Riley's Big Girl Room

Riley actually currently occupies two rooms in our household-- her original nursery and her new "big girl room." Noelle is renting the big girl room at this moment, but we're hoping-- when I get up the courage to try it-- that Riley will easily transition into her toddler bed. But anyway, Riley LOVES her big girl room, and it just got even better with the help of Uncle B-man...

Jenn Swank and Erin Hoekstra helped paint these gorgeous PBK-inspired trees on the wall... Well, let's be honest; they painted, and I helped. :O)

Two owls, made specially by the uber-talented Uncle Brandon, decided to perch in one of the trees. Riley can actually pull the lower one off and play with it.

Here's a close-up of one of these adorable owls.

And owls now adorn the windows, too!

Fashion Show! Fashion Show! Fashion Show at Lunch!

Here's the good news... The way the girls' schedules currently work, Riley and I get to spend a lot of quality time together in the morning. Noelle sleeps really well in the bassinet, and I love that I don't have to neglect Big Sister for the whole day while I'm feeding and comforting Noelle. The bad news is that once Riley goes down for her nap, Noelle is most definitely awake. That means that sleep-deprived Mommy doesn't really get a shot at a nap. This leads to more good news, though. I do get to update the blog while Noelle swings contentedly. Uh... bonus?

I also get to do little photo shoots of Noelle without having to pose and safeguard her from her loving but at times overzealous older sibling. Here are some samples from a couple that I've done lately.

We definitely had to get a shot of the Baby's First Christmas pj's.

Alright... so those of you who are particularly observant will realize that Noelle is older than two weeks (Christmas Day) in these pics. So sue me... :)

"You want me to LIFT my head, Mom? Really?"

I'm calling this one "Singing". I'm pretty sure that's what she's doing.

Yeah, she's not singing in this one.

Look at that concern on her face. I think she's wondering when Mom will get over the joy of these photo shoots. I have bad news for you, kiddo...

I think this is my favorite Noelle picture so far. What a beauty!

Third Post Today... Can't Help Myself

Sorry. I really just can't help myself. Noelle's in the swing, and Riley (as you'll see in a moment), is amusing herself in her own special way...

Playdate with Robbie...

We braved the snow this morning. Totally worth it.

This is Riley, shaking her groove-thang... very seriously.

Then we came home and played in the basement-- me on the computer, Noelle in the swing, and Riley... well... you see.

No matter what you're wearing, you must make sure you have the proper accessories.

A Bit Delayed... But Too Good NOT to Post

Okay... so about three weeks ago, our neighbor, Connie Tameling, who is a professional photographer, stopped by to take some quick shots of little Noelle. I'm only just now posting them (sorry!), but they are AMAZING! Check out her website (cmtphotography.blogspot.com) or find her on facebook. She does a phenomenal job.

Look at her teeny tiny feet compared to my ring!

I love that she's sticking out her tongue. :)

This is a very typical Noelle look... the furrowed brow. :)

Fairies and Assorted Fun

Yesterday, Kona got to have a surprise playdate with Heidi, our Bernese Mountain Dog neighbor. Needless to say, she was ecstatic. And I wish I had snapped some shots because these are two of the most gorgeous dogs you'll ever see, but alas... I'm sure I'll have plenty more opportunities, though. I mention this not only because Kona receives next to no blog time but also because Susan (Heidi's "mom") brought with her a gift for Riley and Noelle. First, she brought us an adorable tea time-themed growth chart. I'd been wanting to get one but had never done so, so it was perfect. I can't wait to chart both girls! Maybe we'll make up Riley's heights from the past 21 months. Hmmm...

But Susan also brought Riley a heart fairy outfit. Naturally, we had to try it on immediately.

Checking out the wand. Also note the plethora of stickers she's attached to the front of her top.

Admittedly, the tiara was a wee bit tight.

Close-up of the cute butterfly wings

This was the best shot Riley would allow. She's not all that in to posing for me these days. Maybe when I get a better camera... Hmmm... ;)

She did, however, show me her wand when I asked. I love this shot.

Another unphotographed event was Riley's blossoming gift of nurturing. She almost makes me cry; she's so sweet. Yesterday, she gently laid her doll then Piglet then Pooh-Bear in Noelle's carseat, making sure they were properly taken care of by covering them with a blanket, burp cloth, hat and also tossing in Kona's toy squeaky squirrel, just in case anyone got bored. However, my favorite Mother Riley moment of the day was when she took our home phone and lovingly laid it in the bouncy seat. She then looked at me, put her finger to her lips, and said, "Shhh!" Blatantly disregarding her directive, I said-- in my normal speaking voice-- "Is the phone sleeping?" She looked at me again and repeated, "Shhh!" "Oh!" I quieted down, "Should we whisper?" Riley, gently reprimanding me, nodded her head. I can hardly stand how much I love this girl.

Noelle, meanwhile, is just a darling of a baby. At one point, while I was reading to Riley, Noelle snuggled up with her favorite blankey. Her chubbiness was too cute not to get on film.

Check out that sweet round face! Actually, yesterday, Riley was pointing out parts of Noelle's face (ear, nose, cheek...), and after pointing to Noelle's chin, she then pointed to it's accompanying sweet chubbiness. "Uh... double-chin, I guess," I told her. :)

New Header

I had to add a comment about the new header picture, which I'll post again here-- just for fun.

I can't get enough of these two girls together. Riley LOVES holding her little sister. It's pretty much the best bribery in the world... if it's necessary and not that we do that... Hmmm...
Anyway, this was Riley's reaction to Noelle's pooping (for the fourth time this morning) while in her lap. I suppose poop is funny at all ages. :)

Another cute sister pic. Love them.

And Now for the Dog and Pony Show

Yesterday was quite the event. Little Noelle had her one-month check-up, so Mom, Riley and Noelle all got to make their first real excursion into the outside world. It quickly made me see why new mothers of two don't make it out much.

Getting the girls into the car and into the doctor's office, not a big deal. I actually was feeling pretty darn good about myself. That rosy, warm feeling lasted through the appointment, too. Noelle "The Tank" Green impressed the doctor by showing off her three new inches and equally amazing three new pounds-- bringing her to 7 lbs, 11 oz and 20.5 inches. Riley wandered around the cramped room, playing with the spinny chair, coloring on the "crunchy paper" on the table, reaching for the blood pressure-taker-thing. And, by the way, those double strollers are surprisingly compact but still occupy quite a bit of space. Yowza. When the nurse finished taking Noelle's vitals and attempted to exit the room, we effectively trapped her with all our baby accessories for a good three minutes. Eventually, we found her an escape route-- squeezing between the garbage can and the back of the stroller. Good thing she was little.

The fun started when it was time to go. Noelle always screams, going into her carseat. So I tried to get her in as efficiently as possible, a difficult task since-- due to space issues-- it had to be accomplished from the wrong side of the stroller. Meanwhile, as Little Sister was screaming her sweet, double-chinned head off, Big Sister realized that we were leaving and that she wasn't thrilled with the idea. Commence Meltdown.

I got Noelle strapped in and went for Riley with her jacket. She was having none of it, so I tried the usual: bribery. Stickers weren't a great incentive; neither was going home to Kona. I eventually muscled her into her jacket and lifted her to her perch in the stroller. This is when she went into her highly effective stiff-back evasive maneuver.

Reminder: this is all happening in a tiny doctor's room.

Two nurses finally came and offered assistance. One got Noelle to take her paci while the other gave Riley not one but two suckers. Both children sufficiently calm, we finally moved the circus out of the room, through the waiting room and to the car.

All good fun.

Segway: here are some unrelated photos that I shot today.

Do you think Riley likes being a big sister?

I think Noelle's eyes say it all...

Note Riley's sa-weet hair as she holds her baby sister's hands.