Williams Family

Sweet Peep

2012-01-20T19:37:00.001-06:00

Peep, Trev's grandfather, passed away yesterday. I didn't get to know him very long but he did bless me none the less. Most of the time I knew him his mind was not clear but he always made me laugh and had such a sweet spirit.

Here he is meeting Bailey back in 2009. She was chillin hanging out with him in Colorado.

Trev tells me fun stories of camping with him and granny and staying in the RV when he was a kid. I have only witnessed these times through pictures put seems like a blast to me. Here he is meeting Mckenzie back in November. He always seemed to have a great love of children.

One of my favorite memories of him was when we were visiting in Colorado. It was before Trev and I had kids but Cade, our nephew, was there. He had thrown a tantrum at the table so Chad, trev's brother, had taken Cade outside to give him a time out and of course he was out there crying away. Peep just couldn't take it so he had to go out there and comfort him. Rest in peace sweet Peep. Even though I am not sure I ever met the Peep that many people talk about I was still bleseed to have known you. You will be missed by many but I think everyone is resting in the peace that you are now in a place where you mind and body have been renewed.

The Park in January

2012-01-19T22:52:00.000-06:00

If you live in Texas and its January you don't have to worry about snow too much! Instead you get to worry about which park you ride your bike to and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Once you are there you crawl around on bridges,

play in the dirt,

look cute,

hide from mommy,

laugh at mommy,

throw mulch,

stand guard,

and just be as happy as you can be.

Nope, no snow to worry about...only thing to worry about is crazy hair from all the static on the slide!

Sister feeding herself

2012-01-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

I had several people tell me that with your second child it seems they want to be a bigger kid sooner. So, far this seems to be true with sister bear. She wants to be down running (crawling) around with the big kids. Lately she does not want me to feed her anything off of a spoon. I remember Bailey going through this phase too. I have given both of them just an extra spoon and that made Bailey happy and sister happy until today. I remember thinking Bailey would never learn to use a spoon well and I think she was almost 18 months old before she could. Sister, however, took matters into her own hands. She is a mess and you will see quite proud of herself!

Swinging in January

2012-01-15T19:57:00.001-06:00

The weather this weekend was really nice. The wind had a bit of chill today but we did manage to get out and enjoy it. Bailey has started riding her bike again and is much better at it than she was a couple of months ago. We rode all the way to the park tonight and when we got home she told me, "Momma, I am very, very tired!" HA!

I didn't get any pictures of the bike riding. :( Mckenzie is cutting a tooth and was sort of grumpy today with a slight fever. Although you would know from these pictures. It is funny how a change of scenery does everyone some good!

She laughs so hard and LOVES to swing!

Of course this girl loves to swing too. We have to move the porch furniture though so she won't hit it with her feet! Remember when her little feet just barely stuck out.

She is my "helper" though and also pushed sister for me while I sit and enjoy the sunshine.

Always nice for a bright sunny day after rainy days. I am not a big fan of snow but I do hope we get some for Sugie's sake. She asks me everyday, "Momma we build a snowman if it snows?"

11 months old!

2012-01-06T20:40:00.001-06:00

I can't believe that you are 11 months old my sister bear! Time is going way to fast. Somedays you still seem like my little baby and then other days I think you are getting so big. HEre is what you are up to these days.

1) I am guessing you weigh about 18 pounds and wear mostly 12 month clothes and a size 3 diaper.

2) You nurse 4 or 5 times a day and eat 3 "meals." You have really started to eat like a big girl though and will try just about anything. You really don't like to be spoon fed anymore except for pears, yogurt, and ice cream! HA!

3) You can say momma, dada, ball, and will repeat just about sounds that we make. You really like to growl and mimic us. :)

4) You pull up on everything now and have even seen you taking a few side steps while holding onto the sofa. I think we are a little away from walking though. :)

5) You love to be outside and we have been having some beautiful weather lately. Bailey loves to push you around in the little red car and you like it a lot too.

6) You take 2 naps now. A short one in the morning around 9:30 or so and a longer one in the afternoon around 1:30 or 2. You go to be around 7 and get up around 7. You still wake in the night for a snack or two or three.

7) You are usually pretty happy although this last month you had a few weeks where you were really unhappy. Not really sure what was going on with that but you seem better and much happier now!

8) Sometimes you play out in the backyard with your sister. You 2 are already getting into things. I found you out there playing in the dirt today. :)

9) You love to "help" me with the laundry.

10) We love you so much you sweet sister bear. I can't believe it has been almost a year since we met you. Seems like you have always been apart of our lives. Can't wait to see what you learn this next month!

My Perfect Life...well with a little perspective.

2012-01-03T21:27:00.002-06:00

I am very blessed but I am far from perfect. I had an acquaitance at the store the other day tell me, "Everytime I see you out with your kids you always seem to have it together." Obviously, she hasn't seen me at the store enough because we have had our fair share of less than desirable behavior while out and about. The thing is that everything in life is about perspective.

My life is for sure not perfect. I eat too much, I am not always kind, I talk about people behind their backs, I have spanked my child in anger, I have yelled at my children, I have plopped my children in front of the TV because I didn't feel like being mom, I have said very unkind things to my husband, I don't get enough sleep, and I could go on and on and on. THe thing is that when I look at these things in perspective then they all seem so trivial.

Now, don't get me wrong I have my fair share of pity partys for myself. Just ask my husband. However, as soon as a pity party starts there is always some clarity to snap me back into perspective. For example, the days leading up to Christmas and even Christmas day, Mckenzie was a mess. She would not sleep for more than 30 mintues day or night and cried pretty much every minute that she was awake. I was exhausted and desperate for sleep and starting to get at my whits end. I felt angry and annoyed at her even though I knew being angry and annoyed at a baby who obviously didn't feel well was silly but that is how I felt. Then a lady I know through La Leche lost her baby who had been born prematurely. She went to the hospital on Christmas Eve to say good by to him because his little body could not fight anymore. I cried my eyes out rocking Mckenzie to sleep that night. Here I had been so annoyed that she wouldn't sleep and I know that this mother would give anything in the world to be rocking her baby to sleep for hours if that is what it took. Again, it is all about perspective.

I often wonder if people think my life is all rainbows and gumdrops when they read my blog because I really only write about the happy times. I don't really omit the "bad" times it is just I have a hard time writing when I am down because I always don't feel quite right about feeling down when really I have it so easy. I mean I have a roof over my head, healthy kids, a loving husband who provides for me so to write about how I am having to clean poopy panties just seems arbitrary when somewhere in the world some mom is washing her entire families clothes in a dirty river.

Have you ever visited a third world country? I think everyone should at some point. It really gives you perspective about how we live in this country and how blessed we really are. I mean I think it is ok to be grumpy sometimes and not feel all that great but really what do we have to be so grumpy about? Anyway, I just think we should all try and have some perspective. I know that it helps me.

I know this was sort of a rambly post and I hope it makes sense I have just been thinking a lot about it lately as many around me have been handed a less than fair share of cards.

Bailey's Third Birthday!

2011-12-28T20:52:00.001-06:00

I decided not to have a birthday party for Bailey this year and to use the money to go to the great wolf lodge with friends. So, the weeks before the great wold lodge Bailey talked about "going swimming fur my burfday" constantly. So, if you asked her what she wanted to do on her real birthday she would say she wanted to go swimming. So, my plan of just doing the great wolf lodge for her early birthday didn't totally work out and we ended up at another waterpark! A friend of mine had told me about the waterpark at the villages in tyler. It was fantastic and we had a great time. It is about a hour and half drive from home but it was hardly crowded and a nice way to spend Bailey's birthday on a cold rainy day.

Sugie had the time of her life. Of course we knew that she would since she loves to swim so much.

She enjoyed the slides this time but her favorite was the lazy river. She rode on the float, swam around and held onto our feet.

Sister liked the lazy river also. Well at least for a little bit. She had to wear a life jacket in there and infant life jackets are so uncomfortable. So, she was ready to get out and enjoy crawling around in the water.

She is such a water baby that it cracks me up. She just lets the water splash her in the face without a care.

Hey let me slide!

Sugie did not enjoy the slides as much but did go down them a few times. It was against the rules to ride with kids but we broke the rules a few times. :)

Happy Birthday Sugar Bear! Hope that you had a great time "swimming for your burfday!"

3 year checkup!

2011-12-28T16:15:00.000-06:00

Bailey had her 3 year check up today and she acted like such a big girl. We will see how the next trip goes but I have never seen a kid so happy about being at a doctors office! HA! Anyway, she wasn't due for any vaccinations but did get a flu shot and walked around like she was wounded both physcially and emotionally. Anyway she weighed in at 30.2 pounds and was 37 1/2 inches tall which are both int he 50th percentile. So, she is truely an average old bear.

My big 3 year old!

2011-12-28T12:44:00.001-06:00

Bailey I can't believe that you are now 3! You have changed so much over the last year that I just can't beleive it. Here is a recap of the year and what you are up to these days!

In January you got to play in the snow and build your first snow man. You loved the snow even though you were freezing cold. We would ask you if you wanted to come inside and you would say NO! HA! The snow also caused me to miss a lot of work so it meant a lot of time for just me and you before Mckenzie came and also time for me and you to rest up. We took some good long winters naps!

In February Mckenzie was born and you became a big sister! I look back at these pictures and you were such a baby. You can be a really good big sister when you want to, of course sometimes you are not so nice. :) When you are sweet though you are really sweet. You sing to her when she cries and bring toys to her when she is bored. You also worry about her all the time and want to know where she is. If we go anywhere just the two of us you want to know where sister is and as soon as we get home you go and find her. The first thing you say every morning is "where is sister" As soon as she is up from her nap you are the first one in her room to get her up. It is very sweet. I hope you will be the best of friends. :)

March brought warm weather and trips to the Arboretum and the zoo. We had a lot of fun hanging out. You really seemed to start talking my ear off around this point and got really good with your colors and your numbers. You know all of your basic colors and can count to 15 and I almost to 10 in spanish. Thanks Dora!

April was busy with many more trips to the zoo, easter, nursing your babies and more of being a big sister. The picture of you with bed head really makes me laugh becuase it seems you make us laugh more and more every day. You say the funniest things and at times say things because you know that they will make us laugh.

May brought warmer weather and by the end of the month we were doing your favorite past time: swimming! You also started working on pedaling you tricycle. Then there was time for dress up too. You enjoy dressing up with it is on your terms especially with hats, necklaces and bracelets.

June it really started to get hot here so we took some trips to the library and played around the house. You really like to go to the library and read the books and check them out. We also got you a big girl bed and you were super excited. You sleep really good now unless you are sick. You sleep about 10 -11 hours at night and take a 1-2 hour nap. You still love ot walk your animals around like you do Lorax. You have also become interested in Barbies.

In July your cousins came to visit for July 4th and we enjoyed swimming, watching fireworks, making bubbles and coloring with them. You really love all kinds of fruit and are a pretty good eater. You prefer veggies raw dipped in ranch. You also love to color and are getting pretty good at drawing faces now.

August it was HOT so we enjoyed things indoors like the aquarium and the safari park. We also went to the circus. ARound the house you helped me bake. You love to help me do anything in the kitchen and have gotten pretty good at cracking an egg. HA!

September there were more trips to the arboretum and the zoo as the weather cooled off. You also started gymnastics and you love it so much. Your favorite things to do there are jump on the trampoline and in the pit and to swing on the bar like a monkey. September also brought about potty training and you wearing panties. You have done really well with potty training except for pooping. You can take yourself to go pee pee no problem from turning on the light all the way to washing your hand but pooping, well, hopefully we will get to the point that we get it in the potty at all times! HA! :)

October brought lots of fun with pumpkin patches, trick or treating, and fall carnivals. We had plenty of fun at home dressing up and "flying high in the sky" YOu love when daddy comes home and require that he play with you for a good 30 mintues when he gets home. I love that you are so dare devilish. You also learned to ride your bike this month but had a nasty fall and have not wanted to really ride your bike that much. I am hoping by the time that it gets warm outside again you will forget about the fall and be ready to ride again. :)

In November we took a trip to Guymon and battled several sickness. So, we enjoyed some time playing at home. You love to brush your teeth and are now using big girl toothpaste. The way that you spit cracks me up! :) You love to push sister in the umbrella stroller. You also love to be tickled. You will say, "ticke me I am going to run" and then take of running and screaming for one of us to chase you. :)

We finished up the year by going to the great wolf lodge, going to the museum, seeing santa, celebrating christmas and of course playing aroudn the house. You really love your puzzles and have recently gotten gotten into the ABC puzzle. ABC song is one of your favorite songs along with Twinkle, twinkle little star. You know some of your letters but not all of them. Your favorite letters are S and B. You also love to play music and pass out instruments for every one to play! It makes us laugh.

Sugie we are so glad that you have become such a big girl and that you make are independant and make us laugh everyday. You are still a really good cuddler and give the best hugs and kisses. We love you so much! Here is a look back at the last 3 years.

You on the first day we met!

Your first birthday!

Your second birthday!

My big 3 year old! Can't wait to see what the next year brings! :)

Christmas Day!

2011-12-27T21:00:00.002-06:00

We had a low key Christmas but it was nice. Mimi and Poppy came over and we opened presents, had lunch, and played with the new toys. :)

This is what it looked like on Christmas morning. Santa brought Bailey a dollhouse and sister a bead thing. Oh and he also brought Bailey a little dog house. If you are friends with me on Facebook then you know that for some reason Bailey had started asking us for a dog house. Not really sure what it was about but she was unimpresed with the A frame dog house that Santa made! HA!

Sister was up first of course and she was happy to find her present. Poor thing has been sleeping horrible and not been a very happy camper so this was probably the happiest that she was all of Christmas.

I finally woke Sugie up at 9 and told her that Santa had come and brought presents. She said, "Presents for me!" HA!

She was pretty impressed with the doll house.

Here is a better look at her "dog house" As you can see Santa had to make do with what he found in the house.

She had said she wanted the dog house to sleep in. So she did lay down to "sleep" in it once and then later tried to climb the dog house and then never cared about it after that!

After she had started talking about the dog house I was worried that the doll house was just going to be lame but by Christmas night she was still playing with the Barbies and asking me to change their clothes. I forgot how hard it is to get Barbie in and out of her clothes.

We didn't open any other presents until Mimi and Poppy came over. Usually the older cousins are the present deliverers but since they weren't here Bailey filled in. She thought that was as fun as openeing the presents.

Helping daddy open his present

Sugie tearing into a present.

Mckenzie and Poppy checking out some new toys.

Duke helping Mimi crochet! Silly dog! HA!

We had a great time. THanks for coming over Mimi and Poppy.

Oh and I almost forgot! This is what Santa brought me!

WE don't usually do presents for ourselves but I am glad Santa brought me this one! :) Unlimited, hastle and mess free fire!

Chrismtas Eve

2011-12-24T19:53:00.002-06:00

We are having a low key Christmas Eve around here but the girs got to open one present this morning. This is what we did as kids and I am carrying it on. Trev said we shouldn't open them until the evening but I was like then they won't be able to play with it all day. Anyway, Bailey helped me wrap some presents last night so she was so excited to get to open a present this morning.

It was the first time sister has opened a present so I helped get it started for her. :) She was happy to get to rip some paper.

Of course Sugie was tearing right in.

Thats it sister! Open the presents!

Keep going sister. The present is not paper! :)

Bailey had hers open in no time and asked me what it was. I told her that it was a traing and she said, "I love presents!" HA!

Bailey loves trains. Anytime that we go to boys houses to play she gets so excited to play with all the trains. So, I thought that this animal train was perfect. She played with it for most of today.

Sister got a little noise maker ladybug.

She had fun trying to figure out how to operate it.

Of course big sister was glad to "help" I have a feeling that big sister is going to love Mckenzie's toys just as much as her own this year.

I think they were both pretty please with their christmas eve gifts.

Can't wait utnil tomorrow. Bailey has been asking for a "dog house" that she can "sleep in" Not sure what that is about but hopefully Santa has been listening since she just came up with this in the last few days.

Our days

2011-12-21T20:23:00.000-06:00

For most of you this post will probably put you to sleep or bore you to tears. I have seen on several peoples blogs them putting the schedule of their day. I think it will be fun to look back and see what in the world we did when the kids are little. I think about life before kids and wonder, "what in the world did I do?" So in a few years when the kids are older I won't have to ask this question! HA! So here it is!

6:45 am - Sister usually wakes up. She is usually already in bed with me from an earlier wake up so she might have a snack or just sit and chatter with me.

7 am - Trev usually gets up and takes sister into the bathroom with him while he gets ready. She crawls around and plays and I usually doze back off.

7:30 am - If we are needing to be out of the house soon I usually jump in the shower. If not then me and sister go downstairs and eat breakfast together. WHile she is finishing up her breakfast I usually jump on the computer and see what is going on in the world, I mean Facebook.

8:00 - 9:30 - If we have somewhere big we are going like the zoo or museum I am usually getting things ready to go in this time. If not then me and sister will play some and I might do a few things around the house. Sugie usually wakes up around 8:30 or 9 and she joins in the fun and eats some breakfast. If we have somewhere to be she might eat breakfast in the car.

9:30 - Sister takes her first nap. If we are going somewhere like the zoo or museum then she usually just catches this nap in the car and we leave the house around this time. I usually shower during this time because as soon as sister wakes up is our window of oppurtunity to get things done outside of the house. Sugie either takes a shower with me, watches TV or plays while I do this. I usually get her ready in this time too.

10:30: Sister gets up from her nap and I get her dressed if I haven't already and usually nurse her if she is interested.

10:30 - 1:30ish: We usually get out of the house and go and run a few errands, go to the store or go to a playgroup. If we are out and about sometimes we might go and catch lunch out. If not then we eat lunch at home around noon and then play after that until naptime. If we don't go out then we do stuff around the house, go on a walk if the weather is nice, and play. Usually after lunch Bailey wants us to all go upstairs and play. If I am trying to get some cleaning done Bailey might watch a little TV in this time also.

1:30 - Bailey usually lays down for a nap.

1:30 - 2:00 - Mckenzie and I usually play and she might nurse a bit relaxing into thinking about a nap. I might watch a little TV while she plays near me or hop on the computer.

2:00: Mckenzie lays down for a nap. I usually lay down and nap too. I usually sleep for 30 minutes to an hour. Every now and then I might crash out until one of them wakes me up! Then I usually watch trash TV, do a few things around the house, work on something for dinner, or get on the computer.

3:30 - 4: Bailey and Mckenzie wake up sometime in here. Usuaully Bailey is up first. If she wakes up drowsy she sometimes wants me to cuddle on the couch with her or read some books, but sometimes she wakes up and is just ready to play. Then Mckenzie wakes up and I nurse her.

4:00 - 5:45ish: We hang out. If I didn't get an errand run int he moring we might run out real quick. If the weather is nice we might go on a walk. If I have dinner to work on I might turn on the TV for the girls to watch or we might just all play on the floor together.

5:45: Daddy gets home! THe girls usually play around with him while I finish up dinner.

6:00: We all eat dinner. Sometimes I have already started feeding Mckenzie and sometimes Bailey will be begging to eat before now so we just go with what works. After dinner Trev usually plays with the kids while I clean up the kitchen. Before winter he would usually go outside with the kids and then I would join them to play.

6:30: Trev gives the girls a bath. I usually just veg out, read the mail, get on the computer or finish some things in the kitchen.

7:00 - I put sister to bed.

7:00 - 9:30ish - This time is not very consistent. Bailey takes such a late nap that she is usually not in bed before 10. Trev is usually already playing with her while I put Mckenzie down so they might play for a while. I might go and run som errands alone or have dinner with a friend. Bailey might help me bake something, we might read some books, she might watch some Tv. Like I said who knows what is really going on in this time.

9:30: We start working on getting Bailey to bed with brushing teeth and reading books.

10:00: Bailey goes to bed. Trev and I might hang out for a while by watching TV or talking or we might both be on our computers.

11:00: I go to bed unlesss I haven't passed out before now.

So there you have it folks. I know you are jealous of my exciting day! HA!

Polar Express

2011-12-19T19:57:00.000-06:00

Our neighborhood had their Polar Express event on Friday evening. Bailey was super excited to go and ride the train!

Bailey and Daddy loaded up and ready to go! They train drives around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. I was very excited that the train was more adult size this year. LAst year I was 8 months pregnant and could barely breath the whole ride!

Not a great pic but Trev was smiling! :)

Bailey asked if the train was going to have a whistle and so Trev brought the whistle with us. Funny daddy!

Me and Sister. :)

Sugie enjoying the ride.

I like when she makes this little smile

Choo-Choo!

Beautiful sister

Then we went inside and had cookies and hot chocolate and did a little coloring.

We saw Santa again and sister was not impressed this time. She was acutally already getting fussy becuase she was tired and ready for bed. Poor sister. :(

Children's Museum - Let's play pretend

2011-12-18T20:42:00.000-06:00

ON Friday we went to the Children's Museum in Commerce. I had heard great things about it and we had a lot of fun. THey have a lot of playing pretend stuff. So we pretended to be a lot of things.

First we pretended to go to the hospital. Sugie of course decided to "go to sweep (sleep)'

"Sister let me listen to your heart"

Then she looked at a few x-rays.

Then she pretended to be a pilot

She took me and sister for a little ride.

Sisters taking a moment to play together.

Time to pretend to shop. I am pretty sure with all the shopping we do she should have this one down.

Time to checkout. She better have coupons for that stuff.

Checking out

Sister Chillin'

Sister on a wagon ride.

Pretending to be a farmer

The giant bubble room

Doing a little fishing

Finally a little palentology work. :) We had a great time. Can't wait to go back.

The Great Wolf Lodge = The time of our lives!

2011-12-14T20:17:00.000-06:00

On Sunday we went to the Great Wolf Lodge! It was the best place ever for my little water babies. If you have never been before you need to go now. We checked in on Sunday and stayed until Monday and it was perfect becuase there was hardly anyone there. You could go up and just walk onto almost all of the slides without having to wait in line. It was awesome. There are so many other things to do there but my water loving family spent all our time besides sleeping in the water park. :)

This little monkey hit the water on Sunday afternoon and pretty much played and swam until she could no longer keep her eyes open. I don't have that many pics of her becuase most of the are blurry. There was a blue slide that was her favorite! HEre is a video of her riding it.

My other water loving baby was much easier to take pictures of.

She spent some of her time riding around on me like this and napping but also enjoyed crawling around in the water.

It was fun to have a baby in the crawling stage in the water. We didn't get to experience that with Sugie so I was glad we got to with sister.

This was one of sisters favorite little spots to hang out where the water came up.

I think she liked it just a little bit!

Hey where did the water go? It would crack me up when the water would shut off. She would look at me like, hey turn that back on.

As you can see I went a little nuts taking pictures of sister! HA!

Too cute! Even from behind. :)

That is my other kid. I think he rode every ride there. He actually decided that bailey would like this one. So we sent her down.

Good thing I took a picture because that might be the first and last time she rides that one. I think it went a little too fast and splashed to much water on her in the end. :( She didn't cry but when I asked her if she wanted to ride it again she said, "No I go ride the blue slide" which was back in the kids area.

Her and Trev probably circled the river a few hundred times as well.

Here they are in the wave pool. Not a great pic but I loved all the decorations in the water park as well.

I can't wait to go back. Last I will leave you with a video of sister bear, water baby. :)

Santa Baby

2011-12-10T09:46:00.001-06:00

We made a trip to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop again this year! I love that they have such a great santa!

Mckenzie ready to see Santa! I was not quite sure how it would go but I was armed with goldfish to distract her.

I love that they have so many things to help distract the kids while you wait in line. I always enjoy watching all the reactions of all the kids.

Trev and Bailey waiting for Santa and driving the car.

Then it was time for Santa and we had no tears but not a whole lot of luck with pictures. My camera took blurry pictures and they tried twice to get the picture but Mckenzie's eyes were closed in both.

In usual fashion no smiles and no one looking at the camera! MCkenzie never even looked at Santa so I don't think she even knew who had her. :)

Blurry...at least santa looks good.

Finally both looking but pic is so blurry I can't see a thing!

At least Bailey is sortof smiling and I think Mckenzie may have fallen asleep from all the pictures! Oh well there is always next year. Here are the pics from years past. As you see we have never had tears but never had a good pic either! :)

Bailey's First Santa experience. She was about to fall asleep too

Sugie's second experience....Maybe next year!?! :)

10 months old!

2011-12-06T20:42:00.001-06:00

Mckenzie you turned 10 months old on Monday! This last month has been a rough one for you. You had RSV, a stomach bug and cut a few teeth. :( Here is what you are up to these days.

1) You wear a size 3 diaper and mostly 12 month clothes although you pretty much have to wear leggings or they just fall right off of you.

2) You nurse 4 or 5 times a day and eat 3 "meals" with us. You really prefer to feed yourself and eat off my plate than eating purees. You really like yogurt too but I have had to slow you down on that because I am not sure that it agrees with you.

3) You are pulling up to your knees but not quite pulling up to a stand yet. Well except for on the stairs and then it seems as if you think you might be able to climb them. Mommy needs to get a gate ASAP.

4) You love to explore your world and see everything there is to see. ONe of your favorite places in the house is upstairs in the game room. You love to play with everything up there.

5) You can crawl pretty fast now and follow me and Sugie all over the house. Which is nice because you don't have to cry for us you can just come and find us.

6) You love to tear up all of your sisters puzzles and chew on the pieces. You also make the same cabbage patch kid face as your sister. :)

7) Bailey has already taught you the art of music. I think you have about mastered the xylophone!

8) You have 3 1/2 teeth in right now. The bottow 2 are pretty far in. The top 2 are the other ones but one of them has not completely broken through yet.

9) Bailey can make you laugh the hardest and you love to play with her. She can also be mean to you at times and you don't like that at all. I keep telling her that you are going to be able to fight back very soon! :)

10) I love to see you smile and love seeing you play. You reall y like for me to hold you a lot and that is ok because I know before to long you will be to busy for me to hold.

11) I think I have you down to taking 2 naps. You have been all over the place this month with sickness and travel and really sometimes would like to squeeze in a 3rd nap but you do better to just skip that and go to bed at 7. So you sleep at night from about 7 to 7 the next morning and wake for a few snacks along the way. You usually are in bed with me by 3 or 4 in the moring.

12) I have seen you clap your hands a few times but are not doing it consistently.

13) You say mama and dada. I have heard you say bye bye a few times and wave but you are not doing that consistently. You do like to shake your head and say no. We taught you that with a little game we play called, "sister are you a (insert some object or animal)" I really need to get that on video. I am also working with you on signing more and all done. You will shake your head no when you are all done.

14) Another game you like to play is "sister where are you" Your daddy and Sugie taught you this one but I caught it on video when it was just you and me.

That about wraps up the last month sister bear. I can't believe it is only 2 months until you will be one. I am looking forward to enjoying christmas with you. I think Santa will be bringing you some wonderful gifts!

Guymon Trip

2011-11-30T20:58:00.001-06:00

We left after Thanksgiving to go up to Trev's dad's house to visit and for Trev to go hunting. It is SO FAR to his Dad's house and with Mckenzie hating the car I decided to fly most of the way! HA! Mckenzie and I flew to Oklahoma City on the way there and then drove the last 5 hours and then drove 2 hours and left from Amarillo on the way home! Bailey and Trev drove the whole 10 hours! :) It worked out perfect.

THat is sister waiting on our flight to leave from Dallas.

She was the perfect traveling partner. She likes planes much more than the car. She would play for a bit and then proceed to fall asleep both plane rides. It was unusual for me to have only one kid for most of the day on the days we flew. I must tell you it was a real cake walk!

Yipee! Let's go momma!

We mostly just hung out and relaxed while we were there. Bailey was not quite her self because she was battling a bladder infection and Mckenzie did not nap well and was teething so she was sort of grump. We did have fun seeing Trev's dad.

I finally gave up on trying to get a good picture!

So we just played and visited. I wish I would have taken more pictures but there really wasn't too much excitement.

Of course I always get some good pics of sister. :)

On the way home before they dropped me at the airport we stopped to visit Trev's grandparents. It was great to get to see them and for them to get to see Mckenzie and Bailey.

Mckenzie meeting and chatting with Granny.

Sweet Peep talking with Mckenzie.

Who has you sister?

Peep and Trev

Bailey wasn't really into taking pictures so we sort of tricked her with getting in the stroller.

It was a great ending to the trip!

Bailey's First Haircut!

2011-11-22T23:10:00.001-06:00

I have been wanting to get Bailey's haircut for a while now but I have been terrified to do it! The last time we were getting our haircut she kept telling me she wanted to get hers cut but the guy cutting my hair was doing less than a great job, so, no way Jose! I had thought about taking her to Kids Cuts where they get to sit in a car and watch TV but I had not heard great things about that place. Tonight we were at Great Clips and while I was getting my hair cut she kept telling me, "Momma I need my haircut" The lady cutting my hair was doing a great job and was super nice so I decided to go for it while the getting was good. I mean lets face it getting your hair cut at Great Clips is a gamble. It is far on the edge as this housewife gets to live but I am not quite up to the risk with Bailey's hair. When I told Bailey she was going to get her hair cut she was already climbing in the chair. (We were not prepared with our camera so you will have to get by with the not so good camera pics that are sort of blurry)

She was super excited! Then when the lady got the penguin "cape" out she was even more excited!

SHe sat very, very still and was just as cute as can be.

SHe of course did make a few funny faces!

Such a big girl. I am so not ready for her to be 3 next month!

All done! I really just had them trim it off and get rid of her "tail". The back is where there is a bigger difference.. Hopefully now it will grow more. I could not get her to smile to save my life. I should have gotten a picture of her with her card that she got but I had already given Trev back his phone.

Front of her little keepsake card. Pretty fancy for Great Clips

The inside of the card. Glad I will have something to show her those "white" locks. :)

We are ALIVE!

2011-11-20T15:57:00.001-06:00

So, I guess you have seen I dropped off the face of the earth for a while! Wow, the last 2 weeks have been a mess! We are not usually a sick family but wow the last 2 weeks seemed to prove that wrong. Here is the line up of sickness in the last 2 weeks:

Mckenzie: RSV, ear infection, stomach bug
Bailey: Bad cold and stomach bug
Trev: Sore throat/fever and stomach bug
Me: T-I-R-E-D!

Ok so tiredness is not really a sickness but I am wiped out! Maybe the sickness is going to hit me this week. All I know was the thought of me being sick in all of that mess would have been a wreck. The RSV and the colds were the worst because the poor girls just couldn't get any rest. They would just cough their heads off and then wake up crying. So, I slept with one on each side of me. I felt just awful for them both. Then as soon as they were getting well the stomach bug attacked them. That was pretty bad too but at least it was short lived and they could at least get some sleep. What makes me mad is that I am pretty sure that we probably picked that stomach bug up at the doctors office. I mean we didn't go anywhere for a solid week EXCEPT for the doctor's office. Don't you love how they sit you in the sick room with a bunch of other sick people and a weakened immune system. I guess it shouldn't be a suprise that we picked up something!

So I have no fancy pictures today. In fact I am not even sure were my camera is! HA! We are well now though! Just in time to stuff our faces for Thanksgiving!

9 month checkup...healthy as a horse...well except for RSV

2011-11-08T14:47:00.000-06:00

Mckenzie had her 9 month checkup today. She weighed in at 17 pound 6 ounces and was I think 27.75 inches long but I don't exactly remember that one. She has had a runny nose and been coughing at night since saturday but to be honest hasn't felt that sick. This morning Bailey was coughing and Mckenzie did seem a little wheezy but I wasn't that worried but we did enter the "sick" door instead of "well" door. Anyway, the doctor seemed a little concerned about her breathing and wheezing and said I haven't seen it yet but I think she has RSV. They did a test and sure enough she does. She did say she thought she was the happiest RSV baby she had ever seen. She tried a breathing treatment on her in the office but it didn't seem to help her to much so she said to just "nurse her on through." So, looks like we will be chilling at home the rest of the week and resting up. No vaccines this visit and they drew blood for blood work that she said "looks great" I totally forgot what they test for! So, call me mother of the year that I took both of my kids yesterday to the library to infect the rest of Rockwall County with RSV. My bad.

9 months!

2011-11-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

Sister bear you are 9 months old! I can't believe it. It seems like you have been in our lives forever. You have been learning and doing so much lately that it really reminds me that you as a baby is slipping by way to fast. :( Here is what you are up to these days.

1) You wear a size 3 diaper and 6/9 and 12 month clothes. Any pants besides leggings are way to big in the waist though. Looks like we might just live in leggings like your sister this winter.

2) You are super happy many times and can give the biggest smiles though. Watch out though because you can go from a look like this to screaming and crying in 5 seconds! HA!

3) You are happiest on the go. You love to stroller around in the stroller and look at everything or ride in the carrier on the front of me. You are still not a big fan of the car though.

4) You are a pretty good eater. You nurse about 5 or 6 times a day and eat 2 "meals" with us. You prefer to pick up food and feed yourself but do also like the purees. Mommy has even given you some samples here or there of some big people food. :)

5) You have the army crawl completely perfected and can get everywhere fast! You have started to get up in the "real" crawl stance the last few days and take a few "steps." You can also go from a crawl to a sit now so I think you will soon realize that crawling on your hands and knees is much faster than the army crawl. I even saw you pull up on a couple of things today.

6) You are still in the 3 to 2 nap transistion. Sometimes there is a 1 hour morning nap and then a 2 hour afternoon nap and then other times you take 3 1-hour naps.

7) You go to bed at 8 and on a good night and are usually up at least once or twice. You usually spend from about 3 am on tucked into bed with mommy.

8) You can make some pretty funny faces that really make me laugh and seem to always be doing something with your tongue!

9) We are enjoying the cooler weather and had chilly trip to the zoo. I am loving you in your little hoodies. :)

10) Some days you seem so big to me and other days you seem so little. On this day we took you to a HAlloween party in your ghost shirt and you seemed so big to me! Slow down sister stop growing so fast!

11) You really love to play upstairs in the play room and can crawl into the tent. Sugie is always telling me to take you upstairs so that she can play with you in the tent or play puzzles with you. Of course your idea of playing puzzles is eating the pieces.

We love you so much sister bear and are enjoying watching you grow and change. I just wish it wasn't happening so fast! Love you sister bear!

Trick or Treat

2011-11-02T17:14:00.002-05:00

We had a excellent Halloween! WE started the day with my Mom group's Halloween party (and yes you must turn your head sideways I still don't know how to fix that problem). The kids mostly played but they also got to "trick or treat" to each mom. Bailey kept telling me, "Momma I knock on the door?" I think she was confused why I had told her you knock on a door to trick or treat but now we were just walking around a yard! HA!

This little bug enjoyed the party and the nice weather.

Do you remember me taking pictures like this with Bailey with the same costume? He he!

Bailey's cranky "cheese" face.

Mckenzie Trick or Treated for apples! Love that face!

Then came the big event! Trick or Treating! I wish that I would have tried to start getting pictures of the girls before the neighborhood kids came over but Trev's mom was here and we got a little behind. Anyway, this is the best shot I got of my little bugs. As you see it isn't great!

At least I got a halfway decent one of Mckenzie! HA! Getting her to look at the camera can at times be easier than her sister. :)

The Hawthorn Girls ready to GO!

Enough torture with pictures though off to trick or treating to see if our practicing had paid off!

We started off with some of the neighbors. We got a good laugh because one of the first houses Bailey just walked up to the door and said, "Trick or Treat" as if that was going to open the door! HA!

Before long though she had it all figured out and we were not allowed to help her in anyway. Each house she would exclaim, "I do it" First she would ring the door bell.

Then wait with excitement! (My favorite picture of the night)

Then get her candy and say, "Next house" Every now and again we would get her to say thank you but it was usually just "next house"

Mckenize started off happy in the stroller but before long she was tired so she rode the rest of the way attached to me. At least we had the stroller for all the candy we collected!

Many of the houses in the neighborhood go all out with the decorations! Bailey was very unsure about this house and when it was over told me "Momma that was a crazy house and I don't want it!"

So we had a great halloween! I really like this house! Such creative minds!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T18:34:00.001-05:00

Gym-"nastics" girl

2011-10-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

Another side ways phone pic! ARRGGHHHH!!! Anyway, Bailey started gymnastics or as she would say gym and then a ephasis on "nastics!" She loves it. We only go once a week and when I tell her we are going that day she is so excited to get her gymanstics suit on and get ready! She is doing really well and getting more confident each class. THe picture above was actually taken at my moms gym because I don't have much time at her real class for pictures. I have to keep Bailey on track and keep Mckenzie from army crawling off. :) I am pretty sure that Mckenzie is ready for gymnastics too! :)

I'm the fire girl, that's my name

2011-10-19T21:11:00.002-05:00

So turn your head to the side and look at that picture! HA! I have no idea why my phone does this and it makes me nuts. I edit the photo and rotate it and save it but then when I open it up it is still orientated wrong. Anyway, Bailey has been asking me to go to the "Liberry" so we stopped by on Monday. It was storytime so we decided to go in and it was all about firetrucks. Then outside they had a firetruck and Bailey got to sit up in it. She was more impressed than the photo shows. I love our library. If you are looking for FREE fun in your neck of the woods check out your local library.

Ready to be enlisted

2011-10-18T20:19:00.000-05:00

Sister bear is ready to be enlisted because she has her army crawl down. It is really quite cute and helping her get around. She is starting to put her legs up under her at times to do a "real" crawl but for now she has got the army crawl down. She is also cutting her bottom two teeth as well. Lots of changes for the sister! Here is a little video of her skills.

Fly high up in the sky!

2011-10-18T10:21:00.002-05:00

Everyday that Trever gets home from work him and Bailey have a tradition. She meets him half way from the door and says, "Daddy I fly!"

Which is usually followed by flying and her saying, "I fly high up in the sky" The tall ceilings in our living room make it the perfect place for flying. Perhaps she is going to be a future cheerleader?

Bike Riding Take 2

2011-10-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

Sugie has logged probably 50 hours on her bike this week. She asks about it all day long. She has even been practicing in the kitchen. We have it down pretty good now excpet for going up hill. I figure she will probably have that figured out soon! Also, watch for her protector in the end of the video. He will follow her up and down the street the whole time. :)

Neighborhood Fall Festival

2011-10-17T21:09:00.001-05:00

The weekend had me thinking a lot about how fast the last year has gone by. It is just craziness. We went to the neighborhood fall festival last year and you can see pictures here. I remember thinking that Sugie looked so big then. Now I see her and I think she is so big now and was such a baby then.

One thing hadn't changed from last year. All she wanted to do was to ride the horses.

SHe would get done and I would say lets go do something else and as soon as she was done with that she would say.

"Momma I go ride the horse!"

Even with bounce houses she was still interested in the horses more. Which is crazy because this girl asks to go to the "bounce place" on a daily basis.

They even had little carnival games. It was super fun. I love our neighborhood.

Fun Fest

2011-10-17T20:41:00.000-05:00

We went to Fun Fest again this year in RC. If you remember we went their last year and you can see the pictures here. My how Sugie has changed!

These old rides cracked me up as much as last year. First Sugie wanted to ride the whales.

As you can see she liked them. ACtually the first few mintues she cried and wanted off but I guess she decided it was fun.

Next up the tractor train that she got to ride all by herself.

See you Sugie.

She wanted to ride these swings last year but wasn't big enough. So, naturally she wanted to ride them again this year but I really didn't think she was going to like it. We asked her several times if she was sure she wanted to ride it and she said yes.

So we loaded her up and she stayed like this pretty much the whole time. Then about the last few seconds she started saying she was all done.

Silly old horses and her naturally not wanting to look at the camera.

Next up the coaster! She was so excited before it began. Trev wanted to put her on there by herself and I told him I did not think that was a good idea.

Hands up and ready to go.

It was not a hit for Bailey however. He said she said, "Momma! Momma!" I think it was the loud noises more than anything that she didn't care for. We had a great time.

Don't worry sister bear. We will let you ride some rides next year! :)

Bike Riding Take 1

2011-10-12T17:16:00.001-05:00

Bailey has been so interesting in riding bikes lately. Anytime the neighborhood friends are out riding she wants to ride so bad. Anyway, I had planned on getting her a bike for her birthday or Christmas but I found one at our neighborhood garage sale for $15 and the weather is so nice that I thought she should go ahead and have it. She is doing really good. We started working with her on Sunday and she is getting better each day. She needs a little help getting started but does good after that. Hopefully she will be zooming around in no time.

Camp Dave-O

2011-10-09T16:08:00.009-05:00

We went camping with my family this weekend. My dad calls it Camp Dave-O when we go and so we gave him that sign last christmas. I would like to say we had the time of our lives but I would be lying. Between 2 small kids, a baby who did not sleep well, rain, barf, and no electricity for some of the night it was a kind of exhausting. I told Trev I would be ready to camp again when Mckenzie is about Bailey's age. So, that would be 2 more years! I had reservationsa bout going but we decided to stay in our old tent trailer aka "the stardust" so I figure sleep would be better. It was easier than a tent and I was sure glad we were in there last night when it was raining NON STOP for a few hours. Anyway, we did have fun visiting with family so it wasn't a total wash but I am tired. Mckenzie was asleep before we even left the campground and Bailey wasn't far behind her. I will let the pics do the rest of the talking.
A certain someone really likes to get my sun glasses!

She even puts them up on her head like I do.

Yummy! Smores!

Ladder Ball!

Sugie thought she had to play too but the truth is she just wanted to hoard the balls.

Mckenzie did pretty good despite how tired I know that she was.

Mimi and Mckenzie

Mckenize meeting Margo

Poppy and Mckenzie

Mckenzie talking with Mimi

Chatting with my girls.

Happy Sister bear! (My sister took many of these pictures and she is a little obsessive about taking pictures of babies.)

There was a monkey in our camp

After Kesley did this guess what happened next?

Yep Sugie wanted to do it too!

Me and sweet Mckenzie

We were at Cedar Hill State Park and inside the park they have Penn Farm which is an old farm from the 1850s. So we went with Poppy to check it out.

I think Trev would have made a good farmer.

I am not sure this girl could have lived without Dora though! HA! Actually she loves to be outside so she probably could have been a good farm girl.

Sugie driving the tractor

It was one of her favorite parts

Sugie in the 1850s. :)

Old plows. I tried for a good picture but

not sure I got one. This one makes me laugh the most

Daddy and Sugie in old house.

The lake desperately needs rain! The rain could have waited until we were done camping though! Nothing like packing up your camp in the rain. :)

Sugie and sister had a great time playing with their cousins. Bailey called them "friends" so I guess she likes them.

Poppy and the Fikkert Kids

Kelsey and Sugie

Thanks Poppy. We had a good time hanging with you and Mimi and the rest of the family. We are ready to go again.....in at least 2 years. :)

8 months old!

2011-10-06T15:14:00.003-05:00

Sister bear you turned 8 months old a few days ago! I can't believe it! Time is just going by way to fast! This is what you are up to these days.

1) You wear mostly 6/9 month clothes but a few 12 month ones as well. You wear a size 3 diaper and I would guess you weigh around 17 or 18 pounds.

2) You are a pretty happy baby and like to smile at strangers one minute and then be sort of shy the next. Your sister is the one who can make you laugh (and cry) the most. :)

3) You love to swing. You still catch some naps in your swing too.

4) You nurse about 5 or 6 times a day and are eating 2 "meals." I call them "meals" because they don't really consist more than about an ounce or two of food. So far you like squash, sweet potatos, pears, prunes, apples, green beans, mangos and peas. You are ok with bananas but they are not you favorite and you have had some constipation problems so we are laying off of those for a while. You like mum mums and are getting good about picking up cheerios and putting them in your mouth. You like to sit at the island while I am cooking and I give you snacks to help keep you entertained.

5) You are really starting to think about crawling. You are putting your legs up underneath you and lifting up and pushing with your toes. I figure you will probably crawl in the next month.

6) You are transitioning from 3 naps to 2 naps so some days there are 2 and some days there are 3 especially when we are on the go and you have to catch shorter naps.

7) You go to bed around 8 or so and get up between 7 or 8. You spend about half of the night in your crib and the other half tucked in bed beside me. You have a snack once or twice in the night and I am too tired to put you back in your own crib. I have also found if you are in your crib you are ready to face the day at 6 am but if you are with me you will sleep until 7:30! Much more bueno!

8) You love to constantly have your hands on something new discovering what it is. I have a feeling when you figure out this crawling thing this momma is going to be in trouble because you are going to have so much more stuff to explore!

9) You love to be outside and are really enjoying the cooler evenings. You like to ride in the little red car. Bailey and the neighborhood kids love to push you around. Don't worry we give them a little help so they don't push you into a ditch or traffic. :)

10) You babble quite bit with ma-ma, da-da, and ba-ba sounds. I am working with you on signing more and all done while we eat.

We love you so much sister bear! I know I say it every month but I just can't believe how fast you are growing and changing! We love you lots and lots!

Beautiful Weekend

2011-10-02T20:27:00.003-05:00

The weather here this weekend was BEAUTIFUL! I really hope we have said good-bye to the extreme heat until next year! I am tired of being a swet monkey. We spent most of the weekend at the park or outside playing with the neighbors.

I love that the girls can swing next to each other now. The first time I did this Mckenzie thought it was hilarious!

She L-O-V-E s the swing!

Of course this monkey loves the swings too. She can ride on a big girls swing but if given the choice she will still choose the baby swing.

She also chooses to throw some fits and pouts these days. As exhibited here when she didn't get her way. Poor Sugie...being 2 1/2 is tough!

When I see this picture I really see myself. I need to get to my parents has and look at old pictures of me.

Trev watched the Cowboys and Mckenzie watched some with him. She is alseep in her bed depressed over the loss and her Romo.

Remember when Sugie liked to watch the cowboys? Actually she still likes to watch them. Now she says, "Come on cowboys, touchdown!"

Love of Learning!

2011-10-01T21:37:00.002-05:00

Sugie is like a little sponge these days. She is starting to be so inquisitive about her world and asking me questions about everything! The "why?" questions have not started yet but I know they are just right around the corner! I love that she loves to learn and I have also learned that I sometimes don't know all the answers! HA!

I really like that I have already started to see Sugie teaching sister bear. I hope that it will always be this way!

It warms this momma's heart. :)

I think we need a bigger car!

2011-09-30T23:23:00.001-05:00

What do you think?

Jump, Jump

2011-09-28T17:35:00.004-05:00

I went with my Mom's Group today to this place in Plano called Jumpstreet This place was huge with a million trampolines all connected, dodge ball, foam pit, etc. Why didn't they have places like this when I was a kid? I would have been in heaven! We stayed over in the little kid area that had trampolines and inflatables. Bailey had a blast. At about noon the place cleared out and we stayed and had the whole place to ourselves. So even me and Mckenzie did some jumping.

Sugie sliding "high from the sky"

My sweet little monkeys! :)

The trampolines were all connected like this so it was super fun!

Mckenzie thought it was quite funny to watch Sugie jump around.

Jump Sugie Jump!

I layed Mckenzie down as Sugie jumped and she liked to feel the movement. How in the world is she getting so big!

You are supposed to jump sideways on the trampolines. Bailey thought they were good to climb on "way up to the top!"

I tried to sideways jump myself. It wasn't pretty folks!

Isn't this the craziest looking bounce slide you have ever seen! HA! I had to go up a few times with Bailey before she was ok with it.

THey also had coin rides.

THey had a little barn room with animals

We had a great time!

First Six Flags Trip!

2011-09-25T21:03:00.007-05:00

I had been wanting to take the kids to Six Flags when it got cooler. Well it never really got cooler but tickets were $20/each this weekend so I figured we would give it a try. The heat didn't bother us to much. We got there at 10 and stayed until 3:30. Bailey pretty much fell asleep as soon as we put her in her car seat. We had a BLAST! I grew up going to Six Flags and have always love it. This time I enjoyed watching Sugie ride everything. I did ride the new Texas Giant and it was a lot of fun and doesn't give you a beating anymore! I have been exhausted today proving that I don't bounce back quite as quick as I used too!

I really loved how many rides we got to ride as a whole family. Here we are all on the train. It was probably Bailey's 3rd favorite thing or at least it is one of the 3 things she keeps talking about. We did do it last though so that may have something to do with it. Warning: Many of these pictures are not that great because it is hard to take good pictures when you are all squished on a ride together.

Not a great picture but any picture I get with Trev smiling is a must post! HA!

Sugie did ride a few rides in the kiddie area but I wouldn't say those were her favorites. We got over there later in the day and there wasn't a lot of shade though and she just kept asking to go back to the "roller coaster" :)

Swings. Please note: Daddy loaded her in the swing with her Dora panties loading! Speaking of panties I learned that Sugie does not like those super speed hand dryers in public restrooms. I took her into the bathroom and it was so small and cramped and those stupid dryers kept going of and making her cry and tell me she was all done even though she hadn't gone. They were really loud. At least it muffled her crying! :) Anyway, we did find a bathroom in Looney Toones land with small pottys and no hand dryers and she was more than happy to use them! Whew! I wasn't sure what we were going to do!

Planes

"I go high up in the sky" is what she told me. She loved the roller coaster but wasn't real crazy about the plane going up and down. She didn't freak out or anything but didn't ask to ride it again. :)

Letting daddy sweat a little bit wearing Mckenzie as we waited in line on the log ride.

This is the best picture I got of the log ride. I had my hands full trying to hold Mckenzie. I am pretty sure people looked at us like we were crazy for letting our baby ride on the log ride but I must say she enjoyed every ride we took her on! :) This was by far one of Bailey's favorite rides. We would have ridden it again but the line was pretty long because we didn't ride it until later in the day. She kept telling me, "Momma, I ride boat in the river." When we got out to the car she could barely keep her eyes open but in a real sad voice said, "Momma I ride boat." It was pretty cute!

Meeting Daffy Duck! She was actually ok with him at first but then quickly told him to go away!

Sister laughed at him. I wish I had gotten a better picture but by the time I got the camera out Bailey was ready for Daffy to go! :)

Sugie's favorite ride: THE MINI MINE TRAIN. I remember riding this when I was a kid. All 20 some odd seconds of it! HA!

She rode it 3 times and asked to go several more times. I do believe she is already an adrenaline junky because she would act like it scared her when she road it but then would ask to go again!

The Cave. Well it isn't called that anymore but I don't even know what it is called. Bailey like it ok and was ok with dark but I am not sure what she thought about all the looney toones characters shooting guns. Not sure she has ever seen that before.

As you can see it didn't bother her that much.

Not a great picture but the best one I could get in a hurry. Another great family ride!

Sister and I rode in the back and this is probably one of my favorite pictures of the day.

These were our drivers. I thougth Bailey would be into driving but I guess she thinks we do the driving in big cars!

Of course we also rode the carousel. TWICE!

I don't think she will ever get tired of it. THis is one of my favorite little smiles that she makes.

Being silly! Saying "Giddy up horsey!"

Ridding Bouncing Boots with Daddy!

We had a great time and special thanks to Trev for helping us have such a fun day as a family. He is such a fun daddy!

"What's it like staying home?"

2011-09-21T14:55:00.005-05:00

People always ask me, "So, how is it staying home?" I always respond with "GREAT!" I must tell you that many look at me puzzled or like I am not telling the truth. The truth is that I really do think it is great. Yes, there are days that I think I might go crazy if I have to experience one more tantrum but isn't that the way it is with any job? I don't think I am super mom for staying home either and do not think I am better than a working mom. In fact, I have done that working mom gig and it is far tougher than this staying at home gig. The truth though is that while we have our days at home and running errands like grocery shopping the real truth is the key I think to being a stay at home mom is to try and not stay home too much! HA!

I also hear people say that if they had to stay home all day with their kids they would go crazy! I think I would too! I might end up chasing my kids around with sticks. Instead we get out and let them play in the water with sticks.

So, when I say great I really mean it because I know if I wasn't doing it I would miss times like these where Bailey is pretending to water the flowers.

I wonder what life was like for moms back when they had covered wagons? I am pretty sure it had to be tough. I mean after all they did not have washing machines or TV.

Maybe Indian moms had it really tough. I stepped inside that Tee-pee yesterday and let me tell you...

..it did not have a/c.

So yes, things are great. Even if at times instead of being home we aren't home at all but rather on the move seeing the world.

Eating our lunch in the stroller...

playing with leaves instead of toys

or better yet leaves and friends.

Now, this is going to sound quite silly to some of you but I must say that my least favorite time of the day is lunch. I didn't think I would ever say it but at this stage I feel like it is exhausting and this momma loves to eat. I think it is because both kids are getting tired and thus can be fussy and then the mess by these little monkeys can be like cleaning up with the army. Hey, don't shoot me if you come over in the afternoon and the table looks like it had goats eating at it. Anyway, I was glad yesterdays lunch did not take more than throwing a quilt in the wash.

Oh and dancing around with your lunch always adds fun.

Espcially when you are super cute!

So, yes life for me right now is really great and I am not just saying that.

Someone once said that being a stay at home mom must be nice because you never have a boss! HA! I guess this is true. I have had some real "donkeys" for bosses but now I answer to the one in the above picture. I will give you a hint....it is not the donkey.

She is the sweetest little boss at times. Oh and I am just kidding I am actually the boss. Well most days anyway.

My little boss really thinks that she is a princess.

I try to treat her like one but I will also be honest and tell you that there have been times I may have resembled the angry step mother.

I love my knew job even if it is no fairytale.

I really can't imagine being any place else right now. So, yes things with the kids are great. They are not perfect. We have our moments. My house is more of a wreck then when I was a working mom. I am less efficient with laundry but I am watching them grow and change right before my eyes. Something I know I can not stand to miss! That my friends is the honest truth.

Momma's yogurt

2011-09-12T21:04:00.003-05:00

I don't know about any of you but this summer I have had the worst luck with fruit! I swear it either didn't taste good or did taste good but would be modly or rotten in like 2 days. I was so sick of wasting food and money and then having to return the store and buy more! So I decided to blend it and freeze and thus "Momma's Yogurt" as Bailey calls it was born!

I have a certain someone that loves to help me make it! We usually use bananas and strawberries first.

Watch out the help may eat the ingredients. Don't tell this little girl that I have also snuck in carrots as well.

AFter the fruit I would then add all natural no sugar added yogurt. This girl can put away some gogurts and I do buy them still but lets face it that there isn't that much great stuff in those! HA!

Anyway, you could add ice and make a smoothie right when you make it and drink up. I freeze it in these little containers and then defrost them a bit and chop them up to eat.

It is like healthy ice cream! :)

It definelty gets Bailey's approval!

D2P - Diapers to Panties

2011-09-11T21:57:00.003-05:00

Well, hopefully Sugie is done with diapers! HA! A lot of people have asked me what my approach was and I am not sure that I had one but I sort of took a lot of things that I have heard from here and there. Anyway, I will tell you what I did here in case anyone cares (if not just skip to the pictures) and it may be good for me to remember when I get to this point with Mckenzie but I think I am just going to let Bailey train her! HA!

Anyway, I have been planting lots of seeds a long the way. We had a little potty that she would sit on but to be honest she really saw it as a toy so we never really used it other than to play! We talked A LOT about going to the potty. I bought her a little potty seat for the toilet when she was a little past 2 and she did NOT want to sit on that thing to save her life! So no worries if they freak out at first. Eventually she got where she would sit on there and would tell me she needed to go potty but would just sit up there and play for 15 or 20 mintues and then ask to get down. A few times she asked for panties and so I would put them on her and then later she would ask for her diaper back. Anyway, we did that jazz for a while. About a month or so ago she would actually get up there and go potty but then would either ask for her diaper back or ask for panties and then later her diaper back. If she did wear panties she would refuse to go and sit on the potty again and then end up peeing in the panties. I had tried different motivators: money and stickers but nothing really seemed to motivate her to stop what she was doing and to sit on the potty.

Then this past Wednesday we were at TArget and I saw a little white stool on the clearance rack and so I bought it and told her that we were going to use it to help her go potty. She was so excited about that silly stool when we got home that she immediately wanted to go use it to go potty. So, I just sort of ran with that idea. I decided the next morning we would put on panties and dive into potty training. I had no plan at ALL. She woke up and was ready to use her stool to go potty so I thought oh good we are off to a good start. She went potty and I gave her a dime coin and she seemed proud of herself. I decided that we would go every hour even though some people have done every 30 mintues. I thought that seemed like a bit much. So about an hour later I told her she needed to go potty! She saidl, "No mommy I don't need to!" I thought oh no! Then I said I will give you a sticker if you sit on the potty and try. She liked that idea and off she went. I gave her a sticker for sitting up there and she stuck it on her hand and then gave it back to me and seemed disinterested. I remembered my friend Amy told me that they stuck the sitckers right on the toilet and it got me to thinking about that silly stool...

Yep! You guessed it! We decorated the stool. I am a genius! HA! Not really but I felt like one at the time. She was more than excited and I gave her another sticker for going in the potty. So we continued that the rest of the day. Going every hour and she got a lot of stickers. She did poop in her panties before nap time and we still haven't mastered that part but to be honest changing poopy panties is not any worse than changing poopy diapers! HA! At naptime I asked her about wearing a pull up or diaper and she said, "No momma I wear Dora panties!" So I didn't press the issue and figured she had a water proof mattress bad and I would just clean up the mess! I was amazed when she woke up dry! Way to go Bailey! She did wear a diaper for bedtime and was ok with that. We made a big deal that we were only wearing diapers at night and that in the morning we would put panties back on. She has been totally fine with that and has not asked me for a diaper at all in the last 4 days. She even had a dry diaper when she woke up on Saturday morning! So, we are sticking with diapers for a while at night until I see she has that mastered. THe last thing I need is for one kid waking me to go potty or wet when I got a baby waking me up to eat. A momma can only take so much! :) So, I am going to deem it a success and we are pushing on from diapers. She totally seems like she is ok with it and we will get the poopy part figured out sooner or later!
For right now she is VERY proud of herself!

She even asked me to take her picture on the couch! Silly sweet girl! I am so proud of you my sugar bear!

7 months old

2011-09-08T07:49:00.005-05:00

Hey there sister bear! You are now 7 months old! Can you believe it? Actually you have been 7 months old for 5 whole days now but your mommy is just now getting around to making this post. Seems like you have really changed a lot in the last month so here is what you are up to.

1) You wear 6/9 month clothes and even a few 12 month outfits. You wear a size 3 diaper and probably weigh between 16 and 17 pounds.

2) It seems you have been extra smiley lately and are really starting to laugh. Sometimes you really get a good belly laugh going when watching your crazy sister or when I tickle you.

3) You are sitting so well now. You sometimes will fall over but you can for sure sit for long periods of time and reach and pick up toys.

4) You love to be on the go and hardly cry when we are out and about. Usually you get fussy when you get tired and are ready for a nap but the other day at the zoo I looked down and you were totally asleep and I had never heard a peep out of you.

5) You take 3 naps a day. Usually a small nap in the morning a longer mid day nap and then a cat nap in later afternoon. I have learned that if you take a big nap in the later afternoon you wake up like a werewolf around 4:30 or 5 am. That is no bueno for your mommy. You go to bed around 8 and get up around 7. You still have a snack or 2 in the night. If you get up in the really early morning hours then I usually just leave you in bed with me because mommy is to tired to put you back and you seem to always sleep a little later cuddled up to me.

6) You make the same little cabbage patch smile that your sister used to make and it really makes me smile.

7) You love taking a bath and you love to be outside. I am so happy that it has cooled of the last few days and we have got to enjoy more outside time.

8) I finally got the jumparoo down for you and you love that thing. You can really get it bouncing and you smile and smile.

9) WHen you cry now you have put in the "ma ma ma ma" sound. While I know you are not calling me it still makes me want to get to you faster when I hear it. :)

10) You are really good about eating food. You only eat an ounce or two a day though. So far you have had bananas, pears, green beans, sweet potatos, and carrots. I think you favorite is sweet potatos and pears.

Stop growing up so fast my sister bear! Here is a video of you in your jumparoo. I think you love it as much as your sister did. You can see her video here.

Swagbucks = Free Money

2011-09-06T15:32:00.002-05:00

So as some of you have seen me mention before I love swagbucks! It is so awesome! I have now earned 8 $5 gift cards since the beginning of July. Guess how I did it? I basically used their toolbar and search the internet. You can earn swag (swag by the way is just cool stuff) without the toolbar but I think downloading it is a must. They even give you 1 swag buck everyday just for using it. That is almost a $5 gift card in a year just for having the toolbar!

I was quite leary myself but I can guarantee you that this is legit. I have cashed in all of my gift cards with amazon and bought my stuff without a problem. They have tons of other stuff you use swag bucks on but I am always buying something on amazon so when my account reaches 450 swagbucks I cash it in. When you cash in, gift cards it takes about a week for them to process.

Anyway, I don't know why anyone would sign up. So please sign up under me because it gives me more swag bucks when you search the internet.
http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/couponjanet1

once you get signed up I will tell you that the site can be a little confusing at first. The first thing I would do is install the tool bar. Here are the easiest ways to earn swagbucks everyday.

1) Download the toolbar and sign in each day
2) Search the internet for everything you need to use. Seriously! EVen Facebook. Now it is not the best search engine around so what I do is search for it on swag bucks and if I don't see it ont he first page then I just jump to trusty google. I can usually get about 10-20 SB (swagbucks) each day just for searching the internet.
3) Click on Earn tab, then Daily Polls. Take the Poll and earn 1 SB.
4) Click on Earn tab, then NOSO and click skip, no thank you or see next offer and earn 2 SB. DO NOT FILL OUT ALL THE STUFF JUST HIT SKIP
5) Click on Earn tabk, then Trusted Surveys. You get 1 SB just for going to that page.
6) You can also watch swagbucks TV and sometimes I will play some of the videos while I am on FB or something. I really don't do that as much because it is sort of bothersome.

Anyway, there are tons of other ways to earn as well. Above are just the easy way to do it everyday. So, follow this link http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/couponjanet1 and get signed up NOW! Why would you not?

I thought I had girls

2011-09-03T08:37:00.000-05:00

We do our fair share of doll playing around here but every now in then a girl must play with her

CARS! He he! Bailey loves cars so much but we only have a few so I watched craigslist and found this whole box of cars and the little track for a steal! I love me some craiglist!

Bailey is always telling, "Momma me and sister play cars!"

High Chairs, Sippy cups, and big sisters

2011-09-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

Hey there! It is me sister! I am really enjoying my high chair. Mom has even been giving me a little food so that I can enjoy dinner like the rest of the family. I used to only get toys. So far I have had pears, banannas, sweet potatos, and green beans. I like them all but I think banannas are my least favorite. I also get to have a sippy cup now. It is mostly fun to play with all though I have gotten a couple of drops of water out of it. Mom also gives me cheerios or puffs but I just like to play with them. Mom says I can eat them but I don't know why I would eat those?

I have a really great big sister. She likes to feed me too. I am already pretty messy so together we make an even bigger mess. I can't wait to see what is for dinner tomorrow! By the way here is my big sister when she was around my age! I think we look a lot alike. What do you think?

Bailey about 6 months old.

Bounce! Bounce! In a blur

2011-09-01T15:13:00.005-05:00

Do not adjust your computer screen. I am coming to you from blur land today with a bunch of junky photos taken with my phone! HA! There is a new bounce place really close to us so we went to check it out today. The only people there were the people that I came with. Sure is nice for school to be back in session! HA!

I always have my camera with me but didn't today so thus you are getting blurry pics. I could hardly get a picture anyway because all the kids were on the move to much!

WEEEEEEEE!!!!! I even went down this slide and got inside of the obstacle course. I felt like a walrus.

We bounced, ran, tossed balls and even played a little basketball.

Mckenzie enjoyed it too. Bailey wanted her to jump too. Not this time sister bear!

Isn't he cute? This is cade and he is the only child I got a good pic of! HA!

We had a great time! NOW it is time to get cooler so hopefully next stop will be THE ZOO!

One stop bath shop

2011-08-31T20:38:00.004-05:00

I finally got Mckenzie a little bath ring so that bath time would be easier. Bailey loves to take a bath with sister but we either had to put her baby tub in there, get in the tub, or hold on to her. Anyway, I found one I like don amazon and cashed in some swag bucks for a basically free little bath ring and it works great!

Not a great picture but Bailey loves to play with her sister in the tub. She pours water on her and Mckenzie just laughs and watches her. Makes it easier on mom and dad at bath time too. I love moments like these when they can really do something together which is becoming more and more.

I think sister likes it? What do you think?

Of course there is good toys to chew on too!

So glad to be a one stop bath shop around here!

My Help

2011-08-31T08:13:00.002-05:00

Pretty much every meal in this house was made with some love and effort put in by this monkey! She must help me cook, bake, clean up, wash dishes, load the dishwasher, and unload the dishwasher at all times! It is great spending the time together and having her help me but sometimes I wish she would just let me be! HA! I try to remember that it is just a phase and soon she won't want to lift a finger around here! Love you little Sugie my little "helper"

6 month checkup/stats

2011-08-24T08:32:00.003-05:00

We had Mckenzie's 6 month appointment yesterday. I know it was a little late but I had it scheduled earlier in the month but had to reschedule and this is when it worked out. So, I guess it is really her 6 month and 3 weeks appointment! Anyway, she weighed 16 pounds 2 ounces and was 26.5 inches long and is tracking along in the 50th percentile. Everything else with her looked great!

Me? I need shots? NO! HA! Yes, sister bear you did have to get a few shots. Mommy is sorry.

THe doctor gave Bailey some stickers and she thought it was best to decorate her sister with them. :)

Bailey's sorting cards that she loves! We got them for a buck at the Target one spot! Best buck I have ever spent. Don't you just LOVE the Target one spot?

Children's Aquarium Take 2

2011-08-23T09:31:00.004-05:00

We went tot he Children's Aquarium yesterday. If you remember we went there back in March. You can remember that time here. I can't believe how much Mckenzie and even Bailey has changed since then. The weather has changed a lot too. ON that March day it was super Windy and FREEZING! Yesterday it was HOT and I was a sweat monkey by the time I got there! HA!

We were able to enjoy the outdoor stingray tank this time. Bailey liked to play in the water but if a stingray touched her hand she would pull it right back out. I touched them and they are so slimy and soft!

I think this stingray was saying hi!

Bailey has not been her self the last week so she wasn't too thrilled about much today and rather cranky! This was sort of her expression about it all! HA!

Mckenzie was wide awake and enjoyed the creatures.

I think she liked it!

We of course went with Kai and his mom. Here they are checking out the sharks.

and the octopus arms.

Here I think they are discussing who has ownership of the animal crackers.

We had a great time!

"Too Big"

2011-08-17T14:45:00.004-05:00

Ever since Mckenzie was born I feel like I am always saying "Bailey, you are too big for that."

She is always wanting to climb into the baby entertainers all the time and sometimes she even acts like a baby. The girl is just a mess!

Here she is in her most recent discovery! I got out of the shower and could hear the exersaucer bouncing up and down and I came out to find her like this! Like I said she is a mess!

What is funny though is she says she is "too big" for things she doesn't want to do now. ME: "Bailey it is time to put this dress on" Her: "No mom, dress is too big" Me: Bailey it is time to go and lay down and rest and take nap" Her: "No mom, bed is too big" Yesterday Trever was taking her for a ride in her little car and they went down to look at a house that was being built. They have looked at the house several times before and just left the car parked on the sidewalk but yesterday he parked it in the garage. He said that she screamed, "No daddy car is too big put on the sidewalk! TOO BIG! TOO BIG!" AGain, the girl is a MESS!

Indoor Safari Park

2011-08-17T09:05:00.004-05:00

We went to the Indoor Safari Park on Monday and had a great time! I had purchased a mamapedia deal a while back and knew that Bailey would love every minute of it and I was right. It is a perfect place for younger kids!

They have these mechanical animals that you can ride. This was supposed to be a zebra but I am not sure what it looks like. They all were a bit creepy to be honest! HA! Bailey loved it though!

Of Course she found the trampoline even though it was in the bigger kid area! She didn't care!

They have a couple of fun play structures and a slide that goes into the ball pit. Bailey probably went down it like 100 times.

THey also have train and activitiy tables. I think Bailey may need a train set because she is really into them after going to a friends house who has one.

THey also have a little train they get to ride around. It was perfect. I am ready for the Fall Festial where they have all these little rides!

They also had mini golf! Bailey cracked me up! It was like she had seen golf before and knew exactly how to do. Well at least the concept of where to start and where it ends. She refused to let me show her how to use the putter correctly. OH well!

Her and Kai working it out together!

Wedding Weekend!

2011-08-11T15:36:00.004-05:00

We went to my cousin's wedding in Waco this past weekend. It is always good to see family and sometimes it seems we don't see some of the extended family accept at weddings and funerals. I didn't take any pictures so I hae my sister to thank for all of these! :)

Sister bear enjoyed herself and tried to catch a nap where she could. Poor thing! She was quite the trooper though.

Looks like Poppy and sister are dancing!

WE stayed the night in a hotel and it was good to get away even though it seems just one night away from home with 2 kids can be a lot of work! Sugie had fun swimming.

Aunt Melly and the girls

Aunt Melly and sister

This is how sister has enjoyed the pool this summer. I am glad my sister got a picture of it. She loes the water and is happy to just kick her feet. If she gets sleepy I just turn her around and she takes a nap. People think it is hilarious when they see her passed out in the pool.

Cousin Kelsey and Sugie

Davey loves to take care of Sugie. Here he is feeding her.

Poppy loves to cuddle with Sugie

Congrats Lauren and Paulo! Glad we got to share in your day with you!

1/2 Birthday!

2011-08-09T16:15:00.004-05:00

Mckenzie turned 6 months old last week! I seriously can't believe how fast she is growing and that we are now inching closer to her first birthday! Anyway, Mckenzie here is what you are up to these days:

1) You wear mostly 6/9 month clothes and some 3/6 month clothes as well. You wear a size 2 diaper although when we are done with this box we are moving on to 3's. I guess you weigh around 15 pounds.

2) You are still happy most of the time and smile a lot. At times you can be really serious though despite people's efforts to get you to smile.

3) You are using rolling and a little scooting as means of transportation these days so that you can get over to your sister's toys. Bailey isn't really sure what to think about that yet but does a pretty good job of sharing with you.

4) You take 3 naps a day. Usually a small morning one a mid day nap and a later afternoon nap. You go to bed about 8 and sleep until about 7 with a snack usually around 3 am. Sometimes you wake up for a 6 am snack and then drift back to sleep and then snooze cuddled up with me until morning. You still sleep in your bassinet at night but I think you are going to have to move on from that because you barely fit! HA! I told your dad that we might stunt your growth like a potted plant if we leave you much longer. You do take pretty decent naps in your crib though and still sleep in your swaddle sacks.

5) You are really working hard on sitting but can only stay for about 5-10 seconds before you fall over.

6) You still love bath time and to be outside. Although it is so hot right now that we just sweat like monkeys if we are outside.

7) You really like to suck and chew on your fingers. I don't think there are any signs of any teeth yet though.

8) You really like to be entertained and to have toys. You can play in the exersaucer for a long time especially if your sister is helping entertain you.

9) You push up really good on your arms and can sort of scoot your self by pushing off with your toes. No signs of crawling yet though.

Stop growing so fast sister bear! We love you a lot and can't wait to see what the next 1/2 a year brings!

Circus Time

2011-08-07T22:11:00.006-05:00

We went to the circus on Wednesday night and we had a fun time. When I first knew the cirucs was coming I wanted to take Bailey but man is the circus expensive! Metroplex Baby and Kids was having a circus giveaway on Facebook so I entered and won! Yipee! Free circus tickets! Bailey's friend Kai and his family went with us at well!

We got there right as the doors were opening! It was only 110 degrees outside! HA! Bailey was excited and I had been telling her all day that there were going to be elephants, clowns, acrobats, etc. but if you asked her she would tell you there were going to be "L-phants and Girafees" HA!

It just melts my heart when she hold her daddy's finger like this!

Before the circus started they had a pre-circus performance where you could go right on the floor and see the action. It was neat because this elephant came out and was real close.

I think it was one of my favorite parts!

Bailey rode around on Trev's shoulders so she could see all the stuff.

They gave away clown noses. I think it fits daddy perfectly!

We made it to our seatsand I must say they were pretty good for free seats! We tried to get a family pic but no such luck!

Then the cirucs began! Bailey was entranced by all the lights and music!

She tried to sit in the seat but she needs to gain some weight because it just kept folding her back up!

She enjoyed a cirucs favorite "Cotton Candy!"

Sister enjoyed the circus even though it was past her bedtime. She actually slept through about half of it!

Sugie was pretty excited about the elephants!

"Look Momma elephant has dog in the basket!"

The tigers were pretty cool too! WE had a great time!

Hawaiin Falls

2011-07-24T17:08:00.005-05:00

I have been wanting to take Sugie to the water park this summer because I knew that she would LOVE it. She loves water and apparently water parks as much as me. I used to lifeguard at a waterpark and before I had kids I used to go with friends who had kids. Anyway, I woke up this morning and thought we would give it a try!

Sugie gave it 2 hands up! She was in hog heaven and she finally agreed to leave after she could no longer make her body go any longer.

Her daddy helped keep up with her while I took care of Mckenzie. These 2 have no caution. I think of myself as a pretty laid back mom but there were times today where I thought oh my. I think that is what dads are for though.

Riding in the "ocean" as Bailey called it.

This was pretty much the look on her face everytime she went down a slide and prety much most of the day.

Sister had fun too. She played in the water, rode in her around in the carrier, had a snack or two and took in a nap. When I first decided to break out this carrier I thought that people would look at me weird but everyone thought it was so great that there she was just dead asleep in that thing walking around a water park.

She wanted to work on her tan but I told her that she would have to do that when she is older. :)

I love this picture! She is such a happy baby and I am so glad that she lets us drag her around all over Gods creation and just goes with the flow. Love you sister bear.

This was one of Sugie's favorite slides.

She seriously went down it 1 million times.

She also like the "big" slides too. At first she needed us to go down them with her.

But soon she would go down them by herself with you close behind.

LOVES IT!

Even though you can't see her face in this picture I can see the pure excitment behind that splash and it made this mamas heart happy.

Finally she did them all by herself but she would always go backwards on her belly so this was the best picture I could get. She also like the other slides too but this was all I had my camera out for. I am so glad we decided to go and I am exhausted but I love this kindof good tired! I may be in bed with the kids tonight!

Catching up

2011-07-23T08:32:00.005-05:00

I have been a little behind on blogging. I have the time to do it I just sometimes don't want to mess with the pictures and I hate blogging without pictures! Also, I haven't been taking that many pictures. I need to work on that too!

A couple of weeks ago we went with my friend SHelli and her son Logan to Chuck E Cheese. Despite what this picture looks like Bailey had a blast! HA!

See! She did smile and have fun. To bad my picture is blurry.

She met the creepy character and didn't care too much!

I am still a couponing fool and learn more everyday. There is a coupon club in my neighborhood and also a Facebook group that I am in. I am learning a lot from the ladies. The most recent thing is using hispanic grocery store ads to price match at walmart for things like meat and produce which are the things that rarely if not never have coupons. Anyway, I got everything pictured above which is 10 pounds of chicken, 6 roma tomatos, 6 oranges, 3 pounds of bananas, and 6 12 ounce packages of bacon. TOTAL COST: $19.54. Yipee! THe chicken itself would have cost me right about that.

EVeryone has asked about potty training. We are still just doing a lot of talking about it and even sported panties one day but I just don't think she is quite ready yet. Maybe soon though.

I still do get an occasionaly monkey picture with the sister bear! HA! She turned 24 weeks old just yesterday and I got a few!

She is getting so big! So fast!

My new title: SAHM

2011-07-18T23:28:00.002-05:00

As most of you already know from Facebook, I resigned from my teaching job today to stay home with the girls. It has been a hard decision for me in many ways. We have been talking on and off about it for about 4 months now and I am so glad that the decision is finally made and that I am at peace with it.

It was a hard decision for me because I love teaching. I feel alive in the classroom and it is truely a perfect job for me. I feel like I am good at it and it takes little effort for me to do it well. Sorry to toot my own horn there but that is how I feel. I also love where I work and work with some of the best teachers. So it is hard to leave that little family as well.

I did not go to college to be a teacher. I had different jobs after college and then ended up teaching. After my first year I knew I was in the right place and couldn't imagine doing anyting else. Then I had Bailey, I was able to spend a long maternity leave with her and then back to work for a few weeks and then back to work when she was 8 months old after summer break. It was very hard for me to leave her and it was tough to work and pump and then be up with her in the night. I wanted to stay home but it really wasn't an option at the time. As she got older, I don't know if it got easier or if I just got used to leaving her. It was nice to have something else to do and be someone else besides mom. Then I had McKenzie and again got a long maternity leave and was able to not only watch McKenzie grow and change but to also watch BAiley grow in change. I did not have any paid time off for this maternity leave so I really had to start looking at our finances to make sure that we could make ends meet. It is funny how if you align your priorities correctly then you can make money go a lot further. In April I told Trever that I thought we could make things work with his salary and that I wanted us to start thinking about me not going to work in the fall. We have been talking about it ever since. I have gone back and forth about the decision many times but now I know it is the correct decision.

People always say that being a stay at home mom is the hardest job and maybe it is for some people. I figure it is all about your perspective. I mean I don't think it is easy but niether is leaving your kids for someone else to raise. When you are a working mom all the "mom stuff" doesn't go away. You just have to do all that stuff after a long day at work. I don't know if everyone is wired to stay home with their kids but what I can tell you is that I love it. Teaching takes a lot out of you especially if it is done right so you can't just sit at a desk in your own world. You are needed all day long and then when you get home you are needed there too. Between being a nursing, working mom and another pregnancy I have felt like at times in the last couple of years that I was sort of a half ass mom and and a half ass teacher (pardon my french). Its hard to give so much at school and then come home and give so much more so something has to give. For me rather than let one totally go by the waste side I sort of sacrificed some of both worlds.

Anyway, it is so calming and peaceful for the decision to be made. I think I will return to the classroom one day when the girls are older but for now I am going to be a teacher at home. I am sure some days teenagers going through puberty will seem like a piece of cake compared to a 2 year old! HA!

5 months old!

2011-07-07T16:53:00.003-05:00

Sister Bear, you turned 5 months old on July 4th! We celebrated with fireworks! HA! You continue to be a pretty easy going, happy baby. Here is what you are up to these days.

1) You wear 3/6 and some 6/9 month clothes, size 2 diaper and I would guess you weigh around 14 pounds.

2) You let out really big smiles all the time and do this little laugh/cough thing. No belly laughing yet.

3) You are really loving your exersaucer and can get to bouncing in it. You don't really enjoy laying down to play that much. If I do lay you down to play you roll all over the place.

4) You take 3 naps a day. Sometimes you have 4 naps if we are on the go and you catch a car nap. You love your swing and still take about 1/2 of your naps in it. You sleep pretty good at night. I still have you in your bassinet because you still get up once for a snack and mommy is to tired and lazy to have you across the house. Also, mommy isn't ready for you to grow up. You have started to take some naps in your big girl crib though and you seem to like it just fine.

5) You like to have things to play with all the time. You are really reaching and grabbing for things. If I don't give you something to play with then you make by with your feet.

6) WE have put you in the outdoor swing and it is no suprise that you love it! Swinging and outside are to of your favorite things.

7) You love bath time even if you are really tired.

8) THe only times you really cry is if you are tired or your sister is too rough with you.

9) We are working on you sitting up. You need to boppy to help you but I bet in the next couple of months you will have it down.

WE love you so much sister bear and can't wait to see what you do this next month!

Pedicure

2011-07-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

If you ever need a pedicure just head on over to my house! I know a cute little girl who will do your feet! HA!

Every time she sees me using my pedi egg she just has to also do the same to her feet.

Of course sister bear needs her feet done to with all that walking she has been doing. :)

I may just sign her up at the nearest nail salon to start scrubbing feet to earn her keep. Better yet maybe she can be their translator. :)

4th of July weekend!

2011-07-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Trev's mom was here along with his brother's family! They got here late Friday night and left on Monday! I will let the pictures do tell the rest!

Jude and Bailey are about 6 weeks apart so having two 2 year olds made things fun! HA! Actually they played pretty well together and better than they did last time. Here they are "sharing" the zebra! :)

On Saturday we went swimming and the cousins' enjoyed some watermelon together! Aren't they too cute?

They played at the water table outside together too

Bailey was also interested in what her older cousins were doing. Here is she is checking out their games.

Nana had a great time loving on Mckenzie. They are watching all the fun in the backyard from the nice air conditioned house! :)

Aunt Laura read some betime books to the kids.

Jude and Bailey rode around on Trev's back!

Laura brought the kids bubble wands so we were playing with them outside on Saturday.

THis sent Trev on the quest to make his own bubble liquid and wand.

Before long we had GIANT bubbles! THe kids loved them!

Nana also brought the kids crafts to do. THey colored a flag and made their own flag out of construction paper.

Here is Bailey coloring her flag.

They needed to leave on Monday and wanted to see firworks before they left so we went to check out the Rowlett firework show. The fireworks themselves were great but we did not choose a great location to watch them so I didn't take too many pictures.

We tried for a family shot but a certain 2 year old was not cooperating.

HEre she is pouting. :(

Trev's family had to leave on Monday so we just did some resting at home because we were all worn out from all the fun.

I got a few good pics of the girls. Bailey had a cute 4th of July dress to wear but it got wet so she settled for a pair of shorts and a white tank top. Hey whatever works. :)

We decided to have round 2 of fireworks and go to our usual spot.

WE decided that the Rowlett fireworks may have been better but the location at our Rockwall spot is quite nice. Bailey and Trev ran off a lot of energy before the firworks started.

Bailey watched them intently and was able to stay awake despite being quite tired after a long weekend of going to bed way past her bedtime.

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

Helping Daddy

2011-07-06T23:04:00.001-05:00

If you need any help around your house then I have the perfect person for you.........

He! He! Trev was hanging a fan in Mckenzie's room and Sugie escaped from the bath to "help him" I just thought it was too cute!

My naked little helper!

Happy 9th Birthday Duke!

2011-07-06T22:56:00.002-05:00

Duke turned 9 on Friady, July 1st! I totally can't believe that he is getting this old even though his gray face tells me that he is! He is really the best dog in the world and I can't imagine life without him. :) He takes some abuse from Bailey but also loves her just the same and I think would protect her. Whenever the neighborhood kids push Bailey around on one of her cars he follows along right beside her! It is quite cute! He likes to lay at the landings on the stairs. He actually did this a long time ago when Trev and I lived in a rent house with stairs. It seems like as soon as we moved in here he started that right back up!

Happy 9th Birthday Duke! We love you lots and lots!

O-U-C-H!

2011-06-29T21:44:00.003-05:00

Sugie met the pavement the other night! O-U-C-H....not really sure what happened because she was right around the car were I couldn't see her. We have had lots of bruises and scraped knees but I think this is our worst "boo boo" so far! Doesn't seem to bother her too much though. :)

I am sure there will be more to come. :(

Rag head

2011-06-29T10:24:00.000-05:00

Sugie loves to play dress up! She makes everything into a hat. Here she is one morning making a dish towel her hat

Love of learning and books

2011-06-28T10:20:00.000-05:00

Sugie loves to learn knew things. I love it is so much because at times she will just listen so closely for what I am trying to teach her. She is getting really good with her colors and with her counting. She loves to go to the library too!

When I was pulling pictures off my phone I rememberd this picture I took on the last day of school when Trev brought the girls up to see me. (Another one of these stupid pictures from my phone that will not rotate) She loved to color on mommy's board.

Here she is at the library! She doesn't shop for books. She gets one book and sits down and reads it and lets me pick out the rest! :)

We got some counting books since she is so into counting right now.

I surely hope the love of books continues

Someone else enjoyed the library too. She mostly played with her feet though.

Swaddling is the key to happiness

2011-06-27T10:07:00.000-05:00

I absolutely swear by Swaddle Me for my babies! I could seriously be an advertisement for them! :) I think it helps baby sleep so well and they are so easy to use once they get to big to break out of a tradditional swaddle

HEre is Mckenzie swaddled in her swing. Look how little she is? I think she is like 5 weeks old here.

Bailey loved being swaddled too. Here she is when she was about 4 months old. If you remember she actually stayed swaddled until she was like 7 or 8 months old. I figure why give up a good thing. I used to always joke that I think she may stay swaddled forever and wondered where I would get such a giant swaddle blanket!

Well apparently Sugie is referting back to being a baby! HA! This beach towel was hanging on a chair after the pool one day and she told Trever to swaddle her up. It is hilarious!

Here she is pretending to go to sleep.

Big Girl Bed

2011-06-26T22:05:00.000-05:00

Sugie started climbing out of her crib back in the fall. She slept for a while on the floor on her crib mattress but then she just started sleeping on the floor on a quilt. We had thought of converting her crib to a toddler bed but we needed some extra parts and since she had given up the mattress we figured there was no sense in converting it to a toddler bed. So, she has been sleeping on the floor and has been perfectly happy. I was getting very tired of her room being a mess plus I had sold Mckenzie's mattress that she still hasn't used and needed to take her mattress for Mckenzie's bed. She didn't sleep on the mattress but did sleep next to it and I knew if I took it away she would not like it. THat Sugie doens't like stuff out of place!

So we decided to convert her crib to a full bed. She is so happy! When we went to the store to try out the beds she claimed them all as "Sugie's bed" and wouldn't even let us lay down to try them out!

So we ordered the mattress and then picked it up and she is just so happy! Here she is pretending to go to sleep. WHen I tell her to closer her eyes and rest she covers them up a lot of the time.

How big is this bed for someone so little! Makes a mom tear up a bit. My little baby is growing up!

Father's Day

2011-06-26T10:00:00.006-05:00

We had a great Father's Day over at my sisters with the whole family. My sister took all these pictures because I forgot my camera.

Since my sister took all of these pictures you will notice lots of pics of Mckenzie. She loves to take pictures of babies!

See what I mean. Maybe it is because they can't get away! HA!

Sugie developed a new love...playing the piano

Her and Mason "took turns" playing us songs.

Dad and Mom

US minus the Sugie. She is probably too busy playing with her cousins.

The photographer with of course Mckenzie! :)

Some of the cousins enjoyed a good old nerf gun fight

Dad and his girls. Guess there is hope for Trever to survive a house of women. Of course dad does not have any hair

The cousins

Sugie loved the beans!

My favorite pic of the day though was Sugie wearing her baby! Kelsey found this old carrier that she had and now it is for Sugie to keep to carry her babies. :)

10 things to help you survive breastfeeding.

2011-06-22T20:44:00.003-05:00

First before I go any further I do not mean for this post to hurt feelings. I am truly writing it to help people and to keep other from failing. We were made to breastfeed our babies but it is not something that comes natural to mom or baby especially when we live in a society where most child bearing woman have never seen a mom breastfeed her child. So this is my guide to survive! ;)

1) Everything that you have heard about breastfeeding toss it out of your mind. If you want good information get it from a good source or even better yet a mom who has successfully breastfed her child.

2) Get to a La Leche Meeting WHILE you are pregnant. You wouldn't go climb a mountain and just show up on the day you were going to do it. You would train, talk to people who have done it and read up on what you are about to do.

3) Do not listen to friends who have not successfully breastfed their babies. Woman for some reason are competitive by nature and they will want you to fail to. Maybe not intentionally but they will be the first help you get formula.

4) Make a friend who has successfully breastfed their baby. Better yet make 1, 2, or 3 friends. Even better than that make a friend who is pregnant, plans to breastfeed and is about to give birth the same time you are.

5) The first 5 to 6 weeks of breastfeeding will more than likely SUCK! Sorry but it is true. When you hear about how wonderful breastfeeding is people are not talking about the first few weeks. You have this floppy baby and have no clue what you are doing and your breasts will frankly hurt like hell. This is the cold hard truth. News flash though....parenting is not easy just in case no one told you. If you can get past the first few rough weeks it is smooth sailing. If you can get past the first 12 weeks you can kick back and feed your baby any and everywhere and relax.

6) Unless a certified lactation consultant has told you to use a pump put the freaking thing in the closet. Better yet put it in a locked closet that you don't have the key to. I often hear women say, "I did not have enough milk to feed my baby." When you ask them how they know they say because when I pumped I....The real truth is that there is a SMALL percent of the population who can not produce enough milk for their babies. When you pump early on you are messing with what mother nature has intended to work. Your milk comes on a supply and demand system and messing with it can cause you more problems than it is worth. And of course pumping milk and putting a bottle in your babies mouth in the first few weeks will more than likely cause you problems.

7) If you have problems ask for help IMMEDIATELY! There is nothing to be ashamed about asking for help to feed your baby. If something else was wrong with your baby you would probably not hesitate to ask for help but for some reason women just hope it will all get worked out by themselves. When you ask for help be careful about where you get it. Some of the worst advice I have seen given is from a pediatricians and their nurses. Believe it or not even with all of that medical training they were not given training on breastfeeding. If your pediatrician is a woman with children and she has not breastfed her baby then I would frankly get another one if you on planning on breastfeeding. Helpful people to get help from are friends who have successfully breastfed their babies, la leche leaders, and CERTIFIED lactation consultants.

8) Do not wait until your newborn is starving to feed them. It will just end up with you both crying and you desperate to shove a bottle in their mouth. A newborn cry sends your blood pressure up and you can't breastfeed your baby if you are not relaxed. Breastfed newborns eat VERY VERY OFTEN. Pretty much plan the first 2 weeks to do nothing else but rest and feed your baby. Look for other cues that your baby is hungry and try to feed them then.

9) Do everything in your power to ensure that you will not be separated from your baby when you give birth. Being separated from your baby after they are born does not make any sense in the first place and it surely will not aid you in breastfeeding.

10) You can breastfeed! We were meant to breastfeed and we just need help and guidance to get it done! AGAIN YOU CAN BREASTFEED your child. IT is really the best food for them! Their are so many benefits for you and for baby! Don't say you will "try" it, just decide you are going to do it and get the help you need to be successful!