Family Fest

After Izzy's dance class, we all ventured out to the family fest. It was basically a vendor fair but it had a few fun things to do for the kids (meaning Izzy and Sean). Sean was so excited to have his picture taken with a Star Wars character. He dragged poor Luke with him so he wouldn't look too silly. There were lots of other characters there that we thought Izzy would love to see but she decided she wasn't interested in having her picture taken with Dora, Diego or the princesses. Surprisingly, she seemed more interested in the bikers and skateboarders doing tricks on ramps. This thrilled Sean of course.

Here's Izzy showing everyone that even ballerinas can be tomboys.

Homerun!

Tiny Dancer

After a long week of anticipation, Izzy finally had her very first dance class today. Truthfully, I thought she had probably hyped it up in her mind so much that when she was actually in the midst of a lesson, she'd be disappointed and want to leave. Even worse, I thought she'd be too scared to not have mommy in the room with her. Much to my surprise, however, she was the bravest of the group. She wasn't the least bit concerned about where mommy was. She was so attentive and hung on every word of her teacher. She looked at her like she was a real princess, full of awe and wonder. She was such a good listener and performed every task presented with much more grace than I could. Her class currently only has two other students so she's sure to get a lot of attention. I'm sure the class will grow in the coming weeks but this was a perfect way to start. It's a creative movement class that combines both ballet and tap. Izzy loved wearing her tap shoes the best I think. She even taught me some the moves like the "shuffle". Of course I stayed glued to her every move, watching her through the two way mirror. All the girls were so adorable to watch, but of course as her mommy, I feel she was the best. At the end of class, the girls got to perform for us and some older girls. I thought for sure this would intimidate her but again, mommy underestimated her. She LOVED it and said she can't wait to go back. I can't either. smiles....

Luke is 5 months old

Luke's had a busy couple of weeks. In addition to turning five months old, he started going to "baby school" as Izzy says which means the babysitter. Naturally, I was terrified of this change and spent a good week crying and worrying about the separation. It definitely was much more difficult for me than for him. He seems to really enjoy going to the sitter's house and is always full of smiles when I pick him up after work. Izzy's been really enjoying being back to her school as well. She seems to love her new teachers and the new friends she's making. I'm still suffering from separation anxiety but I'm starting to get so busy at work, that I don't have much time to obsess about it. Needless to say, I rush to go get them both after work and smother them in hugs and kisses.

As for Luke's development, he continues to acquire new skills every day. He's able to sit alone while leaning forward on his hands. I have to be right there, though, because he's still not strong enough to support himself for too long. And lets be honest, he's got a lot of weight to support...ha! He's also started trying to grab things out of reach and stretches on his belly to do so. Usually he resorts to a roll over method to slowly inch closer but I can tell he's on the verge wanting to crawl. We're in no rush for him to reach this milestone though. Not quite ready for him zooming all over the house. Thankfully, he has an attentive big sister who will help us keep a close watch. Speaking of his big sister, she seems to really enjoy his development as well. She loves that Luke LOVES to watch her. He gets so excited and I can tell he's desperate to be able to move around like she does. And no one can get him to giggle quite like his sister can. They are so adorable to watch.

Bella Ballerina

My girliest of girls has always had a passion for dance. For the past couple of months, she's been asking to take dance lessons and we've finally decided to sign her up. She is beyond excited (as am I). She's taking a creative movement class that starts tomorrow. We had to buy a pink leotard, tights, tap shoes, and the best part, pink ballerina shoes. She was so excited she begged to put everything on just to dance around the house. Of course she may hate the class once it starts, but at least I got to fulfill the need pretty much all moms feel to see their little girls dressed up like a ballerina.

Izzy's grandmother must have heard the exciting news about Izzy's upcoming dance class because these adorable ballerina pjs arrived in the mail yesterday. Izzy was ecstatic.

And she hasn't even had a lesson yet. What a natural.

Our little mermaid

Over the summer, we took Izzy to our neighbor's pool almost every day. Izzy has always loved the water but was very afraid to put her face in the water. Over the course of the summer, her fears began to subside (thanks to some mommy and daddy directed aversion therapy) and by the end of the summer, she became a full fledged swimmer. No floaties necessary. So proud.

Camping In

The last few weeks of summer vacation, Izzy developed a passion for making pallets and tents inside the house. She's constantly making little pallets for her babies. As a special reward for being such a good girl, she and Sean built a tent in the living room and had a camp in (instead of a camp out). We ate popcorn and watched a movie together. Sean and Izzy even ended up falling asleep under the tent but I had to retreat to my comfy cozy bed.

Oatmeal Face

As expected, Luke is a voracious eater. He gobbles up anything we give him.

Izzy's first play date

I took Izzy for her first play date today. We met her friend Mia at the park. The girls were so excited to see each other since they hadn't seen one another all summer. They played on the playground, splashed in the water area and then enjoyed some popsicles. They had such a great time and were so adorable together.

Luke's Walkabout

I was poking around in the attic yesterday afternoon and couldn't believe how many forgotten baby toys/entertainers we had hidden up there. I'm always looking for that perfect something to hold Luke's attention so that I don't have to hold him 24/7. I got Izzy's old walker down and assembled it this morning. Thought we'd give it a go. To my surprise, he's not quite tall enough yet to touch the floor but thankfully, he has a helpful and eager sister who's been dying to play something with her little brother. He seemed to really enjoy it. Of course the best part was being escorted around by Izzy who tells him so sweetly, "Come on, little one, I'll push you." Could she get any sweeter?

Crafts

Izzy and I had one of those perfect mother daughter days together yesterday. We started off with a little light shopping followed up with a visit to a dance studio to inquire about lessons. She's been talking a lot about wanting to take dance lessons so I figured we'd check it out. The place we visited wasn't exactly what I was looking for so we'll continue our search but I have a few places in mind as long as it's not too pricey. After returning home, and her nap, we played outside together and then did some crafts inside. We decided to make a caterpillar. Luke spent a lot of his time with Sean and they seemed to have worked through their differences. He's been very good to his daddy since my last post. Consistency and persistence go a long way. It was a great day for all of us.

Izzy's craft caterpillar.

And then there was silence...

A few weeks ago, Isabella started nestling a few of her dolls in her bed with her to sleep with. As the days went by, her collection grew and grew. Don't quite understand why she does some of the things she does. I can't decide if I view this as adorable or just weird...perhaps a mixture of the two. This kind of thing is what makes her even more endearing to me. Not sure where she's going to sleep in the next few weeks as there probably will not be any room for her. Sean snapped this picture last night of our sleeping angel and all her "snuggle buddies."

And a shot of a quiet Luke...a cherished thing lately. He's learned that if he screams and cries as loud as he can, eventually he'll get what he wants--mommy. He's become so attached to me to the point of isolating himself from his daddy (which of course is terribly frustrating for Sean who is a very involved daddy). Luke ONLY wants me to hold him. I can spot separation anxiety when I see it so I've been trying to ignore my mommy instincts and let him cry it out. Tried it yesterday afternoon and he cried for over an hour until I finally sent Sean in to soothe him. I was hoping just having someone get him would calm him and he'd be so relieved that Sean got him he'd stop crying. No such luck. Just made him angrier. After some more time, it was then time to feed him again so I guess he won that battle. I'm not giving up though because in a few weeks, he'll be with the babysitter and I'm terrified he'll do the same thing for her and drive her nuts. I know this behavior can be reshaped but boy is it painful to listen to him cry. It goes against all my motherly instincts. And he's an angry crier...very different from his sister. Wish us luck, for all our sakes. And of course, we're open to any pearls of wisdom.

Green beans

Does Luke green beans?

Not so much.

Biker chicks

We decided to pull the bikes out of the garage and ride around our cul-de-sac. Izzy rarely rides her tricycle so I was impressed at how coordinated she's become with regards to pedaling. I tried riding Sean's bike which is WAY too tall for me. I haven't been on a bike in MANY years and was a little afraid to get on it. Thankfully the old saying about never forgetting how to ride a bike is true. I know Sean was secretly hoping for me to wipeout since I passed the camera on to him for fear I would do such that and break the camera along with my bones. He was really hoping for evidence of my clumsiness.

Here we are making our tough biker girl faces. We're thinking of starting our own gang with jackets and everything. Let that be a warning to all of you litter bugs who toss your candy wrappers near our yard...you know who you are!

Of course she's wearing a dress...such a slave to fashion.

Puppy PJs

The joys of having a big sister.

We were all playing in Izzy's room yesterday and thought it would be fun to dress Luke up. Although I'd like to place all the blame for this on Izzy, I must assume some of the responsibility as I instigated the whole scenario. Sorry, Luke. I must say, though, he looks quite adorable. Just the first of many future blackmail pictures I'm sure. He's just lucky I don't let her play with make-up yet...YET!

Izzy wanted to cover his head in pretty bows but he still barely has and hair aside from new peach fuzz growth she had to settle for one. We agreed that the bow really brings out the blue in his eyes. Ha!