Dear Girls... 2 1/2 years and almost 8 months!!

Girls!! You're both growing so fast I feel like I cant keep up!! Part of me is loving every single second of watching all of your 'firsts' and seeing you grow, develop and learn. The other part just wants to cry, pause time, and keep you as my baby and my cheeky toddler forever!

Dear Izzy,

You are now officially Two and a half! I literally have no idea where that time has gone, but what fun we have had! You're speech is incredible and you amaze me every day with the new, funny little things you come out with!! Some of your favourite things to call me at the moment are..."Mummykins/ Mummychops / Mummypud  which is just hilarious as you just throw it in to general conversation!

You have now started nursery!! Daddy and I decided to send you, just for four hours a week, 9-11 on a Monday and a Friday, because we knew how much you would love it! You're confidence is really blooming at the moment and you love any opportunity to make new friends!
You weren't phased by being left in a new place at all. On your first induction day, mummy stayed in the room, but was busy filling in paperwork, off you went, and you didn't once look back! You headed straight over to get an apron and play in the water. I couldn't take my eyes off of you as you then proceeded to go round each child and ask their name, saying "I'm Isabelle Verona Elce, it's nice to see you!" I almost cried with pride!
You came home with your first ever piece of homework the other day which daddy and I really enjoyed helping you with! It's so hard to believe that this time last year you were unable to walk, and were really still my little baby. Now, we can have full conversations with you, and we do (constantly!!) You're a real chatterbox, so once you and I get chatting, daddy can barely get a word in edge ways!
You're starting to get a bit of a temper, which shows itself every now and then, but that's just your age and we're working through it. Its a tricky age, having to learn to share, and that you don't always get your own way is a tough lesson to learn! The majority of the time though, you are the happiest, smiliest, most amazing little thing in the world and we are so so proud of you!

We've been doing a lot of work with letters, and learning their sounds lately. One night, you and I had a bath together, and mummy spelt out several words on the wall with your bath letters. We sounded out each letter and spent a while learning and practicing them. The next day, I wrote all of the words out, not expecting you to remember them, you sat and read every one of them to me! Absolutely amazing!
You can now pretty much count to twenty, with a little prompting sometimes. 9 out of 10 times you'll correctly be able to tell us which is your left and your right, you know pretty much all of the shapes and colours and you can now sing many songs all the way through (including several Liverpool songs thanks to daddy!)

Your gross motor skills are coming on a treat! Your confidence with climbing has suddenly cone from nowhere and you're straight up the steps on the BIG slide on the park now! Yesterday, you learnt to jump properly, taking both feet off of the floor, before you just sort of bent your knees then sprung a little which was always funny to watch!

I couldn't possibly write about all of the times that you've made us laugh, but I have to mention this particular time earlier tonight...I was busy cooking in the kitchen, you were standing behind me chattering away. All of a sudden it went quiet for a minute, then you said "Look mummy, I look like a penguin!" ... I turned around and you were standing there with your feet in my oven gloves!! This is a typical example of what a funny little character you are! You have the ability to brighten even the darkest of days <3

Dear Chloe,

At almost 8 months old you now weigh 21lb 2oz!!! So you didn't stay my little baby for long, but every little ounce of you is completely cheeky, and utterly beautiful. Before you were born I'd almost convinced myself that you'd be a grumpy baby, as I was sure we wouldn't be lucky enough to have two such smiley little beauties, yet here you are, constantly beaming and giggling at anything and everything!

You're sitting up completely on your own now, and you're really wanting to be on the move! You get frustrated if anything is out of your reach that you want to play with, and put such determination into trying to get to it!
Your giggle is completely infectious, and we hear a lot of that! You love 'kiss attacks' and pretty much anything Isabelle does makes you giggle!
We've been signing to you since you were born, and to my delight you signed 'more' to me while you were eating your toast the other day which was just incredible!
We now have two teeth called Eric and Stanley (silly mummy) which are going to transform you from my little gummy bear to my cheeky monkey!
You've tried a fair few finger foods now, which had mummy on the edge of her seat with nerves to begin with, but now I've seen what a pro you are at chewing I've relaxed a lot more! Your favourite is definitely toast!
We're still not quite sleeping through the night yet, but that's ok, I need to make the most of these midnight smiles while they last. Unfortunately we don't have midnight cuddles anymore, I just feed you while you're still laid in bed, as you then go back to sleep whilst feeding. We find that if we lift you out you wake up a lot more, and there isn't anywhere for us to sit in your room anyway.
The health visitor has just paid her last visit to us at home, and taken away your breathing monitor which feels a little weird, as she's been coming every couple of weeks since you were born. It feels almost as if your not  a baby anymore, but you'll always be my baby!
We've recently got the "Jumperoo" out for you, so we officially need an extension, but its worth it because you love it, and really burn some energy off in there!

You are a very difficult little thing when it comes to nappy changing, as you just don't lie still!! The minute we put you down you're trying to roll on to your tummy so its fun and games, and often a very messy job getting you changed!

Just like your sister, you have to have something to cuddle to get you to sleep, either a really soft teddy or a blanket. You have a lovely soft dressing gown which you are favouring at the moment. You've also started to do the funny little tired noise that Isabelle's done since she was your age! This can be hilarious when we're all in the car together as the pair of you take it in turns!

We took you for you're first ever swim last week which you absolutely loved!! That was one of the only nights you've ever slept through to!! You're definitely another little water baby!!

xxxxxxxxx

So to sum up, every single day with you both is just everything I've ever dreamed of. Daddy's given up refereeing at weekends so we're having some perfect family time together which is just what I've always wanted! You both make us so proud and it melts us how much you love each other!
Keep smiling girls, those smiles melt so many hearts <3

Love always,

Mummy x x x

The best of friends. 28 months and 6 months.

I feel so awful that i haven't even blogged since Chloe's birth. There isn't even one photo of her on here yet, and that makes me feel so guilty. Life as a mum of two doesn't leave me with a great deal of spare time, but now we've got a fantastic routine, both girls are usually fast asleep in bed by 7pm,  hopefully I'll be able to get back on track with the more regular posts.

Dear Chloe,
What a fantastic first 6 months we have had with you! You are such a little smiler, just like your sister. You've had struggles, just like Izzy, as we spent a week in hospital when you were about 3 months old and we discovered that you are also Dairy Protein Intolerant. You adore your big sister, and always have the biggest smiles for her. You first rolled when you were 16 weeks and 4 days old, in front of mummy and Nanna. We were so proud of you. You're getting stronger by the day, you love to be upright, and have recently started to enjoy spending time in your activity centre. One of your favourite things to do, is to sit on the settee next to Isabelle, with some musical instruments, and to sing songs with mummy sitting on the floor doing all the silly actions. Your favorite is currently "5 little men in a flying saucer" which was also Isabelle's favourite at this age! 
You had your first try of baby rice on mummy's birthday (Boxing day) and loved it! You have since tried a bit of sweet potato, banana and apple. Apple is by far your favourite at the moment, but we're going to try parsnips and pears this week too. 

You're a chunky little monkey and will now be weighing around 18lb! However, you have only recently gone into your cot, as mummy couldn't bare for you to move into your own room! You're loving having all that extra space though, and are often stretched out as far as you can reach!

I'm pretty sure we might have some teeth making an appearance soon, as you've had very rosy cheeks lately, you're biting anything you get your hands on, and dribbling everywhere! I really hope you don't suffer with them!
You had a fantastic first Christmas, and were utterly spoilt!  You loved all the pretty lights, and Isabelle was very proud to introduce you to Santa! 

To sum things up, i am absolutely loving watching you grow and discover your world. You truly have made our little family complete and we all love you to the moon and back! (Isabelle tells you this approximately 431286782376491 times a day!).

Here are a few photo's of how you have grown during your first 6 months! 

 

 
 

Dear Isabelle,

You have been such a superstar over the past 6 months and i cant even begin to explain how proud we are of you. You absolutely adored your baby sister, from the moment you set eyes on her, and have looked after her ever since. You're always holding her hands, and cuddling her, and are super proud introducing her to all of your friends! 

Your speech has come on amazingly over the past few weeks, and you're coming out with funny new phrases every day at the moment. You say hello to absolutely anything, and "Nice to see you" .. You said this to a banana skin today! You never fail to make me laugh! 

You're doing really well with your diet now, too. We started reintroducing fruit in April last year, and then very gradually added dairy when you turned two, and you seem to be fine with most things now. 

You absolutely loved  Christmas this year. You put a mince pie, and a glass of milk out for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph, then excitedly put your stocking at the end of your bed, and really seemed to understand what was going on.

You still love to read. You used to always ask mummy to read stories to you, but now you like to look at the pictures, and tell the stories to mummy and Chloe. 

You can count up to ten, backwards and forwards, you know when your Birthday is, what number your house is, the colour of our door, and Grandma's, You can say "Hello" in French, and "Good Morning" in German. You know almost all the colours, and lots of shapes, including Rhombus! 

You know all of your body parts including things like Sternum and Clavicle! You are currently learning your phone number.

You can sing many songs, word for word.  Your favourites are Twinkle Twinkle, Lullaby and Jingle Bells. You love to sing to Chloe, and insist that she claps whenever you've finished.

We've been introducing you to your potty over the past week, and you have done three wee's on it so far, which is fantastic. Daddy's got a three day holiday next week, plus the weekend, so we're planning to really work hard at getting you toilet trained.

We've started going to a playgroup on a Tuesday, so that you get some time playing with other Children. We're trying to teach you to share at the moment. Sometimes you're brilliant at it, sometimes it still needs a lot of work ;) You don't seem to be as good at sharing with children who are slightly younger than you. You are brilliant with babies, but not so much little children, but we're working on that.

We've got a little holiday booked, in April, just a few weeks after mummy goes back to work. It's five days in Butlins, and i cant wait! There'll be swimming, rides, and some of your favourite Characters, and i just know you're going to love it.

So, carry on being the beautiful, happy, funny little character you are. You make me smile every single day of your life and i am so, so proud of you.

x x x x Mummy x x x x 

I have to admit, there have been times over the past 6 months that its been a struggle, when both girls are crying at once, and I've had very little sleep etc, or when they've been poorly at the same time. These, however, are massively outweighed by the most amazing times! I spent the whole 9 months of pregnancy constantly hearing comments like "You're going to have your hands full", but to be honest, i wouldn't have it any other way.
The best gift we could ever have given Isabelle, was her sister. The love on both of their faces each time they see each other just melts my heart completely. To see them in a morning, after being apart through the night, would be to think they've been apart for weeks. 
I thought Izzy would enjoy Chloe's nap times, as it gives her and i some one to one time, but i just get "Mummy, fetch Chloe please, i miss her".
There has barely been a moment that they aren't holding hands, and once one of them starts giggling, they are both normally at it for ages!
Watching their relationship develop and blossom has been one of the greatest journeys of my life. And this is only the beginning.