smiley......

molly's been smiling for a couple weeks now - guess that started when she was about 5 weeks or so........she's much more smiley in the morning, although there's also a period just before bedtime when if she's laying out on the couch all stretched out she'll give all kinds of smiles too........the cooing that accompany the smiles are awesome too........it's like she's purring or something........super cute.........it's great to know that she's happy........
lately molly's been going through a "mommy" phase........at least that's what it seems like it is anyway........in general she gets a little more fussy from about 4pm until about 8pm or so........in that timeframe, she pretty much will eat and cry except if i'm holding her........for some reason i'm all she wants during that time.......she'll pretty much cry if anyone else holds her for more than a few minutes at a time.......kind of bizarre - casey didn't go through that, though i think that's because steve and i were home with her for the first 3 months, so she knew us both equally........molly sees more of me than anyone so she's probably just wanting the comfort of me during her fussy time........i feel bad that she's so upset during times that i can't hold her, but it's really sweet to know she wants me so much........it's nice being loved so much.......

talky talk.......

wow, casey has definitely had a language explosion lately........she says everything........she'll repeat anything anyone says and is even learning how to string words together........like "daddy at work" and "can't reach" and "read book"........it's really awesome to watch........every day she's understanding more and learning how to say things........MUCH better than the grunting and pointing that she was doing not too long ago........it's also super helpful to know that not only does she want a drink, but she wants water or juice........and for breakfast she can actually tell me what she wants instead of trying to force pancakes into her when she really wants cereal.......the way she says things is really cute too......for instance one of my favorites is "hot doggy" for hot dog and how she pronounces "ladybug" sends me into fits of laughter.......i love it........of course it's a little harder to ignore her when she wants something she can't have when she's actually asking for it........now to get her to understand what "no" means........=)

christmas 2009

christmas this year was really awesome.......casey was pretty big into santa claus this year - she got it a lot more than i thought she would.........well, she didn't get that he was the one who brought presents, she just knew he was a pretty important guy around this time of year.......she points out "santy" everywhere - from books to the mall santa to the one on her pjs......and she likes to point out the "reineer" that accompany him as well.......
we left cookies, milk, and carrots out for santa and his reindeer on christmas eve........
and on christmas morning we had lots of fun opening the gifts santa left us.......casey opened her little people airplane first and really would've been content to just have gotten that.......she loved it and kept going back to it even after opening other gifts we got her........we got her a radio control car, a tea set, some tub toys, and some books........unfortunately it was a little harder to shop for molly........she can't really play with too much at a month old.......but we found her a couple little things that she can play with in the upcoming months.......
then it was off to nanny and grampy's to open some more gifts........santa left a little people farmhouse and a toy baby carriage for casey there........and some clothes for molly........
finally we travelled down to grammy and grampy's house in north attleboro for yet more gift opening and dinner.........santa left us all a lot of gifts there - most memorable was the toy grocery cart, wooden blocks, and really annoying talking elmo doll........
we got a new dishwasher and 4 slot toaster and a recycling/trash center........i know i've officially kissed my youth goodbye when those were my favorite gifts!........well those and the andre agassi autobiography which i'm dying to read.......
it was a really fun day overall, although casey had a tough night sleeping christmas night.......probably a combo of being overtired and overstimulated all day.......but luckily that only lasted one night.......and she napped for almost 4 hours the next day so she made up for it quickly.......

first concert

casey had her first concert about a week before christmas.......it was the conclusion of a 3 week music course offered at the fore river clubhouse for toddlers........the first week, there was a musician there that brought a keyboard and taught the kids some songs - not much singing, mostly dancing and hand gestures which was still very cute.......second week, they practiced and made some instruments (beads inside little water bottles, and decorated paper towel tube rhythm sticks) and holiday cards.......and the last week, they performed at the elderly center near marina bay........it was really cute - all the kids dressed up in their christmas-y clothes.......and casey got into her first toddler "fight".......other girl was 2.5 years old and bigger, but casey held her own in the shoving match.......that's my girl!.......here are some pics of the concert.......

big girl bed.......

so casey is officially transitioned into her big girl toddler bed.......we picked new years day as the first night to try her out in it - figure might as well start 2010 off right, right?........put her in and not a peep - all night........naptime the next day, same thing........nighttime that night, same thing.......after 11 days, i'm pretty confident saying that bedtime has gone 100% awesomely.......there was one night that steve put her to bed and then we peeked in a couple hours later when we were going to bed and she was asleep bent over at the waist with her feet on the floor and her upper body on the bed.......but still no problems that night, steve just got her lower body in bed and that was that........naptime hasn't gone quite as well, but still not bad at all - out of 10 days of naps, i'd say 7 went fine........we've adjusted our naptime routine a little and so i think we're pretty much out of the woods there too........
i wonder if potty training will be that easy.........=)

if only.......

if only i had 5 more hours of the day after the kids went to bed, i'd write posts about all the super cute and memorable things that the kids do every day so i'd have a really awesome log of their childhood.......i feel like i'm missing recording things and won't remember them........