In the Bend

Another busy good week at the Keyes' house! Last week, Miles went to school on Monday and Tuesday and we headed out to South Bend Wednesday evening. Ahmad was able to book some appointments up there on Thursday and Friday, so we had a nice long visit with the family. About 20 minutes into the car ride up, Miles stated he wanted out. Ug! We were afraid it was going to be a really long trip. However, he did really well and only stated he wanted out a few more times. Hailey also fussed some and we had to stop once so I could nurse her. Then she was ok the rest of the trip. We got in late and enjoyed some Frankie's for a snack (yum yum yum!). Thursday, everyone was working except me and the kids so Ahmad dropped us off at George and Joanna's house so we could play with Joanna and the kids all day. Miles was playing shy boy and really didn't play with Tofiq until about 4pm or so. He clung to me all day and continued to wrap my arm around him, telling me to keep him safe. He did nap well though, much to my surprise, in the basement in a sleeping bag. He actually slept for about 3 hours! Hailey slept most of the day and was good, of course! Joanna and I enjoyed girl/mommy/wife talk while we visited and soon after naps, the husbands got in. We stayed for dinner and enjoyed a very yummy chicken dish and beer bread. I have to remember to make that recipe!


Friday, we stayed at the house and just hung out. Tiphanny and Mckenzy came over for a bit in the morning to hang out. Miles again napped well and I woke him up after 3 1/2 hours! Everyone came over for pizza that evening and we really enjoyed spending time with the family. It was funny to watch the other kids with Hailey-they all love her! Actually, Tofiq and Ramzi did as well-kids love babies!

Saturday, we went to visit Jamal and Tiphanny's new house and enjoyed having the kids play together again. Miles and Mckenzy have really hit it off and play together well. When we got back and Miles got up from his nap, Ahmad broke out the trombone that was in the basement. Miles had a blast and was so excited to play with it! He watches a lot of shows that involve a trombone, so he couldn't wait to get his hands on it. Plus, the little drum set that is usually set up at their house needed a bit of work, so it wasn't set up and Miles was so disappointed. Anyway, it didn't take long for Miles to learn how to make music with the trombone and he played and played and played.




Sunday morning we headed out to Trios for brunch with everyone before heading out of town again. It was so nice to spend time with everyone and I think they all enjoyed having Miles and Hailey around. It was funny, before we were leaving, Mama Keyes was changing Hailey's diaper while we packed the car. She was very proud of herself and announced when she was done that 'there, I can still do it!'. I sat there debating what to say...finally, I told her that she did do it, but she put it on backwards! lol! Too funny. And can you believe Hailey is 6 weeks old today?

The drive back home went well, but Miles didn't nap like we hoped. He watched some movies and tried hard to stay awake. Hailey slept the majority of the time, but she did fuss for a bit. Miles was so cute-he made up a song to sing to her when she was fussing. It consisted of "Baby Hailey Baby Hailey Baby Hailey" over and over again. It was a great attempt at soothing his sister! He played for a bit when we got home and then I took him to go pick up some dinner. He was asleep halfway there. When I brought him in to the house, I put him in the chair and asked him if he wanted to go lay down. He replied no and promptly laid down and went to sleep! We woke him about 7:30 and got him into the tub and jammies. Everyone slept great and we didn't wake up until about 8am this morning! Hailey finally went down about 1am for the night and only woke at 6am for a feeding. Then she was back down until a little after 9am! What a good night!

Miles seemed itching to go do something this morning, so we went to the bank and then to what I thought was Hobby Lobby in Castleton. I'm looking for a pink frame for a photo of Hailey in her room and having a hard time finding it. When we got there, I realized it wasn't Hobby Lobby, it was Hobby Town. We went in anyway since we were there and picked up one of those really thin wooded planes that fit together and some Sprees after watching the toy train run it's course a few times. We got home, had some lunch and now everyone is napping again.

Ahmad's new job has been going really well and we're so blessed right now. I hope that it continues on the course it's going and that Ahmad continues to be happy with it. That would be so wonderful. Hailey continues to grow and explore. She started turning in her bed while we were out of town. She started at a 12 o'clock position and ended up at a 3 or 4 o'clock position. So, I took out the bumpers in her bed today and put the railing all the way up. I know she has a while before she's up and about, but it makes me feel better since she's on her way. She's also smiling and cooing so much these days! Miles continues to assert his independence when he feels like it. This morning, he wanted to get dressed by himself, without me in the room. So I got out everything he would need and left the room. He came out about 10 minutes later fully dressed! He did great! I later discovered that his underwear was on backwards, but that's ok.

I started pumping last night as well and Hailey will have her first bottle tonight. Hopefully she'll take it ok. I'm going to try pumping twice a day for now-once for a daily bottle and once to freeze. I hope to have a good supply built up before I go back to work. Ok, well, now I'm getting back to my post before publishing it and we tried the bottle. It didn't go well! She wouldn't take it, so we're going to try again tomorrow. If she doesn't take it tomorrow, we'll get a different bottle and try that. I hope she takes it soon!