21 Months!

Hard to believe that Annabelle is 21 months old today -where has the time gone?! It's been an amazing week with both girls. Annabelle is breaking out of her shell and becoming more comfortable in a lot of aspects. She now climbs off the couch with ease and is working on climbing on as well. She loves to run and jump outside, and is having a great time at Gymboree. She's still not a fan of the air log and is terrified of the parachute but she laughs, dances, runs and plays with the toys - we're so proud! Claire, for her part, is almost ready to crawl. She will lean forward and put her legs under her to reach for things and loves to rock on her knees and hands.

Daddy took Friday off so we were going to go to the aquarium but with naps being the way they were, instead we went to Mansfield Crossing as a family and had a great time! We had our first restaurant experience with both girls at Friday's! They were fantastic. Belle ordered from the kids menu, played with crayons and drank Mommy's slushy. Claire spent part of the time playing in her stroller and the rest trying to steal french fries while sitting on Mommy's lap. Then, we went to Petco and looked at all the animals - birds, fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, reptiles, mice, etc. We liked the fish the best!

Here are some of this week's favorite pictures...

The Drool Twins!

Annabelle and Claire are full-fledged drool twins this week. Both are keeping Mommy chained to the washing machine with all the clothes they are soaking - but they are both so darn cute!

Unfortunately, they're also sharing the same cold too, so runny noses, sneezing and coughing are the soundtrack in the Griffith House - and sleep deprivation is the name of the game.

It's been a week of firsts too. During family pictures last weekend, Belle started running around outside on her own, a first, and she was a big girl earlier in the week and stood next to Mommy in the post office and then walked back to the car too! We've also been enjoying blowing bubbles and using sidewalk chalk in the driveway, so much so that we never want to go back inside these days...

Claire is getting ready to crawl, going from sitting to the crawling position and then stopping, usually because she's distracted by a toy her sister has that she wants to try to grab. She's also been watching her sister get off the couch by herself this week and is anxious to try the same feat - much to Mommy's chagrin...

Six months already!

Hard to believe but Claire is six months already! At her six-month check-up yesterday, she officially went from "Tank" to "Super Tanker" according to Patrick, measuring up at 17 pounds 3 ounces (73rd percentile) and 27.25 inches (92nd percentile). She's happy, healthy and was a real trooper with her vaccinations and flu shots. Annabelle was a big, brave girl as well, coming with us so she could get her flu shot. I'm such a proud mama!

Annabelle fell asleep on the couch while eating lunch...

Claire eating the blocks Grandpa Sina made...

...and modeling the dress Grandma Janice sewed...

Loving her cake! :-)

Claire's Christening - August 29, 2009

Yesterday was Claire's christening and what a day it was! Not to be outdone by Belle's christening being threatened by Hurricane Hannah, Claire's christening was a soaker as we received four inches of rain from Hurricane Danny and other storms. We still had a great time, though. Claire was wonderful! She fell asleep just before the ceremony but woke up as she was being annointed and smiled the rest of the time. Belle was great, allowing her sister to shine in the spotlight, knowing all the while she was being watched herself because she's such a cutie!

Earlier in the week, Belle picked out her very first potty. She's not really using it yet but she likes to look at it and is curious!

Cows and Teeth and Family, Oh My!

This past Friday marked a huge milestone as the girls took their first trip without Mommy, going with Kacey to her house so that Claire could have her first swim in the pool and Belle could try for the second time. Both girls did well and had a great time. Here they are in their swimsuits before they left...

Annabelle's latest obsession is with cows, ever since we saw them across the highway on our way to and from Sodus Point. Mommy couldn't take any more requests for "moo cow?" so we headed to Crescent Ridge in Sharon, MA (near our old apartment in Canton) for some ice cream and cow sightings. We got there at noon on a hot, humid day so we were worried when we didn't immediately see them outside, but were relieved to discover they were hanging out under the shade of trees.

In honor of Patrick's 36th birthday on Friday, Claire decided to gift her father with not one, but two (bottom) teeth, her first! Mommy was amazed since she was only 5 months and 10 days, while Belle got her first tooth at 8.5 months, but knew there was no comparing the two! It's been a fussy time in the Griffith household as Claire adjusts but she's very taken with them, running her tongue and lips over them constantly. She's also trying to crawl but just ends up looking like she's going to take off flying!

On Tuesday, Bubbe, Grandpa Irwin and Aunt Stacey flew into Providence and drove to our house on their first leg of a fly/drive vacation. Belle was confused to have another "Grandpa" but was a little better once we told her we'd refer to him just as "Irwin." In typical Annabelle Reese fashion, she was freaked out about strangers but we think it might just be men because she was fairly quick to warm up to Bubbe and Stacey, doing airplane with Mac 'n Cheese and reading books with Aunt Stacey. We also took a trip to Irwin's "mecca," Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place so the girls could get new outfits and Irwin could visit the Pro Shop. On the last night of the visit, Claire actually slept from 8:30 until 5:45, her longest stint in months, so we saw that as a good omen of the visit.

Sina Family Picnic

August 7-9 marked our second long car ride to Sodus Point, NY in as many months and let's just say we won't be doing back-to-back trips like that again - at least not anytime soon! The girls had a lot of fun seeing the family but the parents were exhausted! Claire enjoyed meeting Uncle Jeremy for the first time...

Georgie did his part by guarding the watermelon for Annabelle and all of the aunts and uncles took turns with the girls so Mommy and Daddy could have a break - well, Daddy was cooking but still...

Claire also liked showing Great-Grandma how to use the remote to find her favorite channels - that is, when she wasn't spreading sweet peas all over herself and the Bumbo seat...

The weekend took a lot out of all of us (see below...) but we were so glad to be able to see the family, something we don't get to do enough...

It's good to be home!

The Sisters...

Annabelle and Claire definitely started acting like sisters this week, "fighting" over toys and vying for attention from Mom and Dad. Annabelle has been such a big help though, picking up spoons or toys that "Baby" dropped. She's also good about getting her cups, toys, etc. - whatever she's looking for - and bringing them to you if she wants a refill or just a hug. It's amazing how quickly they are changing and how big both girls are getting. While I work from home so I get to see there throughout every day, I still feel like I've blinked this week and missed something. Both have really changed this week, looking more "grown-up," sweeter, more aware...