Out of the fog...

I've always been somewhat of a procrastinator (okay, okay... a major procrastinator!) and this blog is no exception. So many fun things have happened since I last updated that it's hard to know where to start. In May we went on an amazing Hawaiian vacation with my parents and Emily, Ben and Oceanne. In June we bought a house. In July we went to North Carolina. In August we moved!

Instead of trying to recap each moment of our crazy summer I'm just going to stick with what's current - the house! After searching for months we finally found what is, for us, the perfect home in Larkspur, California. It's about 10 minutes further north on hwy 101 from our old house and about 10 degrees warmer on average. It's "charming" as they say in real estate but the girls have their own bedrooms and we have our own bathroom so in many ways it feels like a bigger house. The best part about it is that it backs up to a neighborhood park and we can walk pretty much anywhere.

Our list of projects grows longer each day but we're enjoying the work and so thrilled to finally own our first home. We painted and put in new carpet. We pulled about two truckloads of ivy and other overgrown shrubs from the yard and now Todd is cleaning and refinishing the shingles. It's a work in progress but we love it!

I need to take some new shots of the inside of the house but for now here are a few from when we first got the house.

Morning at the park with Edie

I love the one-on-one time I have with Edie while Anna is at school. I know she doesn't know the difference, but sometimes I feel guilty that she's never had our undivided attention the way that Anna did as a baby. Yesterday I took Edie on her first bike ride up to our neighborhood park. She loved it! I wish I got a shot of her in her helmet. There's nothing cuter than baby helmet-head!

A Four Year-Old and a Toddler

What? How did this happen!? All of a sudden we have a very grown up little four year-old and a toddler walking around our house. It's been busy around here the last few months. So busy that I can't seem to find the time to update our blog -- at least that's the excuse I'm rolling with!

Ok, where to start...

Edie: Our baby turned 15 months a few days ago and is now officially toddling around. The shift from mostly crawling to mostly walking happened sometime last week and she's very proud of herself. We have a check-up this week so I will post again with her new stats. January and February were kind of rough months for Edie between teething, croup, and other illnesses. She's still a very early riser (usually between 5-6 am) and naps twice a day. Her favorite things to do are play with blocks & magna tiles, pull books off the shelf and flip through them, play with fridge magnets, pull Anna's hair, go outside, and take a bath. She's still not a big eater, preferring things like yogurt, cheese, pasta, and crackers. Fruits and vegetables - not so much! Some of the things she's saying: Mama, Dada, Anna, Ohm (her lion lovey), and night-night (which sounds more like na-nigh).

Anna: Anna turned four last Sunday. Four!!! She's such a little girl now. She's very interested in reading and writing and loves to string together letters and ask us what word she created (something I remember doing as a kid too!). She's super creative and loves to draw and sing and dance. Her friends are becoming more and more important to her and we've started doing the "drop-off playdate" which makes her seem very grown-up to me. She got a two-wheel bicycle for her birthday but even though it has some heavy duty training wheels she still prefers the comfort of her tricycle. Very typical of our cautious Anna!

Here are some recent pics of the kiddos.

Anna may have been more excited about her birthday this year than Christmas!

Grandma J made her annual birthday visit!

Yogurt face.

Purple and sparkly - Anna's perfect combination.

Edie Turns One!

I don't know what it is but ever since Edie turned one she just seems so much older to me. Whether it's the way she looks at us, listens to us, or points out things that she wants - she just seems wiser all of a sudden. Physically she's getting super active, too. She can now stand up without having to pull up on the furniture and can stay up for a long while before plopping down. We usually clap and cheer for her when this happens which thrills her to no end.

The girls are starting to play together too which is so fun to watch. Anna is very sweet and gentle with Edie. Well, sometimes she needs a little reminding but when she's too rough you can tell it's because she loves Edie so much, not because she wants to hurt her.

Edie now weighs 19 lbs 9 oz and is about 29 1/2" tall (she was squirming during the height measurement so I'm not sure how accurate that is). Definitely a smaller kid than Anna was at this age. I have a feeling she may have inherited a few more Mann genes in the size department!

Here are a few shots from her 1st birthday party. Pizza and cupcakes with good friends and family - Edie had a great time!

11 Months!

Look familiar?

Edie-boo is 11 months old. And I thought the first year of Anna's life flew by! That was a snail's pace compared to this. Here is a list of the latest happenings in Edie's world:

• She has 8 teeth
• Her hair poof is getting taller and taller although sometimes it decides to lay flat which I find just a little bit sad. I'll miss the poof.
• She's a quick crawler and is pulling up on just about everything now, including my pant leg. Every so often she'll let go and flail for a second before landing gracefully on her bottom.
• She hasn't sad mama or dada yet but I've been hearing a lot of "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" so I think it won't be long!
• Favorite foods right now are banana, cheerios, Goldfish, avocado, pear, cheese, yogurt
• I'm starting a very gradual weaning and she's doing great
• As of four days ago she's sleeping through the night (6:30-6:30). Fingers crossed!
• She's become very attached to a little lion blankie that was a gift from Nana Joanie. It sleeps with her always.

Loves playing with the big girls.

Said lion blankie, dangling from mouth.

Are you sure mommy?

Can't forget to include a picture of "Belle" from Halloween!

Freedom!

The cast is gone! Actually, it's been gone for over a week and it already seems like a distant memory. Getting the cast off was definitely more traumatic than getting it on. For some reason Anna wasn't convinced that the scary, circular saw that sounded like a jet-engine wasn't going to hurt and I can't blame her. At one point Todd was holding her down while the doctor was cutting the cast and Anna looked at me red-faced, tears-streaming and yelled "Mommy let me FREE!" at the top of her lungs. It was heart-breaking but now it's over. Phew.

Edie is a busy little explorer and is currently trying to figure out how to stand up. Oh, and it turns out that she does love food! It just has to be something that we would eat. In other words: anything but baby food!

Nana came to town last week, spending the first half of her visit at Emily's and the second half with us. Todd was out of town for work so it was really helpful having mom around. We miss her already!

Edie at Nine Months

Edie - or "Boo-boo" as she has come to be known around our house - is nine months old. She's just as sweet as can be until she takes a chomp out of your leg or arm and then laughs! She's on the move now, exploring all that the house has to offer. I can already tell that we'll have to take baby-proofing more seriously than we did with Anna.

She doesn't have much of an appetite for solid foods but we keep trying. She has four teeth with two more working their way up on the bottom. She's 28.5" tall (80th%) and weighs 17 lbs 11 oz (30th%). Her sleep patterns are still a little unpredictable although her bedtime and morning nap are fairly consistent. Poor Edie! The afternoon naps usually take place in the car or stroller or Ergo carrier - wherever we happen to be. With Anna we were so rigid with the schedule but little Edie just has to roll with it.

Anna just moved into the big bedroom with Edie so now we're figuring out the logistics of a shared room. Since Edie wakes up around 4:00 to eat I have to race in there before Anna wakes up. Every night seems to get a little bit easier.

It's been a busy month with a lot going on in the Youngs family. Sometimes I just need to sit down, breathe, and take in all the changes!