Day 334: Side Eyes

It was cooooooold outside this morning.  Sivan didn't seem to think much of it.  I think she's giving Mother Nature the side eye.

"Seriously?  You seriously expect me to be outside in this?"

"Haha, just kidding.  I'm cool.  I got a jacket and a cute owl hat - what else could I need.  Let's go!"

Day 333: Lazy Sunday

We got back late last night, so we did not want to do much today.  We started off with a lazy day in bed.

New word alert - Sivan now says that puppies say "oooof."  It's adorable.

Later we went over to our friends' new home, which was absolutely gorgeous.  We had dinner together and the kids all played together.  Apparently Sivan's friend E shares in her love of trying to bust in on me when I'm in the bathroom.  After much knocking and "mamamamama"s, I opened the door to this.

She's forgiven.

Day 332: Lady Liberty

After staying over in a hotel in northern New Jersey, we made our way to the ferry that would take us over to Liberty Island to see Lady Liberty herself.  Michal was absolutely beside herself with excitement, and Sivan had a good time herself.

I can't take credit for this picture - Joshs caught a good one.

Sivan absolutely must do everything her big sister does.  Michal started to walk along this ledge, so Sivan insisted she get up to do the same.  At one point Michal came back to hold Sivan's hand and lead her along.  They're awesome.

I don't know how we managed to get all five of us in here.  And looking at the camera.  At the same time.  And mostly smiling.  It was a fantastic day.

Day 331: Thanksgiving, Part Deux

We decided earlier in the week to take advantage of the long weekend and take a short trip up to New York to visit the Statue of Liberty, since Michal has been absolutely obsessed with it since an earlier civics unit in kindergarten.  We took advantage of the trip to stop by my uncle's house in New Jersey, and we were fortunate enough to join them for Thanksgiving dinner, since they were celebrating on Friday instead of Thursday.  It was an absolutely lovely meal, seeing family and meeting other family.  The girls had a blast, and Sivan was quite taken with the fish in this tank.

You get some good attack eyebrow action here.  

She thought they were pretty nifty.  I'm not sure she's seen real fish up close before - they are certainly less animated than Bubble Guppies!

Day 330: Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving!  We went to Josh's aunt's house for dinner, which meant lots of good food, good company, and friendly dogs to keep the kids company.  For some reason, both girls were absolutely obsessed with going outside.  I can't blame them, as the weather was amazingly beautiful, just about sixty degrees and sunny.  We were very fortunate.

What do you mean I can't go outside?  This is me judging you. 

Being generally adorable 

Goodness she is cute when she smiles 

Serious baby once she got outside.  Not sure why she was so serious here - we were playing catch with Chaco and Sivan was amused at the dog running all over the place.

So much to be thankful for, this year and every year.  Hope everyone had a great holiday.

Day 329: Weird Angles

Just an assortment of random pictures from today. They all seem to be taken from weird angles, mainly because Sivan can be a pain when I try to take pictures. When I did this project with Michal, she was much more easily trained to smile on command (yes, this might not be SUCH a grand thing to have taught her). Sivan just doesn't care.  Gotta admire that in her, the stubborn wee thing. 

Hanging out with me on the couch. She loves these connector toy pieces. 

I spy a near smile!

I tried for five minutes to take a picture of her in this diaper (my very favorite) and playing with this music cube. It took laying on my back and angling it up to get something that worked. 

Day 328: Baby, It's Cold Outside

We've had a bit of a cold snap lately, and Sivan has finally accepted the inevitability of having to wear a coat and hat (this one, direct from Bolivia). 

Isn't she just the cutest?!

And now I remember that I need to get her gloves. I'm getting there. 

Day 327: Grocery Shopping Miracle

I do not frequently go out of my way to do any shopping with both kids. Or even one kid. If I have my dry there, I would wander the aisles of Target gloriously alone. I love my girls, but frankly shopping with them makes herding cats seem easy.

Enter Wegmans and the greatest invention of all time. The Car Cart. 

It's just a plastic fixture on top of a cart. Shaped like a car with seats and steering wheels for two. And Michal is probably too big, but she wants to go into the cart and then I can speed around the grocery store like my own private rendition of Supermarket Sweep. (Oh how I miss the best game show ever). 

Look. It even causes them to pretend to like each other. Psych. They totally do. 

So much perfection in this picture. Michal is the clown and Sivan is not impressed.

Seriously, the cart made this one of the most pleasant shopping trips ever. EVER. 

Day 326: Zombie Baby

She wants to eat your brains!!!

Okay get this thing off (approximately three sexonds later. And then three seconds after THAT? She demands to have it on her face again).

Day 325: Happy Girl

Her pictures don't always portray Sivan as a happy kid. Her attack eyebrows and facial expressions are pretty fantastic, but her resting expression is not frequently one of great joy. But she is an incredibly happy kid.

She has such a great smile. 

Day 324: Lounging Around

It's so nice that even though they are four years apart in age, they can enjoy a television show together.  

It works best if it is Mickey. Because it means Sivan got her way. 

Day 323: A Question of Molars

If you look carefully at Sivan's shirt, right around the neckline, you will see just one of the pieces of evidence we are starting to collect that she may be getting in her second year molars. The child is an overachiever. No clue where she gets that from.

Not only are we starting to see her putting her hands in her mouth a bit more frequently, but the drool is starting to pick up (hence the shirt), and there have been other less appealing signs (I will spare you). 

Hoping it is quick. It'd be nice to be "done" with teeth for a bit. 

Day 322: Unwanted Visitor

Michal wasn't on top of her game tonight, and she basically missed the opportunity to say goodnight to hersister before I put Sivan to bed. She was probably being silly and hiding under her bed or something. So she decided to climb into the crib (never a good idea) to give her sister a hug. 

Sivan did NOT approve. Unfortunately I did not capture a picture of the aftermath (mainly because I was trying to extricate the five year old before the toddler went nuclear, but it wasn't pretty. Or quiet. 

Day 321: Somebody...

...woke up on the wrong side of the crib. 

Day 320: Rice Drop

Rice drop. With eyebrows in attack mode. 

Day 319: Peanut Butter (without) Jelly Time!

Who doesn't love lunch?!

Day 318: Following Directions

Sivan's receptive language has really taken off lately. She might not have many words of her own, but she sure understands what we say. I love when I can tell her to put something away, or to take a clean diaper to daddy (so I don't have to change the smelly butt), and she does it!

She was very helpful putting the fruit snacks back in the box. Of course I would rather she not dump them out in the first place, but at least she digs putting them away. 

She puts them away in a bunch of other places. At least this time it was the actual box. 

Day 317: Healthy Baby

Today was Sivan's 18 month check up.  We love our pediatrician and always enjoy the visits, especially when she tells us how wonderful our girls are. I won't disagree. At least not too often. 

She's a big kid, our Sivan. While at previous well child checks I found her height to mirror Michal's almost exactly, this time she decided to branch out on her own. It's just one snapshot in time, of course, but as of today she is 1.25" taller than her sister. Who knows what will be, but it may be history repeating itself (I'm 4-5" shorter than my two younger sisters). 

97th percentile for height. And 100% perfect. 

Day 316: 18 months!

Today Sivan is 18 months old. We have her well baby check up tomorrow, so it'll be exciting to mark all of the different ways in which she has grown.  It never gets old, contemplating how quickly time flies and it seems like just yesterday she arrived.

Today, she decided to experiment with new hair accessories. 

Nailed it. 

Day 315: Other Mother

I promise that I don't have a complex about this, but Michal has another mother whom she loves to death. We were so incredibly fortunate to find Marisol when we were looking for someone to watch Sivan while we were at work. From the first time we met her, when Sivan was three months old, she asked to hold her and proceeded to rock her to sleep as we talked. Now, over a year later, Sivam still adores her, and I know the feeling is reciprocated. Most mornings, as soon as Sivan sees Mari, a wide grin spreads across her face and she can't get to her fast enough, sometimes closing the door in my face with nary a wave. 

That is a smile for her Mari. 

I wish I could have taken a picture of her closing the door on me. I'm not joking. She reaches for it and closes it shut. She's definitely the boss. 

Day 314: A Cautionary Tale

When you wake up too early, you might think this is how you'll spend your commute to day care...

Just getting in a bit of light reading. 

But before you know it...

It is ridiculous how jealous I was of this kid. Wish I could be driven to work while I get to snooze in the back. 

Day 313: Surrounded by Weirdos

Surrounded by weirdos today. These crazy kids. Sivan was all of the place, climbing on me so as to have a better position from which to climb onto the couch. Then off the couch to squeeze between couch and great grandma's chair to get.... nothing? And then an impromptu baby/kid yoga session. At one point, Sivan started doing a rotational Downward Dog. #advancedyogababy

Day 312: Hat Tricks

I'm not sure if she likes her hat or not. She seemed a bit mixed today. Sometimes she left it on, which is a major win. And then she'd tear it off. 

I hope she grows to love it. It was brought especially for her all the way from Bolivia. Very special gift. 

Day 311: Pears and Pretending

Just your regular Saturday afternoon with sisters snacking and imagining with toys and dress up.

She really likes eating these pears. 

Off to work with her "briefcase"

Big sis pretending as well

Day 310: Working Girl and Errands

Since I took yesterday off, I brought Sivan in to the office to attempt some work. It has been a really long time since she's been at work. During her first year I tried to work with her in the office one day a week, but she just didn't want to make that happen. I ended up getting more accomplished at home, so consequently many of my coworkers hadn't seen her in a while. She's changed a bit. 

For example, she now types 80 words a minute. #giftedbaby

Just kidding. She can't type 80 words a minute. 

After it was determined that not much work would be accomplished in the office, I grabbed what I needed to finish at home (this was the expected eventuality, if I'm being honest with myself). On the way home, we stopped at Wegman's to get a few groceries and some lunch. 

Helping me push the cart 

Checking out the juice selection. 

I shouldn't have let her out of the cart. She refused to go back in. Since she's somewhere between 30-35 pounds at this point, carrying her without my Tula carrier is pretty much a non-starter. We finished up the shopping trip quickly. 

Later, lunch, and a nap (for Sivan) and work (for me), and then picking up big sister. 

She seems thrilled.

Just another busy Friday.