Dinner time @t the zoo

With Daddy gone I am on my own come dinner time with the monkeys. This is what was going on while dinner was cooking. Too, too funny! Mostly today was a really good day, Devyn was feeling better and Julia was really good right up until dinner. From that point on, not so much, to be fair she didn't have a nap today and boy was it showing by the time we chatted with Daddy on the computer. I am going to have to get video of them doing a web cam chat with Daddy. Devyn kisses the computer screen, and boy was she was surprised when he busted her going into Julia's room. The look on her face was priceless while she tried to figure out how he could see her! LOL. Oh these girls will keep you laughing, as long as you can keep up, oh I pray I can.

Ch@lk time

Devyn seems to be on the mend, still not sure what was causing her fevers, but the antibiotics they put her on seem to have helped so far. Other than her fever and being a bit fussy, she really didn't have any other symptoms and you wouldn't have known she was sick if you didn't know her. Her naps have been longer, that's about the only other sign of anything going on. I'm just thankful it happened last week while Daddy was still here. I got some 3D chalk for the girls and took advantage of the beautiful weather today for some outdoor fun. As you can see, they had fun. Don't you love the glasses?? We went from here down to the swing set, I got some pictures there on my phone, some day I will figure out how to hook that up to this and get those pictures on here too. Some day. Right now I am just waiting for Julia to fall asleep. That could take a while. She still has so much anxiety when it comes to bed time and being separated from us. I don't even remember the last time she slept all the way through the night. We'll get there some day. In the mean time, I'll just struggle to get her to sleep. ;)

This and Th@t

Posing in the fresh snow for Mama

Chasing her cousins at Great Grammie's Birthday party.

Check out those lashes!

Kylee and Devyn

My beautiful girl.


Sorry no new pics to put on, so here are a few of my favorites over the last month that I haven't put on the blog yet. I haven't had the camera out at all this week, hard to believe huh? I almost ran for it yesterday but after cleaning out both girls dressers and closets this weekend, running for anything just seems to be too much effort. I definitely paid for that but I'm about recovered now and ready to move on to something else. lol.

Just thought I would post a few things we've learned about Devyn over the last month or so. She is not very verbal at all. She can and does say "Mama,Mommy, Daddy, I got it, and NO" (usually quite emphatically!). She has learned to say "pretty" when she picked up the Cinderella dress the other day she waved it at me and said "Pretty?" and you could tell it was kind of a "can I put it on?" type question. LOL. Yes she likes very much to be told she is pretty or cute. Getting her dressed is fun in the mornings, I usually grab her things and change her in the living room, as soon as she is dressed and standing she will go right for the fireplace to see how she looks. I guess the glass doors are as close to a mirror we have at her height. She is very funny, and loves to be noticed for that. She also has one heck of a temper. The tantrums (and oh boy can she throw one!) are getting shorter in duration and coming less frequently as she continues to settle in. Usually all we have to say now is, "do you need a timeout?" (we have a chair in the living room that has been the time out spot so she is not separated from us but yet has to take a breather from any given situation) lately just the question asked and she will sniffle and say "uh-uh" or "nooo" so we give her the choice of stopping the tantrum or time out and more often than not she has been stopping.:)

She is a smart little cookie, but would rather we do things for her than do them herself. Like holding her cup, she will bring it to me and put it in MY hand when she wants a drink. So we are working on her holding it and tipping it up, it's not that she can't, she just really doesn't want to. I'm not sure what that is all about yet, that's just one example. There are a lot of things she is like that on. For instance she knows the baby sign for "more" and will do it on occasion at meal time, but almost never when we ask her to! She very much will only do things that she thinks of so we will be doing a lot of work to convince her some things are HER ideas! LOL.

She is never not hungry! But I swear right now I can practically see her growing, so I'm hoping that will fade just a little bit. And today she has a fever, but I think she is just cutting teeth, getting her two year molars, poor baby:( Keeping a close eye on her just in case though.

Now for Julia. I'm happy to say that her Princess sweet side is winning out more and more, as she struggles to find her role as big sister. She is getting to be a really good helper for Mama. And playing with Devyn more than just bossing Devyn on where to be and what to play with. That's not to say that if Devyn picks up a toy, she doesn't automatically want the same one, but she is getting a little bit better about not being nasty about it and not snatching things from her sister quite so quickly.

Julia is actually eating better with Devyn here I've noticed and also asking for food more lately too. I'm almost afraid that she is growing again too! She is getting so big, it's quite something to have her in my lap lately!

Julia loves to do anything concerning art, paint, color, write, and of course loves to be read to and keeps her books at night so she can read to her "animals" before they all go to sleep too. So sweet. Favorite books lately, her Princess stories (of course) and Angus Lost. She loves animals, and when I asked her the other day what she wanted to be when she grew up, she decided she wanted to be an Animal Doctor, what a shock. Thing is, I can easily see her doing just that. I've been fighting the urge to go to the shelter, I KNOW I really don't need or want the extra work a dog would take right now, and I KNOW having one would limit our traveling so much so easily, but I've also really been missing my fur babies and I know Julia would love a dog (cat, hamster, fish..LOL). I am however going to continue resisting that urge. For now.

Things Devyn and Julia like to do together. Play outside, dress up, dance and sing. Yes, Devyn has started singing with Julia. They both loved the movie "Barbie Diamond Castle" that we got this weekend for Julia for being so extra good. It wasn't a bribe, I didn't even tell her I was thinking about it. But somehow when I went to put the movie in on Sunday she still knew which movie it was! They were both mesmerized, which was good, that is when I was doing all that cleaning. And now Julia will go around with her Barbie (she had gotten it for Christmas, but got it out last week and had already been playing with nonstop)pushing the button and singing the song that it plays..and Devyn will join in because obviously she's heard it enough to recognize it now too!

Things they are different about, while Devyn likes to look cute, she could care less how dirty she gets or how messy something is. Julia can't stand to be dirty for anything. She will play hard, but does not like to be messy at all. Julia loves to cuddle and be held just as close as possible, Devyn is more independent and while she likes giving kisses now, still not big on hugs. She likes to be picked up but only for a minute and then she's ready to run again. Julia worries and is shy. Devyn wants to let EVERYONE know she is here. Julia has always attached to one stuffed animal or another (right now it's still Brownie and her Easter Bunnies, the one from Uncle Norman and the little one from the Easter Bunny), so far Devyn hasn't had any such attachments. She likes her toys well enough, but there doesn't seem to be anything that she thinks she couldn't do with out.

Please don't think I'm comparing here or weighing one child over another, I never expected Devyn to be another Julia and wouldn't want her to be. I'm just noting the things they like and dislike. Kind of my way of sorting out in my own head the things that will contribute to their lives as sisters and the things they do together and separately. They should have an interesting relationship, one thing they definitely share is stubbornness!!

Together they fill our lives, make us laugh, exasperate us and just in general are as loved and loving as we can all be. I don't know what we would ever do with out them.

A Cinderella kind of D@y

I am seeing the days get just a little easier each day, and the bond between the girls starting to grow. It's going to take time but I'm happy to see the beginning steps. Dress up is one of their favorite games to play together we have found, so today they both got to be Cinderella and put the movie in while they played. So cute. Of course then Julia wanted to dance, the video is the result of that, lots of giggles.

I have just a few minutes, as Daddy has taken the girls outside to play and I have to get back to putting laundry away while they are preoccupied but I wanted to try to get down a few highlights from the week before I forget them. Devyn is getting much better at giving kisses, and even initiates on occasion, hugs we still have a ways to go, she does not care for being held close at all, but does like to come over and climb up in my lap to watch TV or take a break and watch sissy play for awhile. Usually that means I end up with both girls in my lap for a bit, but I find I can stand that.

Julia has been telling me the last couple of days "Mama, I'm so happy with you." and "I love you" which is always very sweet to hear. Last night it was "Mama, I'm so happy with you and Daddy and Devyn" and "I love you and Daddy and Devyn" It was nice to hear her include Devyn in that. Of course, she still wants to boss Devyn around, pull and tug on her to get her to go where she thinks she belongs in any given moment and often tries to block Devyn from getting to me or Daddy, but she does have her extra sweet moments too. :)

We did weigh the girls while we were in Ohio, these are unofficial of course, but Devyn weighed 28lbs and Julia 34lbs. That's my skinny mini for you. At least now she is a size 4 and I can find things that run in slims for her, plus have the adjustable waist too. At least the slims don't look so baggy after being cinched up for her. lol. I've actually had to buy some 5's for her, in dresses again of course, just depending on how they run. And size 10 sandals. So hard to believe she is getting so big! I've got a meeting to attend at the end of the month to start the process of enrolling her in PreK next year. Time really has flown since we first brought her home.


I finally found something Devyn doesn't like to eat today. She did not care for watermelon AT ALL. Spit it back out, can you believe it?? I thought I'd never find anything she wouldn't eat. We have such a problem keeping up with her and making sure she's not putting things in her mouth. She will try to eat anything, sea shells, rocks, sand yep, she's going to be so much fun at the beach. Everything goes right to her mouth first. Most foods she loves and I have to make sure to get Julia's left overs off the table before I let Devyn out of the high chair or down to roam, she will go straight for the plate if I don't have it out of sight first! She definitely keeps us hopping.

Well I best get back to that laundry while I still have the chance!

I'm not sure why, but I can't get the video to load tonight, I'll try to post it from Dropshots.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

H@ppy Easter!!!

We have tried this week to recover from illnesses, and the trip in general and attempted to pull ourselves together enough to celebrate Easter. We took the girls to an Easter Egg hunt yesterday morning, Julia was totally into it, Devyn didn't quite get the point of it all. So she only picked up two eggs, ah well, she did better this morning after discovering the Easter Bunny had made a stop at our back yard too! She finally got the idea that you were supposed to put those colorful things into your basket, that is until she discovered some were filled with Jelly Beans! then for any of you that have met Devyn, you know what that meant, stopping to EAT! LOL.

Things are starting to calm back down for us and that means getting back into daily routines. Routine we have found to be very important to Devyn, so I think this will be good for all of us. Her and Julia are getting to know each other and coming to grips with all the changes in both their lives. I see a little progress each day, some days a very little, but it is there so I'll happily take all I can get right now. I expect I'll be playing referee for years to come, but hopefully not every other minute like it seems just now.

Well, I should get back out there, hard to say what they are up to, I'm not sure which is scarier, the screaming or the quiet. LOL

We @re home!

Long story short, we made it to Maine, Pittsburgh, Ohio and back home, but not without getting sick. I am currently putting all pics on dropshots. Even have a few pics of the girls playing dress up today, yep, Devyn likes dressing up just as much as Julia does. I put the Tinkerbell costume on her and she went looking for her reflection (my girls are so vain!) LOL. I promise to separate and blog more about our trip after the antibiotics kick in. Despite getting home sick, we did have a good time and the girls loved playing with all their cousins along the way, so is there lots to blog about, just not feeling up to it yet. ;)

Julia's first haircut

Well obviously by now we made it to Maine. Actually the trip went pretty well and we made good time. Relatively speaking since we were traveling with two toddlers. We got in on Monday and have been still been pretty busy. I got a new haircut on Tuesday and Julia got hers today. Her first haircut on Grampa's birthday. Guess we'll remember that date easy enough. She was SO GOOD! The girl that cut her used to do mine when I was little, maybe not Julia's age little, but I was pretty young when she first started doing hair. So it was great to be able to take Julia to her today. Julia and I had been talking for a few days about getting her haircut and she must have liked mine yesterday because she wanted hers "just like Mama's" we didn't take hers quite that short but we did take a few inches off and it's basically the same style. I think she's happy with it. She kept asking me this morning if I had been scared when they did mine, to which I of course replied "no" to, and she kept saying "Mama you don't have big hair anymore?" guess she thought it was "big" instead of "Long" lol. She can be so cute. She sat so still and did everything Lori asked her to do. I was so proud of her. We went out for lunch and ice cream afterwards as a special treat. And where was Devyn this whole time?? Why with Grammie and Grampa of course, so nice of them to keep her and give us a little one on one time with Julia.

When we got back to G and G's Rob and Ri were there! Gosh have they grown. So of course I had to have some pics of them playing with the girls. I love my nephews!! They are so good with my kids and so sweet. I miss them so much when we are so far away. Then we all (and by all I mean, G & G, 4 uncles, 2 aunts, 5 cousins and us) went out to dinner to our favorite pizza place up here for Grampa's birthday. It was great visiting with my brothers, teasing each other and the kids, and spending time together and would you believe I had my camera with me and forgot to take it in?? unbelievable I know but it was kind of nice not to think about it for a change and we'll all be together again this weekend so I'll be sure to get pics then.

We are having a great visit, that I know is going to end all too soon, and the girls are starting to adjust to each other better. We've got a long road to go but I can see progress already so I'm hopeful. I noticed today that Devyn has really started to follow Julia around a lot and wants her attention and I think that's a good sign, though Julia hasn't really noticed it yet. But when we went for her haircut she was so worried that we had left Devyn behind. So there's definitely something there. ;)

Not sure if I'll get a chance to post again soon or not, but I'll try. I still can't dropshots working on this computer, I'll try again on Ray's if I have my memory card reader with me. Maybe I'll have better luck that way. I'll let you know when I get it worked out and more pics and videos loaded. For now I have got to get some rest!!

I put Devyn down for a nap today while I finalized some things for our trip and finished packing. Julia I layed down in my room watching TV as I knew she was no where near ready for a nap and wanted to keep an eye on her. By the way, Julia feels the need to strip when she lays down, guess she likes to be comfortable, no matter how many times we've told her she can take a nap in her clothes, nothing doing. Usually we find pj's but as I was busy today, you can plainly see we didn't. So the typical hour passed and Devyn woke up. We heard her over the monitor and I asked Julia to give her a few minutes to see if she was really awake or if she would go back out. So she did, but then she snuck out anyway and I could hear her in Devyn's room talking to her, I figured that was okay because by this time I knew Devyn was up for good anyway. So I listened for a few minutes then I heard a "thud"...oh my.. I was sure Julia had tried taking Devyn out of the crib by herself so I of course went running in to investigate...the above is what I found! LOL. I should have expected as much as Julia has been begging to get in bed with Devyn daily.. of course she wouldn't dream of staying in the crib when it was hers. So what did I do?? Obviously I went running for the camera! Then talked with Julia about how she really shouldn't do that. At least they were playing nice together :) I found a pair of squeaky shoes for Devyn after we did get up!! She was really loving them, I think more than Julia did. I'll have to load that video another time as it's not letting me tonight. Sorry. I tried twice, but I'm beat and really need to get some sleep, long day in the van tomorrow.

A quick stop at the beach

It was a beautiful day today and we had to go to an appointment and couldn't resist taking the scenic route home. The pass is open again so we could drive the island road all the way home. SWEET! So of course we couldn't resist a quick stop for some pictures. This was Devyn's first stop at the beach. You can see she was not quite sure what to think of walking on the sand, then she wanted to taste the sand! ICK! I'm sure we'll have her acting like a true beach baby in no time at all. You can also see that Julia is quick to make sure Devyn is sharing Daddy.