I'm so shocked that almost a year has gone by since Kayleigh was born. Yet, I can barely recall what life was like before she was with us. Oh, wait, yes I can. It was quieter. Much, much quieter.

Just as you realize how happy your life was, a child comes along and redefines happiness. That happened when Abby was born. When Kayleigh came along we thought we couldn't be happier, but she is teaching all of us - her sister included - that another child smashes all previous conceptions of happiness and will continue to raise the bar.





So, why was it much quieter before Kayleigh was born even though she still doesn't talk - aside from the occasional, stray "mama", "baba", "abba", and "uh-oh"? It's because she really has had no need to talk. Her communication is fantastic, if not exceptional! Her hand gestures and gazillion screeches, grunts, cries, and mumblings absolutely and without a doubt convey her exact meanings and intentions.

She uses very few baby signs and none consistently: all done, more, milk, uh-oh, bye-bye. Most of the time, she just points, grunts, and lunges for whatever it is she wants and takes whatever she needs.

Kayleigh is also all over the place and we have to keep a close eye on her at all times. She likes to climb up stairs and WALK down stairs. She can't walk on her own, yet, but can stand for long periods of time without assistance. If you take her hand (and he's holding her Froggy in the other) she leans her body forward and tries to run. She likes turning over cat food bowls, playing in the cats' water fountain, going after power cords, light bulbs, and outlets, so we chase after her, constantly reminder her to stay out of trouble. She responds to "No-No!" by putting forehead down on the ground and pushing out a pathetic cry for sympathy. Abby calls it her fake cry.





Kayleigh is super-cuddly and sweet when she wants to be, which is often. I love how she buries herself under my chin when she is tired or being shy. We get attacked by big Kayleigh hugs and affectionate open-mouth slobbers (aka kisses) all day long. At daycare the teachers laugh at her for charging after her classmates and friends, trying to smother them with hugs and kisses, scaring most of them, oftentimes to tears. Recently, she learned to blow kisses. But somehow, she didn't quite get that she was supposed to blow kisses, so instead, she blows tongue clicks. Sounds exactly the same until you watch her do it!

Besides being affectionate, she's also surprisingly compassionate for a baby and has consistently shown it. A few times when Abby has been in tears (like when she had her throat roughly swabbed for a strep culture), Kayleigh will put her head down on Abby's and hold it there as she gently pats her, as if to say, "Everything is fine. We're all here for you."





As we make plans for celebrating her 1 year birthday, I just wanted to put down a few words about our little Kayleigh-bug. She is a joyful addition to the family. We are awed by her cunning, plotting, quick little stubborn mind and melting over her sweet nature. She is still our fairly laid-back kid as her general disposition is... simply very happy.

Abby attended her friend's 4th birthday party this past weekend and it was a really cool pool party. It wasn't until the morning of the party that I remembered it was a pool party and we hadn't bought a swimsuit for Abby since she was 2! We crossed our fingers that she could still fit into her suit. Luckily, it was a 3T and although the neck was hard to get over her head, it fit. This rec center in Ken Caryl had an indoor leisure pool with a party room. The party was at 12:30 - right in the middle of Kayleigh's nap time, so we didn't plan for letting her go in the water. BIG MISTAKE! From the moment she saw water, she squirmed to get out of our arms and immediately dove for the pool. When her high-pitched screams silenced the pool area as they echoed around the room, we decided to buy her a swim diaper and take her in.

She walked and walked and walked until the water was up to her chin. Paul held her hand the whole time, of course. Even though she looked nervous, she was determined to keep going. She was having so much fun that even after all the kids from the party headed to the party room, Paul had to stay with Kayleigh to splash around a bit longer.The kids had a blast in the pool, lots of hearty snacks after the swim, and had their face painted by an awesome face painter! Abby requested a "rainbow mariposa" as they are currently learning all about a butterfly's life cycle in school right now.

It's really cool being a girl.

Abby certainly thinks there's nothing better than being a girl and she feels sorry for daddy because he's a boy.

In fact, she's thinking hard on ways to help daddy join the Girls Club. The other day, she asked me, after a pensive moment: "Mommy, if daddy uses the girls potty, will he become a girl?" She was really hopeful, so I think she was really heartbroken when I told her "No."

I think I've mentioned before that Abby has an amazing memory. She constantly surprises me by the things that she can commit to that mind of hers.

Daycare is starting a new music curriculum and the girls both came home with CDs of music to encourage parental involvement. So, we've been playing Abby's CD in the van every now and then. In about 1 month of listening to random snippets, she has memorized 40 songs and helps teachers at school identify the tracks for songs that other kids are struggling to name!

Her lyrics are almost always dead on.

However, for the last few days she has been singing a really cute version of the Star Spangled Banner.

It goes like this:

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
We're so proud as we watch the twilight's last dreaming.
Who brought stripes and bright stars thru the arrowless fight,
We're so proud as we watch the twilight's last dreaming.
And the rockets red blare, the bombs bursting an air,
Gave proof to the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that stars tangled bana-aaaah way
O'er the land and of the free and the home of the wave?

This YouTube video is adorable!

Watch this little guy's expressions when his mom blows her nose. What I love is that he finds the situation both funny and frightening at the same time. Or perhaps he uses laughter as a coping mechanism for fear.

Regardless, this is too cute.

I am so backed up on posting to the blog that I've about given up. Weekdays are impossible for getting anything done and we're going to bed later and later, yet getting up earlier and earlier.

Good news is that the earlier and earlier part is due to (ring the bells, set off the fireworks) Kayleigh finally - FINALLY - sleeping through the night. Which really means around midnight until 6 AM. She still goes to bed at 8PM, but will wake for a midnight feeding then will sleep for a long stretch until 6 AM. Not a minute more, not a minute less.

Between 8PM and our bedtime (which is midnight now) we need to clean up from the evening, prepare for the next day by preparing meals, packing lunches, call parents, check emails, do timecards, and our newest activity.......P90X.

Now, know that I am not a workout buff, but I enjoy being active. I once ran a 5 mile race and it was by far the biggest achievement of my workout/fitness history. Paul and I tried "training" together, but since he runs 8 miles in less time than I can run 3 and can easily run 5 as a warm-up, there was very little togetherness. I've done yoga, pilates, plus gym stuff such as elliptical trainers, circuit machines, treadmills, spinning, but finding the time to get to a gym is impossible with 2 little ones. So, my workouts for the past couple of years have been all the nearby hikes and walks that we've been able to do with Abby and Kayleigh on the evenings when the weather is nice.

When our friends told us about P90X, it sounded like something that might provide enough variety to keep us engaged, despite it being a home workout routine. I've never been able to stick to a DVD workout because you get bored with them so quickly.

So, we got some resistance bands and the set of DVDs and began this workout.

You'll be surprised to know that it's been 3.5 weeks and we're still enjoying it. Very much, in fact! It truly is a workout we can both do together.

We both love Kenpo X (kicking, punching) and despise Ab Ripper X (339 ab moves in 16 minutes - now don't get me started on Tony Horton - creator of P90X - math because I can't figure out how he gets his numbers. Not even the 90 in P90X!! I mean, 13 weeks x 7 days a week = 91, right? So, why's it not P91X? Or, since day 7 is optional, 13 x 6 days a week = 78. Whatever!). There are things about every DVD that I hate - like dive bomber push-ups, reverse warrior poses, wall squats - but overall, I have enjoyed every workout.

The whole P90X program includes a diet plan and supplements. For this go-around, we are only doing the workouts to get ourselves off our butts. We plan to repeat the series and hope to include some of the nutritional guidance to see what differences that would make.

So, my lame excuse for not posting as often as I would like is that we haven't quite figured out how to really fit P90X into our schedules yet, but we're having a lot of fun so far working out together.