Hailey @ 4 years old

Hailey,

I'm sorry Momma didn't document your 3rd Birthday on the blog :( I was still trying to get the hang of the "Mother of 2" thing. I failed at a lot. And this is over a week late. But never late then never! Here are some things my gorgeous FUN BIG girl is doing!

-FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY full on potty trained! No more pull-ups, potty chair, or anything! For the first time yesterday you pooped on the big potty without your dora seat like a grown up! I am so so so happy, Momma hates cleaning up poop and it was so gross. I am so proud of you for this!

-You got to go to the dentist with Mommy for your very first cleaning a couple weeks ago. You weren't too sure about it and did NOT like the pick in your little mouth at ALL. You were mostly compliant though and were super good. I was proud of you. You have 3 cavities though :( I'm hoping it's just your baby teeth and you will have your Daddy's perfect teeth and not Mommy's. We are getting them filled tomorrow at a special "kid dentist". I am having much anxiety over this but I know you will do awesome and be sweet and make every one there fall in love with you, like you always do!

-Everybody you come in contact with always talks about how cute you are, you are super duper gorgeous but I'm biased so it's good to hear it from strangers ;) But more then that I want people to say how SWEET and KIND you are and what a good friend you are to others, and that you have a heart for Jesus. Your looks will only last so long (look at Momma and my HUGE muffin top! Oh to be 17 and skinny again!) but if you have Jesus you will make friends anywhere you go!

-You start Pre-k in Sept, 3 mornings a week. You are not sure about this and don't want to be away from Momma. You will have your bff Zo in your class and another friend Harper from church there. I am super excited for you and know you will do amazing! It will be a challenge the first couple weeks for us both to adjust (and I'm worried about how Sissy will do being away from you!) but you'll love it and make friends quickly I just know it!

-You LOVE MOPS and get so excited every other week when we go. You sing the songs all the time, talk about how much you loved your snack, what you did with your friends and how much you LOVE your favorite teacher (don't tell the other 2! I'm sure they are just as sweet). It makes my heart happy to see you social and not crying and upset when I leave you!

-You are SUCH a fashionista. You LOVE your clothes and shoes. My land! You come up with some crazy outfits, but I am learning to let go and let you wear whatever you want. Even in public! This is HUGE for me! (especially when on Easter I had the cutest matching outfits for you an Ellie and you wanted to wear 4 different colors of pink. Whatever! You got your way)

-You are still tiny and on your same growth curve so the Dr isn't worried about you. You only weigh 34 lbs and are in the 25% for height.

-Yet somehow you are growing out of your clothes like mad! You have 2 pair of your Gap Skinny jeans that are 3T, I swear you have to suck in your bones to wear them but you manage! You are in all 4T and some of them are a little short on you!

-You have an amazing sweet tooth like your Momma. No wonder you have cavities! Sorry Darlin'

-You LOVE all shows on PBS. I know I let you watch to much TV but until you were 3 1/2 you wanted NOTHING to do with it. So you watch Sesame Street (although honestly it's just background noise while you play/get dressed/eat breakfast), SuperWhy, Dinosaur Train (again don't really pay attention) and your most very favorite ever Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

-You will do anything at the promise of "pop" (sprite/sierra mist) your love language is defiantly pop!

There are a million other great things about you but I can't remember them all. You're always saying the greatest things but Mommy always fails at writing them down. I LOVE our nightly prayers and seeing what you will thank God for that night! You really ask a lot of great questions about God/Jesus/Heaven and I think you are starting to get it. I hope I am fostering it and answering right. I don't want to scare you about dying/death but I want you to be excited about Heaven and I think you are! Sometimes you get sad and say you just want to be in Heaven with God! :) LOVE that!!! You don't fully understand what that means though b/c you ask if you can go to Heaven and then come back home. Ha. I really want to do a good job planting a seed but it's hard! Keep asking questions little Momma and I will keep answering them!
You are my fun sweet BIG girl and I can't wait to grow up again along with you. Everything in life is SO much more fun through your eyes. I love you soooo much Sugar Bear!

Momma

P.S. I'm including another blog I started MONTHS ago just so the stories just down for my (and her!) memory :)

This is from a couple months ago but I keep forgetting to blog about it (and if I already did it's on here twice, deal with it people-who-don't-read-my-blog)
A couple months ago we were looking all over town for new tennies for Hailey. We went to one shoe store across town after dinner. As we are pulling into the parking lot a van was driving crazy and making me mad and pulled in across the parking lot for me. They had a bumper sticker on the back that said "Cancer sucks" and in my negative state of mind and being mad at them I thought to myself "DUH who is gonna say cancer rocks!? I mean that is surly stating the obvious stupid people". Then stopped and figured if they were that bold to have a bumper sticker that said that then it must mean somebody in their family had cancer. I mean I can NOT fathom my Mom/Sister/Dad/Brother/Hubby/Child having cancer so I suppose I would put that bumper sticker on my car to show my anger as well! (sorry I am going off as usual the story isn't about the bumper sticker or how they were sucky drivers) So as I'm getting Hailey out of her car seat I saw the family get out and walk into the shoe store as well. It was a Mom, Dad, older brother of about 13-15 and a little girl who was probably 9-13. She was completely bald and it was VERY obvious she was going through chemo. It tore my heart apart and I prayed and confessed my anger and sins and bad thoughts towards these people earlier. Now mind you I had not said a WORD about cancer, their bumper sticker, nothing about these people to my sensitive Hailey. She saw the little girl and before she got out of the car her eyes got big as saucers when she saw the little girl and asked what was wrong w/ her hair. I kept her in the car and explained to my 3 year old in her terms cancer. I said she was sick and getting special medicine from nice Dr's and that she had cancer. I told her the medicine made her hair fall out, but it would cure her and make her all better and she wouldn't be sick anymore! (everything HAS to be rosy and perfect in Hailey world or she will NOTGETOVERIT and you will never hear the end of it if something bad happens. Trust me people, I could NOT tell her this little girl could possibly die. I feel bad like I am "lying" or leaving out a big chunk of information for her but I know life is ugly and she has plenty of time to learn about death and ugly things. Now is not the time) She asked a couple questions but I just kept giving her my pc answers. It had been a couple months since we got back from Indy but she is super duper obsessed w/ my Grandma/her Great Grandma, Grandma Dee. I explained that Grandma Dee had cancer and was sick and lost all her hair and now she is fine! We just saw her! That helped. So we went in the store and tried on a couple things and left. As we are driving away Hailey starts sobbing. Can't even talk she is crying so hard. I had to pull the car over and talk to her and calm her down. She told me she was so sad for the little girl and didn't want her to be sick or lose her hair and wanted her to get all better. Stab my heart. We prayed and both cried and she was better. Of course she had to tell Daddy all about it and he was upset at me but what could I do! Sometimes she still asks about the "little girl with no hair" and we pray for her and I tell her God and the Dr's healed her and I'm sure she is fine!
Sweet innocent Hailey. She has SUCH a tender heart!

She is soooo sympathetic. Not only does she cry for strangers who have cancer, but when Mommy or Daddy isn't feeling well she immediately asks what she can do to make us feel better and offers the sweetest and usually most hilarious things to make us better. If I tell her I have a bad headache "Well, maybe you can take some Tylenol!" lol. Sweet Girl! I hope she never loses that quality and is always sweet, caring, and giving when she is older! We just have to be careful to not give her to much info and overwhelm her little heart.


My whole life I have HATED with a deep passion throwing up. It's sooo horrible, the smell, sounds, everything. I gag if somebody else throws up, when my siblings would get sick I couldn't get the smell/sound/thoughts out of my head. It's bad. I guess you could say I am OCD/anxiety about throwing up. I told Steve before we were married I would handle all the poop but he is going to have to be the strong one to handle throwing up. I just don't deal w/ it well. When Hailey was little, less then 2??  She had a bad horrible head cold, and she had JUST woke up for the day and Steve starts giving her all this water. Like tons and tons of water. I told him to knock it off and stop drowning the poor Girl she was gonna get sick. Then he was feeding her something weird, teddy grahams or something?? Anyway you can guess what happens next, horrible disgusting puke ALL over him. All he had was a tiny bowl and she is heaving everywhere. It was horrible. I just stood there and cried and watched her. It killed me. She has thrown up maybe 2 other times in her little life like that. I seriously pray ALL.THE.TIME for God to spare us stomach virus' and to NOT get sick. If the Girls can just handle no stomach bugs until they are out on their own that would be great K?? Yeah not gonna happen.
In January we got the plague of 2013. It was soooo sad and horrible. Hailey went down for a nap and told me her tummy hurt. She says this a lot, I ALWAYS asks if she needs to throw up/poop/hungry whatever. This time I didn't ask :( What was I thinking?? So she sleeps for over 2 hours and I go in to wake her up, I then go get Ellie out of her her crib and Hailey is walking to the living room and pukes a TON all over. Oh my I lost it. Steve is downstairs and I just start screaming for him. I managed to get a bowl (over the years I am able to move a little more and stifle my tears as it's happening. I STILL scream for Steve every time though like somebody lost a limb. He hates me for it but he promised in his vows to help w/ puke. Funny it ALWAYS has happened when he is home and not at work. Thanks God!) and put Ellie down somewhere where she wouldn't get "into it" UGHHH sick! So for the next 4 1/2 hours Hailey threw up (i.e. dry heave) every 15 minutes. Oh I was sooo worried and cried for her. She was so sad and in SO MUCH PAIN! Steve got it, I got it, Ellie however was spared. I also sent it to my parents where they got it along w/ my brother :( I felt SO bad! It was horrible. Sorry all of this was TMI but I knew I needed to record it for my own self. I survived! Now we all have colds. Colds I can handle. Fluids, vicks, steam showers, humidifiers, vitamins, caugh syrup, I got this!  

Hailey's 4th Birthday Interview

You can catch the first Interview from July 2012 Here


1. What is your name? Hailey (sounds like Hayee) Elaine Sessions

2. How old are you? Four

3. What is your mom’s name? Becky

4. What does your mom do during the day? I don't know, washes dishes, does laundry

5. What is your dad’s name? Steven Mark

6. What does your dad do during the day? Takes care of the kids (HA! Really? Whose kids?). Then tells me he goes to work (more like it!)

7. What is your favorite color? Pink & Yellow & Pink & Purple

8. What is your favorite thing to eat? (what don’t you like to eat?) Candy (I had to give multiple choice). Gross- Broccoli

 9. Who are your friends? Eleena, Samara, Zion, Abby

10. What is your favorite song? The B-I-B-L-E and "The Hoppin Frog" (they sing it at MOPS)

11. What is your sister’s name? Ellie

12. What is your favorite place to go? Chick-Fil-A & Walmart & Grandma's to ride my new bike

13. What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Jenna in her new pink carseat (Birthday toy she got today), Ride my new bike from Grandma & Papa, watch Dora and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

14. What do you like about your Mommy? (Daddy, sister, etc.) Mommy-Cuddling with you
Daddy- Play outside with him
Ellie- Playing and helping her

15. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Mommy

16. What is your favorite book? Books that Ellie can rip (LOL)

17. What does (sister/brother) like to do? Play

Momma said there'd be days like this..........

I love how people think Stay-At-Home-Moms must be bored, do nothing, watch tv and eat all day! (OK so yesterday was one of those days where I sat and did a lot of "nothing", but that is neither here or there........) I  was one of those people who when I worked full time wondered "what the heck will I do all day when I am home with kids?" I mean you can only fill your time with laundry, cleaning bathrooms, cooking dinner, etc right?? HA!

Today me and the Girls had to go to Target to get a list of things. I should  have gone to the ol Wally World but let's face it, I can only go there so many times before wanting to stab my own eyes out. So Target it was! We get there and are walking in and Hailey decides to STOP in the middle of the parking lot for no reason. So of course I step on her foot, which apparently broke every.single.toe. causing her to cry and scream. We finally get in the store where I can put Ellie in the cart and inspect Hailey and cuddle her like a baby until she will shush enough so people don't think I put her in a torture chamber. Oy the child and her dramatics. I don't have any idea where she gets it people!
So then of COURSE Hailey HAS to use the potty b/c she couldn't use it at home, so we go in the huge family size one (THANK YOU TARGET!) where I can push the entire cart in the restroom. Hailey sits on the potty and somehow manages to pee all over her undies AND her pants. So of course this uber prepared Momma would have a change of clothes and panties for her somewhat-newly-potty-trained-3-year-old right? ERRR wrong-o! Great. Luckily I did have a pull-up which surprisingly she agreed to wear so at least she didn't have to go commando, or even worse make me buy MORE underwear when we already have 23930128329 pair at home. While I am cleaning Hailey up (who also agreed to wear slightly wet leggins, let's forget the fact that Momma lied and said they were dry please. She usually won't wear a shirt if it has 1 drop of water on it from lunch. Yes I gave candy in the car for good behavior) Ellie decides to try to jump out of the cart to her death. Really child?? I look over and she is STANDING up in the cart backwards in the front part. And before you judge me, SHE WAS BUCKLED! I swear my children are Houdini's! What he heck?? I tighten the strap on the poor kid until she can't breathe so she is safe and get Hailey dressed so we can start our shopping trip! The rest of the time in the store was pretty uneventful, unless you consider me having a momentary laps in judgement and gave Jelly the teeniest tiniest bite of Halloween cookie they were sampling in the bakery, and she decided to cover her entire self with sprinkles (which I'm pretty sure her cookie was sans sprinkles. Where did she get them?) and the .1% of frosting. Seriously it was a HUGE mess. But I pretty much got her cleaned up. And let's be real here folks, she is the 2nd child. She is never clean or in matching clothes. Poor kid.
Then when we check out Hailey decides to scrap her leg on a box of something I was buying in the cart and proceed to scream again like I broke her toes all over again. Oh lawd get me out of here! I couldn't help but laugh as I was finally walking out of the store. Yes it's SOOO boring to be a SHAM...........good thing God made my babies so cute or I would go crazy! Oh heck I already am crazy! 

Hailey

Just some more randoms of my Hayhe. Seems like everyday she is growing, learning, saying hilarious things, challenging me more then I ever imagined, and loving HARD! She is amazing, and keeps me on my toes. She is defiantly not what I ever imagined (not sure what kind of kids I thought I would have?? Quiet, passive, calm kids like their Mother?? Ha who am I kidding........) but I wouldn't have it any other day. We butt heads all day every day but I hope some day she uses her passion for Jesus and others!

-Hailey LOVES to sing. It's hilarious and cute. She got a special gift from her Momma and even knows songs as soon as the music comes on! It's talent people, I know your jealous what can I say!
One of her favorites is "Where I Belong" by Building 429. This song is amazing and I'm such a nerd but I tear up every time I hear it and let the words sink in. Here is the chorus;

All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong

Hearing your little 3 year old sing it out seriously moves me. I know she doesn't completely understand the lyrics, how BIG our God is, but I know in a small way I am turning her heart to Jesus and planting seeds. It seriously makes me smile and cry at the same time! So sweet! Some of her other favorites are "God's Not Dead" by Newsboys, "Revolution Song" by Phillips, Craig, And Dean, anything by Natalie Grant and Britt Nicole,  and a bunch of others they play on Klove. Love it! Love her! 


Along those same lines, I am really trying my hardest to teach her about Jesus, God, Heaven, etc. We are trying to make her aware there is a Bigger power over all of us, and he is watching and knows our every move! There are soooo many questions during the day that I don't always have answers for. "Why do bugs do that??" "Why is the sun hot?" "Why is it raining?" Etc. It gets tiring, but I usually try to answer as best I can because I know this is her way of learning. Those times I don't have an answer and wonder why myself I usually just say "Because that is how God made it/did it, etc." It's the truth and it seems to please her! So now when she wonders something instead of asking she will just say "I guess that's how God made it" even when it's totally out there. "Why these socks are so scratchy? Guess that is how God made it!" hilarious! I usually correct her, but sometimes I just let her think that! It's so cute and innocent and I love how she loves God! 


She is full on day-time potty trained! I'm sure I've blogged this before but since she was a "late potty user" in my book I am still so proud and some days amazed she wears panties! We still go through a LOT (to many in my mind but I digress) of pull-ups but the last couple days she has stayed dry at nap AND bed time so that is huge!!! If she keeps it up I will start tracking how many days in a row she stays dry at both and attempt panties during sleep times. We'll see I'm not looking forward to all the wet bedding/clothes :/ But pull ups aren't cheap and we REALLY need to save $!


She says the sillest things. She is very advanced for her language in my mind but somethings she just can't figure out. 
She calls paper towels "paper wa" noooooooo idea where she got that one! She knows it's towels and can say it properly but still calls them paper wa. It's silly and I don't correct her I know someday she will say the right thing and then I will be sad! lol
One of my other favorite (but gets OLD quick) is "what you say?" It's usually that she isn't listening, or doesn't process what your saying, but instead of just saying what or what did you say she just spits out "what you say??" or sometimes you even get "what you say to me?" Most times when she says this I ask her what I said and she can repeat it word for word, frustrating but funny the way she says it.
Her other thing she always says is "Oh Honey". I guess I say this a lot?!?!? The one time that really stands out is I eat a little bit of cashews every night before bed for extra protein during b/fing. Hailey LOVES cashews but they are super $$$ so I cherish them and try not to let her have to many. She polished off my can of them and ate quiet a lot, I got upset and asked her if she ate all of Mommy's nuts. She looks at me dead serious and says "Oh Honey it's OK you can buy more at Target!" HA! Where does she get this stuff??!?! Sooo hard to stay serious in front of her sometimes!


Some other random great things she has said lately;

I was painting our toe nails one night and I had to take the old chipped polish off. When I was done cleaning them all off she looked at them, sighed and said "Oh Momma my toes is ceepy (creepy) them naked!" ha!

We were having an extremely hard discipline/attitude day and she was getting on my last nerve, while I was making dinner I asked her to be quiet and that I was going to go crazy!!! She looks in my eyes, grabs my arm and says "Oh Honey, it will be OK. Soon it will be bed time and then you will be OK cuz my will be asleep!"

I wanted to eat out for a special treat for my Birthday lunch, when I asked Hailey what we should have she thought it would be a great idea to eat Pizza! I asked her where on earth we should get pizza from she said "Old Donalds" (McDonalds" ha!


We recently took the videos from our video camera and burned them to a disk. Sitting and watching them makes my heart ache to go back in time! I do love the stage Hailey is in now and every one of them, but if I could only go back 2 summers when she was 15-18 months I would have enjoyed it more! Her cute little sign language, the way she walked, her bald head. Oh I miss it! It seriously makes me cry. Hormonal Momma? Maybe. Good thing I have Ellie to live through it again! I am soooo going to enjoy it more. It's my most favorite time of childhood!!! We are so blessed to have such gorgeous girls who are so fun and silly! The days are long but the years are short. I love that saying and it's SO true! 

 

 

Brain Dump

Weird random things like diarrhea of the mouth coming out of me. Don't have whole blog posts for each of them so here they are all are!

-Ellie is doing my most favorite baby thing; when you put your arms out/up/down to pick her up she reaches for you. Ohhh it melts a Momma's heart! Most Mom's probably don't think about it, but it's one of those weird little things that I LOVE! Makes me feel like she loves and wants me to hold her! (even when it's annoying and I can't!)

-this is TOTALLY weird and random but I never blogged it (I don't think?? Which probably means I have blogged it 7 times already) but this morning I was thinking about my Cousin who tried out for the Olympics, she "retired" 10 years ago and has 2 boys, I can't remember how old her oldest son is (8 maybe?) but her youngest was born on the same exact day as Hailey! I love that!!! Even though we have never met him (they live in Ohio :( BOOOO) they share a special bond and hope someday they can meet and play together!

-I HATE to be cold, but a million times more then that I HATE HATE HATE to be hot. The worst thing in the world to me is to be hot. When your cold you just add layers or a blanket, when your hot you can't shave your head (well boys can which is unfair) or run around naked with no skin.

-Probably equally as much as I hate to be hot I hate to be wet. (sweat much?? SICK!) So when 99% of women LOVE to have cold washcloths on their head during labor/pushing I CAN.NOT.STAND.IT!!!! Steve made sure w/ Hailey to keep the evil things away from me when I was pushing so they got me a fan instead. (it HAS to osculate though I hate direct cold air on me. Yuck!) But when I was in labor w/ Ellie the nurse got a super cold washcloth for my head and stuck it on there w/out anybody noticing. Of course I didn't scream at the sweet lady but I think I picked it up and pitched it on the floor, the nurse was shocked and confusing and Steve just looked at her and goes "oh NOOOO washcloth she hates to be wet" ha it was funny. Before Hailey was even born I told him this was one of my wishes in the delivery room; NO WASHCLOTH! So weird

-Hailey is cracking us up daily. She is still a pain diffacult but she is hilarious too! Some funnies recently;

When she is hot (cuz ya know it's been like 100 degrees since March this year!) she says "I'm soakin hot!"

She opened the fridge, took out her sippy of juice (with cell phone in hand of course) and SAT on the inside ledge of the fridge with the door open. Looked at me dead serious and said "Mom my need to drink ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL my juice so I pee lots and lots"
Me (trying to keep a straight face): "what happenes if you pee lots and lots?"
H: "My will gets lots of energy!"
lol I don't know where she gets this stuff

She was "playing" with Ellie, after retrieving a hunk of Hailey's hair out of Ellie's hand Hailey looks at E VERY serious and says "Ellie Marie, do NOT pull my hair God made it!"

She was looking through Steve's paperwork from the hospital, she told me she wanted to go work at the hospital when she gets bigger. I asked her what she thought she wanted to do at the hospital and she said "My will make everybody wears pecial socks!"about time she narrowed down a career, and such a lucrative career. Me and Steve will for SURE be able to retire off her early! (she is talking about the socks post-op patients wear with the grippers on the bottom she is OBSESSED with those dumb socks!)

Steve was wearing a Coke Cola shirt and Hailey asked what it said. He explained to her it was pop like cherry coke that he drinks, she got all excited and started singing some song about cherry coke and told us it was on her "blue dbd" (aka her christian song dvd's she LOVES). Turns out it was "Joshua fought the battle of "cherry coke" (Jerrico)

I guess you would really have to know Steve personally, but he is extreamly laid back, un-emotional, never riled kind of person. (which you know is polar opposite of me, which is why we work so well together!) Hailey is EXACTLY her Momma in her Daddy's look alike body, so she still doesn't understand why I get so passionate and excited about things, and he doesn't bat an eyelash. Well, for about a year now Poop has had MUCH control over our house, she almost always only goes during sleeping hours (I mean honestly who wakes up to poop???), so one day she went in the middle of the afternoon and this Momma was excited! I told her to go in to Daddy's room (he was web surfing) and tell him. She walks out of the room with her head hung, I asked her if she told Daddy she pooped in the potty and she says yes, followed by;             "Him just said oh good job. :proceeded to throw both hands in the air "touchdown" style:  not OH GREAT JOB!"                                                                                                                                              LOLOL I about fell over, clearly she doesn't know that is her Momma's reaction and NOT her Daddy's!

-Hailey FINALLY after over 3 years is completely binkie free!!! I talked her into giving her last 2 (which just happened to be pink and purple) to our neighbors baby who actually uses binkies (unlike her sister who has refused them since she was 2 mo old). It was so funny taking Baby Sam, a boy the pink and purple binkies. But she was SOOO excited to share them which made me such a proud Momma! She only held them in each hand, almost never put them in her mouth, but it's been about a month and she sleeps like a pro without them!! She asked and looked for them about 3 times after getting rid of them, and we just remember her that Baby Sam was using them and she would just grin! Super sweet!

-We were also able to take the "knock lock" off her door. (the child proof door handle so she couldn't turn her handle and come into our bedroom 293802938 times a night) It happened about 3 days after getting rid of the binkies and I was quite nervous but again she has done great and stayed in her room! Lots of big girl changes in the Sessions house hold!

 

-Hubby lost his job. AGAIN. He was downsized in Jan of 2010 when Hailey was 9 mo. After 3 mo he found a really great job that he LOVES with amazing co-workers and is really good friends with his boss. Well, in May they called about 13 of them in an office and told them they are going to place their jobs at the bank headquarters in Tempe, AZ and not in Omaha anymore. For a few scary hours we thought we were going to have to go to Tempe and I was NOT happy, but God answered me and my Mom's prayers ;) and instead he is out of a job Aug 3rd. I know it is Morbid to pray for your hubby to lose his job instead of being transfered, and honestly if I felt that was God's plan I would have packed and moved without blinking an eye to support my Husband. But, leaving our families, friends, church, the only city I have ever lived in, PLUS try to sell our house was far to overwhelming to me. So God in a way answered a prayer! Obviously I wish he still had employment but God will provide and I'm not that worried about it. He has had a couple interviews, and has a very important one this week! Praying everything falls into place, and this is the job GOD wants him to have not US! I told Steve it's good we are not having anymore babies cuz I am tired of giving birth and then him losing his job. HA!

 -We had mold on about 20 ft of concrete wall back in March. It was HORRIBLE. Thank GOD for my Mother who scrubbed the walls with bleach for about 5 hours to get rid of it and make it safe for my Babies. We got it cleared up, but it was touch and go for a couple days. Not to mention stressful. Oh yeah plus when we found it, the company that built our house (that we just built and moved into 3 years ago) declared bankruptcy. Great timing right?? But, like I said we got it cleaned up and figured out for the most part. Need to call our 2/10 warranty  company and see what they can do for us. Good thing we had left it un-finshed!   

-At the beginning of June Hubby came home from work with what he called a bad stomach ache. (TMI SORRY) We just thought he was "stopped" up and that it would clear the next day. It just got worse. By Wednesday he wasn't feeling better and not able to go back to work so he made a Dr. apt. The Dr was afraid it was either his appendix, or something wrong with his large intestine. So he went to the hospital and got an emergency CT scan. (which I about DIED when we got the bill and it was $4,400 :O Holy cow!) They found his appendix to be enlarged and infected and he needed emergency surgery to remove it before it reputed. Did I mention that I have a nursing 5 mo old who refuses bottles, and this happened the day before me and 3 neighbors were holding a huge garage sale together?? Yeah great timing. OH and Steve's parents are out of town on a mission trip with his Mom's work. So I told him to call his brother and see if he could go be at the hospital with him. Luckily he did (I sooo owe his brother), because I was not going to take my 5 mo old up to the hospital and wait for hours. Nobody would have wanted that. Insert major wife guilt for not being there for my hubby. But I made him reassure me 293812 times to stay home with the girls because they needed me more and he had Scott. I know I would have wanted him to do the same thing, but still. Luckily the surgery went totally smooth, God has his hand all over the whole situation. And he got discharged the next day, so I was able to go pick him up and bring him home! After a week and a half he was even back at work! 

-So yeah major moldy basement, job loss, emergency surgery, I think God is testing us!!! Hopefully we are passing with flying colors and he will lay off us for awhile! I am waiting for a flood, fire, car to break, something but I think we are done with crazy stuff! They say bad things happen in 3's right?? 

-If you don't want to count the basement as the 3rd thing, they you could say my other disappointment was finding out our BFF's (Steve's cousin, wife, and their 2 baby girls) can't come visit for a week in August. TOTALLY understand, they both have to work and DUH we are in the same boat. You have to do what you have to do to survive and keep a roof over your head and food on the table, but I am still pouting and going to miss them so much! Hopefully we can make our trip to Michigan next year and see them then!

 -Hailey's bed/nap time routine is quite expansive. She has to turn on her fan, I turn on her ceiling fan, she turns on her night light, and I turn on a sound machine. She goes potty in her little potty that sits in her room, and then she crawls in her bed. I cover her up with her special Dora blanket (her bedspread in the winter. My gosh are my girls are HOT sleepers like their Daddy!) and sing Jesus Loves Me, Rock-A-Bye Baby (which MUST be sung with HER name, i.e. "and down will come Hayhee cradle and all". If I am being naughty I change it back to the real words and say baby or I'll say Ellie or another silly name but she makes you RE sing it to her name so honestly in order for me to hightail it out there I just sing her name to make her happy), and twinkle twinkle. We do this for every nap and every bed time. I sing those songs twice a day. 14 times a week. That is a LOT of singing!!! But that girls loves her a routine so we have to do it the SAME every.single.time

 

OK enough randoms! :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with Hailey

1. What is your name? Hayhee

2. How old are you? Big (shows 3 fingers)

3. What is your mom’s name? Becky (first time she's ever gotten that right!)

4. What does your mom do during the day? Clean up

5. What is your dad’s name? Steven

6. What does your dad do during the day? Go to work (talk to people at work)

7. What is your favorite color? Purple

8. What is your favorite thing to eat? (what don’t you like to eat?) Facebook (what the??? she thinks she is hilarious and is laughing soooo hard) Fruit snacks/ What is yucky to eat?- Juice??? (she loves juice) Ellie's Baby
food

 9. Who are your friends? Eleena, Kael, Baby Sam, Cara, Abby and Zo

10. What is your favorite song?  Can you sing it for me? (something unintelligible) We'll have to work on that one....

11. What is your sister’s name? Ellie Marie (sounds like LLLLe)

12. What is your favorite place to go? Walmart

13. What is your favorite thing to do? Play in the pool and play with water balloons

14. What do you like about your Mommy? (Daddy, sister, etc.) Mommy- Play purple house with me (Little people) Daddy- Blocks Ellie- like her to smile

15. What do you want to be when you grow up?Sell cars (I had to give her multiple choice and for some reason I threw that one in there, don't ask)

16. What is your favorite book? Reading books (she has to many to pick one honestly)

17. What does (sister/brother) like to do? play

Put your hook on kids.......

Here are some random things about Hailey. I am not good at writing down funny/cute things she says/does so I try to post them every couple of months. So here is what has been going on in her world lately at 2 years 2 months (almost 3?!?!? :( She is getting so big so fast!)

So since Ellie has come on the scene (and wants to nurse 24/7) we have the tv on more often then we ever did.
She has since found a love of America's Funniest Home Videos. She LOVES this show and asks to watch it several times a day. We stream huluplus on our tv and they only have 2 seasons (out of 22. ARGH!) and I've already seen every episode like 45 times! AHHH! It's hilarious to watch her watch it though, and luckily I LOVE the show. Funniest part; her favorite part is when the announcer guy says TOM BERGERON. FREAKIN HILARIOUS. We have to get her saying it on video, her voice gets all low and she says it all dramatic. Hours of entertainment.

In addition to AFV (which is what she calls it; AFB) she will watch snippets of Wipeout, Dora the Explorer, and a christian song DVD, and youtube videos. The song DVD is thee single most annoying dvd I've ever seen. It's one of those things that you watch as a kid and LOVE it and think it's awesome and then you watch it as a grown up and think OMG that is horrible why did I love it so much?!? LOL. I can't wait to show it to her when she is older and see if she thinks it's as ghetto as I do! The kids are doing horrible lip syncing and it's songs I don't know and they get stuck in my head for days! But it keeps her occupied for like an hour and it's teaching her about Jesus so whatever!
She also LURVS her some kiddy youtube videos. She will sit on the desktop computer and just watch cartoon videos with songs for a long time!
We sound like horrible parents and that all we do is sit our kid in front of the tv/computer but honestly it's maybe an hour a day!


Some amazing Hailey-izms-

Special Treat-Pechal peet

Any hood on a jacket/sweatshirt-Hook

Ellie's swaddle blankets-Foddle blanket

Sweatshirt-Fetchshirt

I/Me-my. I know almost every kid does this but it's hilarious, and when she uses the proper terms I am going to be sad. Everything is "my do it" "my sad" It's super cute and one of her funny quirks


If nothing else my child is SUPER polite. She is always saying thank you and sorry for EVERYTHING wither it's appropriate or not. A couple weeks ago I re-arranged the living room and for days she would say "Tant you Momma for moving the couch and the table and the tv" LOL. Such a sweet girl!

Some random stories of silly things she has said the last couple of weeks:

We were at Aunt Nat and Uncle Binan's (Brian) last weekend and Nat had a big bag of balloons and they were picking some out and Nat would blow them up. One was a weird long crinkle balloon and Nat was attempting to blow it up, she blew it up so much it exploded and popped VERY loudly. Hailey jumped and got very scared. We assured her it was OK and she picked a different balloon and asked Nat to blow it up. As Nat started Hailey sat on the side of a big arm chair in the corner away from Nat (obviously scared the balloon was going to pop and scare her again) and said "I'll be over here" it was hilarious and soooo grown up!

Poor sweet girl, her jeans (they have hearts stitched on the back pockets and she is O B S E S S E D w/ her "heart jeans") kept falling down causing her to resemble a plumber. I knew they had those sincher things inside and figured I needed to make them smaller due to her wearing panties and not a diaper anymore. Long story short they needed fixing so I went in the kitchen and put them on the counter to figure it out. I had started dinner and had everything laid out, and chicken marinading on the counter. Hailey looked at me her eyes wide open afraid of what I was doing to her beloved heart jeans says :
"Momma you not cut my heart jeans?"
"No Baby, Mommy is fixing your jeans"
"Momma you no put my heart jeans in da dinner?"
lol I lost it. Where does she come up with this stuff??




We ate Taco Bell one day for lunch and Hailey ate 1/2 a bean burrito. (Bless her, she loves junk food just like her Momma. Poor Girl) Later that night she had horrible stinky gas and I told Steve it was from her burrito. She looked at us super seriously and said "my had beado for lunch now my stinky toot" LOL we both died! A couple days later when Natalie asked her what was stinky from her burrito and she goes " My BUTT" LOL It was awesome!


We go to my amazing MOPS group at church every other Friday. Last Friday when we went I picked her up and she had on different pants then the ones I sent her in. I was super sad and figured she peed herself. (we wore panties!) The teacher said no and that she had water dumped on her pants. I didn't ask a lot and was confused but just changed her pants and we went home and dried them. When I asked her what happened at home she told me "this one boy was tryin to get my goldfish and he spilt my water on me!" I asked her if the teacher did anything and she told me she wiped it up. I asked her what she did when he spilled the water and she told me;
"did you tell the teacher he spilled your water?"
"no"
"did you cry?"
"no"
"did you just sit there?"
"Yeah!"
Hahahaha


My little baldie who from about 3 months until the age of 2 looked like a cancer patient finally had enough hair to get her first official hair cut!! She was rockin a pretty bad mullet and she doesn't let me pull it up with a cute bow anymore so off to my friend Jenny's we went! It was so nice to go to a friends house (she has a salon in her basement!) instead of a big scary salon with people staring at my shy girl. It looks sooo cute and I kept her hair in a little baggy and put it in her baby book! A milestone more for this Momma then anything ;)

My Girl LOVES her some puzzles. She has quite a few and although some of them are far above her level she has them all memorized and can do them in a few seconds! It amazes us how smart she is, but honestly we shouldn't be she is always amazing us with her smarts ;) And with the 291093821039 questions she asks a day she better be a rocket scientist! HA!


Another HUGE milestone was that after sleeping on her crib turned big girl bed since August of 2011, we took the crib out of her room for baby sister and put the twin bed in Hailey's room! We got some adorable bedding from Wally world and she has done amazing! She loves it, we still have some trouble going to bed (she has all the sudden gone through a period of being scared of night night and screaming in her room for hours on end) but it has gotten MUCH better! PTL this Momma needs her girls to SLEEP!

When I told Hailey that our amazing friends/cousins are coming to visit again this summer from Michigan I asked her what we should do while they are here;
"ummm share our toys?" (such a sweet girl. It's a good thought but I'd be shocked if she really did.......we're learning.........)
"Yeah that's a great idea! What else?"
"ummm......go to carters!"
LOL sweet girl knows her Momma's heart and our favorite store!



So I'm not sure if I blogged it or not but I was told by a couple people that Hailey was totally ready to potty train when she was 21 months old. (first problem, never listen to others when it comes to your children, trust your gut and let your kids direct you. Momma's know better then anybody else in the world!) It was an epic fail. We tried for 5 days, she was peeing in the potty some, and staying dry at nap but once we left the house she peed all over herself. It was horrible. So I gave up and put her back in diapers. Over the next year I tried a couple more times, if we put her on the potty she cried like I was cutting off her limbs. It was horrible. And then there is the issue with poop..........she was scared to death to do it. Even in her diaper.
So of course when Ellie was like 4 weeks Hailey changed her OWN diaper like 4 times in an hour. (yes my child could change her own diaper. Um ready to potty train much?) But I had to get her over her fear of the potty. When we had gone to Ellie's 2 wk apt I talked to the pedi about it and she said to just strip her down and put the potty in the living room, she would learn quickly that going pee on the floor and herself wasn't cool and she would use the potty. The first 3 times she went (after holding it for over 4 hours!) I had to physically force her on the potty and hold her on there while she screamed and cried, she finally got over it and was happy to go! And once Daddy told her she could wear her Dora panties diapers were a thing of the past! I am so proud of her. She only had 2 accidents the whole time we potty trained! And both time she was wearing pants, and honestly I think she just forgot she didn't have a diaper on. We went about 2 weeks of just wearing panties at home and no pants. It took another 2 weeks until we could go in public w/out a pull up. I am SO SO SO proud of her! Buying pull ups still sucks but it's WAY cheaper with only 1 kid in diapers full time! :) And as of this past Friday she FINALLY pooped in the potty! Once again I took Ellie to our AMAZING pedi whom I LOVE and want to live with us and she said since Hailey would only poop while sleeping to put the potty in her room and tell her to get up and use it, wouldn't you know once I gave her the control she did it! It's been 4 poops in the potty and hopefully no going back! I am so happy, I honestly thought I would send my child to college pooping in her pull up while she slept and crying hysterically every time it happened! LOL

Birthmas-take 2

So I don't know where I left off and I am too lazy to go back and read and see. But I pushed the baby girl out, they put her on my chest and I remember crying and being in horrible pain. I looked over at Steve and he was a crying mess. It was funny. He was more emotional about the girls birth's then I was! Judge me and say what you want but I am not one of those Mom's who immediately bonds with their baby and gushes over how gorgeous and in love w/ them they are. I am in a horrible immense amount of pain and I'm not really in a good mood. Maybe if I had an epidural or pain meds and was drugged and didn't feel as much as I did it would be different. Give me an hour and I am freaking over how gorgeous they are and kissing them and telling them how much I love them. But I'm just not emotional and do not react at all how I think I would. I'm just in pain and crabby. lol. It's weird.
Anywho after she came out I looked at Megan and Lydia and told them her name was ELLIE MARIE. I just LOVE her name and it was so hard to keep it secret for so long! OK so I told 2 people, my neighbor/close friend and my bff in Pittsburgh who I like never get to talk to. lol. But I knew neither of them would tell anybody and I was right :) I was excited to see how big she was, we all guessed her weighted while I was holding her up. I said 7 lbs 4 oz, Lydia said 7/11 and I don't remember if nurse Deb, Steve or Megan chimed in but I think they did. I think Steve said 6 something. So nurse Jen (Ellie's baby nurse, who did all her testing she was AMAZING and I soooo wanted her to be our night nurse when Deb left but alas was not) brought in the scale and they put her on it, Steve was holding my hand (as I was in DYING Pain from all the after birth crap torture they do to you) and was blocking my view when they put her on. Everybody gasped and freaked out and Lydia yelled at them to reset the scale because it SURELY wasn't right. I was so confused, and Lydia looked at me wide eyed and said it said she was 8# 5oz, EXCUSE ME? So they reset it and put her on but this time it said 8 POUNDS 6 OUNCES. That is exactly 2 pounds more then her sister! Holy cow! And I felt every pound of her! Ha. I was seriously in shock she was that big!

**Side note, Kate who said at my apt a couple weeks before that she was sure this baby was 8 lbs by looking at me then felt my belly and said she was wrong and she was only about 7 lbs was on call the next day and came in my room to check on me. We ended up talking for over an hour and she told me she totally lied about how big she thought the baby was. She said she thought I was going to have an anxiety attack if I knew the baby was that big. Hilarious! I love her to death she is so sweet and amazing. We laughed for a long time after that, and Lydia discharged me on Tue and I told her the story and we laughed so hard.

So everything after her birth is kind of a blur. I called Jess in Chicago, Steve called his parents in Michigan, and my parents, Nat and Hailey came up to the hospital about 2 hours after Ellie was born. Big sister was seriously overwhelmed and had a hard time. She didn't want anything to do with me but did love Ellie and held her a couple times. It was pretty sweet. I felt so bad though and wished I was "normal" and able to do more with her. Steve took her home soon after and it was just me, Meg and Ellie. Steve called me a little bit later and Hailey was freaking out screaming and crying in the car. I talked to her and calmed her down but I cried pretty hard after we hung up. It was HARD, my first night ever away from her and she was not doing well. She ended up being OK and doing great for Daddy. The 2 of them spent the next 2 days home alone together and did great. She took naps and went to bed like a champ. It was great and made me feel better.
So Ms Ellie went to the nursery to get her bath while I took one, and get all checked out. She wasn't holding her body temp very well so she was under the warmer for a little while and they wanted to watch her. FINALLY at like 10:15pm we got all settled into our post pardom room and I nursed her and chatted w/ Meg. Meg left and I tried to sleep but couldn't. We had an awful nurse Alana who was crass and grumpy and made the night not so fun. Oh well. The next day was great, the only people that visited were Mom, Nat, and Meg. It was stressful though b/c Ellie still wasn't holding her body temp and they were worried she was getting jaundace. It's a long complicated story but Kate told me the reason they were freaking out about her body temp was b/c I had strep B and it could have passed to Ellie. She was holding steady at like 96 degrees and they wanted her above 97. I of course freaked out, especially when Kate told me they would have to put her in the nicu for 7-10 days to start antibiotics if she didn't get it up soon. Oh my! Luckily later that night it shot up to 98 and held there the rest of the time. Little stinker already worrying her Momma! Ha.
Of course she ended up jaundice like her sister and had this Momma freaked out nursing as much as I could! It subsided but not until she was about 3 weeks. Her pedi wasn't too worried though and I just prayed about it lots and wasn't as hyper about it as I was with Hailey :)

Luckily everything else was great! B/c of how jaundice she was she didn't wake up much the first 2 weeks of her little life. I struggled to wake her to eat every 3 hours. It was scary! I tried everything! But the 3rd week she really "WOKE UP" so to speak, I think just life in general! She decided she hated life! She wanted to eat every hour on the hour and this Momma was tired and stressed! I think we settled now, she is super duper impatient if she is hungry and wants to eat NOW. If you make her wait 2 seconds to change her diaper she lets you know about it! :) Reminds me of a couple other people I live with in this house.........lol. She also fights sleep like her sister did but not half as bad. She is a little high maintenance but I can lay her down awake and she will fall asleep. I don't know what to do w/ that! It's glorious! We have had some long days and nights but she is a joy more then anything. God answered my prayers with this baby!

So my girl is now a month old (started this and didn't quite get to finish it. Such is my life now!) and while I LOVE my girls more then anything and they are SUCH blessings they also are a LOT of work! I broke down last night b/c Ellie had a horrible night and cried from 4:30pm-9pm. Plus Hailey finally decided she hated sitting in wet diapers and wanted to change her own diaper 4 times in an hour the other day. Not to say she wants to use the potty, but she is now forced to do so b/c this Momma can NOT afford that many diapers. So yeah we're potty training on top of having a wailing newborn, and a very demanding toddler. Oy vey! But this is life and I love it and wouldn't change it. As hard as the days are (one of my most favorite things to say is; "The days may be long but the years are short." And boy do I know that is true!) I know it's a season and soon I will want another newborn (not happening) and will miss the baby days! But I am excited for Ellie to be like 10 months, crawling, blabbing, getting into things, smiling and interacting w/ all of us. THAT age for sure I will miss and cry over! Some other random things I want to note before I post lots of pics of my gorgeous girls! (I will never ever get tired of saying "my girls!" ;)

*you totally forget how gross, yellow, and staining baby poop is
*you also forget how you change a diaper, only for them to poop in it 3 seconds later! I think one day I went through 4 diapers in a 2 minute time period. Seriously
*you ALSO forget how they shoot poop everywhere. Thank GOD for these handy changing pad things from Huggies. <3 them
*Night feedings SUCK. I can barely keep my eyes open. Soooooo hard for this Momma
*Ms Thang on the other hand thinks night feedings are great and loves to be cute and awake causing Momma to just sit and stare at her and talk to her. I'm trying to take it all in since this is the last baby an all.......
*nobody told me Hailey would be into every.single.baby.thing.in.this.house. She has destroyed Ellie's closet/changing table/carseat like 394820498 times. VERY frustrating for me.
*Hailey thinks it's her job to put all the straps on everything of Ellie's together. So when I go to put E in the swing/bouncy seat/car seat I have to first dangle E while I un-do the straps. I was warned about this but it still makes me mad and we're working on it.........
*why oh why do babies need you the most at 5:30pm when your trying to get dinner ready?? Sooo annoying!

Now on with the pictures...........

My not-so-little Christmas Blessing!!

Sister's meeting for the first time

With amazing Aunt Megan!!

Hailey's BFF.......

So this is kinda a silly blog but I just had to write it down so I can remember this sweet memory from Hailey's not-so-fun 2 year old stage ;) I'm sure all you fellow Mommy's know what I'm talking about, the days are long and hard and full of tantrums when something sweet and/or funny happens we MUST document it!

So me and Steve have started a small group through our church on Sunday's mornings. It's been SUCH a blessing and great new friendships have formed for us, but it's also been amazing for Hailey to have interaction with lots of other kids her age, and with the teachers. A couple kids from our small group are also in her sunday school room so every week we talk about going to see our "friends", Harper, Jacob, etc. It's pretty fun. Well, one week after picking her up from S/S (which makes Momma feel SOOO good as she throws a fit and cries and screams she doesn't want to leave. I digress) she kept talking and talking about "Ms Leah". I honestly don't know any of the teachers names in her class, but I remember asking one (only to forget. oops) and was positive it wasn't Leah. So I figured it had to be one of the kids in her class.
She had this obsession with Ms. Leah. If you ask her ANYBODY'S name it was Leah, Leah would drive places in the car w/ us, everything. It was funny but I kinda worried she already had an invisible friend. I know it's not the worst thing to have but I didn't know what to do with it! Ha.
We would ask alllll kinds of questions about Ms. Leah, was she at church or mops (our other "sunday school" setting where she would have friends and teachers), was Ms. Leah big or little, was she a girl or a boy, did she have a brother or a sister. It was quite hilarious. And for awhile the answers changed. Except that she as always at church not mops, and she had a brother and his name was Leah. lol.
Well, I decided to do some investigating. I knew none of her teachers at mops were named Leah, so I checked the sign in sheet one Friday morning only to find NO kids in her room named Leah. So Hailey was right Leah was at "church" and not mops. So finally this past Sunday I remember to check the sign in sheet for her sunday school. NO Leah on that sign in either. So I asked the ladies that sit at the table and assist with sign in. I asked if there was a Leah in room B. They said yes and that she was at a high school retreat today. Ha I almost hugged them I was so happy to have found out Ms Leah is a REAL LIVE PERSON that Hailey knows! ha. So I told them Hailey's obsession with Ms. Leah and how much she LOVES her and always talks about her. They thought it was so sweet and that next time they saw her they would tell her how much Hailey loved them. It was so cute the one lady said "oh it will bless her so much to know that!" :) I honestly hope it does, and I am so happy that Ms Leah has blessed MY Hailey so much that she talks about her 24/7 and loves her so much. :) I know these are memories she will have forever and remember going to church and playing in her room w/ Ms Leah and her other teachers who bless us and her and teach her all about Jesus :)

Sleep training at 2

So this will be LOOONNNGGG. But again with #2 on the way I need to have a way to look back at these things.

So let's see where to start...........the first 10 months of Hailey's life she hated life. And everyone in it, including me. And she hated naps. Night time was fine. She took a bottle, fell asleep and slept 11-13 hours from about 8 weeks on. But during the day?? The most I could get out of her was maybe 40 minutes. S T R E S S F U L. And she would not fall asleep on her own. I had to swaddle and rock her. My fault. I am totally claiming messing up my child for life. I will accept responsibility. But it sucks.



After I was able to quit my horrible-no-good nanny job in March of '10 I decided Hailey was GOING to nap in her crib and not my arms (in my defense at the horrible nanny job there was NO where for her to sleep for her nap, so I held her. Ughhhh fun NOT). So I let her cry it out. It took a couple days, 1 day she cried for over an hour but she is smart and caught on quickly. Quickly I was able to lay her down w/ her bink, cover her w/ a blanket and she fell right to sleep. Success!!!
So from 11 months until 22 she took 2 1/2-3 hour naps. It was GLORIOUS! This was on top of sleeping 11-13 hours a night. Why oh why didn't we have another baby then? Ha. So once she turned 22 months she went down to 1 2 hour nap a day, but she was still sleeping great at night in her crib.



Then I found out I was pregnant. And the baby would need the crib and Hailey would have to be moved to the twin bed. So I decided EVER so slowly to transition her for this. I took out the beloved bumpers. The girl would snuggle her entire face and body into the side of her crib and sleep in the bumpers. Weird I know. So I took them out. And then her binkies fell out of the crib and she would wake up w/out it and scream and I would go in and re-plug her. One night I think I did it 9 times. Seriously?? It got a little better, and then in August we went to Michigan. She slept horribly there b/c of the time change, new surrounds, etc. But I thought maybe it would get better at home. It didn't. MORE waking in the night crying for no reason. (oh other then she tends to wake up a LOT when teething. And she has been getting her 2 year molars. Fun! Tylenol=Momma's bff)
So I decided if she was going to wake up in the middle of the night anyways we may as well get her one step closer to being out of the crib and take apart the one side of her crib and make it into a "toddler bed". She did AMAZING with this transition. WAY better then I expected. That first night I was sooooooo worried. She would get out of bed and go play in the toilet, or push a chair over to the counter in the kitchen and get the knives, or go outside and a million other crazy things. lol. But she never ONCE got out of that bed. I don't know if she knew she could or not. But when she would wake up she would just lay there and cry and scream until I opened the door then she could climb out. So funny! But I was HAPPY!



But her sleeping through the night did not get any better. Still waking up crying in the middle of the night or having a hard time going to sleep. It's been extremely wearing on this Momma. Remember this started back in June when I took the bumpers out.
So fast forward to last week. She decided she could and would get out of her bed and come and find Momma. WHAT?? I always swore she wouldn't do it, b/c after 2 months of sleeping in the big girl bed she never did! Who showed her this?? Why does she think this is a good idea??? So I think it was Tuesday night of last week, she got out of her bed and came into my room 8 times. We were awake from 2:15-8:30. Seriously. I was dead. It was horrible. I was crying. When Steve woke up at 6:30 to get ready for work I made him take over. She was hysterical and would NOT stay in her room. Finally at 7:30 we went in the big queen bed together and she finally fell asleep from 8:30-10am. Then, I kid you not was the sweetest, best behaved she has been in MONTHS. What the?? I love me a good 2 year old and a good day, but I need my sleep more. Ha.
So we went to walmart. And spent $30 on sleeping-through-the-night-bribes. Ha. Oh and a door handle child proof lock. Judge me if you want, but I will lock my child in her room if I have to. And I did.
So we got the lock, new binkies (again w/ the judging. I realize she needs to get rid of these, but now is not the time people!), a huge soft dora blanket, and a princess flash light. We also decided that instead of needing to be comforted by Momma we would push her to take a doll/stuffed animal to bed. Sounds opposite of what "normal" people would do, and not have their child be attached to something, but she is sooooooo attached to me we need to move that attachment to something other then Momma. I sound like a child psychologist right?? Or at least like I know what I'm talking about?? ha. Not-so-much. Honestly, I am so anxious about having this baby and being in the hospital for fear of how Hailey is going to do w/ me gone I haven't thought or worried about labor and delivery much. Or how our house is going to be effected by another baby, we just need SLEEP!!! So I will do whatever I have to do.
So that night after the horrible night she feel asleep great, slept great and was quiet until 6:10am when she came into my room. I took her back to her bed and she slept until 9. I knew she HAD to be tired and was glad we got some good sleep. The next 2 nights went amazing, went to sleep great and slept through the night w/out a peep! Praise Jesus!!
Then the next night (y'all I have no idea what day is what. Sorry), she came into my room 3 times. So I broke out the door handle lock. She stayed in her bed and slept after that. And the next 2 nights. Then this past Sunday night she decided she didn't want to go to sleep. So she tried to get out, but couldn't. Broke my heart and made me laugh hysterically at the same time. She stood at the door trying with all her little might to get the door open screaming "stuck! Mommmmmmaaaa!! Stuck! I commin out see Daddy, go Daddy bed! Momma my be good girl! I no go living room, my go Momma bed!" oh it was hilarious and heart wrenching at the same time. So I caved and went in and explained why the lock was there and why she couldn't get out. She slept the whole night and the last 2 since. Not sure if we have turned a corner or not. I expect there to be delay's and she will regress before fulling getting it. But she is smart, and wants to please so much.
She really is good and sweet, but man she can drive me insane! We decided if she wakes up crying, I will go in and check and make sure she isn't poopy/sick/hot/cold etc and then after that she gets to cry. It KILLS me but I know it will get better. She needs to learn to console herself to sleep and not have me patting her back, singing, or what she wants most of all to sleep with us. No happenin! So we'll see! I wanted to document this and to help if ppl google this. When I goggled almost all the stories I read were about stopping co-sleeping, something we never did. She has always been in her own bed, just never able to get herself to sleep. Again this is my fault. Oh the things we learn! I just keep telling myself that one day she will be in jr high and I will never be able to get her OUT of bed right??? ;)

Randoms.........

So much randomness in my brain and life I had to get it all down while I could. Plus I am a bad blogger (not that anybody reads this!) so here ya go........please be prepared to be confused by my thoughts ;)

*So many times on the blog you will see Baby Girl #2 referenced to as Peanut or Baby Franklin. I'm sure you remember we called Hailey Bean as soon as we found out we were pregnant. This time it just made sense to name the Baby Peanut.
When we were in Michigan this past summer I was talking to Crissi about picking baby names and she said they told Sadie (who was almost 2 at the time) the baby's real name. She couldn't say Chloe so she called her Biff. I found this HILARIOUS and so wanted Hailey to call her baby sister Biff. She looked at me like I was on crack of course, so I tried out Franklin. I think it would be hilarious if the Grandma's or friends were pushing Hailey for the babies name and she told um it was Franklin. It hasn't stuck for Hailey, she only refers to her as Baby Sister (even when Gramma asked last week. Good try!), but when friends ask me what the baby's name is going to be I tell them we aren't telling, if they push I tell them Franklin and it's kinda stuck. Poor kid ;)


*I don't know what they are or where they come from but I have these teeny tiny little fly things in my house. Everywhere. One day I killed 6, the next 3. There are still 1 or 2. Really?? At least probably 15?? UGH makes me feel dirty!!! They hang out on the kitchen counter where I keep our fruit which makes me think they are fruit flies. Am I bringing them home in my produce?? I have tried everything to get rid of them. I loathe them. Hailey laughs at me and is entertained when I am on a killing rampage. So gross! Please tell me somebody else has the same problem.......



*Hailey is a special child just like her Momma. Ha. She has her own little language for things that nobody understands but me. Sometimes I don't even know what she wants and it takes me awhile to figure out. But I LOVE the way she talks and how cute her little voice is. After being told she couldn't/wouldn't talk I try not to get frustrated when she doesn't shut up ;)
Her word for Fruit snacks is Pookats. Or something simular. If I tell her to say fruit she says "fruit" then I say snacks "shancks" OK so say FRUIT SNACKS "pookats!" lol.
Special treat is another one that is super hard to figure out. She was asking for it one night when we were out w/ Aunt Nat and I thought she was saying, something about her feet, or brush teeth, it sounds like "peshal peet" ha. When I finally figured out (3 days later) it was special treat she was so excited I knew what she meant!
I LOVE the way she says her L's sometime. Somethings she can say it normal but for the words little and like it's "yiddle" or "yike" soooo funny.
When she wants something she used to just demand it. I wouldn't give in and would tell her over and over how to ask nicely. So she would go "GET UP!!!" wanting to get up on the kitchen counter to watch/help me cook (I use the word help loosely). So I would say "that isn't how we ask. You say please Momma may I get up?". Ha little did I know she was listening. Now it's seriously the CUTEST thing ever every time she wants up she says "Please Momma Hayhe get up?" lol cracks me up. How can I say no to that?? So now if there is something she REALLY wants it's "Please Momma Hayhe _____ ?" then she will even smile and say "good asquing" (good asking) ha sooo adorable. She cracks me up. Love that girl


*She has become QUITE the independent D I V A. She wants to pick out every single thing she wears every single day. From her shirts to her socks and shoes. Most of the time it's OK but sometimes it's a huge fight. The things she puts together is hilarious. Honestly for a 2 and almost 1/2 year old she does pretty well. She doesn't put to many crazy colors/patterns together. I think she remembers things Momma puts together and picks them out as a pair. But sometimes when Daddy is in charge of getting dressed time you never know. Saturday she came out in her gray/red Husker shirts and her pink leggins with skirt attached. Ah so lovely

*She is also insentient on talking on the phone to whoever I am talking to. Which would usually be fine except she doesn't talk. She talks in like the most quiet whisper you have ever heard. It's funny and annoying. We're working on it and she is getting better. That weird girl

*So I don't remember exactly when it was with my pregnancy with Hailey (I'm sure I blogged it and could go back and read to find out if I really wanted to.) but from the way she acted in the womb I totally pegged her personality. I don't know if it's this way with all babies, maybe some are totally active and crazy in the womb and come out all chill and never cry, but not my baby. She was crazy inside and crazy outside. Everything I guessed about her inside is exactly the same today. Funny. Franklin I'm hoping is polar opposite. When I would push on Hailey inside she would kick like the dickens back at me. But if Steve touched she would immediately stop. She is super calm around Steve and always listens to him. He always has to back me up w/ discipline and often take over cuz she doesn't obey me, but Daddy oh heck yes. To funny. Franklin, is just quiet a LOT more. She seems to sleep more often and if anybody puts their hand on my belly she stops what she is doing. I'm hoping this translates to calm, not crying, easy to sleep and just better demeanor then her sis. But we'll see! I will love her to death no matter what, just like her Big Sis but God owes me! lol

*This has the potential of getting VERY long, but over the last few weeks (months, since Hay was born even!) I realized I had kids for a VERY selfish reason. I don't mean that in a bad way either. I think it's healthy. I babysat MANY kids over the years whose parents both worked full time, and then went out almost every weekend and left the kids with whoever/grandparents/babysitters. Now I am just judging these parents, not my place, but it wasn't healthy. I realize there has to be a balance, I'm not going to NEVER leave my kids, I can't be with them 24/7 and stay sane. But I also didn't have them, birth them, only to hand them over once or twice a week cuz I need a break or ME time. I would much rather take Hailey w/ me to Target then leave her. We love going to the zoo, park, mall, etc together. She is my go girl! I just love having her w/ me and she loves her Momma. I didn't leave Hailey in the church nursery until she was 15 months old. It won't be that long before I leave Peanut, and I wished I had left Hay sooner but I wasn't comfortable and she was a HARD horrible baby. I have learned and let go, I just wish some people would appreciate that! :)


*My most favorite thing about fall/winter came out a couple weeks ago. Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash Heaven in a bottle that stuff is. I try to limit myself but it's sooooooooo delish and refreshing I just LOVE it and could drink several cans a day!

*So literally the day after we found out Peanut was a girl I pulled all of Hailey's old clothes out of the basement to see what I needed and what I had. I was stressed I was having babies born in different seasons, but it's turned out to be OK. Newborns wear the same stuff no matter what time of year it is right? ;) Well, I had everything except a couple of my most favorite zip up sleepers. I could not find them for the life of me. Did I throw them away?? I looked and looked for them. Then I was looking through Hailey's newborn pics on facebook, and I realized I was missing 10 or so onesies, and some other sleepers. WHAT??? I was so upset. Where was this missing box of clothes?? It took me 2 months but I finally figured out I had loaned some stuff to my good friend Holly when her little girl was born about 3 months after Hailey. HA! I felt sooooooo stupid. My brain is fried I swear! lol

*I don't know if it's the fact that I am/was bigger during the summer months this pregnancy, but even since the weather has cooled down a little, I haven't been able to wear pants or socks to bed this whole pregnancy. If I do I wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. Gross. This is extremely hard for me because I always wear a t-shirt (or long sleeve shirt in the winter months), pants, and heavy socks to bed. I did notice my hormones changed drastically after having Hailey, I sweat at anything. Loading grocery's in the dead of winter will make me pit out. Gross. The things we go through for our kids!!

*Thee best $20 I ever spent in my life (which I didn't even have to use MY $, it was all in gift cards from my Birthday last year. Whot!) was to get a umbrella stroller at Target. Every.Single. Day Hailey asks to go outside and play "yiddle stroller". We mostly oblige as long as the weather is decent, she pushes it up and down the sidewalk to the driveways on either side of our house. It's hilarious! She has only attempted to go in the street a couple times but listens extremely well for a 2 year old, and knows her boundaries. (I think she also knows if she breaks the rules we go in. No ?'s asked) It's hilarious how obsessed with that stupid stroller she is. Who needs bikes, and expensive toys when you have an umbrella stroller?

*So even though my girl is a very very talkative 2 year old and can communicate extremely well to me, we are still having our struggles.
There are SO MANY things about 2 nobody tells you. Yes I knew we would have tantrums, and hard days. I realize this is the age you mold and shape them the most and it will be trying. But my land. Nobody tells you that at 2 they will stop eating/feeding themselves, sleeping, and pooping. Seriously??
Not long after I found out I was pregnant and Hailey turned 2 she completely stopped eating at meal times. She would snack allllllll day so I cut that out in hopes she would be hungry for lunch/dinner. I know she was hungry but she refused to feed herself and would make me or Steve do it. It was soooo frustrating! She is finally getting better after 6 months but is still a finicky eater. It's so hard but I just try to make things she likes and ignore her completely at meal times. If she gets attention she refuses to eat until she gets more attention. So if we ignore that she is even there she will shove it in. Weird girl. Oh but the last 2 weeks she has stopped using utensils. So lovely. Oh well at least I don't have to feed it to her!
At the beginning of September I noticed she had a huge change in her #2 function. Sorry this is TMI but I must document b/c it's been a HUGE part of our lives the last month or so. She would go like once a week, maybe twice. And when she as going she was screaming bloody murder like somebody was attacking her. It was horrible. I have bought just about everything in walmart to make the kid go and slowly it's getting better. But it's been a headache and I was completely obsessed w/ her pooping habits for weeks, calling my Mom everyday to ask her what to do. I gave it over to God and starting giving her suppository's and cut out vitamins. Who knew the girl was over loaded on vitamins, I don't think her body could process all that iron and stuff. So weird. She still screams like it kills her but at least she is going about every other day now. Hopefully we get there, but it's been stressful on Momma! The potty dance she does before going (which can sometime last 2 days), is quite entertaining though!
Sleeping; oh the sleeping. This is going to be LOOOONNNGGGG! Before we went to Michigan at the end of July, I think it started the end of June, she stopped sleeping through the night. She would wake multiple times a night crying for no reason. Mostly she had lost her binkies so I would find them on the floor and give them to her and she would go back to sleep. Sometimes it was 2-3 times a night though. Sooooooo hard! Then we went to Michigan and came home and she was still up crying in the night. So we took the plunge and took the side off her crib and made it into a "toddler bed". I figured if she wasn't sleeping in the crib she wouldn't sleep any better in the toddler bed. We had a couple good nights here and there, and to this day she has never gotten out of her bed, Praise Jesus! But she almost always does 1 or 3 things a night;
1)Not go to bed w/out crying. Sometimes it can take up to an hour and a 1/2 of crying before she will sleep. This is extremely frustrating for me and I lose my patience quickly. She won't tell me what she wants/needs or why she is crying. If I ask her what is wrong she just repeats what I am asking. So helpful! So over time we have realized I have to be super duper strict about her nap times during the day, if she sleeps to late or is off she won't sleep well at night. Also if she is up late at night, then 2 nights later are super duper hard and we pay for it.
2)Waking up in the middle of the night for no reason screaming and crying for Momma. She doesn't want to sleep in her bed anymore and wants to come sleep with me. Sometimes at 3am I give in just b/c I need sleep so bad. But I have stopped and we're crying it out. I go in and check her, as long as she hasn't pooped, thrown up, isn't sick or have a fever then I lay her down and leave. If she starts crying again I just leave her. It's tiring and horrible but I know it will be worth it. I can't deal w/ 2 crying in the middle of the night when Peanut is here.
3)waking up 2+ hours early. Luckily this is pretty much over. Right after we got home from Michigan and a couple weeks following she was getting up at 7am everyday. Oh lord it was horrible! She will sleep in now until about 8:30-9am but no more 10am like it was before. Oh well.
So there it is 2. It sucks. Sorry. I hear 3 is worse..........I may need to be committed. It really can't get worse then this can it?? Oy vey.........

*So I wouldn't tag myself as some one who is a germ-a-phoebe (Steve yes, me no), but I am FREAKED out about when Franklin is going to be born. It's going to be December, in the dead of winter, middle of cold and flu season. I'm alllllllll about washing hands and sanitizer. This year?!?! Do NOT COME NEAR ME AND MY BRAND NEW BABY. Or my toddler, b/c she will somehow pass it along to Franklin and we will all end up in the hospital and die. A little dramatic? Me?? Never. Ha. But seriously, thinking about it makes me nervous. Being in the hospital doesn't thrill me either. Why do they make women go to the place where people go when they are dying sick? Stupid.
Is it insane to tell people that if they have had a fever, cold, flu, stomach bug, or anything else in the last WEEK to not come near us?? I'm sure 24 hours is enough time, but not for this hyper Momma. Ugh I need to give this to God and let it go. I'm still going to be extra cautious though.........