What a wonderful Mother's Day weekend Geoff and the girls provided for me. They did such a great job of making sure I felt appreciated, pampered, and special! Geoff made a delicious coffee cake with a side of sliced mango for breakfast yesterday and capped off our meals with a dinner of ribs and mashed potatoes. I really think most of the feeling so special was just the small things Geoff and the girls did all weekend, but sometimes it's those little things that you appreciate more. Geoff cleaned up the entire kitchen after dinner and spent many hours Sat and Sun washing our windows and screens. He stayed with Annie Saturday morning so Lauren and I could enjoy a wonderful bike ride to the lake. And was completely fine taking part in all the family activities I thought of during the weekend such as a walk in Highland Park searching for the artful butterflies and taking the family to Independence Grove for a beautiful walk yesterday. What great times we have together!
Little Annie Banana - Lauren still calls her McMuffin sometimes, but I think the nickname of Banana is going to stay. She even responds to Banana now. Yesterday Lauren was watching Dora and they were searching for bananas. Each time they said the word banana, Annie turned toward the TV. I wonder if she will like Dora as much as Lauren does.
Annie LOVES grabbing for, holding onto, and playing with toys. She is pretty content just laying on her back and really doesn't roll too much. She likes sitting up in her swing or Bumbo seat so she can be part of what's going on. Annie is quite vocal and even squeals once in a while. The Itsy Bitsy Spider makes her laugh and of course, her face lights up the minute Lauren walks in the room. Annie gives us the biggest smiles now and loves sucking her thumb.
Almost all of Annie's hair is gone now. We are very curious as to what color her new hair will be. She still eats every 4 hours, but hasn't needed her late night (around 10pm) feeding for about two weeks. She eats cereal at dinner time and tried bananas last week and carrots this week. She enjoyed the carrots more, but ate the bananas too.
Annie's naps are going much better too! She is falling into the two hour nap routine which makes spending time with Lauren a bit easier. Annie naps from around 9-11 and 1-3 and then has another short nap sometime between 5-6. We have been working on making her two early naps 2 hours long for about 6 weeks and things really started to work out better last week. I'm not sure if that's because she's 5 months or because she finally realized I wasn't going to give in! She goes to bed around 8 and sleeps until around 7. She often wakes up babbling or making other sweet songs now instead of crying.
When I think about how scared I was almost exactly one year ago about Annie's health, it makes me even more appreciative of our precious little Annie Banana!
Lauren Grace - What a wonderful big sister Lauren is turning into. She has always been so gentle and interested in Annie. Now though she brings toys to Annie, sings to her, lays down next to her, talks to her, and does all she can to calm Annie down if she happens to be fussy.
Lauren LOVES singing and knows so many tunes. Reading books and taking trips to the library are two of Lauren's favorite activities. She has a great attention to detail, fantastic memory, and is very observant. She is doing a great job practicing her manners and can't wait to spend hours and hours outside this summer.
She is starting to play independently more and more often now. She will ask to stay up in her room and read more books after nap time or if she can play downstairs by herself. Sometimes I will find her riding on her rocking horse, Cinderella, and singing along to songs on her radio from Grandma Hanson. Lauren also loves taking walks while pushing her own stroller around town.
I am so fortunate to be able to spend so much time with two wonderful little girls! It's not always fun and/or easy, but there are so many more enjoyable moments than frustrating ones. I wonder how their personalities will continue to change and develop throughout the next year. Mommy loves you, Lauren and Annie!
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