The Queendom

So, as you can see in the pictures posted in my previous blog, the princesses are growing up quickly!

Princess KT is really coming into her own, and has the sweetest smiles to give. She LOVES to cuddle and be cuddled. She just rolled over for the first time this week - she's starting to get mobile, which will be a LOT of fun... She keeps her eyes on her big sister all the time, and any time they interact, she's all smiles & squeals. She reaches out for our faces now and when we kiss on her, she puts her mouth on our cheeks. She's drooling bucket loads every day and we expect to start seeing her first teeth soon.

Princess CaaaLalla is potty training herself - just as we expected her to do. I used the last diaper with her over the weekend, and we switched to pull-ups. Now, granted, I am allowing for future setbacks & accidents, but all of a sudden yesterday, she decided that she would go potty for her Mama and wore "big girl panties" all day yesterday without having ONE accident. Her biggest motivators are getting to wear her pink light velour nightgown with silvery suns, moons, & stars all over it, or some sparkly purple mary-janes. If she can wear those, she'll go potty like a big girl in a heartbeat! Daddy also lights a candle and lets her blow it out sometimes which gives her a big charge - WHATEVER IT TAKES!!! So, she is making progress and we're really excited for her!

The King & I have had some really nice, sweet moments together lately. It has been really memorable. We're approaching our 4th anniversary already - and I think parenting has really started forging us into a team. It's really great to have someone I can talk to about anything - who listens and cares - and takes to heart what I share, what I need, what I want. He's really wonderful. I can be my ol' ugly self some days and he still loves me. He keeps telling me I'm a good mommy, and especially these days, that means a lot. I am starting to feel more settled in myself again, and he really lets me explore my thoughts & feelings in a manner that lets me find my way. I appreciate that so much about him. We laugh a lot together and it's good for my soul. He's a great daddy and I just love watching his little princess girls melt him into a giant puddle. He denies it, but only half-heartedly... He's a really good husband, too, and I'm grateful for every moment we've had together - every single one of them. I can't imagine a better teammate or partner for life.

It's good to be the Queen!

Princess Pictures

Notes from the Queen Mother

I love Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving was really wonderful because I had extra time with the King and our two lovely Princesses.

Princess "Caaaa-lalla" (which is how SHE says her name while struggling to pronounce her L's clearly) is growing up way too quickly. She is such a bright, empathetic, loving, funny child - I'm in awe that she came through me. She "lubs" her baby sister so much and will stroke her cheek and say, "Awww, cute!" She has even started helping (offering to) take dishes to the sink after dinner is over. Where the heck did she learn that? She will also take your "order" with a notepad & pencil, pretending to be a waitress, and always asks first if you want "cole slaw" because that is HER favorite thing to order. She begs me to "Play, Mommy" and lays on the floor so I will tickle her or blow Zrbbtts on her belly. Every morning she wakes up with a "busted wig" as her daddy calls it, and even though taming her curls is not her favorite thing, she does love to wear dresses, " 'ipstick" and pretty shoes. Her current request for Christmas: a dress. Anything else? Shoes. My girly girl...

Princess KT is growing, too. She is now 26.5" long and weighs 15 lbs 5 oz. She smiles almost all the time now - switching her formula has made a big difference! She loves her bottle time and being cuddled. She loves being rocked to sleep, and has even started "singing" because her Mama sings her to sleep... She is just starting to eat cereal, but HATED the plain rice cereal, so we add sweet potatoes (big sister's favorite) and she is figuring out how to get it swallowed... Once she gets the swallowing thing figured out, she actually swings her arms, shakes her legs and chases after the spoon for more! These first few feedings are an experience - and of course, we've already had a monster sneeze right AFTER she got a nummy mouthful... This little Princess turns her head at the sound of basketball or football on TV. Kind Daddy may have his star athlete in this one...

The King - well, he's been really wonderful. He has been so supportive of me and so helpful and even turned down some job offers that would have possibly meant more money, but would have definitely meant more time away from home. He has been able to change his job requirements at work, too, which means HE'S happier at work, and which means more time at home with us. He decided that with my PPD and two small kids, we need him at home more - and he's right.

The holidays were really very sweet for me because of the extra time I got with my husband & girls. I loved the time we had with our extended families, but to be honest, having time with my own family was really special and I enjoyed it. There are so many beautiful moments I could recount here, but it would take 3 days to read it all and people would lose interest...

Suffice it to say that I feel like my dream of being a wife & mom has really come true, and I'm not even medicated today... =)

Mini Vacation with the Mini-Mes

How is it that already, at the tender ages of 2 (Princess Mini-Me) and 3 months (Princess Buttercup), the girls already resemble me in personality, looks, temperament, etc??? How amazing is it that the fingerprints of my genes just come busting out of them in ways that prevent me from denying them as my offspring? Not that I'd deny them mind you, but if I ever wanted to, I couldn't...

So I spent 3 days with my side of the family. It was SO FANTASTIC to see my parents, my brothers, their wives & kids. I realized it has been since Christmas 2006 since we had been to visit - they'd not even seen Princess KT yet... My oldest niece is just shy of her 13th birthday - a teenager already. I can remember when I got the phone call telling me she was born and how she had red hair... I was so excited to be an aunt!!! My sisters-in-law, have both lost weight, and for the few hours I spent with them, there were these moments where I actually thought to myself - they're holding Princess KT and Princess CaaaLalla is being entertained by her cousins - what the heck do I do now??? They both cooked dinner for us - Kym makes kick-butt pizza and Lyn made a really yummy Shrimp Linguine, after she bought me lunch at a Mexican restaurant! They got to play with all of their Polish cousins...

Hubby couldn't go - between work and a training class he had to take - he couldn't come with us. But getting away from home - no phone calls for me, no real laundry to worry about, no cobwebs and dust layers mocking me - what a nice little break that was. So yeah, I've got to work on the laundry, cobwebs & dust layers now, but I am a little more refreshed and have a better attitude about it...

AND I even got to sleep in a couple of times (past 6:30 am...) My dad made coffee every morning - mom made special treats - it was really nice to take some time off!!! I feel much better now. Am glad to be back home with my husband and girls - even work isn't too bad today. Sleep lends an amazing perspective to life...