February Love

February came and went too fast, which means that I am officially on maternity leave. I am so happy to be on leave, but we have so much to do in the next month. We were hoping to be moved by now, but the market has not allowed for that, so we will be preparing our office for little peanut. Our dream house is looking very promising and if the acceptance does happen, I may be signing loan documents on the delivery table! Ryan is picking up the dresser this week and then we will be painting the red portion of the office to match the golden tan portion...that way it's neutral for either gender and for the future renters who will be living in our house. We went through the attic yesterday and got all the newborn baby gear down. Ryan did all the heavy lifting, while I went through the boxes of clothes. So, newborn clothes for both a boy and girl are washed, bottles are ready to be sterilized, and the swing, well if we are still here, it may be hanging from the ceiling! Needless to say, going through the "getting everything out of storage" process was enjoyable for both of us and really got us excited to meet our precious little one.

Now for Clayton and Chloe's update. They are officially 22 months, two months away from being two! One thing I've learned as of recent is that their every wish is granted by me. I'm thinking they do need to hear the word "no" from me once in a while, but I have such a hard time saying it to them. Of course, when it comes to discipline, I do it, but when my little boy says, "Mommy up" when he's in his crib, how do I not lift my big old self into cuddle with him?! I'm going to try to allow more independent play for them, but it is so hard for me to do. Wish me luck!

Clayton's vocabulary is incredible now. He can say most any and every word and has such a desire to learn what things are. He surprises me all of the time with his words. I was intending to tell him that what I was bagging at the grocery store was "broccoli" but before I could get the word out, he said "brocli." Yesterday he pointed to the vacuum and said, "vacuum." Their little minds are so amazing. Chloe is a little parrot too. She has more and more words daily, but her newest is calling Clayton, "sissy." We, including Clayton, call Chloe, "sissy," so we think she's just repeating his words, not quite realizing that she is "sissy" even though she responds to it when we say it. Silly girl! We still go through ABC flashcards most mornings after breakfast. Clayton can clearly identify A-O and can do so outside of the flashcards as well. Chloe can say her ABC's, but at this point every letter is a B! My favorite time with Clayton is 6:15 AM when we cuddle in my bed and watch Sesame Street or Mickey Mouse. At this point those are the only two shows we watch. Chloe sleeps about an hour longer than Clayton, so when she awakes we head down for breakfast. She actually has no desire to watch television, but Clayton could watch it all day long if we allowed him to! Clayton loves his blankie still, his paci (only allowed to have it when he sleeps and as a last resort in the car), Mickey, Minnie, his "nilk" (milk), sweet potato fries, Daddy's cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats), his cars, anything Chloe has, saying "uppy," dancing, going to the park, playing with any ball, going to My Gym, and giving kisses, especially to his Mommy and Daddy! Chloe loves her baby, eating anything and everything, especially blueberries and eggs, coloring, play dough, going to the park, dancing, dancing with her daddy, singing, going to My Gym, being held, playing dress up with her jewelry, my jewelry, old clothes, bibs, and giving sweet (open mouth!) kisses, especially to Mommy and Daddy!

Here's some pictures from their busy, fun month!

Sweet little sleepers...notice Chloe's unzipped jammies! She's our little exhibitionist!


Ticky, ticky time with Dada!


Clayton and Chloe love to read, especially in the big chair in their bedroom. Clayton likes to sit on Daddy's lap in the morning, eat Daddy's cereal, and read the sports page!


Valentine's Day fun! I've never been a huge fan of the day, not for any particular reason, but mainly because I felt like the day always did its best to push Christmas out, which is my favorite holiday. I hate seeing red and white M & M's before we've even celebrated Christmas! Now, that I have children, though, all of the lesser significant "holidays" are more meaningful. I bought all three babes little Valentine chair backers (I'll have their names embroidered once peanut is here!). We filled them with goodies and when Clayton and Chloe came downstairs they were so excited about the new "thing" on their chairs. They had fun with their little Valentine goodies and even more fun playing with the stickers and coloring later in the day. We also made heart shaped cookies, which they both enjoyed creating and frosting. Mommy burned the cookies, but C and C still loved eating them!









Having fun outside with their new bubble blower and sidewalk chalk!




Serious and focused little artists.


Daddy ran ahead to put our name in at Rainforest Cafe, Minnie was there on our way out of the park, Clayton spotted her, how could nearly 9 month pregnant Mommy say "no" to a photo op with Minnie Mouse, aka, Clayton's girlfriend?!