Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend has easily became one of my favorite holidays because for the past couple of years we have hosted and my family has made the trip to visit us.  Any holiday we bypass a long car ride with our 2 little angels, but still get to spend time with family is my kinda holiday!

This year, we had a very nice weekend with my parents and Kristen.  Addie was SO excited to see everyone!  The first thing she would say in the morning was "Where's Pap and Dada (Grandma)?  Where's T (Aunt Kristen)?"  She gets to talk and FaceTime with them all on a regular basis, but being able to see them in person and play with them was the HIGHLIGHT of her weekend!  My parents got into town Thursday evening and Kristen's flight got in Friday morning.  We started out the weekend with a trip to see the Easter bunny - who was not a hit with Addie or Bella.  I think Bella was more afraid of Addie's screaming than the bunny himself, but this is the best photo we got.  It reminds you kind of our Santa pictures from this year right?!?

After we equally terrified each girl, we rewarded them with some play time in the mall play place, which was a hit!  Addie ran around while Grandma and Pap took turns chasing her while Bella and Daddy went for a walk around the mall.  Then, it was home for lunch and nap time.

The weather was calling for rain, so after naps we took Addie bowling for the first time.  She had an absolute blast chanting "Ready, Set, Go!" and "Go Daddy Go" or "Go Pap Go".  Poor Bella had a fever and wasn't her normal, smiley self, but she still held her own cheering everyone on!  Then, it was home for a yummy homemade dinner made by Grandma, an Easter egg hunt, and an early birthday celebration for Pap.  After the littles all went to bed, it was time to relax with a glass of wine and good old Notre Dame basketball.

Saturday morning we started out the day going to Addie's buddy, whose name is also Addy, 2nd birthday party.  It was a Darling Donut Party complete with every kind of donut you could imagine.  I think I ate more than I would like to admit!  Let's be honest though, donuts are equally yummy for kids and adults :)  It ended up being beautiful outside so we had fun doing the Easter egg hunt and playing outside.  Then, just as Addie was going through a sugar crash we scooped her up and headed home for nap time.  After naps we went to Waterman's for dinner, which was far from relaxing with a long wait and an energized toddler plus a sick baby.  The food and company was worth it though, I think :)

On Easter morning we were up bright and early, got all dressed up, and were off to church in the pouring down rain!  Then, it was home to find the Easter baskets.  Addie got a new pink and purple train set, bubbles, new bath drops (since we ran out of the very popular blue bath color weeks ago!), chalk, and some other little goodies.  Bella got new stacking cups, a book, Puffs, an O-Ball, and a new personalized outfit complete with the most adorable gold glitter and baby bloomers!  We did some more Easter things - another Easter egg hunt and dyed eggs - followed by another yummy dinner.

Monday morning my parents left after breakfast and then the sun finally came out again!  I really think the bad weather follows my Dad.  It was beautiful right before he got here and beautiful the second he left!  Kristen, Eric, the girls, and I spent the day at the zoo.  We got to see Addie's favorites, the giraffes and the elephants!  It was so nice outside that we even got in a quick park trip after naps before we had to take Kristen to the airport.  Little Miss Addie was not happy when she left and cried the whole way home.  It broke my heart.

I hope your Easter was as amazing as ours was this year!  Until next year...

St. Patrick's Day Fun

Holidays are so much fun with my little cuties.  I always love a reason to plan a themed play date full of toddler crafts, yummy food, and lots of fun.  Although my green beer days are over, I wouldn't change a thing!  We started the morning out with green Lucky Charm pancakes and they were a hit!  The littles were pretty smart and quickly realized that the marshmallows were the best part and they picked out each and every one off of the tray.  Do you blame them though?  Then we attempted some fruit loop bracelets that became more of a mommy craft instead of a toddler craft because their attention span was all of 30 seconds long.  In between the eating and crafting, there was playing with toys, running circles around the house, and lots of laughs!  Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day!  I hope your day was full of lots of green (whether it was green beer or pancakes!) and lots of Irish luck!

St. Patrick's Day was also the first day of March Madness.  Bella and Josiah make the cutest little basketballs I've ever seen!  Can you believe they are 5 months apart and they are just about the same size!

Another piece of St. Patrick's Day fun, our Shamrock 8K!  We missed Eric who was home with the stomach bug and an injured knee, but he was there in spirit!

Eric's Birthday

We doubled up on birthday celebrations back in February when we had Addie's Pancake & Pajama party, but I'm a little behind on blogging and haven't gotten around to writing about it yet.  Eric is always surprising me, so I thought a fun night at Top Golf was the perfect birthday celebration and I knew he would be surprised because it was a month early.  Not only would the timing make it easier to surprise him, but my parents were in town so we also had free babysitters - which was a win win! 

The plan was to go out to an early dinner with everyone (my parents, Brian & Carla, my sister, and my nephew were all in town) plus the 4 of us.  Then, my parents were going to take all the kids home while the big kids went out for a few drinks and maybe live music.  Instead, Brian distracted Eric in the car with video after video of randomness on his phone and before we knew it we pulled into Top Golf for the surprise!  We had some friends meeting us there and luckily I signed us up for the Priority Pass so we only had to wait 15 minutes for our bay versus the 5 hour wait time.  We spent the night playing golf and socializing - I love our girls to death - but this was a much needed night out!  We had a few too many drinks and stayed up way past our bedtime, but it was a lot of fun celebrating a pretty special guy.

Fast forward a month, to Eric's actual birthday and the girls and I still had a few tricks up our sleeves. We have been working on updated Eric's office over the past couple of months and I wanted to make a special piece of art to hang over the couch.  I saw a tutorial on how to make your own hanging wall art with an engineer print on Pinterest and it was perfect for the industrial/rustic theme we were going for - plus who wouldn't want an oversized print of those adorable little girls!  When Eric got home from work, we celebrated with a Mexican Fiesta and then showed Eric his gift which he loved.  We sang Happy Birthday (more than once) and Addie helped him blow out the candles, then we treated ourselves to brownie sundaes. Happy Birthday Eric!

Bella - 7 months

Weight, Length, Head - your next well check is at 9 months

Clothes: 9 months

Diapers: Size 3

Health:
Not much to report here.  You've had a runny nose here and there and your poor tummy got upset one time, but other than that you've been happy and healthy this month!

Diet:
Eating has become one of your favorite things, especially since you've taken over the high chair!  You love to sit up with us and sit with your mouth open like a bird from the beginning to the end. There hasn't been one food that you haven't liked.  As long as you are eating you are happy, no matter what it is!  Right now you nurse and eat fruit/cereal between 7:30-9ish.  Then, you nurse at 12 and 4.  At dinner you have some veggies, followed by some more of momma's milk at 7 before bedtime.  Your 5am feeding is hit or miss, you'll go 4 or 5 days without waking up to nurse and then wake up for it for the next couple of days in a row.  I'm hoping we phase out that feeding by next month.  You are a great eater, but you've gone back to your anti-bottle self.  I'm hoping you will be more open to the idea when you can feed yourself your bottle, we are working on it, still!

Sleep:
Your sleep routine hasn't changed much.  You wake up around 7:30, but will usually lay in your crib until 8.  You catch a quick snooze on the go at some point in the morning and then your afternoon nap is 2-3 hours long.  Occasionally, you take a snooze before dinner.  Then, you are ready for bed at 7am on the dot!  

Likes:

You love to play!  Some of your favorites are your links, rattles, and you love the laugh and learn puppy because you can squeeze his hand or foot by yourself and make him sing.  You absolutely love watching your sisters every move, you think she is hilarious!  Addie also likes that you are more interactive.  She loves to make you laugh and will make faces or silly noises to make you smile and loves to play peek-a-boo with you.  I even caught her trying to help you do head, shoulders, knees, and toes!  Being outside, going for walks, and riding in the swing are also favorites (of both you and your big sister!)  Now that the weather has been much nicer and we spend a lot of time outside, we also take a lot more baths.  Luckily, you love bath time, especially when you take your bath with your sister.

Dislikes:

Bottles and not being around mommy

Milestones: 
-You can sit up all by yourself!
-You grab at anything you can get your hands on!  I have to be more careful about where I put my water, but it makes play time a lot more fun because you can pick up your toys and play with them all by yourself.
-No crawling yet, but I can see you thinking about it when you want to get something that is just out of your reach.
-No teeth yet!  I have a feeling you will get your very first tooth as soon as Addie gets her last molar!  Teething is never ending in our house.

Personality:
You are so sweet and such a little momma's girl.  You love to be close to me and one of my favorite things you do is reach to touch my face or hold my hair while I nurse you.  It's so sweet, as long as you don't pull my hair too hard!  I love how chill you are and you just go with the flow all the time, with a huge smile on your face!

Visitors:   

No visitors this month, but you've made lots of new friends at the park!

Love Day

February 14th - Valentine's Day - A day of LOVE! Here's is how we celebrated LOVE Day in the Harvell Household this year:

• Daddy sure does know how to spoil his girls on Valentine's Day!  He took the early shift with the girls and together they made breakfast.  (It's so much fun to watch Addie and Bella be included in the traditions we started pre-kids.  Eric's cooked breakfast for me on Valentine's Day morning for 6 years now!)
• We've never been huge gifters on Valentine's Day, but Eric did get us some pretty pink flowers!  Addie and Bella got a few new books and a stuffed frog & monkey.
• It was freezing outside, I think the high was 20 degrees, so we spent the day at home.  We played, colored, and built towers all day long and it was a lot of fun!
• I cooked us a yummy heart-shaped pizza for dinner! (Eric and I are currently on the 21 day sugar detox, so pizza was more work than you would think because it had a cauliflower crust!) Addie (who is not detoxing!) decorated a heart shaped cookie for dessert and ate every last bit of icing off of it!
• Eric and I celebrated with a date night later in the week, so after the girls went to bed we relaxed on the couch, Eric made a fire, and we caught up on our favorite show these days "Parenthood!"

Our little Valentine's day celebration at home this year couldn't have been more perfect.  It's not about big expensive gifts in our family, it's the little things that count and spending time together that is really important to us.  Life is so sweet with Addie and Bella every day of the year, but sometimes it is nice to slow down and truly appreciate what you have.  Eric' and I have the best love story and I love the life that we have created together.  Eric is my best friend and I wouldn't want to share our crazy life with anyone else.  Happy (belated) Valentine's Day from our family to yours!

Bella's 1st Valentine's Day - we love you to the moon and back Bella Bean! 

Addie and Bella helping Daddy make pancakes and sausage for breakfast! 

Our Valentine's Day play date was complete with cookie decorating, crafting, and lots of playing with our friends!

Bella - 6 months

Weight 15 lbs 6 oz (40th percentile)

Length 25.2 inches (21st percentile)

Head 44 cm (84th percentile)

Clothes: a combo of 6 & 9 months clothes

Diapers: Size 2

Health:
We visited Dr. Fink for your 6 month well check.  We doubled up and did Addie's 2 year well check at the same time!  You both did great and you continue to be a happy, healthy baby!  This month you've had a never-ending stuffy nose so I had Dr. Fink double check your ears to make sure you didn't inherit ear aches like your big sis did.  Luckily, you didn't have any ear infections.  We ended the appointment with the dreaded shots (for both you and your sis!), which resulted in a low fever and fussy baby for the next 24 hours.  I hate seeing you upset, so I was very happy when it passed and you were back to your smiley self!

Diet:
We've started solids this month, wooohoo!  So far you've had sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots and you've loved them all!  It only took you a few days to get it down and now you inhale the whole jar in one sitting!  Right now we are only having solids at dinner but I think we are going to start solids at breakfast very soon because you like them so much.  Next up on the menu is some green veggies and maybe apples for something sweet!  Don't get me wrong though, you still love momma's milk too!

Sleep:

Not much has changed here.  Overall, you are a very good sleeper.  You sleep (almost) through the night, waking around 5 to nurse and will go back to bed until 7:30-8ish.  Occasionally, you wake up throughout the night and need your pacifier, but then quickly roll over back onto your side and go back to sleep.  Yes, you are a side sleeper and I love how you kick your legs up and roll to your side the second I lay you down in your crib.  The morning nap is usually on the go and I'm thankful you are still okay with that.  Your afternoon nap is in your crib and usually lasts around 2 hours.  Typically, you still need an evening cat nap and this is probably the trickiest part of our day.  Around 4-5ish you become fussy/tired, your big sister acts like she hasn't been fed in over a week, and I'm trying to make dinner...all at the same time.  On a good day, you fall asleep, your sister is content with a small snack and Daniel Tiger, while I speed cook in the kitchen.  On a bad day, I'm holding you, attempting to get something together for dinner, all while your sister is screaming and tugging at my leg.  Luckily, your dad comes to the rescue at 5:30 and every one cheers up after a yummy meal!

Likes:

In the past month you have become very active!  You love to play with toys, the o-ball and rattle are your favorites.  You love to be sitting up in your excersaucer or bumbo so you can watch everything around you.  This month, you've started taking baths with your sister and you kick and squeal the entire time.  I love all the giggles that come during bath time from you and Addie!  You love sitting up with us at dinner time.

Dislikes:

You do not like having your face cleaned or nose suctioned, but who would?

Milestones: 
-You've rolled from your belly to your back on your own a few times.  You've even managed to roll from your back to belly one time (in the middle of the night) and you did not like it!  No worries though, I quickly came to your rescue!
-We've heard an all out baby giggle and it's absolutely my favorite sound ever.  You are very ticklish and think your big sister is hilarious, both can guarantee an all out belly laugh!
-You've started solids - sweet potatoes were first and after the initial shock that it wasn't momma's milk, you loved every bite!  Addie even likes to help feed you, with mommy and daddy's supervision of course!
-I can tell you are very close to sitting up on your own.  You love to lean forward and do it by yourself, but you still need some assistance.
-Your eyes are still a very pretty blueish-greenish-hazelish color (I'm not sure what to call them) and your dad is very proud of that!  You guys are twins!
-You sat up in the swing for the first time at the park and sat up in our new double stroller, both of which you absolutely loved!
-You have started taking your baths with your big sister!  It makes it so much more fun (and a lot easier) on all of us.
-We celebrated your first Valentine's Day!
-We took you outside in the snow for the first time.  You were all bundled up and looked so cute in your little snowsuit!

Personality:
Over the past month you have become quite a little busy body!  You are so active and love to play! You are constantly checking things out and observing every little thing around you, always with a smile on your face.  You are still such a chill baby, but I really do love this side of you too!  This is such a fun age and I love watching you as you take in every new experience and thing that comes your way.  I can't believe that we are already at the 6 month mark, but life is good and so sweet with you in it.  Happy 1/2 birthday Bella bean, we love you to the moon and back!

Visitors:   

We had family in town to celebrate Addie's 2nd birthday and you greeted every single one of them in true Bella fashion, with a huge smile!

Addie & Cooper: An Update

Everyone knows that dog's are supposed to be "man's best friend".  They are loyal, protective, and always there to greet you as you walk through the door.  After watching Addie and Cooper over the last couple of weeks I think we need to change that phrase.  Cooper is man's  toddler's best friend.  Addie and Cooper have taken their friendship to a whole new level these last couple of weeks.  Enter - the ball.  Addie loves to play catch and Cooper loves to fetch, it truly is a match made in heaven!  They literally run circles around the house playing and will do it nonstop for hours.  Addie gets Cooper's ball, runs a few laps, then I hear "ready, set, go as she launches it (all of 5 feet away) and Cooper jumps on it.  Then we repeat, about 100 times a day!  This is really a win win for everyone.  Addie gets her exercise on days it's too cold to play outside, Cooper gets to play, and they both end up exhausted at the end of the day.  Plus it makes for great entertainment for Bella and I!  Playing catch is only one of their many activities these days.  Addie also likes to give Cooper check ups with her Doc McStuffins kit, he doubles as a couch because she sits on top of him when she eats her snack, and Addie's learning how to get him to do all sorts of tricks before he gets his treat - sit & paw are her current favorites.    I can't wait to see what these 2 come up with next, especially when we add Bella (who will be on the move soon!) to the mix!