Dress Up

Hayden will be five months this week, and already he is dying to eat real food.  Every time there is food nearby he knows it and that is all he wants.  But he isn't old enough!  I have definitely given him his fair share of tastes though.  From the pickle a few weeks ago to the BBQ chips today he is experiencing lots of flavors, but I don't let him swallow anything.  Not yet!  The easiest way to pacify him is to give him a carrot or celery stick while we eat.

Kylie is still trying to talk up a storm.  She is using real words when she plays, and when she sings her random little songs I hear some more words!  She is even asking the real word for a lot of things, and even though she never seems to remember them at least this is a massive step toward talking!  Yay!

Hayden has turned into a squirmy-worm lately.  I think I mentioned last week how he isn't holding still for anything- be it play time or diaper time.  I have to even start strapping him into his chair otherwise if I turn around for two seconds he does this:

One of Kylie's favorite playthings is a balloon.  She has a lot of fun with them, and Hayden is always wanting to play with one because he watches her with them all the time.  So he is just the happiest little guy when we let him play with one (supervised, of course!).  Kylie is usually even sweet enough to give him one to play with.

This week Kylie has learned to dress herself.  It seems like every time I turn around she has a new shirt or skirt on.  Sometimes she has even changed her clothes before even coming out of her room in the morning.  Her favorite things are very girly - pinks and purples, ruffles and glitter.  It's cute to see the outfits she wants to wear.  It's a little hard for me because I like things to match at least a little but we all know kids have no fashion sense.  But I don't fight with her and just let her wear what she wants - but only for one day (that is where the fight comes in - when she wants to wear dirty clothes).

Kylie has also been trying to climb every tree in the neighborhood.  So fun to see her find new and exciting things everyday!

Little kids have so much energy!  It's exhausting trying to keep up with both of them and yet somehow by the end of the day I still manage to be wide awake and still going.  Crazy.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend started off with a bang on Saturday morning.  We went to the neighborhood egg hunt and had a lot of fun.  I think Kylie knew what was going to happen when she noticed that every other kid had a basket just like she did, thanks to the egg hunt we did with Grandma Shari a few weeks back.  She was super excited and liked playing on the play ground with the other kids until it was time.

They like to do a group picture before the egg hunt, and while Kylie loves doing what other kids are doing, she wasn't so keen to line up and sit still.  She could totally tell that this wasn't fun and exciting.  You can see her at the far left just staring at everyone wondering why they aren't doing anything.

Once the egg hunt started Kylie caught on really quick and found lots of candy and eggs.  She was even lucky enough to get the prize she wanted off the prize table (a red ball - like we don't have fifty balls at  home already...) even though she had to wait to get it!

 

Later that afternoon for our fun family activity we went swimming.  Hayden's second time!  He is a good swimmer and has really gotten used to the water quickly.  Kylie started doing something new this time: dunking her head under water!  Which means she is finally learning to hold her breath!  Yay!

Easter morning we decided to do a bit differently.  To avoid a sugar rush, we decided to do baskets after church.  That way Brandon could still sleep in, too.  So I came home third hour (which I needed to do with Hayden anyway) and got it all set up so Kylie would be super amazed at how all this stuff appeared while we were away.  Hahaha, it was a lot of fun setting it up - I get too involved in holidays and sometimes forget that this is all for a two-year-old.  Oh, well.

Kylie was excited to see the Easter baskets filled with fun activities, and of course liked Hayden's stuffed animal more than her own.  Then she noticed all the eggs lying around and had a lot of fun finding them all.  Her lunch consisted of chocolate.  This was to be expected.

Later that evening we dyed our Easter eggs.  Kylie got to help a lot more this year and was super amazed at the pretty colors the eggs were.  She did not, however, want to eat one.  

It was fun doing all these family traditions this weekend.  It will be awesome when Kylie and Hayden are old enough for us to explain to them what this holiday is really all about (no, it's not about candy-filled eggs) and to teach them more about Jesus!

Kylie VS Hayden

I have been sick with a headcold this past week, so we were stuck inside for several days.  That means the kids get antsy and bored quick.  But I did notice that they were playing a little better with each other!  Normally Hayden just adores Kylie and laughs hysterically at her, especially if she looks in his direction.  Kylie normally just ignores Hayden or pushes him away.  But things are slowly improving!

Hayden is one of her favorite things to take pictures of right now.  And sometimes I get stuck in the picture too...

I have been trying to get them to play together for forever it seems.  Kylie is always taking his toys and hiding them (she doesn't really want them, she just doesn't want him to play with them).  Sometimes I have to physically pick Kylie up and just kinda wave her in front of Hayden to get them both laughing.  It's a lot more fun than it sounds :)

And then other times I will just set Hayden on top of Kylie.

Hayden is at a super squirmy stage right now.  He will absolutely not stay still for anything!  Not diaper changes, not being held, not on the floor, not even eating.  He is so busy it wears me out before noon!  And his naps are only about 20 minutes long when he takes them... how does a baby have so much energy!?!

Kylie has been the best little parrot ever.  She loves to talk in her own language all the time still, but she is starting to say real words more often now.  She is still singing to her movies (she just sang a duet with Brandon to 'Let it Go' from Frozen last night) and any kind of music gets her up and dancing.  Super cute to watch her.

A Visit From Grandma Shari!

This week started off with a visit from Grandma Shari (who Kylie calls 'Papa') and Uncle Jordan.  It was their Spring Break and they had come to play with us for a few days!  Kylie had a blast with Grandma Shari.  She just loves when people come to visit and play with her.  Grandma Shari had lots of fun things to do with Kylie, like bubbles!  Hayden took a little while to warm up to Grandma Shari but eventually he let her hold him without crying.

On Monday morning we all went to a park to play.  Kylie just loves parks, especially swings.

Then we went to lunch at Wendy's before heading home.  We spent the rest of the day playing inside or around the neighborhood and having tons of fun.  Grandma Shari got a perfect picture of the super cute face Hayden has been making this past week.  He has been sucking in his bottom lip, and it just makes his cheeks stand out so adorably!

Tuesday morning we went to the town square park and played in the water there.  It was our first time going this year and it was already so hot!  We tried going on the carousel first.  Last year Kylie loved it and never wanted to get off, but this time she was crying before it even started and wouldn't even sit on her own horse.  I think it was because she wanted to do it with Grandma Shari.

Then we went to play in the water and she had a blast.  Hayden slept most of the time, but when he woke up he had fun watching everyone play.  I dipped his feet in the water and he started crying, so I don't think he was terribly interested in getting wet...

Playing out in the sun completely wiped Kylie out and she ended up taking a nap that afternoon.  When Brandon and Uncle Jordan came home from work we all went out to dinner at Sakura, where they make the food right in front of you.  Kylie was excited and especially enjoyed the neon fish in the entry way.

She did not, however, enjoy the chef cooking the food at our table.  Because it started off with a huge flame of fire that scared her to death.  Hayden also did not enjoy that first huge flame because it was so hot, but he settled down quickly, whereas Kylie wouldn't even sit at our table again until the chef left.  She made friends with everyone waiting to be seated instead.

When we came home Uncle Jordan had hidden some Easter Eggs around the house that Kylie got to find.  She absolutely loved it and it gave her good practice for Easter in a few weeks!

Wednesday morning Grandma Shari and Uncle Jordan had to leave.  They actually had to sneak out otherwise Kylie would  have bawled to see them leave.  After they left Kylie wandered around the house asking 'Papa? Papa?'  and looking for them.  We sure loved having them here with us for a few days.  Kylie just loved playing with Grandma Shari and we can't wait for the next visit!  I also enjoyed having her here, she was a lot of help with Kylie and Hayden.

The rest of the week wasn't as terribly exciting.  Kylie won't go down for naps anymore, but she will randomly crash in the evenings.

Hayden is usually the happiest baby in the world until evening when it is close to bed time.  Some nights he is still eating every hour, other nights I get a three hour break.  Kinda depends.

Every time Kylie sees the boys next door riding their bikes outside she immediately has to go join them.  They all like playing together and they stay on our street so I am usually happy to let her out to play.  Since Hayden can't join them yet sometimes I will go up and down our street in the stroller, and once I even dragged the bouncer outside so he could play.

Kylie still loves being in her jammies all day long.  One day we went through so many outfit changes: from pj's to her outfit to pj's again to her Hello Kitty dress back to her pj's.  So exhausting!  I have caught her singing to her movies this week.  She sang 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman' from Frozen and it was the cutest thing I had ever heard!  Then she totally got into the 'Dad Gum' song from the show Mater's Tall Tales.

We still take our walks every day, though it is getting hotter in the afternoon, so we've started doing them in the morning and sometimes one in the evening too.

Saturday evening we went out to play at a park and flew Kylie's kite for the first time.  She was so excited, especially when she was the one flying the kite!

I put Hayden on the grass.  He did not want to put his head down at all!  Until the kite landed nearby and the tail strings got on his face.  Then he acted like he was knocked back by the force of them and it was really funny,

Oh, and something I notice I do a lot is dress in the same color as one of the kids.  Unintentionally, and usually I don't even notice it until hours later.  So weird!