all is well

Just wanted to let everyone know we finally got our electricity back on. We finally got to go home in the afternoon on Christmas, and we had "Christmas morning" the next morning in our new house. We've been enjoying celebration with family ever since. Will post more when things slow down (and when the laundry is caught up).

Merry Christmas

We're postponing our Christmas celebration until we have electricity, but for all of you who are celebrating today. . .Merry Christmas!

Hope yours is warm and bright.

First Snowman

Yesterday, the PGE automated system said most houses in our area had restored power, so we packed up the kids that morning to take them home, hoping ours was one of the houses with restored power. The whole time we were packing up, Eleanor was telling us how much she wanted to make a snowman. I kept assuring her that as soon as we got home, she could make a snowman in our yard.

After traversing the icy/snowy/slushy roads, we found our street to be the same ghost town it had been when we left. Our neighbor who decided to stay there with his wife, warmed only by their fireplace, told me, "I told Grant I would call him when we got power." I explained to him that we had just gotten our hopes up because of the PGE message. We are still one of 62 homes in our area without power. I guess we just aren't special or dangerous enough yet. We turned the car around and headed back to Grant's parents'. The whole way, Eleanor was complaining because she wanted to make a snowman.

So, as soon as we got back, we convinced Uncle Alex to go out and help her make a snowman. I think Grant and I were both feeling too downtrodden to want to go play in the snow. Alex has been so good to us and the girls through this whole thing. I'm sure having us here puts their lives in disarray, but they have all been so kind. Alex plays with the girls and builds fires for us. He even put Eleanor to bed last night!

Eleanor LOVED making a snowman with Alex. He taught her how to do it, and she worked along with him happily.

I was a little concerned that she would get too cold too fast out there, but it was as if she didn't even notice the cold. Good thing she has her "Gracie coat" and her "Gracie boots." I looked out the window and saw her flop her tummy into the snow a time or two. Alex said she even sat down in the snow and said, "Look! I am making a bum."

Putting on the nose.

The finished product. How fun! Since then, that poor snowman has only been covered with more snow. I think he's cold out there.

After the snowman was done, she still wanted to play in the snow. She even stayed outside when Alex said he was going in to get warm for a bit. We tried coaxing her inside with hot chocolate or a cookie, but both offers were politely declined. A few minutes after that, though, she decided to come in on her own.

I'm moving to Arizona!!!

I am moving to Arizona or any other place warm and full of palm trees. Somewhere where my kids won't freeze to death if the furnace dies. Someplace where, less than a week after buying a new furnace, there WON'T be a major ice storm that comes along and kills the electricity in the whole house, taking away the ability for the new furnace to function, causing us to (yet again) flee to the ever kind in-laws' house for warmth after I just got done unpacking from the last time.In Arizona, we wouldn't be braving icy roads to leave our cold (and dark this time) house exactly a week after the last time we had to leave. We wouldn't have any doubt whether or not we would be home Christmas morning. We wouldn't be dealing with a power company who won't even give an estimated time of restoration because they're dealing with over 40,000 homes without power across the state. I've always said I love the rain and the trees, and I've never been too big on really hot summers, but I think I've changed my mind. So, if you need me I'll be unavailable. For the next several days, I'll be in Arizona (if only in my mind).

All I want for Christmas is a warm house (my own, to be specific)!!!!

Baby, it's Cold Inside!

We are finally home after a very memorable weekend and several days following. Saturday started out normal enough. We did some Christmas shopping in spite of the cold weather coming. Then, we got home and the whole family took a nap. That's right about when things got interesting.


As tired as I was, I was unable to sleep, so I got up and woke up Eleanor so she wouldn't sleep too late and not be able to go to bed. We were occupying ourselves while dinner cooked, and I kept feeling cold. I finally gave in and turned up the heat. When Grant and Phae got up, I was still chilled. I told him I had turned up the heat. Grant looked at the thermostat and said it was 62 degrees in the house --the temperature had never gone up after I set it. At that moment, it occurred to us --the furnace was broken!


We survived the night using space heaters in our bedrooms and a small fire in the family room fireplace. In the morning, it was COLD. Somehow, looking out the windows at the new fallen snow didn't have that magical effect it usually has at Christmas time. We packed up a ton of our stuff (I had no idea how long it would take for it to get replaced, so I planned for the worst), and headed to Grant's parents' house. We were going to stop there for lunch and then continue on to my parents' (they have a little more room and are getting ready to go out of town anyway). By the time we were done eating, we realized it wouldn't be safe to drive to my parents' house. Grant's parents were stuck with us, but they didn't seem too disappointed. They're always so welcoming, and they love any time they get to spend with their grandkids.

First thing Monday morning, Grant started calling about getting a new furnace. To keep the story short, I'll just say that after Grant making trips to our cold house during the day and me and the kids staying at his parents' and hoping he could make it back, we finally have heat in the house again. For a while, we were afraid we would have heat in the house and still be stuck at his parents' just because the roads were so bad, but the rain last night made it safe enough for us to hurry carefully home before things froze up again. Grant took the bus back to his parents' after being at the house all day so he could drive us home in my car. We are so grateful to have family so close that we can count on in an emergency and that we have all been kept safe. Now we just have to go get South Salem from the neighbor, and we'll have the whole family together again.

So forgive me for not posting pictures of the winter wonderland and my kids playing in the snow. I've had other pressing concerns.

Three Months Old

Phaedra is 3 months old!

• Phaedra started to giggle this month! Her first little chuckle was about two weeks ago. I was getting her into her jammies, and she laughed! I called out to Grant, and his response was, "Oh, yeah. She did that for me last night. I really had her going." (Of course.) I tried to figure out what I did to make her laugh so I could get her to do it again, but it was a one time thing that night. She has laughed for me quite frequently since then, but I still try to find new ways to get her to do it. I LOVE that sound.
• She gurgles and coos. She's a very animated little baby.
• She's still sleeping pretty much like she has all along, taking a while to get settled for the night, and then only waking to eat and falling right back to sleep. She even sleeps in most mornings, which is heavenly. The time between night feedings is lengthening, though. Some nights, she'll eat around midnight and won't wake again until 5 or 6am.
• She can roll from her back onto either side, but her arms stop her from getting onto her tummy.
• She loves to suck her hands, usually her fist or her two middle fingers.
• She's pretty good in the car as long as we are in motion or if she is asleep. Translation: I don't think she's very fond of the car.
• When there's something she wants to see, she's like a little owl, turning her head almost completely around to get a look.
• She's rather pleasant when I put her in her bouncer seat or on a blanket on the floor. As long as there is someone around that she can watch, she's happy as long as she isn't too sleepy.
• Sometimes, when she's in her bouncer while I make dinner or while we eat, she'll get flapping her arms and kicking her legs and jabbering at us as if she's just begging for some attention and interaction (and of course, we give it to her --who could resist?).
• She definitely knows her daddy. All of her focus is on him when he first comes home from work. She even goes to sleep for him better than for me at the beginning of the night.
• She lets Eleanor hold her a little longer before she gets upset. She used to not tolerate it very well.
• Many times, when I talk to her, she'll reach out her little fists to me so I can kiss them. When I do, she gives me a huge smile.

While Eleanor was napping this afternoon, Phaedra was sleeping sporadically. I was trying to get a little rest, too, but Phae kept waking up and fussing after sleeping for just a short period of time. Finally, I decided I'd probably be less frustrated if I gave up on either of us sleeping and just did something productive. So, I thought it might be fun to get some nudey pictures of Phae on this fuzzy pink blanket we have. I crooked her under my arm facing out, as she likes to be held, and went to the family room to set up. I put the blanket on the couch and decided to put her down to try to adjust the lighting on my camera before I took her clothes off. I set her down; her eyes were open. Then, as soon as she was out of my hands, her eyes drooped completely shut. So much for pictures! I got this picture instead and decided to take advantage of the situation and made myself comfortable on the other end of the couch. We ordered this couch a while back, and it seems like it has taken a lifetime to get here. It came today, and Phae is the first one to nap on it.

Here are some pictures from the last month:

Just us girls.

Eleanor wanted to hold Phaedra during her song before her nap. So, we both sang to her while we rocked.

This is the only picture I have of the toy bar on her bouncer. Lately, when I put it on, she gets so excited talking to the bird in the middle and grabbing for the butterflies. (In this picture, she's looking a little dozy.)
Joining Eleanor and Daddy for story time before bed.

The many faces of Phaedra: Here's a special treat for anyone who made it through this really long post, a few videos:

This one is a bit slow starting. I had to put the camera on my leg because if I hold it out in front of her, she's just too distracted. Eventually, she shows off her rolling skills and babbles a bit. I love how her coo is such a gurgle.

Thankful for Eleanor

There are many other things for which I am thankful, but it's all about Eleanor day. And I certainly am thankful for her.

This was Eleanor's Thanksgiving dinner. For years, Grant and I have been in charge of appetizers for Thanksgiving. This year, we arranged them all on a TV tray. Eleanor loved being able to reach everything, and treated the tray as if it was her own plate. She stood there for quite a while, just munching away. She didn't eat much Thanksgiving dinner as a result, but we weren't worried about it. She ate the fruits and veggies just as much as the chips and crackers. The girl loves dip!

The evening before Thanksgiving, the girls and I went to my mom's to help make pies. Eleanor loves being able to help in the kitchen. Here they are mixing up the pie crust dough.

• Clothing size: 3-4T tops, 2-3T bottoms.

• Shoe size: 6½

• Weight: roughly 26 pounds

• She really started to enjoy ABCs this month, and can sing the alphabet almost perfectly.

• The other day, she said, “Look Mommy, an M!” Sure enough, on the paper she had been coloring, there was a neat upper case M. I’ve tried showing her how to write an E to get her started on her name. She gets the line going down and then tosses on a bunch of sideways lines. I don’t recall showing her an M anytime recently, so she either has a great memory, or I have Sesame Street to thank for that one.

• She still loves reading to me.

• She’s really on an independence kick, wanting to do everything herself. Even if I try to sing a song I hear her start to sing, sometimes she starts frantically waving her arms and tells me, “No. Don’t sing. I will say it.”

• Other times, she will ask me to join in. She’ll open a book and say, “Say it with me.” Then, she’ll try to say the words along with me (I think she’s trying to memorize them for later). She also will encourage me to sing with her sometimes. I guess it all depends on the mood.

• She likes it when everyone does the same activity. When she gets around other kids who are dancing, she happily declares, “We are all dancing!” I took her into nursery last Sunday and watched as she went over to the toy vacuums. She started playing with it and announced happily to me what she was doing. Then, when one of her friends came near, she grabbed another vacuum and practically chased her down with it, saying, “Here. Here. Here.”

• She still likes to help me around the house as long as I catch her at the right moment (when she isn’t engrossed in some other activity or trying to get her way about something else). I love how she gets into it, telling me, “We are workin’. We are workin’ hard, huh? You are workin’, and I am workin’.”

• She has such a long attention span when she finds something she enjoys doing!

• Her Halloween costume continues to get regular use. She likes to pretend she’s a character from Dragontales (a show I wish didn’t exist—I’ve got to be more careful about what DVDs are in those toddler backpacks from the library!). She gives the whole family dragon names, and we have to use them as long as she’s in her costume. As soon as she takes it off, we go back to Eleanor, Mommy and Phaedra.

• My little angel who didn’t even come up with the idea to tell her parents “no” until she was almost 3 is really testing limits, throwing more tantrums, telling us no, creating drama whenever possible.

Enjoying a sucker earned by going potty on the potty!

• She has made huge strides in potty training this month. After she finally wet on the potty that first time, I went and bought some pull-ups. I called them her “big girl pants,” and I told her that we don’t go potty in big girl pants. We only go potty in diapers. Ever interested in the exact parameters of the situation, she asked me if we gas in big girl pants. I told her she could gas in them but not go potty. She often tells me when she “just gassed in them.”
• She has only had a few accidents in the big girl pants. She doesn’t wear them all the time. I give her a choice between big girl pants or a diaper, and when she’s wearing them, I tell her she can go potty on the potty or ask for a diaper if she needs to go. She usually goes on the potty.
• If she has a diaper on and wants to go potty on the potty, she always wants to put on her big girl pants before she goes on the potty. Somehow, she holds it until the big girl pants are on and then pulled down. Reading to her baby sister.
  
• She still isn't really showing any resentment or jealousy over her sister. Sometimes, she seems to be oblivious to her. Others, she interacts with her, wanting to hold her and talk to her.
• She is great about helping me out with Sister, bringing me diapers, clothing, blankets when I ask her.
• She does always include her sister whenever we're pretending to be someone else. When we are Dragontales, Phaedra is Orc or Cassie. When we are Grant's brother's family (a more recent one), Phaedra is Isabel while Eleanor is David, Grant is Michael, and I am Lucero.
• Eleanor asks some crazy questions. She's never gotten into the incessant "Why?" phase, but she ends almost all her questions of "What is it?" with the word "for." So, the question ends up, "What's that drink for?" It makes for some pretty obvious answers.
• She also asks questions such as, "What do we do when we are eating our cereal?" Doesn't the answer to that one seem obvious? I don't quite know what to say to those questions.
• The other day, she was coloring as I was trying to make lunch (I was past hungry at that point) and get Phaedra down for a nap. Eleanor kept telling me over and over to come look at what she made. I kept having to stop making lunch to run back and get Phae asleep again. I finally told Eleanor, "I'm sorry, Hunny, I'm too busy to come see what you're coloring right now. I have to get Sister to sleep, and I'm trying to make lunch. When I get that done, I promise I will come look at what you did and I am sure I will be so very impressed." When I finally got a moment to look at it just before I tried to convince her to come eat lunch, I told her it looked really good. She looked up at me and asked, "You are so very impressed?" And of course, I was.

Still trying not to laugh . . . and failing miserably!

Eleanor has been giving me trouble about naps lately. She’s actually causing me to wonder if I’m about to see the end of her napping days, but I’m not ready to accept that. I live for those naps; I depend on them for my sanity. She’s fairly cooperative when we prepare for her nap, willingly going into her bed and laying down. Then, I’m not sure if she never actually goes to sleep or if she falls asleep and something wakes her up (which wouldn’t be hard considering new sounds from Phaedra or the neighbors). I usually know she’s fallen asleep when I hear her binkies drop from her bed. Right now, she sleeps with one binky in the mouth and one in each hand (no, I’m not proud of it). So, when she gets really relaxed, the binkies fall from her hands, often onto the hardwood floor, crashing down loud enough for me to hear it outside her room. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what is waking her up every time, except that I know it doesn’t wake her at night.

Yesterday, we had an all-out battle, with me trying to convince her to take a nap after I had heard her playing in her bed. I would have left her to play in her bed if she had been quiet enough for me to sleep while she did it, but she was pretty noisy. And, it was one of those days when I oh-so-desperately needed a nap. So we went the rounds. I took away all the babies she had in her bed, and last night, she wasn’t allowed to sleep with a toy. I told her she could earn her babies back if she took a good nap today, and I put her down for her nap with nothing but a pillow, a blanket, and her binkies.

So, today was sounding like it was going to be another frustrating day without her taking a decent nap. She was quiet at first. Eventually, I heard two binkies drop. Then, the neighbor made a ton of noise right by her window, doing who-knows-what with some kind of metal, scraping who-knows-what. Soon after, I heard the tell-tale thumps indicating that she was awake. I tried to ignore it, telling myself that as long as she didn’t start jabbering, there still might be a chance that she’d quiet down again and go back to sleep.

A while later, I heard her start to cry, the cry getting quickly more intense. I wasn’t sure as to the sincerity of the cry, but I decided to check on her anyway. I went into her room with Phaedra hooked under one arm. As I entered and looked at her bed, I didn’t see her. I only saw her blanket and her pillow that was moved into the middle of the bed. The cry grew louder and more panicked. I walked over to the bed and looked in to realize that the pillow was squirming and writhing along with the cries. She had crawled into her pillowcase and couldn’t get out! Her whole body was crammed into the pillowcase alongside the pillow. She was squirming for all she was worth; it looked as if she thought she could burrow her way out of there if she just kept struggling. Stifling a giggle, I grabbed the end of the case with one hand and pulled. All her struggling was keeping her stuck. I didn’t have a place to put Phae down, not wanting to rest her on the cold, hard floor, so I continued my efforts one-handed. I told her to hold still so I could get her out. She lessened her struggle slightly, and I shook my terrified little girl out of the pillowcase like a sack of potatoes, still trying not to laugh. She was totally freaked out. I had to hold her and comfort her for a bit. I used it as a lesson that if she had listened to Mommy and taken a nap, none of this have happened (served her right!). I rocked her a few minutes and put her back in her bed to try to nap. We’ll see if she learned her lesson.

Since she was so scared, I feel a little guilty that it tickled me so much. But, come on, it was hilarious!

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She could have danced all night. . .

. . . and still, she begged for more.

We went to a wedding reception the other weekend for Alli and Tyler Thackeray. After saying hello to the newlyweds and their family and getting a bite to eat, Grant took Eleanor to mingle a little while I found a less heavily populated area to nurse Phae. I went up some stairs to a balcony area overlooking the gathering. As I got settled in, facing away from the balcony, one of the women who had a view of the people below started asking around, "Who is that little girl?" I gave her a brief description of what Eleanor was wearing and what she was doing the last time I saw her (chasing Briggs), and asked if that was the girl to whom she was referring. The answer was yes. Apparently, Eleanor had found the dance floor and was getting her groove on. The woman told me I was going to want to get a look at my daughter. When I got the chance, I peered over the balcony to see my little girl dancing her heart out.

My little dancing queen.

Dancing with Daddy. She danced briefly with Daddy and later with me, but after dancing with either of us for a bit, she would quickly shoo us off the dance floor because she had to make room for her friends (see where we rank as parents).

And, of course, how could I watch my daughter dancing around without taking a bunch of videos of her? If the cinematography is bouncy, it's because I was holding a baby in the other arm. Everyone tried to get her to dance with Briggs, who was looking so debonair in his tux, but it was not to be. Neither of them are experienced at dancing with a partner, and they were determined it should stay that way.
*****

The little man of the hour did eventually get on the dance floor. That's Briggs, in the tux, dancing with his sister, Marie. Watch as Eleanor takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. I thought for sure she'd run crying to me on that one, but she could not be distracted from her task at hand. When there is dancing to be done, she must be the one to do it.
*****

Yes, my daughter was the only one there letting out those loud squeals of elation. I love it! I also love how she makes a B-line to me as soon as the song is over to tell me all about how she's been dancing.
*****

I love this one. She wants so badly to be included with those big girls, and they don't seem to notice her. She does her own thing for a while, but when she sees what they do, she starts to mimic. I think she thinks they're her friends even if they don't interact with her. How fun to have so many friends!
*****

Our fatal flaw of the evening: growing room.
When I was dancing with her, I looked down and saw a flash of red on the back of her foot. We put her in those cute leggings, so we didn't put socks on with her shoes. But her shoes have a bit of growing room. This would have been fine if she hadn't danced the night away. Of course, once I stopped to look at her foot, it was brought to her attention and immediately began hurting. She wanted a band-aid. Realizing it was getting late anyway, we started to pack up to leave. When I started to put on her sweater, she started to throw a fit. Here's what she said during her tantrum:

"Nooooo! The song is still on! I have to be danciiiiiing!"

So, she went out to finish one last dance before we went home.

On the way home, she was more in tune to her pain on her foot, and we were hearing about it. We had given her a binky to try to quiet her, but it was a lost cause. Thinking I couldn't possibly take the whining for one more second (we all have moments like this, right?), I said, "Your binky is supposed to make you happy. If you can't stop whining, I might as well take away your binky."

Her whining, but logical, response was, "But I have to whine because I have a owie right now!"

Certainly Sisters

I've been meaning to do this for a while. Here it is, the much awaited comparison of the sisters! I did my best to use pictures where they are the same age and hopefully in the same pose, but in some cases that wasn't possible.

Eleanor as a newborn.

Phaedra as a newborn.

Eleanor, about two weeks old.

Phaedra, about two weeks old.

Eleanor, one month old.

Phaedra, one month old.

Eleanor, two months old.

(Awww! Wook at widdo Awex!)

Phaedra, two months old.

Differences? Similarities? Tell me what you see.

Before I Forget

Here's the report from Phaedra's 2 month appointment to the doctor:

Weight: 9lbs. 11oz. --10th percentile
Length: 22 and 1/2 inches --40th percentile
Head circumference: (I didn't catch the actual measurement) --5th percentile

Everything else: Healthy, healthy, healthy!

She's about the same as (if not a little smaller than) Eleanor was at two months, which surprised me because I thought Phaedra was bigger.

She got all her two month shots, and Eleanor got a flu shot, so it was quite a day!

Some people have wondered about the little red mark on her forehead. It's a birthmark. It wasn't there when she was born; it showed up a week or two later and has gotten darker since then. It's nothing to worry about, and it will probably fade completely by the time she's five. It's not because we hurt her head somehow.

I was Tagged

Haley tagged me a while ago, and I keep forgetting to do it, so here you go:

1.) Go to your Pictures folder on your computer.

2.) Go to your 4th folder.

3.) Get your 4th picture.

4.) Tag four people.

This was when we went to get our Christmas tree last year. We're riding the "train," sitting on hay bales in the cold. I can't believe what a baby face Eleanor still had! I love that tradition we have of all going to the Christmas tree farm to get our tree. I can't wait to do it this year!

P.S. I'm not going to peer pressure anyone into doing the tag this time. If you want to, go for it, but leave me a comment telling me you did so I can check it out.

GrosgrainStore.com Grand Opening & Giftcard Giveaway!!!!!!!!

GrosgrainStore.com Grand Opening & Giftcard Giveaway!!!!!!!!

Here's a link to the store: GROSGRAINSTORE.COM

It's about time for some Halloween pictures, wouldn'tcha say?

This year, I really wanted Eleanor to be something for Halloween that she could get excited about. I thought about fashioning some sort of Wall-E or Eve costume since she loved going to her first movie this year, but the logistics of that just ruined it for me. Too much work. I tried asking her what she wanted to be, but she didn't remember last year well enough to know what I was asking. She'd give me great, useless answers like, "hair costume." Although I maybe could have complied with that request, it would have been a bit weird.

Inspiration finally came during lunch one day. Like many other days, she was pausing during eating to growl at me, and like many other days, I was pretending to be scared while groaning inwardly about how many times a day I am growled at and still need to pretend it's actually fun (some days, I don't even pretend. I just tell her to stop growling and eat-- boring mommy that I am). The growl was followed by the question she had been asking me all too often (probably because it made me smile the first time she asked it and I was able to answer her question instead of having to give my fake petrified reaction) of "Dinosaurs do dat?" It dawned on me that the girl who loves growling so much and talking about dinosaurs just might enjoy being one for Halloween.

So, we looked at some costumes online, mostly to see what I might find in stores. We saw that Old Navy had this cute dragon costume, and it was an acceptable alternative for her. Tracking down the costume turned out to be a bit challenging, but with the help of Uncle Mike in Albany, we managed to get one in her size. Note to self: figure out costumes earlier in the month next time.

If you ask me, it was worth it. She was so excited to get her dragon costume, and she wore it almost every day until Halloween (so we got a good half a month of use out of it).

On Halloween, we rushed through dinner to visit a few of our neighbors before going to the trunk-or-treat. That took a bit longer than expected, and we were later than we had hoped to be in leaving for trunk-or-treat. I thought it started it 6, and we got there just before 6:30. Well, it turns out that I was wrong. It had started at 5:30 and went until 6:30, so it was ending just as we got there. We had even invited Michael and Lucero to come along and share in our disappointment. (SO sorry, guys.) So, we caught a few cars that hadn't left yet, and I desperately handed out as many blow pops as I could so we wouldn't get stuck with them. Luckily, the kids weren't as disappointed as I was; they didn't know the difference. And, at least it wasn't our only plan for the evening.

We moved on to Grandma Matthews' house, or "Tudio Grandma," as Eleanor calls her-- because she has a studio, pronounced without the S in Eleanor speak. Once there, we took the kids to a few well-known neighbors, and then got them settled in for a movie in the playroom while we got to enjoy apple cider and tacos- yum!

They watched a Winnie the Pooh Halloween movie that Eleanor hadn't seen before. You could hardly get her to look away from the screen the entire time.

But I did manage one picture of her face.

I was going to be really creative and put Phaedra in a dress so I could get a picture of them together, the dragon and the "damsel in this dress." But, I ran out of time, and it wasn't very practical for the trunk-or-treat, so I just put her in these cute Halloween jammies and called it good. Maybe next year. . .

Two Months Old

My little Phaedra was two months old on Sunday, which is when I started this post. Ah well, such is life.

Here are some pictures from the past month:

Sometimes, I rock "two ones" in the chair before Eleanor's nap. When it's time to put Eleanor in her bed, I set Phaedra down on the chair for a minute while I take Eleanor to her room and give her loves and kisses. Phaedra was awake when I put her down, but when I returned, this is what I found.

Bathing beauty. Look how her hair curls up when wet.

Watching Daddy sleep.

"Play with me, Daddy!"

My matching little girls.

• Phaedra is smiling and interacting more each day.

• She has just about mastered getting her hands to her mouth to suck on a fist. It's so fun to watch her concentrate as she stretches out her arm, raising it above her her head and touching it to her face as she slowly lowers it to her mouth. Other times, it goes straight there, but she still has to think about it every now and then.

• After some debate on the issue, we tried offering her a binky. She's either not interested or has no clue how to keep it in her mouth. Either way, it makes her mad most times. I guess she made that decision for us. Car rides will be more difficult, but it will save us headaches later on.

• She finally stopped pooping in small installments, so we aren't going through 100 diapers a day. (I know everyone is interested in her pooping habits.) Now we're in the blow-out stage. She lets out so much at a time with so much force, I don't know if there's a diaper in the world that could hold it all in, but I'm still looking for one. I'm going to try size 2 diapers as soon as we finish the pack we have.

• She seems to be growing faster than Eleanor did, but I'll know for sure when we go to her doctor appointment. I swear she's as big as Eleanor was at 3 months. Side note: You notice how everyone asks you how much your baby weighs? I never have an answer for that. Our scale at home isn't that accurate, and I don't take her to the doctor's office every day just to weigh her. I could tell people how much she weighed at the last appointment, but babies grow so fast that it's irrelevant within a week or two and you're back to not knowing how much they weigh. I wish I had a better answer for that question besides, "Um, I don't know right now." It doesn't annoy me that people ask; it just annoys me not to have an answer.

• She is a pretty good sleeper. She has some trouble going down at the beginning of the night, often going to sleep, getting put in her bed, and waking within a few minutes. But once she quits that pattern and actually stays asleep, she sleeps for a good several hours before waking to eat. She falls asleep eating or being burped and goes right back into her bed. Then, she sleeps in most mornings (something that never happened with Eleanor, at least not as a pattern).


• Her favorite way to fall asleep is swaddled in a blanket --arms out, thankyouverymuch-- being held facing out, basically drooping over your arm.


• She's really pleasant when she finally gets up in the morning, smiling and cooing at me while she's on the changing table and being surprisingly patient in relation to being fed.
• She is fascinated with her older sister, and will track her around the room as she jumps, runs, or carries on whatever shenanigans she's up to at the time.