New Year's Day (1/1/12)

We spent our New Year's Day at the Beach - it was the perfect day to go as the weather was so warm. We had a great time; it was KiKi's first time to play at the beach and her first time to touch the sand. Chloe has grown up a lot since the last time we went; she actually put sand on her legs (just last April, she didn't want even a speck of sand touching her while we were in Maui and over the summer, she would play with the sand but as long as she was on the blanket). She also explored all over the beach and had a great time collecting rocks for Daddy.


Grandpa Peter and Grandma Debbie joined us after a while. Uncle Bill (Peter's brother) and cousin Caleb (Bill's grandson) showed up a bit later which was great as Caleb and Chloe had a lot of fun running all over the beach together, playing in the sand, and jumping in the waves (well, Caleb jumped in them, Chloe liked to look at them from the comfort of Daddy's arms).


Here are some pictures from the day:

The Toddler Bed (12/31/11)

There were three milestones that I knew Chloe needed to accomplish not too long after Keely was born: 1) Potty training, 2) Weaning, and 3) Moving into a Toddler Bed. I haven't been looking forward to any of these. Fortunately, around 23 months, Chloe self-weaned so that wasn't as traumatic as I was anticipating since she was one who loved to nurse and her little sister was reminding her of it every 2 hours. But now, Chloe is very content with her cow's milk and doesn't seem bothered at all that KiKi gets to nurse and she doesn't. It's almost as if she forgot that she ever once nursed herself. I'm really not looking forward to potty training as it is a big commitment from the parents and I'm just not ready for it yet so we're putting that one off for a bit (besides, things I've read state that kids typically aren't ready for it until they are closer to 3). 


So, since we are expecting to need the crib for Keely in the next couple months, we thought it was finally time to move Chloe into a toddler bed.Her crib converts to one so we simply removed one side of it and now Chloe can easily get in and out of it. (Once Keely needs the crib, Chloe will be getting a twin sized bed, with railing of course.) 


Her first time to sleep in it was nap time and she did great! Her first night was also uneventful. Her second night, however, found her on the ground twice. Fortunately, the mattress is only 12 inches off the ground so she didn't have too far to go. The first time, she was still asleep on the floor when we saw her and the second time, she was awake but didn't seem too confused or anything by it. She easily went back to sleep for the rest of the night. So far, this transition has gone really smoothly. There were three milestones that I knew Chloe needed to accomplish not too long after Keely was born: 1) Potty training, 2) Weaning, and 3) Moving into a Toddler Bed.

Chloe's teeth marks on the railing

First time to climb in and lay down

"I'm a Big Girl!"

"One little monkey jumping on the bed"

"Got my duckies; I'm all set!"

"Night, Night"

Sharing a bed with her sister already :)

Keely - 4 Months (12/31/11)

Look! I found my toes!

Mommy finally got around to taking better pictures of me in my Halloween outfit

Keely's Accomplishments this Month:

• Started at 12 lbs. 8.2 oz; Finished at 14 lbs. 0.0 oz – a 1 lb. 7.8 oz weight gain
• Started rolling from her back to her side. Then another time, rolled from her back to her tummy and yet another time rolled from her tummy to her back! She hasn't done any of them more than once or twice, but mobility seems like it's just around the corner!
• Using her hands a lot more to put her pacifier back into her mouth (if it's close enough) and to play with toys (mainly to put them in her mouth as well)
• Holding her head up really well most of the day and especially during tummy time
• Laughing and smiling a lot as usual
• Found her toes and even put one in her mouth (She prefers them to be bare and not covered by clothes)
• Gave Mommy her first big, open-mouthed kiss J
• Talking a lot more
• Very interested in anything her sister is doing
• Watched her first parade at Disneyland
• Watched (a.k.a. slept through) her first fireworks show at Disneyland
• Celebrated her first Christmas! (She enjoyed the wrapping paper and how it crinkled beneath her fingers)
• Interested in mirrors and actually looked at Mommy via a mirror a few times
• Starting to blow raspberries and spit bubbles more
• Rubbed her eyes for the first time to show she was tired

Disneyland (12/25/11)

After getting denied entrance into Legoland (we had some free tickets from passholders who called Legoland to make sure they didn't need to be present for us to use them, and Legoland, with only 2.5 hours left of being open, insisted that we couldn't get in without the passholders present - doesn't make us like Legoland very much right now), we decided to take the trip up to Disneyland for the rest of our Christmas Day - what a fun way to spend it!

Grandpa, Nana, and Auntie Becky joined in on the fun.

Chloe needed to hold on to Daddy's hand as we went up, up, and away!

Watching the Fireworks at last! (Over the last 4 visits, the fireworks didn't show for one reason or another - how perfect that we should finally see them on Christmas Day!)