Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Zelda!
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Time to Catch Up
No pretty pictures, but thought I would catch up the blog quickly.
Alli is half way through 2nd grade now. She has lost 6 teeth so far, and has 3 gaping holes making it difficult for her to bite! It's quite funny to watch her eat a carrot. :) She is maturing so nicely and takes responsibility well. She's great with Natalie (most of the time) and just adores Berkley. She is still in ballet and gymnastics, and almost has her back handspring. So close! I think I'm more excited than she is about it. We recently introduce her to skiing and she loved it, despite how much she fought us cause she didn't want to try it! One down, one more to go, and then we can have some really cool family ski trip vacations!
Natalie is 3, has been wonderful at preschool, and is still our super cuddly girl. Three has been a little difficult with Natalie. Everything is "why", and most of the time she decides to ask by crying and saying "you have to ..." We ignore and tell her until she asks nicely and stops crying, we will NOT. We shall see when we leave this phase. The sooner, the better - at least for Kim and I!
I am trying really hard to start a garden. It's a slow venture as we have a lot of "infrastructure" to put in... So far, I've plotted out where I want to put it, and then after digging around the area a little, found that there were 2 cement footings left over from when we punched our back fence out. Those footings took me a couple of weekends to dig out. Next up, need to work on irrigation. That's going to take a couple of weekends as well, so maybe I'll post pictures and do a follow up post...
Alli is half way through 2nd grade now. She has lost 6 teeth so far, and has 3 gaping holes making it difficult for her to bite! It's quite funny to watch her eat a carrot. :) She is maturing so nicely and takes responsibility well. She's great with Natalie (most of the time) and just adores Berkley. She is still in ballet and gymnastics, and almost has her back handspring. So close! I think I'm more excited than she is about it. We recently introduce her to skiing and she loved it, despite how much she fought us cause she didn't want to try it! One down, one more to go, and then we can have some really cool family ski trip vacations!
Natalie is 3, has been wonderful at preschool, and is still our super cuddly girl. Three has been a little difficult with Natalie. Everything is "why", and most of the time she decides to ask by crying and saying "you have to ..." We ignore and tell her until she asks nicely and stops crying, we will NOT. We shall see when we leave this phase. The sooner, the better - at least for Kim and I!
I am trying really hard to start a garden. It's a slow venture as we have a lot of "infrastructure" to put in... So far, I've plotted out where I want to put it, and then after digging around the area a little, found that there were 2 cement footings left over from when we punched our back fence out. Those footings took me a couple of weekends to dig out. Next up, need to work on irrigation. That's going to take a couple of weekends as well, so maybe I'll post pictures and do a follow up post...
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Summer Fun
Summer vacation has begun. We are going into the 3rd week of summer break, and the girls are having a blast.
To catch up, we had Alli's dance recital and year end class party. 1st Grade has proved to be her favorite so far, but mostly because of her teacher Ms. Fisher. Alli did great, winning some year-end awards at the party.
Alli's dance recital sparked some interest in Natalie. First, here's Alli in her recital. She is such a beautiful ballerina!
To catch up, we had Alli's dance recital and year end class party. 1st Grade has proved to be her favorite so far, but mostly because of her teacher Ms. Fisher. Alli did great, winning some year-end awards at the party.
Alli's dance recital sparked some interest in Natalie. First, here's Alli in her recital. She is such a beautiful ballerina!
But seeing Alli all dressed up made Natalie feel like she should have a costume too. So that started a full week of being a bee, including going to the park several times as a bee, and going for a family walk as a bee:
After the bee costume went through the wash, it was not longer a draw. Whew! I was afraid I was going to have a bee all summer!
Soon we will be going camping, so we decided to "practice". I mean, we have a 2-1/2 year and a new dog. Practice seemed like a good idea. And it was! We learned alot and are making adjustments before our trip. Here was our "practice":
And of course, one picture of the morning it rained. Not sure why the girls couldn't grab their own shoes, but that was obviously not in the plan. This was 6:30am, hence the PJs. Rain and umbrellas is always a fun thing in Arizona!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Update
Over the past several months, I've thought of lots of topics to post about, but I just haven't done it. Now I have no choice but to post a big update...
Let's see.... Alli has lost her 2nd tooth. The big tooth had already showed up, so she looked like a shark with her 2 rows of teeth. But now that the baby tooth is out, her tongue is very slowly pushing the big tooth forward. Not that it has a good place to go cause it's way bigger than the opening that's there. I feel there will be braces in our future.
Natalie decided in February that she didn't wear diapers anymore, and so potty training began immediately. She actually does pretty well, most days. Right now she's on a streak where she doesn't want to take a break from playing and sit on the toilet. Can't blame her. Thank goodness she will wear pull-ups cause for a while it was underwear only and we were getting exhausted with all the cleanup. Following in her sister's footsteps, she likes the characters on the boys underwear better than the girls, so right now she's in her blue colored pull-ups with Jake, Buzz, and Lightning as the choices of characters.
The elementary school did a gifted testing this spring so we asked if we could get Alli tested. They said that there is nothing special they do for the kids until 3rd grade, but if we wanted, we could get her tested. So we did. And she tested gifted (97% or higher) in one of the 3 categories. So she is now listed as gifted and apparently that tag follows her all over the nation. Interesting.
And we went to the elementary school and got Natalie enrolled for preschool next year. She can't start until she actually turns 3, but they said if there is room, they call us a week before and she can start on the day of her birthday and show up with a birthday party in the class. We shall see if we actually start her like that.
The girls have been great playing together lately, and it has been very helpful for Kim and myself to be able to let them play alone for periods of time while we do our own thing (for Kim, usually something on the computer, and for me, usually something around the house like dishes, or mopping, or laundry.)
Let's see.... Alli has lost her 2nd tooth. The big tooth had already showed up, so she looked like a shark with her 2 rows of teeth. But now that the baby tooth is out, her tongue is very slowly pushing the big tooth forward. Not that it has a good place to go cause it's way bigger than the opening that's there. I feel there will be braces in our future.
Natalie decided in February that she didn't wear diapers anymore, and so potty training began immediately. She actually does pretty well, most days. Right now she's on a streak where she doesn't want to take a break from playing and sit on the toilet. Can't blame her. Thank goodness she will wear pull-ups cause for a while it was underwear only and we were getting exhausted with all the cleanup. Following in her sister's footsteps, she likes the characters on the boys underwear better than the girls, so right now she's in her blue colored pull-ups with Jake, Buzz, and Lightning as the choices of characters.
The elementary school did a gifted testing this spring so we asked if we could get Alli tested. They said that there is nothing special they do for the kids until 3rd grade, but if we wanted, we could get her tested. So we did. And she tested gifted (97% or higher) in one of the 3 categories. So she is now listed as gifted and apparently that tag follows her all over the nation. Interesting.
And we went to the elementary school and got Natalie enrolled for preschool next year. She can't start until she actually turns 3, but they said if there is room, they call us a week before and she can start on the day of her birthday and show up with a birthday party in the class. We shall see if we actually start her like that.
The girls have been great playing together lately, and it has been very helpful for Kim and myself to be able to let them play alone for periods of time while we do our own thing (for Kim, usually something on the computer, and for me, usually something around the house like dishes, or mopping, or laundry.)
Monday, November 24, 2014
Another Tooth!
Yesterday Alli was showing me a very wiggly tooth. I asked her if she was going to try to pull it and she responded "not yet". So they day went on... By dinner, I looked at her mouth and it just seemed different. So I asked her if her tooth fell out. She said she didn't think so. I made her open her mouth and sure enough, her tooth was gone. She has no clue when it happened, but she was guessing during snack time with daddy since they had apples. So....poor thing may have swallowed her tooth. :)
We left a note for the tooth fairy and sure enough, the tooth fairy came and left her $1. What a nice fairy. :)
We left a note for the tooth fairy and sure enough, the tooth fairy came and left her $1. What a nice fairy. :)
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Berkley!!!
I've been wanting another dog. I miss the furry, unrelenting love that comes with a dog. But Kim and Alli didn't want a puppy because they didn't want to go through the potty training or the chewing phases. So I've been scouring rescue sites to try to find a dog that might fit into our family.
The other night, I think I had found one, so I inquired about the dog. That was Thursday night around 9pm. By Saturday at 3:00, we had a beautiful, female, 9 month old, black lab / pointer mix bounding into our home and our lives. The rescue place she came from requires a "trial" period of at least 3 days before the adoption actually happens. We've had Berkley in our home for all of 18 hours, and I can't imagine we will let her leave.
Here are some photos of the girls with Berkley.
The other night, I think I had found one, so I inquired about the dog. That was Thursday night around 9pm. By Saturday at 3:00, we had a beautiful, female, 9 month old, black lab / pointer mix bounding into our home and our lives. The rescue place she came from requires a "trial" period of at least 3 days before the adoption actually happens. We've had Berkley in our home for all of 18 hours, and I can't imagine we will let her leave.
Here are some photos of the girls with Berkley.
Alli and Berkley "hiking" in the back yard.
Natalie and Berkley hanging out.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Night Night Bed
A while ago, Natalie was awake in the crib when we put Alli to bed. Natalie noticed that I stayed in bed with Alli and rubbed her back. Well, that smart little cookie decided that going straight to the crib to fall asleep by herself was not very fun, so she started asking if she could go night night bed. Oh sure, why not.
The first few times, after 40 minutes of laying with her, she either fell asleep or was still awake. Either way, she wound up back in the crib for the night. Then we got into a routine where after laying with her for about 5 minutes, we would just move her to the crib and she would go to sleep from there. And then we got into a routine where she would lay super still and basically demand to stay in the bed, so if she stayed super still, we would keep giving her more time to fall asleep. Eventually, she was sharing the twin bed with Alli. Alli *loved* having her sister in bed with her, so no issue there.
Well, then we hit a few nights where Natalie woke up in the middle of the night, screaming and crying, and would not stop if we put her back to bed in the crib. She wanted mommy to lay with her in bed. A twin bed, and Alli was also in it. 3 girls. 1 twin bed. Are you nuts child? Well, yes. But of course mommy obliged and spent quite a few very sleepless nights crammed in the twin bed with the girls.
One weekend after cramming in the bed for a good portion of the night, I told Kim we were heading to the mattress store to get Natalie a bed. We walked out of the store with a new twin size bed, and out of Target with a set of sheets. We set up the bed right next to Alli's bed, so voila! Instant king size bed for two very little girls. Now the whole family could sleep there comfortably and mommy is very happy. Alli actually is too. She confessed that she was cramped sharing the twin with her sister.
We took some shots of the girls sleeping:
Sharing the twin:
The first few times, after 40 minutes of laying with her, she either fell asleep or was still awake. Either way, she wound up back in the crib for the night. Then we got into a routine where after laying with her for about 5 minutes, we would just move her to the crib and she would go to sleep from there. And then we got into a routine where she would lay super still and basically demand to stay in the bed, so if she stayed super still, we would keep giving her more time to fall asleep. Eventually, she was sharing the twin bed with Alli. Alli *loved* having her sister in bed with her, so no issue there.
Well, then we hit a few nights where Natalie woke up in the middle of the night, screaming and crying, and would not stop if we put her back to bed in the crib. She wanted mommy to lay with her in bed. A twin bed, and Alli was also in it. 3 girls. 1 twin bed. Are you nuts child? Well, yes. But of course mommy obliged and spent quite a few very sleepless nights crammed in the twin bed with the girls.
One weekend after cramming in the bed for a good portion of the night, I told Kim we were heading to the mattress store to get Natalie a bed. We walked out of the store with a new twin size bed, and out of Target with a set of sheets. We set up the bed right next to Alli's bed, so voila! Instant king size bed for two very little girls. Now the whole family could sleep there comfortably and mommy is very happy. Alli actually is too. She confessed that she was cramped sharing the twin with her sister.
We took some shots of the girls sleeping:
Sharing the twin:
Sleeping arrangement with beds pushed together:
Yes, notice that room so everyone can sleep sideways? :)
Friday, October 17, 2014
Two Year Old Stats
The Dr's visit is over. We have a healthy 2 year old. Here are her stats:
Height: 35.75" (91%)
Weight: 24.4 lbs (17%)
If the old wives tail is true, that you grow to double your height from when you are two, Natalie will be just shy of 6' tall. I'm guessing that old wives tail really isn't true...
Height: 35.75" (91%)
Weight: 24.4 lbs (17%)
If the old wives tail is true, that you grow to double your height from when you are two, Natalie will be just shy of 6' tall. I'm guessing that old wives tail really isn't true...
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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