Baybay & Baybee: Week 65 (10/31-11/6)

In an optimistic attempt to catch up on posts, there will mostly be pictures and less write-up than usual this week. We were in Florida from Tuesday evening until Monday afternoon. It was a great visit with everyone and we (as always) enjoyed the beautiful property and watching Maya and Ella spend time with their grandparents. 

A somewhat chilly first morning in Florida. Maya and Ella LOVED the trampoline. 

Walking on the new path down to the lake with Grandma to check out the sand for the first time.

No so sure...

"You mean I have to walk on that stuff to get to the water?"

Fun with Grandma.

Ella and Maya's sleeping arrangements while we were in Florida were very similar to at home. They both slept well most nights and napped great. The only problem was that they picked up the habit of throwing things out of their beds and then wanting them back before they would fall asleep. That made for some longer than usual putting-them-down-for-a-nap times. 

 This toy car was a huge hit.

So was this toy slide, though it was hard to share when someone always wants to climb up the slide instead of the steps.

Ella sits on the red potty. We were so impressed with the girls' use of the potty while we were on vacation. They weren't in diapers very much and we only had two pees on the floor (and both times just a tiny bit and then the rest in the potty) the entire week. There was always a potty around while they were playing and a few times I watched the girls walk over, sit down, and pee/poop without any prompting! 

Ella bouncing with Grandma.

Grandma sings the song, "Pony Boy" to Ella. Ella signs, "more".

Eating.

We did a lot of eating.

And Maya and Ella nursed A LOT. They usually still nurse a bunch throughout the day, but while we were in Florida it seemed like they took their nursing to new levels. Especially Maya. She just wanted to nurse whenever she saw me. I still enjoy nursing my babies, but boy, by the time we got home, I was ready for a break.

We didn't get to see Amber and her family until later in the week, because we were too tired to make it over to her house on Halloween.  On Friday, we met up for a short visit at the splash park in Winter Garden. We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed playing in the water. Maya and Ella were nervous about the fountains in the splash park at first, but they eventually got braver and gave it a try.

Atom and Ella playing together.

Trillian, enjoying her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Smiling at Dada.

Wheeee!!

I enjoyed taking walks around the property with my camera and snapping photos. So many beautiful plants to take pictures of and so nice to have a break by myself to just take a walk.

Baby papayas.

Figs ripening on the tree.

Cucumber vine.

Pretty orange flowers.

Big carp in the water.

A pretty view of the lake between the bamboo.

Mama and Papa.

Timmy and Malory.

Mama and Papa out for an evening row.

Ella, Maya and Trillian all sitting on Grandma's lap.

Atom gives Ella a hug. He was so sweet with the girls, giving them hugs and kisses and playing gently with them. 

Trillian and Maya hanging out together. They look so similar!

All of us together on the steps.


Just the kids and babies.


The day after we got home was November 6th. The babies came with us to vote that evening and we all got stickers!

Baybay & Baybee: Week 64 (10/24-10/30)

64 weeks old!

I took a couple cute videos this week. Here are two showing the girls playing with toys around the house. We do a lot of this. In the first video, Ella pretends to be asleep and then wake up. This is a new game that is very popular!

How we play.

Working together with the stacking toy.

"I see Maya and Dada, but, where is Ella?!"

There weren't a whole lot of pictures taken this week. I think I forgot to bring the camera along on the few outings that we took and I also misplaced it for a couple days. The most noteworthy thing that happened was that Maya put her boots on all by herself for the first time! She was very proud. The biggest thing that happened (or almost happened) was the storm Sandy, which did little besides send some rain and wind our way, but canceled our flight to Florida on Monday.

We knew by the weekend that the airline had canceled our flight and we were really disappointed because we were looking forward to our trip so much. We thought that it was unlikely we would get booked on another flight sooner than the end of the week and that we would just have to reschedule our Florida visit for a later time. We wanted to go so much that we even toyed with the idea of getting in the car and driving (ha!) all the way. Selena came over and watched Maya and Ella while Brett and I gathered things together and loaded up the car. By the time we were pretty much packed, we were exhausted and hungry and ultimately decided it wasn't a good idea to make the 24 hour trip by car. Looking back, I am SO glad that we made that decision  It was a terrible idea and we would have gotten to Florida with no energy whatsoever.

It turned out that we were rebooked on a flight that left Tuesday evening. It wasn't our ideal choice of a time to fly because we would arrive in Florida late at night, but we gratefully took it. The flight was slightly delayed and totally exhausting. The babies didn't sleep (actually, Maya finally did for a little bit at the very end), we didn't sleep, food got everywhere, there was some crying and I was reminded that you just can't expect a 14-month-old (let alone two 14-month-olds) to sit still for longer than 1 second when they are over-tired.

Timmy and Malory kindly picked us up at the Orlando airport when we arrived. All four of us slept while they drove us home. Thus was the beginning of our week in Florida!

Waiting to board our plane. We had a long wait because we got there very early and then our flight was delayed. Maya wants to nurse and Ella is looking for airplanes.

Nursing at the airport.

Watching the big trucks drive around and the planes take off and land.

Sharing a sandwich.

All packed up and ready to go!

Baybay & Baybee: Week 63 (10/17-10/23)

63 weeks old!

Brett celebrated his 32nd birthday this week! It was a cool, rainy day, so we mostly stayed indoors. I made some soup for lunch and we ate delicious apple pie and apple spice cake. 

A birthday present for Brett from Guy. (It's a chop saw, to replace the old broken one in our basement.) 

Brett trimmed the forsythia bushes in the backyard...

...but it was slow work because Ella and Maya *loved* holding the clippers.

Selena also had a birthday this week and we went to her party. (Yes, we actually went to a party as a family! And in the evening no less!) We had a good time and Maya and Ella liked eating the food and seeing all the people.

It seems that we've finally found a babysitter who we fit well with. Craig is a friend of Selena's, and he works part time at the Cup and Top cafe in Florence. He has lots of babysitting experience, along with a calm and patient nature. He's been great with the girls. We hope to have him come for a few hours every Wednesday afternoon, so that Brett and I can have a regular break. 

Maya and Ella are really into trucks right now. Any sort of big truck that catches their eyes is an instant, "stop what you're doing, point and 'oooh' and 'ahhh' until it's out of sight," moment. On Sunday, Guy and I took the girls to the Easthampton Fire Department's open house. There were many fire trucks to look at, big hoses and Smokey The Bear (which neither girl would go near). 

There was popcorn for sale, and that was actually the biggest hit of all.

We got to sit in a fire truck! The girls weren't so sure about the whole thing but I loved it.

Ella pointing to me because I'm holding the popcorn.

Maya checks out one of the big fire hoses.

Selena works a few days a week at the new flower shop in Thorne's Marketplace downtown. One afternoon, Maya, Ella and I stopped by to visit her. We also had fun climbing up and down the staircases and getting pumpkins at Cornucopia before coming home. It's really great to just get out of the house sometimes, even if it's a short trip with no big errand to accomplish, and all of us enjoy seeing Selena.  

Hug for Selena!

Smelling flowers (and another hug).

Three cute girls.

We had a bunch of rainy days, but most weren't terribly cold, so we still got outside this week.

Horsey races.

Glamor shot.

Glamor shot and winner of the best hair award.

A glimpse of Fall sitting on Evan and Merry's garden posts.

Ornamental grass in bloom in the backyard.

Selena came over one afternoon and Maya and Ella really wanted to go for a bike ride. Brett and Selena went with them while I stayed home. In this picture, the girls are reminding Selena that she should put her helmet on.

Selena and Brett on their way around the block on the tandem.

This is a new skill -- walking up and down a sloped surface. Somewhat terrifying for me to watch, but they actually do pretty well.

Out for a before-dinner walk on one of the warmer afternoons.

Getting everyone to walk in the same direction can be a challenge.

Especially when there are so many leaves to jump in!

Ella watches our neighbor, Sarah, rake leaves.

They love their kefir.