Sing-A-Long At Sauganash

Marin and Hollis go to a really cute little music class on Friday mornings. The teacher (Mr. Jay) plays lots of movement songs and they dance and sing and do lots of fun things. Its cute....and loud....and a workout. :o)

Hollis sat with Dad while I did "first shift" with Marin. 

Loves it.
There's just enough structure to help them learn how to follow directions in a group and lots of short, fun songs to hold their attention. Lots of movement.

Soaking it all in. 

Taking a break on the stage steps.
Marin loves the stage. Oh dear....

Gotta have those puckered lips. 

Daddy's shift. 

"Going on a bear hunt...."

"Hi"

Here she ditched Dad and went to the center of the circle. 

Taking over the class. 

Just because she is so stinkin' cute. 

Ok, so at the end of class the last song is the "princess song". The kids are supposed to get a partner, hold hands, and dance. This is Marin's FAVORITE part of class. She loves holding hands with her friends. In fact, she loves it so much she doesn't let go of them at the end of the song. Both weeks, I have had to go over and pry her hands away. Last week she cried. Its pretty funny. 

She kinda takes over and just drags everyone where she wants them. :o) 

This picture is funny.
I think they have all figured out who the bossy hand holder is here. 

LOVES the princess song. 

Some ordinary days....

First, here is a video of Hollis and Marin "playing" on the tricycle. Marin loves her bike and Hollis LOVES walking behind her as she rides. If Marin ever takes off without her, Hollis will cry. Marin is pretty good about sharing and giving sister a turn to walk with her but does want her own turn too. Hollis has her own walking toy but, of course, she only wants the one Marin has. :o) 

MVI 3406 from Stacey Brednich on Vimeo.

Sitting on the sofa playing with the cookies. 

Little stinker.

Hollis loves playing with these egg shape sorters. 

Another favorite game of Hollis' is climbing up in the chair.
We surround her with Mickey sofas and big stuffed animals so if she falls there will be some cushion. :o)
But she loves to CLIMB!

See, you can find her here a lot during the day. 

I was saying "no no, don't take your sock off AGAIN,"
So she did and now she's eating it.
Very proud. 

Hollis - 11 Months Old!

 Hollis turned 11 months old yesterday. In one short month, our baby girl will be ONE. What!?! How did that happen?? But lately Hollis loves.....

• to hold on to Marin's tricycle and practice her walking while Marin rides her bike. (a video will be coming soon)
• the books Peek-A-Boo and Grow Up by Nina Laden! She will laugh and laugh while reading it!
• the song Wheels on the Bus! There is a You Tube video that she and Marin both like but Hollis will dance and dance to the song. 
• the egg shape sorter toy. She will take the eggs apart, squeak them, then throw them! She likes to throw....and on that note, balls are still a favorite toy! 
• to use a spoon or fork when she eats. She is getting better and better at picking up her food with a   utensil and she will be so proud of herself! 
• loves, loves, loves playing on the couch. 
• climbing! She climbs on and off the red car (and usually stands up in it...yikes!) and climbing up and down in her rocking chair. 
• "playing" (or pestering) her sister. She still loves playing with Marin but she has also learned what bothers her and will stir the pot a bit when the moment arrives (pulling hair seems to be a favorite....argh!)
• to WALK! She has taken several steps! 
• meat and veggies!! She will gobble down any meat (chicken, fish, beef) I serve her and she loves green beans, peas, sweet potatoes. Not a huge fan of fruit yet but she is a great eater! 
• has 4 bottom teeth!
• says uh oh, baba, dada.

A Few Steps for Hollis

On New Year's Eve, Hollis took her first steps!! Since then, she takes a little bit more each day. Here is a little video of about 6 steps she took one night....giggling the whole time. :o)

MVI 3281 from Stacey Brednich on Vimeo.

Some January Videos

In addition to the Chicken Dance, the girls love the song The Wheels on the Bus. There is a YouTube video of the song that they like to watch and dance to....especially Hollis. Here is a front view of Hollis' excitement.....

MVI 3264 from Stacey Brednich on Vimeo.

And here is a rear view of the dancing.....

MVI 3266 from Stacey Brednich on Vimeo.

And then the good ol' Chicken Dance. Marin is trying so hard to get Hollis to dance with her. But all Hollis wants to do is bang on the computer keyboard on the floor.....

MVI 3276 from Stacey Brednich on Vimeo.

This video makes me laugh really hard. Marin was very determined to get a dance partner.

MVI 3277 from Stacey Brednich on Vimeo.

Resolutions

Ok, I have a lot of things I want to accomplish this 2013. I figured 12 months, surely I can get it done. So....

1. Lose 30 lbs. Yes, 30 lbs. I need to get rid of this two babies in two years weight. So, we are starting Weight Watchers and have found a really good app on the iPad. The app is Nike Trainer. It has several different types of workouts (30 or 45 minutes long) and on all different levels. They are hard and I am usually sore for a couple of days afterward. But then again, I am really out of shape. So, here I go....little by little...one day at a time.....30 pounds.

2. Meal Planning/Grocery Shopping: I have to figure out a way to meal plan and grocery shop. It seems like our bill gets higher and higher every month and I just feel scattered and crazy around dinner time. I subscribe to Emeals, use Pinterest, and shop sales but it can get overwhelming. Trying to eat healthy on your own is hard but then planning and feeding a family is really, really hard. So, surely in 12 months, I can get some kind of system down that won't cost a fortune or make me fatter.


3. Handprint Prayer Cards: I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was sweet. I traced the girls' handprints and then chose a verse to pray for them for the year. Loved it. Hopefully, I can keep it up each year and when they leave us, they can take "handfuls" of prayers with them. Grandparents, you will be getting a handprint prayer card as well to pray for the girlies. :o)

For Marin, I chose 1 John 4:7. She is becoming more and more aware of friends and loves play dates. So, our prayer for her is that she continues to learn how to love her little friends (and to share....). :o)
For Hollis, I chose Psalm 118:24. She got this verse for 2 reasons....first she is the happiest baby ever and I want her to keep her same joyful personality. And second, she is going to be a year old in just a few weeks.  So I want to remember to take each day and "rejoice" in her sweetness because it is happening all too fast! 

3. Pinterest: This is a fun one for me. I love Pinterest and get tons of ideas from there.  I want to try a new idea once a week so that I actually use the ideas I find.

4. Birthday Cards: I want to really try and have the girls "make" and send birthday cards to friends and family. I am TERRIBLE at birthdays but we live in such a technological world that I want Marin and Hollis to know what fun a good old fashioned, snail mail card can be to give. (Sadly, this will probably be the hardest one for me to keep up with....)

5. Camera: I want to learn how to use my camera. I found a blog with a great tutorial and homework assignments that help you learn your camera. So...I've done lesson one already.....

7. Read: Now that our babies are a little older and our life seems to have a bit more rhythm and consistency, I want to be a better reader. For the past 2 years, if I picked up a book, I usually fell asleep. :o)

8. Important papers files: I MUST organize all of our important papers (birth certificates, insurance papers, passports, SS cards, etc.). Right now, it is a mess and needs some help.


Alright, 8 things, 12 months. Here I go.....

Go Reece!

 Our nephew Reece had a hockey tournament about 30 minutes from Chicago a couple of weekends ago, so the girls got some time with their four awesome boy cousins. Hilarious. Marin always needs to adjust a little bit to all the 4 boy commotion. Apparently, we are way too quiet. But she gets used to it and loves the attention. :o) Hollis, on the other hand,  as soon as the boys left, picked up her basketball and threw it at the basketball goal. She apparently learned a few things from those boys. :o)

And....ON CHRISTMAS EVE HOLLIS TOOK HER FIRST STEPS! More on that with some video in another post!

But as always we had a great time with the boys and are so glad that we got to see them!!

So very cute.
They sat at the little table for some meals.
Marin is completely clueless to the camera these days. I guess I use it too much. 

Hudson is so so cute.
And he LOVES Hollis. Hollis is his "favorite brother".
"Hims my favorite brother." 

Hollis does this crazy rocking thing in her high chair and she will move all the way across the room. I have video of it and will post soon. But here Chase is pulling her back for the 100th time. 

Marin reading a book with her big doggy. 

Soaking it all in.
Seriously, several times we would look over at her and she would just be sitting on the floor watching the boys.
It was live entertainment for her.
Plus she learned how to play basketball. 

Aaaaaadorable Pierce. 

This kid is a reader.
Well, all of those boys are readers.
I hope the girls take after them. I should have taken more pictures of them reading so Marin and Hollis can see that their big cousins love to read! 

CHASE!

Reece uh, didn't want his picture taken. :o)

Didn't stop me though.
(the HOCKEY player!) 

Love this one.
Reece is crawling along side Hollis. :o)
Those boys are always so sweet to the girls.  

Hudson was so sweet and brought Marin a Curious George stuffed animal for her birthday.  So sweet. She LOVED it and sleeps with him all the time!