Christmas parties

So I got some cute pictures of Kylee at her Christmas party today, but of course I still can't find my cord. I think some weird person broke into my house that likes cords. They seem to really disappear around here. So you will have to imagine how cute she looked in her Santa pajamas eating her Christmas cookie and sitting with Santa.


Jonathan and I are going to our class Christmas party at church. There will be babysitters at church to watch the kiddos. On any other night that would be no problem, but Bailey didn't sleep AT ALL at preschool today. That is very strange...she is a 2 naps a day baby and they are usually each at least an hour and a half. She hasn't been able to nurse today and hasn't really wanted a bottle, so maybe that was why. She is now laying in her bed, but still awake just talking. Crazy girl!!


Kylee came into my office today and said, "Mommy I have something to tell you." I nearly fell out of my chair, she sounded like a teenager. When I asked her what she needed to tell me, she said, "I need to poop." So maybe she is still 2 LOL!


I am so tired these days. I can't wait until our weekend getaway to Austin this weekend. I am hoping to catch up on lots of sleep!! Jonathan is going to take me to the place where he proposed to me over the 360 bridge. I think it will be fun to relive the memories. I still can't believe that we have been married 10 years, it makes me feel so old!


I better go get my tacky sweater on for our Christmas party. I can't wait to see everyone else's getups :)

Doctor

I headed out to the doctor this afternoon with the symptoms of a sinus infection. Well I was right. He gave me a shot to open up my nasal passages and one with a steroid. I am feeling better, just run down. Kylee was very nervous that the doctor was going to see me. She kept asking, "What is he going to do?" She also wanted to know if he had suckers in his pocket like her doctor. Luckily I had stuck one in my purse so I told her that I would give her one if she was brave at the doctor. I looked down to reach into my purse to discover that I didn't have my purse.

I had taken Kylee to the bathroom while we were waiting for my appt. But of course I hadn't used the bathroom in the office, but the one in the lobby. So I grabbed Bailey and Kylee and I ran to the bathroom hoping to find it there. Kylee really liked this game of where is Mommy's purse? She ran down the long hallway to find the bathroom. Then she had the best smile ever when she found my purse hanging on the door in the bathroom. Yay for the handicapped stall that no one had used.

With our purse in tow we washed our hands again and returned to the doc. I found her sucker and all was well as we waited for the doc to come into our room. While the nurse gave me my shots Kylee held my hand. She was so sweet!!

Bailey had to take a couple of bottles today b/c I can't nurse her for 24 hours after the steroid. She did quite well. My friend gave me some Mam bottles to try and she really liked them. I am actually looking forward to a break from nursing. I guess Daddy can get up tonight to feed her in the middle of the night!

We are still searching for that camera cord so we still have no pictures :(

New Leaf

So I am going to try and turn over a new leaf. My babies are growing like weeds and I don't write down near enough stuff about them. I am going to try and post on my blog every day for a month. You know how you have to do something over and over again to make it a habit. Well here goes.

Today at work we had our staff Christmas party. It was a lot of fun to get to sit around and talk to all the teachers in a relaxed setting. We exchanged ornaments in true White Elephant fashion (with lots of stealing), ate a great potluck provided by our parents and had some much needed fellowship during this chaotic season.

I had to go back up to work after Jonathan got home to finish up some stuff I didn't get done today. While I was on my way back up to work I decided to give myself a treat. My favorite, a sonic reeses blast. It was very yummy. I was so proud of myself for using a little restraint and only eating half of it. Now we won't mention how I just downed a serving of monkey munch. Let's just remember that I did have self control earlier.

Bailey turned 9 months on Sunday. She celebrated with another double ear infeciton. Poor child. The doctor actually knows us now. When he saw that she had an infection he commented on how nursing should help with those. There was no looking at my chart for that, it came right out of his head. I often wonder as you hear the doctor coming how much they are scanning your chart so they can appear to remember the names of your kids, your name, what you do for a living etc. We expect doctors to be perfect, so I always try to pick out how their not. Isn't that terrible??

I cannot find the camera cord so I can't post any new pictures. Jonathan said that he will find it for me, so maybe there will be new pictures tomorrow.

6 months

We went to the doctor for our 6 month appointment today. Bailey weighs 17 lbs and is  25.2 inches long. 38th percent for height and 64th for weight. She is definitely more proportioned than her sister! She got four shots and cried, but was easily consoled. She hasn't slept well today and just went down for a nap at 4:30! Hopefully she will still go to bed tonight :)

• She is rolling over both ways and has started getting into stuff. It's not safe to leave her on the floor for long periods of time. I think she will be crawling soon. She has started rocking a little on all fours. 
• She is still stubborn about going to bed at night and screams, but hasn't mastered the art of falling asleep unaided. I got the go ahead from the doc to let her cry by herself. So poor thing, she doesn't know what is coming!
• She still doesn't like the bottle. We have wasted more formula on her b/c we make a bottle and then have to throw it out b/c she won't take it. At least most of it has been given to us as samples from friends!
• Bailey is becoming very social. She doesn't like to be left in a room by herself. She is very thoughtful and likes to people watch.
• I just moved her into 12 month clothes. Crazy huh? I tried on some 9 month stuff and it is snug so onto the next size.
• She is trying to sit up. She can do it for 15-20 seconds at a time and then falls on her face. Its kind of funny to watch, but she usually cries.
• Kylee is very sweet to make sure that Bailey always has a toy. Bailey likes to suck on Kylee's silkies and Kylee always takes them away.
• She still eats every 3-4 hours and wakes up 1-2 times a night. I am thankful that she usually goes back to sleep, but looking forward to the day when she doesn't wake up at all!

I can't believe Bailey is already 6 months old. It seems like she just got here and now she is half a year. We are so thankful for our happy and joyful baby. Her smile brightens my day in an instant.

Here are some recent pictures:

We survived!!

Well our first week of preschool was last week. Both of my girls are going with me :) Kylee is in a 2's class and Bailey is in the tiny class. Here are some pictures of them on their first day. I didn't get to drop Kylee off so I don't have a picture of her with her teacher.

We have been busy the past couple of weeks. We got to go see Barnum and Bailey's circus in Austin in August. This is the circus that I used to go to when I was little. I was excited for Bryan and Kylee to get to see it. My mom was sweet and watched Bailey for us while we went to the show. It's really different watching the circus as an adult. I was thinking the whole time about how all of the performers could easily fall/injure themselves. It took some of the magic out of the show, but I still enjoyed it! Kylee thought that there would be ladybugs at the circus. When it was over Kylee asked, "Where are the ladybugs?" I replied, "They must be at the zoo."

Kylee was wiped out!

We also got to take the girls to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. It was a good time. Great weather and the girls had a blast. Kylee was determined to find those ladybugs at the zoo. These are the only ones that we found.

Kylee and Mommy on the slide :)

Kylee looking at the fishies (Mommy enjoying the air conditioning :)

Bailey's first time to the park by our house. She was like her sister, she cried when I stopped the swing.

Kylee still loves to swing. I'm kind of thankful that we don't have one in our backyard b/c she would ask me all day to go outside and swing.

Wayback Wednesday

So i am copying my sweet friend Becky in this post!

Kylee and Bailey are getting so big! Here are some pictures of them in a similar pose when they were about 2 weeks old. Can you tell them apart?

4 months and 30 months

So both of my girls just hit milestones. I am going to do a combination post. Bailey turned 4 months last Monday and Kylee turned 2 1/2.

We'll start with Kylee:
My dear sweet Kylee,
I can hardly believe that you have gotten so big. I still remember bringing you home from the hospital and feeling so scared to have to take care of such a tiny person. You are not so tiny anymore! You weigh over 30 lbs now and you are getting so tall. You are losing your babyness and turning into a precious little girl.

Daddy and I love to hear all of the new words that you have been learning. Here are some of our favorite things that you have been saying lately:
"I can't like that!"
"That's enough talking Mommy, that's enough"
"Don't say that to me" (this is usually followed by a time-out)
"I'm happy Mom!"
You still say "I welcome" instead of "thank you"
"I need my Daddy" (this is always when you get in trouble at home with Mommy)
"Mommy its your turn to put me to bed."
"I love you Mommy/Daddy"
"Where's Bailey? Is she sleeping? I want to see her, I be shhhh."
"My ear hurts, I need my medicine" (you always say this as we are putting you to bed. You decided that in order to get your princess vitamins, your ear has to be hurting).
"I NEED A SNACK NOW" (patience is not something that you have yet)
"I need _____"
"Where's my silky?"
"I up now"
"It's not dark, I not go to bed"
"You can't get me!!" (This is your version of hide and seek. You run away and want us to come "find" you. You don't actually hide though. You wait for us to start chasing you and then you turn around and charge us!)



Your favorite things:
Silky (especially the purple one)
Cow
Baby Joey
Baby Debi
Cheese
Candy
Chocolate milk
Fish crackers
Cookies (any kind)
Yogurt covered raisins
Bananas ('nanas)
Strawberries
Mazagines (magazines)
Markers
Play dough
Swimming
All of sister's toys
Imagination Movers, Dora, Super Why, Pat Pat and Blues Clues

Things that you don't like:
Going to bed
Sharing
Getting out of the bath
Having to wait to eat anything
Meat

You love birthday parties, cake, bouncy houses and friends. You think that anytime we go to the church it is for a birthday party and expect us to park by the gym. You think every birthday party MUST have a bouncy house!! I only made the mistake once of telling you that we were going to a party in a couple of days. You asked about it nonstop and thought every time we got in the car, that is where we were going.

You like to give us instructions while we are driving. "Mommy/Daddy got that way." You will argue if you think we are going the wrong way or if you disagree with the place that we are going. You have figured out how to operate the ipod and have even turned on movies when I told you no.

You love to go see Daddy at work. When we ask you where Daddy works your answers vary, "At his desk, he has a 'puter, or with tractors." If we do go to John Deere you simply must go inside and Daddy HAS to take you outside to see the tractors and maybe even give you a ride on a gator. You like to shop the lot with Daddy by going in and out of each tractor.

You love to wait "inside" (outside) for Daddy to get home from work. We go and wait on the "bich" (bench) to watch Daddy's car pull into the driveway. The highlight of his day is when he sees you and you yell, "Daddy" and run into his arms.

You are obsessed with dogs. You love Wallace, Cooper, Buster, Rylie, and Snuggles. You ask to see them all the time. When we tell you we are going to someone's house who has a dog you ask if we will get to see the dog when we get there. I am thankful that you have not figured out that we have no dog and have not asked for one. But I know that day is coming. You absolutely love animals!!

You look so huge when I go in to check on you while you are asleep. We haven't changed you to a big girl bed yet b/c you seem to be perfectly happy in your crib. We bought you a new bedspread but you won't use it. You insist on using your kitty covers.

You are definitely independent! You like to do a lot of things by yourself, but you like us to help you too. The other day you announced that you were a baby and wanted Mommy to feed you. I always oblige you when you want to be a baby. You still need lots of hugs and "hold you Mommy/Daddy." You still need books, singing and rocking to go to sleep. You ask for your rain if we forget to turn it on and you told us that Bailey needed rain in her room when we brought her home from the hospital. I am not looking forward to the day when you don't want these things anymore. I know that one day we will ask you for hugs, and you'll roll your eyes. You will soon be able to read to yourself and will think you are too old for songs. You will soon be too big to fit in our well used rocking chair. You will soon no longer need rain to block out the other sounds and find sleep. Someday soon you will have grown into a young lady and we will only have these memories of what you were like when you were little.

We love you so much and we feel honored that God blessed us with the chance to be your parents. We look forward to watching you do all the growing up you have to do. But we are trying to remember each step as you take it.







Dear Bailey,
Hi sweet girl. You are getting so big. You are 14 lbs and 25 inches. 40th percentile for height and 60th for weight.

Last night I was wishing that you would snuggle on my shoulder, but you had your own plans. You want to look around and see what is going on. You like Mommy to hold you, but on your own terms. You are just getting over your first ear infection. You have handled it like a champ. It was miserable to watch you with the sniffles and fever. You HATE your medicine. You scream the whole time that you take it. I feel bad giving it to you.

You no longer want the swaddle. We had just bought you a bigger one when you decided that you outgrew it. I went in one night to find you screaming and I pulled the swaddle off. You immediately fell asleep. I knew the swaddle was done. You want to have your hands free now so that you can chew on them. You still won't take a pacifier so you suck on Mommy's arm, shoulder and whatever else you can get in your mouth.

You still love your swing, but now want toys to play with while you're in there. You really like the little ducky that Grandma gave you. You get excited when you see it now. You enjoy watching TV with your sister and watching her run around doing all the things that you will someday.

You seem to like swimming, but it wears you out. Last time we went we got out of the pool, I put you in the carrier and started walking toward the car. You were already asleep when I looked down. You enjoy your bath too. You usually cry when I first put you in, but you are fine once I talk to you and show you a smile.

You have decided that you don't like bottles. You only want to nurse! I don't mind most of the time. I'm sure you will change your mind soon, so I'll just be patient. Uh-oh you just woke up, I better go and get you.

Sweet sisters having tummy time!

Love you,
Mommy

4th of July Weekend

I was a bad mama and didn't get my camera out once this weekend. The girls even wore matching dresses to church so I will have to dress them up again and take a picture.

We got to bring Bryan home with us Wednesday night after I me and the girls had a short visit with my mom. Friday afternoon all of the Nystroms came up to visit (this is the family that Bryan is living with now). We ate a quick dinner of stack-ups and all of them went off to the rodeo. They said that they had a great time. Kylee asked to see the horses again all day the next day so i think they made an impression.

While they were off my sister and I went to get a pedicure! This was only my second one in my life. I took Bailey with us and she was great. She nursed part of the time and then just watched a little tv in my lap for the rest of the time. My sister and I were celebrating her birthday that was the day before. It was nice to have some much needed sister time!

Saturday we were supposed to go to the Belton parade where Jonathan drove some John Deere tractor. But I chickened out b/c there was a chance of rain. It turned out that it didn't rain and it was perfect weather, but I enjoyed taking it easy at home and staying in my pj's till lunch.

Sunday we all went to church and then had a leisurly Sunday afternoon. The Nystrom clan left about 5:30 that evening and we were left with our two girls and our sweet Bryan. We put munchkin to bed and played some games with Bryan. Miniature finally went to bed and we watched Alice in Wonderland with Bryan. I couldn't get into it so I went to my room and went to sleep.

Monday morning I went to work for a little bit and then we got all of our swimming gear on. We went over to the Lion's Junction park for some swimming time. Again i forgot my camera. Kylee loved the water! Bailey sat in the water with Daddy and she cried when he tried to take her out. I think she is going to be a water baby!

Then we headed down to Austin to see Toy Story. We weren't sure how this adventure would turn out with a munchkin and a miniature, but we decided to brave it. I thought the movie was absolutely adorable!! For those of you who have seen it, my favorite part was when Mr. Potato head became a Mr. Tortilla Head!! Kylee didn't watch the whole movie, but she did entertain herself with her silky and cow. When the movie was over and we were watching the credits she told me that I needed to come sit on the floor with her and play with a toy. She didn't have anymore toys, so she gave me the nursing wrap instead :) Don't worry we were sitting on the carpet part, not the sticky gross part. Bailey slept most of the movie. When she woke up, she nursed and then sat with Daddy and watched the movie!

We had to take Bryan home after that :( We look forward to our next visit. I hope all of you had a great July 4th weekend and maybe you remembered to take pictures :)

My big girls/Family game night

Today we finally made it to class! We have been sick the last couple of weeks with pink eye, a stomach bug and one week we had family in town. Kylee's friends moved up to the 2 year old class like a month ago, but she hadn't been able to make it to class yet. The way it works at our church is that they start in the nursery and move to the toddler class once they start walking. Then they stay in the toddler class until the whole group promotes in June. So even though she has been two since January, she is just now moving on up to the 2's class.

I got her ready this morning and told her that she was going to her big girl class today. She said, "Mommy I wanna go to my little class." When we got there she quickly recognized a friend and the teacher, Amy. I went in with her and got her started on a puzzle and then kind of snuck out. When she realized I was gone the tears started and poor Amy had to hold her. But Amy said she was only upset for a few minutes and then she had a great time. I am so thankful that Amy was in there. She is such a great teacher and that makes the transition so much more bearable.

The nursery will take babies as soon as Mommy is ready. Bailey has had a pretty regular nursing schedule for about a month so i finally decided it was time to take her to class too. She has no separation anxiety yet so dropping her off was easier than sister. They said she did get a little fussy towards the end, but made it through all of class. I had to go and nurse her to sleep b/c she was a little overtired by that time. Overall our first Sunday of big girl classes was a success!

We had a family game night and played Kylee's favorite, Connect Four. She said that she wanted Bailey to play too so she did.



My sister Karen got to come down for a couple of days. She brought her dog Wallace and her new puppy Cooper. Aren't they cute?

Kyleeisms

So I guess I need to write down some of the really cute things that Kylee says:

Yesterday we were shopping in Harker Heights and I told her after we were done shopping I would take her to Chick-fil-a. She has started helping me drive by telling me which direction to go. She pointed out the window and said, "There's Chick-the-way"

I was unbuckling Kylee from the car the other day and I said, "Come on Sister." She looked at me with a very serious face and said, "Mommy I not Sister, I Kylee!"

She loves to point at us and say, "Mommy/Daddy don't tell me that!"

Earlier today Jonathan and I were talking about a show she was watching and she said, "Mommy and Daddy don't talk, shh, Bailey is sleeping."

She is really talking in sentences now. While taking a bath I told her not to do something and she said, "'Cause it's dangerous?"

Her two favorite things to say are, "Well how 'bout.." and "Actually...."

I love it when she says, "Come on Daddy/Mommy come play."

As all of my loyal readers know, Kylee favorite show is Imagination Movers. Today she has started calling it, "What's the big idea?"

Those are all that I can think of for now. I hope all of you are having a great weekend.

Happy Father's Day!

We had a great Father's Day weekend. We headed down to Austin on Friday night to go to a rehearsal dinner for one of Jonathan's good friends from high school. We dropped the girls off with Nonny and Papa and headed over to Austin's Park to play and eat. The boys enjoyed the video games and riding the go carts. Then we ended the night with a game of put put. I quickly discovered that this was not my sport. I averaged 5 puts per hole! LOL! It was fun to kick back and act like kids again. What a unique place to celebrate your wedding.

Saturday morning we got up and spent some time with Jonathan's Grandfather who had come in from East Texas. Then we got the girls ready and headed to the Oasis for the wedding. For those of you who aren't from Austin, the Oasis is a beautiful restaurant that overlooks Lake Travis. Jonathan and I hadn't been there since high school and we quickly discovered that it had drastically changed. A fire had burned it down several years ago and it had a huge makeover. It had a very elegant room upstairs where the wedding and reception took place. There was a porch with the water behind it for the ceremony and great food with a live Mariachi band for the reception.

Two of Jonathan's friends from High School

Jeff and Yasmin during the ceremony!

The girls did quite well. Kylee only got one spanking and we actually got to watch the whole ceremony from the back. The reception was a little long for them so we had to leave after they cut the cake. Both of the girls were sacked out in the car and slept for a total of 2 1/2 hours after we got home. Mommy and Daddy got a nap too, so important!

Saturday night we spent more time with the family and then we go up early on Sunday to go to church. But the plan was quickly altered b/c Kylee had pink eye. We called and got an appt. for 10:30 and headed to Temple. The doc confirmed it was in fact pink eye and gave us some drops.

We were planning to take Daddy to lunch and to a movie for Father's Day, but instead we picked up Mexican food and watched a movie at home. We got another good nap in and then splurged for some Papa John's Pizza (we usually only buy Little Caesar's). Kylee painted Daddy a picture with finger paint and we gave him his cards and traditional M & M's. Kylee picked out a card that said, "From Your Son on Father's Day." I tried to convince her to pick a different one, but she insisted on this one. It ended up being a perfect card, here is what it said,

I like your funny stories,
and it's great when we play ball
I like it when you help me reach,
'cause you're so big and tall,
I like the way that you can fix
a broken bike or toy
But Daddy, know what I like best?
I like to be your boy (girl)!

Happy Father's Day
Love You

3 months

So Bailey turned three months old last Saturday and I still haven't posted about it. I can't believe she has already been here for three months, but it is also hard to remember what life was like without her.

To Bailey:
You are the happiest baby I have ever seen. You can be screaming your head off and then I come over to talk to you and you give me the biggest smile you can. You only cry when you need something. I never thought there were really babies that did that. You are definitely a scheduled baby and I love that. I feel like I can give you what you need b/c you are so predictable.

Your sister adores you and I have to remind her that it is okay for other people to love on you too. When the kids at church gather around you, she runs over and yells, "That's my Bailey!"

You love to hold your hands and anything else that you can get a hold of. Your new favorite thing to hold are your burp cloths. This is a good thing since you sure do spit up a lot. You love to play on your mat for minutes at a time. You hate being in your car seat, but sister loves to play in it. You have started to watch sister while she plays and I can't wait for all of the playing that y'all will do together in the future.

You are still sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's closet until I think Kylee can handle you waking her up at night. You don't seem to mind the closet so you will probably be in there for a while longer. You still love your swaddle even though you are getting too big for it. Daddy and I will have to figure something else out. When we put you in your swaddle, you immediately relax.

I had to get down the next size of clothes for you last night. You are growing so quickly and it makes me excited and sad at the same time. I know you will grow so fast and I am trying to treasure every moment. I love you so much Bailey and I am feel blessed to be your Mommy!

Picture Update

So I know that it has been a very long time since I have posted, sorry about that. Things have been pretty busy around here. You know that post that I made about how easy it is to take care of two, well scratch that. It is very challenging!! Kylee seems to need more and more attention daily and it is hard to balance the two. I have noticed that she wants me and Jonathan to rock her to sleep for a longer and longer amount of time each night. It finally dawned on me last night that it is because she gets our total undivided attention at that time. Duh! Poor baby her world has totally changed.

Kylee does pretty well with Bailey. We had our first incident the other day where she hit her while I was nursing her. I know she was jealous because I couldn't do what she wanted me to do. I understand. I decided a time out was an appropriate punishment and then she told Bailey she was sorry and gave her a kiss.

I took Bailey to her two month appt. today. Our doctor was booked and we couldn't see him. I like this other doctor okay, but I realized today how much I really like our doctor. Bailey did pretty well. She screamed for the shots which I expected. But what I didn't plan for was the effect they would have on Kylee. She was clinging to my arm yelling "hold you Mommy!" the whole time. I know it stresses her out anytime that Bailey cries so i should have seen it coming. After it was over she grabbed her blankie and sucked on her fingers while she sat in Bailey's car seat. Bailey's stats: length: 20.9, weight: 10.14. I forgot to ask what the percentiles were. I wonder if I can find them on the internet?

So here are lots of pictures and a couple of videos that are way overdue. If you don't want to look at lots of pictures, consider this post done.

Kylee and I made some peanut butter play dough one day while Bailey was sleeping. As you can see she enjoyed the eating part!
I came in to the kitchen to find Kylee covered in powdered sugar. She exclaimed, "I cookin' Mommy!" I couldn't get mad so I just took a picture and cleaned it up :)

I put Bailey in Kylee's crib one day when I brought her in from the car. Kylee decided that she needed some toys to entertain her while she slept :)

This is one of my favorite outfits! She is 6 weeks here.
Bailey loves this little gym. She isn't quite long enough to kick the ball with her feet, but she will be soon.



Mother's Day 2010