The problem with sisters is that they tend to express their love in sticker form. And when you’re a boy, this may not be desirable…
Category: Tales from the Crib
First and Last: Preschool Year 2
I can’t believe we are another done at preschool! For some reason this year was a sad ending. I don’t really know why, but it made me a little emotional saying goodbye to her teachers and the Panda room. B will be back next year and the year after, but she’ll be on the big playground next year. Yikes she’s growing up fast. Her end of the year packet had three dates where her teachers measured and weighed her. From August to May, she grew 2.5 inches and gained 4lbs. No wonder she can pack the food away.
My mom always said she enjoyed every phase of our lives (with the exception of the snotty teenager). She said she rarely longed for the days gone by because each new phase held great things that were better than the last. I feel the same way about B. Yes it was amazing when she was little and snuggly (she’s still a good snuggler), but I love listening to her make up stories through a bubble beard in her bath. I love when she says “Mommy. You know…” because I know she’s about to try to swindle me – and I usually give in because I love that she’s thinking not just about what she wants but how she can get it. She’s growing up and it’s really adorable. I just wish it wasn’t so fast.
August 2012
May 2013
Birthday Week: Family Style
We don’t have just birthdays in our house. We have birthday weeks. Why? Because it takes a whole week to squeeze in all the celebrating!
When I was a kid, my entire family on my mom’s side would come to visit always right around my birthday. And because a birthday is a great reason to throw a party (or multiple parties) I was sure that they really came to visit for my birthday. Thus, birthday week.
We started off Baylor’s birthday week on a Sunday with a big family birthday party. Her cousins, aunts, uncle, grandparents (including Noni who flew in from MT just for the occasion!), godfather and lots of other adopted family members joined us for dinner, cake and presents. We always ask her friends not to bring gifts to her friend party, but stopping the family from bringing gifts would be about as successful as me flying to the moon – it’s just not going to happen.
The Fam
Learning about Flarp from Missa – it’s like less messy play dough that makes fart noises. What’s not to love?!
Cousin Madi
Mason being naughty…
Time for cake! Chocolate with chocolate icing, of course
Her face while opening presents was priceless
Her order is “apple juice in a big girl cup with ice and it’s Baylor with a B”
A dollar for each year from her godfather
Shuttling around Mason
Trouble. Serious trouble.
Happy Birthday Baylor!
Today, Ms. B turns 4 years old. It’s not officially official until 11:46pm tonight, but we’ll say it’s close enough. After a week of parties, special outings and presents, we are spending today quietly. We’re going to play with all the new presents and put a candle in everything she eats and sing and cover her with kisses.
Happy birthday big girl! Stop eating those green beans that make you grow so fast!
Birthday rewind: last year
Second birthday
First birthday
The real birthday
21,000 Questions
I know that having your kids ask a ton of questions is a great sign that their minds are working and growing. But holy moly does Ms.B come up with a lot of questions. I try to answer them as truthfully as I can, but it can be a challege. If you have any good answers to the below questions, I’m all ears. These are all actual questions Baylor has asked :
Why does red mean stop and green mean go?
Who decided that red means stop and green means go?
Why doesn’t your car have a trunk? (we have an SUV)
Why do trucks have a bed?
What is the National Guard?
What is the army? (follow up question when I tried to tie it into the army…)
Who are these brave men and women? What are their names?
Why doesn’t Curious George have a tail? Monkeys have tails. (that’s actually a good one. I’m curious too.)
Why is that person riding the bus?
Why don’t they have a car?
Where is that person going?
Why don’t you know where that person is going?
Why is running good exercise?
Why do green beans make you grow?
Why is there a sign that says ducks cross here?
Why is that person running?
Why doesn’t Auggie have teeth?
Why do your teeth fall out?
Why did that lady on TV say that we need to make Arizona a nicer place? It’s already a nice place. (That one was pretty cute).
Why did that man on the news say California?
Why did that man on the news say Washington D.C.?
When are we getting a dog?
Why does that sign have a picture of (insert picture of anything here) on it?
Why do bees make flowers into tomatoes?
Why do babies not go poop on the toilet?
Why are you wearing that shirt?
Why do you think that shirt looks cute?
Why do you volunteer to help at school?
Why can’t I wear sunglasses at school?
Why does Henry get to wear sunglasses at school?
What is a medical condition?
Can I have a medical condition?
Usually one or two of these lead to follow up questions and explanations. It is also the reason I generally can’t talk or think by 7pm most nights.
Model Behavior
Apparently if you give Baylor a raincoat and rain boots to play dress up with, she turns into a model….
Oh How They Grow
I have been looking for a fun and different growth chart that the kiddos could share – the standard kind are A. too small (my kids are giants) and B. just boring. I found what I had been looking for on, duh, Pinterest. It was a large board made to look like a ruler and it was rediculously cute.
I have a deep desire to get some stuff checked off my to do list in an attempt to sleep well at night – (I’ve been having those dreams where you are headed to class, but you can’t find it. You get there and you’re not sure if you’re there on the right day and time)- so Peter bought and stained the board and then we tag teamed the decorations. I followed the instructions on 517 Decorations which were descriptive and simple. She had a cleaver way to get the numbers on the board and gave the font and size which made it a no brainer. It is hanging in their room and looks awesome! Using their check up records, I marked in purple and green their height from birth to now. The only down side is that I now have to measure Bay after every dinner where she eats green beans because we told her they would make her grow. There could be worse side effects….
Easter. Better Late Than Never
While I was downloading pictures, I realized I never got any from this past Easter up. Auggie’s sweater was a great idea in theory, but Mother Nature decided to make it 85 degrees so it didn’t last long. At least I got a few pics first!
Those loafers on those chubby feet kill me!
“Smile! No SMILE!!! Ok, look at me. Thank you for trying to make your brother smile by tickling him….”
“Ok, seriously. How are both looking in different directions!! Look here!! Smile!!”
Ok. They aren’t looking, but they are both smiling and looking really cute…
Just Us
Last Friday, my awesome sister Ali volunteered to watch Augg so B and I could go to the Children’s Museam, just us. Ali also did the laundry while we were gone. She. Is. Awesome!
Baylor was beyond excited about the Children’s Museam and couldn’t quite grasp that we were going just the two of us. We could do whatever she wanted, when she wanted and I would have two hands free to participate. No breaks for bottles, naps or diaper changes. She asked from the back seat on the drive downtown if we could go to the grocery store section first and they way she asked is like how she asks if she can watch cartoons when she knows the answer is going to be “no”. The pure excitement when I told her “sure, we can do whatever you want” was priceless.
Both of us in the flying bathtub.
The Climber is both the coolest and most unnerving exhibit. It’s built like a giant tree house. It’s all enclosed and yet feels like you could fall out at any second! Of course, the billy goat was all over it.
The grocery and kitchen exhibit.
We had the fort room all to ourselves so we made this masterpiece.
Painting the giant rocket
Toothpaste car – doesn’t she look like she’s 12?!
We capped off our visit with a trip to the gift shop (which we never do) and found some fun things we don’t need. It was amazing how B’s attitude became one of nice words, gentle playing and general contentment for the rest of the weekend. I realized that she can’t verbalize when she needs more one on one attention – I need to get some help with the big guy more often so that she and I can have some fun – just us.
If you go to the Children’s Museum – go early! The school field trip buses arrive around 1030 but the museum opens at 9. Get there right as the doors unlock so that when the big kids get there, you’ll be on the upper floors already. Pack snacks and don’t bring a big bag and don’t bring your full wallet – the climber doesn’t allow purses so you have to leave it at the bottom. Plus you can get your hands on more when you’re not swinging around a big purse. Grab some hand sanitizer and a dose of patience, it can be a bit of a jungle in there!
Take Your Daughter To Work Day
Baylor came with me to a site inspection for the water company. It had just rained and there was mud everywhere. She quietly asked me if she could stomp around and I said yes. Mid sentence, the inspector looked over my shoulder. When I turned around I saw B sitting in the mud. I quickly realized she was laughing – her feet were stuck in the thick mud and she fell over. It made my heart happy to see her laughing while sitting in the mud rather than freaking out. Gotta love a kid who likes to get dirty.
The Goon Room 