Kaylee getting Brynlee dressed

This is a funny video. I missed the funniest parts while I was trying to get the camera rolling. Everytime Kaylee would try to put her clothes on Brynlee would try and roll away!

Kaylee even picked out her outfit

Zoo

I enrolled Kaylee in a homeschool class at the zoo a few weeks ago. She was more than ecstatic about this, and I was thrilled that she had a great time. Too bad I didnt get any pictures of her spider monkey she made, or her behavior chart, or even her on this day........but here are the shots I did get.

This is the first time since last year we've been able to ride the rides. Ainslee was SOOO excited about riding the train! And NO I'm not pregnant again! That's Brynlee in the sleepy wrap

Amma came with us too

We have to ride the cow, she nearly fell off this time

stopping to smell the flowers.......man I love this little girl!

over Spring Break when Johhny was home we went to the zoo. He and his girlfriend joined us.

Here they are on the bridge

It was so cute watching them walk and talk

This video was taken a little too late. Ainslee had been walking over the grates all day. She insisted on holding someones hand, and she was VERY cautious when standing on the grate. Each time she would walk ever so delicately and then jump off at the end. I tried to get it on video, but this time happened to be the time she wasnt as exaggerated, but it was still cute.......to me at least!

Kaylee's New Room

We I finally moved Kaylee up into her new room!
I removed all the office "stuff", and cleaned it out
I paint it
repaired parts of the wall thanks dad
I drug the bed rails out from the back of the tiny attic crawl space and set them up just to realize they dont go down to a full size. So i asked my mom if we could trade rails. She had a set just collecting dust in her attic.
I set up the new rails
Put the foundation together, its my old select comfort bed, so it is a solid foundation made of plastic, not a box spring
I fixed the zipper on the cover of the mattress, which included ripping it apart and resewing it, after watching a YouTube video......YouTube is awesome for stuff like that!
put the mattress together and inflated it
washed all her linens
hung the curtains my mom made for her
and am almost finished with her desk....so far i have painted 3 coats of white on the desk, and 3 coats of purple on the drawers, my mom has decorated it ever so awesomely with a quote and some flowers.........see pics below, I have put 3 coats of shellac on it to seal/protect it. And when doing a 4th and final coat on the top surface I accidentally grabbed the wrong paint brush and ruined it! UGH! Now there are little specs in the top coat of shellac because of lint/dust/paint residue from the darn paint brush! Oh well it is definitely a one of a kind piece, and I know Kaylee will just adore it!

Here she is coming into her room for the first time when I told her she was going to sleep in it.

She was so excited. Even though she has no furniture**, the desk isnt completed, and there are no decorations are not on the wall, she LOVED it anyways!

She walked around looking at everything. This is her beloved "fishy light" Amma gave her for her birthday. It is a source of power when it comes to naps and bedtime. If she doesnt do as she is told she gets her fishy light turned off. Which is a huge deal to her!

Climbing into bed for her first nights sleep

All tucked in

The first night went surprisingly well. The second night not so much......

 

This was the end of a nearly 2 hour fit she threw. i didnt catch the good stuff on camera. Since this night she has slept much better in her new room, but man that fit was C.R.A.Z.Y!!!

Now if Ainslee's bed would just arrive and then I can get her moved into her room and Brynlee in her crib. Brynlee is now spending her nights and naps in the bassinet in Kaylee's old room. We have gone 2 nights now with her out of my room. I have to ask, why are transitions always harder on the parents than the child? Part of me wants her back next to me, and part of me is thrilled to pieces that I have my room back. She is growing SO fast, but anyone with children knows thats the way the cookie crumbles!

notice the highlights on the word Imagination

**Kaylee is getting my grandmother's furniture. It is still at the furniture repairman getting a make over. More on that in another post.

A Little of this and a LOT of that

This post is ALL OVER THE PLACE! I had some pictures and videos I wanted to share so I just threw them all into this post! But I have to admit the reason why I've been able to get all these blog posts together is because of these first few pics.

My parents took Kaylee OUT OF TOWN with them! They are a bunch of travelling fools now that my dad is retired, they are always on the go! I mentioned on FB to my mom something about Kaylee wanting to join them on this trip and sure enough mom called later that day and told me they wanted to take her. What was even better was that the trip was A WEEK LONG! Dont get me wrong, I love my little girl, but in most cases (especially this one) absence makes the heart grow fonder. Here is what my big girl has been doing with Amma and Abba. Im sure there are WAY more things that have happened that I havent been told about ;)

on the steps of the castle at Ha Ha Tonka State park where they went hiking

riding a ride......because thats what Amma and Abba let her do

outside the Mexican restaurant where they ate

in the condo before bed, she has gotten to stay up WAY past her bedtime every night, I hope she doesnt think she can do that when she gets home

Amma did put her to work......she has to earn her keep 

playing a photo scavenger hunt inside on a rainy day, mom has even been squeezing in some of the school work i sent

there is a playground on the property, Kaylee has been a regular visitor

out to eat AGAIN

Then she got to drive the boat, and everyone survived

AND drink a ROOT BEER!!! This is a big deal since she never gets drinks like that!

Needless to say she isnt missing us too much. And we have had a productive week at home. It is amazing how much of a difference one child makes when taken out of the mix. I am ever so thankful and grateful to my parents for this opportunity not only for me but more importantly for her! She is making memories that will last a lifetime and that is just plain awesome!

 Ainslee's 1st swim of the year, the water was FREEZING cold! But she still tried to talk me into getting in with her.

The girls saying the "Our Father"

I converted Ainslee's crib into a day bed. She wasnt too thrilled with it at first. She demanded her crib back, but overall it was a pretty smooth transition. And she now sleeps in the big girl bed at Amma's house. We are still waiting on her's to arrive so I can move her into her new room.

Kaylee came down from playing in the playroom one day with this get-up on. She claimed she was "wearing" her baby, and she made this wrap. I did not approve of the strap tied around the baby's neck, I have no idea where she got that idea.

Brynlee chillaxin' in the wagon on a walk

We've been clothing diapering around here! And LOVING it! It started when I borrowed a few diapers from a friend and I fell in love, so we bought some. So we are officially cloth diapering. Im so thrilled that Marcus is totally on board with the whole diapering thing too. I am just regretting not going through with it when Ainslee was little like I wanted to.

Could she be any cuter/fatter? 

I always knew about sunning diapers, but Ive obviously never tried it until now! Do you know the power of the sun? Holy Crap it is amazing how it just zaps those stains right out of the diapers!

While on the diapering subject, I might as well update you on the potty front. She goes on the potty EVERYDAY! Some days she doesnt poop in her diapers at all. I would like to think that she doesnt like to poo in her diaper, I mean who does? But she will tell me when she needs to go, and if I happen to miss her cue she will only go a little in her diaper and then finish in the potty. She gets so proud of herself when she goes. Here she is on the throne in all her glory

This is evidence of our first attempt at a new hairdo. Ainslee took it upon herself to cut this chunk of hair off her sister's head. This wasnt even all the hair

And this happened 10 minutes after the hair cutting incident

can you see the huge dent in the wall? That was from Kaylee's head hitting it! 

I went to the homeschool conference a few weeks ago. This is the stack of paperwork I came home with on the 1st day. It was so fun and informative, and I was SO happy I went. A lot has happened in my head over the past few weeks. I have made up my mind to change a lot of things in my life and approach things differently. And I have to say that the changes have made a huge impact on our family. It has been nice! 

oh and Kaylee's curriculum arrived in the mail yesterday! I am so excited about the coming year. While at the conference I also decided to not be so consumed by all the hype that can come with homeschooling. I am not going to try and cram 5 subjects and a foreign language down her throat when she is 5 years old. We are taking it slow and easy and just taking time to be a kid and grow as a family. I dont think that this approach will put her behind in any way should we eventually put her in school. But the more I delve into this whole lifestyle Im beginning to become more open to the idea of continuing on the homeschool path longer than originally planned. Im not saying for sure what will happen in the future but i know that for now i have an open mind.

Long Lost Post

I had this post ready about TWO months ago! But for some reason I never posted it! I just found it stashed away in my drafts folder. So here are some REALLY old videos of the girlys

i have a video of Kaylee changing her first diaper as well but it has a little too much nudity in it for me to post it on here

Minnie Mouse Pinata

I had the brilliant idea of making a pinata for Ainslee's birthday. We were unable to break it at her party, considering we were a Claire's getting her ears pierced and then a restaurant, i doubt either of those establishments would have appreciated us breaking a pinata. So I attempted (obviously not very well) to schedule a time for everyone to be in attendance for the big event! After 2 1/2 months I decided to just go ahead and get it done, I was so sad that Marcus, my mom, and Mary were not able to be there to witness it.

I didnt get many shots of Minnie in the making.......it was quite a messy project

I have to admit she turned out rather nice

2 1/2 months later........we finally busted her!

My little Minnie Mouse

After breaking this pinata the girls said "now we want to make a Daisy pinata!" I think my pinata making days are over, at least for a few months

Updates ---- video style

Kaylee is the most fantastic big sister EVER!!! Not only does she do WHATEVER I ask when it pertains to Brynlee, she does things I don't even ask her to do!

Like this.......this was the 2nd time she had picked Brynlee up, without being asked, from under her gym, walked her over to the couch, where she sat down and played/held her.

She also volunteers to change diapers, I have video proof, but don't have the editing software or the tech knowledge to blur out my babies private areas so you will just have to take my word for it. She LIVES to hold and play with Brynlee, it is so nice to have her around to help. Like the other day, I was nursing Brynlee first thing in the morning in my bed. Kaylee came in when she woke up. We laid in the bed playing until I heard Ainslee. I was in the middle of getting Brynlee dressed and I told Kaylee "just sit here and talk to her while I go get Ainslee." I was gone all of 1 1/2 minutes and came back to a FULLY dressed baby. Kaylee had finished putting on her outfit and buttoned it correctly (which seems to be a hard task for daddy), and was playing with her on the bed! Brynlee shares her love for Kaylee, whenever I say, "you wanna go see Kaylee!" she gets SOOOO excited!

Here she is "talking" on St. Patrick's Day

Ainslee reading her newest favorite book

***she usually does it better, but she has always suffered from stage fright, as soon as I turn on the camera her whole mood changes***

I told Kaylee it was time for her to start riding her bike without training wheels. She looked at me like I had 3 eye balls! Then I took her to the top of the hill, told her to put her feet on the petals, gave her a push, and this is what happened......

i knew she could do it!

Last night I pulled out the girls dresses for today. Today is Brynlee's baptism and I wanted to be as prepared as possible to avoid the craziness. When I pulled her dress out Ainslee's eyes got as big as grapefruits and she said excitedly "I'm wearing THAT dress!!!"

This morning when I went to get her out of her bed she said "Mommy I looked at my bed last night while i was sleeping" and then when we went to leave the room to get breakfast, naturally I turned out the light, she said "Mommy don't turn out the light I need to get my dress on." When Marcus got home from work she was sure to tell him ALL about the dress.  Then while sitting at breakfast she started talking AGAIN about the dress, i was making sure to prepare her for the idea that the dress might not fit her and we would try it on after she ate. I said "AZ if your dress doesn't fit you can not wear it." She thought for a quick second and then said "then I will find another beautiful dress!" I said jokingly "NO I think then you will wear pants." She got a dishevelled look on her face, and she thought for a few more seconds before saying sadly "but I want to wear a BEAUTIFUL dress!"

Birthday Girl

Kaylee turned FIVE!!!

I can NOT believe I am the mommy of a 5 year old, where has the time gone? I still have vivid memories of the day she was born, and I hope that those memories stay with me forever!

Kaylee had quite the birthday weekend
We opted for a simple family party, but instead it turned into a huge weekend FULL of activities
It all started at the mall, because Kaylee had decided months ago that she wanted to get her ears pierced, and even after I told her exactly what was going to happen (including the pain part) she still wanted them pierced.  She was hardly phased by the pain, she was more concerned by all the commotion going on around her. We had a total of 12 people there who came to watch, plus all the other people in the mall that stopped to watch as well.  It was quite an ordeal.
She barely even flinched after they pierced them, while I was about to cry, she was sitting there brave as can be even after one of the guns got stuck and the lady had to pull the trigger again.  Oh and I let her pick out her earrings and she picked the PINK daisies. (how did I end up with girly girls???)

After the ear piercing we all made our way to the trampolines. Kaylee, Ainslee, and their friend Bella all had a turn bouncing high. I dont think Ainslee's smile could get any bigger!

After the trampoline came the carousel rides, then Kaylee, Ainslee, Bella, Johnny, and B (Mary's boyfriend) piled into a hurricane simulator and let the wind blow them around, then we all left and went to eat. Kaylee picked Shogun for her birthday dinner. And we had a BLAST eating, singing, opening gifts, and enjoying each others company.

The next day we all went to the zoo to go ice skating. The girls were SUPER excited about this, and while Marcus and I werent sure if we were going to allow Ainslee to participate, she knew she was going to get to show her stuff. Im so glad that we let her have a try, it was so fun watching her and she surprised the heck out of me with her natural ability.

This is a video of one of the ice workers pushing Kaylee around in a chair. That was her favorite part! Lets just say Kaylee wasnt too thrilled about the whole ice skating adventure, she wanted to get off the ice almost from the moment she stepped onto it.  But she was a trooper and suffered through it, holding the wall, my hand, Aunt Mary's hand, or Uncle Johnny's hand.

After the man pushed Kaylee in the chair he told us a way they teach children how to skate is by pushing people in a chair. So he showed Kaylee what to do and off we went. Kaylee actually did quite well pushing Ainslee around the ice.

Here is Kaylee skating in between Uncle Johnny and me

Watch towards the end of this clip, Ainslee decided she wanted to skate by herself without holding any ones hand. I was entirely too scared to try this, so I just barely held her hand and was there to grab it when she started to fall. She did WAY better than I expected. She was able to balance and move on her own with little/no assistance from me. She was also able to catch herself when she started to fall. And she LOVED every minute of it!

After the zoo we took the girls to bubble tea for the final treat of the weekend. I have to say that everyone had such a fantastic time and I enjoyed seeing the girls so happy to have everyone together and doing all the fun activities.

Wordless Wednesday

Here are the 1st pictures from the photo time lapse project Im attempting for the first year of her life, I hope week 1 is the only time I forget

forgot the 2 week sign

3 weeks

Kaylee flying her new kite form Santa with Uncle Johnny

I have MANY more pics and videos I need to get uploaded but for some reason I cant seem to find the time! I dont know what it could be........the 3 girls begging for my time and attention, the homeschool stuff that needs to get done, the sleep that I'm about 40 hours behind on, the mountains of laundry that seem insurmountable, or the house that looks like a bomb seriously went off (actually more like 5 bombs). Between those things I cant figure out why I have no time for this forgotten blog. I need a clone!