the butterfly bag

This morning when Stella woke up, Sylvie came with me to get her out of the crib and gave her great big hugs.  Stella, as always, looked like a poor, shaggy little dog who couldn't see (did you see the video in the last post?!).  Sylvie looked up and said to me "Mom, I like it better when Stella doesn't have her pony tail in.  She is more cuddly."  More cuddly?  "Yeah, she's softer!" 

May you both always have as many cuddly hugs as you wish....

Today, when Sylvie came out of her classroom, I thought she was stealing someone else's cute little butterfly bag (the girl loves butterflies!).  It was her new prize for having so many good behavior days for the month of September.  She was soooo proud, and walked out to the car smiling ear to ear.  On the way home, she told me one other little boy got a "Cars" T-shirt.  I asked her what the other kids picked, and she said "Mom, it doesn't matter.  No one else got the coolest prize, because I got the coolest prize."  May you always have such confidence!

Sylvie stood so nicely for me to take her picture with that coolest prize, but Stella just wanted more hugs.....and in the end, I got cute pictures of the hugs And the bag. 

May you always be so patient with your little sister (and brother) and so happy with the little things in life :)

Lots of love, 

Keri

Lie la lie.......boom

Nothing but exciting bed-times in this crazy house.  Last night bed-time was postponed by a bit so John could attack a stink bug on the 2nd floor ceiling, Sylvie could assist, and Stella could watch and giggle.  John made requests to Sylvie like "try to find an animal with more body, less feathers, and less beak."  Sylvia very seriously replied "OK Daddy."  In the end, the stink bug won and Stella now thinks sneaking stuffed animals over the 2nd floor railing is the funniest thing ever.

The video below was from bed-time a few weeks ago.  Stella is happy because she is doing one of her very favorite things, brushing her teeth, and Sylvie is happy, because, well she is Sylvie.  Always singing.  In this case it is her own unique version of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" (or as she would say, "The song that American Idol Lee sang.")

Lie la lie....boom

Lots of love, 
Keri

Sylvie's World

There was once a favorite Elmo sweater, that is now worn and fuzzy. There was a favorite Elmo dress worn past the time that it fit just right. A bright Elmo balloon that we HAD to buy our princess at her visit trip to the boardwalk.Recently, there was an Elmo photo-shoot, totally arranged by Sylvia, inspired by her little sister's new Cape May t-shirt.

Over two years ago, I took some precious photos of baby Sylvie sleeping with her Elmo doll.

So innocent. So sweet.

We now have two precious little girls who have loved "Melmo" and a sweet little boy on the way. I haven't seen Sylvie cuddled with that Elmo in over two years. She is so grown-up now. She goes to school and plays soccer and knows the WHOLE pledge of allegiance. She is slowly giving up naps, and most days skips them....but I caught her asleep the other afternoon with that same Elmo doll and just for a moment, my sweet big girl Sylvie was my sweet baby Sylvie.

sniff, sniff

:)

something different

I spent the drive to the ultrasound the same way I have spent every drive to every ultrasound: blaring some favorite music to try to calm my nerves and repeating "Stress is bad for baby" in my head over and over. This child's music has been Brandi Carlisle :) On the way, I had to stop for gas, and as John was filling my car he said he just may not find out the sex today. He had talked to someone the day before who convinced him how great a surprise would be. I smiled, half knowing he would change his mind and half envisioning the angry mob of people that would be after him when they found out the sex was still a secret. I was finding out either way though, so that was his issue to deal with :)

I loved our technician immediately, because she not only showed us what body part she was examining, but also told us what she was looking for in terms of abnormalities or concerns, and after each assessment she said "Looks good." Our previous technicians haven't said much, and I usually spend my time trying to figure out if the baby has arms or not - worry much?

John loved the technician too - partly because she answered his questions with words like "Megahertz".

We saw everything from the baby's tiny toes to a close up of his nostrils (seriously!) and everything in between. There was fluid in the stomach, so that means he can swallow, fluid in his bladder, so kidneys are working, plenty of amniotic fluid, good heart function, brain looked good, no cleft lip, etc. He weighs 14.2 oz, which is a bit ahead of schedule, and all measurements average out to 21 weeks, which is great because I was 20.5 weeks. His arm bone measurements were particularly long, so John has been trying to figure out who he inherits that from. He measured our arm spans this morning - it isn't me!!

When the time came to find out the sex, I said I definitely wanted to know, and John said he wasn't quite sure. We didn't want to know if there was any guessing involved. I think John then told the technician to decide if he should know....who does that??! She quietly said "boy" (no guessing involved) and we both went into shock. I had thought the baby was a boy in the very beginning, but as we got closer to finding out, I was reminded of how I felt sitting in that room two times before and hearing the words "it's a girl", so that is what I was expecting to hear again. I immediately starting crying, and John ended up leaving the visit proudly with this photo (clear shot between legs)The doctor came in last and confirmed everything the technician told us. Everything looks to be functioning great, and the measurements are perfect. He asked what we had at home, and I said two little girls. "Well", he said, "this is something different."

Yes it is, and WE CAN'T WAIT!

magic wishes

more details and photos to come.....i am exhausted from lack of sleep and lots of nervousness this morning and lots of tears of joy.

we are in love with that little boy already and Sylvie is thrilled that all her magic wishes on the dandilions for a "BRUDDER" came true (and that she gets five bucks!) happy days

precious little baby

To my little baby:

When I first found out you existed, Daddy was on a business trip, and I had to wait 2 whole days to share the news - such torture!! Daddy came home on our wedding anniversary and his gift was a positive pregnancy test in a gift bag. After examining the test carefully to make sure it was real and that it was really positive, Daddy was thrilled. Sylvie was thrilled too - "Mommy gave you a special marker Daddy! Happy Anniversary, Daddy!!"

We told your sisters about you a month or 2 later, and Sylvie was thrilled. She jumped up and down saying "Stella, we're going to have another baby!". Stella smiled because everyone was so excited, but she still doesn't know what's coming. I asked Sylvie if she thought Stella was ready to be a big sister and she said "No! They'll pull each other's hair." Look out little one - she might pull your hair.

At my first visit, I was thrilled the new doctor offered to try to hear the heart-beat. I've read that to hear the heart-beat that early the doctor must be experienced, patient, and a little lucky. Dr. Barton said she'd only try if I promised not to freak out if we couldn't hear it. I promised (possibly lying...), but luckily we did hear your beat, fast and strong. Tears of joy! Love that new doctor :)

The first ultrasound was a week or 2 later, and we got your first baby photos. So tiny, so sweet, so precious. My neighbors kept saying I didn't look pregnant at all - (which worried me). Then, around 19 weeks my belly popped out - way out! (which worried me :) I've felt you since around 12 weeks or so (crazy early!!), lots some weeks, none other weeks. Now, since week 18 or so, I feel definite baby movement, getting very close to being felt from the outside. You move so much already! More than little Stella ever did (which worried me constantly).

Once again, Daddy decided he didn't want to find out if you were a boy or a girl until you arrived, and once again he has changed his mind. (Yay!). We are so excited to know more about you. Sylvie wants you to be a boy (because Dora has a baby sister AND a baby brother) and she has a $5 bet with Daddy. Stella is just confused why my belly is so big. So tomorrow is the big day. Cannot wait to see you, get more pictures, and hopefully find out if you are my daughter or my son. Lots and lots of love ~ Mommy

And.....a few videos of the girls dancing. We do a lot of that around here little baby - if you are a little princess, you will fit right in. If you are the little boy of the family - no worries. Daddy will show you how to dance like a cool guy :)

Check out Sylvie's signature move:

p.s. If you haven't seen the videos from the last post - you have to check out the last one. Stella in her soccer uniform is too much!

looking funny

Happy Fall! :) We've been having a fun week, although poor Stella has been dealing with a yucky cold, so hopefully that clears up quickly. Today in the car I asked Sylvie what Stella was doing. Stella still faces backwards, so I can't see her face, and I often ask Sylvie whether she is sleeping or what she is up to.

Sylvie: She is looking. me: Oh, she's looking around? Sylvie: no, she's looking funny. me: Is she ok? Sylvie: yep, just lookin' funny.

So helpful!! Yesterday, Sylvia told me she wanted to marry Stella when she grows up.
me: you can't marry Stella - she is your sister. Sylvie: But I don't want her to grow up and live in a different house than me. me: It's ok, you can talk to her everyday, and you might live close to each other. You can live in houses next to each other. Sylvie: Like Grammy Lou and Aunt Chrissy? OK. I'll do that.
Such a bond those girls have, and Stella can't even talk yet! She did say a few more words yesterday. Shrek "REK", and Elmo "Melmo" (Just like Sylvie used to say :) There have been a few times now, I've caught Stella singing the ABC's. She has the tune right, and she says "A B B B B B B......" I haven't been able to catch that on video yet, but I did get some soccer videos last weekend:

Sylvie's Class:

Stella's Class:

Stella peeking over to Sylvie's class:

The girls put on their uniforms:

And......playing with Daddy after class. Check the skills!

Feel free to vote on the sex of baby 3 at the top of the web-page. We should know by 10:30 or so Friday morning, and I'll try to post updates here and on facebook asap. I'm soooo excited to see the baby again :) I had a dream about the appt last night, it was very strange and involved me showing up on the wrong day. In the dream, the baby was a boy, but the dream was so bizarre it made me feel like the baby must be a girl. Nothing in that dream could have been close to accurate!

ordinary giggles

I'm sooo sleepy as I write this, but just wanted to keep up with adding updates, so eventually we share most of the hundreds of videos I have collected! We had a great weekend with lots of family time, including the cutest soccer practice ever (videos to come!), and time today with Uncle Abe and Kayla (and Aunt Chrissy, Uncle Mark, and Grammy Lou too!)

The video I am posting is from a month ago when Sylvie was thrilled to use a big girl cup at dinner and Stella was just learning to use a cup. Just an ordinary family dinner night, but that is why I love being a mom, because ordinary things like drinking from a cup cause choruses of giggles :)

Stay tuned this week for soccer videos and some of the "Sylvie and Stella Show", which was some talented dancers performing to Dave Matthews songs :) Also, I will try to post the baby's gender update on Friday....YAY!!!

Happy 24th Birthday Auntie Mo!!!

soccer sisters

Soccer started today! Sylvie is a grasshopper and Stella is an ant. Hopefully, they will both have lots of fun - the program runs until mid-December. We picked soccer for this season in place of music and dance, just for something different. I think we'll go back to dance in the spring (Sylvie's favorite), and maybe swimming too (Mommy's preference to get those girls to be strong, safe swimmers!) .

Sylvie is excited for soccer, but looking ahead to dancing again too. She picked out 2 cute dance outfits at a consignment sale we went to this week: www.jbfsale.com They had great deals on kid's clothes, maternity, and all sorts of baby things. We got a bouncy seat for little baby, sneakers for Stella Bella, and lots of stuff for Sylvie, including winter coats for the next 2 seasons and some ridiculously cute clothes.....pictures to come!! When we were looking at the bouncy seats, my friend was checking out some really cute little pink ones for me. I stayed gender neutral with our purchase, but I thought it was funny she was thinking of the girly ones. People assume we'll be having another princess....and we just may be! I really wish I had known the sex of the baby before that sale! I could have picked up some cute little boy clothes if they were needed.

And here, is a video I just find adorable. I was trying to get Stella to do a little more of the hysterical chattering on her pretend cell phone that she had been doing for the past 5 minutes, but ended up catching something even better. This is how they interact with each other all of the time, kisses, hugs, and smiles. Of course, there is yelling and shoving here and there, but they are the two most loving little sisters I have ever seen:

busy babies

We have been very busy splashing around on the deck on the hot days and going to parks and playgrounds when it is cooler. We snuck in a trip to Dutch Wonderland last weekend before John's week of traveling, and that was lots of fun. So much going on - I definitely need to update more.

Little baby update: I had a doctor's appt on Monday night and took both girls with me. Sylvia loved going to the visit and hearing baby's heart-beat (which sounded great!). She was the doctor's helper and held the doppler device, turned it on, and turned it off. She now wants to go to every visit. Stella, on the other hand, shrieked as loud as she could as the nurse tried to take my blood pressure, and it only went down-hill from there. She is now banned from all future appointments :)

The next visit will be Friday for our ultrasound; can't wait! John is now anxious to find out too, so fingers crossed, we'll know a little more about the new baby in a week. Although I've been thinking of the baby as a boy - John has made his official guess. During a bet made with Sylvia (who is still saying "BOY!!!"), he voted girl. He is almost always right about everyone so chances are.......

Sylvia update: She is loving school, and although claims to remember nothing that happened when I pick her up, she spends the rest of the day singing pieces of songs about the days of the week and reciting parts of the Pledge of Allegience. When we get ready for lunch she starts to say the prayer they say in school ("Thank you for the food we eat...."). I really like her teacher. She has a big focus on helping them learn to read, and right now they are collecting names of products and stores (Cheerios, Target, etc), that most of them can recognize already to create a Word Wall and a Word Book. I'm excited for Sylvie, and how much she loves playing with her new friends and doing her projects. The other day they all tried red, yellow, and green apples, and then made a chart to show who liked which color the best. (Sylvie loved them all, but prefers yelllow.)

Here is a video of her singing Ramo. Not the most accurate version, but possibly the most passionate:

Stella update: I think she gets a little trickier and a little more adorable every day. If I call her name, for any reason, she immediately runs the other way, arms pumping as hard as she can. Then a minute later, she'll put her little face as close to mine as she can, says "Hi!", and gives me her biggest, best baby hugs. She is blissfully unaware that she is soon to be a big sister. She is slowly adding words, most recently "back-pack", "whoa!", and "beep-beep" (she says bop-bop). At her doctor's appointment, she was 20th percentile weight and 90th percentile height, (although the way she fought me, the nurse, and the doctor, I would have very little confidence in that height number). Anyway, although she screamed and fought with all her might throughout the appointment, everything was normal, and she got 3 shots with no fevers or anything since, thank goodness. Here is an example of her talents and vocabulary :)

And one more quick video of Sylvie for the road...she's come a long way since the days of "bye-bye" and "button" :)

my baby girls

My favorite thing in the world right now is watching the girls play together. Stella doesn't always understand what Sylvia is trying to accomplish, but she is almost always willing to go along for the ride. They both love anything to do with music, and are often dancing together. Stella has recently developed a love for books that matches her big sister's interests. Stella's face lights up if you ask her if she wants to read a book, and Sylvie has now moved on to chapter books. She picked out Dr. Dolittle a few weeks ago, and we've been reading a chapter or 2 a night. Let me know if you have good recommendations for our next chapter book. I have fond memories of Judy Blume [Super Fudge], but I'm probably getting ahead of myself... Here they are playing on the deck and dancing to the 4 second song that the barn plays....over and over:


The things Sylvie says to Stella are hysterical. I can't wait to hear Stella's responses in a few months. The other morning they were holding hands and running around in circles as Sylvie shouted out "come on Stella, there's no time to waste." Then as they saw me, they'd yell "Incoming!!"

I always get the video camera out a few minutes past the moments of hysterics, but this was still really funny:

I am so lucky to be with them for all those little silly minutes that mean so much. I have also learned to keep my camera and video recorder in convenient locations to try to catch more of those giggles.

School Days

Sylvie had her first day of school today. She was so excited. She packed her beloved pinky bear to take with her into her backpack last night and asked me several times to check the weather on the computer - she wanted to make sure she wore the right clothes. When the time came, she picked a pretty skirt to wear, of course, and a cheese stick and crackers for snack.

I asked Sylvia if she was nervous or excited on the way there, and she said "EXCITED". However, when I dropped her off, she was so nervous, she would not make eye contact with me or respond, even when I gave her a hug and kiss good-bye. Her teacher came to the door when she saw us and said "Hello Sylvia.". Sylvie wouldn't look at her either, but very willingly took her hand and joined the little pile of 3 year-olds sitting with back-packs in the lobby.

Stella and I came home and played and cleaned the kitchen and went for a walk and went grocery shopping and came home to put groceries away.....Sylvie was only gone 2.5 hours, but it felt like forever! And finally it was time to go get her. First, we spied through the window:

Then we greeted her with lots of hugs. She was very calm and quiet, and I felt like we missed her more than she missed us!

and finally, in the car, we get all of the details. Day one was a success!