More March

Here we are in March!!  Daylight Savings was yesterday and Easter is around the corner.  Wow!  I can't believe another year has so quickly past from last Spring!

We are currently on Spring Break and enjoying the beautiful weather here (highs in the low seventies and sunny all week).  Our city just renovated 6 of its parks, so I imagine we will visit several of them during this week :)

First off, I love seeing these two together:

I made these bows for the girls (mine and my niece!)

A "Sneak Peek" of some springtime photos we had taken of the girls.  It was kind of windy and we were trying so hard to just get Cecily to look our way.  She was obviously trying to hard to look straight to even consider smiling ;-)  But, Greg and I have talked about it, and we agree that we think the chubby, grumpy, baby frown is pretty adorable and a little funny since Miss Cecily does tend toward the grumpy end of the spectrum much of the time.

Here were my walking buddies the other day.  It was windy, so the hoods were down to block the wind, but they were "talking" to one another around them.

My babies with my brother.

Cecily 8 months

Cecily at 8 months~~

Still curious about her world and exploring it even more.  She can cover a room pretty easily with just her rolling, sitting, and diving combos.  She sometimes gets up her hands and knees, but usually collapses from that position pretty quickly.  I think strength and coordination wise, she is still at least a month out from crawling.  Cecily puts most things into her mouth and also enjoys exploring textured books with her hands.

She is eating some new foods: broccoli, peas, and millet are new from last month.

Even though she is not crawling, she always seems to be moving or reaching for something:

She was my helper out at the farm where we picked broccoli.  I did most of the picking and she sampled some raw broccoli. 

She really likes to explore these kinds of books:

She sits so big in an umbrella stroller- yay! This one is so easy for me to open and close, move in an out of the car, and move her around in stores.

Geneva 3 and 5/6

Updated and pictures added 3/11/2013

FIrst off- This is a pretty classic Geneva-sassy-pose/face.  It was HAT day in her classroom and this is how she posed for the picture I snapped.

She had her first visit to the dentist.  She did great and no cavities!! :) 

Greg and I took her on a special "date" to see SHREK the Musical.  She loved it!!

She was snapping pictures during intermission and I kind of like this one of she and I.

Here she is loving some frozen yogurt.  Always a special treat!

(((I am recording these things so that I do not forget them.  Since this blog has served as a place to mark milestones for the girls, this seems like a natural place.  This is a place to document, not complain or brag-- I just want to remember these moments.)))

Geneva is 3 years, 10 months.  We have taught her to say her age in fractional terms ("3 and 5/6th") and she enjoys it because it makes it sound bigger and closer to 4 than just "three."

Just a few random things about her lately:

Anyone who knows her, knows she can talk and talk and talk.  She WILL wear you out verbally before stopping.  But, with all her big girl talking, she still says cute little 3 year old things like, "Feel" instead of "Spill" and "Yank you" instead of "Thank you."

Tonight, she got out of bed and told me that she up because she was thinking about who her husband will be when she grows up.

What???

Speaking of bedtime, this once easy sleeper has now begun to be VERY difficult to get to sleep at night.  She gets up out of bed many many times and Greg and I have begun to dread bedtime.  We try lots of different things, but nothing seems to encourage nor deter her from being difficult with this right now.  Right now, I have resorted to taking toys out of her room each time she comes out.

Three has been a challenging year for us but bedtime used to be the one thing that seems sacred and immune to her willful independence and defiance.  No longer!

On the other hand- Geneva has begun to work on sounding out small words.  Yesterday, she read "sag" and today, "wag."  Being read to has always been her favorite activity and so she seems especially motivated to learn herself.

And, the other day, she insisted we empty her piggy bank in order to give all of her money to others who need it.

"3 and 5/6" continues to be a paradox of maddening defiance and heartbreaking sweetness.  Either way, we love her to bits and pieces and even try to see the positive in the frustrating behaviors.