Time Check

Overheard on the baby monitor at 3:24 A.M!!!!!!

"Hi, Baby Girl! It's me, Hailey!"

I go flying into Kailee room...the light is on and Hailey is standing on the side rail peering into the crib. As calmly as I could I asked her why in the world she was awake and what was she doing in Kailee's room! Hailey told me that Kailee was crying and needed her. I peeked at Kailee and she flashes me her toothless grin as if saying she likes this party plan too. I gave her her pacifier and turned out the light and took Hailey back to bed. Neither of them liked that plan, so for my sake of sleep I gave in to both of them and fed Kailee as Hailey read books next to Kailee's night light. Kailee crashed and I brought Hailey into my bed. She rolled around and wouldn't go back to sleep so I gave in again and told her to go play in her room. She did and finally came back to my room around 4:30 to fall asleep! I guess for Hailey's sake of argument, she had been asleep for 8 hours already.

Jumping Jack Flash!

Here's a combined video of Kailee at 4 months and Hailey at 6 months in our doorway jumper. Kailee has started making this hyperventilating sound that is pretty funny. Although if she does it right after she eats then she usually barfs! Kailee is starting to get the hang of the jumper and likes sitting in it. The video then fades to Hailey around 2 months older than Kailee in the jumper bouncing around like a ballerina and screaming! We'll see if Kailee does the same thing in a few months.

The girl's first Pic-A-Nic

Hailey asked me yesterday if I wanted to have, not a picnic, but a Pic-A-nic with her. I asked her if Kailee could come too. I'm sure this is the first of many picnics and tea parties that the girls will share! And speaking of tea parties, apparently Hailey is into keg parties too. The other day she brought me a play cup from her kitchen and told me it was beer. I said that little girls don't drink beer and she replied that it was just pretend! :)

Deciding she wants the ice cream for herself and not Kailee
Satisfied with a yummy banana

Too quiet in the house...

Mom: "Hailey, what are you doing?"
Hailey: "Nuffin"
I get up and walk around the corner
Mom: "Hailey! What are you doing??!!!"
Hailey: "Making freckles"

Jekyll and Hyde

Hailey's attitude was night and day between Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Leevi was always the one to do the "fun stuff" on the weekends with Hailey after Kailee was born and I'd usually stay home to catch up on chores, etc. Well, now that he's in Afghan. I need to fill that roll. We drove to the other side of the island to go to a place called 808 Bounce that has the inflatable jump houses. It was pretty cool...6 different jumping "things"...slide, houses, mat, etc. Hailey was a little intimidated by the bigger kids (a group of 9 or 10 yr. old boys kind of took over the place), but for only 7 bucks you could come and go as you pleased, so we took a break and walked around the mall. Hailey had been having some "moments" most of the morning from being picky about which shoes she wanted to wear to riding in the stroller vs. walking. Overall, she just wasn't as chipper as I hoped she would be on such a special outing. The final straw that broke MY back came when she complained about the chocolate ice cream with sprinkles that I had gotten her because she wanted a CONE not a CUP! I THOUGHT to myself, "you ungrateful little brat! Who complains about ice cream??!!! Do you realize how far I drove to come do a special thing for you? How much of a pain it is to drag two babies across town? How I should be home cleaning the house after I worked all week? or How I wished I could be just sitting on the couch after I worked all week?" I counted to 10 and took some deep breaths and pushed my crying two year old to a fitting room at Macy's where I fed Kailee and Hailey and I had a heart to heart. She pulled herself together and when we went back to the jump place and she was perfect! Later that night we talked again when I was putting her to bed and she really seemed to get what I was saying and seemed to understand that she hurt my feelings earlier. Sunday morning we had some more running around to do...I got our taxes done and then since Hailey behaved so well we went to park on the way home. That night we walked down to Tiffany's for dinner and she and Colin got along wonderfully! Anyway, hopefully we are almost over the terrible twos...I haven't really had it too bad...she only started her "independence" around 2 1/2. Can't believe my baby turns 3 next month!!!

Here are some pictures from the weekend...

At 808 Bounce

At the Kid Zone in the mall
Just along for the ride
Hailey and Colin having "dinner"...when I told her it was time to really eat, she replied that she already had dinner.
Rylee and Hailey after a bath in their matching jammies
Mason and Kailee...they really are about the same size even though Kailee looks monsterous next to him. It must be those horizontal stripes deceiving the eye! :)

I have a witness

I ventured out on my own yesterday with all the kids and Leila. I wanted to get Leila's walk over with, so I could go on my own walk with "the moms" later in the afternoon. Leila is such a pokey walker so attempting to drag her along while pushing the double stroller up the hill at a considerable "workout" pace is impossible!

The walk with the kids was successful...I'll probably do it until Kailee is too heavy to carry in the front pack. Maybe I'll keep my eyes peeled for a triple stroller on craigslist! Ha!

Scared the crap out of me...

All of the babies were asleep and then I saw this...

Who is Who? Part III

Kailee is finally starting to show some of her own features, but they are still undoubtedly sisters!

Random pics from recent days...

Hailey being a baby in the Hop N Pop...

Reading to Kailee

Baby girl...
Kailee and Brooke
The three babies in their matching outfits
Snuggled so close in such a big bed

Photos for Leevi

Hailey's Many Ensembles!! Part III

I don't allow her to leave the house dressed like this...

Too Numb for Words...

No, I haven't lost my mind...:)

On Monday I started babysitting two babies of teacher friends of ours. Without a doubt my days will be busy which will be great while Leevi is deployed. Brooke is 7 months, Jackson is 6 months and Kailee is now 4 months. Hailey was as much as a pain as she was helpful. One moment she was great and entertaining for the babies and the next she was bossy and delagating which toys they should have and such. I'm sure the shock of having two more in the house will fade and she'll adjust. The first day went great and so far the second day is off to a great start. The babies are asleep, so I'm even able to get this posted during the day!

Brooke was already here when Kailee woke up this morning and Hailey went running into her room and said to Kailee, "Your friends are here!! Your friends are here!!"

Kailee, Jackson, Brooke
Hailey helping with the morning bottles
Leila on babysitting duty
Jackson and Kailee mesmerized by Hailey

Where is my spot?

I had a night of bed-hopping with the girls last night. We've been so busy with visitors, holiday stuff, and last minute family things before Leevi deploys that we haven't stuck to my miltant bedtime routine with Hailey. When we don't, her nights seem restless and she finds her way to our room more often than not. Last night she came in around 2 and crawled into bed and I took her back to her room when Kailee got up. Kailee is doing great at not feeding much in the night, but she still wakes up for her pacifer. Kailee was really restless in the early a.m., so I just brought her into bed with us...she ended up getting comfortable in a somewhat upright position leaning on my stomach as I was turned on my side. Around 6:30, Hailey came back in, but wanted to snuggle next to me and squeezed Kailee out of the way. Thankfully she went back to sleep and we all didn't get up until around 8. It's crazy thinking how 8am is sleeping in now!!!! :)
I woke up somehow on the left side of Hailey smushed down toward the bottom of the bed. Leila usually sneaks up on the bed when the sun comes up, but thankfully she hadn't woken up yet and made space even more limited!

The Girls Night Kids

I made a Christmas card of all of our friend's babies, but we didn't quite get it out by Christmas. We were waiting for little Abby to arrive and then Christmas crept up so fast before we knew it it was already the New Year! I was going to change the wording to something about Happy New Year, but I thought it might be weird since each kid had a Santa hat on. A pair of siblings are missing (where the trees are), so here's a little shout out to Brody and Kaila! The actual card is still going out to our Hawaii friends along with Abby's birth announcement!

Clorox Uses

I'm getting ready to start watching two friend's babies on Monday and was wondering a safe way to clean the toys. Kailee has also begun to grab at toys and put them in her mouth, so I need a deep cleaning of all the "chew toys"! I used to put Hailey's toys in the dishwasher, but with all the BPA heating issues that scares me now. I saw a Clorox commerical today with a "recipe" for cleaning toys and a website for other recipes for cleaning baby stuff. I wasn't sure if bleach was safe to use for things they put in their mouths...apparently it is.

For cleaning toys: Mix 3/4 cup bleach per gallon of water; soak toys for 5 minutes; rinse; and air dry

The website is www.cloroxbleachuses.com

Happy as a Clam

Kailee continues to be the easiest baby ever...she is so mellow and so happy! Hailey was an easy baby too, but she liked to be held a lot. Kailee just goes with the flow and is happy pretty much anywhere you put her. We can't believe she'll be 16 weeks on Friday! We've started her on rice cereal for dinner...I wanted Leevi to experience one of her big "firsts" before he deploys to Afghanistan next week. Here are some pics of our happy little clam!

Tidbits from Hailey...

"But I love her berry much" when I tell her to stop smothering Kailee

"My belly hurts. I have to go to the doctor." She usually says this once a day...but then asks for a popcicle.

"Vamanos" to Leila on our walk. This one cracked me up...she got it from Dora or Diego on t.v., but so cool to see her apply it correctly! We weren't even talking about Diego. I had just told Leila to hurry up because she was being poky smelling something.

"My mommy only reads one book to me" to Leevi putting her to bed. It's true! I'm just ready for her to go to bed at night so I can have a break that we'll just read one or two books (we read a lot during the day, so I don't feel too guilty!) She always suckers Leevi into reading a lot to her, but I'm sure he doesn't mind the extra quality time! :)

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" to Kailee. Oops...I know I say that to her! :)

"I can play at Lexi and Raiah's house just a litle bit please?" or "I go in the hot tub just a little bit please?" or "I watch t.v. just a little bit please?" All in one breath with her finger and thumb together for "a little bit" and her hands clasped together for "please"

Hailey's Camera

One of Hailey's big Christmas gifts was a kid's digital camera. She is always stealing mine, so I thought she'd like one of her own. It's a huge hit. We originally bought the Little Tykes one and were so disappointed with it...don't get me started on all the things that were just plain dumb about it. Thankfully, the store took it back with no questions asked and we got the Vtech Kidizoom...it's perfect and it takes video, has games, has a clearer LCD screen AND comes with a camera bag. If you are considering buying a camera for your little one, this is definitely the one to get!!!!!! A friend has the Fisher Price one that it's ok too, but it doesn't have a very clear LCD screen nor does it take video, play games or come with a bag. The Vtech one was on sale at Radio Shack for $34!!!!!! Keep your eyes open for a sale even if you bought the camera now and saved it for a future bday or next Christmas!!! :)

Here are some pictures that Hailey took....