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I finally figured out how to get Sloane to smile for photos.  When I asked her to say "cheese" she would mutter it under her breath and continue whatever she was doing.  Now I ask her to show me her teeth and I get a wonderful little chipmunk grin every time.  I'm trying to take advantage of it while it works.

Last weekend we pulled through a drive through espresso stand to get a coffee.  I ordered my grande nonfat mocha and John his triple grande nonfat vanilla latte then, without skipping a beat, Sloane shouted from the back seat, "And a milk for Sloane."  Girlfriend got her milk.

Last night we had some friends over for dinner and Sloane asked for some milk.  I got it for her and she immediately burst into tears.  She didn't like the pink cup that I had chosen so she went into the pantry and got the exact same cup in purple and brought it out.  When I said it was a purple cup she started crying harder and screaming thast it was green, not purple.  The joys of a 2 year old.

Meal time has been interesting as our busy bee does not like to sit still.  So she often ends up eating meals like this...

...or we get to enjoy a family dinner around her new picnic table.  Whatever gets the girl to eat.

We turned a corner two weeks ago when, out of the blue, Sloane finally started calling our sweet pup "Cooper" instead of "Pooper".  No one is happier than me as I'd found myself calling her "Pooper" more and more.  I can tell that Coop is relieved too.

On the day of Sloane's bday party I spent a good part of the morning getting the house picked up since the afternoon would be hectic with girls napping and getting all of our stuff to the venue.  After I was done cleaning I took off to pick up the balloons and cake and left the girls and John to hang out.  When I got home an hour later the living room was a mess, the diaper bag totally torn apart and spread across the room along with all of Sloane's toys.  Sloane was standing on a chair at the table, wearing one of Hazel's tiny diapers over her pants and screaming, "No, Cooper" while Coop happily lapped up the hummus that was sitting on Sloane's kiddy table.  I turned the corner to find John, with Hazel strapped to his chest, leaning against the counter surveying the scene while munching on carrots.  Daddy daycare at it's finest.

While Sloane still loves Elmo her new obsession is anything kitty.  She loves her Hello Kitty shirts and insists on wearing her Hello Kitty shoes everywhere.  She asks for her kitty cat pajamas every night and has to be bribed to take them off in the morning.  I used to pass the kids shirts with kittens on them and wonder who the hell would buy them.  I now purchase every shirt I see with a cat on it.

She is a total goof ball.

Hazel is smiling and we love her little grins.  She couldn't be any cuter.

She's also got some crazy hair.

It's fun to have her awake more and to get to interact with her.  While she's a pretty easy baby we've hit the period where she cries for 1-2 hours a night.  We're definitely using the 5 S's.  Luckily, she follows that up with 5-7 hours of sleep.  Thank you, Hazel.

Mimi & Bobba

Love, love these recent photos of my parents and my girls.

With Bobba on father's day.

With Mimi on her birthday.  Even my peanut managed a little grin.

6 week stats

All was well with Hazel's 6 week check until it was time for the 3 shots.  Poor girl was not happy.  When Sloane was a baby she would cry for 30 seconds after her shots then pretty much sleep for the next 24 hours.  Not Hazel, she slept for a while then screamed bloody murder for a few hours that night and was pretty fussy the next day.  It took a couple of days for her to be back to her happy, cooing self.  Not fun.

6 week stats:

Weight: 11 lbs, 4.5 ozs (83%)

Length: 23 inches (90%)

Noggin: 37.25 cm (30%)

2 year stats

Sloane had a stellar 2 year check with Dr. J and was given a very clean bill of health. Her one shot did not go over well but a fist full of stickers on the way out helped. She talked for days about her "poke" but I think the trauma has now subsided.

2 year stats:
Weight: 31 lbs, 8 oz. (92%)
Height: 36 inches (93%)

Got milk?

My obsession pumping and storing breast milk is even stronger this go 'round.   At 6 weeks in I had 78 bags stockpiled away and now we are nearing 100.  It's taking over both of our freezers.  Mmmmooooooooo!

Sloane's party

We celebrated Sloane's 2nd birthday with a fun group of family and friends at our local community center.  I was smart enough to move the party out of our house and the room we rented nearby was great.  Some balls, gymnastics mats, hula hoops, and a tent resulted in some very tired kids.  Sloane talked for days about her "happy day" aka "happy birthday" and fell asleep that night listing the names of all the kids there.  Next year we will designate someone the official photographer, we have far too few photos of the day.

For the party I put together a 2 photo board that I saw on pinterest.  It was crazy to look at all of the photos and see how much Sloane has grown in just 2 years.  I could have stared at it for hours.

Happy Father's Day

We wish the happiest of father's days to this amazing dad and husband.

He is Sloane's swimming sidekick, playground partner, and best buddy. He's Hazel's favorite snuggler. He's the master swaddler and the sultan of the five s's. He's the king of the night-night routine (no one does a better tucka-tucka.) He's never met a dirty diaper he was afraid of or an owie he couldn't kiss better, and he's never walked through the door at the end of the day without Sloane running into his arms. He's patient, kind, and incredibly funny. My girls are so unbelievably lucky that he is their dad. I won the lottery when I married him. Happy Father's day, John. We love you (this much.)

Not only do Sloane and Hazel have the world's coolest dad. They also have amazing grandpa's. Happy Father's Day, Bobba and Papa! We love you!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sloane!

Sloane,

How the heck can you be 2 years old already?  I can still remember holding you for the first time like it was yesterday.  It doesn't seem that long ago and then I look at the kid in front of me and think of all we have experienced together.

You are the most amazing adventure - each and every day with you is so incredibly happy.   Not all day, every day - you are 2 after all.  Here's what is happening in your 2 year old world.

You are quite the chatterbox. You are starting to talk in some complete sentences but still like the throw 20 seconds of total gibberish our way when we least expect it to keep us on our toes. You know your ABCs well and can count to 15 though you often skip over 7 and 8 completely. You love to list off all of your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - it is not a short list.

You love Elmo.  A lot.  Though Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Abbie are starting to get some love as well.  You ask for "Elmo ipad" frequently and usually get it if it's time to feed your sister.  At least it's an educational app.

The Roomba vacuum cleaner can keep you entertained for hours.  You love to turn it on and off and chase it around the house.  You love to run up to it, tap it with your toe, and run away before it can catch you.  You think it's a new pet and treat it so.  Both Cooper and Roomba get a "goodbye" when we leave the house and a "hello" when we arrive home.  When you are doing something you are especially proud of, you often tell the vacuum cleaner to look at you.  "Yook, Roomba, I jump."

You love to jump and are actually starting to get some nice air.  You love to run and run into things so you are one giant bruise, scrape and scab. 

You watch and listen to everything we say and do, and you are quite the little parrot.  We have to be so careful now.  You spent one afternoon muttering, "what the hell" after your mother let that one slip. 

You are starting to have opinions on what you wear.  Usually this means refusing to take off your kitty or princess pajamas to put on clothes for the day.  You love to walk around in my shoes and are pretty good in heels.

You are an amazing helper.  You love to clean and you wipe down your chair after each meal.  You are constantly bringing blankets and animals to your sister.  Your dad taught you how to very gently give her the binky.  Now, whenever she starts to cry you yell, "I've got it", and run over to her.  You are more and more gentle with her each day.  You also love to show off for Hazel and want to be sure she is looking whenever you are doing something exciting.  I always turn her in your direction whenever you shout, "Hazel, yook at me."  You haven't yet picked up that she's sleeping 95% of the time.

You love stickers and would cover every surface in our house with them if we'd let you.  You are dying to cover your sister, the furniture and the windows with stickers.  To keep you from doing that I'm usually covered in stickers instead. 

When we aren't doing what you want or don't come to you fast enough you stop calling us "mom" and "dad" and instead shout, "John, Kelly".  It's weird.  When you want something you repeat the same phrase over and over putting emphasis on different words.  I want fruit snacks.  I WANT fruit snacks.  I want fruit SNACKS.  I want FRUIT snacks.  If you still haven't gotten what you wanted you say it one last time in a sing song voice.

You love your weekly swimming dates with your dad and ask me daily, "Sloane daddy swimming tonight?"  When I explain that it isn't a swimming night you reply with, "Sloane tubby night!"  You are definitely a water girl.

You are growing like a weed and we can't wait for your stats next week.  You are growing out of 3T and have moved into 4Ts.

You go to bed around 7:30 but will often "read" or talk to yourself for a while.  We love to turn up the volume on the monitor and listen to you - it's priceless.  You usually wake up happy around 7:30.

Some meals you eat like a mouse and other meals you clear everyone's plates.  When I ask what you want for breakfast in the morning you usually say "pancakes AND waffles" then wait a few seconds and ask for a popsicle with a super sweet smile.  I'm not sure if you really think there's a chance I'll give you a popsicle for breakfast or if you do it to make me laugh.  You will do just about anything for fruit snacks.

You love daycare and all of your friends there.  You talk about them often.  You rush into whatever activities are happening when we arrive then come back to give me a kiss and open the door to usher me out so you can go back to playing.

You are starting to get into the "why" stage, but your most popular question is "Whataya doin' mommy?"  I hear this about 300 times per day.

You are so sweet and polite when you want to be.  You are great with your "please" and "thank you's" and you always say "bless you" when someone sneezes.  But, you are also a super sassy little thing.  The terrible 2's could get interesting.  You have stopped hitting when you are mad (I was the only lucky recipient of that stage) but will often make the hitting motion and stop just before making contact.  You are majorly testing boundaries and have become quite familiar with time outs.

We love you so incredibly much and are so excited to celebrate your birthday.  The past two years with you have been the most amazing years of our lives.  We are very lucky parents.

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3 months:

6 months:

9 months:

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