Before Too Long

Before too long, Nina will be able to proudly wear this shirt. This was a gift from her buddies, Lauren and Katelyn Campbell, and we hope that she'll be wearing it one of these days in the next week. Since Mark got home yesterday, we are starting to get things around the house ready for the new baby to come (better late than never), so we'll keep you posted with any news!

20 Months

Nina is 20 months old right now, but will turn 21 months at the end of this week. She and her new brother or sister will be almost exactly the same age difference as Shenley and I, so we think that is going to be a lot of fun for them as they get older. In the video, she's dancing around to her new favorite song. She runs in circles in front of the fireplace because she likes seeing her reflection in the glass.

Hanging Out

Yesterday evening, my mom, dad, and Bo stopped over to have dinner and hang out with Nina and I. Nina spent most of the evening pretty wound up and wanting to run and get chased, but she did get pretty tired out after her bath and relaxed for a few minutes with "Apple Bo" (what she calls him instead of Uncle Bo) on the couch before bed time.

Daddy's Home and Bad Hair Day

Mark had two days home in between trips, and Nina and I were very happy to have him home. It will be sad for us all that he has to leave again tomorrow morning, but Nina has been making the most of his time home and getting in lots of "daddy style" playing (which include all the things her 9 months pregnant mother can't do).

We let her to go bed last night after her bath with wet hair. This lovely style is what resulted.
Believe it or not, this actually is the back of her head. Thankfully, it wasn't as hard to get a brush through as it looks.

Valentine's Day Party

Nina and Emme were treated to quite the party today. The girls were invited to my parents' house where they had a great time at a Valentine's Day party. They made some crafts...

They got flowers, balloons, treat bags, and pink feathered boas...
They got to ice, decorate, and eat their own cupcakes...
Then they changed into "beautiful dresses"...

They put on some finishing touches of high heels and glittery antenna...

Then it was time to say goodbye to the hostess and head home! It was a great party!!!

You've Got to Love an Artist in the Family

My mom spent a lot of time with Nina and I this week, and one of the things she did while she was here was to do some painting in the nursery and in Nina's room. Since Nina is 100% in her new room now for almost a week, we wanted to put some cute touches in there to make it more special. The butterflies and flowers were a perfect combination. As some of you remember, the monkey painting was originally done in our townhouse when Nina was a newborn, but I asked my mom to do it again for the new baby because the nursery just wasn't as cute without our monkey. The video and pictures hardly do justice to how cute the paintings are in person, but I took them to give a general idea of what the rooms are like.

Princess

When Nina and I were over at Shenley and Garland's house for the Super Bowl yesterday, Nina became infatuated with Emme's princess shoes. Shenley was kind enough to send us home with a pair, and Nina doesn't want to take them off. In addition to the shoes, I picked up a princess doll from Target's $1 bin, thinking it would be a cute toy if she liked it and not a waste of money if she didn't. Nina did like the princess doll, however, I know now why it was in the $1 section. The doll becomes dismembered very easily. Nina is constantly saying, "oh no!" and I look and the doll is missing a leg, an arm, or both. Lesson learned: Don't buy dolls from the $1 bin!

Big Girl

Well, she's done it. She's officially in her big girl room now, and we've had two straight days of successful night and nap sleeps. The nap was a big more challenging than night time (which was actually very easy), but I've been proud of her for adapting so easily. She loves her new room, and I'll take some more pictures when I finish getting things decorated.