7 Quick Takes, Volume 43

Thanks to Jen for hosting!

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Emily and Erin had their 1 year checkup yesterday! Other than showing up 20 minutes late for their appointment, it went great. For the record, we were late because I made the appointments 3 months ago and I only got a reminder for Emily's appointment - which was second, not first. Oh well. They were very accommodating and saw us anyway. Our girls have really grown this year! They are both 10 inches taller, their heads are about 5 inches bigger, and they have definitely gained weight too. Erin has almost quadrupled her birth weight (6 lbs 2 oz to 22 lbs) and Emily has almost tripled hers (7 lbs 2 oz to 19 lbs 14 oz). It was really humbling to realize how tiny they once were and how God has blessed our little family over the past year. The shots were not too fun - it's so scary to hear your child wail in pain and fear. But it's nothing compared to the diseases they protect against, so it's worth it in the end.

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My brother and his wife recently moved back to Oregon from Arizona, so we went up to Portland to visit them this week. We planned a trip to IKEA with a quick stop at H&M - two of my favorite in-person stores - as well as a visit to their new house! The trip went pretty smoothly, overall. We timed the driving with normal napping and sleeping times, so the girls were happy in the car. The only time that we drove while they were awake, I squeezed in the back seat between their car seats to keep them company. Did I mention my mom drives a Corolla?

Erin, watching a plane in the IKEA parking lot

Emily, watching a plane while we load up the car

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I wrote a few weeks ago about how Erin called me "Ah-ma". I really thought she was just trying to say "mama", but apparently she had other ideas. We were playing with her Elmo doll, and suddenly she looked at the doll and said "ah-ma!" Watching their favorite Elmo video on Youtube later in the day, she pointed at the screen and said "ah-ma! ah-ma!". Everywhere she sees Elmo, she can name him. Sometimes she says "mama!" but mostly? "Ah-ma!" I am so proud of how she's aware that Elmo can be in a book, on TV, on my phone, or in her hands - what an amazing little girl!

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Emily, quite proficient with saying "bye" whenever anyone makes a move towards any door, has also added "yeah" as her response to any question. She's got the inflection idea down, which is impressive. I can't get over how snuggly Miss Emily is - wearing her around in the Ergo will never get old. I love wearing Erin too, but Emily is just a cuddlebug all the way.

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We had a fun little episode yesterday evening, involving something that had really never crossed my mind until earlier in the week when I read Mandi's post. I was giving Emily and Erin a bath, and they were playing while I sat beside the tub. I looked away for about a minute, and suddenly there was silence. I whipped around just in time to see an ominous smear on Emily's chest. Yep, she'd pooped in the tub. For the second time in two days. Only this time, she'd gotten curious and decided to grab some. Lovely. Much to her delight, I rinsed her mouth with the handheld showerhead, drained the tub, and got everything and everyone cleaned up. We topped it off with a tooth brushing, complete with strawberry banana baby toothpaste, and fervent prayers that my babies would be healthy. I really hope we never repeat that. Lessons learned: don't put all the toys in the tub, and bubble bath can be dangerous camouflage. All you moms know what I mean.

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Our trip to H&M was really more of a mission, involving some shirts that I just had to have. For reference, I have to wear collared shirts for my job, and most often that means polos in the summer. After eight years, most of my polos have had it. I knew I didn't want more polos, since they tend to shrink and have thick, itchy ribbing around the sleeves. So I polled my friends and got a lead to these shirts. I love them. They are perfect for work - nice and cool, with cooperative collars. I also can wear them outside of work, which I can't say for polos. That's a plus for sure. Here's the first one on its inaugural outing today:

I finally got brave enough to post a makeup-free picture!

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Last but not least, I shared my thoughts on feminism and why I can't align myself with the mainstream feminist movement over at Fine Linen and Purple today. How do you feel about feminism? Would you call yourself a feminist? I'm really curious to hear what people have to say on this topic!

Showing off a few of my favorite things.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!