After much cajoling from the folks across the pond, here are some summer photos of our beautiful babes.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Photos -- Summer 2011
After much cajoling from the folks across the pond, here are some summer photos of our beautiful babes.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's COMING!!!!!!
So before I begin with the family update, I have a funny story about Bella. We continue the endless process of potty training, with my gently encouraging them five thousand times a day, and their stubbornly refusing to consistently go on the potty. However, we do have some success. Bella, in particular, is having success almost every day. The other day, Mia even came running into the room I was in packing things and said "Bella's on the potty!" while pointing wildly to the bathroom. Sure enough, Bella had pulled off her pants and diaper, lifted the lid, put her kid potty on the seat, climbed up, and was going without prompting! So I have real hope this actually may happen!
The funny story is that we were at the camp with Mom and Jenny last weekend (without the fellows), and Bella was stubbornly refusing to go to sleep, as usual. She has taken to peeing every night (almost) before bed, and she had already done it for the evening, but started insisting at the gate that she needed to go "pee pee on the potty" again. I thought she was faking, but brought her to the bathroom anyway. As I skeptically sat by on the bathroom floor, she proceeded to sit on the seat and examine her toes, lean back and giggle, make sunny faces at me... everything but pee. So I said "I think you're faking. That's it. Back to bed!" To which she responded: "No Mommy... iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's COMING!!! Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!! Here it comes!!!!!" as she peered down between her legs over and over again, and up at me, with this huge grin on her face. Well, my stern composure lasted about three seconds, and I dissolved into laughter. So much for stern, serious mommy! I think I laughed for 5 minutes straight!
Anyway. On to the updates: Johan and I spent yesterday and today down in New Jersey (yes, folks... technically, on the "Jersey Shore") looking for housing. After going all over with a real estate agent on Saturday (who was EXCELLENT, by the way!), we felt we finally had a better handle on which areas were decent to live in, and what monthly rent was going to look like. Which, by the way, made me choke a little bit. However, the blow was softened by the fact that our agent showed us this apparently awesome Italian food store and deli, which was great comfort to me, of course. We decided on a place we liked and though was reasonable, but decided we would have a quick look this morning at a few apartment communities, since all of the places we looked at yesterday were independent family homes (condos or townhomes). The very first one we went to was in an ideal location for us... about 15 minutes to work for me, and 5 minutes away from the ferry to NY City (for me and Johan, in case he gets a job in NYC). It's also, (for any of you considering visiting) about 5 minutes from the beeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuutiful beach overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Anyway, thy had a three bedroom, two story apartment available immediately, so we went and looked at it. It was perfect! Well, not perfect, but totally decent, in a nice community, plenty of space for our needs, and for $850 less per month than the cheapest available unit we had seen the day before, or found on the web! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! So we applied for it. Let's all keep our fingers crossed (since years of on-and-off unemployment isn't great for one's credit score) that we get approved. They also wanted to see 2 months of pay stubs, which we don't have, but at least I had brought my offer letter with me showing salary and start date. So here's hoping!
A few pictures are below... they're not great, but decent enough:
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On our way! Tentative move-in date (if all goes well) June 22nd!
The funny story is that we were at the camp with Mom and Jenny last weekend (without the fellows), and Bella was stubbornly refusing to go to sleep, as usual. She has taken to peeing every night (almost) before bed, and she had already done it for the evening, but started insisting at the gate that she needed to go "pee pee on the potty" again. I thought she was faking, but brought her to the bathroom anyway. As I skeptically sat by on the bathroom floor, she proceeded to sit on the seat and examine her toes, lean back and giggle, make sunny faces at me... everything but pee. So I said "I think you're faking. That's it. Back to bed!" To which she responded: "No Mommy... iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's COMING!!! Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!! Here it comes!!!!!" as she peered down between her legs over and over again, and up at me, with this huge grin on her face. Well, my stern composure lasted about three seconds, and I dissolved into laughter. So much for stern, serious mommy! I think I laughed for 5 minutes straight!
Anyway. On to the updates: Johan and I spent yesterday and today down in New Jersey (yes, folks... technically, on the "Jersey Shore") looking for housing. After going all over with a real estate agent on Saturday (who was EXCELLENT, by the way!), we felt we finally had a better handle on which areas were decent to live in, and what monthly rent was going to look like. Which, by the way, made me choke a little bit. However, the blow was softened by the fact that our agent showed us this apparently awesome Italian food store and deli, which was great comfort to me, of course. We decided on a place we liked and though was reasonable, but decided we would have a quick look this morning at a few apartment communities, since all of the places we looked at yesterday were independent family homes (condos or townhomes). The very first one we went to was in an ideal location for us... about 15 minutes to work for me, and 5 minutes away from the ferry to NY City (for me and Johan, in case he gets a job in NYC). It's also, (for any of you considering visiting) about 5 minutes from the beeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuutiful beach overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Anyway, thy had a three bedroom, two story apartment available immediately, so we went and looked at it. It was perfect! Well, not perfect, but totally decent, in a nice community, plenty of space for our needs, and for $850 less per month than the cheapest available unit we had seen the day before, or found on the web! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! So we applied for it. Let's all keep our fingers crossed (since years of on-and-off unemployment isn't great for one's credit score) that we get approved. They also wanted to see 2 months of pay stubs, which we don't have, but at least I had brought my offer letter with me showing salary and start date. So here's hoping!
A few pictures are below... they're not great, but decent enough:
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On our way! Tentative move-in date (if all goes well) June 22nd!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Hugs in the Bathtub
This video's going to be played at weddings, folks. I love that they love each other so much! They quite frequently just run up and hug one another, and say: "I love you!" Lately, they're into kissing too. Everyone gets kisses... even the computer, when we're talking to someone on skype!
It amazes me so much how sensitive they are, and yet also how impervious they are to the turmoil around them. They get very concerned if I'm having a bad day (handling Johan being out of work), but are also quick to understand that all it takes is one big smile from them, and I'll stop crying or cheer up or otherwise abandon my wallowing. They just keep smiling and bounding around playing "I'm gonna get you..." or start splashing wildly and hugging each other in the bathtub like in this video. Kids are THE BEST thing in the whole world!
It amazes me so much how sensitive they are, and yet also how impervious they are to the turmoil around them. They get very concerned if I'm having a bad day (handling Johan being out of work), but are also quick to understand that all it takes is one big smile from them, and I'll stop crying or cheer up or otherwise abandon my wallowing. They just keep smiling and bounding around playing "I'm gonna get you..." or start splashing wildly and hugging each other in the bathtub like in this video. Kids are THE BEST thing in the whole world!
Ring around the Rosey
So the girls have definitely picked up on the nursery rhyme thing. I walked into their bedroom to them doing "Ring Around The Rosey" this morning. Soooooooo funny!!!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Mia's glasses... YAY!
Here's our beautiful little family, with Mia FINALLY in her glasses! YAY! She seems to be tolerating them wonderfully. I tried to look through them, and HOLY COW. Our poor little one couldn't have been seeing much of anything without them! Last night after she got them, she kept pulling them off her nose and then sliding them back up, comparing how things looked with and without them. It was such a grown-up thing to do! She still puts her face right up to books when she wants to see something, but seems to quickly realize she doesn't need to do that anymore and pulls back. I'm sure it's just habit to her, so it will be interesting to see if that fades with time. She also seemed to be INSTANTLY more steady on her feet (which is a relief for those of us always waiting to catch her!). We're so happy for her!Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Adventures of Mia continue...
Hi Everyone.
Today we had an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist, and found another indication that she has Marfan's Syndrome, which the doctors already suspected. The National Marfan Foundation says that with monitoring and interventions where necessary, people with the syndrome can have a lifespan similar to that of an average person. Also, there are varying degrees of symptoms. Lots of atheletes have this syndrome, since it results in extreme flexibility and height, including long slender limbs (although competitive sports are not recommended for people with the syndrome). Most recently in the news, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps has this syndrome, apparently.
It's been a really hard few weeks, but we're hoping for the best on all fronts. Please keep us in your prayers, that Johan can find a new job quickly and Mia can continue receiving the "self-healing" miracles we've seen in her in her first two years of life!
Today we had an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist, and found another indication that she has Marfan's Syndrome, which the doctors already suspected. The National Marfan Foundation says that with monitoring and interventions where necessary, people with the syndrome can have a lifespan similar to that of an average person. Also, there are varying degrees of symptoms. Lots of atheletes have this syndrome, since it results in extreme flexibility and height, including long slender limbs (although competitive sports are not recommended for people with the syndrome). Most recently in the news, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps has this syndrome, apparently.
It's been a really hard few weeks, but we're hoping for the best on all fronts. Please keep us in your prayers, that Johan can find a new job quickly and Mia can continue receiving the "self-healing" miracles we've seen in her in her first two years of life!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
No glasses today.
BOO. Just spoke with the opticians, and they don't have the glasses. Gonna have to wait another week.
Long overdue update
Hello, everyone!
After a swift reminder from my "other mother" Deanne, I realized it's been way too long since our last update on the blog. All's okay here... we've been buried in snow this winter in Syracuse. I've loved it, but I think Johan has missed the Virginia/DC area. So we'll see where we end up this time next year.
Our excitement today is that Mia is getting glasses, finally! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! We're all very excited for her to finally see us (and everything else)! We went to the eye doctor a few weeks back, and it turn out that she has gone from a -4 on the nearsightedness scale a year-and-a-quarter ago to a -17 now (-20 is legally blind, mind you). Her lenses in both eyes have shifted significantly off to the sides, so she's not really getting the benefit of their use, and the doctor thinks there is definitely an underlying genetic problem to boot. That said, at least the glasses will help her see, and he thinks that as of now, there is probably only about a 1% chance she will need surgery at the moment. We're going to a pediatric cardiologist to have hear heart worked up next week (they have concerns because of the genetic condition they think she has), and then we're off the the geneticist as soon as we can get an appointment. She's our ongoing project! But of course, Mia is oblivious to all this, and is the happiest little snuggle-bug you've ever met. As we always say, she's just happy to be alive, that one!
Bella is on the verge of potty-training, I think. I hope! She's our stubborn little spirit, so I think most of the time she knows how to do things, just doesn't want anyone telling her how or when to do them! She cracks us up! She continues to be such a generous spirit, though, and is always watching out for Mia. The other day she announced "Mia's the best sister!" and gave her a huge hug. It melted my heart! The girls love to play together and generally are good at sharing things, and are both always quick to bring the other sister a blanket or toy if either one is crying. The love to read books, jump on the beds, run laps around the apartment, climb up on the back of the couch and launch themselves onto the cushions, and throw anything ball-like around the apartment. They're absolutely obsessed with Santa Clause and Christmas trees (every pine tree we pass is a "CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" to them) since Christmas, and I keep reminding them it's a long wait to next Christmas and seeing Santa again. They love to go swimming in the pool, although we may not be able to do that with them much longer, and they charm the pants off everyone they meet. They are our own special little angels here on earth.
Will post pictures of them later, particularly Mia with her new fancy pink glasses!
After a swift reminder from my "other mother" Deanne, I realized it's been way too long since our last update on the blog. All's okay here... we've been buried in snow this winter in Syracuse. I've loved it, but I think Johan has missed the Virginia/DC area. So we'll see where we end up this time next year.
Our excitement today is that Mia is getting glasses, finally! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! We're all very excited for her to finally see us (and everything else)! We went to the eye doctor a few weeks back, and it turn out that she has gone from a -4 on the nearsightedness scale a year-and-a-quarter ago to a -17 now (-20 is legally blind, mind you). Her lenses in both eyes have shifted significantly off to the sides, so she's not really getting the benefit of their use, and the doctor thinks there is definitely an underlying genetic problem to boot. That said, at least the glasses will help her see, and he thinks that as of now, there is probably only about a 1% chance she will need surgery at the moment. We're going to a pediatric cardiologist to have hear heart worked up next week (they have concerns because of the genetic condition they think she has), and then we're off the the geneticist as soon as we can get an appointment. She's our ongoing project! But of course, Mia is oblivious to all this, and is the happiest little snuggle-bug you've ever met. As we always say, she's just happy to be alive, that one!
Bella is on the verge of potty-training, I think. I hope! She's our stubborn little spirit, so I think most of the time she knows how to do things, just doesn't want anyone telling her how or when to do them! She cracks us up! She continues to be such a generous spirit, though, and is always watching out for Mia. The other day she announced "Mia's the best sister!" and gave her a huge hug. It melted my heart! The girls love to play together and generally are good at sharing things, and are both always quick to bring the other sister a blanket or toy if either one is crying. The love to read books, jump on the beds, run laps around the apartment, climb up on the back of the couch and launch themselves onto the cushions, and throw anything ball-like around the apartment. They're absolutely obsessed with Santa Clause and Christmas trees (every pine tree we pass is a "CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" to them) since Christmas, and I keep reminding them it's a long wait to next Christmas and seeing Santa again. They love to go swimming in the pool, although we may not be able to do that with them much longer, and they charm the pants off everyone they meet. They are our own special little angels here on earth.
Will post pictures of them later, particularly Mia with her new fancy pink glasses!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Bella Belly Dancing
Well, here we have our lovely and adorable Bella "hamming it up" again... thank goodness I had the video camera nearby! Hee hee hee... it speaks for itself!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Mia fell down the stairs... OHMYGOSH!!
Poor, poor Mia! Horrible parenting skills by me today. Johan and I were packing for this weekend (when we are heading to the Adirondack Mountains for our big family weekend), and had the gate at the top of the stairs down as we were bringing things down to the car. Looked away for two seconds (the dreaded "two seconds"), and Mia went head-first down the entire flight of stairs! OHMYGOSH!!! I am mortified, and feel like a terrible mother! Mostly, she has some seriously NASTY rug burns on her nose, but she also has a big bump on the top of her forehead (see picture, above). Have to wake her up every few hours tonight and tomorrow night to make sure she's okay. S-C-A-R-Y stuff. Yet again, our miracle baby continues to be a miracle. She has one heck of a hard-working guardian angel! Thanks Heaven for that!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Bella's Potty Training (sort of)!!
Okay, so I know those of you who don't have kids yet don't really get why this is sooooooooo, uber-exciting (beacuse I honestly didn't before the girls!), but Bella TOLD ME she wanted to "poot" this morning, so I ran her into the bathroom, and sure enough, she DID IT!!!! ON THE POTTY!! Promptly followed by an accident on her bedroom rug. But nevermind... she pooped on the toilet! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! Topped only by the fact that she then PEED on the toilet later in the day! BOTH IN ONE DAY, FOLKS! THAT'S RIGHT!!! She's on her way!!!!
So we spent the whole day on and off the phone with my mom and with Johan (who was out of town) with Bella proudly announcing what she had done. As we were brushing teeth tonight once Johan was home, I said "Bella, tell Pappa what you did today on the potty." And she said "I peed." and I said, "What else did you do?" and she said "I poot!" It was so cute!
Speaking of which, both their communication skills have taken a flying leap into the future over the past week. They're actually telling me what they want to eat, what they want to do, and how they feel about things. It's so amazing. I am in HEAVEN!!!!!!!!
So we spent the whole day on and off the phone with my mom and with Johan (who was out of town) with Bella proudly announcing what she had done. As we were brushing teeth tonight once Johan was home, I said "Bella, tell Pappa what you did today on the potty." And she said "I peed." and I said, "What else did you do?" and she said "I poot!" It was so cute!
Speaking of which, both their communication skills have taken a flying leap into the future over the past week. They're actually telling me what they want to eat, what they want to do, and how they feel about things. It's so amazing. I am in HEAVEN!!!!!!!!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Family get-together in Letchworth Park 2010
FYI, I have no idea why this is underlining. Anyway, this past weekend, we went to Letchworth State Park near Rochester (NY) for an annual family get-together. Here are some pictures of the family. The girls are getting so big!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Another day in paradise
Word of the day? "BROCK.... (pause pause pause) oleeeeey!!!!!" Guess what we had for dinner?
Bella has also taken to announcing when she has "poot." As in, "I poot." Over and over rather ashamedly until I change her diaper. It's SO CUTE!!!! She's all upset and I can't stop laughing! Also, when she's crying, she no longer just wails. Now it's "wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh!!" (deep breath) "wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh!!!!" as tears are pouring out of her eyes. And again, I can't stop laughing!Thursday, September 16, 2010
FAVORITE Pictures!!!!
These are just hanging around the house... some of my favorites!!!!
Goofy girls!!
Mia and Bella take after Mom... they both LOVE raw corn!
They both do this.. reading on the toilet at a year-and-a-half! HA!
This is typical Isabella pose right now... having a meltdown!
Goofy girls!!
Mia and Bella take after Mom... they both LOVE raw corn!
They both do this.. reading on the toilet at a year-and-a-half! HA!
This is typical Isabella pose right now... having a meltdown!
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