I borrowed an old point and shoot from the cafe. Its rubbish compared my camera however it is better than nothing. Hopefully it will not be much longer until I get it back.
Leah is all over the place now. So much so that we have had to contain her. Isla hated the baby gate but Leah seems to like to shake it and yell at it.Isla is into dressing up. She somehow managed to squeeze herself into her sister's Halloween costume so she could sing and dance about to The Jungle Book.
Lee Lee, I have been writing this for days and am only just getting to finish your 10 month update. One positive of me being back at work today? I will have more uninterrupted computer time. Maybe I will be on time next month.
So that is Mummy back at work which means you have had to grow up even more this past week. You really didn’t like your first day at day care. Your teacher, Miss Lindsay, said you cried pretty much all day. When I went to pick you up, even though I couldn’t see your face, I could see you were sobbing quietly and I felt really bad. When a little girl pointed at me and yelled “Mummy! Mummy!” you started sobbing hysterically. You hadn't seen me which made me feel even worse that you were hysterical at the mere mention of me.
You finally got your first tooth the next day so, I am hoping you were just off because your mouth hurt. At least that is what I keep telling myself so this Wednesday and Thursday will go a little smoother.
You are a totally different baby from the last monthly update (8 months). I can see you starting to slowly lose your baby-ness. You squirm all over our bed instead of cuddling into me which is not a good thing for getting a good night's sleep. Your Daddy and I have double teamed you and let you cry a lot at night since we got back from Texas. I think you have spent at least 2-3 hours a night crying (not all at once, although at times it does feel like it) because you want to sleep with us instead of in your own bed. It is has been hard to not give in to you, however the past two nights you have gone to bed with NO TEARS and slept most of the night. I guess our tough love has worked.
After months and months of trying to finally get you on a bottle you finally succumbed right before Christmas and I stopped feeding you. Good thing really because we had been re-infecting each other with a yeast infection for over three months. I got it again when we got to Texas and only had enough prescription left to sort myself out. It made sense that after nine months of breastfeeding it was time to stop, especially with our trip to Vegas coming up. I feel a little guilty that I fed your sister for longer but at the same time I got to stay home with you for longer so I suppose it all evens out in the end.
You started to crawl this month. I thought once you figured it out you would be off, but so far you just crawl on over to what you want to play with or pull yourself up on and stop. I think you are far more interested in chasing after your big sister…God help me.
We can see your personality developing day by day. You are definitely going to be a crazy kid. You do all sorts of things for pure entertainment value. You love making us laugh and you crack yourself up all the time. Its pretty cute right now, all right its extremely cute, but I can tell that laughing at your antics now will come back to haunt us. For now we are just enjoying each minute before the terrible two's start all over again :)
Yesterday you officially turned two and a half. The last couple of months you have grown up so much and at last I can finally see a trait you have picked up from me. You talk all the time. In full sentences too!
I you are becoming more and more independent. You want to do everything yourself. While this is pretty great, it does make Mummy's life a bit more challenging. Getting the two of you dressed in the morning is hard enough without you deciding you are picking your clothes out and putting them on...backwards, inside out, legs in the arms etc.
Your temper tantrums are becoming less and less. This makes Mummy and Daddy super happy because I think, don't want to jinx it, we are out of the Terrible Twos!!! I am sure another set of problems will soon come along but for now we are enjoying this small victory.
Your imagination is in full swing. Most of your current games revolve around being Ariel, the Little Mermaid. You are obsessed with getting married like Ariel. We often perform pretend ceremonies so you can marry Daddy and Leah. Somehow you have even talked your Nana into making you a wedding dress!
When you are not getting married you are telling me that you can't talk because Ursula has taken your voice. It would be kinda nice if she 'took' it and you were actually quiet for a bit but you don't pretend to that level yet. In the bath you are a mermaid. When you are not in the bath you tell me that you can't walk because you only have a tail. So cute, but at times so frustrating especially when I was in the middle of security by myself with the two of you and you "couldn't walk."
These days we have to make sure we put you to bed at 7pm sharp because you'll read by yourself for up to an hour. It is really great hearing you read stories aloud that you have been read so much. I love your interpretation of The Gruffalo - one of your all time favourites. In between this reading you politely tell your sister to stop crying and to be quiet. I am afraid you are going to have to put up with that for a bit. Leah has to learn that she cannot sleep with Mummy.
Yesterday was Lee Lee's first day of school and at breakfast you made Mummy cry. In a good way. I was already nervous about leaving Leah at school, but you told me "don't to worry Mummy, I will look after her. I know that will make you happy."
Tears :**) It makes me so proud that you are such a great big sister.
I usually meet up with my girlfriends and their babies on Wednesdays. Our toddlers are all in daycare so although I see them several times a week, it is the one day we actually get to talk to each other. Craig laughs when I say that but it is true.
Well today is my last Wednesday off. Next week I will be back at work, so this morning the girls came round to my house for a playdate. Kirsty let me borrow her camera to take some pictures of Leah's friends, Beth, Daniel, and Rosa (Ryan and Avril left early so we are missing the newest addition to Leah's circle of friends).With a couple of other Mums as my witness, Leah finally started to crawl today. Slowly but surely she is moving forward on her hands and knees. I am really going to need eyes in the back of my head now!
Actually I do have something exciting to post....we've known for a while but after a clear scan today, I am happy to say that Isla and Leah are getting a new cousin!
Lorraine and Guy are expecting their third child at the end of July. Isla might even get a cousin for her birthday.
We are back in Scotland and the girls are finally over their jet lag. I still don't have a camera so nothing exciting to post.
This is my last week of maternity leave. I start work next Tuesday which means Leah starts school (daycare) on Thursday :(
I can't believe how quickly the last ten months have gone. I am dreading going back although after last time I know, after the initial shock wears off, things should be all right.
Craig gave me a some good news this morning. He managed to find a place to repair and recalibrate my camera and lens....and...it will be back at the house before I am!! I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. I have REALLY missed it.
Mum has let me borrow her point and shoot for the last couple of weeks. So this is what we have been up to during our extra week in Texas.
I have been cutting Isla's hair ever since it started growing. I don't think I have done any real damage so far. Well, nothing she is going to hold against me later in life anyways however, it was time to get her first 'real' haircut. We took her to Cool Cuts for Kids. She got to sit in a car and watch the Little Mermaid so she kept totally still for the hairdresser to go to work. Mum and I took the girls to the Fort Worth Zoo. I love the zoo and Tuesday was so much better than the last time we took the girls to the zoo. The place was empty and after really cold, cold weather here it was 60 degrees. Perfect.Isla's favourite animals were the otters. There was a serious meltdown when I removed her from this position.Just to show you just how cold it has been here over the past couple of weeks (low of -8 degrees Celcius) the tiger enclosure's waterfall was still solid ice. Wednesday Mum and I drove down to Austin to see my university friends. That has perhaps been the best part of staying an extra week :)
After lunch with Sean and Ashley, Emily, Becca, and Ashley we took Isla and Leah to the Austin Children's Museum. Isla loved the pretend shop and kitchen. She even got to 'drive' a bus.Leah loved the pretend animal hospital. Maybe she will want to be a vet like I did growing up.
Leah is now all over the place. She still isn't crawling but she can scoot backwards and she is starting to walk around furniture. I was desperate for Isla to walk. However, I would be happy if Leah didn't get round to being moble too quickly! Next we caught up with all of the above, plus Ted, Bill, Emmylou, Miller, Rhea, and Bev, Jim and Leo. Rhea and Emmylou taught Isla how to do ballet on the patio at Trudys. It was beyond cute.Rhea LOVED Leah. She told Sean that she would sleep on the floor and that a baby could get her bed if she could have a sister :)We also got to finally meet Haynes and Adelaide, BJ and Catherine's twins :) Sadly I forgot to take a camera.
Even after a month long break from Ratatouille, Isla is still obsessed with chefs. So last night Granddad took us out for teppanyaki. Isla learned how to use chopsticks.After prancing and pirouetting about since Wednesday, today Isla got a leotard, tutu, and ballet shoes. Looks like we are going to have to find her a ballet class when we get home.We leave Monday night for Scotland. Not sure what else we can squeeze in before then, no doubt Isla will think of something!
Carlo sent me the rest of the pictures from our trip to Vegas this afternoon. This finally brings my blog up to date with this trip. Craig and Andrew left to go home tonight. The following picture is not representative of our winnings....The Freemont Street Experience...much cooler than the main part of the Strip.Sunset over Lake Mead. Hoover Dam. Supposedly rubbing the feet of this statue brings good luck. Fingers crossed a job comes Alex's way soon!
I didn't think I was going to get to go to Austin this visit to Texas, so my good friends Ashley, Sean, and Rhea came up to Fort Worth to visit us. Isla loved hanging out with Rhea. Since they played so nicely together I even got to talk to Ash and Sean!As it turns out, as of today me and the girls are staying in Texas for another week. It has been bitterly cold at home (-10C to -20C for 3 solid weeks) and a few of our pipes have burst. Nothing too serious as Craig's folks have been looking after the house but we have no water in the bathroom and the farm is exceptionally difficult to leave.
Craig is going home ahead of us to sort it out and get some heat back into the place....which means I'm going to get to go to Austin after all :)
In a sick twist of fate, two camera lenses got smashed when we were in Mexico. I cannot tell you how sad this makes me because it looks like I will be without a lens for 4-6 weeks while it goes in for repair. That is if it is repairable :(
Luckily Mum let me borrow her point and shoot to take to Vegas. Craig and I had a great time away together. We went to see Cirque du Soleil's Love. It was incredible. Most definitely worth going to see if you are ever in Vegas.
Alex and Carlo took us hiking in Red Rock Canyon which was also incredible and a really nice change from gambling on the strip.More pictures of Vegas to come when I get them from Alex and Carlo.
We all took so many pictures in Mexico. I have decided that these are the last few going up on the blog or else I will never get to blogging pictures from Vegas. As you can see, we had a great time. The day we left for Mexico, there was the worst snow DFW had seen in 80 years. The first white Christmas since the 70's. This is Mum and Dad's back garden on Christmas morning.
That's Craig and I back from Vegas and me trying to catch up with my blog.
So lets back track to Mexico....
We took a day trip to see the ancient city of Tulum. Almost two weeks later what I remember most was that it was hot, damn hot, and that the beach was stunning.
Thanks to my Mum and Dad, we all just spent a wonderful week in Mexico for a belated celebration of my Dad's 60th birthday.
It was brilliant to feel the sun on my bones, swim, and hang out with my family. Isla and Leah loved it. Our hotel was great and the staff couldn't have been nicer. Isla even got to use some of the Spanish she has been learning watching Dora.
I think we have all gained at least 7lbs from the all you can eat buffets and open bar however before we worry too much about that, Craig and I are off to Vegas in the morning!
I cannot tell you just how many pictures we all took, so I am going to try and sort through them bit by bit. Here is the first installment.
I think you'll see we had a great time. THANK YOU Mum and Dad.
We head for Mexico on Christmas Day to celebrate my Dad's belated 60th birthday. We celebrated Christmas this evening. Alex and Carlo made us all beer koozies and T-shirts to wear at the pool while we are away :)Mum cooked a great dinner and we were all spoiled. It was lovely to spend the holidays together. Thank you everyone.
I hope the other side of my family manage to make it all together in a couple of days. Apparently Scotland has seen the worst snow for 20 years over the last couple of days....which means access in and out of the farm is near on impossible.
This morning after yet another 4amwake up call we took Isla to play mini golf. After nine holes she's had enough.Next we hit the arcade. We all liked this....even Lee Lee.Isla and I hit the jackpot and won a 1000 tickets in one go!! Isla got to swap all her tickets for a new pair of fairy wings and some Spongebob figurines.
Today we took the girls to the Rainforest Cafe. Isla thought it was "cool, but a bit scary." Despite being a bit scared, I think we all had more than one turn of walking her around the restaurant looking at all the animals. Leah loved it too. The highlight of lunch was a sparkling volcano dessert.The next highlight of the day....wearing a crazy mouse balloon hat and twirling in the middle of the Gaylord Texan. We went to see Ice but it had sold out. Lucky for us the balloon made Isla's day. I was hoping we might kick the 4.30am wake up calls tonight however, she has been asleep since 4pm. Looks like it will be another early start.Craig's highlight of the day?? Carlo and Andrew made homemade pizza. Yum.
My camera is finally recharged, so here are the best of the rest from yesterday's visit to the Stock Yards. Isla has been talking about Violet all day. I am excited they are becoming modern day pen pals via their Mummy's blogs :) I am also still really impressed with Isla's bravery. Here she is shouting Yee Haw! on a mechanical bull.This one is for Dougie Wilson. They got busted for throwing snow cones at a police man;)Leah is an amazing little eater. She easily eats more than her sister...which doesn't take much. However the sight of a little baby eating a burger makes me laugh.
My camera battery just died in the process of importing my photos, so there are more pictures to come, but for now let me just show you how big Isla was riding a real longhorn!! She even held on tight to her little sister so Lee Lee could have a go :)
We made it to Texas. We are all a little tired from jet lag but I think now we are passed the worst of it.
Sunday afternoon we headed over to our favourite German family's house for dinner. Besides getting to eat some pretty fabulous food (Hans is a chef and owns Cacherel) Stephanie and Claire tried to teach Isla the dance to Single Ladies.We took Isla out to see some of their neighbour hood's lights.
Jennifer and Alistair (and Daddy Steven) moved to Dubai in September. Lucky for us they came home for Christmas before we leave for Texas :)
This morning Jennifer also got to meet Beth for the first time while Isla, Neive, and Alistair ran about Cheeky Monkeys.Leah tried to eat Beth, the poor thing looks terrified in this picture!After our play date we headed over to Granny Margaret's house for her birthday lunch with Aunty Jean and Granny.It snowed a bit today. I forced Isla out into the cold while Leah was sleeping in the cafe. Dougie taught her how to throw snow balls and we made half a snowman. Isla got bored and decided she needed a hot chocolate. Good thing really because I cannot find my gloves.
Isla was a nightmare this morning. She had a massive temper tantrum while I was feeding Leah She wanted to go downstairs to play but I told her she had to wait until I'd fed Leah. She worked herself into such a state because she didn't want to wait, that she threw up all over our bed...and Leah :(
The crying/whinging/moaning continued as I took the girls to the Braehead toddler Christmas day out - a train ride, an hour at a soft play area, lunch, and a visit to see Santa. In the end I told her that if she didn't stop crying she would have to sit in the car while all her friends went on the train. It worked, and as you can see, the day improved.Despite being thrown up on this morning, Leah had a great day. She loves he new bike. We went for a walk just before it got dark this afternoon and she kicked and swung her wee legs the whole way :)
Yesterday we celebrated Christmas. Although we were celebrating early, it really ended up feeling like Christmas and both Craig and I had a great day. Christmas takes on a whole new meaning when you have kids and it is incredibly amazing. I can't tell you how good it felt to watch Leah and Isla look so happy :)
I think it is safe to say Isla was pretty happy with her loot; we saw this face a lot before she shouted "next present!" She said thank you to both Craig and I after opening everything. It was very sweet. She even got a 'pony.'Leah didn't really know how to open presents so it was a good thing she had Daddy and Isla to help her out. Granny, Grandpa, Aunty Jean, Uncle Alec, Aunty Sarah and Kevin came over for Christmas dinner. I didn't take as many photos as I would've liked to because I was busy cooking lunch however, Isla and Leah were so spoiled by all of them. When we get back from Texas Craig and I are going to have to reorganise to make room for all their new presents!!
I'm really glad I decided to have Christmas here as well as in the States. It is great we get to celebrate such a happy time of year with both sides of the family. Isla and Leah are lucky to be loved by so many.
Since we are headed to Texas for Christmas, Santa kindly agreed to come to our house early this year. Mummy and Daddy are very grateful because we can now take clothing in our suitcases.
So tonight is the Buchanan's Christmas Eve and boy is Isla HYPER. Luckily we are still able to successfully bribe her with this Santa thing :)
We spent the day getting ready. Everyone's presents are wrapped and under the tree. Isla put out porridge with glitter in it for Santa's reindeer. Hopefully we will not kill the wildlife in our yard because she put in two whole tubs of glitter.Leah is oblivious to what is going to happen tonight however, she looked pretty darn cute in her Christmas jammies. Santa told me he struggled with what to get Lee Lee this year because she has a spoiled sister and she isn't quite big enough for cool toys. Still, I think she will be pretty happy in the morning. No doubt paper will be the biggest hit after all the agonising over what to get her.I found my very first digital camera in the attic when I was getting the Christmas decorations down. We gave it to Isla tonight and all we heard before bed was her squealing "a reeeeaaal camera!!"
Isla is into making lists. Just one more way she is like her Daddy. Some times it is a list of toys she'd like for Christmas however, it is usually a list of who has been naughty and nice. Of course she is at the top of the nice list. At the moment she is obsessed with being nice. Today she continually put her toys away when she was finished with them, didn't scream when I told her she couldn't watch any more TV, was nice to her sister, and she even told me the dinner I made was really good.
I guess she really wants that pony. God help us after Santa has come and gone!
Isla has been practising her Christmas carols. Her favourite is Santa Claus is Coming to Town but we don't have the sheet music to that one. Instead, here is her rendition of We Wish you a Merry Christmas and Jingle Bells.
Today we took the girls for Chinese food and to see Planet 51. It was awful but Isla liked it; she is into aliens at the moment. Afterwards we went to see the Christmas lights and German market in Princes Street gardens. I love Edinburgh at Christmas time. The cold and the lights totally get you in the mood for Christmas.
Isla is getting pretty excited that Santa is coming next weekend. She is convinced he is bringing her a pony. God only knows where she got this idea, she's never mentioned a horse before now. I think I will order her this so she isn't disappointed!
Ever since I saw your elf video, I have been bugging my Mum to make one of me and Lee Lee. I even promised her I would sleep all night if she did it tonight.
Isla and her Daddy made a gingerbread house tonight. Craig had a lot of fun playing with sugar and Isla was incredibly proud of herself for doing such a good job. Here she is jumping up and down yelling "Well done Isla! Good job!"Throughout all this Christmas festivity, Leah tried to fit a rice cake and a jaffa cake in her mouth at the same time.
Isla is into dressing up. She somehow managed to squeeze herself into her sister's Halloween costume so she could sing and dance about to The Jungle Book. 
Isla is into dressing up. She somehow managed to squeeze herself into her sister's Halloween costume so she could sing and dance about to The Jungle Book. 
