness on video is challenging and doesn't seem sincere when I ask her to repeat herself but at least we have it.

This video is just of Lily saying Thank You. Lily thanks us every time we sit down to eat, for her snacks, pretty much for everything. She even thanked me when we put Emma's name up in her room by saying, "Thank you Mommy for letters Mommy" very sweet.

Some more manners Lily has but can't capture are saying Bless You, when you sneeze and cough. Saying Sorry, although sometimes she says it for you. And of course Please. It's pretty hard to say no to Lily when she says "Mommy goldfish please Mommy".

Emma's Room

Finally.

A few little details still need to be done but thankfully the major items have been crossed off my list:

*shade (from pattern I sketched while I was pregnant)

*crib skirt

*E board

*Emma's name with ribbon

*new fairy pictures up (need matching mats)

Still need to do:

*bow holder (luckily I have some time)

*E's wish jar

*Emma name painting (inspired by craft blog HERE)

The Spin and Point

Not sure if this is exactly how Daddy dances but I'm sure it's pretty close.

Mike and I can just see her at a school dance, at college and her wedding doing this.

Your moves are too cool Miss Lily!

Party

It was hot outside again today so we stayed in and had a party.

Lily can't wait until Sissy can join in the fun.

NBG

Daddy had off today and since we now have passes to the NBG we decided to make it a family day. We had a lot of fun exploring the houses in the Enchanted Forest. We all had a lot of fun!

Then it was off to the water where Lily was able to show Daddy all of the cool things you can do. I think Emma was the most comfortable with her own portable clip-on fan.

Then we were off to find a cool, shady spot for lunch. All four of us were happy to have some cool down time with a beautiful breeze.

Picture time with our girls

The gardens has so many pretty picture opportunities!

Will be great to come here in the fall.

Ready to go home, Lily is zoned out and Emma is fast asleep.

Two signs of a successful, happy, fun-filled day!