Wow, it has been so long since I have posted!! The summer has just completely flown by, and we have played hard through it all! I'm so sad it's already coming to a close! Just a couple more weeks until Brooklynn starts Preschool! We have been to Utah to visit and then Banff for the Davies Family Reunion, and then back to Utah to visit and celebrate Tiff's birthday! It's so crazy how much the girls are growing and changing.
Brooklynn and Madison are getting along pretty well lately. Don't get me wrong, I still have to break up fights daily, and Madison is still stubborn and has a hard time when things don't go her way, so she's quick to push or hit, or take whatever toy she wants. She's also pretty quick to apologize and give loves after she's been in timeout, so we're trying. Brooklynn has learned that if she wants something Madison has, she just has to find something else that Madison would be interested in and give that to her, and then she can get whatever she wants that Madison has. It's funny to watch her scheme. Brooklynn calls Madison "Little Bug" or Madison Moo, and is constantly saying things like "Come and get this Little Bug!" or "You want this Madison Mooey?" She also calls her sweetheart, and it's stinking' adorable. When they are playing nice together, all is good in the world. They love to run around chasing each other, or tickling one another, and they usually get hyper when they are tired and can just sit there and laugh at one another, and just be in a funny mood, which usually happens right after dinner time.
Brooklynn has become a little bit sassy in her 3 year old age. She has started saying things like "Don't say that to me" or "don't talk to me like that", or "No, you don't say that to me!" Whenever I ask her to do something numerous times, and by about the 5th or 6th time I ask her with more of a stern tone, she gets all hurt and offended. It's so hard for me to ask 5 million times for her to do the same thing. A lot of the times she's a really great listener though, so I can't complain too much.
Some of the cute things she says is "In a couple while" (in a little while) and when she's in a good mood she calls us all sweetie or sweetheart. Today while Joe was changing Madison's diaper, Brooklynn was sitting in the recliner watching him and she said matter of factly "I pooped yesterday! And it was a big one!" ha ha ha! Joe and I busted up laughing. She wasn't trying to be funny, just stating the truth. She calls burritos "torritos", which is another funny thing she says. I'm trying to think of other things.
She still loves doing everything by herself, and I feel like that's where most of the tears and frustration come for both of us. She wants to do it all, and sometimes there's just not time or I don't have the patience. She had a meltdown at the register at Walmart yesterday because she wanted to put all the groceries on the belt that were up in the seat with her, and I was in such a rush and the woman was waiting on me, that I just had to throw it up myself, and she literally burst right out into tears and was crying and yelling, and ended up losing her treat she had picked out for the pool, because of the way she acted. I try really hard when we are home to let her do most things, and give her her own little tasks, like putting ice in the water cups or bottles before meals, helping set the table, she helps empty the dishwasher, clears her plate after meals, loves to help make toast, and she always wants to put her own jam on. She's in charge of going to get hers and madison's pajamas from their dressers after dinner, and she's responsible for putting her pajamas on the washer for me to wash the next morning.
She's about to start preschool and she couldn't be more excited! She has been talking about it everyday for the last few days. It's going to be so good for her, I'm excited to watch her grow and blossom even more.
She gets dressed on her own, brushes her own teeth, uses the bathroom by herself, gets herself in and buckled in the van, puts her own shoes on, clears her dishes from the table, loves to butter and put jam on her own toast, wants to put ketchup or salt and pepper on her own food, loves helping me make my protein shakes, loves to help me clean the toilets with the toilet brush, likes to sweep and vacuum by herself, and loves pushing the unload button on my silhouette machine when I use it. She and Madison also love helping me make my protein shake for breakfast on the days that I do my BBG workouts, and then they both have to have their own cup full. If Brooklynn wakes up around 6:30/6:45 and Joe is in the bathroom getting ready, she comes and lays on his side of the bed and waits for him to get out of the shower and get dressed and then he'll open the door and let her in the bathroom to watch him finish getting ready. It's so funny to see the little routine they have. After that she'll go get herself and yogurt and eat breakfast, all while I'm still sleeping sometimes. She still loves going up to "get Madison" when she wakes up.
We have had so much fun at the pool this last little while. She loves using her "goggles"(face mask style) and has a little Minnie Mouse kick board that she loves to take. She wears her little floaties and loves jumping in by herself.
She's still a great eater! I'm so blessed not to have really picky kids. I just keep having them try the foods they don't like, and eventually they have learned to like them. Brooklynn used to hate tomatoes and now she loves eating one sliced up with some salt and pepper, just like her momma. Tomatoes are one of my favorites! Madison is coming around and has finally started eating things like strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and oranges. All of which she didn't used to eat. So I've learned to just stick with it and give her at least a taste of something every time we eat it.
It's so crazy to me that Brooklynn is starting preschool and is 3 years old already! The days are long sometimes but the years are just flying by! I sure love this little independent girlie of mine! I look at her and I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Her hair is getting so long now, and she's just such a gorgeous little girl full of love and she's the best big sister to Madison. Being a mom is so hard, but I can't imagine my life without her.
Madison is miss spunk! She's started talking a lot more lately, and it seriously is the cutest thing ever! I love hearing her say things, and love when she tries to say new words. She still uses some sign language that only I understand, and that cracks me up too. When she wants her binki or her blanket she will come up to me, and just put her hands up like "Where is my binki?" or "Where is my blankie?" and when I say "you want your binki?" she smiles and nods her head. She says "mom" ALL THE TIME! Sometimes to the point that it starts to drive me crazy. She's gone through this phase where she just wants me to do everything for her. She's slowly started to let Joe do more for her, and she's gotten to a point where she will even cry for him, or cry when he leaves. She's still super clingy to me when it comes time to go to nursery, or when I take her and Brooklynn to the daycare at the gym while I workout. She ALWAYS cries when she goes to either of those places, but they say she just cries for a while and then she's fine.
She loves to be silly and loves to laugh. If you do something she loves or she thinks is funny, she will say "Again!" over and over a million times! She loves to color or sit down with a pencil and paper and just "write". She loves to be outside, and is happy just going down the slide into our blow up pool, over and over and over again. She doesn't get bored easily and can play on her own for long periods. She loves to run and have fun, and LOVES to dance and move her body to music whenever she can. It's the funnest thing to just watch her. She loves to scream when something gets her excited, and she's so fun to snuggle with. She is also full of spunk, and she will beat up on Brooklynn sometimes if she doesn't get what she wants. She'll quickly say "NO, no no, no no!" if she doesn't want you to do something or doesn't like something. She HATES bugs or anything that looks like a bug and she will say "EWWWE!"' and kind of freak out! Speaking of Ewwee......Today when Joe was taking her into nursery I walked by and she was holding on to the door frame trying to keep herself from going in, and she was saying "Ewwe, Ewwe, Ewwe," over and over again. She did NOT want to go to nursery today. She screamed for about 15 minutes and then she was fine they said. I couldn't help but laugh at my crazy child! Ha ha!
Ever since we came back from Utah she's freaked out every night when it's time for bed. She hates when I say goodnight and close the door. She used to scream and cry for about 15 minutes, and tonight she was down to about 2 minutes, if that. Slowly but surely we are making progress. She used to just lay down and have no issues whatsoever when I would leave the room. Sleeping in one room together in Utah messed that up I guess! She cries for me in the night if she can't find her binki and I'll have to go up and find it for her, cover her up, and tell her to go back to bed. She'll scream again for a minute or so and then she'll usually go right back to sleep.
Madison can be more picky. She hasn't learned to like a lot of fruits still. One day she will eat blueberries, and the next day she'll say "Ewwe!" if I try and put them on her plate. She does however, LOVE dill pickles, tuna, yogurt, cheetos puffs, and the girl can down some avocado. It's so weird to me that she won't touch a raspberry, but she could eat two whole avocados by herself in one sitting. She'll always say "More!" if she wants more of something.
She loves watching "Anna" (FROZEN) and Mickey Mouse. She also loves the disney movies we own. I can get her to clean and be a really good listener if I tell her she can watch a show if she.......does whatever I need her to. She hates puppet looking cartoons. At my parents' house I've been putting on the show "Bob The Builder" because they don't have cable hooked up so it's one of the few shows I can put on, and whenever these puppet looking cat and other animals are on she starts fake crying and yelling "EWWEE!!" until I fast forward it. If they come back on then she does it all over again. It's so stinkin' funny!
She loves riding her little bike to the mailbox, even though she can't technically do it by herself yet. I basically just use the handle and lift the front of her bike up because she doesn't know how to steer yet, and I just push her but she has her feet on the pedals. She loves taking a turn on Brooklynn's bike too, with me pushing her. Both girls love going to the park and LOVE to swing. They love dogs, Madison more from a distance, and Brooklynn loves to pet them if the owner says it's ok. Madison tries to be brave like Brooklynn but most times she ends up getting scared and crying. They love going to Pets Mart and just looking at the animals and watching the dogs get their hair cut.
They both love reading books now. Madison didn't like it for a long time, but she finally is enjoying reading books together at night before bed, and I will even catch her during the day over there looking at books on her own.
They are also both crazy about Family Home Evening! Brooklynn LOVES to conduct it, and they both love to stand up there and conduct the music while we sing. We always do "Wash the Dishes" after our lesson, and London Bridges, and Ring Around the Rosie. It's a highlight for them, and it does bring a peaceful spirit into our home, and I can tell a difference in our week if we forget to do it.
These girls are our world and we are grateful for them, no matter how hard being a parent is sometimes. I am finally feeling like I'm at a point where I may even consider another baby. I think it's a decision I need to go to the Lord with, but I feel like life is a little less chaotic and crazy now that they are both a little bit older. I think with the next one, Madison and Brooklynn can play together and entertain themselves while I take care of the baby, so it may even be slightly easier than when I had Madison and still had to entertain Brooklynn too. I guess we will see!
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Wow, it has been so long since I have posted!! The summer has just completely flown by, and we have played hard through it all! I'm so sad it's already coming to a close! Just a couple more weeks until Brooklynn starts Preschool! We have been to Utah to visit and then Banff for the Davies Family Reunion, and then back to Utah to visit and celebrate Tiff's birthday! It's so crazy how much the girls are growing and changing.
Brooklynn and Madison are getting along pretty well lately. Don't get me wrong, I still have to break up fights daily, and Madison is still stubborn and has a hard time when things don't go her way, so she's quick to push or hit, or take whatever toy she wants. She's also pretty quick to apologize and give loves after she's been in timeout, so we're trying. Brooklynn has learned that if she wants something Madison has, she just has to find something else that Madison would be interested in and give that to her, and then she can get whatever she wants that Madison has. It's funny to watch her scheme. Brooklynn calls Madison "Little Bug" or Madison Moo, and is constantly saying things like "Come and get this Little Bug!" or "You want this Madison Mooey?" She also calls her sweetheart, and it's stinking' adorable. When they are playing nice together, all is good in the world. They love to run around chasing each other, or tickling one another, and they usually get hyper when they are tired and can just sit there and laugh at one another, and just be in a funny mood, which usually happens right after dinner time.
Brooklynn has become a little bit sassy in her 3 year old age. She has started saying things like "Don't say that to me" or "don't talk to me like that", or "No, you don't say that to me!" Whenever I ask her to do something numerous times, and by about the 5th or 6th time I ask her with more of a stern tone, she gets all hurt and offended. It's so hard for me to ask 5 million times for her to do the same thing. A lot of the times she's a really great listener though, so I can't complain too much.
Some of the cute things she says is "In a couple while" (in a little while) and when she's in a good mood she calls us all sweetie or sweetheart. Today while Joe was changing Madison's diaper, Brooklynn was sitting in the recliner watching him and she said matter of factly "I pooped yesterday! And it was a big one!" ha ha ha! Joe and I busted up laughing. She wasn't trying to be funny, just stating the truth. She calls burritos "torritos", which is another funny thing she says. I'm trying to think of other things.
She still loves doing everything by herself, and I feel like that's where most of the tears and frustration come for both of us. She wants to do it all, and sometimes there's just not time or I don't have the patience. She had a meltdown at the register at Walmart yesterday because she wanted to put all the groceries on the belt that were up in the seat with her, and I was in such a rush and the woman was waiting on me, that I just had to throw it up myself, and she literally burst right out into tears and was crying and yelling, and ended up losing her treat she had picked out for the pool, because of the way she acted. I try really hard when we are home to let her do most things, and give her her own little tasks, like putting ice in the water cups or bottles before meals, helping set the table, she helps empty the dishwasher, clears her plate after meals, loves to help make toast, and she always wants to put her own jam on. She's in charge of going to get hers and madison's pajamas from their dressers after dinner, and she's responsible for putting her pajamas on the washer for me to wash the next morning.
She's about to start preschool and she couldn't be more excited! She has been talking about it everyday for the last few days. It's going to be so good for her, I'm excited to watch her grow and blossom even more.
She gets dressed on her own, brushes her own teeth, uses the bathroom by herself, gets herself in and buckled in the van, puts her own shoes on, clears her dishes from the table, loves to butter and put jam on her own toast, wants to put ketchup or salt and pepper on her own food, loves helping me make my protein shakes, loves to help me clean the toilets with the toilet brush, likes to sweep and vacuum by herself, and loves pushing the unload button on my silhouette machine when I use it. She and Madison also love helping me make my protein shake for breakfast on the days that I do my BBG workouts, and then they both have to have their own cup full. If Brooklynn wakes up around 6:30/6:45 and Joe is in the bathroom getting ready, she comes and lays on his side of the bed and waits for him to get out of the shower and get dressed and then he'll open the door and let her in the bathroom to watch him finish getting ready. It's so funny to see the little routine they have. After that she'll go get herself and yogurt and eat breakfast, all while I'm still sleeping sometimes. She still loves going up to "get Madison" when she wakes up.
We have had so much fun at the pool this last little while. She loves using her "goggles"(face mask style) and has a little Minnie Mouse kick board that she loves to take. She wears her little floaties and loves jumping in by herself.
She's still a great eater! I'm so blessed not to have really picky kids. I just keep having them try the foods they don't like, and eventually they have learned to like them. Brooklynn used to hate tomatoes and now she loves eating one sliced up with some salt and pepper, just like her momma. Tomatoes are one of my favorites! Madison is coming around and has finally started eating things like strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and oranges. All of which she didn't used to eat. So I've learned to just stick with it and give her at least a taste of something every time we eat it.
It's so crazy to me that Brooklynn is starting preschool and is 3 years old already! The days are long sometimes but the years are just flying by! I sure love this little independent girlie of mine! I look at her and I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Her hair is getting so long now, and she's just such a gorgeous little girl full of love and she's the best big sister to Madison. Being a mom is so hard, but I can't imagine my life without her.
Madison is miss spunk! She's started talking a lot more lately, and it seriously is the cutest thing ever! I love hearing her say things, and love when she tries to say new words. She still uses some sign language that only I understand, and that cracks me up too. When she wants her binki or her blanket she will come up to me, and just put her hands up like "Where is my binki?" or "Where is my blankie?" and when I say "you want your binki?" she smiles and nods her head. She says "mom" ALL THE TIME! Sometimes to the point that it starts to drive me crazy. She's gone through this phase where she just wants me to do everything for her. She's slowly started to let Joe do more for her, and she's gotten to a point where she will even cry for him, or cry when he leaves. She's still super clingy to me when it comes time to go to nursery, or when I take her and Brooklynn to the daycare at the gym while I workout. She ALWAYS cries when she goes to either of those places, but they say she just cries for a while and then she's fine.
She loves to be silly and loves to laugh. If you do something she loves or she thinks is funny, she will say "Again!" over and over a million times! She loves to color or sit down with a pencil and paper and just "write". She loves to be outside, and is happy just going down the slide into our blow up pool, over and over and over again. She doesn't get bored easily and can play on her own for long periods. She loves to run and have fun, and LOVES to dance and move her body to music whenever she can. It's the funnest thing to just watch her. She loves to scream when something gets her excited, and she's so fun to snuggle with. She is also full of spunk, and she will beat up on Brooklynn sometimes if she doesn't get what she wants. She'll quickly say "NO, no no, no no!" if she doesn't want you to do something or doesn't like something. She HATES bugs or anything that looks like a bug and she will say "EWWWE!"' and kind of freak out! Speaking of Ewwee......Today when Joe was taking her into nursery I walked by and she was holding on to the door frame trying to keep herself from going in, and she was saying "Ewwe, Ewwe, Ewwe," over and over again. She did NOT want to go to nursery today. She screamed for about 15 minutes and then she was fine they said. I couldn't help but laugh at my crazy child! Ha ha!
Ever since we came back from Utah she's freaked out every night when it's time for bed. She hates when I say goodnight and close the door. She used to scream and cry for about 15 minutes, and tonight she was down to about 2 minutes, if that. Slowly but surely we are making progress. She used to just lay down and have no issues whatsoever when I would leave the room. Sleeping in one room together in Utah messed that up I guess! She cries for me in the night if she can't find her binki and I'll have to go up and find it for her, cover her up, and tell her to go back to bed. She'll scream again for a minute or so and then she'll usually go right back to sleep.
Madison can be more picky. She hasn't learned to like a lot of fruits still. One day she will eat blueberries, and the next day she'll say "Ewwe!" if I try and put them on her plate. She does however, LOVE dill pickles, tuna, yogurt, cheetos puffs, and the girl can down some avocado. It's so weird to me that she won't touch a raspberry, but she could eat two whole avocados by herself in one sitting. She'll always say "More!" if she wants more of something.
She loves watching "Anna" (FROZEN) and Mickey Mouse. She also loves the disney movies we own. I can get her to clean and be a really good listener if I tell her she can watch a show if she.......does whatever I need her to. She hates puppet looking cartoons. At my parents' house I've been putting on the show "Bob The Builder" because they don't have cable hooked up so it's one of the few shows I can put on, and whenever these puppet looking cat and other animals are on she starts fake crying and yelling "EWWEE!!" until I fast forward it. If they come back on then she does it all over again. It's so stinkin' funny!
She loves riding her little bike to the mailbox, even though she can't technically do it by herself yet. I basically just use the handle and lift the front of her bike up because she doesn't know how to steer yet, and I just push her but she has her feet on the pedals. She loves taking a turn on Brooklynn's bike too, with me pushing her. Both girls love going to the park and LOVE to swing. They love dogs, Madison more from a distance, and Brooklynn loves to pet them if the owner says it's ok. Madison tries to be brave like Brooklynn but most times she ends up getting scared and crying. They love going to Pets Mart and just looking at the animals and watching the dogs get their hair cut.
They both love reading books now. Madison didn't like it for a long time, but she finally is enjoying reading books together at night before bed, and I will even catch her during the day over there looking at books on her own.
They are also both crazy about Family Home Evening! Brooklynn LOVES to conduct it, and they both love to stand up there and conduct the music while we sing. We always do "Wash the Dishes" after our lesson, and London Bridges, and Ring Around the Rosie. It's a highlight for them, and it does bring a peaceful spirit into our home, and I can tell a difference in our week if we forget to do it.
These girls are our world and we are grateful for them, no matter how hard being a parent is sometimes. I finally am feeling like I'm at a point where I may even consider another baby. I think it's a decision I need to go to the Lord with, but I feel like life is a little less chaotic and crazy now that they are both a little bit older. I think with the next one, Madison and Brooklynn can play together and entertain themselves while I take care of the baby, so it may even be slightly easier than when I had Madison and still had to entertain Brooklynn too. I guess we will see!
Brooklynn and Madison are getting along pretty well lately. Don't get me wrong, I still have to break up fights daily, and Madison is still stubborn and has a hard time when things don't go her way, so she's quick to push or hit, or take whatever toy she wants. She's also pretty quick to apologize and give loves after she's been in timeout, so we're trying. Brooklynn has learned that if she wants something Madison has, she just has to find something else that Madison would be interested in and give that to her, and then she can get whatever she wants that Madison has. It's funny to watch her scheme. Brooklynn calls Madison "Little Bug" or Madison Moo, and is constantly saying things like "Come and get this Little Bug!" or "You want this Madison Mooey?" She also calls her sweetheart, and it's stinking' adorable. When they are playing nice together, all is good in the world. They love to run around chasing each other, or tickling one another, and they usually get hyper when they are tired and can just sit there and laugh at one another, and just be in a funny mood, which usually happens right after dinner time.
Brooklynn has become a little bit sassy in her 3 year old age. She has started saying things like "Don't say that to me" or "don't talk to me like that", or "No, you don't say that to me!" Whenever I ask her to do something numerous times, and by about the 5th or 6th time I ask her with more of a stern tone, she gets all hurt and offended. It's so hard for me to ask 5 million times for her to do the same thing. A lot of the times she's a really great listener though, so I can't complain too much.
Some of the cute things she says is "In a couple while" (in a little while) and when she's in a good mood she calls us all sweetie or sweetheart. Today while Joe was changing Madison's diaper, Brooklynn was sitting in the recliner watching him and she said matter of factly "I pooped yesterday! And it was a big one!" ha ha ha! Joe and I busted up laughing. She wasn't trying to be funny, just stating the truth. She calls burritos "torritos", which is another funny thing she says. I'm trying to think of other things.
She still loves doing everything by herself, and I feel like that's where most of the tears and frustration come for both of us. She wants to do it all, and sometimes there's just not time or I don't have the patience. She had a meltdown at the register at Walmart yesterday because she wanted to put all the groceries on the belt that were up in the seat with her, and I was in such a rush and the woman was waiting on me, that I just had to throw it up myself, and she literally burst right out into tears and was crying and yelling, and ended up losing her treat she had picked out for the pool, because of the way she acted. I try really hard when we are home to let her do most things, and give her her own little tasks, like putting ice in the water cups or bottles before meals, helping set the table, she helps empty the dishwasher, clears her plate after meals, loves to help make toast, and she always wants to put her own jam on. She's in charge of going to get hers and madison's pajamas from their dressers after dinner, and she's responsible for putting her pajamas on the washer for me to wash the next morning.
She's about to start preschool and she couldn't be more excited! She has been talking about it everyday for the last few days. It's going to be so good for her, I'm excited to watch her grow and blossom even more.
She gets dressed on her own, brushes her own teeth, uses the bathroom by herself, gets herself in and buckled in the van, puts her own shoes on, clears her dishes from the table, loves to butter and put jam on her own toast, wants to put ketchup or salt and pepper on her own food, loves helping me make my protein shakes, loves to help me clean the toilets with the toilet brush, likes to sweep and vacuum by herself, and loves pushing the unload button on my silhouette machine when I use it. She and Madison also love helping me make my protein shake for breakfast on the days that I do my BBG workouts, and then they both have to have their own cup full. If Brooklynn wakes up around 6:30/6:45 and Joe is in the bathroom getting ready, she comes and lays on his side of the bed and waits for him to get out of the shower and get dressed and then he'll open the door and let her in the bathroom to watch him finish getting ready. It's so funny to see the little routine they have. After that she'll go get herself and yogurt and eat breakfast, all while I'm still sleeping sometimes. She still loves going up to "get Madison" when she wakes up.
We have had so much fun at the pool this last little while. She loves using her "goggles"(face mask style) and has a little Minnie Mouse kick board that she loves to take. She wears her little floaties and loves jumping in by herself.
She's still a great eater! I'm so blessed not to have really picky kids. I just keep having them try the foods they don't like, and eventually they have learned to like them. Brooklynn used to hate tomatoes and now she loves eating one sliced up with some salt and pepper, just like her momma. Tomatoes are one of my favorites! Madison is coming around and has finally started eating things like strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and oranges. All of which she didn't used to eat. So I've learned to just stick with it and give her at least a taste of something every time we eat it.
It's so crazy to me that Brooklynn is starting preschool and is 3 years old already! The days are long sometimes but the years are just flying by! I sure love this little independent girlie of mine! I look at her and I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Her hair is getting so long now, and she's just such a gorgeous little girl full of love and she's the best big sister to Madison. Being a mom is so hard, but I can't imagine my life without her.
Madison is miss spunk! She's started talking a lot more lately, and it seriously is the cutest thing ever! I love hearing her say things, and love when she tries to say new words. She still uses some sign language that only I understand, and that cracks me up too. When she wants her binki or her blanket she will come up to me, and just put her hands up like "Where is my binki?" or "Where is my blankie?" and when I say "you want your binki?" she smiles and nods her head. She says "mom" ALL THE TIME! Sometimes to the point that it starts to drive me crazy. She's gone through this phase where she just wants me to do everything for her. She's slowly started to let Joe do more for her, and she's gotten to a point where she will even cry for him, or cry when he leaves. She's still super clingy to me when it comes time to go to nursery, or when I take her and Brooklynn to the daycare at the gym while I workout. She ALWAYS cries when she goes to either of those places, but they say she just cries for a while and then she's fine.
She loves to be silly and loves to laugh. If you do something she loves or she thinks is funny, she will say "Again!" over and over a million times! She loves to color or sit down with a pencil and paper and just "write". She loves to be outside, and is happy just going down the slide into our blow up pool, over and over and over again. She doesn't get bored easily and can play on her own for long periods. She loves to run and have fun, and LOVES to dance and move her body to music whenever she can. It's the funnest thing to just watch her. She loves to scream when something gets her excited, and she's so fun to snuggle with. She is also full of spunk, and she will beat up on Brooklynn sometimes if she doesn't get what she wants. She'll quickly say "NO, no no, no no!" if she doesn't want you to do something or doesn't like something. She HATES bugs or anything that looks like a bug and she will say "EWWWE!"' and kind of freak out! Speaking of Ewwee......Today when Joe was taking her into nursery I walked by and she was holding on to the door frame trying to keep herself from going in, and she was saying "Ewwe, Ewwe, Ewwe," over and over again. She did NOT want to go to nursery today. She screamed for about 15 minutes and then she was fine they said. I couldn't help but laugh at my crazy child! Ha ha!
Ever since we came back from Utah she's freaked out every night when it's time for bed. She hates when I say goodnight and close the door. She used to scream and cry for about 15 minutes, and tonight she was down to about 2 minutes, if that. Slowly but surely we are making progress. She used to just lay down and have no issues whatsoever when I would leave the room. Sleeping in one room together in Utah messed that up I guess! She cries for me in the night if she can't find her binki and I'll have to go up and find it for her, cover her up, and tell her to go back to bed. She'll scream again for a minute or so and then she'll usually go right back to sleep.
Madison can be more picky. She hasn't learned to like a lot of fruits still. One day she will eat blueberries, and the next day she'll say "Ewwe!" if I try and put them on her plate. She does however, LOVE dill pickles, tuna, yogurt, cheetos puffs, and the girl can down some avocado. It's so weird to me that she won't touch a raspberry, but she could eat two whole avocados by herself in one sitting. She'll always say "More!" if she wants more of something.
She loves watching "Anna" (FROZEN) and Mickey Mouse. She also loves the disney movies we own. I can get her to clean and be a really good listener if I tell her she can watch a show if she.......does whatever I need her to. She hates puppet looking cartoons. At my parents' house I've been putting on the show "Bob The Builder" because they don't have cable hooked up so it's one of the few shows I can put on, and whenever these puppet looking cat and other animals are on she starts fake crying and yelling "EWWEE!!" until I fast forward it. If they come back on then she does it all over again. It's so stinkin' funny!
She loves riding her little bike to the mailbox, even though she can't technically do it by herself yet. I basically just use the handle and lift the front of her bike up because she doesn't know how to steer yet, and I just push her but she has her feet on the pedals. She loves taking a turn on Brooklynn's bike too, with me pushing her. Both girls love going to the park and LOVE to swing. They love dogs, Madison more from a distance, and Brooklynn loves to pet them if the owner says it's ok. Madison tries to be brave like Brooklynn but most times she ends up getting scared and crying. They love going to Pets Mart and just looking at the animals and watching the dogs get their hair cut.
They both love reading books now. Madison didn't like it for a long time, but she finally is enjoying reading books together at night before bed, and I will even catch her during the day over there looking at books on her own.
They are also both crazy about Family Home Evening! Brooklynn LOVES to conduct it, and they both love to stand up there and conduct the music while we sing. We always do "Wash the Dishes" after our lesson, and London Bridges, and Ring Around the Rosie. It's a highlight for them, and it does bring a peaceful spirit into our home, and I can tell a difference in our week if we forget to do it.
These girls are our world and we are grateful for them, no matter how hard being a parent is sometimes. I finally am feeling like I'm at a point where I may even consider another baby. I think it's a decision I need to go to the Lord with, but I feel like life is a little less chaotic and crazy now that they are both a little bit older. I think with the next one, Madison and Brooklynn can play together and entertain themselves while I take care of the baby, so it may even be slightly easier than when I had Madison and still had to entertain Brooklynn too. I guess we will see!
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Brooklynn is 3 and Madison is 18 Months
Brooklynn is now 3 years old! She loves holding 3 fingers up now when you ask how old she is. We celebrated in Utah and in Texas with family. In Utah, Joe had his "friends", Elsa and Anna come to my parents' house. Joe had Brooklynn open the door for them when they got there, and she could hardly believe her eyes! She ran out and gave them a big hug, and was totally in heaven the entire time they were there. They read us their story, sang songs, took pictures, signed post cards, and totally made the party. Raquel and Madison were SO excited too! It was so adorable to watch them all loving on Elsa and Anna, touching their braids, and just seeing the excitement in their eyes whenever they looked at them. Her party was a FROZEN party and everything came together so nicely! Tiff helped me with the cake and getting everything set up. All of my siblings and their families were there, and Aunt Vicki and their family, minus Kenneth, came too! I hope she'll remember this party, but odds are she won't. So, at least we'll have a chance to try and top it down the road.
As a side note, and just to help me remember........ During that trip I ended up stepping on a toothpick that was in the carpet by the bookshelves downstairs at my parents' house.(I'm pretty sure the kids got into my birthday stuff and dropped it in the carpet) When I stepped on it it went right into my foot above the ball, and I was in total shock! It went in pretty deep, and when I pulled it out, both sides were broken! So I thought there was probably still a piece in there, but wasn't sure. All I knew was that it was super painful to walk on. I took Brooklynn and Madison with me to Instacare and got X-rays taken and the dr cut a slit and tried digging for it, to no avail. Turns out my toe started getting numb about 2 weeks later, and I was still in so much pain and it was growing worse. I had tried soaking it in Epsom Salt water numbers times a day, trying to get it to come out on its own. It continued to grow more and more painful though. Our friends Jason and Stephanie Alder referred me to an orthopedic surgeon, and I ended up having more X-rays(found nothing) and an MRI done on my foot ($700) and $1200 later, I went under general anesthesia in an outpatient surgical center and he was able to find a rather large piece of a toothpick still in my foot! It was above the ball of my foot, where there are a lot of things that could be damaged, so he wanted to put me under to make sure I didn't move during surgery and cause permanent damage. Anyways, so random! Ive got several stitches and have been wearing a boot. I go for my post op appointment on Wednesday.
Anyways, at this point in time Brooklynn is still singing constantly. Today in sacrament meeting she actually sang along from our seat, with the ward choir's musical number. They sang "I am a Child of God" and she sang her little heart out down in the congregation. She's still loving nursery, and I have been participating in a babysitting co-op with some women in the ward, and she loves getting to spend time with her "friends" whenever she gets to go to someone's house or they come to ours.
She has been spending more time in time-out lately because she has been yelling and talking disrespectfully pretty frequently. She gets frustrated with Madison and freaks out or yells, and has also been talking to Joe and me like that.
She's totally into her Disney Movies these days. She loves "The Little Mermaid" and frequently sings "Part of that world" wherever we are. She loves Cinderella and Ice Age these days too.
She loves helping to water the plants and flowers, loves riding her bike to the mailbox after dinner to check the mail, loves getting to bring in any packages that might get delivered to our front door. She's always wanting to help me in the kitchen, or when I clean bathrooms or vacuum. She loves to pick the tomatoes in the garden and bring them in when they are ripe.
She and Madison have their good and bad times. For the most part Brooklynn is patient with Madison, unless she is ruining something that Brooklynn is playing with. Madison has been hitting Brooklynn a lot and Brooklynn is slow to hit back, which I think is impressive. She talks to Madison in kind of a baby voice when they are playing well together, and she'll tell madison something and then say "promise Madison!" I think she learned about promises from "Tangled." So cute!
Brooklynn loves babies and loves when Evan and Camryn come over for co-op and she gets to hold Camryn and help feed her a bottle. I know if we ever have more children that she will be a really big help. She has started calling me mom more frequently instead of mommy or momma. It kind of breaks my heart. I don't want her to grow up so quickly.
She hasn't had any accidents with potty training for so long, and it has beens SO nice to have her out of diapers. Love that part of her growing up. She's been really affectionate lately and loves to come up and give me kisses and hugs. I still rock her to sleep every day for naps, because it would take her SO much longer to fall asleep. At night though, I go in and lay with her in the taco bed and I'll lay with her and sing her 3 songs, and then I give her a hug and a kiss and it's time for her to go to bed on her own, and she does really great. Sometime between 6 and 6:30am she comes down to our room and climbs in bed with us. She'll lay in the bed until Joe showers and gets dressed and then she likes to go in the bathroom with him and watch him finish getting ready. He'll usually help her get a yogurt for breakfast too before he leaves.
I love that sweet little girl and really can't imagine life without her! She and her sister have definitely helped me reach levels of insanity that I never thought possible, but when it comes down to it I'm so thankful they are mine. Sometimes I have to really stop and remind myself how much I wanted children before I had them, and remind myself of the struggle that we went through before Brooklynn.
Madison, oh sweet little Madison! That little girl can either be the sweetest or the most stubborn little terror! She doesn't put up with much, and it's funny to watch her stubborn streak come out if someone upsets her! This past month she has had to start going to time-out because she has started hitting or kicking Brooklynn or Joe and me when she gets frustrated. Brooklynn is usually pretty good about just yelling for me and telling me Madison is hitting her. She's usually slow to hit back, so that's a good thing. Every now and then I have to pry them apart. Madison will start spitting and hitting or throw her head back and just throw a fit if she's tired or upset. Sometimes I can't believe how much fight is in that little body.
She communicates well for how many words she says. Just tonight she came in our room where Joe was laying on the floor after he had given the girls their baths and gotten them ready for bed. Madison was ready for her bottle of milk, so she came in and was pulling on Joe's shirt, trying to pull him up so he would get her milk. He said she walked to the kitchen and pointed to the bottles, then pointed to the fridge, and when he opened it, she pointed to the milk. ha ha ha! That child.
She is saying a lot more words now and it's the cutest thing ever to hear her "talk". She's just started saying "NO" a lot the last couple of days. She can say momma, daddy, hot, bye-bye, all done, uh oh, baby, hot dog, bubbles(cutest thing ever) and ewww.
She's obsessed with her binki and her blankie. She'll climb the stairs and go to her room and get them out of her crib if she forgot to bring them down after she wakes up. Lately she has been waking up 2, 3, or even 4 times a night and crying for me, and she'll have her binki in hand when I go in. She just wants me to cover her up with her blanket. I'll tell ya, if she wasn't so dang cute!!! It's getting old waking up so many times a night.
As a side note, and just to help me remember........ During that trip I ended up stepping on a toothpick that was in the carpet by the bookshelves downstairs at my parents' house.(I'm pretty sure the kids got into my birthday stuff and dropped it in the carpet) When I stepped on it it went right into my foot above the ball, and I was in total shock! It went in pretty deep, and when I pulled it out, both sides were broken! So I thought there was probably still a piece in there, but wasn't sure. All I knew was that it was super painful to walk on. I took Brooklynn and Madison with me to Instacare and got X-rays taken and the dr cut a slit and tried digging for it, to no avail. Turns out my toe started getting numb about 2 weeks later, and I was still in so much pain and it was growing worse. I had tried soaking it in Epsom Salt water numbers times a day, trying to get it to come out on its own. It continued to grow more and more painful though. Our friends Jason and Stephanie Alder referred me to an orthopedic surgeon, and I ended up having more X-rays(found nothing) and an MRI done on my foot ($700) and $1200 later, I went under general anesthesia in an outpatient surgical center and he was able to find a rather large piece of a toothpick still in my foot! It was above the ball of my foot, where there are a lot of things that could be damaged, so he wanted to put me under to make sure I didn't move during surgery and cause permanent damage. Anyways, so random! Ive got several stitches and have been wearing a boot. I go for my post op appointment on Wednesday.
Anyways, at this point in time Brooklynn is still singing constantly. Today in sacrament meeting she actually sang along from our seat, with the ward choir's musical number. They sang "I am a Child of God" and she sang her little heart out down in the congregation. She's still loving nursery, and I have been participating in a babysitting co-op with some women in the ward, and she loves getting to spend time with her "friends" whenever she gets to go to someone's house or they come to ours.
She has been spending more time in time-out lately because she has been yelling and talking disrespectfully pretty frequently. She gets frustrated with Madison and freaks out or yells, and has also been talking to Joe and me like that.
She's totally into her Disney Movies these days. She loves "The Little Mermaid" and frequently sings "Part of that world" wherever we are. She loves Cinderella and Ice Age these days too.
She loves helping to water the plants and flowers, loves riding her bike to the mailbox after dinner to check the mail, loves getting to bring in any packages that might get delivered to our front door. She's always wanting to help me in the kitchen, or when I clean bathrooms or vacuum. She loves to pick the tomatoes in the garden and bring them in when they are ripe.
She and Madison have their good and bad times. For the most part Brooklynn is patient with Madison, unless she is ruining something that Brooklynn is playing with. Madison has been hitting Brooklynn a lot and Brooklynn is slow to hit back, which I think is impressive. She talks to Madison in kind of a baby voice when they are playing well together, and she'll tell madison something and then say "promise Madison!" I think she learned about promises from "Tangled." So cute!
Brooklynn loves babies and loves when Evan and Camryn come over for co-op and she gets to hold Camryn and help feed her a bottle. I know if we ever have more children that she will be a really big help. She has started calling me mom more frequently instead of mommy or momma. It kind of breaks my heart. I don't want her to grow up so quickly.
She hasn't had any accidents with potty training for so long, and it has beens SO nice to have her out of diapers. Love that part of her growing up. She's been really affectionate lately and loves to come up and give me kisses and hugs. I still rock her to sleep every day for naps, because it would take her SO much longer to fall asleep. At night though, I go in and lay with her in the taco bed and I'll lay with her and sing her 3 songs, and then I give her a hug and a kiss and it's time for her to go to bed on her own, and she does really great. Sometime between 6 and 6:30am she comes down to our room and climbs in bed with us. She'll lay in the bed until Joe showers and gets dressed and then she likes to go in the bathroom with him and watch him finish getting ready. He'll usually help her get a yogurt for breakfast too before he leaves.
I love that sweet little girl and really can't imagine life without her! She and her sister have definitely helped me reach levels of insanity that I never thought possible, but when it comes down to it I'm so thankful they are mine. Sometimes I have to really stop and remind myself how much I wanted children before I had them, and remind myself of the struggle that we went through before Brooklynn.
Madison, oh sweet little Madison! That little girl can either be the sweetest or the most stubborn little terror! She doesn't put up with much, and it's funny to watch her stubborn streak come out if someone upsets her! This past month she has had to start going to time-out because she has started hitting or kicking Brooklynn or Joe and me when she gets frustrated. Brooklynn is usually pretty good about just yelling for me and telling me Madison is hitting her. She's usually slow to hit back, so that's a good thing. Every now and then I have to pry them apart. Madison will start spitting and hitting or throw her head back and just throw a fit if she's tired or upset. Sometimes I can't believe how much fight is in that little body.
She communicates well for how many words she says. Just tonight she came in our room where Joe was laying on the floor after he had given the girls their baths and gotten them ready for bed. Madison was ready for her bottle of milk, so she came in and was pulling on Joe's shirt, trying to pull him up so he would get her milk. He said she walked to the kitchen and pointed to the bottles, then pointed to the fridge, and when he opened it, she pointed to the milk. ha ha ha! That child.
She is saying a lot more words now and it's the cutest thing ever to hear her "talk". She's just started saying "NO" a lot the last couple of days. She can say momma, daddy, hot, bye-bye, all done, uh oh, baby, hot dog, bubbles(cutest thing ever) and ewww.
She's obsessed with her binki and her blankie. She'll climb the stairs and go to her room and get them out of her crib if she forgot to bring them down after she wakes up. Lately she has been waking up 2, 3, or even 4 times a night and crying for me, and she'll have her binki in hand when I go in. She just wants me to cover her up with her blanket. I'll tell ya, if she wasn't so dang cute!!! It's getting old waking up so many times a night.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Madison is 16 months and Brooklynn is 23 Months
I think my heart may have just stopped for a second while typing the title of this post. My oldest little baby just has one more month left as a two year old! Make the time stop please! I swear I just came home with her as a brand new baby just yesterday.
My My, where do I even start!? I feel like life is just crazy busy these days with these two little girls of ours. They make me laugh one minute, and the next minute I am ready to rip my hair out and have a meltdown. =) . I feel like I clean and do laundry and I turn around and there are twice as many messes as I just finished cleaning up, or twice as much laundry to do, or better yet, the clothes that I just folded have now been unfolded by one of my sweet children. I am constantly breaking up fights these days, and it's enough to drive a woman crazy! People tell me that "it gets better" and I often find myself thinking about the different stages my children will go through, and I know there are things I will definitely miss from this stage, like the cuddles, the sweet things they say, and their sweet little voices. I will miss being the one they turn to for every little thing, but then at the same time, I am looking forward to not being needed for EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING. I'm ashamed to admit that when my kids push me to my limits, I have been known to sigh and say something like "You guys are driving me nuts!" Brooklynn will even say now when she knows I'm frustrated "Are we driving you nuts mom?" or "Madison, you're driving mommy nuts!" =) ha ha ha! Sometimes I just have to verbalize it, and express what I'm feeling. I'm hoping I can learn to control my tongue better, especially as they get older and will remember the words that come out of my mouth. Heaven help me!
I have learned that we do better if we can at least get out of the house to go do something at some point during the day. Whether that's running an errand, going to the park, or taking the kids somewhere fun like the zoo or the children's museum. Joe travels about 3.5 days every other week, and that has been a big adjustment for me. It's so hard not to be totally burnt out by the time he gets home. I think I'm learning more and more how to do it without complaining though.
What's new with these sweet girls? Brooklynn talks and sings nonstop. I need to capture her singing on video, because it seriously is the sweetest thing ever. She belts songs out at the top of her little lungs and it doesn't phase her if we are in the car, at home, or out in public. Most of the time she's singing church songs, and I have learned to just let her be, and to share the gospel through song wherever she goes.=) ha ha! She also LOVES singing "Let it Go" from FROZEN.
She still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and her favorite movie is still Frozen. Her favorite color is pink. She's got her shapes and colors down pretty well, and now we need to work on numbers and letters. She is a pro at going potty by herself now, and rarely has accidents, except for some reason she will go pee in the potty, and then she'll still go a drop in her panties. We are working on stopping that. She loves riding her bike she got for Christmas, loves going to the park, and loves to help me however and whenever possible. She is a great listener and is good at following directions and helping. Every night one of her jobs is to run up to her room and get her jimmies and undies, and Madison's jammies. She loves to color, paint, play with play dough, read books, and is obsessed with her new purse from Grandma and Grandpa, and her jewelry. She's been wearing a CTR ring and a cute little heart necklace I bought her from Sam Moon. She's so cute! She loves for me to sing to her and to rock her. She is crazy about Oikos Greek Yogurt, and eats it almost every day for breakfast. She loves chocolate, and anything sweet. She loves doing things all by herself. She gets herself dressed, buckles her seat belt, likes to open her own yogurt, carry her own plate to the table, and is constantly saying "I do it!"
My My, where do I even start!? I feel like life is just crazy busy these days with these two little girls of ours. They make me laugh one minute, and the next minute I am ready to rip my hair out and have a meltdown. =) . I feel like I clean and do laundry and I turn around and there are twice as many messes as I just finished cleaning up, or twice as much laundry to do, or better yet, the clothes that I just folded have now been unfolded by one of my sweet children. I am constantly breaking up fights these days, and it's enough to drive a woman crazy! People tell me that "it gets better" and I often find myself thinking about the different stages my children will go through, and I know there are things I will definitely miss from this stage, like the cuddles, the sweet things they say, and their sweet little voices. I will miss being the one they turn to for every little thing, but then at the same time, I am looking forward to not being needed for EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING. I'm ashamed to admit that when my kids push me to my limits, I have been known to sigh and say something like "You guys are driving me nuts!" Brooklynn will even say now when she knows I'm frustrated "Are we driving you nuts mom?" or "Madison, you're driving mommy nuts!" =) ha ha ha! Sometimes I just have to verbalize it, and express what I'm feeling. I'm hoping I can learn to control my tongue better, especially as they get older and will remember the words that come out of my mouth. Heaven help me!
I have learned that we do better if we can at least get out of the house to go do something at some point during the day. Whether that's running an errand, going to the park, or taking the kids somewhere fun like the zoo or the children's museum. Joe travels about 3.5 days every other week, and that has been a big adjustment for me. It's so hard not to be totally burnt out by the time he gets home. I think I'm learning more and more how to do it without complaining though.
What's new with these sweet girls? Brooklynn talks and sings nonstop. I need to capture her singing on video, because it seriously is the sweetest thing ever. She belts songs out at the top of her little lungs and it doesn't phase her if we are in the car, at home, or out in public. Most of the time she's singing church songs, and I have learned to just let her be, and to share the gospel through song wherever she goes.=) ha ha! She also LOVES singing "Let it Go" from FROZEN.
She still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and her favorite movie is still Frozen. Her favorite color is pink. She's got her shapes and colors down pretty well, and now we need to work on numbers and letters. She is a pro at going potty by herself now, and rarely has accidents, except for some reason she will go pee in the potty, and then she'll still go a drop in her panties. We are working on stopping that. She loves riding her bike she got for Christmas, loves going to the park, and loves to help me however and whenever possible. She is a great listener and is good at following directions and helping. Every night one of her jobs is to run up to her room and get her jimmies and undies, and Madison's jammies. She loves to color, paint, play with play dough, read books, and is obsessed with her new purse from Grandma and Grandpa, and her jewelry. She's been wearing a CTR ring and a cute little heart necklace I bought her from Sam Moon. She's so cute! She loves for me to sing to her and to rock her. She is crazy about Oikos Greek Yogurt, and eats it almost every day for breakfast. She loves chocolate, and anything sweet. She loves doing things all by herself. She gets herself dressed, buckles her seat belt, likes to open her own yogurt, carry her own plate to the table, and is constantly saying "I do it!"
Well, the holiday season has been upon us, and with that life gets to be busy, and I have missed a month. So, to catch up on what changes have happened...... Madison is now walking! She's a pro at it now and her little waddle walk is adorable. She has the skinniest little legs that carry her quickly wherever she wants to go. She also climbs on things WAY more than Brooklynn ever did. She's constantly climbing up on our little chairs, stools, the stairs, my aerobic step, or anything else she can climb on.
That little girl is feisty! She doesn't back down when Brooklynn or anyone else tries to take something from her. I was taking a shower one day and low and behold I hear Madison and Brooklynn fighting over something in my bathroom, and I look out of the shower to see Brooklynn running off with whatever it was, and Madison has her by the back of her shirt, and is running behind her holding on for dear life. She wasn't about to let Brooklynn get away. She has been known to hit, pull hair, bite, kick, scream, and whatever else she has to do.
She now as 4 top teeth and two bottom teeth. She is quite the picky eater when it comes to fruits and vegetables. She loves bananas and avocados, sometimes apples and pears, and that's about it. If she doesn't like something she spits it out immediately, and continues to spit dramatically afterward like she can't believe I would feed her something that tastes like that! Contrary to her sister, she loves macaroni and cheese, and most rice. She loves greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, cheese, oyster crackers, french fries, hot dogs, and she loves most soups that I make. She killed some broccoli cheese soup, and chicken noodle soup that I made over the past couple of weeks. She loves potatoes and steamed carrots, and she'll usually eat at least a little bit of whatever meat we cook. She got to experience her first ice cream cone, which was at home, and was Blue Bell Peppermint Ice Cream. She was in heaven when I broke a sugar cone down really small and filled it with some ice cream and handed it to her. Her face lit up after the first bite and she was smacking her lips and making "mmm" noises.
She's finally keeping socks and shoes on for a decent amount of time, now that she can walk. She'll wear shoes throughout all of church, and she'll sit down on the bottom step when she sees me get her socks and shoes out, so that I can put them on her. She'll usually walk out to the car now by herself, and when we get home I take her out of the carseat and let her walk inside by herself. It's so crazy to me that my baby is walking now!
She is FINALLY SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! Hallelujah!!!!! There were a few weeks where she would wake up around 3 and stand up and cry for about 5 minutes, then she would just drop back down to her mattress and fall right back to sleep. It's like she just needed to cry herself back to sleep. She hasn't really had to do that for the last couple of weeks though. Now if I could only get Brooklynn to stop waking up and coming down to my room most nights, I could finally get a consistent 7 to 8 hours of sleep, after over a year!=) Joe has usually been the one to put her down at night. She'll drink her bottle of milk and then he can pretty much just walk her up and put her in her crib and she won't cry when he leaves the room, and she'll just go to sleep. That is such a difference from what we went through with Brooklynn when she was that age I feel like! She's consistently napping for about an hour and a half a day. I still put her down after I put Brooklynn down, because she will still wake up before her. So every day after lunch Madison sits in her little bouncer toy so I know she's safe and won't get into trouble, and then I turn on a Baby Einstein and she'll sit there while I go put Brooklynn down for her nap.
Madison LOVES being outside. Whenever I open a door, I feel like she's right there ready to run out. She loves going to the park. She loves to swing, and she has figured out how to go down the slides by herself. She'll climb up to the top and then she sits down and turns around and goes down feet first on her belly.
If she doesn't get her way she flings herself back in my arms, or lifts her legs up and refuses to stand up when I try to set her down. If Joe looks at her and sternly tells her "NO" for something she did, she immediately gets her feelings hurt and starts crying.
The child can still down some water. I'll fill her water bottle up full for every meal and more often than not she drinks the entire thing. She's always filling up the little tea cups she and Brooklynn play with in the tub, and drinking water in the tub too.
I often think about if she had been my first child, how things would be. When she's playing on her own she really is the best little kid. She will just go upstairs by herself and play with the kitchen, or tent, or books up there. It's when she and her sister start fighting, that it absolutely drives me crazy. There are several days a week Im guessing, where Joe gets a text from me letting him know I am about to sell his children because they are driving me so crazy. Being a stay at home mom, and I'm sure just a mom in general, is seriously SO hard!! There are days when I feel like I have given so much of myself, that there literally is nothing left to give. I don't even get to use the restroom or shower in peace, without little girls being RIGHT THERE. Thankfully, with Madison walking now, I do feel like I have a little bit more freedom, but it has also opened up a lot more fighting between her and Brooklynn because now she can get in to whatever Brooklynn is playing with, or doing, and it instantly starts a big fight. It's crazy to think that when Brooklynn was this age, I was already several months pregnant with Madison. At this point, I am no where near ready to even think about getting pregnant again! Maybe I'll be fine with just two kids.=) Wink Wink.
Brooklynn just has two more months of being two. (Insert sad face here). She is such a sweet little independent girl, who wants to do most things by herself at this point. She does still need help taking off her shirt, so at least she still needs me for that, and for wiping her bum after she goes #2. So great to feel needed. Ha ha! She routinely wakes up around 6am, and will come downstairs and lay in our bed for a little bit, then she gets up and will go to the fridge and get out her own greek yogurt, which is her favorite breakfast, and I'll come out to an empty yogurt cup and undoubtedly some smeared yogurt on the table. It's so nice to get to sleep for a few more minutes though while she takes care of herself. This momma prefers more of a 7am wake up time. Now if I could just get Madison to stop waking up at 6am too.
Brooklynn loves putting puzzles together, playing with play dough, coloring, painting, blowing bubbles, going to the park, reading books with her dad or me, taking bubble baths, and she is always singing primary songs or "Let it Go" from the movie FROZEN. She loves playing with her little friend, Evan Alder, and loves her little sister. I just recently started a babysitting co-cop with some girls in our ward, and she has loved when we have other friends over to play. Surprisingly, on the days I have other kids here, I am able to get more things accomplished, because they will just play and keep each other entertained and occupied.
Brooklynn is a rule follower and a little OCD like her dad. For example, she has been sick this past week, and last night I gave her some cough medicine before bed and after she drank it from the little cup, I set the cup on her dresser so I could rock her and sing her some songs before bed. She immediately said "Can you please wash that cup?" Just like her dad! I had to tell her the cup would be just fine until she fell asleep, and then I would wash it. ha ha!
She picks her finger and toe nails, and I'm not sure if she gets that from me or from Joe. Joe chews his nails, and I used to bite mine, but since having kids, I have actually done much better.
She loves saying her prayers, and almost always wants to say any meal prayers that we say. I love listening to her pray, it is the sweetest. She loves going to church still and loves nursery. She and Madison love when we sing hymns in church too. They both sit there and pretend they are leading the music.
That little girl is feisty! She doesn't back down when Brooklynn or anyone else tries to take something from her. I was taking a shower one day and low and behold I hear Madison and Brooklynn fighting over something in my bathroom, and I look out of the shower to see Brooklynn running off with whatever it was, and Madison has her by the back of her shirt, and is running behind her holding on for dear life. She wasn't about to let Brooklynn get away. She has been known to hit, pull hair, bite, kick, scream, and whatever else she has to do.
She now as 4 top teeth and two bottom teeth. She is quite the picky eater when it comes to fruits and vegetables. She loves bananas and avocados, sometimes apples and pears, and that's about it. If she doesn't like something she spits it out immediately, and continues to spit dramatically afterward like she can't believe I would feed her something that tastes like that! Contrary to her sister, she loves macaroni and cheese, and most rice. She loves greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, cheese, oyster crackers, french fries, hot dogs, and she loves most soups that I make. She killed some broccoli cheese soup, and chicken noodle soup that I made over the past couple of weeks. She loves potatoes and steamed carrots, and she'll usually eat at least a little bit of whatever meat we cook. She got to experience her first ice cream cone, which was at home, and was Blue Bell Peppermint Ice Cream. She was in heaven when I broke a sugar cone down really small and filled it with some ice cream and handed it to her. Her face lit up after the first bite and she was smacking her lips and making "mmm" noises.
She's finally keeping socks and shoes on for a decent amount of time, now that she can walk. She'll wear shoes throughout all of church, and she'll sit down on the bottom step when she sees me get her socks and shoes out, so that I can put them on her. She'll usually walk out to the car now by herself, and when we get home I take her out of the carseat and let her walk inside by herself. It's so crazy to me that my baby is walking now!
She is FINALLY SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! Hallelujah!!!!! There were a few weeks where she would wake up around 3 and stand up and cry for about 5 minutes, then she would just drop back down to her mattress and fall right back to sleep. It's like she just needed to cry herself back to sleep. She hasn't really had to do that for the last couple of weeks though. Now if I could only get Brooklynn to stop waking up and coming down to my room most nights, I could finally get a consistent 7 to 8 hours of sleep, after over a year!=) Joe has usually been the one to put her down at night. She'll drink her bottle of milk and then he can pretty much just walk her up and put her in her crib and she won't cry when he leaves the room, and she'll just go to sleep. That is such a difference from what we went through with Brooklynn when she was that age I feel like! She's consistently napping for about an hour and a half a day. I still put her down after I put Brooklynn down, because she will still wake up before her. So every day after lunch Madison sits in her little bouncer toy so I know she's safe and won't get into trouble, and then I turn on a Baby Einstein and she'll sit there while I go put Brooklynn down for her nap.
Madison LOVES being outside. Whenever I open a door, I feel like she's right there ready to run out. She loves going to the park. She loves to swing, and she has figured out how to go down the slides by herself. She'll climb up to the top and then she sits down and turns around and goes down feet first on her belly.
If she doesn't get her way she flings herself back in my arms, or lifts her legs up and refuses to stand up when I try to set her down. If Joe looks at her and sternly tells her "NO" for something she did, she immediately gets her feelings hurt and starts crying.
The child can still down some water. I'll fill her water bottle up full for every meal and more often than not she drinks the entire thing. She's always filling up the little tea cups she and Brooklynn play with in the tub, and drinking water in the tub too.
I often think about if she had been my first child, how things would be. When she's playing on her own she really is the best little kid. She will just go upstairs by herself and play with the kitchen, or tent, or books up there. It's when she and her sister start fighting, that it absolutely drives me crazy. There are several days a week Im guessing, where Joe gets a text from me letting him know I am about to sell his children because they are driving me so crazy. Being a stay at home mom, and I'm sure just a mom in general, is seriously SO hard!! There are days when I feel like I have given so much of myself, that there literally is nothing left to give. I don't even get to use the restroom or shower in peace, without little girls being RIGHT THERE. Thankfully, with Madison walking now, I do feel like I have a little bit more freedom, but it has also opened up a lot more fighting between her and Brooklynn because now she can get in to whatever Brooklynn is playing with, or doing, and it instantly starts a big fight. It's crazy to think that when Brooklynn was this age, I was already several months pregnant with Madison. At this point, I am no where near ready to even think about getting pregnant again! Maybe I'll be fine with just two kids.=) Wink Wink.
Brooklynn just has two more months of being two. (Insert sad face here). She is such a sweet little independent girl, who wants to do most things by herself at this point. She does still need help taking off her shirt, so at least she still needs me for that, and for wiping her bum after she goes #2. So great to feel needed. Ha ha! She routinely wakes up around 6am, and will come downstairs and lay in our bed for a little bit, then she gets up and will go to the fridge and get out her own greek yogurt, which is her favorite breakfast, and I'll come out to an empty yogurt cup and undoubtedly some smeared yogurt on the table. It's so nice to get to sleep for a few more minutes though while she takes care of herself. This momma prefers more of a 7am wake up time. Now if I could just get Madison to stop waking up at 6am too.
Brooklynn loves putting puzzles together, playing with play dough, coloring, painting, blowing bubbles, going to the park, reading books with her dad or me, taking bubble baths, and she is always singing primary songs or "Let it Go" from the movie FROZEN. She loves playing with her little friend, Evan Alder, and loves her little sister. I just recently started a babysitting co-cop with some girls in our ward, and she has loved when we have other friends over to play. Surprisingly, on the days I have other kids here, I am able to get more things accomplished, because they will just play and keep each other entertained and occupied.
Brooklynn is a rule follower and a little OCD like her dad. For example, she has been sick this past week, and last night I gave her some cough medicine before bed and after she drank it from the little cup, I set the cup on her dresser so I could rock her and sing her some songs before bed. She immediately said "Can you please wash that cup?" Just like her dad! I had to tell her the cup would be just fine until she fell asleep, and then I would wash it. ha ha!
She picks her finger and toe nails, and I'm not sure if she gets that from me or from Joe. Joe chews his nails, and I used to bite mine, but since having kids, I have actually done much better.
She loves saying her prayers, and almost always wants to say any meal prayers that we say. I love listening to her pray, it is the sweetest. She loves going to church still and loves nursery. She and Madison love when we sing hymns in church too. They both sit there and pretend they are leading the music.
Madison is 1 year old and Brooklynn
We were able to celebrate sweet little Madison and her first birthday last month! We had a one year photo shoot for her after we took our family pics for this year, and she was just absolutely adorable! I honestly can't imagine my life without that little girl. She's so full of spunk, she's such a happy child, and she brings so much joy into our home. She's 21 pounds and 29" tall. She's in about the 50th percentile for weight and height. I love that she's still little. She has her four front teeth now, and she's just so cute! She has curly hair like my mom, and brown eyes like her dad and sister.
She loves anything that has to do with music, and will start dancing, or bouncing around almost immediately. She loves when I pick her up and dance, twirl, and spin with her, and she'll just laugh the entire time. She's become a pro at finger foods and loves feeding herself. She learned how to drink out of Brooklynn's water bottles with the straws, and the girl can down a bottle of water. She doesn't say any words yet, but she can communicate very well by squawking or screaming, or hitting her tray. She will also start laughing with joy when she gets what she wants. She's determined and tries to be independent. She's started climbing up on Brooklynn's chairs and bed, she can climb the stairs, and she'll climb up on my step that I use to workout. She isn't walking quite yet, but she crawls around at lightning speed.
She HATES anything on her feet. I seriously can not keep socks or shoes on that child's feet to save my life. If I put them on before we leave, she has them off before we get to wherever it is we're going. If I put them on when we get there, she yanks them off in the store or wherever we are. I have all but given up. It's starting to get chilly now and I think people think I'm a bad mom because my kid doesn't have socks or shoes on. ha ha!
She's learned to fight back when Brooklynn takes something she's playing with. Sometimes it takes everything in me not to laugh when I see her start whacking Brooklynn after Brooklynn has aggravated her. Growing up with a little sister, I know that there are many more years of "fighting" and aggravation ahead. On the flip side, I wouldn't trade having my sister for anything in the world. I'm so grateful for Tiffany, and I hope that Brooklynn and Madison can have that kind of close relationship throughout their lives.
She is STILL, at one year of age, waking up in the night for a bottle. I swear, if she weren't just in the 50th percentile, I wouldn't wake up with her in the night. Thankfully though, she will scream till I go in her room, she will pick up her blanket and pull it out with her when I pick her up, and then she'll drink her bottle while I change her diaper, and then I can put her right back in her crib and she will go right back to sleep. Sometimes thinking that it's been OVER A YEAR since I have gotten 7-8 hours of sleep without having to wake up in the night, is just about enough to drive me bonkers. It's a good thing she's cute!
She has a shy streak to her, and it's so funny to watch her bury her little face in my chest when strangers or people from church come up and talk to her.
She easily switched to cows milk, and has loved eating eggs, cheese, yogurt, and a bunch of other foods. She loves avocados, garlic bread, pasta, chicken, bananas, and I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of. Besides fighting me on the issue of socks and shoes, she also fights me on wearing a bib. I have to use the heavier plastic ones, and she'll wear it for a bit before ripping it off and throwing it on the floor. She'll start throwing her food on the floor when she's had enough, and that's how I know she's done. If she doesn't like something, she'll also just drop it off the side of her high chair onto the floor. She's down to one nap a day, and she'll take a good 1 to 2 hour nap, just depending on the day. Before, she was just taking two short 30 minute naps. At least this way I get a little bit of a break from kids because I can put them both down for naps around the same time. Madison has been pretty clingy lately too. She starts crying as soon as we walk in to the gym daycare center. She hates when I leave her with anyone. Hopefully this is just a phase, because if I don't work out I am a little bit on edge. So far I have just let her cry it out, so that I can get that time in, and so she can learn that I'm not leaving her for good. I'll always be there to pick her up.
Brooklynn has reached a huge milestone in her life. She is potty trained!!! Woot Woot!! I really have dreaded the thought of potty training, since she was a newborn. Thankfully, it really ended up being so much easier and less messy than I imagined. Luckily she caught on really quickly, and has a minimal number of accidents. Brittany R. Griffin emailed me "How to fully potty train in 3 days" and I followed that pretty much, with the exception of offering rewards when she went potty. We camped at home for one full day, and I let her have flavored vitamin water and watch movies and she was just in heaven. It got her to have to use the restroom frequently, and gave her some practice. Julie had given me two of Millie's little potties, and Brooklynn did so much better with those than on the big potty. We ventured out to Hobby Lobby on the second day, and as long as I made her go potty before we left, she did great! The instruction said to go cold turkey at night also, and not use pull-ups, because they can be a crutch to the child and the parent. I decided to just buy a couple mattress covers and new sheets, and if I had to change sheets every night until she got it, I would. Fortunately I think she has only had 1 or 2 accidents. It's so nice to not have to change her diapers anymore. As long as I remember to have her use the potty before we leave the house to run errands, or do whatever, she is usually totally fine. We haven't really had a "I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM NOW" type of moment when we have been out in public, so I'm thankful for that. She did great when we flew to Utah for Thanksgiving too, and didn't have any accidents while we were there. Turns out I was terrified of it for no reason!
Brooklynn does great when we go to the gym, and she usually looks forward to spending time with other kids, and most of the time she's camped in front of the tv watching a movie when I go pick her up after my workout. I'm thankful I don't have to deal with two crying children when I drop them off.
She still loves going to nursery, and she loves going to her friend, Evan's house. I really think she will love going to preschool next year.
She loves for me to put her down at night. Our routine is we say family prayers, and then I take her upstairs and she says her personal prayer, and then I will rock her and sing her 3 songs, and then I lay her in her bed, and she'll fall asleep on her own. For the longest time I have sung her the same 3 songs every night because that's what she chooses. "5 little Ducks", "Speckled Frogs" and "Popcorn Popping". She knows every single one of them and sings right along with me.
She is still taking naps, thankfully. For those I usually rock her and sing to her until she falls asleep in my arms, and then I lay her in her bed. If I try to let her fall asleep on her own it doesn't happen. She'll just lay there and sing to herself and then get up and play with all of her stuffed animals. At least this way she is getting the rest her body needs so that she's happy and not a grump, and I am still getting some peace and quiet to myself during the day.
Brooklynn has always been, and continues to be a great eater. She doesn't snack a whole lot, maybe one small snack between breakfast and lunch, and sometimes something between lunch and dinner. But she usually eats whatever I make, and she's not super picky. She doesn't really love rice or macaroni and cheese. She's not a fan of cottage cheese or tomatoes. She will eat almost any fruit though, and she will try most vegetables. Her favorite by far though is canned green beans. She LOVES greek yogurt and that's what she chooses almost every day for breakfast. She always has to have jam on her toast, and it has to be the strawberry freezer jam that I learned to make from my grandma. Surprisingly she loves Tuna and Crackers, and she'll eat Salmon and cooked shrimp. She chooses to say the prayer before meals more often than not, and she loves helping with getting things out for lunch or dinner. She also wants to put her own condiments or salt and pepper on.
She loves reading still and will choose several books every night after scriptures for either Joe or me to read to her.
I feel like she's growing up so quickly. Sometimes I look back at pictures and can't believe how much she has grown and changed in such a short amount of time. She still loves going to the park any chance she can get, she loves the zoo, or the Children's Museum, and feeding the ducks. Her favorite show right now is still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and her favorite movie is Frozen. She also loves Cinderella and Tangled.
She loves going in and getting in the crib with Madison in the morning after she wakes up, and she's always helping with getting wipes or diapers for us to change Madison, or helping with picking out Madison's clothes, and telling me what Madison would like to eat. ha ha!
I made the mistake of telling her she had a braid like Elsa and Anna from FROZEN one day when I braided her hair, and now EVERY day she asks for "A let It Go braid." It's not worth the meltdown and an argument to me, so that's pretty much what her hairstyle is every day. If a braid makes her day, then I'm fine with her having the same hairstyle every day. She gets excited over new clothes or shoes, and will say "OOOOH that's so pretty! Thank you! Thank you!" She gets herself dressed on her own now, and she buckles herself in her carseat, she gets her own bibs on, and grabs her own silverware. She helps with unloading the dishwasher, and tries to help with folding the laundry sometimes. She loves helping me clean the toilets when I clean bathrooms. She loves sprinting the AJAX in, and then helping me use the toilet brush. She'll help refill the toilet paper basket that I keep next to the toilet also.
Brooklynn has reached a huge milestone in her life. She is potty trained!!! Woot Woot!! I really have dreaded the thought of potty training, since she was a newborn. Thankfully, it really ended up being so much easier and less messy than I imagined. Luckily she caught on really quickly, and has a minimal number of accidents. Brittany R. Griffin emailed me "How to fully potty train in 3 days" and I followed that pretty much, with the exception of offering rewards when she went potty. We camped at home for one full day, and I let her have flavored vitamin water and watch movies and she was just in heaven. It got her to have to use the restroom frequently, and gave her some practice. Julie had given me two of Millie's little potties, and Brooklynn did so much better with those than on the big potty. We ventured out to Hobby Lobby on the second day, and as long as I made her go potty before we left, she did great! The instruction said to go cold turkey at night also, and not use pull-ups, because they can be a crutch to the child and the parent. I decided to just buy a couple mattress covers and new sheets, and if I had to change sheets every night until she got it, I would. Fortunately I think she has only had 1 or 2 accidents. It's so nice to not have to change her diapers anymore. As long as I remember to have her use the potty before we leave the house to run errands, or do whatever, she is usually totally fine. We haven't really had a "I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM NOW" type of moment when we have been out in public, so I'm thankful for that. She did great when we flew to Utah for Thanksgiving too, and didn't have any accidents while we were there. Turns out I was terrified of it for no reason!
Brooklynn does great when we go to the gym, and she usually looks forward to spending time with other kids, and most of the time she's camped in front of the tv watching a movie when I go pick her up after my workout. I'm thankful I don't have to deal with two crying children when I drop them off.
She still loves going to nursery, and she loves going to her friend, Evan's house. I really think she will love going to preschool next year.
She loves for me to put her down at night. Our routine is we say family prayers, and then I take her upstairs and she says her personal prayer, and then I will rock her and sing her 3 songs, and then I lay her in her bed, and she'll fall asleep on her own. For the longest time I have sung her the same 3 songs every night because that's what she chooses. "5 little Ducks", "Speckled Frogs" and "Popcorn Popping". She knows every single one of them and sings right along with me.
She is still taking naps, thankfully. For those I usually rock her and sing to her until she falls asleep in my arms, and then I lay her in her bed. If I try to let her fall asleep on her own it doesn't happen. She'll just lay there and sing to herself and then get up and play with all of her stuffed animals. At least this way she is getting the rest her body needs so that she's happy and not a grump, and I am still getting some peace and quiet to myself during the day.
Brooklynn has always been, and continues to be a great eater. She doesn't snack a whole lot, maybe one small snack between breakfast and lunch, and sometimes something between lunch and dinner. But she usually eats whatever I make, and she's not super picky. She doesn't really love rice or macaroni and cheese. She's not a fan of cottage cheese or tomatoes. She will eat almost any fruit though, and she will try most vegetables. Her favorite by far though is canned green beans. She LOVES greek yogurt and that's what she chooses almost every day for breakfast. She always has to have jam on her toast, and it has to be the strawberry freezer jam that I learned to make from my grandma. Surprisingly she loves Tuna and Crackers, and she'll eat Salmon and cooked shrimp. She chooses to say the prayer before meals more often than not, and she loves helping with getting things out for lunch or dinner. She also wants to put her own condiments or salt and pepper on.
She loves reading still and will choose several books every night after scriptures for either Joe or me to read to her.
I feel like she's growing up so quickly. Sometimes I look back at pictures and can't believe how much she has grown and changed in such a short amount of time. She still loves going to the park any chance she can get, she loves the zoo, or the Children's Museum, and feeding the ducks. Her favorite show right now is still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and her favorite movie is Frozen. She also loves Cinderella and Tangled.
She loves going in and getting in the crib with Madison in the morning after she wakes up, and she's always helping with getting wipes or diapers for us to change Madison, or helping with picking out Madison's clothes, and telling me what Madison would like to eat. ha ha!
I made the mistake of telling her she had a braid like Elsa and Anna from FROZEN one day when I braided her hair, and now EVERY day she asks for "A let It Go braid." It's not worth the meltdown and an argument to me, so that's pretty much what her hairstyle is every day. If a braid makes her day, then I'm fine with her having the same hairstyle every day. She gets excited over new clothes or shoes, and will say "OOOOH that's so pretty! Thank you! Thank you!" She gets herself dressed on her own now, and she buckles herself in her carseat, she gets her own bibs on, and grabs her own silverware. She helps with unloading the dishwasher, and tries to help with folding the laundry sometimes. She loves helping me clean the toilets when I clean bathrooms. She loves sprinting the AJAX in, and then helping me use the toilet brush. She'll help refill the toilet paper basket that I keep next to the toilet also.
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