Our 3 kids

It's popsicle time

Kaylee can't wait for summer. She is dying to eat popsicles everyday. I don't know about the everyday thing, but I am sure I will eat my fair share of them this summer.

I bought a popsicle mold and tried my hand at making my own. This batch didn't quite turn out like what I remember them tasting like as a child. I'll never forget eating popsicles on the back porch that mom made for us in those Tupperware molds. They were so stinkin' good and they definietly hit the spot on those hot summer days. I asked mom for the recipe and surprise surprise she forgot it. So I attempted to recreate it from memory. It was obvious that my memory was off a little bit because they didn't taste so good. Kaylee didn't seem to notice though, she ate every bite and probably would have eaten the stick if we weren't looking. I am going to try something different next time and see how it goes.

If anyone has some nice popsicle recipes send them my way.

Fun in the bed

Tonight before bedtime we all were laying in mommy and daddy's bed. It started with just Ainslee laying there staring at the fan while daddy got his clothes ready for work and mommy got Kaylee ready for bed (brush teeth, potty, put pjs on, etc). After Kaylee was ready for bed she wanted to join Ainslee in the bed. Then she instructed Marcus and myself to join them. Kaylee began eating Ainslee up. This is a game we frequently play. You see Ainslee is so darn cute with those squeezy puffy cheeks that you just want to eat her up. And apparently Kaylee thinks the same thing, and i catch her eating Ainslee up all the time. Tonight Kaylee just couldnt get enough of her little sister, she ate her eye, mouth, belly, AND her leg. YUM YUM!!!

Then Kaylee started playing peekaboo with Ainslee. She would cover her up with the sheet and then say "where'd Az go?" then uncover her. It was absoluetly hilarious. I missed getting the really funny part on video, but here is a little clip I was able to catch of her playing peekaboo.

It is so fun to watch how much Kaylee adores her little sister. Kaylee covers Ainslee's mouth when she sneezes or coughs, she gets Ainslee's paci when she cries, she covers Ainslee up when she is cold, she tries to share her bites with Ainslee, she instructs me to nurse Ainslee when she thinks she is hungry, she reads Ainslee books, she is always so concerned about what Ainslee is doing and making sure she is ok. Ainslee has only been with us for 11 short weeks now and I cant even remember life before she was here. I am so in love with both my little girls. And I thank God everyday for giving them to me!

Please tell me why.....

I always forget to put Kaylee on the potty before getting in the bath tub.......then I have to take her out soaking wet and put her on it.

Ainslee has to wait up 45 minutes before it is time to get up......doesn't she know I need all the sleep I can get?

On the nights Ainslee sleeps a long stretch I stay awake.......don't I realize I need my sleep?

Kaylee feels the need to talk about her toots and poop in public. And she doesn't use her inside voice when doing so either. Come to think of it I'm not sure she has an inside voice

If Ainslee ever falls asleep in the car (which is extremely rare these days) we are only 5 minutes away from where we are going.

Kaylee asks to talk on the phone to everyone then when they answer all she says is "HI __(insert name of whoever is patient enough to sit on the phone and listen to her breathe__".

I go to the store with my list in hand and STILL can't remember to get everything I need.

I eat and eat and eat but still find myself hungry.


I need the answer to these as well as many other questions

My Little Entomologist

YES this is Kaylee!

And YES she is kissing the caterpillar!

She let him crawl all over her. She loved him, so much that when she tried to hug him, she nearly squished the poor thing. She loves all the little bugys. She adds a "y" to almost all her words. We decided to put him back on the tree branch (before Kaylee killed him) she looks at us and says, "more bugy."

New seating arrangments

Riding in the car with Ainslee has become the LAST thing on my list of fun things to do!

She screams bloody murder every time she is in her car seat. I mean before she is even buckled in she is already screaming. When I say she screams, I mean she REALLY screams, and she doesn't stop. She screams and screams and screams! If you haven't gotten the point yet, you should come for a ride with us, but bring your hearing protection you're gonna need it. I can no longer talk on the phone in the car because of her screaming. I have come to dread going anywhere because of this. I feel so sorry for her, because despite my efforts to make her comfortable she still screams. Her screaming breaks my heart, and it is beginning to take a toll on Kaylee too. Kaylee sits in her seat giving me the minute by minute update on Ainslee's status. "Mommy, Ainslee look," which means her eyes are open. "Mommy, Ainslee sleep" which means her eyes are closed, probably because she cant breathe from screaming so hard. "Mommy, Ainslee sad." "Mommy, Ainslee cry" as if i didn't already know that. "Mommy, Ainslee paci," which means she dropped her paci, which i already know because no matter how talented one is there is NO WAY for someone to scream like that with a paci in their mouth. Thanks Kaylee for all your updates, they are very helpful! My mom rode with us the other day and she was completely appalled by the level of screaming. Mom said i could record her screaming and sell it to people making horror movies that need sound effects.

So while Ainslee is busy screaming, and in between the updates she gives me, Kaylee is busy talking to herself. She carries on a conversation with herself or her stuffed animal Curious George. Today George was hungry so Kaylee nursed him, burped him, and threw him on the floor so he could take his nap. She also sings her ABC's, they go something like this....."A, B, C, D, E, F, G, W, X, Y, Zeeee Good Girl Kaylee." She gets louder and louder as she gets to the end of the alphabet, and by the end she is screaming Good Girl Kaylee.

I decided to try switching Ainslee out of her infant seat and put her in a convertible seat to see if that would help solve the problem. So today I spent about 45 minutes changing the seats around. I had to take the Britax (the seat Kaylee has been sitting in), move it to the other side of the car, put it rear facing, and move all the straps and buckles to fit Ainslee. Then install the other seat on Kaylee's side of the car and move the shoulder straps up because she has grown since the last time she sat in it. It is hard work getting those seats in a safe and secure position.

We get in the car to go home and Kaylee notices the new seating arrangements. She was concerned why Ainslee is sitting in her seat, I explained that that seat is now Ainslee's and she is going to sit in the other seat. Kaylee had trouble wrapping her brain around that idea. But it didn't seem to really affect her, she was just sorta concerned about the idea.

If anyone out there has ANY ideas of what I can try I am ALL EARS!!! I was hoping this was just a phase, but this phase is lasting a bit longer than I think I can handle.

Fun at the mall

This afternoon I took Kaylee to the mall to ride the carousel. We got out of the house while Marcus and Uncle John were working outside. They got so much done......pulled weeds, laid 4 yards of mulch, tilled a new bed, and knocked down the birds nest on the front porch AGAIN (I'm sure they will build it back tomorrow). The flower beds look so nice, there is nothing like a freshly mulched flower bed. It is such a pretty thing!

So while the boys were at home working, the girls headed out for a little fun. We rode the carousel not once, not twice, but three times. Kaylee rode the train once. We ate some french fries together, and strolled around the mall. Ainslee slept comfortably in the pouch during all the fun, it wont be long before she will be able to enjoy outings like this too. I knew Kaylee would love riding the carousel, and she did. She was smiling from ear to ear. She couldn't wait to tell daddy about the horse, ostrich (aka duck), and the dragon she rode.

Proud Parents

So why do parents sit around when their kids are not around and talk about them. We find ourselves talking about Kaylee every chance we get. We talk about the things she says and the things she does. We both love her so much and get so excited just talking about her. We thoroughly enjoy our time away, but we still love adding that little bit of our baby to whatever we are doing. I wonder what we will be saying about Ainslee when she is old enough for me to leave her. Do other parents do that too? Or is it just us? I am SO proud of her! I watch her interact with other children and even adults and I am so glad that she is my child. She really is such a good girl!

Thank you Mr. Cop and Mrs. Diane

Marcus went outside to let Tahoe relieve himself this evening. Tahoe took off across the street, apparently to visit his girlfriend. She is the neighborhood dog who wanders between various houses in the neighborhood, her name is Oreo. Anyways so Marcus is walking up the driveway to put envelopes in the mailbox so he stood up there calling for him trying to get him back home. Next thing Marcus sees is a car go speeding past him, going much too fast down our street. Just because there is no speed limit sign doesn't mean you can drive "like a bat out of hell." anyways so then the car puts on its breaks and that's when Marcus realized it was a cop, he turned his lights on and turned around to come back to Marcus. He was questioning why Marcus was in the middle of the street. Marcus told him he was waiting on Tahoe to come home, he parked his car with his lights on in the middle of the street so cars would slow down and Tahoe wouldn't get hit.
Tahoe came back to see what all the commotion was and he was escorted by the cop down the driveway. How sweet is that? But I would much prefer him sit there and radar the crazy people that drive down our street going like 50+ MPH.

Earlier today Kaylee and I got our hair "cuk". We went to see Mrs Diane again. Kaylee sat like such a big girl in the chair all by herself. I was so proud. She let Diane cut her hair without a fuss, well she did have a little trouble keeeping her head still. She wanted to give Kaylee bangs, both Marcus and I vehemently disagreed. Neither one of us wanted her to have bangs. We agreed on just another trim. She got about 1 inch cut off, I wanted a little bit more but Marcus overrode my opinion. Either way she loved her new hair cuk.

Im not sure why Marcus didnt get pictures of the cop, so i could post them too.

Abba no fick

Tomorrow we will hit the 2 week mark. I have been living without a washing machine for 2 WEEKS! It is really hard to believe. We have been taking loads of laundry over to both of our parents houses, and it is getting really old toting dirty laundry around (actually it got old after the 2nd time doing it). i am so thankful that we have had a place to do our laundry, but i would really enjoy doing the laundry in the comfort of my own home.

We have a repair man scheduled for this Friday, my appointment window is from 8am-5pm. I really wouldnt call that a "window" thats more of an appointment "day." I have to rearrange my entire day because a company gives me 9 hour window, i think that is just plain ridiculous! I think they are going to call Friday morning to let me know a more approximate time. Hopefully he will be able to fix it and we wont have to wait for parts or anything like that.

I was really lazy with calling a repair man to come out to the house. Part of me just wanted to take this opportunity to buy a new washer and dryer and the other part of me was just too busy being sick and dealing with sick kids. The part of me that wants a new washer doesnt want to spend the $3000 on the one that i really want. So I finally decided that we would fix the one we have and then when we are ready to get a new one we can always sell the one we have.

Kaylee has been hard at work trying to get our washer fixed. When she learned it was broke she said "washer broke, Abba fick." That means "grandpa fix it." I told her I didnt know if grandpa could fix it or not. So after days of calling and asking Grandpa to "fick" it he came out to look at it. Unfortunately he was unable to fick it. So now whenever Kaylee talks about the washer she says "washer broke, Abba no fick." Looks like she is going to have another worker man to watch work his magic. Maybe after watching all these workers come in and out of the house building and fixing things, she will learn how to do it all and be a handy-woman when she grows up.

Grass Cutting

Today Kaylee and I cut the grass. It felt just like old times. i used to be the "designated grass cutter" of the family, but i relinquished my position when I got pregnant with Kaylee and all the bouncing around made me nauseous. Then after i had her I rarely ever cut the grass again. I still love cutting the grass, but have left that job for marcus. Today he was out cutting and I decided to help him out and let him move on to his next outside chore. I got Ainslee down for her nap, and Kaylee and I rode around cutting the grass. It was actually quite relaxing! Afterwards we both got into the shower got all cleaned up.

Negative

Today Ainslee had her follow-up appointment from her visit to the ER last Thursday night. Her doctor gave us the results of her blood culture (the only result we were waiting on) and it was negative! Yeah! We were so excited to find out the good news! I asked the doctor why her fever spiked and what made her get so sick. She said that her blood count showed that she had a viral infection, that her body just had trouble fighting. One thing lead to the next and that is what landed us in the ER. I guess her little (9 week old) body just couldn't handle the stress of an infection. I'm glad that is all behind us now. And i am definitely glad to have my baby back. She is laughing, and cooing, and more alert, and a happy baby........just like she was before she got sick.

Disgusting!

She is definitely NOT my child! She loved that little crawfish! Grandpa showed them to her and she couldn't get enough, she carried them around and showed everyone.

Our Latest Saga.....and it's still unfolding

I'm beginning to feel like I have Munchausin (or whatever it is called when you think something is constantly wrong with your children)! Between the 2 girls and myself I feel like I should rent the office space next door to the doctor and just move in. Or better yet just camp out in the waiting room.

First it was Ainslee and her reflux then Kaylee with croup and sinus infection. Now we are all 4 sick. And Ainslee just keeps getting worse as the week goes on. Let me just start from the beginning of this week. Ainslee had her 8 week appointment scheduled on Monday and Kaylee began getting sick over the weekend so I decided to make an appointment for her as well (kill 2 birds with 1 stone sorta idea). Kaylee was sent away with a prescription of antibiotics for her sinus infection and told that if she got worse they would have to give another round of steroids (like she was on last month). But thankfully she got better, that is about the extent of the good news. On Monday Ainslee had just started getting sick with the whole head cold, that Kaylee eventually gave to all of us. The doctor told me to give her saline drops and suction her nose to help with the congestion. And also elevate her crib so she is sleeping in an inclined position, which I was already doing. Oh and Ainslee also got her 1st round of immunizations at that visit as well. So we left there thinking everyone would get better in a few days, that is not what happened. Ainslee progressively got worse. The first few days she was unusually fussy and wouldn't settle. She would scream if you touched her and she wasn't sleeping more than 2 hours at a time, mostly she was sleeping about 1 hour or less. This went on until Wednesday when I took her temperature and it was 100. I called the doctor and they said to bring her in first thing Thursday morning. So we packed up and headed to the doctor at 8 o'clock Thursday morning (let me mention that I had to wake up both girls to get out of the house, I just HATE waking up a sleeping baby). So the doctor examines her and gives her a prescription for congestion. I was told if her fever got to 100.4 to call back. I attempted to get her prescription filled at 2 different pharmacies but they were out and had to order it. By this point Ainslee was nursing for less than 1/2 of what she usually does and was really lethargic. All she wanted to do was sleep. Thursday evening when I checked her temp it was 101. So I called the after hours number and I was instructed not to give Tylenol and to bring her to the ER immediately. I had arranged for my mom to come out and stay with Kaylee while I took Ainslee. I picked up Rita and Ceire on the way, they wanted to accompany me, and thank God they did!

The whole way there we joked that we would get there and her temp would be normal. We wondered what they were going to do for her. When they checked her temp sure enough it was still 101, we quickly learned what they do for an infant that she with that high of a temp. It is an automatic full work up. She had blood drawn, IV put in, catheter, and 2 chest x-rays. I was told if this would have happened just a few days earlier she would have an an immediate spinal tap. She will only have to have that done if the other tests show something suspicious. I have to say that Ainslee was a real trooper through all the poking and prodding. She slept through most of it. Me on the other hand had to practically leave the room when they put the catheter in. I could hardly watch as they dug around in her little arm to find her vein that kept rolling away from the needle. My little baby looked so pitiful there with her eyes glued shut from mucus, her nose completely clogged and needles going in both arms. Poor Baby!

here's her little arm with the IV

On top of that she had lost 1/2 lb since Monday. I figured that is like 3.5% percent of her body weight. If she was competing in the Biggest Loser she would have definitely been above the yellow line. But this is not the Biggest Loser and the objective is NOT to lose weight. I mean YOU try losing 3% of your body weight in 3 days. That part scared me because I knew she wasn't eating well. My mom has always told me that "a mom knows best, and they know there child better than anyone." I just knew that something wasn't right with her.

After 3 hours in the ER (from 10pm-1am) all her results came back within the normal limits. Except the blood culture which takes 48 hours to get a result. All they did in the end was give her a dose of Tylenol and told us to follow up with her pediatrician. So we have ANOTHER appointment on Monday with the doctor. I think this the 6th doctor appointment for our family in 1 week plus an ER visit. When i climbed into bed at 2am I was REALLY glad I laid down for that hour nap earlier in the day, if it wouldn't have been for that and the fact that I had Rita and Ceire with me and my mom at home to help with Kaylee, I don't know how i would have made it through the night. I am SO THANKFULLY for all the help that I have here, and I think about Hawaii everyday and what I would do there by myself with no support system. I am SO GLAD we stayed here!!!

Please pray that the blood culture comes back giving us good news and that she starts making a turn for the better soon.....very soon! It is so hard seeing your helpless little baby so sick and struggling.

Addendum: Sorry Ceire I forgot about the blood spewing.

here's what happened: It was time to be discharged and the nurse went to take out her IV. The process went smoothly she put the usual gauze pad on it and then covered it with a bandaid. And she left the room to go ask the doctor a question. We began getting her dressed back into her clothes when Ceire noticed blood in her own hand. We looked down and saw the gauze pad and bandaid were COMPLETELY soaked in Ainslee's blood and it was pouring out from under the bandaid. I ran out into the hall to catch the nurse. She came running back in and with a little effort stopped the bleeding. She didnt even take the time to put gloves on her hands. It was definitely a scary situation for a couple of minutes. Nothing like a little scare to keep me awake for the hour drive home.

Easter at Grandma's House

Our Day

Today was the first day I brought both girls to Kindermusik by myself. I'll be honest and say I was a little nervous; especially when they both were up for most of the night. Kaylee had a touch of a fever and Ainslee just didn't want to miss out on any of the action. We all got little sleep but managed to crawl out of bed in time to be EARLY for school. Ainslee wasn't such a great "student" today, as the first 7 weeks of her life she LOVED her car seat and suddenly a few days ago she has grown a dislike for it. So it wasn't long after we got there that I took her out and put her in the pouch where she fell fast asleep for the rest of the class. But I felt bad that I was holding Ainslee and couldn't really hold Kaylee. I felt much better when I reminded myself that even when I'm not holding Ainslee, Kaylee wants to be "Miss Independent." After school we headed home with a very cranky Ainslee in tow and immediately nursed and changed her and put her to bed. Then it was Kaylee's turn for a nap. We read books and she went down like a champ! I took a few seconds to decide......get chores done or take a nap myself. It took me about 1/2 a second to decide to nap myself. Although I was able to rest I was interrupted by a leaky dirty diaper, so I had to not only change her diaper, but her clothes and the sheet as well. After nap Kaylee and I enjoyed a fabulous PB&J with a side of baked lays. Next Kaylee helped mommy fold a huge basket of laundry. Then daddy came home after working a double shift. He played with Kaylee until his eyes were not even open anymore. Kaylee tucked him in for a nap and mommy took her outside to play. When Ainslee woke up she joined us outside. After playing outside it was time for a bath for Kaylee. Afterwards Kaylee had the great idea of letting Ainslee play under her gym. That entertained her for about 30 minutes it was so nice. Kaylee played with her and gave her back her paci when she dropped it. She is such a sweet and thoughtful big sister. Then it was time to wake daddy for dinner. After dinner we all went upstairs to play in the future playroom until it was bedtime. Overall I would have to say it was a fantastic day!

Best Friends Forever

We went to my friend Candace's house to play with her 4 kids today. Her newest baby is only 7 weeks older than Ainslee. But as you can see by the pictures Ainslee is MUCH bigger than him. They were so cute there laying next to each other cooing. At one point Ty looked over at her and tried to grab her hand. Now i know that he probably didnt mean to, but it was really sweet. It is so fun to have friends with kids the same age, i am looking forward to watching them grow up together.

My New Wheels

I finally got a "mommy mobile."

After about 1 month with only one vehicle, we decided it was time.

This is a bad picture of the inside. It is a six seater, but the back 2 seats are folded down.

Alumni Weekend

T-I-G-E-R-S

Tigers

Babies, babies, and more babies! There were 11 in all, all of them were 2 and under, and all of them from just some of the soccer alumni (there are others that were unable to make it). It was so great to see everyone this weekend and their babies.

Man I sure do miss it!

Playgound Chatter

I witnessed a very funny conversation between a couple of, what looked like, 5th graders today. Kaylee, Ainslee, and I were up at church waiting for the fish fry to start and I was letting Kaylee play on the playground while I nursed Ainslee. On the "big kid" playground nearby there were school age children playing. Some of them decided to play Red Rover on the grass; the group consisted of 4 boys and 1 girl. After one of the boys got picked up by his mother the girl was left on the side by herself. If you know anything about Red Rover you can't play with one person on a side, so one of the boys eagerly volunteered to go over to the girls side. When he attempted to hold her hand, as the game requires, she refused. He tried to grab her hand again and continuing playing the game. She pulled her hand back and said, "gross! I'm not holding your hand!" He said "why?" she asked "when was the last time you washed your hands?" He stood there visibly thinking of the last time his hands were washed. Then she said "see that's what I'm talking about." Then they were perplexed as to what to do about the sitation. The little girl refused to hold his hand so the game could not continue. The other boys were trying to convince her to hold his hand and then she said "why don't you guys hold his hand then". So one of the other boys switched places with the 'one that doesn't wash his hands' and the game continued.

Kaylee's New Favorite Drink

BUBBLE TEA!

Yummy!

Auntie Ceire introduced us to a new drink and it is so yummy. I find myself craving it all the time. Kaylee loves it too. Mostly I thought she would like it because of its name. 'Bubble' and 'tea' are 2 of her favorite words and when they magically came together to make a delicious drink it made Kaylee's eyes light up in pure delight. But Kaylee really loves eating the bubbles (which are really tapioca pearls) as well as drinking the actual drink which is not even tea. I should have known Kaylee would love the drink......she will eat or drink just about anything.

Spring is in the Air

Ainslee is ready for the weather to start being warmer!