Major Milestones

Claire has had a very busy few weeks. She has recently become quite proficient at self-feeding and eats mostly table foods now. Thank goodness because I was getting incredibly tired of spoon feeding. It makes my life so much easier that, for the most part, I can give her what the rest of us are eating. Last night Claire experienced her very first spaghetti and meatball dinner...and she enjoyed every minute of it!

Claire also has had major developments with her motor skills. She can get herself up to a sitting position from lying down. She is pulling herself up on most everything and has even developed the courage to let go and take some steps. I don't know when you call it walking, but she has strung together 8 or more steps so it's likely she'll be chasing after Maggie sooner than later.

Mmm..Spaghetti!

"Look Ma, I'm standing!"

Accident free is the way to be!

It's been a long four weeks since Maggie decided she wasn't going to wear diapers anymore. I had to buy an additional pack of training pants just so I could get through one day without having to do laundry - and she already had 9 pair! By Wednesday, I was ready to throw in the towel. It was becoming a battle of wills and, as those who have a 2 year old know, the toddler always wins. The scenario would go like this: Maggie would be wiggling and holding herself. I would suggest she sit on the potty. I was met with a screaming "NO Bobby!" Then two seconds later she was in the other room, looking right at me and peeing her pants. So this week I put her back in pull-ups for a couple of days. I was exhausted and Jim was out of town. I can't begin to understand the psyche of a 29 month old, but something about the pull-ups made her have fewer accidents. Today's achievement, no pull-ups and no accidents! She actually wore the same pants all day long! Granted, she did piddle a little in the training pants, but we were talking full-on soaking down to the socks before, so this is major improvement! I'm cautiously optimistic...

Valentines and Chili

We had a busy holiday weekend! My sister Beth came to visit from Cleveland. Maggie was so excited to see her that I even got bumped down a notch. Whenever we have visitors, or visit family, Maggie always declares who is going to hold her and who is going to hold Claire. Needless to say, the favored person always has to hold Maggie. Upon Beth's arrival Maggie announces, "Mommy hold Baby Claire." The girls received Valentine's in the mail. Claire enjoyed chewing on the cards and Maggie loved her stickers and her cash gift.

We hosted a chili cook-off on Sunday with our neighbors. We declared it an "everybody wins" sort of event since the votes came in at a tie. It was great to have our play room filled with the neighborhood kids, a few of whom we haven't seen since it was warm outside.

Self-portrait with Aunt Beth

Controlled Chaos at the chili party

Hugs with Hanna from next door

I'm not sure if she was more excited over the accomplishment of going potty and subsequent M&M reward, or the $10 bill in side her Valentine. Whatever the reason, her joy could not be contained! Just listen to the "Yay,Yay,Yay,Yay,Yay"

Fun with spoons and bowls

Claire is getting into everything lately. To keep her busy while I was cooking the other day, I gave her the classic wooden spoon and metal bowl to keep her busy. She loved the sounds the spoon made when clanking with the metal. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of that face!

An oldy but a goody

I haven't posted any video in awhile. I never could get that one of Bixie and Maggie to upload, I think it was too big. I'm not savvy enough to know how to make it smaller. Maggie is very jealous that Bixie is visiting Grandma and Grandpa this week and gets to feed Nikki Cat. Here is an old video of Mags with Nikki. I love her expression at the end!

Winter Visitors

It's a rare thing for us to have visitors in the winter, but Maw Maw and Paw Paw needed to get their fix of the girls so they came to visit last weekend. We had a pretty low-key weekend, just visiting, playing, and hanging out around the house. The sun finally came out and it warmed up a little, so Jim took Maggie sledding in our side yard. It's safe to say she loved playing in the snow and relished being outside again.

You know you're a SAHM when...

You discovered your new favorite musician on Sesame Street. It is sad, but true. I am currently obsessed with Feist's "The Reminder." Just the sound of her calm, melodic voice during a stressful day and I am taking deep breathes and relaxed before I know it. I discovered her while Maggie was watching Sesame Street. She was singing "Counting to 4" and I said, "Who is this person? I have to find her." I put my techie sister on the job and we identified her in a matter of minutes. I just love the web for stuff like that. Anyway, Maggie enjoys the album too and excitedly announces "The Feel It Song" when track 2 plays. I was especially pleased with the Feist shout out on last week's Office. Of course, just like those staffers in Scranton, I'm slightly behind the times and came to Feist over a year after the album was released. But at least I found her!

Some other things I will miss about NEPA

I've been doing some more reflecting. These are in no particular order:

• Wegman's- the best grocery store I've ever been to (sorry Kroger fans)
• The Playgroup - local moms and dads spending Friday mornings at the Methodist church nursery, many of whom brought us dinners after Claire was born
• The woman I met at the grocery store - Amy W. approached me in the grocery store shortly after we moved in. She knew where we lived and where we moved from, my first introduction to small town life. Over the past two years, this mother of four has been a wonderful resource. She is genuine, caring and always remembers your latest adventures.
• Tioga Bistro - the local coffee shop where Maggie and I have our dates.
• No Sales Tax on Clothing - need I say more?
• The residents of Dogwood drive - friendly neighbors who share their pool, help you when you're locked out, let you use their swing set, and shovel your driveway when your husband is out of town.
• Moms of Munchkins - a diverse group of SAHMs who have provided friendship, laughter, adult conversation and reasons to get out of the house.
• The stars in the country sky - God's reminder that we are not alone.

It was meant to be!

The gorgeous house in Sharonville will be ours after all! The relocation company was willing to do just about anything to keep us from walking away from the contract. Knocking several thousand off of our original contract sure helped! We've got a roofer coming out in February to give an estimate for the repairs and will likely make those as soon as possible. We are still set to move in by the end of March, which is only about six weeks away. It will be here before I know it!

Creeping and Crafting

Amidst highs and lows of house buying and selling, one thing remains constant. Our girls are our pride and joy and so much fun! Claire's desire to walk is all-encompassing. If only Mommy had hours a day to hold her hands and guide her around the house, she'd be happy as a clam. Claire has recently started creeping and has even taken an independent step or two. It will be a while before she's off and running though. She has yet to pull herself up, which is a critical missing link.

Last week, Maggie decided that she wasn't going to wear diapers anymore. So we've had a very busy few days of intense potty practice and lots of accidents. We were really making some headway by Saturday, but things seem to have fallen apart in the past couple days. I thought she was ready, but maybe not. She did take a potty break during some craft time Sunday morning. We had fun with beads and made some Valentines. Maggie loved the activity, especially with it's undivided attention from Mom.