"the green"

The common "yard" in the middle of the cohousing we live in is called by my family "the green".  It is so fun there when a group of people spontaneously gather and play, chat, eat or just hang out.  Sometimes, Avi will wake up and want to go to the green at 7:30 in the morning - she doesn't realize that since it's morning and colder out that nobody will be there.  

Mila not crawling yet so she just hangs out on a blanket.

Neighbor Lucy acts as big sister to push Avi then play with Mila. 

Avi is always stopping by to give a little hug and kiss to her sister.  She loves her so much!

  Mila's first swing ride - and Avi gets to buckle her in!  Life couldn't get much better for Avi who likes to spend many moments of her days right now buckling and fastening her dolls and stuffed animals into different places. 

 Mila LOVES the swing!

...and is a little tired of it after a while....

Avi doesn't want to look at the camera.  Maren doesn't care, she's just happy to hold her "baby" for a minute!

March Mila!

9 months old and this baby is cute as ever!    

There are sooo many things to love about a baby's body, but one of my favorites is how short the arms are (or how large the head is)!  Look at how her nearly straight arm barely comes to the top of her head!

 Mila started eating solids about a month ago.  She LOVES sitting at the table with us and sharing a meal. In fact, the social aspect is just as important to her as the nutritional part, it seems!

 She wants to hold her own spoon, but that just spells M-E-S-S!

Activities with Friends

There really is so many fun things to do on the Central Coast with kids!  We love it here!  Here's just a random week in our girls lives - hanging out at the park and going to an open gym session.  Both my girls were happy - it's fun that Mila is starting to "come out" (of the ergo baby sleeping) and be part of the activities!

Of course, one should wear a princess skirt to the playground!

Mila has discovered the fun of pulling grass (and trying to put it in her mouth)!

Mila and Fiona.

Avi crawling after Fiona.

Avi stopping in for a Mila kiss!

Mila just started standing up - she's SO proud of herself!

Avi and Cousin Katelyn playing!

Sand!

Considering how close we leave to the beach, it's amazing how fast time flies and we don't make it there (and in this case - how fast Mila is growing and maturing).  This was the first time I really set her down on the beach.  Of course, she's been going to the beach since the first week of her life, but now that she can sit up on her own it is a different story!

Sand feels so interesting and fun!

At first she just touched the sand with her hands, but soon the sand went into her mouth when I turned to look at her sister on the swing...

February 2014

Carl's famous soda tasting on SuperBowl Sunday.

Eating popcorn with Millie and Halle.

Sleeping in the Ergo.

First time I put Mila in the shopping cart!  Of course, then Avi put her doll Rico in her cart, too!

The next time we went to the grocery store, I thought, should I put Mila in the cart?  I decided to wear her in the Ergo instead because I thought, how much longer will I be able to wear her close to my heart like this.  Well, thankfully she was not in the cart that day because when I turned around to get something off the shelf, Avi tried to climb into the cart (something she had never done) from the long-side and tipped the cart over on herself!  Oh my!  It was bad enough on Avi (she didn't get any lasting owies, but she did get scared and cried a lot), thankfully Mila was on my chest.  

Sitting on Heidi's lap at BooBoo's

Business lunch with Teacher Dina!  Right after this picture was taken, Mila fell through the high chair - the leg straddle chord was not attached but it looked like it was!  It was so traumatic for mommy, but Mila barely cried!

Both of us carrying and kissing our babies!

Having fun trying on Macy's shorts.

Mila loved this walker and both older sisters loved pushing their "babies'' around.

Both breastfeeding our babies.  I love how Avi is such a thoughtful Mommy.

Visiting Mimi and Boppy in Fresno in their bed in the morning!

 

 Sitti got Avi and Mila matching outfits.  Avi was thrilled!  She thinks when you match it means your in love, she says things like, "Look, Mila and I are twins, that means we love each other."

 I LOVE this little person!

Ahhh... warm February days!

Mila loved the water!

Use 3 spoons at one time?  Why?  Because you're four!

She loves her animals and friends.  Usually, one is tucked in her arms, too!

Michael's 40th birthday party - it was a good bash!

This simple one night trip to Sierra Summit ski resort will be a favorite memory of mine for a long time.  My mom took two days off to help us with the kids so we could ski.  She slept in a top bunk, we all barely got any sleep, and she happily played with my kids - and even had fun. I loved it because we got my mom all to ourselves for a night!  We had a really nice simple dinner and just enjoyed each other!

 We all love Mimi!

Looks fun, right?!  Ha!

Avi is so happy and proud to feed Mila!

Oh, yes, they both fit in Sitti's sink!