Big Feet, Lil' Feet

Kylan decided he was going to try Alaina's pants on....amazingly, they fit him rather well!

We were so proud that Kylan put his coat on all by himself, we didn't bother to tell him that he put it on backwards! And yes, we left like this....

It's official...Ky is now in a big boy bed!

First night asleep in the big boy bed...

Figured I would snap a pic of Alaina sleeping as well...

Nothing better than feeling the fresh air on your tush!

"Are you taking pictures of me!?"

Ky's underwear fit Alaina very well....especially when you are in a pinch!

Grandma & Grandpa came for a short visit shortly after New Year's!

Too much exersaucersizing!

"I love to stand! And eat fingers!"

Tummy time....

So much to write--I just never seem to have enough time....so memories & milestones:

Alaina

My little girl growls--yes she does. No joke. She looks at you and "grrrr...." She is a very happy growler--but man it is odd to have this little baby girl growl at you...

Around Christmas, one of my coworkers told me to put Alaina (then a brand new 3 months) in an exersaucer. I disagreed and said she was too young...after some debate I put her in the exersaucer to show my coworker that she was wrong and Alaina wasn't ready--well wasn't I the joke when Alaina stood up with good body control and started spinning and dancing around. I have now pulled the exersaucer out of the basement and it is her favorite pass time. Especially at dinner--we will put the exersaucer by the table and she will sit in and play with her toys--yes plays---she grabs things now and of course puts it in her mouth. Dinner time is especially fun though because she gazes adoringly at her father the whole meal. Big smile on her face, big brown eyes (yes, they are definitely brown now). It is too cute! She has a special bond with her daddy. When he looks at her she gets so excited and jumps in her exersaucer and does a little squeal. WOW! This is the neatest thing to see! I only wish every little girl could have that special bond with her daddy.

Speaking of daddy, we refer to Rob as the "pokey man". That is how she identifies him. When he picks her up or gets near, she likes to grab his face and feel his facial hair. She ONLY does this with him. It is like her special way of identifying him. So Rob is the "pokey man" I am the "milk Lady" and Ky is the "loud crazy one". She love Ky. She could spend all day just watching him and what he does. She will definitely be the little sister that follows her big brother around --sorry Ky! At least she will have a good role model--and I think he will look out for her.

Alaina also razzes now and rolls over from her stomach to her back. Tummy time is very little anymore since she would just prefer to roll onto her back. However, sometimes she forgets she can roll over and then she gets a little tummy time until she remembers again.

As far as personality-wise, right now I think Alaina will be more active than Kylan. The girl won't sit. All she wants to do is stand. If you sit her in your lap, she will arch her back until she starts scooting out of your lap or you stand her up. Right now I am predicting that she will be walking sooner than Ky. We will have to wait and see....

Kylan

Kylan's latest saying is "you are in an adicament, no tasting or eating until you are thin". This is from his pooh book. The word is actually predicament. It is so funny when he walks up to you and says "You are in an adicament!" It is amazing the big words he picks up!

So my little boy is heading towards 3 years old. He is now over the 2 1/2 mark. *SIGH* He is growing so fast! A couple of weeks ago he told me he was putting himself to bed. He then proceeded to crawl into his crib (yes I said crib--we haven't transitioned him to a big boy bed yet because he never tried to crawl out. In fact he still has yet to try to crawl out, he only crawls in.) So Rob and I decided to go ahead and convert his bed to the toddler bed. *SIGH* Tonight we are trying it out for the first time. My little boy is not so little anymore...

Last week Ky went bowling for the first time--and I forgot my camera! I am so mad! Anyway--the boy had a blast. He got shoes and a ball--and he had fun. We put up the bumpers and the alley has a special ramp for him to roll the ball down so it can get acceleration. He scored higher than me. His first game he got a 69. Go Kylan! We will definitely have to take him again.

Ky keeps becoming a pickier and pickier eater. We have determined that he tries to fill himself up on breakfast and lunch food in order to avoid eating dinner. Often the only thing he will eat for dinner is the vegetable that is served (isn't that bizarre!) He will eat bowls--yes bowls--of cereal in the morning, eat a whole PB & J sandwich plus all the sides for lunch and then just eat veggies for dinner---perhaps this is the secret to his slim figure? Speaking of which, the boy is thin. We are having problems finding 3T pants that fit him around the waist. Thank goodness for adjustable waist bands!

On to stories...

When looking at the pics you may have found yourself wondering why Alaina was wearing Ky's underwear. Well it finally happened to me. We ran out of the house and I did not have any diapers in the diaper bag. Alaina peed through, I had to change her. I had the extra outfit but no diapers. However I did have an extra pair of Ky's underwear and a burp cloth and rubber pants. So that became my make-shift diaper. It worked out pretty well. And well I thought I was pretty clever at the time....Sorry Alaina--there was a time where you were wearing boys underwear and now it is captured forever on camera...

Then of course I am sure you noticed Ky wearing Alaina's pants--we did not tell the boy to put them on --I SWEAR! I was changing Alaina into her pj's and I threw them out in the hall. Next thing I know, Ky comes strutting in the room with them on--backwards of course...I have to say they looked kind of nice on him! And shockingly they fit!

Ky had a sleepover with Nana. It was nice. She came on a Friday night and spent the night at our house. Rob and I took off to have a nice dinner while she babysat. Unfortunately our date ended too soon. That night was the night Alaina decided to have separation anxiety and cried 1.5 hours straight for Nana--poor Nana. And ever since Alaina has become aware of when strangers hold her and she cries...Right now it's cute, in a few weeks it won't be so cute anymore. Saturday morning Nana left with Ky and took him home with her. They had a good time. She took him to the airport and he had fun watching the planes take off. They played games and watched movies. He slept at their house Saturday night and Rob and I came and picked him up after church--which ended up being bad timing. He had such a great time with Nana he didn't want to leave. And by the time we left he was overtired and needed a nap. He was cranky for the drive home and then for the last 20 minutes he was crazy. Screaming and crying and kicking daddy's seat as he was driving. He also threw his drink cup and unbuckled the top buckle of his car seat. This became a scary situation as it had started snowing and the roads were already slick. I ended up holding his legs down for the remainder of the drive as he screamed. At home things only got worse and it wasn't until we sent him to bed for a while that he straightened up. We were very disappointed in his behavior--not to mention it just became a dangerous drive home. We will have to rethink things next time.

So I have been really struggling with some things in my own life. Really been doing some praying about it...and this past week God revealed to me the answer in one word "simplify." Ky's tantrums have been getting exceedingly worse over the months. I now expect them multiple times a day. When I can, I ignore them--otherwise he gets put in his bed or sometimes spanked when I am unable to get his attention any other way. I hate spanking, but when he gets himself into such a frenzy and putting him to bed doesn't solve it, I honestly don't know what else to do. A whack on the bottom usually does get his attention though and get him moving. Anyway--enough about that.

So this past Tuesday I was in the shower at the gym. The morning had been bad--I think three tantrums from Ky in less than 2 hours. And realize these tantrums aren't just a few minutes long--they can last up to 30 minutes. I broke down crying. I needed an answer, I was tired of yelling--I didn't want to yell--I don't want to be a parent that yells. I don't understand why he just won't do as he is told, why does everything have to be such a big deal. I know he is two--okay I am getting off track. I am feeling stressed as a parent. I don't have answers to fix my child. I know that this is just a phase and he will eventually grow out of it--but man it needs to be sooner than later.

So simplify. I realize now that I need to uncomplicate my life. I have so many goals and so much I want to accomplish that I think it is really make my life more difficult. I am becoming more and more impatient with myself and thus with others. Now that I am the parent of two--I cannot do the same amount of things I did that I did with one and still give my children the amount of attention that they need. For now I have to stand back and forget about my lists--yes I have lists--and realize that my dining room is going to remain unpainted for a while yet, that I am going to continue to have blankets hung up in my bedroom as curtains for now.

Simplifying Life is hard for me since I am a driven person. I also am one of those people that wants to do more than expected. I also often feel like I am looked down upon because I am not a working mom--but I am and so much more. I do so much every day. I honestly have very little time to myself which is really starting to wear me thin. If I had a paying job, I would at least have that lunch hour to myself. Here at home I am lucky to have both kids napping at the same time--especially now that Ky is really fighting naps. ARGH! It will get better. I will make it through this. I just have to continue to remind myself how blessed I am to have the privilege to stay at home and raise my own children. I get to see ALL of my children's first and be a part of those moments. I also get to choose what they are exposed to as I see way too many young children exposed to "stuff" before they should be. Blessed is what I am--and simplifying is my goal. I will expect less of myself and more of my mothering. I need to spend this time to focus on my children. Who cares if I didn't vacuum the family room. What I do care about is that I was able to spend that 15 minutes playing with Kylan and creating memories with him that I will always cherish. He is only this little for so long, and before I know it--it will be gone and I will miss these days with him. So for 2009 I will do more to focus on my children and less focusing on my lists. I will work harder to love the mom that I am--not the SUPER MOM I would love to be.

Happy New Year!