Six Years

What a fantastic day today is. Today represents six years of a happy marriage for Kyle and I!

 

 

We are actually apart on our anniversary this year. I flew, with the girls to Washington yesterday. We're here to stay for a week. Kyle's sister, Chelsie, is getting married! Yay!! Kyle will be here soon enough. He stayed to work, and we came to play. He is so nice to let us leave him for a few days. (Although, I know he is enjoying the peace and quiet.) He can't be too sad, I did leave him a whole pack of mint Oreos- his absolute favorite. :)  



I am so grateful I have Kyle, and that we are able to journey through life together. We currently have traded in our longboards for strollers. We still have the longboards hanging up in the garage, waiting for the day when we'll get to pull them out again.

 

 

Kyle, thank you for choosing me! I'm so lucky to have you as my companion for all eternity.

Big Sister Hailey

Hailey loves Keira. Love, love, loves her. It really is adorable (and frustrating). Hailey loves to play with Keira and help take care of her. She is a great helper in grabbing a burp cloth when Keira spits up, and even helping to clean her up. Every time I change Keira’s diaper and Hailey is around, she grabs a new one for me.

Hailey has been an outstanding helper when Keira is crying. One day I was busy helping Kyle in the garage and couldn’t go inside to calm Keira down. I asked Hailey to just go talk to her. When I came back inside Keira was calm and sucking on her pacifier. Hailey had gone up to the bedroom, got the pacifier out of her bed, and brought it back downstairs and gave it to her. All without my asking. I was very surprised, but also pretty impressed. She knew just what to do.

Just tonight, not long after bedtime, Keira woke up crying. I went up to the girls’ room (I moved Keira in with Hailey probably 6-ish weeks ago) to help Keira settle back down to sleep. Hailey hadn’t been in bed long, and had been playing with some stuffed animals in her bed not too long before. As I walked over to Keira, I heard a little voice whispering. I thought Hailey was still playing with her animals, but she had put them down already. As I listened I realized that Hailey was singing to Keira. She was quietly singing “I Am a Child of God”. Recently I’ve started singing that song with Keira as I rock her for a few minutes to calm her down when she is worked up. I thought that was so sweet of Hailey. She was doing what she has seen me do. It was so much better than Hailey telling Keira to “Be quiet!” like she would do when we first moved the two of them together.

Hailey loves to make Keira smile and laugh. She talks to her and tries to play with her to coax smiles out of her. Recently she’s discovered that if she forces an obnoxious laugh that Keira will also smile. As annoying as it may get, I love watching the interaction between these two.

Sometimes Hailey is not gentle enough with Keira. She has good intentions, and is only copying what she see Kyle and I do. Keira loves to have her arms and legs jiggled and moved around, as if dancing. That’s how Kyle earned her first laugh. Hailey likes to do the same, but she is just too rough with her. We’re afraid she’ll accidentally hurt her. We do have to watch her when she tries to play with Keira.

Hailey has good intentions, but has twice almost killed Keira. Maybe “almost killed” is a little over dramatic, but twice we’ve rescued Keira from something that could have been bad. Hailey once put a peanut in Keira’s mouth. Hailey was snacking on trail mix, and I looked down at my phone for just a second and I heard, “Mom, she’s sucking on it!”. I immediately ran over and fished the peanut out before Keira had a chance to do anything with it. Thank goodness. After that I had a good talk with Hailey about not putting anything but a pacifier in Keira’s mouth.

Keira is currently sleeping in the pack ‘n play, until we get a new bed for Hailey and convert her bed back into a crib. The pack ‘n play isn’t as tall as a crib, so Hailey can reach the top of it. I had Keira sleeping with her bed higher up, so I didn’t have to reach in so far to put her down and pick her up. One morning I must have turned the monitor down too far and kept sleeping after Hailey and Keira had woken up. Kyle was getting ready for work and heard Hailey and Keira. He walked into their bedroom and found Keira completely unswaddled, face down in her bed, crying. Due to her positioning and the slight slope of the bed, she was unable to turn her head to the side, so her face was buried in the mattress. Hailey had unwrapped Keira, and in so doing Keira had rolled onto her stomach. Hailey was doing just what she had seen me do in the mornings when Keira wakes up. I lowered Keira down after that and now Hailey can’t reach her.

Hailey loves sharing a room with Keira. Anytime I take Keira out of the room for any reason, either during naptime or bedtime, Hailey is always so concerned and upset. She wants Keira to sleep in there with her. I have to reassure her that Keira will come back in a little bit.

One day I laid Keira down in Hailey’s bed for a few minutes. Hailey got very excited and got in bed next to her. It was so cute. She shared her animals with her and talked to her. I snapped a few pictures. How could I not?

Hailey may have enjoyed it more than Keira. Given enough time, I’m sure that will change. I really hope these girls are good friends when they grow up. Three years makes a big difference now, but at some point it won’t matter at all.

Keira: 4 months

This sweet girl is now 4 months old. Say what? I keep thinking, Wasn’t it just Christmas?

We’ve definitely moved out of the newborn stage. Keira is reaching out and grasping objects. She plays with the toys hanging from her activity gym, and stuffs anything that makes it into her clutches straight into her mouth. Just a day or two ago I first noticed her getting upset when she dropped her toy, which surprised me. I don’t blame her, it looked like she was having a grand time sucking, chewing, and slobbering all over it. She nearly always has something in her mouth, hand and fingers included. Sometimes she just can’t get enough, and two fists it. Sometimes she goes too far and gags herself.

We’re still waiting for Keira to roll over. She had a short lived, one time, three-in-a-row stint at 2 months old. I haven’t seen anything since. I think she’s close to rolling from back to front. She will crane her neck to look slightly behind her, and sometimes twists her hips up off the floor. She just needs to reach across her body and I think she’d do it.

She may not be rolling, but that doesn’t mean she’s not moving. When someone is holding her in a sitting position she loves to push off with her feet and rock her whole body back and forth. She gets pretty into it and sometimes surprises me with the amount of force she uses. She loves to stand and bounce pushing up and down with her legs. We need to get her a jumper and see what she does. Keira will also occasionally push with her feet and lift her bum up while laying on the ground. She also arches her back while sitting in her bumbo. This girl wants to move.

Keira loves to be held. Whenever I lay her down, I always anticipate a complaint out of her. Sometimes I can distract her by giving her something else to focus on. Other times I end up carrying her around, or listening to her cry for a few minutes while I do whatever it is I need to do. Poor girl. She is also so much happier when I put her in the bumbo seat. If she can see what is going on she’s satisfied enough, for a little while. Keira really doesn’t like to be left alone. If she sees me walk away, she immediately starts crying. The second I come back she calms down. Luckily she does ok at bedtime and naptime, otherwise I think I’d go crazy.

It has been fun to see the differences between Hailey and Keira. Keira does things we don’t remember Hailey ever doing. Like the pushing with her feet and rocking that I mentioned. Keira also sucks on her lips, which Hailey didn’t ever do. Usually the bottom one, occasionally the top one. I haven’t seen her do it as much recently, so maybe she’s phasing it out.

Sleeping and sucking on her lip.

Distractions are starting to become a problem during feedings. Any sudden noise or talking and Keira immediately pulls away and looks around. If Kyle talks to me while I’m nursing, Keira will often stop, look at me and smile. It’s hilarious, she seems to think that I’m talking to her. Kyle will try to get her attention, but she just sits and looks at me smiling. Eventually, after some work, he’s able to get her to take notice of him, and then she smiles for him. I do love her pauses and smiles while she eats. It’s pretty cute. What is not cute is her new biting and pulling while nursing. That I don’t enjoy so much. I don’t remember Hailey ever doing that. She also tends to pinch me with her roving hand while she’s eating. It hurts!

It is pretty easy to get Keira to smile. Usually all I need to do is smile first and she’ll smile back. She is super smiley first thing in the morning. It’s a great way to start my day. Laughing is becoming more common as well. My favorite is when she laughs when I pull her arms out of her sleeves when getting undressed. It must tickle or something. She has also laughed just from me talking to her, not intentionally trying to get any sort of reaction out of her.

Sleeping is so-so. The past few weeks were pretty rough. Keira would sleep about 4 hours and then wake up every 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I felt like a zombie. I just can’t function on so much interrupted sleep. This week has been better. I’ve started cracking down on naptime and bedtime. I didn’t have much of a routine set, but I’ve realized that she just isn’t a newborn anymore and it’s time to stick to more of a schedule to be sure she gets enough rest in during the day, so she isn’t overly tired at night. This week she has sleep about 6 hours, and then gotten up two times after that, which really is way better than getting up 5 times at night.

4 month stats:

• Weight: 14 lbs. 12 oz. (75%)
• Height: 24 3/4 inches (75%)

Hailey’s First Soccer Game

As a parent, it is so exciting for me that Hailey is now old enough to participate in some sporting activities! I signed her up for Spring soccer this year. This past Thursday was her first game.

Hailey was so excited! She loves to wear her uniform and keeps talking about how she is number 10.

She had a blast running around and kicking the soccer ball. What a great way for her to burn some of her abundance of energy!

Hailey even got her first grass stain. She kind of deserved it. She was pushing the girl next to her, and she tripped. I was grateful that she just hopped up, check it out, and moved on. Kyle and I had to convince her that it was cool to have a grass stained knee. She didn’t think so at first. She eventually warmed up to the idea and was excited to take a picture of it.

While Hailey may have had fun, Kyle was in agony watching it all play out. Watching a bunch of 3 year olds play soccer is pretty entertaining and chaotic. I never played soccer, and still don’t know all of the rules, but Kyle grew up playing soccer. It’s hard for him to watch such an unorganized game.

Hailey’s team lost, not that they had any idea or that it matters. I think the other team scored something like 3 goals. All of the game was spent at one goal. I don’t think Hailey’s team realized there was a second goal, and that they needed to turn the ball around and kick it towards the other goal. I also don’t think they knew what the white lines on the ground were for- they ended up close to the parking lot a few times.

Hailey had fun and kicked the ball around a little bit. She also spent quite a bit of her time wandering around, playing with the goal, and asking for a drink. They had designated break times, and Hailey was always so excited to run over and get a drink.  I think the hardest thing for Hailey to understand was that she could kick the ball away from the other girls. She’d be wandering around and I’d tell her to go play and kick the ball. She responded dejectly with “They already got it…” It’s funny, we’ve taught her to share with other kids, and when they have something they are playing with to wait until they are done with it. Now, in soccer we’re telling her to do the exact opposite! She’ll figure it out eventually.

Here’s a short video I took of the first part of the game:

Through Hailey’s Eyes

One day while I was doing laundry, Hailey got ahold of my point and shoot camera and snapped a few pictures.

I was ok with it, and entertained her a little bit and smiled for the camera. We took a picture together and had a few fun minutes.

I put the camera away in my purse. Later that day she grabbed the camera, without me knowing, and took some more pictures. I honestly don’t remember if she was supposed to be doing quiet time, or if this was after. I was in the bedroom folding laundry, with the door closed, so I could indulge myself in a Dr. Quinn episode without Hailey wanting to watch. Folding laundry is always so much more tolerable when I have something to watch. Anyway, I really had no idea what she was up to. She later shared with me that she took pictures of everything. Looking through the camera, I’d agree- she did take pictures of everything.

Normally I edit my pictures in Photoshop before adding them to the blog. I just left them alone this time. They’re Hailey’s pictures, and there really are too many of them. I did filter through them and pick out the better of the bunch. Enjoy the camera through Hailey’s eyes- and a small tour through our home.

View from the living room.

Kitchen cabinet.

In the fridge. This one really cracked me up, for some reason.

Mom written in magnet letters on the fridge. (Which, by the way, Hailey knows how to do on her own.)

Keira’s swing without the removable bouncer chair.

Family Room Monster Sacs.

Brick from the fireplace in the family room.

View from the family room.

Hanging bowls from the play kitchen.

Hailey’s doll.

Inside a hanging shoe organizer I use in the closet for coloring supplies.

Dress-up from Aunt Brittany brought back from China, hanging in the closet.

Inside the toy box.

Our bedroom door.

Puzzle.

Plush Cat named Rosemary that Aunt Chelsea made for Christmas this year.

Winnie-the-Pooh alphabet toy.

Books on the bookshelf.

Measuring spoon, fork and empty jar of Nutella.

Drawing on the easel. Hailey’s friend, Grace, wrote the letters.

Living Room as seen from upstairs.

Kitchen as seen from upstairs.

Hailey’s MySpace picture. Is MySpace even around anymore?

On another day, Hailey, Keira, and I were playing in the playroom. Keira started laughing. I had the camera right by me, so I asked Hailey to take some video of Keira laughing for me. She took her own video of what was important to her instead.

Hailey Can Do That

tummy time

Hailey is so funny. Or maybe she is starved for attention. Probably a little of both.

Everything we have Keira do, Hailey shows us that she can do that too. For the first couple of months when I would put Keira down for tummy time, Hailey would do tummy time too. Occasionally Hailey asks me to wrap her up in a swaddle, just like Keira. Lately we’ve been trying to encourage Keira to rollover. So, Hailey shows us over, and over, and over how well she can roll.

Maybe Hailey feels a little bit of competition for attention. But I do know that she loves her sister very much. She loves to hold her, and is quick to give her a pacifier when she is crying, or wipe her face when she spits up. She is also very proud and quick to tell strangers at the store that she has a baby sister. She loves to show her off. I recently did the crazy and moved Keira into the bedroom with Hailey. It has been way better than I thought it was going to be, by the way. Hailey loves having Keira in there with her. In fact, she gets upset if I take Keira out of the room at night. She is so concerned and insists that Keira sleep in there with her. I have to reassure her that Keira will be back shortly.

So, Hailey, don’t you worry, things won’t always be this way. Soon enough the two of you will be equals. For now, thank you for your willingness to help me and be such a fantastic big sister to Keira. I can already tell that she looks up to you. Keira is a lucky girl to have such a fun sister.

Easter 2013

We had a fantastic Easter this year, complete with Easter egg hunts, dying eggs, grilling, enjoying the sunshine, friends, and family. And of course I didn’t take pictures of any of it. I thought about it. So often I would just rather enjoy it all, instead of worrying about getting the perfect shot in of everything we’re doing. So, yes, we did fun Easter things, but I have no proof.

Kyle and I have been trying to decide our stance on Easter and the Easter Bunny. We’d prefer to keep Christmas for big gifts, but I wanted to have something for Hailey and Keira on Easter. I really like the tradition of a new Easter dress. I found super cute matching dresses for both girls at Target. I had originally thought to make their dresses, but when it came down to just a few days before Easter, reality sunk in and I went shopping instead. And I’m perfectly happy with it. Hailey loves her dress. I think the girls both looked nice in their dresses. I don’t think I’ll do matching dresses every year, but with this being the first, I thought it would be fun.

I also gave the girls a book about Easter. I think this is a good compromise. They are able to receive something in an Easter basket, but we can keep it simple and more focused about the Savior and His atonement and resurrection. 

We are so grateful for Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made for each and everyone of us. It is a blessing to know that we are not alone in our trials- He knows exactly how we feel, because He, Himself felt it as he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is also wonderful that we are able to repent and correct our errors. We are not perfect, but through Christ we can become so.