Scarlett's First Birthday` and misc

9.21.10

So I'm a bad blogger...sue me. It's been a while, folks! Much has happened! So far this year, Scarlett has grown like a weed and time is flying by! The Richards family went on vacation to Port Aransas in South Texas this summer and had a blast at the beach and pool.




Scarlett is almost one year old now! She progressed quickly from crawling to walking and has four teeth and a few more on the way! She babbles and sings all the time. She loves, loves, loves Chloe Jane! She has been fighting off a virus lately, but even that doesn't stop her from eating! Peas and Nana's mashed potatoes are her favorites! Here are some pics of her birthday party this past weekend (she really wasn't feeling well at all, poor thing):













Chloe Jane is four years old now and loving her new class at school. This summer she had her first big dance recital and did really well (she was the best one, of course)! We are now in gymnastics class. Chloe loves getting manicures and pedicures with Mommy!

Christmas 2009

1.08.10

Better late than never, right? The Richards family had a wonderful Christmas this year! Chloe's favorite presents were her Tag reader, playhouse, scooter, digital camera and Handy Manny Repair shop! What a haul! She kept saying how good she must've been all year to get so many presents! Truly, her favorite presents were the balloons and balloon pump Santa left in her stocking. I'll remember that the next time I'm tempted to make a major purchase (like a playhouse). :) Ain't that always the way??? Scarlett's favorite gifts included her Nightlight Turtle, a CD player to play her lullaby music at night and a light up musical toy for the car. We loved having Nana and Papa and Aunt Sherry and Kristy here for the holidays! We even got a special visit from Grandad, Aunt Beth, Drew, Ryan and Madison just before Christmas. What a treat! Chloe LOVES her cousins!



Scarlett all snuggled up in her Christmas gear:


Mimi and Chloe making cookies for Santa:


Chloe is soooooo excited to see all the toys under the tree!!!


For MOI?!??


Scarlett and Nana ready for Christmas Eve service:


Poppy and Chloe with her Handy Manny Repair Shop:


Chloe and Daddy baking with her new Princess Oven that bakes with ice. How do you bake with ice, you ask? You don't. It is DISGUSTING. Only a three year old could eat that stuff. But we just have to wait until she is a little older for the Easy Bake. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.


Hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas as well. We are looking so forward to what the new year will bring! Bring on 2010!

Sugarplum Fairies

12.13.09

Chloe Jane had her first mini dance recital on Saturday. Needless to say, it was precious. They danced to "The First Noel" and dressed as little sugarplum fairies. Not to brag, but I will -- Chloe is one of the tallest girls in the class, but they moved her front and center because she knew the dance the best (which is really not saying all that much). Sigh. She takes after her Momma. :) Here is the two minute dance clip:

Enjoy!


Scarlett continues to grow and do new things every day. She is such a sweet baby and is starting to smile more and even laugh out loud! She has slept for stretches as long as 7 hours at a time (of course not consistently, don't be ridiculous!). Enjoy this video of Scarlett in her Bumpo chair at only nine weeks old! Wowza!



Chloe is really excited about Santa this year, although not excited enough to sit in his lap or anything crazy like that! We are really enjoying celebrating the holiday season through the eyes of a three year old. Talk about magical!

Halloween '09

11.5.09

We had a great time at a Halloween birthday party this year! Our two little ladybugs all dressed up for Trick or Treat!


And here is Chloe Jane and her cousin Benjamin during a playdate. (Benjamin is dressed as a magician--that's all the dress up I could improvise for a boy):



Scarlett officially has acid reflux and we have started on Prevacid. When she keeps her meds down, life is good. If she spits it up, let's just say it makes for a loooong night of feeding and crying, crying and feeding. Overall, she is still a sweet, sweet baby. She reminds me sooo much of Chloe. Scarlett is becoming more and more aware and staying awake for longer periods of time.

Chillin in her bouncy seat with her Lamby (check out the size of those feet!):


Chloe continues to adjust well to life as a family of four. Although, she seems to be a little jealous of the baby's toys??? What do you think???




Scarlett's first tummy time:

Sisters

10.27.09

Sigh. I always wanted a sister. (Love ya, Daniel!) So it does my heart good to see my girls together. They are just too sweet!

Sisters:


Scarlett has started spitting up more often; we remain hopeful that she doesn't have the dreaded acid reflux! Other than that, she is still sleeping well (as well as a newborn can sleep) and doing fine. Although she is a relatively chill baby, she does have her moments. Of course, it isn't her that has a temper and starts screaming. It is obviously her alter ego, Rojo Loco (closely related to Chloe's alter ego, Coco Loco). But even Rojo isn't THAT bad! Things are going well!

Sleeping Baby at almost 3 weeks old:


Chloe is excited for this week. Pumpkin carving, trick or treating, candy, Halloween dress up parties at school and this weekend to attend. And best of all, she gets to wear her costume to ballet, even!!! How exciting! I will post pictures of the costumes after Halloween this weekend. Happy Fall!

Scarlett Ruth

10.20.09

It has been a long time since my last post and we've been very busy. On September 30, 2009 at 5:43, we welcomed Scarlett Ruth to our family. She weighed 8 lbs exactly and was 21 inches long. We all think that she looks a lot like Chloe Jane did when she was born!



So far, Big Sister Chloe is doing well. She hasn't asked us to take her back to the hospital yet, which we think is a good sign! She loves her little sister!



We are settling into life with two kids and adjusting to find our new normal. I have another three weeks off of work for maternity leave. I am enjoying bonding with Scarlett very much.



It is amazing to watch our two girls together!


Scarlett sleeps very well for a newborn -- anywhere from 3 to 5 hours at a time. So far, it doesn't seem like she has the acid reflux issues that Chloe Jane struggled with for the first few months. We are hoping that doesn't change!



We promise to update often with lots of new pics of our girls!!!

The Waiting Game/Whale Watching

9.26.09

Sorry about the lack of blogging lately, but I have been very tired again in the last trimester. I know, I know, bad Mommy. Let's see, what have we been up to lately? Mostly just trying to keep busy. Chloe wanted to have her hair done like Hannah Montana. As usual, her wish is my command:

I guess these are her performance faces???








Some friends of ours brought over their little baby girl and Chloe was amazed by how tiny she was. My friend Kim also brought over her adorable baby boy Griffin, and Chloe was excited to watch him learning to walk! It definitely gave me some piece of mind to watch her interact with those two babies!

I swear she is only hugging him:

Look at her tiny feet!

I have no idea what she was doing here?



Chris, Chloe and I are MORE than ready for Scarlett to make her debut. Okay, so maybe it's just me. I'm getting more and more uncomfortable/miserable. Next Wednesday I will be induced if I don't go into labor before then. We will keep you posted!
I guess I am that huge? I certainly feel it!