Kaylynn is 2!

Today is Kaylynn's second birthday!  She has grown and changed so much in the last year.  Some things are just the same as the first week of her life, mainly that she has strong opinions and doesn't change them easily.  I love her conversations.  Just yesterday she was telling me goodby as she went to the next room.  Then she paused to turn and assure me, "I'm just pretending, Mommy."


This morning she and I had a tea party and I let her spill real water all over the table with a little bit making it in the cups from time to time.  I enjoyed using my Czech tea set I recently pulled out that's just too pretty to sit unused.

Happy birthday, Kaylynn!  We love you and the spirit you bring to our family!

Desmond's Book

Desmond wrote a book and sounded everything out by himself which is cute to read.  Being the proud mommy I am I just had to share it. 

 

"Once upon a time there (was) Desmond."

 

"Poof.  He got bigger."

 "He was four and then comes Christmas."

 "The end. Once upon a time..."

 "There was Mommy.  She took good care..."

"...of me.  The end."

Big Girl Bed

Kaylynn has graduated to a big girl bed.  I've been sanding it down to refinish it, but we had to go ahead and use it unfinished after she climbed over the side of her crib and fell to the floor.  She's done remarkably well with the transition.  I remember having to put Desmond back in bed at least twenty times before he'd stay put for nap time.  Kaylynn hasn't climbed out of bed once.  I don't think it's occurred to her that she could get out though I'm sure she'll figure it out eventually.  Even when she wakes up in the morning she'll sit there until someone comes to get her.  She's growing up!

Passing around Germs

We've been battling sickness for about a month.  First the kids and Davin were sick, and once they were well I got sick.  Then the kids and Davin were sick again and now it's my turn for the second round. Desmond and Davin got well again fairly quickly.  Kaylynn has coughed for a solid month straight and I'm now dealing with the cough that leaves my sides hurting and head aching.  I've cleaned the whole house to try and kill these germs we're passing around.  Probably time to do a thorough cleaning again.  I think we're on the mend finally and hopefully we'll be done for awhile.

One thing I like about when the kids are sick is that they are so snuggly.  I can't remember the last time Kaylynn fell asleep on me when it wasn't nap or bedtime and even then it's fairly rare.

A late update from December

Maybe it's the Christmas season or maybe it's working evenings and weekends and feeling pulled away from family more than I like, but lately I've been thinking about my beautiful family and feeling so thankful for each of them.

Little Miss Kaylie is just a handful of emotion and movement.  She is always moving whether it's listening to a story, getting a diaper change, or eating - she's wiggling.  I must say her dancing is very cute.  She also loves to do whatever everyone else is doing and makes sure she's not left out.  If she sees anything on the dinner table (from a side dish to a condiment) that she didn't see me serve to her, she'll ask for it until she gets it.  She states her opinions loudly and sometimes I hear her using her frustrated mommy voice in which she ends her statement with a forceful, "Now!"  What a nice mirror!  She loves being a little mommy and carries her dolls around wrapping them in blankets or wiping their bottoms.  Kaylynn is starting to talk in sentences and some cute sayings I notice are, "Oh, nice!"  "Look, Des Des."  "Come on."  "Get up, Mommy."  "Look strong I am," followed by squeezing her fists tight.  I've also seen more defiance lately where she won't look at or talk to me when I'm correcting her and waiting for a response.  She can blow up fast, but also moves on, flashing a winning smile quickly.  She also has a knack for "changing the subject" when she's in trouble and it's so hard not to crack a smile.  She is a rushing river that will take much patience and consistency to direct. 

Desmond is best defined by: questions, questions, questions.  I feel he echoes everything I say but just changes it from a statement to a question as if more explanation is needed.  He's always thinking and gets this sideways squinty face when the wheels are turning.  We're are working on getting him to accept parental authority even without a "Why?" being answered.  He loves to figure things out and has developed quite a theory on how his digestion and elimination all work.  Quite amusing!  He likes to draw and builds LEGOs every day.  A recent highlight was when Davin took him to the LEGO store and let him fill a bucket with miscellaneous pieces he picked out.  He is starting to read and sometimes I have him read me the story at bedtime.  Desmond is bothered by Kaylynn's lack of order and cried when she ripped her coloring page yesterday.  

Davin is my rock.  He's patient and consistent through the ups and downs of young children and a frazzled, overtired wife.  He's been putting the kids to bed and cleaning up while I go to work in the evenings and I'm really looking forward to at least a couple evenings together this week! 

The Christmas Season is Here!

The first weekend of December we took our annual trip to a local tree farm to get our Christmas tree. It was fun following the kids through the trees.  We finally decided on one and loaded it on top of the van while the kids got all sticky eating candy canes.  Then we wandered around the farm, looked at the animals, took a hay ride, and had some hot chocolate.  Later while Kaylynn took her nap, we set up the tree and Desmond helped decorate it with Kaylynn friendly ornaments on the bottom half. The only thing is that next time we need to make sure we smell the tree first.  This one isn't very fragrant and the faint scent we do pick up kind of smells like pickles.  Weird.

It's fun entering in to the Christmas season.  I get to talk with Desmond about why we celebrate Christmas.  He understands a little more every year.  We've decorated, looked at neighborhood lights and listen to lots of Christmas music.  Kaylynn's favorite by far is Point of Grace's "Jingle Bell Rock" and she could dance to it on repeat all day.  Yesterday I lucked out by getting the last gingerbread house at Target during my break.  We might build it tonight.  Hopefully we can get some outside lights up on the house, too.  We just need to have an hour or so where both Davin and I are home and it's not dark or raining.  Yeah... we'll see.

I've been working 12-28 hours per week.  It cuts into my evenings and weekends as I knew it would.  I want to work on refinishing the sink and stove set for Kaylynn's Christmas gift but I think I'll be doing good to just get one of them done.  My closing weekday shifts from now through Christmas are 8:15pm-12:15am.  It's going to make one tired mommy the next morning, but this is temporary and the extra income is helping out a lot.

Puddle Jumping

The past few days have been super rainy... even for the Northwest.  When the kids seemed to be bored with the normal inside activities we put on our boots and headed outside.  We found the perfect puddle in the corner of our back yard and the kids splashed away.  When they were wet and cold we headed inside to warm up with some hot chocolate.  Today I am thankful for our dry, warm house.

Halloween Costumes

For Halloween Desmond was a fireman.  I sewed the jacket which of course was more difficult than I anticipated with the shiny plastic material.  Kaylynn was a little fairy with her tutu and wings.  I really wanted to give her pig tails but she would have none of it. 

We went to our usual spot at Real Life Church.  They put on a good party.  Desmond really liked the dark maze and the candy, and Kaylynn's favorite part was the rocking horse.  We stayed until she was making loud "I'm tired" noises then headed home for bed.

October News

The past few weeks have been fairly busy ones.  The biggest news is that on October 31st I started my new seasonal job at the Hazel Dell Target.  We've been wanting to make some progress toward eliminating some of our recent bills and this will help.  I'm working evenings and weekends (about 12 hours a week right now) to fit around Davin's job.  It's fun being back at Target - my first employer.  Lots has changed in 14 years but a lot of it is familiar, too.  The only downside is that I'm tired in the evenings and this cuts into my time with Davin.  We'll see how it goes and once the season is over I can be done or if they offer me a regular job I can decide then. 

We've been enjoying the season and carved our pumpkins.  Desmond designed the little one himself.  We also got a new oven off craigslist!  The guy had it listed under "Antiques" instead of "Appliances" and I stumbled on it by mistake but we got it for a great deal.  So nice to have an oven door that opens all the way!  Now we can fit the turkey in for Thanksgiving.

I've been into project mode lately.  I got a twin bed frame from a friend and have been sanding it down so we can refinish it for Kaylynn.  I've seen her almost climb out of her crib once.  I also got a wooden toy sink and stove from the same friend and I'm going to refinish it for Kaylynn as well.  It should be a lot easier to sand than the spindles on the bed!  I just wonder if I can get it finished in time for Christmas.  We'll see.

Bi-Zi Farms

A couple Saturdays ago we went to our local pumpkin patch, Bi-Zi Farms.  We enjoyed playing in the sun before the fall rain hits.  Desmond's favorite part was the hay pyramid, and once he went in to the tunnels it took awhile to find him again.  The kids also both loved the corn bin and Desmond got to ride a pony.  We picked out our pumpkins: one big one to carve, one big one to make pies, and another little one for fun.