Snack Size

This last week was great! It seems like so much has happened in such a short time. All week long we were looking forward to the weekend and Hailey's baptism. It went so well! There were two other children, so it was a short ceremony, but nice just the same. We were blessed that Amber and Jeff Klein agreed to be Hailey's Godparents and that Nana, Grampie, Grandma, Papa, Uncle Jamal, Aunt Tiphanny, Max, Million, and Kenzy were all able to come celebrate with us. Thank you for making our little girl's big day so special!



Before the baptism, we did have did have an eventful week. The day before Ahmad was sick, so after some running around in the morning with the kids, I took them both to the pool to cool off. I wasn't sure how that was going to go by myself, but it went really well. I was able to hold Hailey for a while and then put her in her floaty while Miles tooled around with either his ring or noodle. He was jumping off the side by himself (with either the noodle or ring) and having a great time. Then Hailey and I chased him around the pool trying to tickle him. It was so much fun!

One day earlier in the week, I can't remember when now, Miles went down for a nap and Hailey was in one outfit. When he woke up, she was in another-a pair of overalls. Miles loves overalls and instantly commented on them and that he wanted to wear some overalls too. So he changed to match Hailey!


I've been waiting for it and I wasn't let down...Miles brought up the B word again. He says (twice now), "Mommy, we don't say B****?" I say no, then he says "We don't say booty head" No. "We don't say shut up" No. "A lion can say shut up". He cracks me up!

Hailey is rolling rolling rolling! If you put her down in one spot, you can guarantee she won't be in the same place for long. She will roll all across the room and will somehow get to different toys to check them out. She's on the move. I predict she'll be inching forward by the end of July. Ahmad says she'll be full on crawling. We'll see! (I just saw this video Ahmad took today...maybe she's closer than I thought!)



She's also sitting up better and better. When she's in her swing outside, we can already tell a big difference of how she sits as opposed to when she was in it a few weeks ago. Also, if you sit her up on the floor, she'll stay for a bit by herself before flopping to one side. The other day, she was even leaning to get a toy and then righted herself back up. She's getting so big!


Miles had a great week at school last week. He had a rough Monday, but the rest of the days were really good. He even kept track himself! On Wednesday when I picked him up, he told me he'd been good for 2 times. On Thursday, he told me he'd been good 3 times and on Friday he told me he'd been good 4 times. I was actually pretty impressed he'd kept track like that!

He also finished up swim lessons on Tuesday. Overall, I think he did real well with them. He can go around with the noodle, making some forward progress and will put his face in the water while trying to swim. Nice work!



Miles got a skateboard from CVS one day when I went last week. He thought it was great and went out to show his good friend, Elliott, down the street.

A recap of a few recent conversations with Miles:

"Mommy, what's that (pointing to my eye lids)?"
"Makeup"
"Why you got makeup?"
"Mommies wear makeup to look pretty"
"I want to wear makeup. When I get big like Jeff, I'm going to wear big big makeup!"

*********

"I'm going to get big like Jeff and Uncle Michael."
"You are? Is daddy big too?"
"Yeah, he's big, but just a little big. Jeff and Uncle Michael are really really big!"

*********

"I don't like fireworks. They are scary."
"They're just a little scary.
"No, they're big scary. Like lions, tigers, and dinosaurs."

White Hands

This last week has been busy as usual. While we really enjoy Miles being in swim lessons, it seems that's all we've done for 2 weeks! It's been great for him though and has gone smoother than anticipated since it's later in the evening. Miles had another good week at school that finished up with Donuts with Daddy in honor of Father's Day Friday afternoon. They had snack and sang some songs. Ahmad enjoyed himself! Hailey also started going just 3 days a week to spend some time at home with daddy since he's working from home now. Plus it saves a few bucks! I have to admit, I wish I was the one able to spend more time with her, but I'm really glad that they will have this time together. It will be good for them.


Hailey was eating her rice cereal, well, sort of, and making little progress. She was taking a few bites, half willingly and then fuss to be finished. So mid-week, I bought her some oatmeal cereal and she loves it! She opens her mouth in anticipation of the bite and even tries to help feed herself! She eats several tablespoons at a sitting, but seems to do better in the evenings with it than in the mornings. Maybe this weekend we'll start her on some veggies! How exciting!


She and Miles are just hilarious together. They adore each other so much and always smile and laugh at each other. It just melts my heart. The other night when I was feeding Hailey, Miles was beating on the table, like Ahmad sometimes does to make a beat. Hailey found this fascinating and soon joined in. She was beating on her high chair! Miles would hit a few times and then she'd smile and hit a few times. It was so funny! I went to grab my camera to catch it on video, but of course then they stopped.

Making beats with daddy....a future producer!

Several nights ago, we were reading books before bed and were reading I Know My Mommy Loves Me. It's about a mommy brown bear and a son brown bear. There's this one page (where the mommy is making the son lunch to take to school) that Miles has always said, "that's not mommy, that's daddy', but he never elaborated. I always thought maybe the mommy looked bigger to him on that page than other pages, therefore looking like a daddy, but I wasn't sure. This time he went on to say, "mommies have white hands" and turns my hand over and over. I asked him what color daddies hands are and he replied "black". I asked him what color his hands were and he looked, turned them both over, and replied "I don't know!". It was quite comical. I asked what color Hailey's were (she was with us) and again he said he didn't know. Then he decided his hands were orange. Very funny! I've been curious when he would start making the distinction between us and where he would go with that. We'll have to see!

That same evening, Hailey had a toy back in the bedroom with her. It was a beautiful blanket bear that Uncle Matt, Aunt Missy, Gavin and Emmett got for her for her baptism. On the bottom, it has his baptism date and her name and it says "Bless this child". Miles picked it up and was looking at it for a minute and then said, "This says, Hailey, don't eat your toys!". It was pretty funny!A few nights later when just Miles and I were bug-bugging before bed, somehow we started talking about how much I loved him. I can't remember the exact foundation, but he starting saying that daddy loved him and Hailey loved him, but that I loved Hailey first. ouch. I talked to him for a minute about how that wasn't true and I loved him so much, with all my heart. Then the conversation deviated to where your heart is. He didn't believe it was in his chest and decided it must be in his belly. [on a side note-Miles, please don't EVER think that. I love you so much my heart could burst! I love you both very very much, but no one more than the other].


I've finally gotten Ahmad into the pool! One night before swim lessons last week, we went a bit early and swam before lessons started. Ahmad got in, but stayed on the steps with Hailey. Then we went again yesterday, and despite his nervousness, Ahmad was in all the way and hung out with both the kids. I'll make swimmer out of him yet!



Big news on the Hailey front....she sat up! Well, I put her in a sitting position, and she stayed! She sat for about 10 seconds or so playing with a toy before leaning to the side. So we got out my boppy to put around her and she sat playing for quite a bit-needing a little repositioning here and there, but she did great! She's been wanting to sit up for some time now and seems very proud of herself!

Happy Father's Day!

Where would we be without our father's? Luckily, I haven't had to figure this out. I think about how blessed I am to have such wonderful and present fathers in my life. All the fathers I know are involved, active dads; which is completely different than just being a father. My dad is amazing. He was my first role model of what a husband and dad should be and I've compared many many men to him.


He has amazing strength and courage and faith and it never seems to waiver. He's overcome obstacles that I can't even imagine going through. He has such an inner strength and I am so amazed by him every day. He's always been there for me, through thick and thin, and has never wavered in his love for me or in letting me know his love. He's taught me so much about life and family and I definitely wouldn't be where I am or who I am today without him. I'm truly blessed that my dad didn't give up until he got his little girl. We've shared such special moments that are forever engraved in my heart and I look forward to adding many many more. It's an honor to be his daughter. I love you daddy!

Dear Miles

As my first born, you transformed my life in ways I never knew would exist. You made me a mom and suddenly things that I thought were important, weren't. And things like poop schedules, sleep, censoring TV, and eating your vegetables became very important. You can make me laugh, cry, and want to scream all within 10 minutes. You can make my heart stop and my stomach drop at your crazy antics. You can make my heart explode when you smile at me and wrap your arms around me in a giant hug. Seeing you grow each day is amazing. You seem to learn by leaps and bounds and I never know what you will come up with next. You are blessed with so many different talents and I'm eager to discover what you decide to pursue. Seeing you grow as a big brother is amazing. You are so proud to be a big brother and love your sister so much that it melts my heart. You are hilarious and make me laugh daily. I miss you when we're not together and never can get enough of you. I've just been thinking about you a lot lately and wanted to try to let you know just how much you mean to me, but I don't think I will ever be able to find the words. I love you Smiley-forever and ever with my whole heart, no matter what!

Love,
Mommy

Expanding Vocabulary

So my 3 year old son said his first cuss word today. I couldn't believe it! He was talking about his friends at school and that some of them say "cry baby". Then he said "J" (protecting the identity of his friend!) says "B****"! What?! Then he says that "J" also says "You can't shoot" (the basketball). I don't think I like this "J" kid very much! Miles said B again and I calmly told him that wasn't a nice word at all and we didn't say that. I tried not to make a big deal about it because it seems that sometimes when you make a big deal about something, it makes him want to do/say it even more. I hope he doesn't repeat this anymore! And I'll be talking with the teacher in the morning...

Too Busy!

When I posted a few weeks ago, there was something I had wanted to post about and then when it came time to write it, I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was! It's been driving me crazy! Well, it just hit me this morning when I was driving in to work. A few weeks ago, we were all getting ready to leave to go somewhere, I can't remember where now. I was busy making sure the kids were all ready and had everything they needed for the excursion. We were in a bit of a hurry, wherever it was we were going, and it wasn't until I was carrying Hailey out and putting her in the car and I realized I didn't have any shoes on. It was pretty funny! The life of a busy mother!

Getting Big!

Checking out Big Bird

Last week was back to normal, which was tough after having 2 short weeks in a row. However, Miles did fantastic at school last week and got his reward candy every day! We also started swim lessons last week at the neighborhood pool. We weren't overly impressed the first night, but it did get better. He has 8 sessions, Monday-Thursday two weeks in a row. It was a bit busy, but it was good to have them back to back like that. He's really enjoying them and is learning the basics. He also starts swimming at school this week, so he's going to have a lot of swimming going on! They have a large wading/baby pool at school that I guess is about knee deep (an adult knee!). He's so excited, I just hope the weather is good so they can use it.

Practice practice practice

Kisses from daddy

Hailey was eating her giraffe (a fav!) and her toes at the same time!

This weekend went by very quickly, much too quickly. Hailey had her 4 month check up Friday morning at 10:30, so I didn't go in to work until after that, which was nice. I also took her in to work with me for the rest of the day, which was fun! My excuse was that she was going to have sots and might not want to be at daycare. I really thought she'd be fine, but as it turns out, she was not herself. She checked out good! She's 14 pounds 2 ounces and in the 70th percentile for weight. She's 26 inches long and is in the 95th percentile for height! She's putting all that nursing to good use! She's a bit leaner than Miles was at this age. He was 24 inches long and 15 pounds. I was also glad we had this appointment set up because she's had another cold for the last 2 weeks and I wasn't liking it. It turns out she had an ear infection in both ears! She's so good, we didn't even know something was bothering her! So, now she's on an antibiotic and also had a breathing treatment in the office to just break up the crud in her chest. It worked. We are back at our old pediatrician, and boy are we glad! We started her on cereal that night and it went fairly well! Miles of course wanted to feed her and of course I wouldn't let him! So his job is to wipe her face. And boy he's good at it! He wouldn't let anything be on her face and wiped her after every bite! We're figuring it out as we go, but so far, she's doing well.


Saturday was nice, Weight Watchers, hair cut, a walk looking at the neighborhood yard sales, a trip to Costco, and hanging out with the kids. Miles has been attached to my hip all weekend and went all these places with me! We did have another plumbing issue though, which wasn't fun, but it seems to be working now, so hopefully this won't be a recurring thing! Today was fun-we had my work picnic. We invite all our former and current clients annually to get together. It's really nice because a lot of families use this as an annual visit with their birthfamilies. It was wonderful to see everyone and so nice to have been a part of their journey. We have over 100 people RSVP and I'd say about 25 people at least didn't show, but a few did that we weren't expecting. At any rate, I had a nice time socializing and Miles and Ahmad hit the playground a few times and played a lot of baseball! Hailey was her usual smiley self and was a social butterfly.

Last weekend we put up Hailey's swing-she loved it and swung for a long time!

Miles got up from bed a bit ago and when I looked he was peaking around the corner from his room. I went back with him and did another bug-bug and we just cuddled. At first I was trying to put him back down with the bug-bug because it was late enough, but then I caved and snuggled. I can't too often resist snuggling with him when he wants it. After a bit, he started talking about the sore in his mouth from where he bit his cheek like 4 times today. Then he paused and said "Mommy, Hailey was in your tummy for a long long long time." "Yes, she was." "Then she came out." "Yes, that's right." Silence. "Are you glad Hailey came out?" "Yes" "Me too". I love that I never know what is going to come out of his mouth!
I'm looking forward to another great week!

Overheard

I was nursing Hailey in the living room and Ahmad was helping Miles get his jammies on after a bath and I heard this: "I love you SOOO much daddy!" "I love you too!". Made me smile.

Blessed

We are truly blessed.

Catching Up

Where to start....! It's been a busy few weeks and I've been meaning to write, but just never got to it. Last week was a pretty good week. I actually made it all week without missing the kids TOO much while at work (a first!) and I think I was just so excited I had a 4 day weekend coming up, I didn't mind. Miles had his last gymnastics class and showcased everything he had learned the previous 8 weeks or so. It was fun to see him show off!


I took Friday off, which was actually our 5 year anniversary, to play hooky with the family and met up with our old neighbors, Katie and two of her kids, Evelyn and Robyn as well as the Klein family for a fun, but hot, afternoon at the zoo. Ahmad had been waiting all year for the Cheetahs to arrive and they didn't disappoint. They were hanging out in the shade, but it was still fun to see them.


Then on Saturday, we went to the Indy 500 parade downtown. It was really fun! We managed to get a spot in the shade, but unfortunately were a bit back from the street. Miles still enjoyed what he could see and could be as loud as he wanted and it didn't matter. Good times!


Then that evening once we were back and settled, we took the kids over to Amber and Jeff's and actually went out by ourselves! For the second time in 3.5 years! We went to a very nice dinner, walked around Metropolis (an outside mall) and got some ice cream. It felt like ages to us, but Amber and Jeff were shocked to see us back so soon and hadn't even had dinner yet!

Sunday we had our first swim of the season! While walking all year, we would often walk to the neighborhood pool to see what was going on and see if it was ready for us to swim yet. Miles was so excited that it was finally open! He did great and progress from strangling me to swimming by himself with a ring around him in one day! He tried jumping in, but didn't get too much into it. That was his favorite thing last year, so we'll have to see this year. Hailey got in on the action as well, but Ahmad just watched. We'll get him in one of these days! Hailey went under, but didn't seem to thrilled about it. However, she did seem to like just hanging out in the water. We took another dip on Monday and are excited to get Miles in his swim lessons next week.


After all that fun with the kids, it was really tough to get back to work this week. Miles also had a few rough days the beginning of the week, but ended wonderfully! We decided to make a second behavior chart for him that consisted of a few new things. He gets a sticker for Good Listening, Being Good at School, Letting Hailey Eat (he loves to mess with her while she's nursing!), Putting his Dishes in the Sink (decided it was time for a few chores!), and Brushing his Teeth at Night (he really only did it in the morning). So far, so good. He's gotten quite a few this week!

Watering the plants with Mommy

We even had a surprise visit from the Azars! They came into town Thursday and stopped over for dinner. It was great to see them and let the boys hang out and play a bit. Hopefully we'll see them again soon!

Miles also went to the dentist this week and did a fantastic job! He'd been before and had the hygienist check him out, but that was about it. He did a full cleaning this time and was so good! I couldn't believe it! He carried the bouncy ball he got afterwards to and from school every day this week and showed it to his teacher each day. It was pretty cute. On a side note, I've noticed that Miles also has a flip-flop tan and I think that's so cute too! It's funny, he likes to help burp Hailey and wants to pat her back. I think he just likes that he has permission to hit on her! Ahmad pats her back hard, like he did with Miles, while I pat her much softer. When I tell Miles to be gentle, he says, no, like Daddy does! Lol!

Playing tennis with Daddy

Hailey turned 4 months old last week and I can't believe it! She's getting so big and is about ready to start on some cereal. We go to the doctor next week and then I think we'll start. She stalks our food and just really wants to get into it! She's also trying to sit up and does mini sit-ups when she's laying down trying to get those abs of steel! She's mouthing everything and must be pre-teething. She's a slobber mess! She's so into everything and watches all that we do. She cracks up at Miles and always has a smile on her face.