This poor neglected blog!

Thanks for staying subscribed on the off chance that I might actually update on of these days.

Let’s see…the quick version of the last month…

:: I’m obsessed with bows and gerber daisies on headbands, and Master Pieces of Fun Art is my absolute favorite Etsy shop for getting them. We are building quite the collection.

:: I feel ridiculously lucky and spoiled to have Sean home with us all day every day. He is AMAZING as a stay-at-home dad, and not only are the girls benefiting from all this extra Daddy time, but I also get breakfast and lunch brought to me in my office almost every day. How sweet is that?

I’m so glad we spent so much time talking about the transition ahead of time because I don’t think it has been too bad at all. Working on the taxes this last week (on top of my work commitments) made it a little bit tough to stick to my designated work times, but we made it through. I’m considering moving to Costa Rica to avoid that whole tax thing next year, though.

:: Next week, Pumpkin Doodle is getting an appliance to help her stop sucking her thumb. I’m afraid there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth on Wednesday night, so feel free to send chocolate.

:: We recently signed up for the local Classical Conversations coop for next year. I absolutely love this program, and I spent two weeks holding my breath to see if they’d have room for us. We visited last week and it affirmed everything I was already thinking, and they confirmed that we’re in, so that’s exciting! There’s no room for Monkey Doodle this year, but the three little ones will stay home with Sean this year and then we’ll probably start Monkey Doodle and Sweet Doodle in ‘11. I’m excited that it’s a program we can all work on together as a family even though it will look slightly different for each of the girls.

:: Pumpkin Doodle and Monkey Doodle are in swim lessons. Pumpkin Doodle is like a little fish and really enjoying it. Monkey Doodle, on the other hand, says things like:

“Mr. Bill said if I cried, I’d have to do it twice. So I didn’t cry this time.”

“My favorite part of swim lessons is the part where we don’t swim.”

One more week, and I’m honestly ready for them to be over because driving “to town” twice a week in the middle of the day is such a time suck.

:: I think Sweet Doodle is ready to potty train, but I don’t wanna do it. Not my favorite part of parenting, and I prefer the wait-until-they-demand-you-potty-train them approach. Pretty sure we’re almost there, but I just put my hands over my ears and say “La la la” whenever the subject comes up.

:: We think she’s had a little bit of trouble with the transition to me working in my office each day, being more clingy and developing a few new fears over the past couple of weeks, but since we’ve made an effort to give her extra cuddle time and one-on-one time with both of us, she seems to be adjusting much better. Two year olds are my absolute favorite, so I’m glad to have my happy, sweet, inquisitive girl back!

:: Sunshine Doodle is so close to crawling. She gets on her hands and knees and rocks, rocks, rocks, but so far she’s only been able to move forward a couple of times. Last night she finally gave up and started army crawling around. I know we’re in trouble once she starts crawling (from where I sit, I see 3 marbles and 2 lightbrite pieces on the floor, not to mention the top of the staircase…), but I’m still excited for this stage.

:: She also got her first two teeth last week. Hopefully she’ll start sleeping again now that they’re through!

:: And finally, she continues to be the absolute best eater I’ve ever had. We didn’t ever start with watered down baby food, just went straight to smashed up fresh and steamed fruits and veggies, and she’s eaten everything we’ve given her — bananas, avocados, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, pears and butternut squash. I’m working hard to ensure that I give her a wide variety each week so that she won’t turn into a picky eater like a certain 2 and 4 year old I know.

:: Next week, I am also going to attempt to document a week in our life with Ali Edwards. It may be way too big of a project, but I’m going to try anyway.

To be honest, the part that drew me most to this project is I love the idea of taking pictures of things. I take a ton of pictures of our girls, but if I were going to pursue photography as a hobby, that’s the kind of photography I’d want to do. I keep trying to convince Sean to take me to some of the beautiful old dilapidated barns and homes spread throughout the West Virginia, but he has this thing about rednecks and shotguns…

Anyway, I plan to update my notes and pictures here each night (or attempt to…), so that even if I never get around to making them into a book, I’ll still have them documented. Be sure to read Ali’s post for more information about the project!