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. :)
Monday, November 24, 2014
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
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Natalie Turned 2!!
Natalie had a great 2-year old birthday party. We had the Jackson family and most of the Belt family over to visit. The theme of the party was Clifford. Everyone had a good time.
And since turning 2, Natalie has decided naps are unnecessary. Of course, she is quite a handful by late afternoon, so we are kinda disagreeing with her on that one. But when you leave her in a crib for over an hour and all she does is play quietly and not sleep, then it's hard to argue the point (or to change it). So, we are quite a fun family come about 4:00! ;)
Here are some cute pics from her party.
And since turning 2, Natalie has decided naps are unnecessary. Of course, she is quite a handful by late afternoon, so we are kinda disagreeing with her on that one. But when you leave her in a crib for over an hour and all she does is play quietly and not sleep, then it's hard to argue the point (or to change it). So, we are quite a fun family come about 4:00! ;)
Here are some cute pics from her party.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Teeth, Beds, Toilets...
Hooray! Alli lost her first tooth tonight! It was really loose, and two big teeth are already growing in behind her two bottom teeth. Only one was really loose, the other just slightly. She said tonight after brushing teeth that it was bothering her. I told her to just pull it out. Well, the family all went separate ways - I went to put Nat to bed, Kim to do the dishes, Alli to play. I came out about 5 minutes later and Alli was showing Kim her tooth!!! I guess she took my words very seriously. :)
Natalie will be two on Sunday. She has started this thing about sleeping in Alli's bed. She always wants to go night night in the bed now. While I don't mind her sleeping in a bed, it makes putting her to bed much more difficult. She doesn't stay in it! And when we lay down with her, she wiggles for 30-40 minutes before settling down. It's a bit frustrating on us parents. So I think for her birthday, or soon after, we will get her a twin size bed. I mean, it's really crowded in the middle of the night with Alli, Natalie, and mommy all on one twin bed!! :) (Yes, the bed is really for mommy!!)
Ok, so I figured Natalie is two. She wants to do everything her big sister does. So I decided we should start potty training. Well, she is stubborn just like Alli, but in different ways. She figured things out pretty quickly the first day I had her run around bottomless. She peed once. I wisked her to the toilet. She graciously then went every 30 minutes just like I wanted, but never once did a drop leave her. Until nap time. I put a diaper on her. Holy cow was it full - I had to change it before she even fell asleep! And the stinker just kept doing that. So no accidents while naked, but no success on the toilet either. Grrr.... I went out and bought some underwear and training pants. We'll see if those will help, although it's going to take a little time before I have another good weekend to devote to potty training, so we'll see if we can do it at mommy's convenience...
Natalie will be two on Sunday. She has started this thing about sleeping in Alli's bed. She always wants to go night night in the bed now. While I don't mind her sleeping in a bed, it makes putting her to bed much more difficult. She doesn't stay in it! And when we lay down with her, she wiggles for 30-40 minutes before settling down. It's a bit frustrating on us parents. So I think for her birthday, or soon after, we will get her a twin size bed. I mean, it's really crowded in the middle of the night with Alli, Natalie, and mommy all on one twin bed!! :) (Yes, the bed is really for mommy!!)
Ok, so I figured Natalie is two. She wants to do everything her big sister does. So I decided we should start potty training. Well, she is stubborn just like Alli, but in different ways. She figured things out pretty quickly the first day I had her run around bottomless. She peed once. I wisked her to the toilet. She graciously then went every 30 minutes just like I wanted, but never once did a drop leave her. Until nap time. I put a diaper on her. Holy cow was it full - I had to change it before she even fell asleep! And the stinker just kept doing that. So no accidents while naked, but no success on the toilet either. Grrr.... I went out and bought some underwear and training pants. We'll see if those will help, although it's going to take a little time before I have another good weekend to devote to potty training, so we'll see if we can do it at mommy's convenience...
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Eyes and Pig Latin
Natalie:
What a cutie. She uses the term "eyes" for lots of things: Sunglasses, lights in the ceiling, hand-held mirrors, actual eyes... You have to interpret when she asks for "eyes" what she means. It's really cute, and neat to see her associate the word "eyes" with all things that make you see/see better.
Alli:
Alli has gotten so good at spelling and reading that Kim and I used Pig Latin at the dinner table this evening. I wonder how long *that* will last! And let me tell you how rusty I am on hearing pig latin and then being able to figure out what is said. Good thing we only have to use it for a few words here and there!!
What a cutie. She uses the term "eyes" for lots of things: Sunglasses, lights in the ceiling, hand-held mirrors, actual eyes... You have to interpret when she asks for "eyes" what she means. It's really cute, and neat to see her associate the word "eyes" with all things that make you see/see better.
Alli:
Alli has gotten so good at spelling and reading that Kim and I used Pig Latin at the dinner table this evening. I wonder how long *that* will last! And let me tell you how rusty I am on hearing pig latin and then being able to figure out what is said. Good thing we only have to use it for a few words here and there!!
Sunday, July 13, 2014
4th of July - 2014 Style
This year was the first time in about a decade that Fountain Hills put on its own fireworks display. We decided to spend the afternoon at the Belt's house so the kids could play and swim, and since they live closer to the Fountain than we do, watch the fireworks from their house.
The kids had a blast playing all day together. Alli, Gage, and Reegan were in the pool until we made them get out (at almost 9pm) to change so we could watch the fireworks. What Marcie didn't tell me was that the plan was to sit on their roof to watch!! They have a small, flat roof at the front of their house, and so they popped out the screen of one of the front windows from an upstairs bedroom and we all climbed through to watch. All adults made sure kids got out there and sat down immediately - there wasn't much of a barrier at the edge, and we didn't want anyone to accidentally fall over!
All the bigger girls watched the fireworks through their phones, videotaping it. We thought that was strange - it was LIVE! Watch it live we kept saying! Whatever. And then the little ones kept saying "that's it?" It was past their bedtime, and they were tired, and I guess the repetitive fireworks exploding just wasn't exciting enough for them. :)
Natalie slept through that part of the visit, but I'm pretty sure she had fun with all the kids and swimming before that!
Here's Alli, all decked out and showing off her 4th of July spirit.
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The kids had a blast playing all day together. Alli, Gage, and Reegan were in the pool until we made them get out (at almost 9pm) to change so we could watch the fireworks. What Marcie didn't tell me was that the plan was to sit on their roof to watch!! They have a small, flat roof at the front of their house, and so they popped out the screen of one of the front windows from an upstairs bedroom and we all climbed through to watch. All adults made sure kids got out there and sat down immediately - there wasn't much of a barrier at the edge, and we didn't want anyone to accidentally fall over!
All the bigger girls watched the fireworks through their phones, videotaping it. We thought that was strange - it was LIVE! Watch it live we kept saying! Whatever. And then the little ones kept saying "that's it?" It was past their bedtime, and they were tired, and I guess the repetitive fireworks exploding just wasn't exciting enough for them. :)
Natalie slept through that part of the visit, but I'm pretty sure she had fun with all the kids and swimming before that!
Here's Alli, all decked out and showing off her 4th of July spirit.
Pumpkin Patch
As much as I would like a garden, it seems like too big a task to tackle at this point in time. We have to clear room in the back of the yard, level it out, raise the beds (preferable for critter control), add irrigation, and then finally, we get to plan a garden. Oh, and figure out what other critter control is needed.
But we heard pumpkins grow quickly and decided to try to at least grow our own pumpkins for carving this October. To help in all the above-mentioned problems, we decided to put them at the side of the house, near a tree whose irrigation lines we had plugged, and in pots. So we now have 3 pots, with irrigation, and pumpkin seeds in them. Fingers crossed - we hopefully will have a pumpkin patch!
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But we heard pumpkins grow quickly and decided to try to at least grow our own pumpkins for carving this October. To help in all the above-mentioned problems, we decided to put them at the side of the house, near a tree whose irrigation lines we had plugged, and in pots. So we now have 3 pots, with irrigation, and pumpkin seeds in them. Fingers crossed - we hopefully will have a pumpkin patch!
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