Kali's Big Girl Bed

So this week Kali has slept in airbed and has started sleeping with the big kids at daycare rather than in a Pack n Play so we decided tonight that we would take the front part off her crib and turn it into a Toddler Bed. She was so excited! Here are some pictures. We will see how the first night goes!

Kali's First Sleepover

Cousin Camdree is sleeping over tonight. The girls had a blast. After Uncle Brent dropped Camdree off we had dinner, played in the sandbox, and then walked to the park and played there. We came home got our PJS on, had a princess snack, played in Kali's kitchen, and watched Charlie Brown ( no kidding huh?). When they were playing in the play kitchen,I went upstairs for a few minutes to put some stuff away and heard giggling and the little pitter patter of feet. I came down to find the girls filling Kali's play dishes with tons of water. (Totally Kali's idea because one day when Daddy and her were playing in the kitchen he thought that would be good idea..) No big deal..just water. They were so excited to go to bed. I have 2 airbeds in Kali's room..I put them to bed at 8:35 and heard whispers and lots of giggling. Very funny for me to listen to! Then at 9:00 I heard the door open and they both had to go potty again! I just laid in my bed reading my book listening to them sing, count, talk, and laugh. It was so funny, but finally at 10:00 after many reminders it was bedtime I pulled Kali's airbed into my room and then it was quiet.
In the morning Kali couldn't wait for Camdree to wake up, they quickly ate breakfast, and headed down to the kitchen to cook! We had a few sharing issues, but I would for sure say the first sleepover was quite the success!

Charlie Brown

So it happened around Thanksgiving when our daughter became a bit obessed with Charlie Brown,...yeah I know you are all thinking..what not Dora, Elmo, Cars, Princesses, Sponge Bob, or anything most normal children become excited about. Nope Charlie Brown which was made in 1975, before I was even born! Yup... that is when it first came out. We never really had the TV on in front of her before that much, if it was on she didn't show much interest. So Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was on TV and we watched it with her and she has since fell in love with it. She asks almost every day morning or night if she can watch it. We only let he watch it a few nights a week. Tonight was one of those nights she got to watch it with mom after Cody was in bed, and man was she excited.

We have Thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day ( her absolute favorite one right now..) About a month ago she was working on some artwork downstairs when I was upstairs and she came upstairs with a stuffed, marker colored envelope. She handed it to me and inside it was a paper and a bunch of rubber bands and she said, " Mommy, this Valentine is for Charlie Brown since he didn't get any." It was so adorable ...what can you say sometimes TV does teach a very valuable lesson.

Differences in Size

Siblings..it is amazing to me how different they can be. We went in for Cody's 1- year wellness check. Here are his facts:

Height 29.5 Inches ( 30% Percentile)
Weight 20 lbs 3 oz (15% Percentile)
Head 17 3/4 ( 15% Percentile)

Kali's at 12 months were:

Height 30 3/4 In (90% Percentile)
Weight 24 lbs 9 0z ( 95 % Percentile)


As you can see he is still a little peanut compared to his sister. Here are 2 pictures of them both enjoying their cake on their birthday, do you think they look the same?

Big Girl

One of Kali's favorite things to say right now is "I am a big girl." So I thought I would post a picture of the big girl driving the neighbors Barbie jeep with her capri pants, headband and sunglasses. Pretty much looking like a 16 year-old rather than a little girl who isn't even 3 yet!

One

Hard to believe my baby is one. April 17, 2008 seems like yesterday..however it has already been a year. The frantic feeling I felt in the hospital when he wouldn't breathe on his own and needed to be in the Level 2 Nursery where we couldn't hold him or show him off to our friends and family seems like it was yesterday, but it has already been a year.

He is walking, talking loving little boy who loves life to the fullest. He is so busy and is constantly on the move.I can already see he has a fierce love for family which makes me feel so wonderful.

He is an absolute joy to have and a true blessing from God.

Riley

As most of you know we have a 6 year-old yellow lab named Riley. He is a wonderful family dog who has a fierce love for our kids. This weekend he did something he has never done. As we traveled north he thought sitting in the back of the car wasn't a good idea so he jumped in between the kids' car seats to sit in between them. We laughed about it, pulled over, and put him in back..he continued to do it again..and again..until we just let him lay on top of all the stuff in the most uncomfotable position, but he was near his family, so he was happy. On the way home Andy tied his leash to the back so he couldn't do it because he tried again.

He tries to into Kali's room when she is sleeping and lays on her floor waiting for her to come home if she gone. The above picture he him laying in her room as she is reading books to him.

Cody squeals with delight when he enters the room. Loves to chase him, grab his feet and nose when he laying on the couch, and thinks throwing food off his highchair is quite the game.

As I sometimes complain about the shedding hair and stinky breath..he honestly is the best dog in the world.

Easter Weekend

We headed back home for the weekend to see our family and as it always great to see everyone it is always nice to be back in our own home. Anyone that has little kids probably has this problem when you go on a trip. It is 5 hours in the car and our kids are actually great in the car, Kali talks, sings, or sleeps the entire way. She is an absolute riot. This pretty much entertains her brother and us. However they don't sleep well once we we are there. Therefore neither do we and that is the downside. We are now a family of 4 and it is crowded wherever we stay. Kali had a blast coloring Easter eggs, finding Easter eggs, seeing all of her uncles( except Charlie who is in Alaska) Grandma, Nana, Papa, and playing with her cousin, Camdree. We celebrated Cody's birthday with our families as well. Nice to see everyone, but very nice to be home. Last night the kids were back in their own cribs and neither of them got up once and right now they are both napping which they didn't do at all up there.....ahh...good to be home!

My Little Rule Follower..most of the time..

Granted not always, but she likes things to be the way they are suppose to be. She likes her blanket folded in her crib over her pillow a certain way, puts her shoes away in the closet because that is where they go, knows she wears boots in the snow. Since her brother was born she has been an unbelievable big sister. Getting me diapers, wipes, clothes, and hats, ( he must wear one outside because we are suppose to!) Everything he needs and many things he doesn't need! Things need to be just just so with Kali. We often wonder if she will be OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) But really it is quite funny most of the time. Today was one of the days, Lisa, our daycare provider ( the best ever if I must say so myself) sent me this email...

Kali was HILARIOUS at outdoor time. The girls know she is such a good girl – likes to follow rules and do things right. Well everyone was whipping off their hats and Kali wanted too but thought that was not the right thing to do. Finally she grabbed Molls and said, “Molly – lets…lets…lets TAKE OUR HATS OFF!!!” So Molls whips hers off and starts to happy dance but Kali can’t quite do it. Finally she takes it off and BUSTS out in the biggest smile ever. The girls are dying laughing b/c Kali is sooo walking on the wild side now. But she does not stop there – she gets SO FIRED UP she tosses it on the ground and STOMPS ON IT! Wow she was crazy!!!! We were howling with laughter at this – she is my one who STRAIGHTENS the bathroom towel after she washes her hands!!! Ripping your hat off when Lisa said we have to wear them is just not her way!


That's my girl...and I love her to pieces!



A older picture of her shortly after Cody was born just "checking on Cody" as she still does now!

Crayons

Kali loves to color, I mean LOVES TO COLOR! The problem we are having is Cody LOVES CRAYONS! As soon as Kali sits down anywhere to color he beelines to the place she is and tries to stick his hands in the box. If he can't reach he hovers around the table and tries to get the box down or he will wait until one falls off the table and put it directly in his mouth. I have tried giving him markers to hold on it instead since he can't get the caps off yet, but nope..he wants the crayons. Maybe he will be famous artist one day?

Burnt Popcorn

Isn't that a horrible smell? I know you are all thinking what in the world is she writing about..but really that has been consuming my life lately, or should I say my nose. Two nights ago, I told Andy that I needed a snack (as I always do!) so I ran upstairs to put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. I set the timer for 3 minutes ( like the bag said) and went back downstairs. As I headed back upstairs I knew I was in trouble as I saw smoke coming out of the microwave. I opened it and black smoke came streaming out. I tried to keep it away from the smoke alarms as I didn't want them going off since the kids were both asleep. I took the scorched black bag and threw it in the garage and tried to figure out how it get rid of this smell and wondered how in the world that happened. That night I sprayed air fresher, slept with the windows and fan on, and lit candles and nothing seemed to help. The smell made me sick, and now two days later it is still here. Not as strong, but still here, especially when you open the microwave. If anyone has any ideas how to get rid of it for good, please let me know!