Look-a-like Meter

I found this Look-alike Meter on the website called My Heritage... a genealogy website that has some fun tools and applications. I thought it was interesting, so I tried it out! Everyone always comments on how much the girls look like me, but Paul says that if they could see past their coloring (which is obviously from my side of the family) they would see that the girls have more of him in them than just his ears! Well, according to this, he is right! With the face recognition technology they employ, the Look-alike Meter says that Finley looks more like Paul than she does me! Paul was happy to hear the results! Finally, some vaildation!

"Heart-Shaped Medallion"

It is the end of a very long, very HOT day and the girls are both in bed- and it is not even 8:00 p.m. yet! With the thunder and lightning last night, none of us got much sleep, so everyone is super tired (me included)! Paul is at a church meeting, so I was left to man the night-time routine by myself. We brush teeth (we have to get those "sugar bugs"), read scriptures, say family prayers, Avery says her prayers, and then we sing songs. Paul, a lot of the time, does Avery's prayers with her and singing songs while I get Finley down. Well, tonight I had the pleasure... it is such a sweet time- I love it! The last song that Paul always sings to her is "Heart Shaped Medallion" by David Wilcox. It is the sweetest little song. The lyrics are:

If I had a spell of magic,
I would make this enchantment for you:
A burgundy heart-shaped medallion,
With a window that you could look through,
So that when all the mirrors are angry,
With your faults and all you must do,
You can peak through that heart-shaped medallion,
And see you through my point of view.

Anyway, I sang that to her tonight and she got all excited. She looked at me like "you know that song too?!" Then, as I was singing, she held her hands in a heart shape up to her eyes and then put them up to my eyes to "look through" them. Paul had told me before that she has done this with him, but I had never witnessed it myself until tonight. Neither Paul, nor I have taught her any motions to this song (we have to other songs, but not this one). She came up with that all on her own. Sweet, sweet girl! Moments like this make the rest of the crazy times, when I want to pull my hair out, all worth it!

Dancing Queen!

Avery started her dance class again today! After the summer off, she was so excited to get back!

We started Avery in "My First Dance Class" for 2-3 year olds at the American Dance of SLO as soon as she turned 2 in March. She has been moving and shaking since she was old enough to move, so we thought it would be a good fit for her. She has loved it since day 1, but before the summer, I basically had to do the class with her. Avery would do all the moves and routines at home (I can't tell you how many times I have sung the "fairy" song they used for their recital..."more, more," she says), but she would stand still in class unless I was right there beside her.

I joked to the other moms, "I hope Miss Daniella has a red tutu for me for the recital!" It turned out that it didn't matter- Avery didn't even make it up on stage, but she sure looked adorable in her costume!

What a difference a few months can make! We walked in to the dance studio today and off she went. She didn't even look back. I just sat out in the waiting area with Finley, like a "normal" mom!! Avery did everything that was asked of her- she was a pro! Here she is doing her chasses....and tippy toes across the floor...
such hard work!Her friends Delaney and Hudson Jones did the class with her for the day! They were laughing and giggling- distracting each other! They have so much fun together!She is so excited to go again next week! She talks about it everyday! She dresses up in her leotard, dance skirts (all of them at the same time), and switches between ballet shoes and tap shoes 20 times- EVERYDAY! She loves her dance class!

Finley vs. the Graham Cracker

I sat Finley down in Avery's chair the other day, just for a minute. I came back to get her and found a messy surprise! Apparently, Avery had left her earlier snack of graham crackers uneaten and sitting in her or near her chair. Finley found them while sitting there (for just a minute) and completely devoured them (or just made a crumbly mess... I couldn't tell for sure!) This was her first taste of solid food! She did it up right!!!!

Finley's 6 month Check-up

Finley had her 6 month check-up on Thursday (Aug. 23)... I can't believe she is 6 months old already!!! Where does the time go?! She was 15 lbs. and 26 inches long, which is 30% and 50% respectively- much bigger than her sister was at this age... Avery didn't make it on the charts until her 2nd birthday!! Finley is healthy and happy (except at night, which her doctor had no real solution for....ARGGG! I need some sleep!!!!). Other than the lack of sleep, we are truly blessed! We have two beautiful, happy, healthy girls!

Avery's BIG girl bed

We put together Avery's BIG girl bed this weekend! She loves it! She is just so excited about it, as she is with everything in her "new" room! She sleeps great in her new bed/new room (fortunately for us, she just is by nature a good sleeper- I wish I could say the same for Finley!!!), she wakes up happy, gets out of bed by herself when she is ready, opens her door, and comes in to our room to greet us with a smile and a very bubbly, "Hi Mommy, Hi Daddy!" So cute!

No shoes on the new carpet!

We got our carpet in the bedrooms on Wednesday last week (which means that we were able to start moving into the back this weekend!! YaHOO!!! ). Anyway, when we got home that day- Avery ran to her room, took off her shoes, set them outside her door and ran in! We have never trained her to take off her shoes in the house- in fact, during the remodel we have encouraged her to WEAR shoes at all times in fear of her stepping on a nail or something. But, she took it upon herself to take them off before walking on the carpet!? She was ecstatic yelling, "New carpet, Mommy, new carpet!" She was running in circles, doing somersaults, and rolling around on the floor. I think she likes it! The carpet is very soft, I must say! It makes me want to lay down and roll around too!

I had also put light bulbs in her chandelier (fit for a pretty pink girly girl room) and she was in awe! "Light, light! Oh, thank you Mommy for my light." Melt my heart sweet girl! It is the little things!

She is so proud of her "new" room- she will lead anyone who comes in the house by the hand down the hall to show them her pink room with her " pretty light" and "new carpet." We are all excited that we are able to get a little bit settled- now we will have a few rooms to retreat to during the remainder of our remodel!

Finley has teeth...OUCH!

At church today, while nursing, I discovered that the teeth Finley has been working on finally came through when she BIT me! OOOOOUCH! I felt in her mouth (as if the painful bite was not confirmation enough) and sure enough, 2 little teeth (razor sharp) were right there on the bottom. You can see them, two little white buds, when she has her mouth wide open as she does in the picture below!


Up close and personal! Sorry baby!They have been bothering her for a few weeks now, so I am glad (on one hand) they finally broke through.... maybe tonight we can actually get some sleep!

Is that the face of a baby who would bite her mommy?! Apparently!!!
My sweet girls! Avery wanted in on the camera action while I was trying to get a picture of Finley's new teeth... she is a ham that one!!

"Oopsy-Daisy-Doodles"

We went to Avila Beach on Friday and met Grandma Lee (Paul's mom) there. Avery had a great time on the playground and actually made a few new friends (she is becoming quite the little social butterfly). When Grandma Lee got there, we headed down to the beach- I tried once before to go down to the beach by myself...not a good idea with a very mobile 2 year old and an immobile infant- never again, so we waited for Grandma this time.

As we were walking down to the water, Avery stopped and said "Oopsy-Daisy-Doodles" because her shoe had fallen off in the sand. Grandma Lee and I both started laughing- that is a phrase that Grandma Lee uses (apparently often enough for Avery to pick up on it). Now Avery uses the phrase all the time (probably because she got a few laughs out of it the first time!). Hysterical! It reminded me of that scene in Notting Hill (great movie) where Hugh Grant's character was trying to scale the fence... he said "Oopsy Daisies" every time he slipped. I get a chuckle at that every time I think about it- especially in relation to Avery's new phrase.

Just a side note: We forgot our suits, or rather I made a conscience decision that we were not going to get in the water, so we didn't need our suits.... never assume a 2 year old will NOT get in the water when going to the beach. We ended up coming home with a car full of wet, sandy clothes and a naked toddler (who fell asleep on the way home).

Remodel Update: The Good, The Bad, and The UGLY!!!

We purchased and moved into Paul's parents house in January of this year. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time (as if moving, in and of itself, is not crazy enough). The house is 38 years old and in need of a major face lift. So, we "moved in" yet never really unpacked or got settled in. We are still, 8 months later, living out of boxes in the house, in the garage, and in our storage POD in the front drive.

Phase I started before we moved in- we started fixing up the downstairs 2 room + bathroom studio where my brother David was going to be living and where my other brother Robert is currently living. Paul, my brothers, and my dad did all the work down there themselves...replacing sliding glass doors, ripping out old linoleum with blow torches, tile, paint, new lighting, new toilet, new sink and vanity in the bathroom.

We started Phase II of our major remodeling project (the bedrooms and bathrooms of the upstairs living space) about 3 months ago...after we got past the "newborn" stage with Finley (no sleep, constantly exhausted, etc..). The "popcorn" ceiling came down (thanks to the man power of Paul, and my brothers) and then new texture went up. Wallpaper came down, carpet came out, doors came off, cabinets came out, tile had to be jackhammered out (a VERY noisy and dirty job), mouldings came off, toilets came out- again all thanks to our own sweat equity. There was a point where we had no showers, no toilets, and no doors... I took the girls and escaped to my mom's house for a week during that time.

Things are actually starting to take shape now. I wish I had taken "Before" pictures, but, alas, I didn't. Here are a few pictures of the GOOD (the end, or almost end, result):

The Hall Bath...the most completed room in the house!Guest Room... still in progress, but coming along!The girls' room- Avery is very proud of her pink room....still in progress, but close!Avery in the carpet-less hallway....it will be that way for a while?! She loves the empty bedrooms and space to drive her car and push her shopping cart! Those are swim goggles on her head....her newest obsession!The Master Bath area- I love how everything is turning out- in this room especially! I can't wait to actually move in!Before we left on our trip, everything in the bedrooms had to be taken out so that closet organizers could go in and mouldings could go up. EVERYTHING is in the front of the house! All of our clothes are on hangers stacked in piles everywhere, our bed is in the front room, dressers, blankets, toys, boxes line the walls and cover the floor.... Hence

the BAD (and the UGLY) description fits well: I am about to go crazy! I am a Type A personality and NEED order and organization. I don't "do" chaos! My blood pressure rises the moment I walk in the door, my stomach ties in knots, and I can't think straight. I think Avery is the same because she is always asking to "go- new car mommy- go." She would much rather go sit in the car than be in the house and I don't blame her one bit!

There is still more to do, but we are getting close- at least with the back of the house. Then we move forward to the front and tear out the kitchen! Ahhhh! I just have to continue to tell myself that it will all be worth it in the end! I am just wanting to regain some order and routine to our lives as soon as possible! Days when the girls don't get naps because workers are hammering away are days that I don't think I can go on with this any longer; but, then we go to bed early, get up and press forward with a new day. The completion of phase II is almost here, which will make things a lot more bearable! More updates will come...stay tuned!