All over the place

I keep forgetting to talk about Arianna's eating issues. She's still nursing a lot. Which is fine with me. But she doesn't seem to really like eating solids! Well, I guess that's not true: she LOVES peaches and pears! I've been making all her food - just putting stuff in the blender and freezing it in ice cube trays. It's so easy, I don't know why I never managed to do it for Marissa. So far she's had peas, green beans, carrots, peaches, pears, applesauce, prune juice/oatmeal, and potatoes. But the only way she'll eat peas, green beans, and potatoes is if I mix it with peaches, pears, or applesauce! And the ratio has to be just right, or she'll refuse it. I've been patient, because I know it takes babies like 10 tries before they start liking something. But we're way beyond those 10 tries! I've been slowly weaning her off the high ratio of fruit/veggie, and sometimes she does better. But it's so frustrating! And I feel so sneaky. Lol. She won't eat potatoes no matter what (maybe because even when they're blended, they're still slightly lumpy?). I'm trying not to get worried, because she is still nursing a lot (and I plan to continue for a while), and she'll eat TONS of peaches or pears if given the chance. She also loves Cheerios, and is starting to sign "more" when she wants more! I've let her try cooked corn kernels, and she eats those sometimes. She also has tried freeze dried apple bites, bits of broccoli, and (don't tell anyone!) bits of American cheese. It's so weird to think that she's starting to get the age where she can eat bits of table food, but she's barely been eating baby mush for a while!

The other day, Marissa and Arianna were walking around the room holding hands, and Arianna started to fall. Marissa said "Don't be afraid, Marissa will always be here for you."

Marissa has really started singing a lot lately. You remember the "Ikea-us" song? Haha...well here's another good one: "I'm in the Lord's arm-you, I'm in the Lord's arm-you" instead of "I'm in the Lord's army." It took me a minute to figure out why she was singing it that way: army sounds like arm-me, so she was singing arm-you! Lol

Arianna's been sleeping a little better lately. She still wakes up a few times, but has been going back to sleep easier, and the last few days she's even been asleep at 10:30pm instead of midnight! She's also started taking better naps (2.5 hours instead of 30 minutes! And today she took a 2.5 hour one this morning, and is back in her crib again!) But she's been waking up earlier for the day, which is to be expected. I brought her to bed with me the other morning at 8:15 when she woke up and tried to get her to nurse/sleep more. She wouldn't, but if I pretended to be asleep she just sat by me and periodically kissed my face and cuddled with me trying to wake me up for a long time. I just laid there and she did that on and off. It was so precious! I love that she's learning hugs and kisses - although her kisses are so slobbery! And she even imitates us saying "awww" when she hugs us.

We went shopping as a family on Saturday. It was so funny. Dan is a horrible shopper! Lol. We went to a few stores, so we had to get the girls in and out of the car a lot. I found the deal of the year at Kohl's. My mom gave me some money to get clothes for Christmas, and I decided I wanted to look for a nice winter coat. I have two of them, but both of them used to be my sister's, so the sleeves were waaaaaaay too short, and one of them wasn't even warm. So I decided it was time! I hadn't had a new winter coat since college - I bought a black one, and Dan bought me the same one in cream. Lol. They were having a huge sale! This coat was regularly $200, and marked down to $78. Then I also bought a pair of jeans, so that took the total over $100. I had a 20% off $100 purchase, and then got $10 Kohl's Cash back! I can't really do the math, but I got an awesome deal on this warm wool coat:
Look how long those sleeves are! My mom and I are both cursed with oddly long arms, so this is a rare find, and it's so much fun to wear!

I touched up the paint in our 1/2 bath on Sunday. When we had the guys replace our flooring (last summer?) they really banged up the walls and trim. So now it looks much better! I'm planning some fun stuff for that room, since it's the bathroom guests use, and it's right by our front door. If only I had the time to devote to it!

This is kinda a crazy week. Tonight I had BUNCO with ladies from church. Tomorrow I have to drop off work that I got yesterday (and finished up FAST today so I don't have to stay up late after BUNCO), and then Marissa's friend Ingrid is coming over tomorrow night while her parents go out for a bit. Thursday Marissa has a kid's Christmas party at church. Saturday we're having some friends over for lunch. And next week we're going away for Christmas for a few days, so I have tons of laundry and packing to do! I'm trying to get our Christmas cards mailed out soon, and I have a handmade gift for Marissa that might not get done til after Christmas. Ahhh, so much going on!

I guess that's all, so I'm going to get in bed before Arianna wakes up!

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

My parents just left this morning after a wonderful long weekend visit. We didn't see them for Thanksgiving since we stayed here and had our own little holiday, and we'll be visiting with Dan's parents and extended family for Christmas, so we had a lot to pack into one weekend! My mom and I went Christmas shopping (for clothes she's giving me) on Saturday, kid-free! It was wonderful, even though for the first time in my entire life we left Kohl's without a single purchase! Lol.

Saturday evening we got out all our Christmas stuff, and then had a mini-Christmas with gifts my Grandma sent out. We ended up putting our fake 3-4ft tree up on top of a card table. There's no way I wanted to fight with Arianna to stay away from something that exciting! It was lots of fun, and the girls had a blast. Marissa remembers her Grandma and Grandpa, obviously, but Arianna didn't have a clue! She was so weird - one second she'd be grinning her face off at Grandpa, and the next second she burst into terrified screams. Lol. Arianna was kinda a grump the whole weekend. I think this LACK OF SLEEP is starting to get to her too!

One cute thing Arianna started doing like crazy is clapping for herself while she walks around the room! She also decided to climb up onto the couch when no one was paying attention to her! Someone saw her as she was reaching for all the stuff on the shelf above the couch, and got to her in time. But as they put her back down on the floor, she was clapping for herself! Too funny! She also is finally starting to imitate the sounds we make. She's been too busy WALKING to talk (not to mention, Marissa doesn't really let her get a word in anyways!), but this weekend she was imitating us saying "Uh-oh" and it was so cute. She also figured out how to open the ottomans in our living room. One of them we use as a toybox and the other holds blankets to use on the couch. This could be interesting!

We all went to church together Sunday, and then almost everyone took a nap Sunday afternoon. I did, and it felt wonderful! Then we went to Sam's and out to dinner together. It was so much fun to spend all that time together, and Marissa was great entertainment. Lol. Arianna was cute and fun enough, but she really was just not herself this weekend. She's been waking up every 1/2 hour, for hours on end, in the middle of the night, and she does NOT take good naps at all to make up for it. I'm at my wit's end, but I'm still not willing to let her cry it out. I just keep thinking it's got to get better at some point, right?! This weekend, she slept in the pack-n-play in our master walk-in closet, since my parents slept on the guest bed that's in her room. That may have had something to do with the 1/2 hour thing, but she doesn't really sleep much better in her own room! I think I'm going to break down and at least put blankets in her bed. "They" say to wait until kids are 1, but I know many people don't actually wait that long. And I think maybe she's just cold, or uncomfortable. She sleeps great in bed with me, and on anyone's lap, so maybe she just wants to be more cuddly?

Today, Marissa helped me decorate the tiniest Christmas tree ever. I used to have it in my bedroom as a kid, and my brother and sister and I even made "ornaments" to put on it! So now it's on our entryway table, and Marissa thinks it's pretty cute.

I didn't do any work this weekend, and they don't have any work for me until Friday, so I'm enjoying a short break from it. Not like it's hard, it's just nice to have time to do other things I want to do instead of having it hang over my head 'til it's done.

Well, we've got a lot going on between now and Christmas, but I hope I can at least try to keep up!