Closing 2011 with Holidays and a Birthday

Above: Pandeia enjoying her birthday, Pandeia enjoying the cupboard, and Penelope ejoying fingerpaint a new way... guess I shouldn't have left the room!

Oh it's been so long now. The girls have changed. My days fly by though I am not flying... Andrew is.

Penelope is entering the wisdom of being two and a half. She now knows what her little sister should and should not do and lets me know. It seems she has grown so much in the last couple of months.

Pandeia, a.k.a. Scout, is a wild woman of 12 months now. She didn't toddle for long but began walking, sometime during her 10th month, as if she'd always known how. She climbs up everything. Basically if she is awake she is not still. I love seeing her and Penelope playing together more and more all the time. We are excited to put her into her new bed soon so the girls can sleep in the same room. I'll have to let you know how that goes!

I know I usually talk very little of Andrew in this blog. It's just easier that way because of the nature of his work and the state of worldly affairs. But he is home now and then and gone frequently. He makes good use of his time here though and the girls miss him terribly when he's gone and always get excited when they hear a helicopter because they think it's Daddy's motorcycle. He is currently being missed while on TDY in Louisiana, then home for a month, and will be greatly missed again in March until sometime in September (deployment). Whoooie, that will be our longest thus far!

I love the independence that I can see in the distance when my girls begin napping at the same time. Currently, I am a prisoner of naps. They take turns. I know I could force them to coincide, but I see no need to make such demands of a sleepy baby whose brain and body can only benefit from frequent napping. If you are bored by this exciting concept of two babes napping at the same time then you must never have been around children, at least not very young ones. Such ideas and thoughts are my life. I completely understand the concept of becoming not so sharp from not challenging your brain academically. Who has time for books and classes and news or writing or thinking for that matter?! Well, sadly, not I. If intelligence could somehow be measured by levels of mommy intuition or something like that, then I may be closing in on Mensa. A friend once joked with me that "pregnancy brain" turns into "mommy brain". She must not have bee joking after all.

Christmas was fun this year and Penelope really got into it for the first time. Last year we were so focused on the baby that was about to arrive! We missed family back East this year but enjoyed our time here and were glad to all be together. You will see the Christmas pictures and those from Scout's first birthday. We took down all Christmas decorations on the 26th and began birthday mode with a little white birthday tree. The girls still are talking about it... we took it down weeks ago.

There are also some older photos posted from last fall while Andrew was in Africa... they are the later ones you will come to in the album. I noticed that Andrew and I are not really in the pictures, we look the same though I will try to get us in some of the shots next time. There are also new videos on the videos tab. Enjoy them, and thanks for reading!

La La La La Life Goes On

Penelope is ever growing and changing into a precocious, witty, charming little girl. Each day she surprises me with her humor or words that seem too large for her small body. One of my favorite phenomenons lately is that when I kiss her all over her face she says, "No, top [stop]" then she either pulls my chin toward her or places her small hands on my cheeks and says, "tiss [kiss]". And I get a sweet little kiss right on the lips followed by 3 more. She cracks me up. I do it now just to keep it going.

Pandeia is such a loving little koala. We like to call her a Mommy seeking missile. Maybe it is torture, but it's pretty cute if she is headed my way to walk in a different direction and watch her turn to follow me wherever I go. Just today I noticed she got her top front tooth, so I guess she can't be a vampire like we had hoped for Halloween (reference the photo at the top of this blog!) She is not too far off from walking, but at least a month I'd say. She can stand up and maneuver around from any position and cruise along furniture like she was born doing it, but we have much to work on in the area of balance! She recently turned 9 months. There is no holding this one back. Diapers? It's a good thing I had already decided to do EC (aka infant potty training, diaper free, or natural infant hygiene) again, because it is virtually impossible to hold her still to get a diaper on! She uses what we call "the alligator roll" method.

I love to see the girls learning to play together more and more each day. There really is a big benefit to having babies this close in age. I love that they have each other. I wouldn't change anything about them.

They both love the outdoors. Penelope asks to go hiking everyday, or to ride horses of course. We walk every morning. Sometimes Penelope rides her balance bike. If there is not napping going on then we are outside. It's no wonder that these girls sleep 12 hours straight through the night without waking!

There are many new photos so please enjoy them through the link on the side bar.

This is Quite a Silly Nest

Everyday our girls do something I should write about. Penelope is two, Pandeia is eight months. It is a beautiful thing to see them begin to play together more and more. I have so much I'd like to address, I don't think I could ever remember each moment. I really should do this more often. Alas, there are a million other things that get in my way after the girls are in bed for the night.

We'll start with the smallest of us. Pandeia Scout started crawling at six months and before she was seven months she was pulling up on things to standing. She is a fast mover but not yet walking. We have some serious balancing to work on before making those first steps, or even trying to stand alone. Although when I stand her up and let go for a second she thinks it's wildly funny and laughs as she immediately falls, of course I don't let her hit the floor! I'll have to try to get it on video. She loves her reflection and watching her big sister and dog run around the house. She also LOVES books, they taste so good! Maybe oral osmosis will work instead of audio learning. Scouty Pants (so affectionately named) now boasts a whopping three teeth with more on the way everyday it seems. Poor teeny thing has been teething from birth it seems. I can't wait until she ends up with a mouth full of teeth like the rest of us.

Next in line from shortest to tallest... Little Nell is two! I can't believe it. She is hilarious, as you will see if you watch the new video I am hoping to post on the Shutterfly link. I love it when she surprises me with a new word I didn't know she knew (everyday at least). I love that she is more and more my cuddle bug as she gets older and wiser and realises that mommy is so fun and wonderful. Penelope is a great big sister, letting me know when Scout has her toys or something else Nelly wants. Besides all the lessons in sharing, she really does love her little sis and I always catch her copying Scout or playing and laughing with her. It is so awesome to see it.

I don't have any milestones I'm meeting like my girls are... I hope I've met them all by now. Well maybe I can say that I get my full nights' worth of sleep every night again. That's maybe one milestone. Maybe another is that I've got it together enough to get both girls out of bed, give them breakfast, dressed, and out the door for a walk to see the horses, usually at least by 8:30 or so in the morning. You really have to beat the heat here! Hopefully our blazing hot days are numbered, but I do love the warmth and heat... if it's those nasty New York winters instead, give me the 110 degrees! They don't call our region of Idaho the Banana Belt for nothing. Oh and I got a high speed taxi ride in the jet! You can see me all suited up in the photo on top. I kept telling them to take off but they would just mutter some nonsense about how they weren't allowed and Leavenworth. Whatever, I thought it was a lousy excuse. Next time I'll figure out a way.

Andrew... hmmmm... well, he works a lot. Oh, and he loves motorcycles, talking, reading, dreaming, researching anything to do with them. Incase you didn't know. His little girls have him wrapped around their teeny tiny smallest fingers. Sorry to leave his paragraph so short, but you know how it is with his career. As far as what kind of person he is, he's a wonderful father, my soul mate, and the one I can't wait for to get home after his work day.

Please please please look at our photos and videos on our albums link... (you newbies to our blog just have to click "Albums" on the side bar or click the title of this post.) I hope you enjoy :)

Each One of Mine

I'm finally sitting down to blog. It is hard to find the time to devote to things such as writing or reflection these days. My two little ones keep me hopping!

Before I move on to what is new let me write a bit.

Today has been a pleasant day........... tainted. Grrrr, police men. Can't they just jump into my day, my shoes and say, "have a nice day maam." I mean, come on!

I have also some heavy thoughts drifting through my mind. I won't share, so as to not taint anyone else's day or mood. My heart feels shadowed with a sadness when I hear of bad things happening to people... whether I know them or not, but especially when I know them. I have a hurt for these people. If you are one, know that I hold you close to my heart and whatever your beliefs, I will say a prayer for you.

Now for my two gemstones sleeping peacefully in their tiny beds... Oh, my heart explodes with love and happiness. Has there ever been such sweet babies? I am sure every mommy feels this way, but I do think mine are exceptionally wonderful. So cute, so prescious, so fun to be with... they make me laugh!

Andrew, my best friend, he works so hard at his job. He is my forever, my sure thing, my rock.... but not at all boring as all that may sound. We are two youngest children who love free time and procrastination, and the infamous "dilly dally." Those days are long gone as we spring into action every morning, him to an alarm clock, me to a cry or a small voice calling, "Mama?"

That small voice is my sweet Nelly. She is almost two now. Closing in on her 22nd month, to be exact. She can make me laugh! What a great sense of humor that tiny girl has. What a love she has for nature and animals too. Every night she must hold all her dearest stuffed animal friends as she falls asleep. Oh and how she loves her dog Winnie, sometimes a little too much for Winnie.

Littlest one, Scout... Was there ever such a happy, smiley baby? She watches everything, wanting desperately to be able to get to things and play with her big sister. She is a champion sleeper. That-a-girl Scout! So soon she will be on the move, she loves standing and trying to crawl on her belly! She's not quite there yet, but where there's a will there's a way.

We are looking forward to our trip home this summer! Andrew hasn't been home in nearly 2 years! And nobody, except for my beautiful mother and handsome father, has met Miss Pandeia Scout yet! We love NY in the summer. I still call NY home and probably always will. Come to think about it, I don't know where my two babies will call home. Hopefully wherever their mommy is!!! Ha ha ha.

Please enjoy the pictures, linked to this post via the title or the link on the side. Oh, and there are two new videos too! Similar but both worth watching.

Spring time with the Babes

Springtime here in Mountain Home is a windy time... blowing in all sorts of changes. Our girls are growing up so quickly it seems. Andrew has left on a TDY for four weeks and all the beautiful women of the house are left to their own devices. Mostly though, our days with my main squeeze gone are like the movie Groundhog's Day. We move through our routines of eating, making trips to the potty, watching Pooh, Cats (the Aristocats) and Dogs (a barbie movie with two dogs), going on walks, making tiny forts, and playing outside with Winnie. Penelope loves to break her mommy's heart by frequently reminding me of how much she misses Daddy when she says, "Daddy?.... bye."

Penelope is approaching 20 months old. Scout is almost 3 months (12 weeks to be exact). Penelope is a full blown toddler now, quite independant. Our little Pandeia is ticking off those developmental milestones like she should. She can look right into your eyes and "hold a conversation" of smiles and cooing.

Some of you have asked me about a nickname for Pandeia... too complex for you? Well, you may have notice me calling her both Pandeia and Scout. Those are usually the two we use. Although she could also be Pandie or anything else that comes naturally to you. We are not going to tell you what to call her, but if it helps you out, we usually call her either Scout or Pandeia.

Finding the time to write this blog is next to impossible so that is why I am keeping it ultra short this time, I guess that is typical. Make sure to link to our photos. There are also three new videos at our albums site!

Busy with Babies

How time flies now with two tiny ones in the house. Every second of my awake time is occupied... oh yes, and when I'm asleep too. I'm taking a moment while both big and little sister are asleep to try to catch you up a bit.

It's been a full 5 weeks now since our little Scout (as Penelope has taken to calling her sister- it's the part of Pandeia's name that she can say) has joined us in the world. We took her measurements on her one month birthday to chart her growth... she is an excellent nurser and has grown quite a bit, gaining 2.5 pounds, and still measuring 20.5 inches................ Hunh? That's what I thought too. I KNOW they measured her wrong when she was born. This girl has definitely grown in length her first month. Although they told us she was 20.5 inches at birth, she was fitting into newborn clothes that are definiely too short on her now. Who cares really? I am just a stats junkie about most things (not in sports or anything boring like that) so I just thought I'd mention it. I know the only ones interested will be the grandmas and possibly some aunts.

Penelope (now 18 months) is really getting into the groove of having a little sister around. She goes into recharge mode everyday by increasing her nap times quite a bit. The nearly non-napping baby (Penelope) now is napping double what she has before. I love it!

Andrew and I are a well oiled machine now. Whether efficient or not we are into the swing of our new family. Andrew turns 30 on March 1st! Be sure to make a big deal about it if you do talk to him, he is hanging on to his 20's to the bitter end. I will always be a year and a half older and wiser than him though, and proud to be.

Here's the stuff I left out the first time!
As I put both babies to bed tonight... yes, I did it at the same time (go me!), I was thinking of all the pictures I forgot that I had and could add to my albums site. I also added two very cute and funny videos of Penelope, located on the videos tab of the albums site. In the back of my head I was thinking of all the many many things that needed to be done around the house. Then I thought, more wisely, the house will still need to be tidied up tomorrow, the mess isn't going anywhere... besides, a tidy house is very over rated! So, now you get to see more of us. Enjoy the pictures and please do watch the video, it will make you laugh. She is IN LOVE with Pooh Bear.

Introducing Pandeia Scout Stevens

It's been a week now since Miss Pandeia (pronounced Pandia) decided to come into this world. On Tuesday, Dec 28, 2010, Pandeia Scout Stevens was born at 1:44 PM. Weighing 7lb 2oz and 20.5 inches in length, her birth was flawless, like a well rehearsed dance. Born at The Baby Place, a wonderful birthing center in Meridian, ID, Pandeia's birth was the exact experience we had hoped for.

Big sister, Penelope, is in LOVE with her little sister. It's hard to believe my 17 month old baby has a little sister! Andrew has been on his paternity leave and life at home with our new family of four has been taking shape.

Enjoy the photos at our shutterfly photo albums link!