Tooth #6, Sick girls

The Baker household is going on day 7 of some sort of virus that has infiltrated my two sweet girls.  Abby has had a week long fever which progressed to nasty coughs and a runny nose while Lilly started with a super runny nose that has progressed into a full blown snot rocket of a nose.  Both have been sleeping like crap which means Bryce and I are tired as all get out.  TGIF.  Luckily Abby's fever's are a lower temperature and starting to be fewer and far between but Lilly is in the peak of her stuffed up nose.  My poor little baby is starting to cough like her Jie Jie too.  We've had 2 doctor's visits this week.  Stick a fork in all of us, we're done!

And Lilly's 6th tooth, bottom left lateral incisor, came out yesterday too.  I miss my two happy go lucky girls! Despite all the illness, when the meds are kicked in, they are their sweet selves for just a few hours.  I need to give a quick shout out to my parents for helping me out this week!  With Abby missing school all week and the nights being so rough, it's been a struggle to make it through the days.  I've never had them BOTH sick at the same time before.  I don't recommend it.  It's a miracle that Bryce and I aren't sick.

Due to the worst week of my life so far, I've gotten behind on blogging so unfortunately, I'm going to photo bomb this post.  Enjoy!

Getting as much use of the Christmas onesie since it still fits.  :)

Play date at the park!

Wheeeee!!

Mei Mei waiting so patiently....  ♥

Abby loves to help out with her little sister and part of that is feeding her.  ♥

Abby was attacked by a Hello Kitty stamp.

Little chub chub sleeping.

Mei Mei and her Lao Yie!

We were switching couch cushions around and ended up playing "tent" with the girls!  They had sooooo much fun!  It's every kid's dream.  :)

Mei Mei found all the little holes and crawled her way out.  This little girl has no fear!

"HIIIIIII!!"

Abby was so sad when we put the couch back together.  Next time!

Lilly's turn to wear the best onesie ever from Jo Jo!  ♥  Guess I gotta pass it onto Matilda now.  :)

Playing together.  ♥  It was within hours of this picture that they both started to feel sick.

Abby's fever creeping up on her.  Poor baby!

Mei Mei found a comfortable place to sleep.

Abby got her hair cut a loooong time ago.  Just forgot to post before.  :)

Lilly is 10 months old, Teeth #3, 4 and 5

Happy 10 month birthday, Lilly Mei Mei!  You're such a happy baby and we love you so much!

Me and my chubby little baby.  ♥

When we say "pai pai sou," Mei Mei claps her hands.  When we say "TOUCHDOWN," she throws her hands up in the air!  She can high five, say "Hi!" and wave too.  She's still standing a lot but no walking yet.  My sweet girl sleeps 11-12 hours every night.  But, much like her Jie Jie, she's down to just one nap a day now.  A bit young to be down to one nap but that's how it is.  She's still an awesome eater!  Meal times only last about 15 minutes.  And both her buck teeth are out as well as the bottom right lateral incisor.  And for some reason she doesn't drool!  It's awesome!  I remember Abby had a perma-bib on her at this age.  

Still has her Daddy's face and my body.  :)

TOUCHDOWN!

Happy Mommy

I just have to document my happiness right now.  I am totally, undoubtedly, 100% in love with my two girls.

As much as I would prefer that both of them go to bed at a decent time, I have to admit that I really look forward to my alone time with Lilly after Bryce and Abby have gone to bed (usually around 10 PM - we are trying to push it back to 9 PM).  I'll also admit that the only thing I have NOT mastered since becoming a mommy-of-two is constantly feeling guilty for not spending enough time with one or the other or else not being able to respond/help/play/listen/watch Abby as much as I used to.  But she and I go on Mommy/Daughter dates so she can have me all to herself.  I really cherish those times.  And since Lilly is still young, our little Mommy/Daughter dates are when Daddy and Jie Jie go to bed.  I just spent the most fun 2 hours of my day with my sweet, chubby, quick on her feet (er, hands and knees), super smiley, chatty, kissable and most importantly, mischievous little angel.  I love how babies can't talk yet she'll have me rolling on the floor laughing because of something she did or just the look on her face.  I love how smiley she is (that's what most people notice first about her when they've been around her for more than 5 minutes).  It's infectious.  And I can't help but to smile back really big.  I can't stop kissing her too!

And my sweet, sweet, rule following Abby.  My parents always tell me to go easier on her - that I'm too hard on her.  Maybe they are right (don't tell them I said so!).  Abby has always acted older than her age so I suppose I just treat her like the big kid that she isn't.  My mom is constantly reminding me that "she's only 3!"  So true.  I couldn't have asked for a sweeter, more cuddly first child.  She's already super protective of her Mei Mei.  She's already constantly thinking of her too - making sure we "make some for Mei Mei too" or "save some for Mei Mei."  Now that Lilly is more active, they are starting to play better together, which always warms my heart.

Every morning when I see my kids wake up, I ask them "did you get cuter since yesterday??"  I ask because I always mean it!  I even miss them when they sleep!  Abby always replies "yes" with a big goofy grin and Lilly just smiles back at me while kicking her feet with excitement.  I've said it to them a million times but I just don't get how they can still get cuter and cuter every day!

Whenever we (Kirk, Ruby and I) ate well, my parent's used to tell us how it makes parents happy to see their kids eating well and growing, etc.  They still say it and now they say it about the grand kids.  I never got it until I had my own kids.  I suppose that tells me I will always have these "happy" moments with my kids until my dying day.  I remember when Abby was a newborn, I did the typical new-mom thing where I just stared at her while she slept.  Well, I still do it but with both of them now.  I can't help it.  I'll have to stop at some point or else I'll be that creepy mom staring at a 22 year old.  Ha!  If I had a choice, I'd hold Lilly and let her nap on me every day instead of putting her in her crib.  I did it with Abby because I had the luxury of only one child so I miss doing it with Lilly.

I mean, sure, I get tired and want to get away every once in a while but that's standard practice for stay-at-home-moms.  I really enjoy my alone time out of the house and I always have grand plans of running errands while still finding time to relax.  But without a doubt, I always come home sooner than I planned because I miss my girls.  This baffles Bryce to no end.  He doesn't understand why I complain about wanting to "get out," yet I come home early because I miss the girls.  I'll admit, I don't get it either.  It's twisted logic but I spend all day with them.  I'm as used to them being around all day as they are to me.  That's why Bryce is always a rock star when he gets home from work.  We're all tired of staring at each other all day and he breaks up the monotony and gives the best hugs and kisses.  I love that my girls have a hero that they look forward to seeing every day.  ♥

Is it any wonder that I quit my career to stay at home with them all day??

I didn't mean to type a dissertation but I just had to get it all out.  Remind me to re-read this as we are departing for our 30 hour flight with 2 kiddos to Perth/Sydney to visit the Baldwin's in a few weeks.

I've got a slew of pictures that I wanted to post but it's time for bed for me.

♥  I can't get enough of them playing together.  ♥

And by the way, why does my 3.75 year old wear 5T and size 11 shoes??  And Mei Mei is just following in her Jie Jie's foot steps.  See why I cherish each moment while she's still small?

The stuff that comes out of Abby's mouth...

I typically run errands right when Bryce gets home from work (just faster sans kiddos, you know) and one day I was grabbing the car keys and this is the conversation:

Abby:  Mommy, where are you going?
Me:  I'm going to run some quick errands.  I'll be right back.
Abby:  You can't run in those flip flops.  If you are going to run errands, why are you getting the car keys?
Me: {smile} I'm not really running my errands, I'm going to take the car and drive there.
Abby: Because your errands are far and it would take too long to walk there?
Me: Yes, that's right.  It's faster if I just take the car.
Abby: Oh, OK.

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I was getting ready to make the diaper cake for Lucy and Kirk's baby shower:

Abby: Mommy, what are you doing?
Me: I'm going to make a diaper cake for Jo Jo and Jo Ma's baby shower.
Abby: Eeeewww!!!  That's gross!

I showed it to her when I was done and she said "OooOooh."  She finally got it.

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Abby and I were walking down our street to drop off a Christmas gift for a neighbor who wasn't home.  I called their house to leave a message saying I was going to leave the gift on their front porch.  On our walk Abby was worried they wouldn't get their gift if we just left it on their porch and this was our conversation:

Abby:  How will they know the gift will be on the front porch?
Me:  I just left them a message letting them know to look for it there.
Abby:    How about we go down their chimney to bring them their gift?
Me:    Oh we can't go down their chimney.  We'll get all dirty.
Abby:    {pause} How about Daddy go down the chimney instead?
Me:  Only Santa can go down a chimney.
Abby:  Oh.

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I was sitting in the bathroom to keep Abby company while she took a dump.  I've always told Abby that she has a cute tushy and this was our conversation while she was pooping:

Abby:  Mommy, you think my butt is cute all the time.  You know when it's not cute?  WHEN I'M POOPING!!!  {then she starts laughing at her own joke!}
Me:  That's right Abby.  I think you're butt is cute EXCEPT when you're pooping.

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And today she started talking in a British accent to us.  It's hilarious and Bryce and I can't stop "hide-laughing" without her seeing anymore.  It's too much!  I can't wait for Lilly to start talking too!

Sisters

One day when it was just me and the girls at home, Abby says to me "Mei Mei doesn't love me.  She only loves you."  I was shocked!  I reassured her that was NOT the case and that Mei Mei loved her very much. I explained to her that is why she follows you around and always wants to be by you and do what you are doing.  I reminded her that I have a sister too and we did everything together.  After our talk, thankfully, Abby was convinced and looked quite relieved and proud that she has a little sister who follows her around. ♥  It just never gets old for me when I see the two of them playing so well together and showing each other so much affection.  I'm so proud of the two of them.

They are holding hands....  ♥

Abby looooves to kiss her mei mei!

Lilly is 9 months old!

Well, with the holidays, Lilly's 9 month well check was 1.5 weeks late but close enough!  She is a healthy baby!  21 lb 3 oz (84%), 29" tall (89%) with a head circumference of 45.5 cm (86%).  That tells me she's quite proportional.  :)  Lilly has grown 3" since her 6 month well check!  We looked back and Abby was 20 lb 4 oz and 28.25" (both ~75%) at her 9 month well check.  Bryce and I were both looking back at Abby's pictures from the old blog posts and just now noticed that Abby and Lilly DO look quite a lot alike.  People keep telling me that but I didn't think so.  As for the rest of Lilly's check up, the only thing we need to work on is getting her to drink water from a sippy cup.  She continues to love standing up and can stand unassisted for 2+ seconds.  

She has thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in this past holiday schedule.  I actually had to wake her up to make it to the 10:30 AM appointment today!  Abby used to let anyone hold her and she never cried.  She would just stare intensely at the stranger.  Well, Lilly has stranger danger anxiety and cried the entire time the nurse and doctor were examining her.  She kept reaching her arms out for me.  Poor baby!  

Lilly fell asleep on the car ride home and is now taking her morning nap.  Abby goes back to school tomorrow.  She is excited to see her friends again and we are back to reality tomorrow!

Lilly got new shades in preparation for our trip to Australia!  Holla!!

Photo Bomb!!!

There are just too many photos from the past few weeks so I'm just going to photo bomb this post!  Here we go!

2 babies in a box.  ♥

We opened Christmas gifts with Grandma & Grandpa the Saturday before Christmas since they were heading to KS the next day.  Both girls loved all of their gifts!

Lilly helping Daddy open his gift.  Look how well she stands!

Insert random picture - My favorite bathtub picture of Lilly.  :)

As always, I'm posting these pictures in chronological order but I skipped ahead in my previous post just to make sure I posted on Christmas Eve.  So now I'm picking up after Abby went to bed on Christmas Eve.  

After Santa came on Christmas Eve...

Opening gifts Christmas morning!!

Someone had to get up early to open gifts and didn't bother hiding her sleepiness.

Lao Nian and Lao Yie came over on Christmas and Bryce made a delicious ham for lunch.  YUM!

One of Abby's favorite gifts from Santa - the Polly Pocket pool toy which I actually allow her to put water in.  Boy, have I really become lax!

This was DELICIOUS.  The skin was like eating pork candy.  So good.

Lilly's walking so well with her walker!  She now stands unassisted for up to 2 seconds.  We think she'll be taking her first steps in the next few weeks!

Lilly's latest default way to sit: kneeling.  Just look at those chubby legs!!  I'm so lucky I get to squish them all day long!  ♥

Then two days after Christmas, we were off to Tulsa to attend Bryce's cousin's wedding reception.  Lilly wasn't too happy for the first 4-5 hours (and subsequently, neither were we) but once the sun went down, both girls were out like a light and we were finally able to make great time.  Luckily the trip back was much less eventful.  In typical fashion, I failed to take any pictures the whole time we were in Tulsa.  I really regret it since we saw a lot of family who we haven't seen in a long time.  :(

Abby rocking out with her new head phones from Santa.

Lilly enjoyed stretching her legs out.  Poor baby.  I don't think babies are meant to be strapped in and sitting in car seats for long periods of time.  

And lastly, this picture was taken a few days ago - babies in a basket!  ♥