Update

So I've been very neglectful on the blog lately. Life has been busy for us. I'll do my best to catch you up on the latest happenings now!

Tommy: Between traveling for work, Tommy has been spending time in his workshop building various stuff for around the house. He built new cupboards for the laundry room and tiled the floor. With our new stackables (and a fresh new coat of paint) in place, our laundry room really looks good, well... as good as a laundry room can look, I guess. We've had to replace a few appliances over the last few months too. He can only fix something a few times, and then we usually decide it's time for new. The dish disposer was the lastest new install. I love being married to a Mr. Fix It! Tommy is extremely handy around the house and cars. He changes the oil in the cars, fixes/replaces bath/shower fixtures, builds furniture, rewires the basement, and can still whip up an Elmo cake for Alexandra's 2nd birthday!

He just finished a humidor, so I guess his next step is to buy cigars?

The buffet is still a work in progress because the top didn't turn out as well as he had hoped, so another trip to the woodmill is needed.

At night, "Daddy" is the official book reader. We recently made a trip to BuyBuyBaby for some new books because Alexandra has taken a shine to Dr. Suess.

In the next month or so, the Harley will come out of storage, and he will spend some time cleaning it up (with Alexandra's help again, of course) so he can enjoy it for the spring/summer.

Alexandra: Miss "A" is busy being a two year old! She knows ALL of her letters, shapes, animals, colors, and can count to 20 now! She sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the ABC song pretty darn well, minus a word/letter or two. I cannot believe how fast she is growing and how well she can speak for her age. I am amazed by her daily. I love her dearly.

Daddy is the official book reader, so every evening at about 7:30 she settles down in her room and "snuggles" with Daddy under her blanket and they read 10 or so books. I will capture this moment on video because I do it no justice with my words. Before she goes "night night" she usually gives Helena and I "BIG" hugs and kisses. Oh, that's just the best! One night, she opened her bedroom door and came to our bedroom just because she wanted to give Mommy "just one more" BIG hug and kiss. (I actually got several that night, so it was a special night!)

She is learning to walk up/down the stairs by holding on to the wall or the railing now, so this has been a big step for her. She still hasn't figured out that she *can* really climb out of her crib, thankfully, so our evenings have been peaceful. Since she was about 8 or 9 months old, she's been a great sleeper i.e. doesn't scream for us in the middle of the night and sleeps 10+ hours. I hear that transitioning to a "big girl" bed can sometimes cause issues at night. We'll see! I have no doubt that moment is coming this year.

Alexandra has shown little interest in potty training, so I haven't pushed the issue. When she tells us she needs to use the "big girl" potty, we'll take her. Over the last month, she's told us a half a dozen times or so. She does #1 or #2 some of the times too, but she hasn't been consistent. When she is ready, is when will start trying. She is aware of how things work, though, so that's half the battle!

Eating has been a fun experience for us all. Since Daddy enjoys cooking, Alexandra is lucky enough to sample so many types of cuisine. She is a great eater! The only food adversions she has shown, oddly enough, is to mayonaise and cottage cheese. Cole slaw is out too, for obvious reasons. We will eat cottage cheese for dinner, and she still wants to try it each time... but she spits it out and says "Alex no like cheese." It's funny. She will try anything, though, sometimes twice! Greek and American are probably her favorites. Her "staples" are eggs, oatmeal, bread, broccoli, lunch meat, cheese, ice cream (which is really Yoplait Whips, frozen), anything chocolate especially donuts, goldfish crackers, and ice water. I make her decaf green tea every so often, and she gets to drink it out of a "big girl" cup too.

She weighs 24 pounds now, and still wears a size 3 diaper. (I just bumped Helena up to a size 3, so our diaper bag has gotten lighter for the time being.) At night, I've been putting 4's on her though. At the last doctor appointment, Alexandra was deemed "tall" for her age and "lean" which means she is taking after her father, thankfully. If (or when) she grows some hips and a decent butt, she can thank my side of family. :)

Alexandra enjoys Mickey Mouse, Dora, Yo Gabba Gabba, and Sesame Street. She loves dancing and making faces. She LOVES making her sister laugh, too. Sharing with her sister, well, that's been a work in progress. She happily shares with us, but she still steals a lot of toys from Helena. Every now and again, I will look over and see her bringing her sister dolls or toys unprovoked, and it's in those moments where I feel so proud of her. Alexandra will never remember being an only child, thankfully. It is my sincerest hope they will always love one another and be great friends forever, not just sisters.

Alexandra wants to do a lot of things now, like a "big girl," as she states. In the evening, her chore is to help feed and water the dogs. She will NOT let you forget this task, as she'll come running from wherever she is at, yelling "Alex help! Alex help!" The other night I let her help with dinner, so she pulled over a kitchen chair, climbed up, and sorted the broccoli for me. She then grabbed big hand fulls and put them in bags. Most days, her "brand" of helping is actually helpful!

When we go anywhere, she wants to walk all of the time, and most days I will let her walk but she always has to hold Mommy's hand. With 2 kids, sometimes this gets tricky. I let her pick out her clothes most days too, so if you see her and she's wearing two different colors of socks or mismatched tops/bottoms please know she is exerting her independance and it's not because I, as her Mommy, cannot accessorize! :) And yes, she wore a hat the other day even though it was warm outside. She wanted to wear it, and I let her even though it was "technically" her sisters hat and it made her grape look huge.

Helena: I have two beautiful girls, and I'm not ashamed to say so. Helena, I think, has a classic baby doll look. She has had quite a journey, this little girl. There are days where I look at her and I cannot believe we survived those early months. I'm so thankful to God for her precious life. She has helped me grow in so many ways. We just had her final surgical appointment at Nationwide Children's Hospital yesterday. Dr. Marc Michalsky worked his magic on her and now she is a thriving 8 month old! She only has a long scar on her abdomen to show for it, minus a belly button.

Helena weighs 15 pounds now, and we dropped her EES! The next few days I'll keep an eye out and make sure she doesn't vomit, so fingers crossed! I also want to get a tape measure out, because she has really grown. She's been wearing 12 month sleepers now for about a month. Her legs are just so darn long! When she was 5/6 months old I had her wearing 9 month pants. Now, those 9 month pants look like waders on her, so I've had to retire them and bring out the 12 month pants. It'll be interesting to see her growth chart at the doctors next month. I have a feeling she is going to be taller than her sister.

She was an early "crawler" but when I say she crawled, it uh, hmmm... I'll get a video up. She rock/crawls and it looks like she's heading through a trench during war. It's actually quite cute. She's not very traditional, that's for sure. Recently, she started pulling herself up on just about anything she can get her hands/body on. Toys, furniture, me... anything! Helena is very unsteady though, so I always try to catch her because she falls every time. She is determined, that child.

Sounds like "da da" and "ya ya" "ba ba" and "boy-ee" in addition to screams (of delight) and laughter fill her now! Her sister probably brings her the most joy, aside from me.

I feed her a fruit in the morning, with rice cereal, and in the evening she will get a vegetable or two, depending on how eager she is to eat. She nurses from me about 7 times per day, too. We have noticed a food allergy (wheat? oatmeal?) so we're keeping tabs on that until her next pedi appointment, which is in May.

Helena started swim classes in the evening at the Westerville Recreational Center. One of her friends, Lydia, is also taking the class! So far, she had a great time. Fingers crossed she enjoys swimming like her sister does!

Helena is a CHAMPION sleeper! Wow. She woke up about once per night during the first month we had her home, then all of a sudden she dropped that middle of the night feed... and she's been sleeping through the night since then! And when I say "sleeping through the night" I mean, we put her to bed at 7:00/7:30 and she sleeps until 5:30/6:30 the next morning. She doesn't wake up crying in the middle of the night, and she doesn't have night terrors. She started sleeping in her crib from month 4 on, including naps, and when she travels, she happily sleeps in the pack-n-play. I've got her on 2 naps a day now, so 10 and 2 are the times we aim for nap time. (Her sister still takes an afternoon nap, so I get some downtown for about an hour or so every day.)

She is a VERY happy baby. The happiest I've ever seen. Seriously. I challenge you all to find a happier/smiley child. I didn't think they existed, truthfully, until Helena came home from the hospital. She is such a good baby. She can go to anyone, with arms outstretched, and she'll be happy to play with just about any toy at any time. Now that she can move around the room, she'll play now. She cries when she is tired or hungry, but who doesn't?!?? :) I've noticed that if she "sees" me when she is being held by someone else, sometimes she gets upset... but as long as I'm not within view, she is fine. Strange but true.

Me: Well, not much new to report on my end. I'm training for another distance race this Spring, so hopefully I can get back to faster times because being slow blows. :) I'm happy taking care of my two girls every day, and I cannot think of a better job out there! We try and do something fun every day, and some days we succeed and others, well... there's always tomorrow. Now that the weather is getting warmer, we'll be spending more time outside. I've been trying to catch up on the baby books, but it's slow going. Stealing time in the evening or during naptime, is getting harder and harder.

Tommy and I have been watching Lost, The Office (reruns too), Survivor, Pawn Stars, and Undercover Boss. We will DVR the shows, and watch them as we have time. We're planning a Dayton trip this month to see Wright Patterson Airforce Base and Museum. (I really think Alexandra will love it!)

This July, we're planning a mini vacation to Terra Alta, WV for the Sheehe family reunion. We've rented a cabin for the week, and we'll stay with Tommy's parents, and, maybe his sister Tracy and her husband Gabe. It's always a good time!

The dogs have been itching to go outside more, so we'll try and incorporate them into our evening walks with the kids. (Ally, our smallest dog is my running partner.)

Saving money has always been important to me, so I continue to clip my coupons and stack them at grocery stores and Target. This past week at Meijer, I saved almost $80 and only spent $74, so it was a good week! (At Meijer and Target, you can stack manufacturer coupons with store coupons for extra savings.) I've been saving reciepts on my baby stuff and I'll get reward money mailed back to me for each item I buy, so that's been helpful too. We have a freezer in the basement for extra frozen goods, in addition to the pantry Tommy built, so if there is room I'll fill it with stock items!

I need to catch up with my friends more, so that is my priority this month. That, and getting out my scrapbook stuff and sewing supplies. The plan is to organize our spare room for crafts. Fingers crossed I can get it done soon, or else. :)

Tonight is Lenten dinner at St. Elizabeth's. Alexandra really loves the dessert table, and truth be told so do I! Only a couple of more weeks until Easter. :) Holidays have a whole new meaning now with kids.

Life is good. XXOO