A Breath of Fresh Air...

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For the last week I have experienced the life of a stay-at-home mom...but it will all end next Tuesday. Augie is currently replacing a councelor out on maternity leave and had to report to work this week. I thought it would be a lot harder having the girls on my own but it has been wonderful! The girls and I play for hours with all their floor toys and we take long walks at the mall (where the air is cool & we spend many hours at Baby Gap). I wish I could stay home with them all the time. Hopefully, daycare will contribute to their development as much as I do!

Our summer and my rambling...

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We've had quite a full summer! The girls are now 8 months old and doing very well. Though Augie and I both taught summer school, we were able to make a lot of day trips to places like Santa Barbara, Solvang, Big Bear and a host of summer fairs!

While I lament my summer almost being up (I go back to work in a week and a half), I am sitting here with Bella at a quarter to ten. Bella is still very much awake and ready to go. Where, I am not sure, but she's ready all the same. In fact, she has so much energy, its scary. And demanding! I hate to compare the two girls but while Lily is our placid, calm girl, Bella is our "diva" as my mother describes her.

My parents keep on me about giving them pictures of the girls. I haven't shared many photos with my family of late. I spent all that time and energy to find a good camera and yet I have a problem with just about every photo I take. I can't seem to find the right setting or lighting or angle ...that and almost all our home photos reveal a big, fat mess!

I used to be so organized! Every item in the house had its place and the kitchen used to be immaculate (partly because I just don't cook). Since the girls, however, I can't even find time to use the bathroom, let alone mop or scour it! I wish our finances could afford domestic help, but alas, the girls will be entering daycare next week at a very pretty penny! At any rate, hopefully all these pictures from our summer will suffice.

I am worried about daycare a lot. I find it hard to trust strangers with my girls, especially since they have so many preemie issues. Lily still takes quite a bit of Zantac which her father even sometimes forgets to give her. What if they mix the girls up?

Strangers constantly come up to us and ask how we tell the girls apart. I find this a silly question as they look nothing alike...at least not to me. They probably look more alike than I think but still, Lily has blue eyes and Bella has brown. Lily is lighter and has blondish hair while Bella has olive skin, dark hair and looks quite ethnic (we are not sure if she looks more Mexican since her dad is half or Armenian since I am half). Shouldn't that alone give people a clue that, no, they are not identical and yes, I can tell them apart.!?!

At least, however, the girls are now 8 months old. When I went back to work when they were 2 months old, I felt so much better knowing my mother was caring for the girls and not strangers. Although they do have a little stranger anxiety, both girls have enjoyed the security of mom, dad or nana for their lives up to now and I think that has made them more able to handle scary situations. Although neither girl has yet to reach 16 lbs., its hard to believe that they were once so tiny. They have, however, grown out of their car-seat carriers- not so much in size, but in development. They hate being so confined in them. We ordered big-girl car-seats and are awaiting their arrival.

The girls are eating all kinds of food, they can sit up unassisted for about 5-10 minutes, both now have a tooth and both can hold their bottle (although Diva Bella would rather you do that for her). Oh, and they are finally wearing 6 months clothes...with a little room to spare.

The latest on Bella & Lily

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Bella has been rolling over for about 2 months now and she says "emme" when she means "mama". She can almost sit up unassisted but she is much more top-heavy than her sister. Mostly she falls over when she reaches for something...and she is always reaching for something (eesh). Bella also has a new tooth, cut just 2 weeks ago. She never seemed upset about it-I am glad we got through the first. One down, 100 more to go!

Lily is getting so good at sitting up. I can leave her pretty much on her own and she'll stay seated for about 5-10 minutes before she topples. However, she still is not rolling over...nope, not an inch. Lily can sit, she has excellent fine motor skills, she can hold her own bottle, she can put her pacifier back in her mouth when it falls out, she can say her vowels (roughly sounding like a sea otter), she can track an item put out of sight but she cannot roll over! We've done everything from showing her how to putting bells on her feet to grab and inadvertantly roll but she is completely content with just staying where you put her. The doctor says she has a happy disposition and is complacent. The doctor also assures us that Lily will roll over before she walks but you really couldn't prove that by me. I guess her husband could always teach her!..and potty training is all on him!

Super-duper...

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The girls are growing, growing, growing. They are over 7 months now and Bella has a tooth! We are super-duper busy this summer. Both Augie and I are working summer school so, every chance we get we are out and about having fun with the girls. We've been everywhere. The weekend before last, we went to the Orange County Fair. Next weekend we are going to drive to Big Bear for the Renaissance Fair! We can't wait...