Happy Valentines Day!

(in other words, what bribery with candy will make my daughter do!)

Mealtime

This is what my floor looks like after almost EVERY meal.  When Kate is done with her food, she just throws it on the ground, or dumps it on the table, or plays with it.  She chooses whichever way makes the biggest mess.  This morning I had finally had it.  Don't get me wrong, she gets in trouble every time, but it's just not sticking!  I KNOW she can follow directions, I know she can obey, but she just won't listen about throwing her food on the ground. So this morning, I made her clean it up herself.

She was NOT happy about it.

This little girl tried everything to get out of it.  She hugged me, and kissed me, and said "Please!" over and over again.  But I remained firm.  After about on hour of struggle (yeah, I think the terrible two's have hit), I firmly guided her hands in cleaning up the mess.  I think we may have made a break through.

Hopefully.

maybe....

....we'll see what happens at lunchtime.

 

"Toes please?"

Kate is such a girly girl sometimes and I just love it! Yesterday we were sitting on the couch together when Kate starts examining her toes. She notices that all her previous polish has chipped off so she looks up at me and says,

"Toes please?"

Well, who could resist that? So we went upstairs and painted our toenails. This is a routine we've done many times before, and Kate KNOWS what to do!

First we start by removing old polish...

Then we pick out a color!


Ooooohh....pretty!

Then we (properly) shake the nail polish by rolling it in our hands!

Gotta blow one those toes to get dry!

The finished product, sorta.  She messed them up pretty bad right before this picture was taken.

I love having a little girl!

14 weeks

I just realized I hadn't posted anything about the new baby other than telling you all about it.  So here's a picture of me at 14 weeks.

Yyyyeaaahhhh....

I've been completely in maternity pants for weeks now, and my wedding ring has already been shelved.  I've been expecting it this time around though, I got enormous with Kate, and they say you get even bigger with the second so...heaven help me come July!  Does anyone have a pool I can live in this summer?

Other than getting big, and feeling exhausted 24/7, everything is awesome.  I've been very blessed again with NO morning sickness. (I'm sorry.  Really.  Don't hate me okay?)  So far, this pregnancy feels the exact same as it did last time, which makes me think it might be another girl.  *fingers crossed*  Don't get me wrong, I'd be completely happy if I was having a boy, but it would be so fun to have two little girls, and let's face it--easier.  Easier in the fact that I wouldn't have to really buy anything, every baby thing I have is pink and pretty.  A boy would mean having to buy everything all over again.  So...we'll see.

Kate is very excited to be a big sister, even though I don't think she really understands what's going on.  She will point to my belly when I say, "Where's the baby?", and give it a hug and kiss.  She's also been playing "baby" with her baby dolls everyday now, but  I don't know if that's just a little girl thing or if she's excited for the baby.  She's very sweet with other people's babies so that gives me hope.

I have NO idea about names.  Kate's name was picked out since high school.  I actually had two names picked out for my girls, Kate and Emma.  Well, Sherice just named her little one Emmalyn, so that's out-- and Emma Watson is the girl who plays Hermione in  Harry Potter, so I really couldn't do that.  A few names have been tossed around-- Annie, Jane, Alice, and Lucy and for a boy-- maybe Devin or Troy.  Jack is still my absolute favorite boys name, but my cousin Kim named her boy Jackson (dang you Kim!) and Dustin hated it anyway.  So... I will be more decisive once I find out the gender I'm sure.

Any suggestions?

Kate's Song

Yesterday was a bad day.

Kate threw temper tantrum after temper tantrum, and would cry over every little thing. Last night was the first night since Kate was a newborn that I sat down and sobbed out of frustration and exhaustion. To top it all off, she woke up not once, not twice, but 5 times last night! Needless to say I am exhausted today, and I'm very glad I was able to take a nap.

Today I noticed that she's cutting another tooth. So at least there is an explanation to yesterday's madness.

I tell you all this because I did want you to know that Kate does have an "off" switch, even though it might not last very long. When she is uncontrollable, I will hold her close and start to sing her song. I've sung it to her ever since she was a newborn, and let me tell you-- it has magic powers.



If you watched Sesame Street as a kid like I did, you might recognize it. It's "I'd Like to Visit the Moon" by Ernie. It's a song I always liked, and when my brothers and sister were little I taught them to sing it one summer while I played my guitar (badly). It has always stuck with me, and I'll probably never forget it.

Yesterday I probably sang this song to Kate about 7 times. When she gets sad or angry all I have to do is start singing this song, and she will calm down immediately and listen. See? Magic. Sometimes the magic only lasts until the end of the song, but at least it's about a minute and a half of peace. More times than not though, it will calm her down completely.

I wanted to blog about this because it's something that's really sentimental to me and it needed to be written somewhere. It's a tender moment between us and I want to remember it before she gets older and won't let me sing it to her anymore.

Who knows how many more times I get to sing it?

WTH?

(that "H" stands for heck.)

This girl is not even two years old, and already she's giving me a glimpse into her teenage years.

I remember when my family got our first cordless phone and I thought that was a HUGE deal.  Do you remember?  Do you remember the days before the internet, email, facebook, and cell phones?  I used to write my cousins letters for crying out loud.  These kids will never know the joy of getting a letter in the mail.

Yeah... she's texting!  (sorta)

Look at that pose!  She looks like her Aunt Lacie!

Enjoy playing with my phone now Kate, because your daddy has sworn that he's going to buy you the "Zack Morris" phone when you turn 16.

Phoenix Zoo

Yesterday we took advantage of Dustin's day off work, and the beautiful 70 degree weather and took Kate to the zoo! I knew Kate would love the zoo, but it surprised me just how much she loved it! She would try to talk to all the animals, mimic their sounds, and was heartbroken if we didn't let her say goodbye to each and every animal.

I think the monkeys were Kate's favorite.  When we saw the baboons, she yelled "Monkeys!", without us even telling her what they were!

This was the first time I had even been to the children's portion of the zoo.  I have to say, it's pretty cool!  Kate especially loved the petting zoo. 

We had so much fun! We will definitely be going back as much as we can while the weather is this nice. And maybe next time I'll get in a few pictures...