Names

Today Kennedy woke up from her nap before Madison.
She walked over the toys in the living room, grabbed a Barbie and brought her to me.
"What dis lady name?", she asked.

"That's Barbie", I said.
Then she ran back and grabbed a boy.
Kennedy- "Who dis?"
Mommy- "That's Ken, Barbie's boyfriend"
Kennedy- "Oh! Hi Pen...dis Pen, Mommy?"
Mommy- "Yes, Kennedy, that's Pen"

It didn't take long to find 'Pen' and Barbie's car.

(great Target clearance find after Christmas- $3.24 for a wooden car!)

She loved pushing her new friends around!
Barbie was wearing a bathing suit, so Kennedy wanted 'Pen' to wear his 'sim suit', too!

Once he was properly adorned in his Hawaiian shirt and trunks she posed his arms

and danced with him.

Doo, da, dooo...da, da

do, da, dooo

Then Madison woke up and wandered into the living room. She walked right over, didn't say a word, pushed the camera out of the way, and plopped down in my lap. She is soooo my child. Slow to wake up, usually grumpy.

The difference in their personalities is crazy!

Madison's Mornings

Yesterday morning on our way to run errands Madison informed me, 'Mommy, Bare Ninerals is changing lives'. I did a double take.
'Madison, what are you talking about?!'
'Mommy, I saw on Sprout (they get to watch sprout in the morning while I convince myself mornings are not evil and attempt to get presentable enough to get out the door), the lady said with a brush, on your face, Bare Ninerals change lives!'
"Madison, do you know what that means?'
'Umm, no.'
'Madison, don't pay attention to the Sprout commercials anymore, ok? Oh- and please stop asking for a pillow pet.'
'Ok, Mommy'.
**
Today on the way home from school Madison said
'Mommy (scrunching up her nose) I don't like broccoli....or the (holding up pointer finger and waving it up and down) straight green beans.....but I do like the (holding up pointer finger and making little circles) the little tiny circle green beans- what are those called?'
'Those are peas, Madison'
'Oh yeah- Peas...I like those. Do we have any peas at home?'
***
Oh the things my Pre-Schooler teaches me!
PS- Her hair seems more and more strawberry every day.

Loving Letters

After naps today we got out some crayons and Hello Kitty aka BoBo Kitty coloring pages for Kennedy while Mommy and Madison used Madison's alphabet handwriting workbook for the first time.
Kennedy was content to color with her super big double sided Toy Story crayons (thank you, Micheal's clearance!) for a little while, then turned to her newest friend....the Leapfrog alphabet pal 'cadupidar' she re-discovered of Madison's. She says, 'Wuk, Mommy-cadupidar has shoes and songs!', then laughs.
*
Since last week's school curriculum included the letter 'A', Madison worked on that letter first today. An entire page of upper and lowercase letters. Madison did great!

We stared working on writing letters a year or so ago. When Madison started the 2-3yr old Preschool class they talked about letters and letter sounds, but didn't do much writing. At the beginning of the summer Madison was moved up to the 4 yr old Preschool class and started writing her name on her coloring papers every day.
Our current favorite is the backwards 's' that sometimes resembles a 'z' and sometimes a '2'.
Overall, she does a pretty fantastic job, but a little extra practice certainly can't hurt!
Today she said the lower case 'a's were too hard so we skipped those- even though she writes at least one a day in school in her name.
After lots of lower case 'b's and a few uppercase, she was ready to color.

Today was the first time she showed great concern with coloring inside the lines.
Her pictures were beautiful!
As I walked back to the playroom to get more crayons she informed me, 'Mommy, I love you, and I just love coloring!'

****
During bath time, Madison showed me something else she loves.
'Look Mommy, we are being dogs- see'

Grrrrrrr....

Not exactly how the foam letters were meant to be used.

Windy Georgia Sunday

It's been a beautiful weekend.
Yesterday's high was 76 degrees! A welcome change to the over 110 degree days we've been having. Needless to say, our little desert girls are not quite used to these 60 degree mornings. I let Madison know she needed to wear pants today, which nearly caused a fit until she realized her 'Georgia dress' was an option.
Madison loves the tunic top her friend Kailey Kate let her borrow last year- although it is time to hand it down to Kennedy, Madison just can't get enough!

Hand me down Georgia clothes are always welcome in our house! Just last week, a box came from Aunt Kimberly including a very special shirt from McLean. Not only Georgia but ELMO, too! G is for Georgia- her face says it all! Since Elmo arrived, Kennedy wants to wear it every second. It's already been washed twice in a week!

After donning their Bulldog apparel, perhaps in preparation for the first game of the season this coming Saturday ;), Kennedy asked to go 'ou-side? ride bike?'
When we got to the garage, the girls were distracted by bubble blowers they found in the storage compartments of their trikes.

Ready for the irony?
Those boxes they are 'climbing' on....
They are unaware, but Gramm and Pop decided to get a swing set for the girls' birthday! Mommy and Daddy decided to get a little bigger set than originally planned so Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Matt contributed, too!
Daddy and a friend just picked up the site to store shipment at Walmart on Thursday so their brand new wooden play set is in those boxes!
Yep, it's a good thing they can't read. They are already enjoying climbing on their set. tee hee

The wind kept picking up, sending the bubbles high into the garage.
Madison was amazed by the floating bubbles.

The bubbles quickly lost Kennedy's interest and she was moved on to her car...

while Madison grabbed her Tricycle and pedaled outside.

The wind was fierce

blowing sand and dirt everywhere!

That didn't stop Madison from circling the rental car, up the driveway incline, and into the garage. She was so proud of herself for 'climbing the hill'.

Quick wardrobe addition and the wind was no longer an issue for this cool gal.

Such a face!

Kennedy liked the idea of being outside and playing on the 'hill', too.

She decided to travel by foot, rather than wheel.

Back and forth, back and forth, bubbles in hand, glasses on face.

As usual, the back of her hair is a mess. Do you like her new baby bob?

Running up and down the hill was hard work, sweeping stink bugs with Mommy sounded more fun.

Such a great helper.

Madison kept going back to her bubbles (see her cool Georgia Bulldog headband from Aunt Kimberly!)

These photos just make me laugh.
The girls couldn't figure out why Mommy and Daddy were laughing every time they climbed, rolled, and laid on their swing set boxes.

The morning was great. Mommy and the girls played, had snack, made huge messes, cleaned them all up, had lunch, and got down for naps (even Mommy got a little nap in!) all while Daddy worked to get ready for his annual 'Religious Holiday'.
Shortly after naps, Daddy came home and stayed with the girls so Mommy could run some kid-free errands. From the second Mommy walked out the door, the sweet children of the morning turned into monsters! Hitting, yelling, disobeying...they were not the same children. Kennedy through a huge fit during a timeout-30 minutes of non-stop screaming for Mommy. She was red faced, drenched in sweat, covered in snot, and struggling to get back to normal breathing. It took 10 minutes to calm down with Daddy holding and bouncing her, then another 10 minutes of laying on his chest on the couch before she was ready to play again.
Her fits continued all night, long after Mommy got home.
She was screaming so much at bedtime, Madison cried and said her ears were hurting. She actually asked Kennedy in tears, 'Kendedy, please stop hurting my ears!'. It was pitiful, so I moved her to Mommy and Daddy's bed until Kennedy calmed down and fell asleep.
When I entered the dark master bedroom I couldn't find Madison in bed.

After pulling back the covers, I realized she was laying across the head of the bed, on top of all the pillows. Apparently the cushy bed wasn't soft enough on it's own.

Shortly after moving Madison, Mommy and Daddy both looked like this too!
It was a long day, and we all needed a good night sleep.

Kennedy's First *Real* Haircut

Kennedy was born with a small head full of dark hair.
As her dark hair fell out, her blonde hair came in.
The back and sides grew and grew but the top just stayed short.
Mommy has already trimmed the back several times (sometimes straighter than others!) in an attempt to lessen the baby-mullet look.
Kennedy has incredibly straight hair, just like Mommy did as a baby, so any long or scraggly hairs really show.
Her hair has been pretty scraggly overall the last few weeks and she won't keep clips, headbands, or piggie tails in for very long....so it was time for a real haircut!
We heard great things about Castle Kids Kutz not far from our house, so we decided to give it a try.

Mommy asked the stylist to please cut the back fairly short as Kennedy is a wiggle monster and it is usually a matted mess from rubbing her head on her car seat.

Over an inch came off the back of her head!

Kennedy had a basket of toys (and her big sister to her left) to keep her plenty distracted.

She kept a furrowed brow through the entire process. Not quite sure what to think of this hair cutting process, I guess.

Her straight locks fell nicely into a baby bob in the back.

Unfortunately, the lady who cut her hair had a different style idea.

After snapping the picture Mommy asked her to remove the fountain as Kennedy would likely have that rubber band in her mouth after 2 minutes in her car seat.
Not to mention the fact that she looks ridiculous!
The top pony works for some little girls....
Not this one.
Kennedy was such a trooper- just hanging out in her pink barbie jeep chair during her cut.
Even though she cut so much off the back, the stylist and I agreed, Kennedy's hair actually looks longer on the side and in the front now!
One this is for sure, there is no sign of our baby girl. This two year old is growing up way too fast!

Disneyland Peek

Choices

Well, we survived the 2nd annual Disneyland birthday extravaganza....
with one big lesson.
Responsibility.
Each girl was allowed to bring one stuffed animal on the trip and to the park if they wanted.
Madison did not hold onto her black kitty, Dash and now Dash is gone.
12:15am back in our room, Madison still crying because she has no animal to sleep with.
Ah the lessons of childhood!

Today

10:04pm
4 years ago, at this very time we piled carefully into the car, and began our journey to Simi Valley Adventist Hospital to meet our little Peanut.
Journey, I say loosely. What felt like a trip across Texas was truly a ten minute, albeit bumpy (did I mention we drove up and over railroad tracks, too?!) ride to the hospital.
After slowly laboring all day, the contractions were beyond comfort and coming with little break. It was time to turn it over to the professionals.
Today, four years later, I lay (or is it lie? people lie, things lay?....you get the point) snuggled next to Daddy at the Sheraton Anaheim on our second...now annual....birthday celebration at Disneyland.
Our little Peanut is tucked into her very own queen size bed, wearing her special new winged pjs...she thinks she is Tinkerbell. Just before she fell asleep she said she would dream of being a wishing star. Did I mention we watched the nightly Disneyland castle fireworks from our room again? Slightly different view, magical just the same.
Where is birthday girl number 2? Completely conked out in her pack-n-play at the foot of Madison’s giant princess bed.
Even in sleep, you can feel the anticipation of tomorrow’s adventures in the air!
Happy Birthday my big four year old! From the second you entered our lives, you’ve held my heart.

Look, Daddy!

This morning both girls wanted their finger nails and toe nails painted.
Kennedy sat patiently waiting her turn while Madison's choice of fuchsia polish was applied.
When both girls were all finished and sufficiently satisfied their polish was dry, they jumped up and ran into the living room.
Madison proclaimed, "Look at my beautiful NAILS, Daddy!". Followed by Kennedy, "Wuk, Daddy! I Bue-sul, too!"
Did I mention Kennedy pronounces all her 'F's as 'S's?....Baby sell down, Mommy. Daddy, I bue-sul, too!
These are the sweet words we will miss when they are sassy teenagers...some of my favorite things.
**
Then there are the not so sweet reminders the sassy teenage years are coming...
Today before nap I asked Madison to please go in and go potty. She looked at me, rolled her eyes all the way to the back of her head, shrugged her shoulders, let out a huge sigh and said...Ughhh!
Who is this child? And where did my sweet girl go?

What Makes Mommy Happy?

What makes Mommy happy?
Making a detailed list of everything left to finish up before the big Disneyland birthday trip tomorrow.
What makes Mommy sad?
Losing the list sometime between midnight last night and 9am this morning.

Followers?

We started this blog back in 2006 as a way to share the goings on of our precious little baby girl with our friends and family so very far away.
Over the years we (ok- I, let's face it- Matt doesn't blog) have had our blogging ups and downs.
Now, nearly 4 years after the birth of our first little girl, why do I blog?
Do I blog to keep everyone up to date on our family?
Do I blog as a release?
Do I blog for comments?
Do I blog to avoid my children?!
OK- Maybe a little of all those things...hey, I'm just being honest! I love my girls, but whew- sometimes a small break is in order!
As I've mentioned before, I love to blog hop....craft blogs, family blogs, money saving blogs....so many great stops out there in blogland.
I can't help but notice some of these fabulous bloggers have hundreds, nah- thousands of followers!
Now I know I am inconsistent with my blogging, and I realize we are not that exciting....no multiples, no life changing stories, no amazing crafting or saving capabilities...just a mommy, a daddy, a big sister, a little sister, and a dog, along for the ride of life.
None the less, it makes me a little sad logging in to see 7 little followers. Not to say I am not grateful for my incredible followers- but I know there are more of you out there.
Do you follow me?
Will you click? Will you 'follow' us?
Do you like what you read? Do you think it's ridiculous? Leave a comment and let me know.
It makes me happy, and every mom needs a little more happy in her day!
It's the little things, right?

Kitty City?

Madison has a new obsession.
She thinks she is a cat.
She crawls around the house meowing (with a little meowing almost 2 year old shadow kitty)
She tries to lick us and everything else she can get her 'paws' on.
When she isn't being a kitty, she tells me she found and is in Kitty City!
What is Kitty City?
Who's child is this?

These are a few of my favorite things...

Seeing the world through the girls' eyes is one of my favorite parts about being home with them.
I'm going to work on sharing more of the little everyday things they say and do with you.
**
Ah-choo!
Whenever Madison sneezes Kennedy tells her, 'Bess u, Ma..son'. (they are quite polite when they want to be)
Madison tells me, 'Mommy, I have the bless yous'!
I love the bless yous. We never plan to correct her- I'm sure by Kindergarten someone will ruin it for us.
**
Su-zee, Mommy
When Kennedy wants my attention when I am busy doing something else she says, 'Su-zee, Mommy'. If I don't answer her in a timely (well- what she thinks is timely) fashion, she continues to say 'su-zee Mommy, SUUUZZEEE MOOOOMMMYYY!' Over and over, louder and louder, more indignant each time until I answer her.
Su-zee, so much cuter than excuse me.

My Bugs

This is a stink bug.
One of the many uninvited guests we see daily, scratch that- hourly here in the desert.
These little boogers are EVERYWHERE and they get into everything.
The first time I found one in the garage I felt like I wasn't cleaning/sweeping enough.
Before long there were hundreds (probably a slight exaggeration) of them in the garage, on the front porch, along the driveway, even a couple IN the house!
What was I doing wrong? Are we dirty people with bugs in our house?
Within days these little boogers were all the buzz about town.
Everyone was talking about this year's infestation- little black stink bugs!
(they say last year it was field mice- and not just one or two! glad we missed that)
Now we realize they are just a part of our desert life.
Kennedy's favorite morning activity as we load into the car for school is stomping any bugs in her way. They make this horrible crunching sound and she giggles.
Madison is a little more fearful. She won't touch them, but realizes they are harmless so she gets pretty close before declaring her latest discovery.
Luckily, Kennedy hasn't taken to picking up stink bugs just yet, but any tiny bug she finds is fair game. Small spiders, roly poly bugs, pincher bugs....she finds them, grabs them between her thumb and pointer finger and carries them to show me before opening the back door and tossing them out or disposing via trash can.
**
This morning Madison exclaimed from the living room, "Kennedy is stinky!" letting me know I somehow missed the filling of a poopy diaper.
I scooped up Kennedy to remedy the situation and told her SHE was my little stink bug today. Kennedy furrowed her brow and angrily informed, "I not sink bug, mommy- I Tendy (aka Kennedy)! Sink bugs yucky!"
I agree Kennedy- stink bugs ARE yucky....and you, little girl....are adorable.