Fun Family Farm Days

Sunday gave Diana and me a chance to get out of the house and do something together. Luckily, Suisun Valley was hosting its annual Fun Family Farm Days. This is something we all usually do as a family, but we decided to make it a girls outing this year. We try to visit a different place every year when we do the farm days - last year we did the Clay Station out at Mankas Corner and Diana made a craft, we have also gone around to several of the stands. This year, I heard The Hipwaders (a local band that sings children's songs) were going to be at Erickson Ranch so we ventured out there...great decision! They had a U-pick flower garden, had lots of fresh fruit and a great atmosphere.
Even though it was really windy when we got out there, Diana had a great time picking flowers with Gramma V and listening to The Hipwaders in the patio. I even bought one of The Hipwaders CD's so we can listen to it in the car.
After Erickson Ranch, we had lunch at Valley Cafe and then went to Larry's Produce to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies. Now, this is something that Matt usually does as it's right on the way home from Solano. It tends to be a little busy out there and he has a method when he goes there. As for me, I have never gone there by myself and with me still adjusting to large crowds of people, it was a nightmare. I grabbed a few things (not nearly everything we needed) and got outta there in a jif. Matt can go back and attack that place later in the week. I'n done!


Amy update: Amy did a great job at physical therapy on Friday. The physical therapist did a series of tests on her to see where she's at developmentally and she passed with flying colors. She also asked me if Amy makes eye contact with us and responds to our voices, etc. We will go back in six weeks for another exam. It was one of the more fun appointments we have had. She will go to physical therapy until she can walk, the PT lady said, but if she's advancing along at six months, we won't have to go anymore. The physical therapist also said that Amy will be considered a preemie until she's three - very interesting. I really like her physical therapist. She's a young lady (OK, she's probably in her late 20s, early 30s) which is quite different than the other doctors Amy's been seeing.
Amy will most likely see her home health nurse this week so I will post a weight update when we get it.

Ang update: I tried to start getting back into some sort of shape this week. Silly me. I got the fit ball out and did some ab exercises. OW! I think I did about 400 and three days later I will still hurting. What kind of nonsense is that? I have a doctor appointment this week as well and I am going to ask him what is the matter with me. Granted, I realize that it's going to take some time to get back to where I was pre-pregnancy, but I have to be able to at least do some ab exercises. It's been way too hot to walk - even on the treadmill in the garage - so I am weeks away from doing any cardio. My sister asked me to be part of a relay for the California International Marathon. We'll see, I told her.

Running? Oi vay!

Hop on Pop

We chose to enroll Diana in KinderCare because of the curriculm. It's never been just daycare to us. They teach a lot and she's involved in a great Phonics program on the side at the school that has taught her a ton about her letters. She's come a long way, including being able to spell and write her name as well as Mommy, Daddy and Amy. She's always asking us how to spell something and she writes it really well.
My big task right now is teaching Diana how to read. I know, she's only 4 and a long ways from kindergarten, but why not? We are working out of Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss right now because my mom said that's how I learned to read. She's pretty much got the book memorized so I never know if she's reading the words or just remembering them. It's all the same though, right? She knows all her letter sounds, which she's learned at KinderCare so that's half the battle. I really want her to be able to read long before she goes to kindergarten so better to start now than later!

It's Never Too Soon for Tummy Time

When Diana was one week old, she came home from the hospital and Matt immediately had her on the ground doing tummy time. It was an exercise she took part in frequently.
Well, since Amy was in the hospital for three weeks, she got a little behind on her tummy time. But have no fear, Mommy won't let her get too far behind!
Here is Amy's first session of Tummy Time. She has been doing it at least once a day for ten minutes at a time. She's doing really well and doesn't seem to get frustrated very easily - that's my girl!
She has her first physical therapy appointment next Friday and I think it consists of her doing some tummy time as part of the evaluation so I want to make sure she is ready to impress!

Patriotic Songs

While it was very hard to leave Amy in the hospital three weeks ago as she continued to grow and learn how to eat from a bottle, I was glad to get home and get back to the routine that I've been used to for the past two years.
During the last month of my pregnancy, it became increasingly harder to give Diana a bath so Matt took over those duties. I still read and sang to Diana afterward but being able to do the whole nighttime routine once I recovered fully from my c-section was quite a thrill!
Lately we have added some new songs to our nighttime singing routine - America the Beautiful (we sang this one before but now it's every night) and The Star Spangled Banner. Diana does a great job with both of these songs and I was very impressed to hear her sing both songs in their entirety last night when Matt took over nighttime duties as I fed Amy. (Yes, Amy is home now).
I do hope that Diana continues to embrace both these songs, understand their meaning and have a deep love for everything this wonderful country offers us!

So proud of my girls

Matt and I are very lucky to have such great daughters. Last week, I got to see Diana in her ballet/tap class for just the second time. I took her the first day and then was placed on bed rest so Matt or Gramma V took her. They also took her when I was in the hospital. Her improvement was amazing but the best thing is how well she pays attention to her teacher. The class is 45 minutes - 30 minutes of ballet and 15 minutes of tap. It can be a little long for some 4 and 5 year olds, but I am amazed at Diana's ability to stay focused and do what the teacher tells her. The ballet experience has been really great for her - she's gaining so much confidence and really developing tremendous balance. I was filled with pride watching her last week. Her last class is on Tuesday but I am definitely going to sign her up again (and I am sure she will make sure that I do!)
Meanwhile, Miss Amy is making strides of her own. She's up to 3 lbs. 10 oz. and will be moved to Vallejo Kaiser on Friday morning. That's right, she's being evicted from The Creek. The doctors are increasing her feedings to a bottle every feeding (up from every other feeding). She's making such great progress and I am so excited for her growth. I can't wait till she can come home and our awesome family can be under one roof!

Who's that guy?

I have been visiting Amy in the hospital every weekday since I left the hospital last Wednesday. My mom (the angel) has been driving me up to Walnut Creek and back. It's been nice to have the bonding time with my daughter. She's graduated to a bottle so I have been able to feed her. Today, she did great with the bottle for me so I left there a very happy Momma. My mom is busy at work this week so I had a new chauffer - Matt! Because he had basketball camp last week, he hasn't seen Amy in over a week. Amy was definitely interested in the new, male voice that was talking to her this morning when we went down to visit. She opened her eyes a ton more than normal (she loves to sleep) and was trying to figure out who the person with the short hair was sitting with us when we were cuddling. It was pretty funny.
I talked to one of the doctors/nurses about two hours ago about Amy and she was telling me what great progress Amy is making there. She told me that she is ready to be transferred to Vallejo whenever we give the OK. I told her that we would like to keep her in The Creek for as long as we can till she comes home. I don't want to have to get used to a whole new set of doctors and nurses, especially if Amy is only going to be in the hospital for a little while longer (which is what one NP has told us). Amy is eating really good and once she becomes more consistent with her feedings, she will be able to come home. Here is the first picture of our new little girl sitting with Matt this morning. She's 11 days old!