Luggage

The girls' luggage came today! I ordered them for Key West, but I think they will get a lot of use out of them. They were a steal from Pottery Barn Kids. I love that they have wheels and are bigger than I expected. Clearly Lexa loves hers even though she has no idea what it is.

Lazy

I have been terribly lazy recently. I guess not really lazy, because I manage to exercise almost every day, but blog lazy. I don't know where most of the month of July has gone. This week is the first time I've touched my camera since the weekend of the 4th. Part of it is that I potty trained Talia; part of it is that I got a new sewing machine. Mine, well the one my mom gave me, broke a few weeks ago. I took it to a sewing machine repair shop in Chaska and was told it would cost $120 to fix. Since it was from the 70s, I invested in a new one. I researched a bunch online and found one I was interested in. Then it went on sale, so I bought it. Funny thing is that my mom bought one too. She had given me her old machine and then decided that she really wanted to have one. Anyway, I have been making a bunch of stuff ever since I got my new machine. I made another bow pillow cover to match the one I already made. I also am almost done making a ruffled pillow cover. It is for a 16x24 pillow, so I'm not exactly sure where I'll put it. I think it is too big for the sofa. I also made a cute pair of ruffle baby shoes for Jon's cousin's baby. The pattern was a little too small for Lexa's feet, so I made it bigger. I have all the pieces cut, but I haven't gotten around to sewing her pair yet.

 I think it is so funny to watch Talia play with Alexa. She is suddenly interested in toys she hasn't played with since she was a baby. One of their favorite things to do is to look at themselves in the mirror.

 It has been so hot lately that we have been staying inside. This morning it was finally cooler and the humidity was low, so we went to the park. I felt like Talia really needed to run around. She likes to go outside so much that I hate to make her stay inside. She doesn't really like to wear shorts and only sometimes likes to wear dresses. Almost every day she wants to wear pants, and doesn't understand why I think it is too hot. The other day we went to go check the mail and the outfit she had chosen for the day was a black t-shirt and black leggings. Since I tell her it is too hot for pants, anytime she has pants on outside she says "Hot pants".

4th of July Weekend



We spent Sunday and Monday over at Jon's parents' house. It was a hot weekend, but it was nice that the heat index wasn't over 100 degrees like it was earlier in the week and that it didn't rain. Jon's grandparents were visiting again for the second year in a row. Last year when they were here we announced that we were having another baby. It seems crazy that Lexa is already four months old.

Natalia loved spending time in her pool. She loves to be outside. The pool holds her interest in the beginning, but she ends up mainly running around the yard. Last weekend when she got her new pool she opened the patio door when no one was looking and went down to the pool on her own. We found her standing in it fully dressed, but she did remember to take off her shoes and socks.



 

Last year we were still living in downtown Minneapolis so it was easy to walk over to the Hennepin Ave. Bridge to watch the fireworks. This year we decided to just buy the little fireworks and set them off in the backyard. Talia seemed to like them, but the sound scared her. She liked to watch them through the window inside the house. I had her sitting on my lap for a while, but she would close her eyes and shake. We did not wait until dark to set them off, so we had the girls at home in bed by 10 pm.

This week's project

 I've always thought it was fairly obvious that the girls are mine because I have the dominant genes. Of course I see a lot of Jon in them too, but it was weird to be asked in Target if Alexa was mine.

I know for sure that Natalia didn't get her curls from me. She has the prettiest little ringlets. This picture was taken right after she woke up from a nap. Her head sweats when she sleeps and she wakes up with her hair looking better than when she went to sleep. I wish that was the case for me too.

My parents came and visited this past weekend. My mom was baking a pie and Talia was helping in the kitchen. She had a great time playing in cornstarch and water until we realized that the cornstarch might be contaminated with tree nuts. She was not happy to have it taken away, but I want to keep her alive.

This week I was working on pillow covers. I got this one finished and halfway through making the matching one I broke the sewing machine. Hopefully I can get it fixed.

Also, since the last time I posted Alexa has learned to roll from her back to her tummy. She did it multiple times one day and then never again.

Yeah? Ok.

I feel like Alexa is so much more of a social baby than Natalia was. She wants to be awake almost all day now, and she needs to be with everyone else. She needs to be held or at least be able to see someone at all times. She prefers to be upright, but is very drooly. She can roll from front to back, but then she forgets and won't do it for days.

Natalia really likes to hold her. When she wants to she says, "Hold! Hold! Yeah? Ok." She thinks that holding Alexa requires a blanket. She will get a blanket and spread it out over her lap and then expects to hold her. Natalia also has decided she is a big girl and can help herself to anything in the pantry or the fridge whenever she pleases.

Anytime Natalia wants anything now she asks for it, but immediately answers herself with "Yeah? Ok." "Cookie? Yeah? Ok." "Juice? Yeah? Ok." And then she goes and tries to get it herself. She is obsessed with the ducks and bunny that are out in front of our house. She is always looking for them. The bunny usually comes out in the evening, so I have convinced her that her daddy and the bunny are together when they are gone.

For the past few days she has started using Jon's name as well as Daddy. Yesterday morning I was in bed and we had forgetten to open her door after she fell asleep. She wanted out so I heard, "Mommy? Daddy? Jon? Jonathan?"