baby girl's well check day

today was a good day.  i went to bed way way way too late but woke up not tired!  that really doesn't ever happen so it definitely made me feel a little lucky.  i had plenty of time to get ready and eat breakfast before pulling both kids out of bed to get them ready too.

baby girl had her three year well check today.  it went great.  her appointments are such a breeze compared to brady's where i have to remember to ask about fifty different issues and answer a million different questions from the doctor.  she did really great and was as sweet as ever, even when we had to wait twenty minutes for the pharmacy to fill brady's prescription.  we headed over to story time and it was one of the story tellers i really like.  the one that reminds me of emma stone.  tonight when i asked her about it, baby girl said her favorite part was "no more monkeys jumping on the bed" which was when they put some inflatable monkeys on the parachute they were playing with.  i love that we can communicate like this about her day.  we picked out some books and movies and headed home.  brady napped in his carseat while abigail ate lunch/watched elmo, and i talked on the phone with my mom.  bliss.  then both kids went down for a nap (if brady doesn't get a full nap, his wake time is super short and he's just ready for another) and i cleaned and organized and talked on the phone with emmy.  being a stay at home mom is kinda like being a nanny except it's a million times better because you get to do whatever you want.  baby girl ended up staying awake and just playing in her crib forever (how she entertains herself in there for HOURS with three stuffed animals, two trains, a sippy, and a blanket, is 100% beyond me) so i got her out when brady woke up from his nap and we all took a walk/bike ride to the playground.  this is definitely my favorite thing to do these days so it's a good thing both of my kids enjoy it too.  baby girl is so sweet and cute i find myself just in awe.  it's typical that i tell her i love her about a million times a day, but today it was just constant.  and she even said "i love you too" which melted my heart.  baby girl does things all day that are just so thoughtful.  like this evening when she got up from nap and saw that there were piles of folded laundry outside of her bedroom door.  "i'm gonna put these away for you!" and then she put away all of her pj's and underwear that go in her dresser and then moved all of the other piles to her closet so i could put them away in there.  i didn't ask her to do that, it's just something she enthusiastically volunteered.  she's a special girl.  just so inherently good.  i don't give her treats for going potty unless she asks for one or unless i need her to go and want to bribe her.  but tonight we were upstairs getting ready for bed and she went potty and asked for a treat.  normally i tell her that we'll just get one in the morning or it's too late for treats or some sort of excuse but she was so angelic today that i told her she could run downstairs and get one.  and when she didn't return, i doubted her and went to check on her.  well, i shouldn't have doubted because here's what happened.  a few days ago, baby girl found a little box of nerds in our junk drawer and said she wanted that to be her potty treat.  so i dumped some in my hand and instead of taking them, she carefully picked ONE.  one single nerd.  and walked away completely satisfied with her treat.  i thought it was so hilariously sweet i've just let her continue to take her one nerd.  so when i sent her downstairs tonight i thought she was going to bring me the box but when she didn't come up, i thought to myself "i bet she's downing as many nerds as she possibly can right now.  so i went down a few steps to where i could see her in the kitchen and that precious girl was sitting on the floor saying everything along the lines of "i got my treat for going potty!  i did it all by myself.  i spilled a little so i'm putting them back in.  she had spilled some nerds and was sitting on the kitchen floor carefully putting each individual one back in that tiny hole in the top of the box.  she's an old soul.

she's also a skinny soul.  she weighs 26.5 pounds and is less than 10th percentile for weight.  about 50% for height.  and her percentile for her bmi?  less than half a percent.  still, i'm pretty sure she's chunkier now than she was a year ago... even if she's only gained four pounds.

out with a bang

my whole weekend has been kinda magical.

obviously, friday night was awesome.

saturday was really great too though.  we all slept in and then hurried out the door to run errands together.  hit up vitamin cottage for some tahini (so we can make hummus now!) and then to costco where we filled up on a ton of amazing samples (greek yogurt cheeescake, delicious cheeses, chicken sandwiches... some old favorites and some new stuff i hadn't ever tried before) and got groceries and these cubbie things i've wanted forever, and then i ran in walmart for a they're-never-ever-quick return.  it was a luxury to be able to run in vitamin cottage and walmart by myself without having to drag two kids along.  even if i did always have to hear from honey about how long that took.  yes, but it would have taken me even longer if i'd taken two kids... and would have been infinitely more painful for us all.

after lunch, i put brady down for a nap and honey took baby girl to see monsters university.  we're not big movie theater people and honestly, the only reason he even took her was because we got four free movie passes when we recently bought new tires for my car, but baby girl had never seen a movie at a movie theater before and honey really wanted to take her.  he wanted to use the other two passes to take me on a date night but long story short, i'm actually going to use the other two to take baby girl to see turbo (that snail movie) later this week.  i'm excited for our girls night.  while honey and baby girl were gone, i put together all those cube organizer things.  the first one took almost an hour but the other two were quick.  like 20 minutes.  steep learning curve.  i really like putting things like that together.

we went on another walk/bike ride to the playground and it was great.  perfect weather and baby girl is so adorable.  she's so quick to make friends.  or at least try to make friends.  a little boy at the playground looked to be her same age and was wearing a thomas t-shirt so baby girl  kept following him around and talking to him like they were bff.  he ignored her much of the time but there did seem to be some moments that they were actually communicating and playing together.  i think one or both of his parents speak german... so maybe he just doesn't understand english that well.  either way, it's always a whole bundle of emotions watching baby girl make new friends.  it fills me with pride that she is so sweet and innocent and friendly and it wracks me with fear that she'll get her feelings hurt or learn how to be mean.

so then we all walked home and got our kids in bed early (brady has been crazy tired lately... probably from a growth spurt or something) and baby girl didn't nap (we put her down for a really early nap in case she wanted to sleep a bit before the movie but she just played in her crib the whole time) and finished our movie from the night before.  i actually really enjoyed the movie (the big year) which probably means that most people wouldn't enjoy it.  i don't like movies that are too emotionally charged and this one was perfectly middle of the line without being too boring.  it's a given that i don't like movies that are too sad or scary but i also don't like movies that are too happy or uplifting.  romance movies portray an ideal that can make it hard to be satisfied with the day in, day out of your wonderful but simple marriage.  and movies like ruby or the blind side make me feel like i'm not doing enough with my life.  i do really love super funny movies though... but then you get in to the question of if it's risque or inappropriate.  so here's my plug for a funny enough to make you smile but not too emotionally charged in any way sort of movie.  also, i like the bbc pride and prejudice.  but i bet you already knew that.  (even though it portrays a romantic ideal, my honey is actually a lot like mr. darcy and it only portrays the courtship, and it takes place in a time with completely different social norms).  it's a perfect movie... i can find no fault.

and then today.  i wasn't really looking forward to today (maybe i'll look forward to sundays again eventually but not quite yet... too busy and hectic) but, as usual, i was pleasantly surprised.  byc was good.  sacrament meeting was awesome.  i got to go to some of sunday school (like maybe ten minutes) which was really good.  and yw third hour was good.  it was a bit hectic because i was on my own since honey was tied up with a church auditing meeting and i took baby girl to the bathroom twice (she never ended up going til we got home) and brady needed two diaper changes (neither of which coincided with the time i took him to the mother's lounge to feed him).  so it was like most other sundays where i'm making my way back and forth across the church building in heels with my church bags and a baby carseat and a three year old that only knows two speeds, one of which is running and the other which resembles a drunken kitten.

but it was okay because we all left happy and honey's auditing meeting actually got out on time so he got home right after we did.  and after a quick lunch, all four of us took spectacular naps.  we went on another walk/bike ride tonight around the neighborhood a little bit and just sort of hung out as a family.  those walks are amazing though.  abigail is so cute on her bike and so obedient stopping and looking for cars at each intersection.  brady is so happy and content in his stroller.  honey is removed from technological distractions and just puts his arm around my waist while we walk and talk about life.  is there anything more to want?  i think not.

so that was my weekend.  start to finish, just wonderful.  sometimes it's rough to have a stellar weekend when it starts out so great because it's hard to keep up the greatness.  but this time, it was great the whole time and we went out with a bang.

My little world

Today was an ordinary but awesome day. My house is starting to look more like itself and the mess is getting under control. I didn't try to go anywhere which made for a relaxing day. Brady is so fun and self sufficient. He is a super fast eater and loves hanging out and just kicking it on the carpet. Abigail is hilarious and is quite the Chatty Cathy. Everything that could be said in fifteen words or less gets at least a 50 word explanation while I just watch and smile. Her verbal skills blow me away. She didn't talk that much while we were traveling (maybe because there was so much going on and so many unfamiliar faces?) and it's like she's just bursting at the seams now getting everything out. We played the piano together tonight and she played and sang right with me as I made my way through the hymn book. She always needed to know I the name if each song. When I played "as sisters in Zion" I was less than two measures in before she perked up and enthusiastically declared "I like this one!!!"  It made me laugh out loud. Everything she says just makes my day. She is so so fun to hang out with. My honey got home tonight at his usual time but Brady was taking an epic nap (the kind where I go up to make sure he is still breathing and hasn't died of SIDS) and so by the time he got up we decided to stay home. We all walked around the block a few times while baby girl ride her bike and just talked about work and travel plans and stuff in general. It was the epitome of summer evening perfection. We put the kids to bed and watched part of a movie. Life is really good. 

wind, wind, go away

my child is afraid of the wind.  when we're at home, the sound of the wind is so frightening that it strips baby girl of much of her independence.  which, sadly, is probably much more inconvenient for myself than for her.  let's all hope the wind goes away soon, okay?  in the mean time, if you are aware of any children's books/movies that would help my child combat her fear of the wind or make wind seem like something fun and friendly... i'm very open to suggestions on this subject.

also, i'm not a fan of packing.  or unpacking.  there are still suitcases and clothes needing to be put away.  from the trip that we returned from on saturday.  i mean the mess is in the majority of the rooms of our house.  don't worry though... i'm chipping away at it slowly but surely.  more slowly than surely though.

em, i forgot to mention it on the phone today but i still love my haircut.  if we lived closer i would trade my organizing skills for your haircuts!  also, here's that funny healthy eating kale article i mentioned.  you'll love it.  i thought it was hilarious.

brady's first experience (and second and third) with solid foods wasn't awesome.  pretty much, i fed him applesauce and he thought it was so disgusting that he gagged so hard i was worried he couldn't breathe.  well, after that initial getting used to things, he has gone to the other extreme and downs baby food like you wouldn't believe.  i was soooo dreading introducing baby food to him because the whole expensive jars of baby food smeared all over my child's face thing just wasn't appealing to me.  but i take that back because this is awesome.  abigail loves to feed brady and i love that when i feed brady, if i take too long between bites, he'll reach out his hand, grab the spoon, and pull it to help me get the food into his mouth.  and of course, it helps that his mouth is always open.

my favorite game with him?  "open your mouth if you love your mommy!!!"  and "open your mouth if you have a sweet sister!" and "open your mouth if you're ready to take a great nap!!!"  that mouth is always open.  never closes.  also, brady continues to laugh like it's his job and smiles whenever anyone makes eye contact with him.  he cried for 95% (and i wish i was exaggerating) of our FOUR HOUR flight home on saturday (still need to write that story... although i barely remember it because it was so long and painful and my brain has blocked out those 12 hours of my life) and yet, the lady across the aisle still giggled every time she caught the least bit of a smile from him.  i still occasionally call him my bipolar baby.  but he's still steadily moving towards the smiliest, happiest baby ever.

my words with friends skills are noticeably better than they were even just a month ago.  maybe next time i go home, i can challenge my dad to a game of scrabble and not lose so badly.  anyone up for a game?!

did anyone else see this adhd video?  one of my california friends (can't remember which one) posted it on facebook.  it's over ten minutes which i typically consider way too long for a youtube video but i watched it while i folded laundry and i'm glad i did.

i was talking to emmy today about my regrets from my trip.  biggest regret in atlanta was not planning/scheduling my time wisely.  i could have fit in a lot more time with friends and managed to see my old piano teacher and done a few projects with mom but my planning was just really poor.  and the beach?  not planning or thinking things through meant that when i left saturday morning, i was super sad about all the things i didn't get to do and the conversations i didn't get to have and the pictures i didn't take.  hold me to it, i'm going to make my next trip awesome like my previous trips have been.  i'm telling myself i was just a little off this time because it was my first with two kids and trying to figure out when to do stuff was tricky for me with a nursing baby and active toddler.  well, the toddler was easy but i still felt limited needing to be home for her nap, even if i had her skip it a lot so i could get out and do stuff.

anyways, that's my brain dump for tonight.  cross your fingers for nothing more than a light breeze tomorrow!

presents for a three year old

i take way too many pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

kids are so easy to please.  also, giving really is better than receiving.

the birthday day

happy 3rd birthday baby girl!

i would have loved to do something extra super special for baby girl's birthday today but with us getting in town late saturday night and not having sunday to prepare anything and monday night being family home evening and baby girl's bff elle out of town... it just wasn't gonna happen.  we semi celebrated at the hilliers for a sunday dinner but there was no cake, and it was just a few small presents.  i really don't mean to sound like i'm complaining, i only say all of that because i'm not quite sure how much a three year old comprehends birthday celebrations.  like i don't think she really got the picture with our sunday shindig even if it was really really fun.  all day sunday though, we kept prepping her.  "how old are you?" two.  "yes, and tomorrow when you wake up, it will be your birthday and you will be three!"

she did great.  this morning i heard her wake up and when i went to get her i said "happy birthday baby girl!!!  how old are you?!?!"  "i'm three!!!"  adorable.  since it was too cold to go to the pool and too windy to do anything outside actually, i decided our day should consist of no crying and just doing whatever baby girl wanted to do.

want a bath?
yes.  but i don't want to wash my hair.
fine by me... it's your birthday!

let's eat breakfast!
i don't want to eat breakfast, i'm not hungry.
want watermelon?
yeah!  and i want yummy cheese eggs too!
excellent... i can do that for you!  how many would you like?
umm, two.  and i want this toast too.
well then you shall have it all... because it's your birthday!

brady slept the majority of the morning so baby girl and i got a lot of one on one time.  she had a fun bath, picked out whatever she wanted to wear (poofy dress), and played in the playroom.  we cleaned up the ball pit (i told her i was going to clean up all the balls and it was all "oh.  i'm gonna help you!") and she did some trains, some driving in her car, some baby dolls, some hammering with her tools to fix her car, and asking me to throw the aflac duck and smash it into her face (video to come).  we both had a blast.  we also watched some thomas together and hung out with brady before it was nap time.

almost every inch of my house is covered in suitcases, clothes to be put away, dirty laundry, and a million other things that just materialize out of nowhere... and instead of attending to any of it, i spent the whole day focusing on baby girl.  i didn't multitask and do laundry or housework while she watched tv or played in the playroom and i didn't talk on the phone, text friends, or browse the internet while she was playing.  i gave her my full attention and y'know what?  she was perfectly well behaved and more hilarious than ever.  baby girl, sorry this was a special birthday thing and not the everyday thing i should do for you... i promise i'll do better.

this precious girl never left my side (remember the wind?  we were always in the same room as each other and pretty much never more than ten feet from each other) and it was amazing.  i should do this for my birthday too!  anyways, she went down for nap around 2:30 and was fast asleep until almost six.  you can tell she's still wiped out from our trip (she woke up at 9:45 which is late for a kid that's been hanging out on the east coast for three weeks).

check out that tan!

"mommy, can i take pictures of brady?"

"i'm a big girl baby!"

while she was napping i tossed up a few balloons and streamers and gathered some presents from around the house.  really we were only intending to give her a bike and the $5 thomas umbrella i picked up a month or two ago at walmart... but it looked pretty sad and lonely on the fireplace (tradition) so we shopped the house for a few more things and baby girl was thrilled to pieces with her birthday puzzles, games, coloring pad, mickey mouse notebook, bike, and thomas stuff.

when she came down the stairs and saw all the birthday stuff, her face lit up.  she immediately ran to her bike, hopped on, and started riding all over the place.  she's really good at it because she rides elle's all the time.  christopher convinced her to take a break to open her other presents and it was so precious seeing her unwrap everything.  she would be so serious and intent and telling me every time she ripped the paper and then she'd see the toy inside and get such a huge smile on her face.  she played a bit with each of her presents and then rode her bike around the house again.  while she was riding, christopher asked her what her favorite thing was and we were both fully expecting her to say the bike.  ummm, "i like all my thomas ones!"  what?!  her top pick was the thomas umbrella.  she really is my mini me.  when i was really little i had a kid sized snoopy umbrella and i absolutely adored it.  that was actually my inspiration when i saw the thomas umbrella at walmart.  so, i'm sure she probably likes/will enjoy the bike way more but i found it humorous that she told honey her favorite was the umbrella.  especially since he was skeptical when i told him i bought it for her.  two points for me!

then we ate grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner (because i knew she would really enjoy that and because our fridge is almost completely empty and i'm procrastinating this whole "cooking dinner" thing as long as possible) and went around the block and got our mail and hung out on the driveway while baby girl pedaled to her little heart's content.  but then the sun was going down and baby girl's first crying of the day was when i made her get in the car so we could go out for gotcha.  what's up with that?!  she loves gotcha and it didn't matter how many times i said "we're going to get ice cream and all of your birthday stuff will still be here when you get back!" she was still distraught.  i insisted though and i'm pretty sure she's forgiven me.  also, she eats so slowly she didn't even finish her ice cream and the remainder of it is in our freezer.  so now i know that when it takes her an hour and a half to eat breakfast, it's not because she's trying to kill me or drive me crazy, it's just because she's really my daughter and can find a way to "savor" something eighty times more slowly than everyone else present.  sometimes hanging out with her is like watching home videos of myself as a kid.  when we were growing up, my friend lisa always finished her food before i was even done chewing my second bite and she always asked why and how i could eat something so slowly.  actually, she still does.  weed, if only you were there to see abigail go three minutes straight without taking a bite and then at my promptings, merely dip her spoon in melted ice cream and just give it a quick lick before dipping it again.

and then brady was getting fussy so we all went home and honey and baby girl played with puzzles and games and stuff a little more before bedtime and she was out like a light.  except that as i was saying goodnight she made mention of having another birthday tomorrow.  hmmm.  once elle gets back in town i'll have to plan a little friends birthday party for baby girl.  and because she's been talking about it for months, it'll have to be thomas themed.  anyone want to help me out with that?!

thanks for the diaper liza!  baby girl was sooo excited to find an elmo diaper in her drawer tonight!

i can't believe my little girl is three!  baby girl, i love you so much it hurts.  happy birthday!

three years ago

three years ago this moment, i was in labor and about to celebrate the birth of my sweet baby girl.  it was one of the best nights of my life, and these three years have been, hands down, the best three years of my life.  there is something so special about this little soul and i am so blessed to be her mother.

 

here's to infinitely more years with this little one!  happy birthday baby girl!

We party hard

These two are wiped out. 

And to all, a good night.