Elmo vs Elmo

Daddy was out of town on business and couldn't do day care pick-up, so Henry and I went to get Alexa! It was early, so we went over to my friend's house to play with her daughter, Anne. Alexa showed off her Elmo T-shirt, which impressed Anne very much. But nothing could top Anne's over-the-top Elmo house shoes! They were the best!

Photo Shoot with Henry

Henry is wearing an adorable navy and cream romper and matching hat from GAP. It was on sale when we were at the Mall last weekend and I couldn't help it. Look how cute he is?! Yes, this is what he's wearing in the music class photo as well. Super cute, huh? Love his smile. See those dimples?!

Photo shoot with Alexa

Alexa is wearing a new purple shirt and sweater that Mommy found for half-off at a cute children's store near where Henry's baby yoga class is held. It's paired with grey pin-striped GAP pants from a consignment store and a colorful scarf from Grandma Lil! Inspired by daycare putting her in braids, Mommy gave it a try and look how cute! Alexa is totally posing for the camera. Love it!

Music class!

We signed up for an 8-week music class with some of Alexa's friends. It was great! The kids got to ride horses, play band instruments, wave scarfs, shake rattles... They had a blast! It was so loud that Henry fell asleep. :-)

After lunch and Alexa's nap, we headed to a nearby park for some fun. Alexa pushed her baby doll in the swing, took her and a sticker book down the slide and then discovered a little play house where she could "make cupcakes"!

Alexa takes the train! Henry does yoga!

A little bit of gender reversal today. Alexa got to ride the train to school today with Daddy. She was a little nervous at first, but then couldn't stop talking about the big train that goes Choo Choo Chugga!

Meanwhile, Henry and Mommy went to another baby yoga class with baby Chaney. What did Daddy think about that? "Smart boy. He already knows that chicks dig yoga." And what did Chaney's mom say? "He's on the Approved list." Nice. Way to make a good first impression with the parents!

Which hat is cuter?

Seriously. Can you even pick one? I mean, is Henry Super Cute or Super Duper Cute? What a great hat model. The hats from Zutano. Alexa has one in pink like the yellow one and Henry has several in the other style. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions!

Henry and Ryan hang out

We drove out to Virginia today to visit my friend and baby Ryan, who is about a month old. Henry, who is almost 4 months old, went to Ryan's baby shower and has seen him at least a couple times before. But this time, the boys hung out in Ryan's crib doing, you know, boy stuff. So cute!

My good little sleeper

Henry has been in his crib now for about a week. And since he's so close to rolling over, we had to stop using the Miracle Blanket. He's now in a sleep sack. And he's been sleeping really well! Basically, he passes out around 9-10-11 p.m. and sleeps until the morning! One night he went from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. That's TEN HOURS! Amazing. Love big babies!

Fun in the snow!

Yesterday afternoon, after Alexa's nap, we put on her new purple snow pants and went outside to play in the snow! She loved throwing chunks of snow and watching it break into pieces. Her snow pants, meanwhile, are soooo big on her. They'll definitely fit her next year. Which is good because this year is shaping up to be one without much snow. This was our only snow that stuck and it's already almost gone!

Mall race cars are the BEST!

After yesterday's snowfall, we decided to head indoors for some mall fun. Alexa was excited to go to the bounce place again and ran in before we could stop her! However, she soon tired of the bouncing. Daddy wasn't sure what to do with her until he discovered... The mall race car! She LOVED it! Yay!

Henry's 1st Snow!

Unlike Alexa's first winter in 2009 when we got dumped with record amounts of snow, we only got a couple of inches last night. However, considering that it's already late January and this is the first snowfall of the winter that has stuck, we were excited to go play! Looks like Henry got his snowsuit just in time! Just like Alexa's first snowfall, Henry fell asleep pretty much right after all the snow fun!

Alexa in braids!

Well look at this... Alexa came home from daycare in braids! I love it! I'm sort of sad that the first time she has braids I didn't put them in. But to be honest, there is NO WAY I could get her to sit still for this! I'm going to have to ask her daycare teachers what their secret is!

Henry shows off his new snowsuit!

I wanted something really warm for him to wear when he goes on neighborhood walks at daycare. REI had an insulated snowsuit on sale for $45 but I figured I'd check out the Wiggle Room consignment store first... Look what I found! Only $16 but since I had a $16 credit from consigning, it was FREE! The snowsuit is a brand new Le Petit Rothschild, which retails for $50. What a deal!

So close!

Henry is on the verge of rolling over! He is SO CLOSE! I just want to push him over. This is very exciting, but also sad because then we need to stop using the Miracle Blanket. Go, Henry, go!

My little copycat :-)

Play date with Catherine!

Alexa has known Catherine for almost her whole life! They first met when she was 5 days old. She had her first play date with Catherine. And they hung out many times over their first few months! So it was wonderful to get the girls together again. Alexa shared her new trampoline. Catherine loved it!

Alexa also shared her new car... As in, let's both drive it -- together!

Rigby's 1st Birthday Party!

Alexa and Henry had a great time at Rigby's 1st Birhday Party! We loved this place from Nate's party and were excited to go again. Alexa had a blast jumping on the trampoline and swinging from the bars with her friend Kaitlyn. She also had fun on the wooden boat with Rigby and playing bubbles with Cella Marie! Henry took a little train ride, but mostly hung out with Daddy.

To see how much these girls have grown, here's a flash from the past... Alexa, Cella Marie, Kaitlyn and Rigby less than a year ago!

Henry: I'm ready for some playoff football!

Henry and Alexa ... My babies!

Henry loves his toys!

Thank goodness I got this activity mat in gender neutral colors! It came in pink and purple but I liked these vibrant colors more. Well, now Henry can enjoy it too! He loves batting at the hanging toys and grabbing onto the rings. Here he is laying on a plush bar mat as well. And playing with a Haba toy I got him! Oh, and check out his outfit... an adorable Hannah Anderson romper from one of Daddy's friends! 

Henry's 1st visit to day care!

I had a meeting at my office, so Henry got to check out day care for three hours! He had a good first day: drank his bottle, took a nap and enjoyed watching the mobile. Way to go, Henry!

Look what Henry got in the mail today!

I really need to have this framed. I still haven't done anything with Alexa's card from the White House. Click HERE to see Alexa's card. I love how the note is different!

In case you can't read it, here's what it says: 

Welcome to the world! Your arrival is a cause for great celebration for your proud family. We wish you a long and happy life filled with chances to learn, ideas to explore, people to love, and dreams to fulfill.

Let's Go, Steelers!

Alexa and Henry were so cute decked out in their Steelers gear that we decided to take ONE good photo to post on Facebook. Here are the outtakes of our quickie photo shoot! We started with these shots...

Then, Daddy got out the "Terrible Toddler Towel" and we got some more animated shots! So cute! The large one below is the one we ended up posting on Facebook. Do you agree with our choice?

Our little Elmo (video)

Check out this cool hooded sweatshirt that Alexa got for Christmas from Aunt Kelly, Uncle Ben and cousin Athea! It is red with an Elmo face and has Alexa's name on it! Wow! She loves it and wants to wear it every day. However, she refused to let me take a photo, so this is the best I could do!

More of Alexa at our neighborhood park!