12 months old!

Somehow now our baby girl is now a bouncing toddler!! I am not quite sure how this last year passed by soo fast. It has been amazing to watch Daphne grow...trying to appreciate how quickly one goes from being a cuddly bundle that eats, sleeps and goes the bathroom to this miraculous little person...

Daphne is flourishing...she runs quickly, climbs everything, dances, and is very expressive. Like Ethan her motor skills are advanced...lucky us...trying to keep up with the both of them! She is quite expressive and able to get across her likes, dislikes, and wants/needs. Daphne now has 5 "words": mama, dada, yes, more, and hi. She also is very good with nodding yes and no and waving. Her animal sounds are coming around too: she can growl like a lion, woof like a dog, baa like a lamb.

We are switched over to table food and recently learning to keep food in bowls and plates and attempting flatware usage. She now has 7 chompers. Daphne is drinking fine from a cup; however, the weaning from a bottle for milk drinking is posing to be an issue...she is awfully stubborn...I wonder who she gets that from ;-)

Daphne is such a pleasure...she is a sweet, loving, energetic girl. She loves shoes and waking Ethan up when he is sleeping. Ethan is still soo rough with her...and for some reason she never gets tired of it...so long as she has his attention!

Daphne's Stats: weight: 19lbs. 1 oz...10th-25th %; height: 29 1/2 in...50-75%; head circumference 75%!

Camp-out...

Ethan, Jimmy & Grandpop made Ethan's playhouse official...they were very brave and slept in the top of the shed! What a night...starting with hot dogs on the grill, then cooking giant marshmellos, popcorn, and cherry pies on the fire pit. Ethan had a blast being outdoors soo late and playing with all the goodies that Grandpop brought in his overnight bag. Daphne did not know what to make of the whole ordeal and decided to go to bed comfortably inside the house. Jimmy, Grandpop & Tommy did a GREAT job with constructing the shed/playhouse...Finally after almost a year I was allowed to go up to the "boys only" playhouse to check things out! It is pretty cool...but I think I enjoy staying indoors away from all the bugs!

My little Man...

Ethan is in full swing of "the terrible two's"...Time Out is one of his frequent places to be found... He has told me on numerous occassions that his "listening ears are not working!" On a positive note, his intellegence continues to bud & his sense of humor is priceless! I keep meaning to write down some of our conversations... (finally, I have a recent one)

Ethan: "Mommy, what your hands doing on your head for?"

Me: "Because you are driving me nuts!!"

Ethan: "You talkin about nuts...we eat nuts!"

Trying to get a photo of Ethan looking at me and smiling is just about as easy as getting him to listen to me...hence not many photos...

The kiddos...

Just a few of my favorite photos of both the kids these past few weeks...

11 months old...

Daphne is taking after her brother...learning all types of things...most of all wanting to be independent and do whatever her brother is able to do!

She is saying: mama, dada, yes & hi...

She is signing: more (and waves hi & bye)

She is nodding yes & no

She is eating TABLE food with her 6 chompers...

Gross motor: walking well with good balance; climbing just like a monkey onto the couch, into the fridge, getting INTO drawers (literally climbing in...not to mention taking everything out!)

Daphne's energy is rising...there are days that she REFUSES to take a nap for fear she will miss something! Yikes...how did I get 2 high energy children!! The icing on the cake...she does everything with a smile!! Daphne has a delightful personality!

9 Month Check Up...

Better late than never...

Our precious "who-faced" little girl...

Daphne's Stats:

weight: 17 lbs. 11 0z (25%-50%)

height: 28 1/2 inches (75%-90%)

Mother-Daughters Weekend in NYC...

Jimmy was soo wonderful to watch the darling kiddos so that I was able to enjoy a fabulous long weekend in NYC with my mom and little sis in mid-Aug. We managed to keep busy the entire time. NYC was much busier and crowded than I had remembered in trips past...and we were told it was not even a bad time of year...to my surprise. Our hotel was amazing...the Marriott Marquis...with our room looking right into Times Square. (We even made it to the gym!) We adventured on quite a few of the sight-seeing buses on the upper deck and learned alot about NYC. The weather could not have been more perfect! I was in heaven...a Starbucks on almost every corner!! Of course we went shopping...some finds in Soho along with lunch at the Cupping Room. One of my favorite places to eat was Blue Fin...we made it there for 2 dinners and brunch! The lobster bisque was the best ever & their sushi was excellent too! On Broadway we took in the Addams Family...literally across the street from our hotel! I was thrilled to see Nathan Lane & "Lilith" perform in person! Mom and I went to dinner at 11:30pm after the show while Tiffers was snug in bed. We then hit some shops that were still open...gotta love NY! The off to The View...a 360 degree rotating restaurant on top of our hotel; what an amazing view of Manhattan...however the drink prices were as high as the restaurant!--Luckily our cover was waived because we were hotel guests! I believe Mom & I made it in that night around 2:30ish am! Among our travels we made some stops on foot...past the well known Tiffany & Co., Rockefeller Center, NBC, and LEGO...(Ethan would have never wanted to leave there!) Unfortunately, we never made our walk across the Brooklyn bridge...we ran out of time...something to do next time we are in the big city! What a GREAT girls weekend!

Oh, and only if I had remembered all the silly things that were said...but the icing on the cake was the valet as we pulled into the hotel..."Sorry for starring at your car, but I wasn't sure if that was a hood ornament or if you hit a BIRD!"--or something along those lines... Yes, Mom took out a bird on the trip and had the remains to prove it!