Mid Week Update!

I have absolutely no business writing this update - work is very busy for both James and I. I have 900 separate discovery requests to respond to by tomorrow (typically more like 120, so to say this is more than usual is an understatement). James is off working the annual Herbalife event in downtown Los Angeles and is so busy that he is staying in a hotel down there.

Thank goodness my mom is here this week and is helping so much with the girls! It is awesome.

We had a pretty nice weekend last weekend - Friday night we went out for my mom's birthday. We went to a dinner and a show at a Lebonese restaurant where they bring out tons of food family style while you enjoy some dancing, then belly dancers at the end of the meal. We all had a great time, though it was a bit sleepier than usual (perhaps because it was a Friday and not a Saturday night).

Ice cream with a giant sparkler in it!

Because of the inclement weather (tons of rain!) Saturday we just hung out at home, made delicious slow cooker food, went for an evening walk to the park and enjoyed each other's company.

  

Sunday, we packed up and went to the zoo! The zoo was delightfully empty thanks to the threat of rain at 1 p.m. The girls were so funny this time, now that they walk and "talk," pointing at all of the animals and calling them "dogs." I'm not sure whether to correct them or to just enjoy this while it lasts.

Its a big dog!!

When we first walked into the zoo, I had no idea what to expect - would they simply let us wheel them around in the stroller while we pointed at things? Or would they get excited as they do when they see a dog being walked past the house? It took them a minute but by the time we reached the kangaroos they were pretty darn excited. The monkey exhibit had Alex full on belly laughing in excitement.

Lunch at the zoo was great - we gathered around a table with some high chairs and the girls not only ate the sandwich I had brought for them, but gobbled up half of aunt Becky's sandwich, a ton of my pizza, and most of my mom's french fries, AND a cookie each. Unbelievable. I don't know where they are putting it, but they sure are growing.

Playing with super heroes!

Speaking of - yesterday they turned 14 months old, and I officially put them in some 18 month sized outfits. Yes they were too big, but their 12 month stuff looks ridiculous on them. In fact I think the 12 month leggings are down right inappropriate at this point ha ha. The 12-18 stuff is fitting them great, and thank goodness for 12 - 18 Baby Gap which is fitting them perfectly right now! So adorable!

I LOVE this photo!! 

14 months!

The girls' vocabulary now includes: Dog, Ball, Bird, Duck, That, Dada, and Fish "fshhh". "That" is said mostly while pointing to random things, and I believe is always in the form of a question. Alex is a professional at "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" They can both find their bellies, and yours. They are signing the word "more." They are getting better at using spoons and bowls, and all meals are now on plates (easier to toss onto the floor!) Speaking of, Alex has been naughty with her tossing of food on the floor - we are working on different techniques to get her to stop (mainly, ignoring the behavior to discourage it).

Cuddling with Grandmere before bed

Happy Birthday Weekend Mommy!

A lot to report after this fun weekend! First off, my mom arrived on Friday night, its so nice to have her here! Yesterday, Monday, was my birthday, and we celebrated over the weekend by going to the Horse Races at Santa Anita Race Track.

I decided on the track because I wanted to do something with the girls, and the track does have a play ground and lots of space to run around. Unfortunately it rained Sunday so the park wasn't really an option and the girls were slipping and sliding all over the wet tile. But, they had a great time and LOVED the ponies. As my sister said - the look on Josie's face when she saw the horses was worth the price of admission. They then took a nice long, cozy nap, while we kept betting on races. We got home just as it really started down pouring, had some wine and cake with friends and opened presents with the oscars on in the background (the grammys used to be on my birthday, but I guess that has changed.) 

The girls playing with refrigerator magnets for the first time.

I had some made with their pictures on them and they are obsessed with them!

They were just too cute sitting there playing for so long.

My sister made the girls these crazy cute headbands with flowers 

we got as part of a valentine's day gift. Alex looks SO grown up here!

The girls' nanny, Brittany, sometimes gives the girls their bath. I am so grateful for that when we only have so long at the end of the day to spend with them, get dinner made, do chores, run errands, etc. On Thursday I came home and she had put Alexandra in this adorable dress that just so happens to match her helmet perfectly! She was also carrying around her little elephant that happened to match the dress's sweater. How cute!

Josie was in a little summer shorts jumper. It was a gorgeous day, of course the temps have now dropped since my mom is visiting and must have brought the cold with her from Canada.

Boxes inside boxes = hours of entertainment

On Saturday the girls got a hold of Jamey's light saber chop sticks and 

had fun sword fighting and using them as pointers. 

Alex points to the catalog as Josie points to an empty box of crackers.

James bought me a Happy Birthday balloon, some flowers and a cake. I am not sure who was more excited for the balloon - me, or the girls! Alex's face just lit up when she saw it, and she was too distracted to finish her lunch. Josie then marched around the house with it. GREAT gift!

Thanks to the weather, the girls got to wear their adorable coats from Aunt Chey to the track. 

The infamous slippy tile.

Burning off some energy between races!

If you look closely, you will see Alexandra all the way down 

by the fence with aunt Becky and Tom. :)

Reading up on the ponies!

My friend Krista joined us with her son, Jack. I love this outtake taken while I was fixing my scarf!

Here are the girls in their awesome Cadillac stroller that fully reclines taking a nice cozy nap with their super soft fleece blankets. I think a lot of us were jealous of them. 

Post race track cake!

That is a LOT of candles to blow out.

Monday was my actual birthday, and I had a really busy day. I had Alex's helmet appointment in the morning, a few hours of work, then meeting with a vendor at the condo, then back to work, then home for dinner. Poor little Alex was very sick on her way to the appointment. Its about a 35 minute drive from home, and about 2 minutes from the doctor's office she lost her breakfast. All over the car seat and car. Happy Birthday mom! Luckily, I had her in a sweater I could just zip her out of and she was fairly unscathed underneath. Also, luckily, we had a nice clean car seat right next to the one she was in - so I put her in Josie's seat and threw the messy one in the trunk. I figured we might as well get to the appointment, 2 minutes away, and use their bathroom, than turn around at that point.

Alex seemed to be doing ok at the office, and played with the toys there after we got cleaned up. I guess I can now officially say that we have stood by the side of the road and cleaned up puke!

And good news at the appointment - the specialist was very pleased with the results so far and thinks that we will be graduating in just 2 weeks! So excited for no more helmet, and no more driving to Reseda every other Monday morning!

And for making it through yet another marathon long blog post, here is a video of Josie knocking over a tower in slow motion! LOVE her little giggle at the beginning!

Weekend wrap up!

 It was President's Day weekend here and James and I had Monday off of work, woo hoo for 3 days!

So the girls are both officially walking. Josie seems to forget each morning then as she figures it out she is up and running. They toddle around as if they have never known anything else. Everyone warns us that we are now "in trouble" but let me list the PROS here:

1 - no more carrying heavy babies everywhere they need to go.
2 - we went to the park this weekend and it was a whole new world - crawling in sand looks awful and gets babies so dirty, but toddling around in sand is adorable. Also dirty but not like totally disgusting.
3 - last night I was alone with the girls while James was out and said "ok bed time" and they WALKED to their bedroom. I guess this is up there with "no more carrying babies."
4 - they just look so adorable walking around like little drunk chicks.
5 - opens up a whole new world of places to take them - now they wont be stuck in a stroller at museums and the mall and other activities.

Of course I know that they will be getting into more things, and of course it will be a pain when they decide that they HAVE to walk and don't want to be in a stroller, but as a non-baby person I am embracing these little toddlers!!

How cute are these little jean skirts?!

The girls are the best. Josie is cautiously walking around. She is really liking being held lately - she seems to go through phases where she needs the additional comfort. She is saying no and yes by shaking her head. She eats like no other - I can't believe how much food this girl can put away, but boy oh boy it takes her forever! She likes all of the food we give her, I don't think she has ever rejected anything. She really loves her milk warmed and spits out large amounts of cold milk to express her dissatisfaction. She is still watching the window and yelling out "dog" whether there is a dog or not. She also likes to point at the ducks in the bathroom and say "duck" which sounds a lot like "dog." She also responds when you ask "what does the cow say" with "mmmmmm" and when asked "where is your belly" will lift up her shirt and poke her belly button. She is doing great at using sippy cups of all kinds.

We decided to get out of the house and go to Target. The girls were really good there, and seemed to like riding around in the cart. We let them get out and toddle around and they found some baby soccer balls. 

"we refuse to both look at the camera at the same time"

The girls love the park - they love swinging and have no problem being pushed fast and high. Alex giggles uncontrollably and when I took her out of the swing pointed at it because she wanted to go back in. They love the slide - we put them on it and let them push themselves down into our arms. They are so proud of themselves when they push themselves down! 

Alex as usual is really surprising us with how aware she is. On Saturday James was watching the girls while I was out with friends and Josie was crying (as she does every time she SEES her milk but doesn't have it yet) - Alex put her fingers in her ears and looked at him like "why is this happening" lol. She does yes, no, and smacks her lips if you ask her if she is hungry. She totally knows her belly. And of course is still doing hand motions to twinkle twinkle and all of her other favorites. She also knows "head and shoulders, knees and toes" even the part with "eyes, ears, mouth and nose" She is really brave.

Climbing at the park!

On the swings at the park in their stylish hats!

Both girls are testing us - they do things we say "no" to, like pulling on outlets or on the stroller, and looking at us to see if we will react. I am trying to follow some guidelines for reacting to things like this, but it can be difficult. Alex also likes to drop her food onto the floor if she is no longer interested in it. She's already a bit of a picky eater, which surprises me, I thought that wouldn't happen until much later! 

I asked Josie where Alex's belly was...and this was the result!! ha ha

And a SUPER cute video James took while I was out on Saturday night :D <3 p="">

Josie's First Steps!!

Josie you really surprised us with this one - with the amount of standing you were doing so early on, we thought you would be running before your first birthday. You were, but not without the assistance of any form of walker - even a flimsy box. I guess you needed a little bit of security! Its ok to be brave but cautious! xoxox

I got a text from Brittany at about 3:30 that you had taken your first few steps. That was it though. Until bed time - when you decided to walk between mom and dad! As seen in the videos, you kind of took a long silly dive into my lap every time you came back my way! You are so proud of yourself and I can't wait to see you and your sister running all over the house. I'm sure, just like Alex, you will be running in no time!