The Fi and Vi Log: April

April is almost over. Saturday was the eighth anniversary of Matan’s passing. I went to the baby shower for my friend Nicole. Every time I spend any time with Nicole’s large family, I am a little jealous that I do not come from a big family and won’t have a big family. I’m pretty sure we are finished with two (has anyone looked at how much four full-priced airline tickets cost?). It makes me a little sad that my kids aren’t growing up surrounded by family, by lots aunts and uncles, and cousins their own age. Our closest family is an hour away. I don’t know whether Matan would have had children by now. He would have been 32, so who knows? Or if he would have lived anywhere near here. I wish Fiona and Victoria at least had him as an uncle. I know he and Fiona would have gotten along really well. They are actually a lot alike in many ways. For dinner, we had Chinese food, including his favorite Orange Chicken.Gosh, I miss him.

This month we…

…spent time at the beach:

Even though the beach was pretty crowded, I managed to get some photos of John and Fiona looking like there was no one else around:

People were making sand art:

We had ice cream, because even though it’s early spring, it feels like summer here:

Fiona had a dentist’s appointment:

She is always well behaved at the dentist. She really likes going and wore the t-shirt they gave her at her first appointment. I carried Victoria in the Ergo (thank goodness she finally fits into it, I was getting really tired of the Moby and its 20 yards of fabric).

Fiona tried frozen yogurt for the first time:

She liked it.

Fiona asked John and me to draw rainbows. Then she wrote our (pretend) names on them and hung them on the wall:

We went to Open House:

All sorts of work was on display. Fiona’s teacher asked the children why they think the world is wonderful. Fiona said “Because the world is beautiful anyway.” Fiona takes an art class after school and learns all about different artists. Her favorite is Piet Mondrian. The art that was displayed was in the style of Monet’s bridge at Giverny.

I can’t remember what Fiona was doing here, but Victoria was practicing her flying and then watching Fi:

Both girls on my lap at once:

She wasn’t really yelling, she was trying to laugh for the camera.

Jen made this beautiful quilt for Victoria:

It has a few patches that are the same as an amazing quilt she made for Fiona. We had a lot of fun finding them and recognizing other patterns that Jen used to make other things for us. I am very lucky to have such a talented and generous friend.

In development news, Victoria rolls (not new news), holds her feet, and EVERYTHING goes in her mouth. She is drooling more, and I’m often reminded of when Fiona used to drool on everything. I started going to Kindermusik with Victoria and she loves it. Soon, I’m going to take her to a Mommy and Me class. She doesn’t get the same kind of social interaction that Fiona did early on because all my mom friends had babies two years ago and I haven’t really made any new mom friends with little babies. I go to a nursing group once a week, but that’s about it, and I’m tired of dragging her around to run errands. I feel like things are settling down and I’m getting a weekly morning routine going (so Kindermusik on Monday, nursing group on Wednesday, grocery shopping on Friday). Our afternoons are full of Fiona things; playdates, gymnastics, climbing club, and music. Somehow, we became busy, and it’s making time fly.

Victoria is a happy baby with a very pleasant temperament. We finally have a bottle she’ll accept, so I know she will not starve if I’m not home and my milk won’t go to waste. A mom on my preemie board sent it to me after I asked for recommendations. I wish I had more time to take photos or post them, but I am getting used to the reality that life with more than one child is much much busier.

Look at this face: