Philippine Culture Appreciation Day

AmeriKids, the toddler school that Addie attends had a Philippine culture celebration on Friday where the kids showed off some of their artwork, traditional Philippine songs and dances they've learned, as well as some traditional games. Then we got to eat yummy Filipino food. Addie wasn't too pleased about all the adults watching so she just stood there for the songs and dances. She participated in the game "pabaiet" (hanging candy), I'm sure because she got a bag of candy out of the deal. One of the Moms made awesome cookies decorated as the Philippine flag. Only she used local food coloring and, well...you can see the result of that. When we left her shirt wasn't white any longer. It was really fun to see all the kids. Justin and I were so proud of Addie, it also reminded us just how young she still is and how glad we are about that.

dinner

If you come to our place for dinner when we get back to the States I will be making what Cora made for dinner tonight. It's chicken curry in roasted summer squash. Isn't it pretty? It's super yummy too!

princess bed

I'm not sure how it came about but Addie has named Mommy and Daddy's bed as the princess bed. She likes to crawl in, get cozy, and pretend to sleep. Today I convinced her to let Bella snuggle up next to her. Bella grinned at her sister the whole time. She's already looking up to her. The responsibility of being the eldest child will be a good role for Adelaide.

Nemo and Marlin

Addie and I went to the pool yesterday afternoon. She pretended to be Nemo and I was Marlin searching the pool for her. We rode the E.A.C. and every time I finally found Nemo she'd hug me tight for at least a minute. I was pleased with all the hugs even if we were playing make-believe.

Bella my jelly bean

I adore my new daughter. When she gazes at me and coos it melts my heart. She can be a source of anxiety for me too though. The past week or so she's been extreemly difficult to soothe, so much so that we took her to her pediatrician to see if she had an ear infection or was teething early. She has a clean bill of health with the exception of some gas (what baby doesn't have gas that makes them uncomfortable though). When it comes down to it Bella has just plain exhausted. Over-tired, over-stimulated and fussy. She goes to bed about 6 or 6:30 PM and sleeps until 6AM with a feeding or two in the night but during the day, nap times are a struggle. Anyway, I focused on getting her naps today before she was over-tired and she fell asleep easier and took more naps today. She was a joy all day. Her play time was very focused. She's been rolling herself over by grabbing something and pulling herself over. She now focuses on toys, grabs them with her hands and puts them to her mouth (this is way earlier than Addie for both milestones-or at least it seems that way). She smiles and coos and loves to kick and move around. Amazing how she's growing so fast.

Happy Wednesday

Pretty happy with myself today. Got Addie off to school with a healthy snack (score 1). Got myself a healthy breakfast while Bella napped (score 1). Was showered before 10AM (score 1). Both girls napped at the same time after lunch (score 1). Made oatmeal flax cranberry chocolate cookies (score 1). Screaming, overtired baby between 2 and 6 PM (score -3). Applied my new discovery of soothing the baby with the exhaust fan above the stove and Bella fell right asleep (score 2-and ordered a white noise machine for her bedroom). Both girls in bed and asleep by 7:45PM (score 1). Final score for Mom: 5. Not bad really.

Lucy with a crazy face! (mid yawn). Addie singing.

How come my bed isn't made? Just kidding beds getting made is a low priority these days!

Pretty Bella

Singing girl

Cookie Monster

My princesses

feet discovery

Arabella has discovered her feet and they are her favorite new thing to grab and play with. I also made her laugh multiple times this weekend. I love hearing the first really belly laughs that aren't while they are dreaming.

Quick weekend

All our weekends fly by generally, but this one seemed extra fast. It started with a busy Friday. Addie had school (here we are getting her snack ready-check out those sneakers!). Saturday and Sunday didn't go any slower. We stayed pretty busy with a trip to the pool on Saturday. Addie was so confident in the pool she didn't want us to hold on to her. She has no fear. We need to get this girl swimming lessons quick. I didn't have my camera but I wish I could have captured a picture of Bella asleep on the beach towel. She was flat on her back, arms and legs splayed out, sun hat over her eyes. We were so amazed because to get this child to take naps is like trying to solve graduate level quantum physics problems. Outside at the pool she dozed off on her own. Our babies love the outdoors (what baby doesn't really). It's sad because we don't get to take her outside much to calm her down. I miss Arlington Village for that reason. Anyhow, we stayed in our PJs late into the morning both days. We usually do this so it's nothing new but so nice to relax, eat pancakes, talk to family on Skype, watch Cinderella, etc. all in our jammies. Justin let me sleep an extra two hours on Saturday morning and it was the first time I woke up rested in at least a month. I had so much energy that day.

The Bumbo seat arrived in the mail and Bella gave it a whirl. She loved it and hated it.

Today Justin and I took turns getting out of the house. I had brunch with some friends at the Sofitel and Justin is out with the guys for a movie tonight. I got a few 911 texts from Justin while out saying that Bella was screaming and he couldn't calm her. In the end my ingenious husband pulled an old trick and wrapped Bella in my PJs, apparently she immediately calmed down.

one more baby doll

Addie loves her little sister. She also loves baby dolls and likes to point out that her sister and her baby doll are "the same" or "matching". The other day Addie wanted to tuck Bella in using her baby blankets. She was pretty thrilled with her work. Bella, not so much!

Arabella Jun 3 months

Technically she's 3 and a half months old now. The stats are from her 3 month check up a few weeks ago. As you can see she is growing well. She's grabbing at toys in front of her now. We change her onesie multiple times a day because she chews on her hands and drools like nothing I've ever seen before. I think the early signs of teething are developing. She likes to lunge forward and sit up while being held. When she's on her tummy she can push her chest up with her hands and look straight forward. I love every ounce of this chubby little girl. She is so sweet and pretty. Her lashes perfectly frame her big blue blue eyes.

Birth: 20 inches, 8 lbs 5 ounces

2 days: 20 inches, 7 lbs 15 ounces

2 weeks: 21 inches, 9 lbs 15 ounces

6 weeks: 22 inches, 12 lbs 7 ounces

8 weeks: 23 inches, 13 lbs 8 ounces

12 weeks: 24 inches, 14 lbs 4 ounces

growing girls

Not much time for words tonight. I can barely keep my tired eyes open. Arabella's going through a growth spurt and is waking more often at night to eat, cry, and be changed. She will often wake up and start being cute at 4AM. I love her but not much is cute at 4AM. Why oh why do men have the ability to sleep through everything?

QT

Addie and I took advantage of Bella's nap on Monday afternoon and treated ourselves to matching pedicures. She patiently sat on the floor with her toes on the towel. She was excited about the multiple bottles of nail polish I have and chose one for her toes and another for her fingers. She was excited to show everyone how our toes matched. I love quality time with my girl.

We love care packages

Thank you so much to Grammie and Grandpa for sending an awesome care package with this cool princess gown, crown, and wand. Addie immediately wanted to wear it the night we opened the box. It was the first thing she asked for at 5:30 AM the next morning too! It's safe to say she likes it.

time for school

One of the first lines in Disney's "Finding Nemo" keeps running through my head this week: "time for school, time for school, time for school...". Thursday was Adelaide's first day of school at the toddler AmeriKids program. There are five other two year olds in her three day a week class. She is already friends with two of the kids so that made her very comfortable. We bought a box for her personal items and decorated it the day before to get ready. Justin and I dropped her off on Thursday morning and waited a bit for her to feel ok with Teacher Weng and Teacher Connie (two very sweet Filipino ladies). There were no tears when we parted. In fact I asked for a kiss and hug goodbye with which she responded by walking to the play kitchen. I took that as a sign that she was fine and so we both left. She was ecstatic to see me when I picked her up so that always warms my heart. I heard lots of stories about what she did at school and who she played with. I am so proud of her. My big girl.

Sofitel buffet

Holy cow it's been a week since I've blogged. What a week! Wednesday was the former Philippine president Corazon Aquino's funeral so it was an impromptu national holiday. Justin treated me to a wonderful lunch at the Sofitel buffet after a very hectic morning with the girls. We slipped off at lunch time while the baby was sleeping. The Sofitel is a beautiful hotel with a ridiculously extravagant buffet. This buffet is beyond your wildest imagination. Justin joked that he didn't think I was ever going to pick up something to eat, I just kept walking from table to table, from station to station in awe of the splendor of food before me. I've never seen anything like it. I insist on going into more detail so you can try to picture it.

There was sushi and a raw oyster bar, shrimp, a cheese selection that almost made me cry (severe cheese lover), there was a pasta station, smoked fish, basket after basket of breads, gazpacho station, shwarma, Korean food, Indian food station, grilled meat station with the most amazing lamb chops with mint jelly I've ever had, soba noodle station, dim sum, Peking duck, fruit bar, Chinese food, pizza, Filipino food, Mediterranean food, and more. Then there was the dessert section and I was like Charlie Bucket, I swear it was amazing. Tiny little slices of all the cakes imaginable, mousse, cheesecake, fondu station, crepes, waffles, gelato, cotton candy, Halo Halo, and then dessert drinks. I had delicious Tiramisu cake, chocolate mousse, and cotton candy. I'm a sucker for fresh spun cotton candy. Come on, who isn't? It was the most amazing culinary experience I've ever had. Everything was delicious and I had the best eating partner. My lovely husband. I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon.

The cotton candy lady, I came back for seconds of this. Here is the dessert drinks in little shot glasses. It was like my chemistry labs complete with dry ice! I had the apple aloe vera and honey cinnamon.

On the way home we ran into the procession for the funeral. There were crowds of people in the rain honoring their former president. A very somber occasion and tons of fitting rain.