Going, Going...

Where has 2013 gone!?  I know.. it wasn't well documented here, that's for sure.  I make a resolution now to blog more and better in 2014.  Until then...

Happy New Year!

Sitting

With the wild warm and cold weather, we have been looking for things that will keep us occupied.  Lately, that has consisted of tea parties, vacations, and general super-hero saving.  Our girls are not typically the sit down kind of gals, unless the tv or a movie is on.  So when they do sit, its usually in pretty cute ways.  Kinsley is still trying hard to catch her big sister and has grown an inch and a half since February.  She has also – and much more importantly in her little sister mind I’m sure – moved to a big girl bed.  Its been surprisingly easy for her.  She’s been sleeping well and since she’s gotten a pillow (because, you know, big sister has a pillow), she stays pretty much in one direction.  We’ve also been trying the potty a little bit more and yesterday, she went two times.  Our beloved Gov’ner is taking a much deserved vacation next week and we will focus a lot on that.

Myla is growing more in her little mind than on the growth charts, which is just fine.  She can tell you things about all sorts of animals and decided the other day that she wants to be a peregrine falcon or a honey badger for Halloween.  Today, on the way home, she asked me if ghosts had hands.  We decided that they must because how could they get their heads back on if they fell off!  Her one big girl tooth is starting to pop up just in time for its neighbor to be wiggly.  She’s pretty funny about it, she doesn’t want the new to fall out because she then she couldn’t eat!  But she hasn’t had any problem eating lately – I’m sure she’s getting ready to grow six inches!

The Easter Bunny Cameth

And his arrival was quite the to-do around this house!  Myla has been telling us for weeks that Easter is her “favorite” holiday and she couldn’t wait for Easter egg hunts.  She was so excited to go and pick out fabrics for her pretty Easter dress – and was very bummed when she found out she had to wait two weeks for my mother to make them!  But everything was right with the world when this morning came and she got to put it on – complete with Easter bonnet.

The girls got to do three – count ‘em, THREE – Easter egg hunts.  One at home, one at my parents and one at Auntie Karen’s house.  Kinsley was in awe every time she found another one of her eggs – her little eyes lit up and she would say “wow!” and throw it in her basket.  Then the best part came when she got to open them – and what a bounty!  Animal crackers, necklaces, pennies and gummies were in her little eggs, not to mention the one or two eggs with chocolate candies and jelly beans.

Myla is very good at finding things (I credit the I spy books) and had no problems finding all her eggs.  She was off like a flash at all the egg hunts and threw them in her basket as fast as she could.  Next year, the Easter bunny is going to have to be a bit craftier about where he hides her eggs.  She loved it and was a little sad when there weren’t any more to find – for her or Kinsley or cousins.  In fact, when we got home from the day of festivities, she took her eggs and hid them all again, just so she could find them one more time.

And when the fun was over and it was determined the birds wouldn’t want to find eggs at night, the girls took a little time to rest and blow some bubbles.

Ides of March

I’m so sorry that we let the ENTIRE month of February go without a post.  It certainly wasn’t my intent – the computer gremlins took over and rendered us incapable of updating.  But I will make up with it now – a picture guide to the last six weeks!

The month of February began innocently enough -  you know, throwing all the toys out of the cupboard because I have a much better use for it!

Myla surprised her daddy one morning by coming downstairs and saying “I have a wiggly tooth daddy!” That afternoon it was off to the craft store to make a door for the tooth fairy to come through to leave her treasures.

We went to the Winter Festival in Evergreen where we got to make snow angels, walk on the ice and build snowmen.  Quite a fit was thrown when it was time to leave it was so much fun.

Myla has been learning her letters and numbers at school and can now count to 100.  She’s helped her daddy plant a garden and loves to count the sprouts that have grown – 13, three tomatoes and 10 carrots.  She is very into dancing and loves to curtsy after each performance.

Kinsley turned two!  Holy cow if I wasn’t prepared for that one!  Her check up was perfect – 28 pounds 12 ounces and 33 inches tall.  The doctor said she’ll be 5’ 5” or 5’ 6” at this rate.  And she’s so happy and fun to be around!  We went to the aquarium for lunch and the exhibits and she had so much fun.  She loves to tell Myla that she’s two!

We had a “blizzard” in which the girls got to go outside and stomp in some snow.  Kinsley wasn’t sure at first and needed Myla’s hand to help her navigate the snow.  After a while, Myla decided to clear a path for Kinsley to walk on.  The wind was blowing hard so they didn’t stay out long, but they had a great time while they were out there!

Today, after weeks of saying every morning, “its pretty wiggly!” Myla’s tooth fell out.  She was just eating a pretzel and she said, rather matter of factly, “mommy, daddy, my tooth just felled out.”  We can’t find it – its either in her car seat or her tummy, but she wrote the tooth fairy a note, so it will be okay. 

And that brings you up to date!  The girls are keeping us busy and we are now preparing for spring – Easter and bike rides and fun outside.  This time, there will be no computer gremlins to keep us from updating you!

Memories

When I was growing up, me and my sister used to go on “dates with Dad.”  They were special times and I have some very special memories from them.  In fact, my sister and I still go on dates with our dad.  So, when we first found out – many moons ago now – that we were having a girl in Myla, it was something that I wanted Johnny and her to do as well.  For Christmas this year, my parents got Johnny two tickets to the Sacramento Kings vs the Denver Nuggets basketball game.  At first, he had thought to take his brother or my brother or even me (even though the sport of basketball escapes me completely).  Things came up and Johnny mentioned out loud “who am I going to take to the basketball game?” and Myla said, “what about me daddy?”  And so off they went.  Myla had a great time mostly watching everything else but the game, but she told me her favorite thing was Rocky and being there with daddy.  My hope exactly.

Kinsley is learning more every day, but it’s the changes in her imagination that amaze me.  She has taken up a little game – she will put on a hat, scarf, sometimes sunglasses, and a bag of some sort and she will wave goodbye and blow you kisses, tell you something and off she goes.  She walks around the house “circle” and then comes back, takes it all off, and runs to hug you like she hasn’t seen you in days.  And then, it all goes back on and she starts over.  She is still talking in some strange baby language, but is picking up a new word all the time.  And reading – this girl has discovered that to sit and listen to a whole book – of a reasonable size – is the best thing and that you can finish a book and find a new one to read.  It’s a refreshing change from reading the same book over and over, although she still has her favorites.  Of course, her absolute favorite thing is to sit next to Myla and read books together.  I hope she remembers that as she grows up.

Off days

We haven’t had many days off lately as a family, when we don’t have to go “do” anything.  (This last vacation doesn’t count – it was vacation!)  But today we got to just hang out and have a good time.  The girls had gotten gift cards to the book store and it just so happened that the book store was also giving away buy-one-get-one cookies.  So we went to lunch and then spent a good long time playing and reading and deciding which books to bring home.  Each of them got four books that were all pretty random, and “read” them all the way home. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon running around the house and playing in the basement.  It was especially good for Myla, who has been having a really hard time with her daddy working his weird hours.  She’s had meltdowns more than one night because he had to work or couldn’t put her to bed.  She’s very much a daddy’s girl and so to spend the day with him was a good thing.  We enjoyed the sunshine and took a little walk and the girls held hands and giggled.  And now we look forward to the next time!

Rule of Twos

We have two very individual girls but there is no escaping the sibling rivalry that they sometimes have.  If Kinsley has a bouncy ball, Myla wants one.  If Myla has a set of keys, Kinsley needs some.  Its become a little predictable, but there are some things that we have not yet figured out how to have two of (time with play-doh comes to mind).  But every-once-in-a-while, we have gotten a glimpse of how good of friends they are going to grow up to be.  Tonight was a good example – I was sure that Myla had grown six inches and so I thought tonight would be a good time to measure her.  (She’s actually grown half an inch in four months to 38 1/2”.)  As she stood there against the wall, Kinsley watched in her new favorite pose – arms crossed and a finger on her chin – and then when Myla was done, she said “me too!”  Myla helped me keep her still enough to measure and find she too has grown – three quarters of a inch to 33 1/2”.  When Kinsley was done, Myla said “good job Kinsley” and Kinsley ran to give her a hug and Myla gave her a little kiss on the head.  Yep… do it together and you’ll never be alone. 

2013 – off like a shot!

Sorry we let 2012 go without an update… Johnny and I both took vacation starting from December 21st and we just didn’t have time to blog!  We had a fantastic Christmas and the girls were truly spoiled.  We spent the 10 days of vacation playing with shopping carts and baby strollers and princess castles and suitcases and baby dolls and puzzles.  The girls spent two days straight in their pajamas until we forced them to an indoor play ground.  It was awesome – and a much needed break for us to spend with our girls.  The girls were ready to get rid of us by the 3rd though. 

Myla begins the second semester of “school” tomorrow and is having a really good time with her teachers and her class.  I went with her on a field trip to the Nutcracker and she was pointing out all of her friends to me.  She never really tells me what she learns in school, but sometimes can tell me exactly what her friends were wearing.  She’s a girlie-girl.  She loves using her imagination and is usually very sweet about letting her sister tag along.  She’s taken to playing up in her room when she wants to be alone though and will barricade the doors with her big stuffed animals, even though Kinsley hasn’t figured out door knobs yet.

Kinsley is growing way to fast and still talks up a storm.  She’s really getting some words down though and sometimes we can actually understand what she is saying.  She loves to read  - LOVES it – and sometimes will bring a book all around the house with her.  She also loves hats and prefers baseball caps on backwards.  She’s very helpful at setting the table and calling for Myla when dinner is ready and is awesome at knowing just when to annoy her big sister.  Kinsley is very sweet though and will usually grab our arm or face to give us kisses and loves to give hugs too.  She is learning a lot every day – its very fun to watch.

Johnny spent a week in Telluride in December and is currently in Breckenridge.  The girls and I make the most of it while he is gone and today we got to spend most of the day with my parents and then after dinner, the girls spent the rest of the night playing with each other until it was time to read in bed.  They had spent a lot of time up and down from our bed and all across the floor with flowers and hats and jackets.  They like to go on “adventures” and clock in a lot days as the sun goes up and down a lot in their little worlds.  Now, I know that time flies, but let’s not let it happen too fast!