Friday, September 19, 2014

My trip to see the redheads...part 3

At 2.5 yrs old, Kaelynn has several games that we "played", but never by THE rules, always by hers.  For example, here is a Hello Kitty game much like Candy Land.  Here are Aunt Sarah's cards...



And here are Kaelynn's cards!

 

We actually never got past that point in the game; I can't remember what interrupted us.  :)

Another thing she likes to do is stickers:




And while you can't tell from this page, most of the time, she likes to pile them all on top of each other instead of spread them out...I don't understand that.  She called her puffy ones "bouncy".  The mind of a two year old.

By far, my favorite game was the instructions for Hungry Hippo.  It was a loud game so we had to go upstairs so as not to disturb the baby.

I got this many marbles...

 

And this is what K had...





"Reading" the instructions...but she already knew them because before this picture, I said (so I would know her rules) "Kaelynn, how do you play this game?"
 
Her precious face got very serious and she said "No eat balls.  Get stuck in froat.  Make tummy sick.  Don't eat!"  I assured her I would not.  It was all I could do to keep a straight face, but I was glad she understood swallowing them was dangerous.
 
However, about an hour after this, she had a coin in her mouth...so, Mommy had a "that's not ok" talk about those.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

My trip to see the redheads...part 2

So, Miss Kaelynn, age 2.5, has already very established opinions about what she will wear: tutus or dresses with leggings.  And not all dresses mommy buys, you understand.  Only certain dresses!

One morning while she was at school, my SIL, baby Alyssa and I went shopping for some more 3M sleeveless outfits for the baby.


One we found was this.  Ironically (or maybe not) enough, this is what Big Sister wore to school that day:





When we picked up K from school, this is what I saw:




Literally 5 seconds before this, the little boy in the far left corner had the Storm Trooper mask on and K was fake screaming and beating him on the head with a spatula!  Then Miss Priss I-only-wear-tutus-and-dresses took the Storm Trooper mask and put it on.  This is a great summation of her personality right now.  I am a girly girl, but you better not mess with me, 'cause I can be tough!!!  :)  I just thought it was funny!

Well, we got home and Kaelynn looked at the baby's outfit (she is nothing if not fashion-conscious), and seeing the maybe 8 inches of tulle declared, "A tutu!  Soooo cute!"  :)




Baby Alyssa loves to be on the big soft rug and stretch out and I thought this pic of the sisters looking each other was precious.  2 seconds later, big sister was smothering baby sister in a hug & kiss (they're still working on gentle kisses)...  :)



 
 
K loves to dance.  She is in a dance class and had her first recital in June.  She loves to watch the video and dance to it as evidenced above and below.  Notice the silver tutu above - it was something we found that day shopping.  We found some cute and inexpensive things at Osh Gosh B'Gosh (owned by Carter's) - among other things,  "My sister is my BFF" shirts for both girls, and for winter a sweatsuit for K - hoodie and pants.  It had glitter on it but when Mommy showed it to her, K saw the pants and said "I no want that"!!  :)
 





Best of all, for me, is when she dances with Daddy.  There is nothing that makes my heart melt more than watching my brother be a Daddy to his baby girls.  :)

 


 

Friday, September 12, 2014

My trip to see the redheads...part 1

Originally, I was to go out to San Jose to see my youngest brother Stephen, his wife Marni, their newborn daughter Alyssa Jane and big sister Kaelynn when the baby was about a month old, August 9.  Well, things at work were crazy and I was going to have to work the whole time.  In addition, I was still have fairly frequent migraines and didn't want to spend my time with them feeling miserable.  So I did what I've never done before and paid the change fee to push the trip back.  It was so worth it.
 
It was a vacation in the truest sense of the word.  I didn't work and I didn't study.  I just enjoyed the family.  Kaelynn, 2.5 yrs old, is so funny.  She is adjusting to being a big sister very well and says the funniest things!!!
 
She likes to push Baby Alyssa in the swing (though she needs to be reminded not to swing her too hard...) 
 

 
She loves to get down on the floor with the baby and touch her - usually before anyone is looking.  She's getting better about not touching the baby in the face.  Usually she wants to tickle the baby!  :)


She looks concerned here, but she's just thinking about her lunch order...we were in Monterrey on the bay and it was a seafood place so it said "chicken and chips" on the kids' menu.  She loves potato chips, and that's what she thought she was getting.  We had to explain in this instance, chips meant french fries!!  She loves to wear jewelry, but she doesn't like to stop lond enough for Mommy to turn the necklace around so the heart will face out. :)



This was the beginning of the day, before hair was combed and socks were on.  She has had an iPad almost a year.  They try to encourage that more than the "big black box" as my brother calls it, since the iPad is much more interactive and they are all learning games she had on there.

 
 
And here is ever-alert (when she's awake) baby sister.  She loves to be out and about and most days the week I was there, took her morning nap in the carrier while we were out.  She likes the car, as long as it is moving!  No red lights for her!  She is very much like her sister in that.

 
 
Doing water colors with Daddy.  Notice the liberal use of blue (her current favorite color).
 
 





First batch of funny Kaelynn-isms:
1) When the baby would cry, she would say - "hold on, baby Alyssa, I'm coming!" (as if she could do something about it!)  :)
2) Baby Alyssa gets hiccups a lot and at one point I said "poor thing".  K can't say "th" yet, so her echo came out "poor ting"  :)
3) When she was finished with a page, painting, stickers, coloring, whatever we were doing, she would say "dare, perfect!" (first word rhymes with and is substitute for "there")  :)
4) We listened to the "Frozen" soundtrack back and forth to Monterrey (about an hour and a half).  K knows the movie so well that she knows the part in the music where Elsa hits her sister Anna with an ice ray and hurts her.  K stopped singing every time at that spot and got serious and said, "that not ok, right, Daddy?" (instead of "no", at school they say "that's not ok") - and Daddy would say (every time) - "that's right, big girl.  It's not OK to hurt your sister.  Elsa did a bad thing."  Then K would go back to singing.

Stay tuned for more bald and red-headed cuteness!  :)

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Remembering

I couldn't let today go by without posting - I admit that before 9/11/01, I took our military for granted.  After that, and especially after I reconnected with my dear friends The Yellow Hats, I have tried to remember everyday how blessed I am to live in this country.  Were it not for our heros, our men and women in uniform - both in this century and those before - I would not enjoy the freedoms I have today. Thank you for your service!  May we never forget 9/11/01, and may we always remember your sacrifices the days before and after that that you lay down your lives each and every day for us!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Visit to see the Redheads!

So firstly, the reason why I don't post more often is that I can't post pics from my iPad and I don't have much to say if there isn't a picture to go with it. (my life isn't all that interesting!)

However, last week was.  It was a glorious 8 day vacation with 0 work and 0 studying in CA when I went to see the redheads and their guy, my youngest brother.

This 7 week old went to daycare this week for the first time and did wonderfully, which was a relief seeing as of Friday night (8/29) she still wouldn't take a bottle!


Yes, it's a stretch now to call Baby Alyssa a redhead.  She's lost most of her reddish fuzz and it's coming in blondish, but don't tell her parents. :)

And then there's this little nut.  She is hysterical.  Wait till I tell you some of the stuff she said last week.  She had me laughing.  She is sweet to the baby and is totally potty trained during the day so she got to go to the 3 yr old room at school a couple months early!  She will currently only wear tutus and certain dresses - has a fashion opinion at a very young age (2.5 yrs old). She is pretty well behaved and is learning how to be quiet when the baby is sleeping, but that is something that is hard to remember. :)



 


 
More to come this weekend!  :)