Before Naptime

This morning the 3 of us took this beast of a stroller out for a walk. Jim said he feels like he's steering the Titanic when he pushes this double stroller, and I couldn't agree more.
See Jax's new shoes? I love them.
And here is a side view of our cadillac.
We returned from our walk, played, fed the baby about a million times (she's very hungry in general) and made mac n cheese for Jax. Jackie got to use her new Elmo utensils.
At one point she licked the bowl. I thought this was so cute. Velveeta Shells & Cheese is nothing to scoff at.
This is Hillary's outfit yesterday from Aunt Annie. I think it's so adorable I had to take a pic.
This is from 2 days ago- but this happens pretty much every day- Jackie standing over Hillary

Also from a few days ago, the sleepy baby herself.

Random Pictures

I still haven't gotten around to uploading more recent actual good pictures from my camera because waking up every 2-3 hours at night is exhausting. Plus, Jackie started daycare part time so she keeps me busy when I'm home. And once she is in bed, I am in bed not long after. In her waking moments, though, she is loving youtube more and more. We watch more Elmo and Laurie Berkner Band videos than anyone else ever has, I swear. I recently purchased her the Laurie Berkner Band DVD, which we had running at all times yesterday. She still prefers to watch it on the computer, though, which was disappointing. So basically, I put the DVD on, expecting her to be beside herself. She looked up at it and then ran over to the computer asking to watch exactly what was playing on the TV! Oh well!
We were finally brave enough to let Jackie hold Hillary. We asked her, "Do you want to hold the baby?" And she excitedly yelled "Yeah!" and sat up very straight in anticipation of the baby being in her lap.

Once Hillary was on her lap she tried to get Jim and I to leave the 2 of them alone- as a 20 month old, Jax wants to do everything by herself. Once she realized we weren't going anywhere, she started pointing out the different animals on Hillary's outfit.
At one point, Hillary's out-of-control flailing hand lightly tapped Jackie's face. Jackie started cooing and nuzzling Hillary's little hand. Every day it becomes more clear just how much she really does love "baby." I'm floored- I thought she'd be seething with jealousy, but she really wants to help take care of Hillary. Actually, she wants to be Hillary's primary caretaker. Obviously, Hillary does not share this sentiment.
Last night we had what I consider a tragedy. Jax stood up in the tub and faster than I could catch her, fell and hit her mouth. I am still recovering from the image of her falling. Her little mouth was bleeding and she was crying really hard. Jim and I took good care of her and calmed her down. Then we all watched Sesame Street Karaoke- our old standby which is barely working anymore. I am ordering a new copy online today. I don't want to experience life without this DVD. Sorry, Jim, I know you are sick of it!
And, for the heck of it, here are a few shots of Hillary up close that are recent.

She's a sleepy one.

Visitors- 1st Edition

The picture above is about 2 weeks ago. Hillary and Jackie have had so much fun with all the visitors- especially Jackie. She continues to receive tons of gifts. And she recently spent 2 days with Grandma Debbie- she woke up asking for her after she left.

Uncle Mike, Aunt Jeannette, Cousin Connor, Grandma E, Grandma Debbie and Aunt Donna all came. I have pics of this visit, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I will do that tonight.

Below are pictures from Nana and Grandpa's visit. Even Hannah was excited about this visit!

Then Grammy and Pops stopped by!

Jackie loves showing off her new sister!

Due Date

Above is a photo of Hillary- 2 days before her due date (which was Sunday, September 18, 2011)- getting her 2 weeks old infant screening. They poked her in the heel with a needle and took her blood. It seems like just yesterday my mom and I were in the waiting room at St. Francis getting this test done for Jackie!! This time, Jax and my mom were hanging out at home while Hillary and I braved the hospital by ourselves. Her little neck is so weak that driving with her is stressful, as I know her head is fully tilted to the side.
Above is Hillary resting with her dada on an average night, and below is Jax watching Elmo on TV and standing in the baby's bouncy seat.

And, lastly, we have a recent picture of Hillary being burped. I love these shots and I love her hair. It seems like while Jackie had the most perfectly round head (and still does), Hillary has a sweet heart-shaped face. Anyway, that is all. We have workers in our basement removing asbestos so I am kind of trapped upstairs today.

Last Halloween Part 1

Even though Halloween is a way's away, I couldn't help but post some pics that were taken last year around Halloween. I don't even remember Jackie being this small, but I do remember being obsessed with how cute she is (which I still am) and now I remember why!
Above is Hannah stealing Jackie's things, as usual.


I love that Jackie is not afraid of Hannah- even though Hannah is about 3x her size.

Hillary has some cute Halloween outfits in waiting- I bought her a cute Halloween sleep & play before she was born and Grandpa Lee & Nana Marilyn purchased her a cute Halloween onesie. I will be sure to post pictures of her modeling both on here. I kind of want her to dress up as a hot dog for Halloween, but at this age, it would probably just be a waste of money... we'll see!

Personal Space

Jackie made out swimmingly with our recent group of visitors- it was basically Christmas morning for Jax (and Hillary) at our place. The wooden puzzle above was an especially huge hit.


In this series of photos, I was sitting on the love seat holding Hillary. Jackie, as you can see, was diligently (and very seriously) completing her wooden puzzle to my right.
Hannah lurked behind Jax.
Hillary snuggled in my arms.

And Lou passed out cold to my left.

If you are seeking personal space, you will not find it at our house.

Father's Day 2011

Around Father's Day, we had a picnic at Grandpa Lee's, which was really fun. The weather was perfect and it was just generally a nice, relaxing day. As usual, wherever the ball was, Jackie was too.
She hung out with dada.
She sat in the grass looking cute.
She played a lot with cousin Parker, who is so wonderful with his little cousins.
And she also played with cousin Connor- they are 9 months apart and as they grow older, they seem to enjoy playing with each other more and more. It is so adorable to see these 2 together.

At first, though, Jackie and Connor are always a little shy around each other. Then Jackie usually usurps Connor's toys. Then they usually begin to play together. At Connor's 2nd birthday party (photos to come), Jackie sat next to him and started playing with every new toy he opened. Pretty much sounds like every child's worst nightmare!! Haha. But Jackie was not to be deterred from capitalizing on her cousin's birthday.
Anyway, this was a great day.

Fun in May

This May, Jackie's 2nd cousin Mark graduated from high school and had a graduation party. Jackie had a great time hanging out with everyone. I think she especially loves hanging out with Jill, who always takes the time to engage her in fun activities (as seen below).



She even got to hang out with cousin Jenna, who was home for the summer from Syracuse.





She definitely was not shy at this picnic. Mark's iPod playlist was on, and Jackie didn't hesitate to start grooving to the music. In the background of this picture, you can see another baby- a 1 year old. Jackie played a little bit with that little girl as well. The dress Jackie wore is a hand-me-down from her cousin, Finley.