Baybay & Baybee: Week 79 (2/6-2/12)

79 weeks old!

We started the week with a visit from Aunt Anne! I was pretty tired that day, but we had a nice visit and I even got to take a nap. We had some lunch together and then all went out to Cup and Top to play for a short time.

Aunt Anne tries out Maya and Ella's rocking boat.

Starting a game of Scrabble while Maya is still napping.

Hugs.

Down the slide at Cup and Top.

On Thursday, I had my first cooking class. It's a series of classes with Paul Sustick, the owner of Paul & Elizabeth's restaurant. We made so many different dishes in the two and a half hours during my first class! I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think it's going to be really fun.  

When I got home that afternoon, I took Maya and Ella over to Benita's house for a short visit. It was good to see Benita, and fun to see her boys. We didn't stay very long, but Maya and Ella got tired and hungry, so it was an ordeal to get them back to the car when it was time to leave.  Sometimes it's really hard to be one parent with two babies who don't want to cooperate: when one is ready the other is running away, and when you catch the second the first has long since taken off her socks and shoes. GAH! 

Avery and Jonah have this great slide in their living room!

There was a line to go down...

...Pinky dog got to go first.

Friends playing the piano together.

On Friday, it started snowing. By Saturday morning, we woke up to more snow covering the ground than I've ever seen around here in one storm!

Watching the snow fall.

One of the first things we did once the snow started to cover the ground was to bring some inside.

Brett and the girls also did some shoveling.

The next morning, out the back steps...

...that's a lot of snow!

How do we get out of here!?

Maya and Ella make their own path.

Stuck!

Video documentation.

A break from shoveling to pull the girls on the sled.

They didn't want to stop.

My turn to pull everyone.

We have a long driveway. It took a long time to shovel.

Our snow-covered river.

On Saturday, we received a wonderful package from Florida full of oranges, and a few other goodies! We have all been enjoying fresh squeezed juice for breakfast. Thanks Mama, Papa, Timmy and Malory! 

Maya, enjoying some fresh squeezed juice. She even squeezed it herself!

   

These necklaces arrived in the package, made by Grandma. They were well-loved immediately.

Ella's first pig-tails! They only stayed in for a few minutes before she pulled them out.

I don't usually let the girls play with my wallet, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to get a few minutes to yourself.

Heading out for a bike ride (before the huge snowstorm!).

Potty-mouth?

This large pad of paper from Aunt Anne has been a lot of fun. 

Notable things this week include: Both girls now know how to say "Papa", and both girls have been making strides in being able to put their own shoes on (and take them off).   

General silliness. 

On Sunday, my babies celebrated their second half birthday! Yay! Happy year and a half, Maya and Ella. We love you!

Baybay & Baybee: Week 78 (1/30-2/5)

78 weeks old!

Ella learned how to say her name this week. She says it very quietly and with an emphasis on the "la" part. Maya sometimes tries to say her name, but mostly just smiles shyly when you ask her.

The girls got to see their Grandma Kathy twice this week! She came over on Wednesday to play while Brett and I went out together for a few hours. On Sunday, she came back for another visit with her friend Sandy.

Drawing on the dry erase board.

Grandma had a pocket in her shirt. It was amazing how many toys Maya was able to fit in there!

Not full yet!

Sandy brought Maya and Ella presents! The girls had fun playing with the gift boxes with Sandy and Kathy.  The clothes she got them have become favorite choices when getting dressed.

Taking a pretend nap.


Ella signs "sleep".

Grandma is fun to climb on.

Thursday was a productive day! Guy came over and he and Brett loaded up Guy's truck with the pieces of asphalt we dug up from our yard months ago. Three loads later and it was all gone! After that, they tackled the stove.  A while back we picked up a free stove listed on Craigslist, but it sat in the carport until now.  Our old stove worked alright, but it is huge and it was time to make a change.  They got the old stove out, the new stove in, and even got it all hooked up (after two trips to the hardware store). Yay! 

Out with the old...
Lunch was moved into the middle room so that Maya and Ella could watch the excitement.


...And in with the new!

Saturday we spent at the Holyoke Children's Museum. We met up with Benita, Sam, Avery, and Jonah, plus Chris, Kelly, Evelyn, and Olivia!  It was the first time we'd all been together in a while, and it was fun.  Maya and Ella got pretty tired after the couple hours we were there.  We ate a picnic snack/lunch upstairs before heading home.  While we were at the museum, the girls had a blast exploring parts of it, but we definitely didn't see it all. We'll have to go back sometime.

Chris spots Maya as she climbs up the mail slide.

Olivia and Ella.


Maya (and this big dog) wanted a ride in the wheel chair.

Checking out the inside of the ambulance.


Serious driver.

Maya made sure to buckle herself in first.

Ella, Maya, Evelyn and Olivia.


The 3-story climbing structure was fun.

Maya, taking a break from climbing.

Looking down from the top.

It was a really cool moment when all twelve of us arrived from different directions on the top level together!

Jonah and Sam.

Ella observing others.

Chris with his girls.

Family shot -- thanks to Benita for taking it!

Maya had a runny nose for some of the week, but it never progressed into anything more than that, and Ella didn't seem to catch whatever Maya had. With all the sicknesses going around right now, we feel lucky that the girls haven't had many bad colds or other illnesses. 

Here are some extra pictures!

Ella, doing some reading.

Maya, calling up Uncle Guy.

What could be better than sitting on Rody? Sitting on Rody in the laundry basket, of course!

Sometimes books get ripped, so we tape them back together.

Even when the papaya isn't as ripe as it could be, it's still pretty good.

On the last day of the month it was our friend Max's 1st birthday. Maya and Ella (with a little help from me) wrote this note for him.

Yay!

Where we are right now.

I took a little video of Maya and Ella playing this morning. I think it paints a good picture of where the girls are right now developmentally. They are getting better at playing together and becoming more aware of their needs. I think it's wonderful (and amazing) that they are starting to take themselves to the potty when they have to go.  

Also, putting things on chairs and pushing them from room to room occupies a lot of their time these days.