Family Visit

I think with this post our catch up is finally complete and we can focus more on those mostly shorter and more frequent posts. Heck, there might even be one in there that doesn't have to do with my kids. Shocking, I know, but I do actually have those thoughts occasionally. While my parents were here visiting us we got to do lots of fun things. Like when it snowed. My parents love leaving Idaho to come here and watch it snow for 2 days. Sydney had fun though. Wouldn't put that snowman down.

See what I mean? He went everywhere with her.
With Nana & Grampy at the aquarium Look, a picture with mom & dad too!
Mady had fun at the zoo - she is starting to get into seeing all the animals. I think she can see them for the most part now. Some of them are so darn camoflaged to babies they are near invisible.

Sydney really liked this crocodile. She was also convinced there were toes in the water where the light was making shadows. Oddly enough, she didn't seem bothered by that.

She was overjoyed that she not only got to see the gorilla, but sit on him as well. Pretty much made her day and started a trend with all the kids around us.
Playing dress up. She's a fairy with a knight helmet on. She was prepared to fight for that cereal.

We had a great time with my parents and were thrilled they could come. You're welcome anytime! We love company. Who wants to come next? Seriously, how can you resist the knight fairy?

Happy Halloween!

I had a different title for this post, but it was slightly scandalous sounding. Being 2, Sydney doesn't always say all the letters in all words, but she communicates effectively nonetheless.

It's interesting though how when you truly sound out what she says, it can turn out very entertaining. Take for instance, what she said to every neighbor, regardless of gender, whose house we visited on Saturday night: Kicker Teats!

Aw, those are some cute little witches. She said it to everyone at our ward trunk or treat too. It totally doesn't sound like that when she says it because of the inflection she uses, but that's how it gets sounded out Kick-er-teats!
Mady with all our festive pumpkins, pre-carvings

Sydney doing much better than last year with the gooeys while Aaron showed off his mad carving skills and we gave Sydney a quiz on her shapes.

The girls were thrilled to death to sit in the trunk. Mady sat in it and helped me pass out candy while Sydney pillaged from our ward members. Then Sydney came and demanded to be put in the trunk too. It's the little things people.

Cutest darn little witch - minus the hat

Look who's so darn big! And still let's me take as many pictures as I want of that cute mug.

My new goal is to post more frequent, shorter posts. I share this so that I have some motivation to follow through. Good luck to me. Hope your Halloween was super spooky!

Cheap Thrills

Thank you to the 5 million phone books we get...

And the Target $1 section...
and our major kitchen appliances for providing me with 20 minutes of quite time. The magnets were a huge hit. Thank heavens. We're all sorts of sick of the terrible twos today. I mean really, Sydney had a tantrum because Mady had a bow in her hair.
Seriously people, them's fightin words apparently.

We Love Target

My kids were completely beat by the time we got home. The were both awake, but very tired. Then Sydney informed me she didn't want to get out of the car. Multiple times. She stayed like this for an hour and a half. Don't worry, I was a good mommy and took a monitor out so I would hear her when she woke up.

What funny places have you or your kids chosen to sleep?

Sydney Bean

Oh I really stink at this. This is the longest I have ever journaled my life, but I still stink at updating consistently. Sydney had a birthday in early September and I missed blogging about it! Oh, I am awesome at this. Sorry to Sydney now and in the future when you read this. Sydney is so big now and I can't believe she is 2 years old. She is doing all sorts of fun things. Once when Mady was sleeping we went out and I read a book under a tree while Sydney rode her bike in the driveway. It was darling and one of those "I've arrived" as a mom moments for me.

Sydney often doesn't like to stop and smile for pictures, so these ones that Aaron got of her were particularly great.
She has a current obsession with hooded towels and wearing them around the house. She loves helping with the laundry and usually we end up loading the washer and dryer together. She's thrilled about it, so I don't mind the extra time it takes!
She such a fun helper and loves to do things to help out. In case you are wondering, carrying paint around the house definitely falls in the "helping out" category. She's also starting to get into dressing up a little bit, hence the safari hat.Our sweet Sydney is still such a dancer. This was taken on her birthday. So You Think You Can Dance tryouts were on and there was a guy tap dancing that inspired this performance. It's one of my all time favorites!

I think dance classes will be coming next year with as much as she loves to dance! We love you Sydney and are so happy to have you in our family!

Remember How...

We have oodles of snow outside
It makes me want to wrap Christmas presents
My awesome neighbor came and cleared my driveway and then shoveled my steps? Don’t knock all teenage boys.
We all hate potty training right now.
Sydney learned how to crawl out of her crib today (cue ominous music signaling the end of my semi-orderly world)
Afternoon naps did not happen for any parties in this house
At bath time Sydney dumped at least 2 large cups of water on my carpet before I could yell at her
She cried even though she knew not to do it in the first place
My internet has been a pain ever since the storm ended
My best friend brought me ice cream tonight
My kids are asleep.
We made it.

For your entertainment purposes tonight:

How God teaches me humility...

On Monday I was sick and Sydney tried to convince me to let her eat a whole box of crackers at once. I had to inform her that although I was sick, I wasn't delusional. Yesterday it might have worked though. Yesterday morning Aaron went on a business trip to Utah (don't worry, he's coming back today). While he was flying over the mountains in the early morning, I woke up feeling rather nauseated. Not cool. Both kiddos got up and we came down to have breakfast. While talking to my friend Karen telling her how crappy I felt, this is how it went:

Karen: Do you want me to come get Sydney?
Me: Oh, it's ok, I don't want you to have to do that (she has 2 kids just months older than mine)
Karen: Seriously, it's not a big deal
Me: Well, I might... wait...wait, Wait, WAIT! (thump as I toss the phone into a nearby basket of blankets as I dash to the bathroom)
Sydney: (in high chair) Mommy, I done!
Me:
Sydney: Mommy, I DONE!
Me: Mommy's busy, Sydney
Me: (back on the phone) uh, sorry Karen.
Karen: I'm coming to get your kids. I'll be there in 10 minutes.
Me: ok

Later as she and my visiting teacher met in my driveway to get my kids and bring me survival supplies (aka Sprite and Chicken Noodle soup) they discussed how glad they were that my children would not be in my care that day.
To be honest, I agreed with them. I don't think it would have gone so well.
Strangely enough, after a nap and some food, I felt great. Not just better, but like I had never been sick. Weird right? And definitely not flu-like. So maybe NyQuil doesn't agree with me? Or some undercooked chicken somewhere? Or maybe my body was ticked at the lack of sleep I get (courtesy of Mady) and decided it needed to take drastic measures for me to have a day off. Regardless of the cause, I'm overly grateful that Karen and Robin were there to take care of me. Thanks guys. My kiddos thank you to. They probably would have gotten ignored at my house for a time.

Sweet Music

Yesterday we got through the day, finally, by watching The Little Mermaid. It was Sydney's first time watching it and she was overly thrilled with the mermaid and the fish. She particularly liked "Under the Sea" - but come on, who doesn't? It was so inspiring in fact, that we created our own music too.

I know, you're jealous of how cool we are.

I'm SUCH a good mom...

Remember how my family was sick last week? Well it caught up to me this week. Mady is still yucky and just spit up on me. I feel like a hot air balloon is being inflated inside my skull, and Sydney is all better. Of course she is. She asked to go outside and play at the park today. Sorry babe, it's so not happening. I got both girls down for naps - at the same time!- today and went to take a nap myself. Mady (who is a terrible napper) woke up right as I was falling asleep. She sounded happy so I turned the monitor down hoping I could get 20 minutes in. I woke up an hour later when my visiting teaching partner called to see if she could bring me soup. Mady was screaming hysterically. I'm such an awesome mom, I didn't even hear her. That's how great I feel! Sorry for the lack of pictures. I had great ambitions to get them up today, but I am going to go eat my soup now and Sydney just woke up. Signing off.

Blahhhhhh

Sydney and Aaron are finally starting to get better. A week later. Mady had a fever this morning, so I'm praying she's not getting sick and that it's due to teething. About half an hour ago I was trying to make Mady a bottle and put some medicine in it. I set the medicine on the counter turned around to grab something and turned back. There is Sydney (where did she come from?) with an empty medicine bottle and white powder all over the floor. Ahhhhhhh. I actually couldn't speak. I grabbed the vacuum and tried to clean it up, but it was too fine. It tracked it all over my kitchen and vacuum. Now I am scrubbing my vacuum AND my kitchen floor. I know I shouldn't have left in on the counter, but seriously Sydney? Good thing I haven't showered yet today...

Madelyn

Mady is now 8 1/2 months old and is definitely developing a great and fun personality. She is also demonstrating her lack of patience with not being held and getting her way, which is a slight switch from Sydney who did not want to be held (unless it was by daddy). She is a sweet baby and I am very glad to have a cuddle bug, despite my inability to effectively do anything while holding her. It's ok. I like it. :) She definitely knows how to turn on the charm!

And so accomplished. That fish face took a lot of practice.

She has such smiley eyes. She's our little doll whom we love dearly.

Getting in a little snuggle time with Papa. I'm sorry to say it's rare. She prefers Mommy.

She has finally started eating some real foods but is decidedly against anything pureed and is now wary of utensils. She prefers picking up her own food or taking it straight from your fingers. This picture was taken tonight. She is covered in black beans and chocolate. It was a winning combination if I do say so myself.

She's finally started to say some consonants too. I filmed this on the way to Idaho - we got to listen to it most of the trip. After we got back she learned mamamama (not the word, just the sound), then babababa, and recently geegee.

Oh the Joys

We've had such an awesome weekend. Seriously. Aaron and Sydney both have 101 degree fevers and Mady is either getting sick or teething. I've had a headache and some other longlost discomforts and whatever Aaron & Sydney have keeps trying to take up residence in me too, despite the no vacancies sign I have permanently tattooed on my forehead. Rude. We have had a few good moments though, including listening to a few general conference talks (between the constant cries of "Nemo, Nemo!" and "yayayayayayaya") and selling our old tv and entertainment center (Thank you Craigslist buyers!). All in all, a very full weekend. Thank goodness it's over.

Family Pictures

While in Idaho we had the opportunity to take some family photos with my family since almost everyone was there - we were missing Katie :( There were lots of great ones, so here are my favorites of us and then you can see the collage of all of us. She was the easiest because she couldn't run away! The only good one of them together

All we had to do was sing "Mady Cakes, Mady Cakes" (the lollipop song) and she smiled.

She just ran wild.

I love Sydney's mad scientist eyebrows in the top middle picture. So perfect. Thank you to Jessica and Heath (Kesska & Heaf) for all the great pictures!

We're doing sooooo well...

I wrote the title of this post on Sept 26 and it's now Oct 1. I officially rock. I'm going to try to binge blog for a bit so I can get it all out and be caught up so I can actually record little funny occurrences in our lives, instead of just big momentous occasions. I'm all about that. The big ones seem overwhelming. Ugh. First off, the trip to Idaho and back. Both car rides were a little murderous (as in we all felt like murdering someone at some point) but we all made it safe and sound - hooray! We packed about a million toys (it's 12 hours!) and tried to stop in parks where there were toys and such to keep Sydney entertained. In Idaho we went to the zoo with Grammy (Aaron's mom), Aunt Adi, and cousin Jack. Sydney was obsessed with every lion we saw (except the real ones she couldn't touch) and named them all Alex. (Thank you Madagascar 2). I pried her off this baby at least 6 times.

Mady enjoyed all the extra attention and started posing for the camera. Here she is with John (Aaron's dad).

I love the crinkly nose thing. I do it too, so I guess it's genetic.

Sydney got clobbered in her first wrestling match with cousin Ike (1 year old). Uncle J was so proud.

My parents own horses and Sydney was a little scared of them, but fascinated all the same. She loved going out with Nana to feed them corn and anything else she could find that they would eat. After we got home she talked for almost 2 weeks about it. She'd say, "I coming horsies. Sydney coming. Bring corn. Pet 'em."

We'll try to get caught up...

Oh my gosh, you're not dreaming. I really did post. I know, shocker right? So here's the thing. We had family in town for about 1 1/2 weeks, were out of town for another 1 1/2 weeks, got sick in Idaho and spent a week recovering after we got back, and then had another week without any really good excuses. In my wussy defense, I have tried to post 3 times in the last few days and had multiple technical problems. It's not important though, because now we're getting to a real post! Aaron's brother Garth and his wife Kiery came to visit us about a month ago and we had tons of fun. The girls loved the extra attention and Sydney in particular loved having them here. She may have started calling him grandpa instead of Garth for a bit, but we finally got that sorted out!

We all went to the zoo while they were here and we had a great time seeing the animals and having fun.
Sydney having a great time playing the drums with Auntie Kiery. Picture Perfect.
Sydney has been playing dress up more lately too. She's got such great fashion sense.
The next week Grammy came to visit and got to spend lots of time with the girls. They, again, loved all the attention and I loved all the chances I got to leave by myself. Shocker right?

Mady has also become a pro at sitting up by herself. Usually if she falls over now, it's because she wants to!

Oh, I almost forgot to include the potty training update you've all been waiting for. After the intial excitement of day 1, Sydney started to rebel and make some messes not in the potty on purpose. I realized she wasn't going to be a quick one and was not comfortable taking her on a long trip half potty trained, so we've spent the last few weeks getting her used to the potty. Now that we're back with no trips ahead of us, we're ready to give it a try again soon. Stay tuned for the exciting drives to and from Idaho, Sydney's birthday, and lots of more great pictures!

Oops

Wow, more than a month gone by. We've had family in town, been out of town, traveled home again and all got sick, so now I might actually get around to blogging. Sorry for all of you that are wanting to know what's going on! I'll try to post today since we have lots to report!

Day 1

At the end of the day the score stands at 3 oops and 8 yays. Not bad for our first day! She even stayed dry during our 1 1/2 hour trip to Target to buy panties! (She picked Tinkerbell). Wish us luck tomorrow!

We're 3 (oops) and 5 (yay!) now and she's down for a nap. We'll see how the afternoon goes!

Make that 3 & 3.

Our Day

Looks like fun right? So far the total is 2 accidents, 2 times in the potty, with both accidents being first and the successes being the most recent. Let's hope she's getting better. We're watching Winnie the Pooh for some inspiration...
She's very pleased about the stickers she has gotten to put on and the M&Ms she gets when she has a success. So am I. Wish us luck.

Big Kid!

On Monday Mady finally had her 6 month check up. She weighed 20 lbs 15.5 oz (let's just call that an even 21 lbs shall we?) and is 29 inches long. For those of you who care, Sydney, who was not exactly a feather weight, was 22.5 lbs and 29.5 inches long at 12 months. How did Mady get so big? I mean, I realize her genetics are completely against her on this, but really!

Isn't she so cute and happy? I love it.

Oh, and look who's finally big enough to hold her own bottle! Hooray!

She's pretty anti all "solid" food right now, so we're very happy that she's learned to maneuver her own appendages and put them to good use, freeing ours to chase Cyclone Sydney around the house a little more. Thanks sweetie.

Quick story: Sydney and I were sharing a little treat tonight which made her night. She kept saying, "I like this!" and , "I hold it!" quite nicely. But wouldn't you know, as soon as Mady started fussing, Sydney practically dropped her dessert and got off my lap saying, "Mady, sad." She ran over to her baby sister and started making funny noises that always make Mady smile. She did this twice. Oh, how I love my sweet girls. Maybe they really will be best friends. So far, so good. You couldn't ask for a better big sister than that. Believe me, I know. I didn't get up that fast...