The Newell Memos

Sisters

2012-01-25T22:32:00.000-08:00

2012 is going to be a great year.

So many friends and family are having babies and planning to have babies this year. Some are having their firsts, most are having their seconds or thirds!

All the talks about babies has made me reflect on the past 21 months, thinking about how parenting has changed since Kayleigh's joined the family and what it's been like to raise two little girls.

The best part by far is seeing the closeness of the two sisters develop as they get older. Kayleigh absolutely worships Abby and tries to mimic her with everything. Abby thinks Kayleigh (aka HER baby) is the cutest thing in the world.

The toughest part may be that they're so distinctly different in personalities and temperament that a lot of the experience we had dealing with Abby's "Terrible Twos" phase does not apply to the Kayleigh-style attitude we are seeing now.

The girls rarely get to watch television. When they do, they generally get a movie. Their recent obsession is with 'Rio.'

I understand now what my mom has always said - that raising two kids is actually not much more difficult than raising one. They share with, play with, entertain, help, learn from and teach each other. All leading to less and less dependency on Paul and me. It's been a healthy exercise in allowing the girls resolve conflicts on their own. It has noticeably helped Kayleigh develop her vocabulary and has helped Abby stretch her mind, trying to come up with a solution that is beneficial for her and also accommodating and pleasing to her sister.

Minor episodes of jealousy are inevitable, though, but for now they're limited to noticing age-related unfairness, like Kayleigh getting distraught over seeing Abby get 2 vitamin gummies while she only gets 1, or Abby getting upset because Kayleigh doesn't get reprimanded for dawdling NEARLY as often as she does.

Abby and Kayleigh get along great MOST of the time.

The two sisters are so different that I think similarities really end at their facial features. Beyond the dark, curly, brown hair, big, expressive eyes, and little button noses, they couldn't be more different. We love each girl so much, but so uniquely, if that makes any sense.

They say that the second one tends to be louder because that's the only way they get heard. Parents pay less and less attention as more kids are added. It's true! The reason isn't because we care less, though. No no. It's because the household just become really, really loud and to save our sanity, we need to filter out most sounds. Screams, choking coughs, nagging persistence that begin to sound urgent, etc. get responses. Everything else becomes buzzing background noise. Abby is at an age where constant chatter and singing are the norm and a lot of times, she's just talking to herself.

And in case you were wondering, we are not currently planning on having a third child, but the option is still available, so we'll just have to see how things go.

An All Around Pleaser

2012-01-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

The wonderful Uncle Allen bought Abby and Kayleigh a 34" tall Snuffles bear. Completely out of the blue, for no reason except "just because."

Abby and Kayleigh literally fell all over themselves in their adoration of this bear.

So, this weekend, our first time seeing Allen since the bear appeared on our front porch, Abby came up to me and held my hand...

Abby: Mommy, I'm going to tell Uncle Allen, "Thank you for the big bear!"

Me: Oh, I'm sure Uncle Allen would LOVE to hear that.

Abby: No, Mommy. I think YOU would love to hear me tell Uncle Allen "Thank you for the big bear."

Well, I guess she pleases everyone here, but I just don't have a proper response to her surprisingly honest and observant remark.

Kids' Holiday Show - Dec 2011

2012-01-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

Every year, the girls' daycare puts on a holiday show for their family and friends, held at a local high school.

The 2011 show was held on December 15th and was Kayleigh's first performance. It went about as well as Abby's first performance, where she just stood on stage and stared at the audience. The enormous stage and an auditorium full of people ooh-ing, aah-ing, and laughing as little toddlers march onto the stage dressed in holiday garb was overwhelming, so stage-fright froze her. Still, for the toddler class, it's not really about how well they perform, but how cute they looked. And our Kayleigh was adorable! You'll see her as the 4th kid from the right, dressed in a black and white dress with a red ribbon around the waist.

The teachers put each kid in a Santa hat and they rang bells and danced to "Jingle Bell Rock." (Apparently, Kayleigh is one of the most enthusiastic dancers during all rehearsals leading up to performance night. You would have never guessed!)

Abby's Pre-Kindergarten class sang and danced to Mele Kalikimaka - a Hawaiian Christmas Song. Then, without music they sang Silent Night a capella and performed it in sign language. We thought all the kids in this class did a fantastic job. It's hard to imagine how much she's matured in just 2 years, when SHE was the one who stood on stage as a toddler, frozen by the newness of the experience.

Shorter Stuff

2012-01-14T22:42:00.001-08:00

I haven’t posted much about Kayleigh recently, but she is has been growing in leaps and bounds.

Note: Paul has always called Abby "Short Stuff," so naturally, Kayleigh is "Shorter Stuff," hence the title of the post.

People are noticing that she is talking and understanding a lot more. She is so busy building her vocabulary, though, and not focusing on making sure she says each word correctly. From her intonation, context, and choice of sounds you can understand her pretty well, but it’s still frustrating (and funny) to hear her refer to socks as “gocks”, sippie cups as “bippie bop”. And, yes, most of her words seem to start with “G” or “B”. So, although she can even say short sentences, like “There you go, Abby,” they come out as “Gair you go, Babby.”

It’s neat to hear her mixing Chinese and English, but with her lazy focus, we sometimes get things like “nilk” as she tries to combine “nai” (Mandarin for milk) and its English equivalent. We do consider all of these minor issues because when we get her to concentrate, she can say pronounce all of these sounds/words just fine.

Last note about her language development that is really cute to witness is that she currently walks around the house, muttering words that she feels are related. For example: “Goggy (doggy), puppy, go-go (Mandarin for dog), arf!, woof!”, “Hoss (horse), neigh!”, “Mao (Mandarin for cat), cat, meeeeoooowwww!, Belle-Belle (name of one of our cats).”

Kayleigh can walk up and down stairs now, holding onto the rails or one of our hands. She is trying very hard to learn how to jump, but she bops around and dances quite a bit. Watching Abby do gymnastics, she has taught herself to do a very good forward roll. Seeing that, we tried enrolling her in gymnastics, but she’s still not quite ready to be in a group class. We are eagerly waiting for summer to take her swimming because she just loves water and apparently has no fear of it.

She is approaching her 2nd birthday in April and daycare is getting ready to transition her from the toddler class to early pre-school. Sounds so grown up, doesn’t it?

The other reason I haven’t posted a lot of photos of Kayleigh is that she hates having her picture taken. In fact, when she sees a camera pointed at her, she’ll charge towards it, shouting, “No! No! No!” and will swat it out of your hands. So, I’ve been trying to be clever and sneak in some pictures with my iphone, but she has figured out that if I’m holding the phone a certain way I’m actually trying to take a picture and she’ll drop whatever she’s doing to attack the phone. However, if she's absorbed in watching her favorite movie, "Rio," as in the picture above, I can get away with a few snapshots.

Thumb Trophy

2011-12-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

When Abby stopped using a pacifier when she turned 2, she unfortunately started thumb-sucking - a habit she picked up by observing other kids in her class. When we found her pediatric dentist, we mentioned to him our concerns about her thumb-sucking and talked to him about all the methods we have tried to get her to quit.

Right there, he turned to Abby and gave her a very serious talk about why she doesn't need to suck her thumb any more. Whispering to us, "that's usually all it takes, so we'll see..."

Then, he offered a challenge to Abby. If she could stop sucking her thumb by the next check-up, he would give her a special award.

The pep talk worked like a charm. Abby immediately stopped thumb-sucking with just a few occasional reminders.

Well before her next dental check-up, we felt she had earned her award. So, at the following checkup, the hygienist used dental plaster to make a mold of Abby's sucking thumb and created a really cool trophy, complete with Abby's name and decorations!

Abby is so proud of her trophy that she took it for show-and-tell that week. It now sits on a shelf in her bedroom, a display of her achievement.

Necessity

2011-12-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

English Pronunciation

2011-12-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, we started to play a simple game with Abby to help her learn sight words. I tied 5 tiny binder clips to a ribbon and hung the ribbon on her bedroom wall. Each binder clip contains a sight word card. Every night, we review the sight words and during her bedtime story (and throughout the day), we try to spot as many of those words as possible. Once she has mastered a word, the card is swapped out for another.

Abby is pretty good at sounding out words, but we are encouraging her to recognize a lot of common words on sight.

In the process, we are also trying to teach her simple English rules. For example, vowels followed by an 'e' NORMALLY makes it a long vowel, i.e., it says its name. Unfortunately, the English language makes no sense! Rules don't seem to apply.

Lucky for us, Abby's willing to be flexible and we are making great progress.

I laughed, though, when I saw the fun poem below. It might be smart to take the advice!

Snagged from https://spelling.g/2007/09/05/english-pronunciation/

=====

If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman said he’d prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud.

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

English Pronunciation by G. Nolst Trenité

Liquid Animals

2011-12-01T22:11:00.000-08:00

Cats are liquids.

“Liquids … take the shape of the container while maintaining a constant volume”. That’s it. So cats are liquid.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful, delicious Thanksgiving with family and friends.

This is Abby wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving....really, that's what she meant to say at the end.

Locked Neck

2011-11-23T11:34:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago my neck locked up and I was completely unable to turn my head or move it up or down. This happened in the middle of the day, triggered by an intense 3 hours of software debugging, hunched over my keyboard in anticipation of getting a major integration piece in place. (The code was working perfectly by lunchtime.)

Driving home that evening, with no neck mobility was scary and excruciating. My mom came over to examine me and help me with massage, but she immediately noticed a significant amount of swelling on my right side, so she encouraged me to either talk to my doctor or see my chiropractor friend. I was unable to lift my head to look at my parents and couldn't lay down because my neck couldn't support the weight of my head in the process of lying down!

I called the doctor the next day and he pushed me to see the chiropractor instead, saying he would not be able to do much for sprains or alignment issues.

It was Friday. I got my first treatment that afternoon and got two more over the weekend. After just the Friday treatment I was in significantly less pain and was gaining more left and right range of motion. By Monday, I could move my neck again with minimal pain. Over the last two weeks I've continued to recover and with 2 more treatments, I am now feeling BETTER than ever before.

Since I struggle with tightness in my neck and shoulders - due to carrying a toddler and my posture as I do my job - I need to work on taking more breaks throughout the day. I have also decided to see the chiropractor more regularly as a means to prevent something like this from happening again.

This is a chiropractic activator. It is what my chiropractor primarily uses. Rarely will she use the manual method of adjustment because this provides more precise stimulant to the areas that need it. Three years ago, the activator method cured my back problem that prevented me from carrying Abby, who was then a toddler. Back then we were still living in DC and I saw doctor after doctor for the problem. For three months was on pain-killers and muscle-relaxers which did absolutely nothing to help my condition. Coming to Colorado for Christmas, my mom took me to see her friend, the chiropractor, and she was able to fix me up in 2 completely painless treatments. I sound like some sort of advertisement for chiropractic therapy, but I've been converted a to true believer in its ability to help the body perform (and heal) more optimally.

Abby was so funny about my recent neck issue. She tried to make me feel better, saying, "It's ok you can't turn your neck. At least we're not owls and need to turn our necks ALL the way around!"

Matilda Jane Clothing

2011-11-23T10:49:00.000-08:00

Function and comfort are typically all I notice when clothes shopping. Fashion is not exactly high on the list. I am a bit ashamed to think that I have two lovely girls who might be afflicted with my lack of fashion sense because they will never grow up being surrounded by a sense of appreciation for fashion.

But a few months ago, an email arrived in my inbox inviting me to a Matilda Jane Trunk Show. Anyone who has girls need to be aware of the MJ clothing line, it indicated. Well, I was game.

I attended the show.

I bought a few pieces.

And now I'm hooked!

I adore the fun ruffles, the lace, the buttons, the knots, and even the floral prints. I love the layer upon layer of colors and different patterns that look both vintage and modern when put together. I love the swishiness of the dresses and skirts.

Every time Abby goes out wearing Matilda Jane she receives a ton of compliments. People's face brighten and they grin as they say, "That is so much FUN!" So, yes, buying MJ is my contribution to a healthier and happier society. Ha!

But, as for some degree of fashion awareness, maybe it's not completely hopeless for my girls.

Breakfast Boxes

2011-11-23T09:08:00.001-08:00

I have always been a big fan of bento boxed lunches. People get very creative in designing and crafting these lunch boxes that are such personalized pieces of art. Check out Another Lunch or Bento Mama to see some inspiring food creations.

Maybe someday, many, many years from now I will have the time and develop the skill to create a few of these, but for now, time is something we struggle with. So much so that we find ourselves eating breakfast in the car most weekday mornings. The whole family, each with a handful of little sandwich baggies filled with fruit or cereal and the like. Such a bad idea to eat on the go, but we really don't have much of a choice right now given our extremely long commutes.

Another problem with this routine is that the girls pick at the food in the bags, sometimes taking the entire drive to daycare to finish a couple of grapes, so they never get to the other items that make their breakfast more well-rounded and nutritious.

So, one day, I whipped out some plastic lock-top containers (they need to be light enough that Kayleigh won't have trouble holding them in her lap, easy enough to open, non-breakable, and easy to wash) plus some silicone baking cups. I put small servings of various cut-up fruit, sandwiches, and sprinking of craisins into each box. They were a hit! The girls ate everything. Plus, no waste!

I can't do cutesy right now. (Although, I have been known to use a cookie cutter on a sandwich before to create bite-sized flower-shaped snacks for Abby and Kayleigh.) However, the concept of having all of your food laid out in front of you, giving your kid control to choose how and when they eat each item, works.

The time it takes to pack my super-simple, not too pretty, breakfast boxes is actually quicker than trying to struggle with the little Ziploc sandwich bags and making sure we grab each one. It also gives me a great visual to all the food I pack and allows me to determine if I've put in enough nutritious items.

So, I think we will continue to do Breakfast Boxes, but I am in search for better boxes to use. They must be dishwasher safe, easy open, lightweight, and preferrably something that will allow different configurations with dividers/containers. If anyone (particularly my overseas family/friends) can recommend some good boxes, give me a holler!

A breakfast box from last week:

-- 1/2 banana

-- segmented clementine orange

-- thin slice of gingerbread loaf

-- Chinese marbled tea egg (de-yolked and cut in half for Kayleigh)

A finished breakfast box.

Kayleigh ate almost everything, but left some clementine

carcasses and pieces of tea egg.

Abby ate every bit of food and she's usually the lighter eater of the two!

Daddy's Home!

2011-11-23T08:57:00.001-08:00

After three weeks in Harrogate, England, working obscenely long hours, Paul has come home.

The work in England was completed successfully and the team sent was highly praised.

The girls and I are so happy to have Paul back. We picked Paul up from the airport late Saturday afternoon. Kayleigh was a little shy around Paul from the walk between DIA's terminal train arrival to baggage claim - a five-minute walk. After which neither girl would let go of daddy.

We had a low-key Sunday, spending time together and catching up on horsing around.

Thankful

2011-11-15T10:19:00.001-08:00

With Daddy Gone

2011-11-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

Paul has been in Harrogate, England for the past week and a half, supporting work. He left on 10/29 and will be returning next Saturday, 11/19.

Three weeks seem like a long time, but with two little ones, the time has flown by. I'm completely exhausted and refusing to succumb to this cold I feel is coming on. I don't know how I would manage if my dear parents weren't nearby to lend a hand, prepare food, and make the occasional daycare run to pick up the girls.

Abby and Kayleigh have been fantastic and not at all difficult to handle on my own. Abby is so helpful and considerate, as always. Kayleigh is still quite the drama queen, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Time is the enemy, though. When Paul is here, we stagger our work schedules so that both of us get our hours in. However, when I'm on my own and need to handle drop off and pick up, I end up barely able to put in 40 hours of work in the office, so I'm forced to make up hours in the evenings. So, when we get home at 7pm, dinner is something quick and easy, then it's bath time, stories, then off to bed at 8pm.

After the girls are in bed, I feed the cats, do the litter boxes, go through the girls' bags from daycare, read their daily notes from teachers, sort through their work, go through mail, wash the dishes, tidy up the kitchen, call parents, check email, pack lunch for tomorrow, work, do timecard, shower, love up the kitties, check on the girls, then get ready for bed before midnight.

This week has been a little more crazy because charter school lotteries are coming up and schools are having their parent information sessions this week. I attended one this morning and will be going to another tomorrow night. While being encouraged by the positive impression I'm getting from these schools, I'm also discouraged by the fact that our chances for getting into these schools are determined by lottery. Fate has its way of working these things out, though.

We talk to Paul almost every day. Thanks to iPhone's fantastic new-to-iOS5 iMessage capability, we are able to "chat" whenever Paul has wifi access. Also, with the Skype app we are able to call each other at no cost as well! We have also played with FaceTime, but Skype is still a bit more familiar for us to use. On weekends we are able to Skype on the computer and the girls can video chat with Paul. Also, bless the iCloud and PhotoStream for making it possible for Paul to take pictures and have the photos automatically uploaded via PhotoStream and appear in my Aperture library. It sure doesn't feel like he's thousands of miles away!

Paul and Abby made a paper link chain with the days he will be gone written on each chain. Every night, Abby and I cut off a link, counting down the days to when Paul will return. Every few days, Abby has a breakdown because she misses daddy. Kayleigh, despite being as happy as can be when we're with her, has been "acting sick" at school, not participating in activities and being extra quiet and lethargic. We think this is her way of missing daddy.

Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App!

2011-11-08T22:24:00.000-08:00

Oh boy! Another app I must download.

Days of the Week

2011-11-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

Did you know there were so many songs out there that teaches kids about the days of the week?

Well, here are the three that have been sung over and over and over again in our house the past week. Quite frankly, I find them pretty catchy and not in the annoying oh-my-god-my-ears-are-bleeding sort of way.

Days of the Week
(to the tune of "The Addams Family")

Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week,
Days of the week,
Days of the week. (snap snap)

There's Sunday and there's Monday,
There's Tuesday and there's Wednesday,
There's Thursday and there's Friday,
And then there's Saturday.

Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week, (snap snap)
Days of the week,
Days of the week,
Days of the week. (snap snap)

There are Seven Days
(to the tune of "Oh My Darling Clementine")

There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.
There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Today is... Song
(To the tune of "Frere Jacques")

Today is _______.
Today is _______.
All day long, all day long.
Yesterday was ______.
Tomorrow will be _______.
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!

Kayleigh at 18 Months

2011-10-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Kayleigh is as healthy as can be. She is finally talking and as suspected, she's jumping right into sentences. The "mamas" and "babas" are still rare, but we get a lot of "D'ere a go" ("There you go") and "I oh no" ("I don't know").

Like Abby, her first words are a mix of Chinese and English, whichever is easier to say:
Go-Go (dog), Yu (fish), Mao (cat), Diu (throw), more, thank you, ball, plane, moon, bird, baby, play, no, go, snow, cracker, sticker, bowl, juice, yogurt, apple....

She is growing up so fast. In a blink of an eye, she has transformed from a tiny, helpless baby to an individual with a very, very strong will and mind of her own.

Kayleigh always gets her way or will at least do everything in her power to try. From bounding up to you and giving you a snuggle and dimpled grin to smacking you and giving the evil eye, she is an unstoppable force. She has a bag of tricks and she knows how to strike.

Abby and Kayleigh get along great most of the time. Abby is an amazing older sister, kind, caring, willing to share. Kayleigh adores and admires Abby. We are currently going through the "whatever Abby has I want as well" phase and it's endlessly exhausting to keep coming up with new ways to redirect Kayleigh's attention.

Separation anxiety hasn't been an issue with Kayleigh. She goes down to bed without a fight at night (just need to say "night-night" and give her her teddy bears to snuggle with) and drop-off at daycare in the mornings isn't an issue (she lunges for her teacher and immediately turns to you with a grin, waving bye-bye).

She's strong, she's smart, and she's sweet.

Perfect.

(I felt so silly forgetting that Kayleigh needed a 15 month well-baby checkup. I showed up a month late and her doctor comforted me by saying it's the one checkup most parents forget about and if it's not for the first child it's almost always forgotten.)

16 Month Well-Baby Stats (8/19/11)
Ht: 32.25 inches (90th %-ile)
Wt: 21.2 lbs (25th %-ile)
HC: 17.5 inches (50th %-ile)
Shots: Hib, MMR

18 Month Well-Baby Stats (10/24/11)
Ht: 33.25 inches (90th %-ile)
Wt: 22.1 lbs (25th %-ile)
HC: 18.5 inches (50th %-ile)
Shots: HepA, Polio (IPV), DTaP, Flu

Preschool Math

2011-10-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

I found this picture while sorting through our photos on the computer. It was taken for one of Abby's math homework assignments when she was in preschool about 6 months ago.

Math homework? For 3 year olds?!

Yep, Abby has had some great teachers and these simple home assignments were meant to involve the parents and provide an extra spark to interest the kids in whatever topic is being taught.

This particular assignment was to use a ruler to measure a group of things from home and then identify the longest and shortest items.

Abby chose to examine our family's shoe sizes and she proved to know how rulers worked quite well. I thought she had a really cute idea. To prove accuracy in her homework responses, I helped Abby take a picture and attach it to her submission.

She received a special recognition from the teachers for an assignment well done. :)

Kayleigh's 1st Timeout

2011-10-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh has really hit a turning point in communication. She still stubbornly refuses to speak when she doesn't need to - preferring to physically drag you to where she wants you to be rather than saying something like, "Mama here!"

However, lately, she has been trying so hard to respond appropriately with a nod or a shake of her head while saying, "No! No! Noooo!"

Last night, she really wanted Abby's share of kiwi fruit after finishing her own, so she stomped, cried, and started hitting Abby to get what she wanted. We kept offering her the remainder of her dinner to which she kept shaking her head. Finally, not putting up with the hitting anymore, we threatened, "Kayleigh, do you want a timeout?!"

Obviously thinking we were offering her food (but certainly not the dinner remains we had been insisting on), she nodded emphatically.

Boy, was she ANGRY when I led her to a step stool and asked her to sit there until she calmed down. Full-blown Kayleigh temper tantrum followed with her on her knees, forehead on the ground, screaming.

It's funny how quickly toddlers get distracted, though. While face-down on the floor, she spotted Abby's dress-up slippers next to her, so within 1 minute of her tantrum she was happy again, laying on her back trying to get her foot into a shoe.

And that was the end of the episode.

Ringer

2011-10-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

We've been told by A LOT of people that Kayleigh looks JUST LIKE her older sister at this age.

I don't know.

Do you see any sibling resemblance?

Left: Abby 15 months old (10/2008); Right: Kayleigh 17 months old (9/2011)

We've Landed on the Moon

2011-10-18T19:51:00.001-07:00

I love the moment captured in the following picture. We were playing putt-putt with some friends and Abby and this adorable friend of hers attacked the course very seriously, finishing far ahead of the adults.

When we finally reached the green they were playing at, I watched them grab the golf flag pole and heard Abby say, "Hey, let's pretend we just landed on the moon!"

It surprised and delighted me that a 3.5 and 4 year old wanted to reenact history in their pretend play and that they even knew about landing on the moon!!

19 Is When You Turn Old

2011-10-18T19:15:00.001-07:00

It's depressing that the days are so much shorter now, but the up side to having to drive through darkness at the end of the day is that instead of listening to my girls fight over who gets to read "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" in the car, I get to hear Abby playing teacher and giving us very important lessons.

Tonight, Kayleigh and I got two lessons - one on sharing and one on policemen/safety.

Abby: Kayleigh, are you playing with the Barbie doll? If you're not, you should share. If you're not playing with something you need to share it with someone else because it's not nice to always hold onto something that you're not going to play with and not share.

[pause]

Kayleigh, will you please share? Kayleigh! Listen to me! No, look at me! Is this a face that's a smiley face? I'm not very happy with you because you're not sharing.

[Of course, Kayleigh doesn't utter a sound in response, sucking contently on her pacifier. At that moment, a car merges in front of me and Abby gasps.]

Mama! That car just cut in line. That's not very nice at all and it can be dangerous! That person can get a police man's ticket for cutting in front of the line. You can also get a police man's ticket for driving really, really fast, right? Or if you cut in front of other people. It's not safe. If you don't follow the rules, the police will give you a police man's ticket and we don't want that, do we? Kayleigh, do you want me to teach you about safety? Pretend it's safety week and I'm teaching you about how the police keep people safe. If you are a bad, bad person, they put you in a locker. They also put lockers on your hands like this if you're bad. So, if I were bad, the police man can put a locker around my hands and lock me up forever! A police man also gives out police man tickets if you drive bad. If the car in front of you stops, you have to stop. If the car in front of you goes, you need to go. You also have to watch the lights. Red means stop, green means go, and yellow means go slow. Mama, I want to drive when I turn....ummm....7!

Me [first time Abby paused long enough for me to get a word in]: No driving until you're 15 or 16.

Abby: Oh, ok! 16 then. After I turn 16 I'll turn 17, then 18, then 19....And 19 is when you turn OLD!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kayleigh is lounging on Paul's arm, making it difficult for Paul to eat his dinner. Abby explains to Kayleigh: Kayleigh, daddy is not furniture. People are not furniture; we talk.

Peek-A-Boo

2011-10-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

I KN SpL, KN U?

2011-09-30T08:38:00.001-07:00

I stressed over finding daycare for Abby.

Had to stress over finding daycare TWICE because of the move from Maryland to Colorado when she was 16 months old.

Now, the search for elementary school has been in full swing. It's fortunate that Colorado has Open Enrollment, allowing kids to attend any school they desire, not forced to accept their neighborhood school, but it's also unfortunate because it expands my research boundary a lot. As we dig into the Kindergarten/First grade curriculum at schools I'm getting really, really frustrated.

I have an embarrassing reaction to anger. I cry. Normally, not prone to being overly emotional, but when I get angry enough, I lose control and the tears are inevitable.

This morning, I came across this song in a Kindergarten parents' handbook of one of the top-rated elementary schools in THE top-rated school district in Colorado.....and I lost it.

Beginnings

I'm learning how to spell today;
I'm doing very well!
I know that exit starts with "X",
and elephant with "L".

(You can't seriously think that this is a GOOD song to teach kids about spelling! Can no one see that this could maybe do more harm than good?! Or has the texting generation changed the world of spelling so that "xit" and "lphant" are just as acceptable now?)

There's "K" for cape, came and cake,
and "Q" for cucumber,
Forest starts with "4", I think,
Oops, "4" is a number!

(On the bright side, this song can help kids develop a skill for going into business as vanity plate designers - "4est", "QcumbR"....I can see them slapped on to the front and back of my car.)

Birthday ends with letter "A",
and easy ends with "Z",
"O" comes last in scarecrow,
and baby ends with "B".

(I thought this was a song about Beginnings. I'm a bit confused about what this song is trying to accomplish.)

It gets harder, I suppose,
As you go along.
But spelling seems quite simple now,
Perhaps....I could be rong!

(No, I did not mistype the last word. Copied exactly from the handbook.)

[Sniff.]

Overreaction

2011-09-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

Abby wanted two pigtails for school today.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, I brushed her hair. As I started to part her hair, I saw a ton of black specks near her scalp and I froze.

"Aaagh, she's got head lice! Oh my gosh, she can't go to school today. I need to get Paul back in here to look at this. I wonder how much of this is all over her bed. All over her room. All over the HOUSE! Need to check Kayleigh. That's it! My girls are living in a bubble from now on!"

I stared to see if anything was moving. Thank goodness, no. So, my next, more rational thought was, "Shouldn't nits be white?"

At that moment, Abby moved her head and one of the specks caught the light and shined blue. Imagine my RELIEF when that clued me in to the fact that her head was actually covered in blue GLITTER......not nits.

The calmer me said to Abby, "Abby, were you playing with glitter in art yesterday?" Meanwhile, I was thinking why, oh why, didn't I give her a bath yesterday. Would've saved me from a near heart-attack this morning.

"Noooo...."

"Then how did you get all this blue glitter in your hair?"

"Quinncy put the sprinkles in my hair and then I put some in Quinncy's hair and then I put some in Olivia's hair. It was just the three of us and the teachers didn't know about it. We were like Tinker Bell and her friends."

Ah, glitter = pixie dust.

Just an overreaction.

Dressed Up

2011-09-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

I love this outfit that Abby put together, right down to the latex rubber gloves!

She Rides!

2011-09-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Abby has been really hesitant to ride tricycles and bikes. Even with training wheels, she refused to try. So, when Paul had a day off on Monday, 8/8, he decided to give Abby instructions on riding a bike with training wheels.

Amazingly, it took only an hour and Abby was able to do it and loves it! She was so proud of herself and she called me at work to tell me about her success.

Here she is, proudly riding her pink Princesses bike around the tennis courts.

Ratatouille Rapide

2011-09-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw the Disney movie, Ratatouille, I've been wanting to make this peasant dish. However, the recipes were all quite a bit time-consuming and intimidating, so I never attempted it.

Until now.

A few weeks ago, we started to get a vegetable share from our local community supported agriculture (CSA). Every week, we would get a box of freshly picked (from the day before), organic vegetables. Each week the vegetables were different, depending on what was in season.

So, last week, the huge stash of tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and variety of squashes screamed ratatouille. I found this recipe online by Julia Child and modified it to make my version of a quick ratatouille.

This recipe is not baked and I skip the last step to simmer all the ingredients together. In order to let the flavors mingle, this recipe should be made a day in advance.

Slice:
1 large zucchini squash, 2 medium yellow squashes into thin disks
1 medium eggplant (peeled, if desired) into 3/4" thick slices and cut into 2" x 1" pieces.
4-6 medium tomatoes (will be fairly pureed, so don't have to be pretty)
1 small yellow onion into thin slices

1. Toss the squashes and eggplant with 1 Tbsp salt and let sit for 30 minutes to extract the water, then towel dry.

2. In a large searing skillet, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil on high-heat and toss in eggplants. Do not stir frequently to allow pieces to sear. Cook approximately 6-10 minutes, or until desired tenderness, then remove from skillet and place in large bowl.

3. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil on high-heat and toss in the squashes. Again, do not stir frequently. Cook approximately 5 minutes, or until desired tenderness, toss with salt and pepper to taste, then remove from skillet and place in same bowl as eggplants.

4. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Toss in sliced onions and cook until soft and brown. Add 4-6 cloves of minced garlic and the tomotoes. Cook about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes start to render their juices, then turn heat to high and allow most of the juices to boil off. Taste and adjust seasoning.

5. In a casserole dish, layer 1/3 tomatoes mixture, 1/3 eggplant, 1/3 squashes, sprinkle with dried parsley and a dash of parmesan cheese (extra pepper also, if desired). Repeat for 3 layers.

6. Cover and let sit, unrefrigerated, overnight. This allows the flavors and juices to mingle and get yummy. Next morning, place in fridge. Heat and serve as a side dish or veggie main dish.

Note: Cooking time is approximate and for high altitude. Just test the done-ness and taste as you go.

Ta-da! So delicious...

Abby in Pre-K

2011-09-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Pre-kindergarten officially started this week for Abby. She was so thrilled to be wearing uniforms. I think the girls' jumpers are absolutely adorable!

Piano Lessons

2011-08-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Abby at the piano when she was about 4 months old.

I took piano lessons when I was little and at age 6 hated most of my time spent at the piano. I remembered crying through entire lessons, barely able to see what I'm doing with my hands and hating practices. I stopped taking lessons around 8 when my piano teacher fought with her husband and he smashed the piano. I didn't think much of the piano after that and picked up playing the flute in 4th grade, enjoying it immensely. In high school, I decided I wanted to revisit the piano and started taking lessons again and made a lot of progress in a very short amount of time.

Although I never became great at the piano, I was proficient and music lessons in general gave me a deep appreciation for good music. Several teachers have asked if I had perfect pitch. I don't, but I have an ear for good pitch, which is the reason I will never sing.....not being able to ever come near the note I'm trying to hit.

I don't want to push either one of my girls with music, as traditionally expected of a Chinese mom, but I want them to be exposed to it enough to appreciate it, know that they can achieve whatever they set their minds to, and have the opportunity to learn as much as they want.

When Abby recently turned 4 years old, I happened to be chatting with my neighbor, Andrea, about the lack of musical education offered to kids these days. I was ranting because I was so frustrated when looking at elementary schools recently and finding that few had music programs and even the ones that did were nothing compared to what I had been expecting. Bands and orchestras don't happen until middle or high school now. Kids are introduced to minimal music theory and hands-on learning with instruments are rare at the elementary school level. What happened to school choirs or band and orchestra recitals by 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders? City-wide children's orchestras? I was a bit shocked at how much had changed from when I went to grade school.

Lucky for me, I found the perfect neighbor to listen to this particular rant. It turns out that Andrea had been a private piano teacher and a school music teacher for decades before she retired. She was itching to take on a brand new piano student if Abby proved ready for it. We made arrangements for Abby to visit her that weekend and be evaluated. Age 4 is a good time to consider starting piano lessons, but a lot of kids aren't quite ready at 4 to begin, so she wanted to gauge her interest as well as ability to grasp simple concepts, such as recognizing the grouping of keys.

She assured me that I need not stress about Abby's musical education at school because she will supplement whatever she needed. Huge relief during this time of nerve-wracking school research!

Remember that I had recently gone through sinus surgery? Well, my doctor's kids all studied piano with Ms. Andrea and the Physician's Assistant who is doing all of my debridements also studied with her. I learned from them that Andrea was a wonderful lady (of course, I knew that already) and a great music teacher (fantastic!).

As it happens, Abby was more than ready to begin and she was eager to learn. She has been taking lessons since the end of July - just 30 minutes a week. She loves it and looks forward to "playing" with Ms. Andrea. With her toy whale, Shamu, in her arms she heads across the street every Saturday morning. (Shamu helps with clapping rhythms.)

From what we're seeing Abby is doing extremely well. Andrea is surprised at how quickly Abby is moving through the books and is already ready to start her second set of books just one month later. Her 30 minute lessons expanded to 45 minutes starting at week 2 because Abby likes to keep going.

Just as with gymnastics, we will support her to continue lessons so long as she continues to enjoy them.

Nature's Camouflage

2011-08-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Saw this on my friend's blog - The Daily Burrow - and had to repost. This is an absolutely amazing science video. Share it with the kids.

The Surgeries

2011-08-25T09:13:00.001-07:00

Last month, on July 25th, Kayleigh underwent a small surgery to get ear tubes put in. She had been experiencing ear infections off and on since birth, about every 2-3 months. The last ear infection took 3 rounds of antibiotics to clear up and she still had fluids in both ears, unable to drain out.

I researched and talked to families with kids who have had the ear tubes surgery. I talked to my chiropractor friend because consistent adjustments have shown to be effective for chronic ear infections. Everyone encouraged the surgery, so we went through with it.

On the day of surgery, she was not allowed to eat anything after she got up. She was allowed clear liquids only. I was so nervous about starving her and the fuss she would put up because her surgery wasn't until noon! After getting to the Parker Adventist hospital and nearly two hours of waiting for the surgery, it was time to take her into the Operating Room.

I had put on a gown so that I could go into the OR with her while they administered the anesthesia. Watching the effects of the gas knocking her out was the hardest part of this experience. No one prepared me for the chest convulsions and how vulnerable she looked, so tiny on that giant operating table, surrounded by so much equipment and bright lights. Luckily, the very large OR staff reassured me that everything was looking good and that they were all there to make sure Kayleigh was safe. She was in good hands.

A nurse escorted me back to the Surgery prep area where I took off the gown and gathered Kayleigh's clothes and my purse. My dad was waiting for me in the waiting room. I dropped my stuff off with him and went to use the restroom. By the time I came back to the waiting room, Kayleigh's doctor was there and telling us the surgery was over, everything went perfectly, and Kayleigh was waking up, so someone will be coming out to get us very shortly!

Kayleigh was only unconscious for maybe 10 minutes tops, but the recovery was an adventure. We could hear her screams of anger when we were taken back to recovery. We had been prepared to find a sleepy baby in a crib, slowly waking up from anesthesia. Instead, we found Kayleigh in the arms of a tiny nurse who had a huge grin on her face, about to lose a wrestling match with a toddler in the middle of a full-blown temper tantrum - back-arching, red-faced, screaming, crying, kicking, smacking, shoving anyone who approached her. The nurse chuckled as she handed Kayleigh to me, saying, "She is EXTREMELY strong!"

Recovery was maybe 20-30 minutes. They wanted to see Kayleigh take in liquids before leaving, yet every time she saw a cup, a sippie, or a straw, she would burst into tears. Finally, we gave her a popsicle and she sucked on it enough to satisfy the nurse that she could keep down liquids. We got all of our discharge instructions, and was finally allowed to leave. As soon as we were in the car, Kayleigh was a happy kid again and fell asleep on the way home. By the time we got home, she was rested and she had returned to her happy, cheery self. We never saw a sign that she had had an operation earlier that day and she was back at school the following day.

In the days following surgery, we saw no drainage and the tubes had no ill-effects on Kayleigh, but she did start to babble a ton more and she is LOUD!

Earlier this week, Kayleigh went back for a surgery follow-up with the Children's Hospital ENT department. A hearing test was performed and she is hearing perfectly now! Prior to the surgery, she was suffering mild hearing loss in the low vocal and volume ranges.

Kayleigh had been poking in her left ear over the last couple of weeks and we were somewhat concerned that there might be something wrong - tube coming out, an ear infection, perhaps. Turns out the left ear was fine, but her right tube was blocked. She was probably playing with the ear because sound was so much louder on that side. We have ear drops to use with her over the next week. Kayleigh is surprisingly cooperative about the twice daily routine. When we tell her it's time for her drops, she lies right down and lets us roll her on her side to place the drops.

We're keeping our hopes up that she will not experience another ear infection again.

==========

Just 5 days before Kayleigh's surgery, I had to go through my own medical operation.

My sinus cavity was so plugged up that they weren't able to function. Coupled with a deviated septum (they think I must have broken my nose when I was a kid - luckily, I don't remember a thing), the most minor of colds would turn into a nasty sinus infection.

So, on July 20th, I had that all fixed. The surgery itself went well. I remember being wheeled into the OR and scooching on to the operating table. I can't recall ever laying down because the next next thing I can remember is waking up in the recovery room with a roll of gauze taped under my nose and feeling really, really good.

When I got home, though, the pain hit hard. It felt like someone had taken a swizzle stick to my brains, up through the nose. We called the ENT office and they had me alternate Tylenol and Vicodin every hour until we got ahead of the pain. Once that happened, I no longer needed the Vicodin and pain was no longer an issue.

However, for 3 days after the surgery, the fatigue was unbelievable. I slept pretty much all the time and when I could get up for a brief lunch or a shower, the smallest of activities knocked all the energy out of me and exhaustion slammed me. Paul was so understanding and took the girls to visit grandparents or run errands to give me peace and quiet to rest. Thankfully, bouncing back was immediate rather than gradual, so I was able to handle Kayleigh at her surgery the Monday following.

Sinus surgery requires 4 follow-up debridements - 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after surgery. To say they were uncomfortable is a complete understatement. At my 2nd week debridement I actually sat there and cried. Not just tears in my eyes, but full-out boo-hoo crying. I like to think I have a pretty decent pain tolerance, too! Not pleasant at all, but only one more left to go.

==========

Thank goodness we've met our medical deductible for the year and both of these surgeries have been 100% covered by insurance.

Neat App for iPad

2011-08-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

Having a iPad would be so great, but I've never been able to find a compelling reason for needing one.

THIS app, however, might have me convinced it's worth investing in an iPad.

Dreaming

2011-08-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Abby: "Sometimes when I stay at home, I go to school when I sleep because I think it."
Me: "You mean you're dreaming?"
Abby: "Yes."

~~~~~~~~

Speaking of sleeping and dreams. This past weekend we found a very effective way to get through to Abby during a full blown almost hour-long temper tantrum.

All weekend she had issues listening and following directions. She actually had the nerve to give us an excuse that she "left her listening ears at school!" At dinner time, she continued to goof around at the dinner table and when we repeatedly asked her to focus and finish her dinner, she started throwing things on the floor and shouting back at us, so we sent her to the corner.

Five minutes in the corner had no effect. We talked to her and she was still in a foul mood. When getting ready for bed, she tossed her pajamas on the ground and refused to put on her pants, so Paul started to take away her stuff....

First, her Shamu was removed, then her unicorn Pillow Pet, then all her bei-bei. When I walked upstairs, Paul was marching out of her room with an armful of blankets and stuffed animals. Moments later, he came out with her mattress! Apparently, Abby was going to sleep on the floor that night.

We let her mull that over for a few minutes and then I went into her room to chat with her. She was distraught and mumbling, "Daddy took away my Sh-sh-am-m-mu...I want my Sha-a-a-mu and my be-e-e-ed," to her giant hippo. I told her we didn't intend for her to sleep on the floor and that she can get her bed back if she calmed down, got ready for bed without giving us any more attitude, and sincerely apologized for her behavior tonight.

That snapped her into gear and she was our sweet little Abby the rest of the night.

The next day, she told her teachers and her whole class about how her daddy took away her bed because she threw a temper tantrum. Her teachers LOVED it!

Royal Gorge Railroad

2011-08-04T21:16:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, friends of ours from Maryland came to Colorado and we took our families to ride the Royal Gorge Railroad. This 2-hour train ride took us through 1000-foot granite cliffs, along the Arkansas river, and underneath the Royal Gorge bridge.

It was a beautiful, scenic trip and adults and kids of all ages enjoyed the experience.

We had purchased tickets in coach class, fully expecting to spend most of our time in the open air car to get the most scenic views.

The unobstructed views from the open air car were breath-taking. However, the younger kids quickly got tired of standing and of the heat.

While wandering through the rest of the train, Abby charmed the employees into giving our party access to an empty Vista Dome car. These cars typically required a $25/person upgrade fee to ride!

But after the kids ran up and down the Vista Dome car for awhile, we decided that the best views were still from the open air car, so we all headed back outside for the remainder of the ride.

Rafters on the Arkansas river raised their paddles to greet train riders and we waved and yelled, "hi!" back.

This was definitely a worth-while trip for Colorado visitors and I think everyone enjoyed it immensely.

Some history of the Royal Gorge Railroad:

It dates back to the 1870s when two competing railroads, the Denver & Rio Grande and the Santa Fe, both worked to build tracks through the Royal Gorge to reach the mining riches further west in Leadville. The only problem was that the Royal Gorge was a chasm, so deep,
over 1,250 feet in places, and tight, only 30 feet at its narrowest point, that there was room for only one set of tracks. An all-out war broke out between the two, along with a legal battle that raged in the courts for almost two years. An attorney’s dream come true!

Both the D&RG and Santa Fe built stone forts in the Gorge, rolled rocks down on the men working on the right of way, and threw their tools in the river as they leapfrogged each other. The Santa Fe hired the legendary “Bat” Masterson to assemble a group of men to defend their interests, and soon picks and shovels were replaced by rifles and pistols.

On March 27, 1880, litigation was finally settled when both railroads signed the Treaty of Boston which gave the D&RG access through the Royal Gorge.

Expressive 2 Week Old

2011-07-25T19:43:00.000-07:00

I found these pictures of Kayleigh when she was two weeks old on my mother's camera.

I have forgotten how expressive her face was when she was as a newborn!

Grand Opening Approaches

2011-07-25T06:53:00.001-07:00

Got the catalog in the mail last week.
Opening this Wednesday!
Traffic impacts have been posted starting last week.
Don't know when I'll make it there, but I'm pretty excited!
:)

Field Day

2011-07-24T11:05:00.001-07:00

Summertime at the girls' daycare is a lot of fun. Many themed activities, parties, fundraisers, etc., and a few of them are meant to be celebrated with families.

On June 29th, Abby's preschool class had a Hollywood party where the kids celebrated Lightning McQueen, the racecar from the movie 'Cars.' Parents/grandparents/friends were invited to enjoy the Derby Day party and watch a show put on by the kids.

The week ended with a school-wide field day on July 1st. All classes, including Kayleigh's toddler class, participated in outdoor activities such as spoon-egg races, potato sack races, ring tosses, frisbee tosses, beanbag tosses, and more.

I was really fortunate with my part-time work schedule to be able to attend both of the week's activities. It was such a treat to see the kids in such high spirits, the teachers so in sync with one another and coordinating all the kids' activities/events with so much enthusiasm and energy.

We truly feel blessed to have our kids in this daycare environment, where academics, social responsibility, and fun are cared about and treated as equally important.

Abby getting ready for the three-legged race, partnered with Quinncy. While they waited their turns, each child held a "spirit stick," waving it in the air to cheer on their friends.

I wasn't able to figure out when Kayleigh's class took their field day, but Kayleigh really enjoyed watching the older kids racing. Trying to stay out of the way, but grabbing some shade.

Abby did well in the sponge races.

And she smoked her friends in the sack races.

After all the outdoor activities were finished, the kids went inside and made red, white, and blue beaded bracelets and more spirit sticks to decorate their classroom for Independence Day. Abby, sitting with her best pal, Olivia, were all giggles and chatter during this activity.

While the teachers cleared the tables and prepared for lunch, the kids gave an encore performance of the two dances they did for Derby Day. Maybe because it was an impromptu suggestion to perform and, as a result, perhaps they felt less pressure, all the kids really got into the dances and did a better performance than they did for Derby Day.

Life Is A Highway - 2011 PS2 Field Day Performance

Car Wash - 2011 PS2 Field Day Performance

Derby Day

2011-07-24T10:59:00.001-07:00

Derby Day was actually officially called the Hollywood Party. Most classes watched a movie and did a few art activities based on the movie. But Abby's preschool class took the theme to a whole new level.

The movie they watched was "Cars." So, Lightening McQueen and car races were what they built their activities off of. All week, parents signed up to bring in items for their Hollywood party - cookie decorating items, Cars themed napkins, cups, sandwich-making items, etc. The kids spent the week making racing jerseys, Lightening McQueen Derby Racecars, racing flags, signs, billboards, you name it!

At 8:45 AM on the day of the party, they began a Walk of Fame Cookie Decorating activity. At 9:45, they met outside to prepare for Derby Races. They gathered under a huge tent and the teachers led them all in singing the "Star Spangled Banner," which surprisingly all the kids knew! Then the kids divided up into teams, placed on their bike helmets, and prepared to race. The non-racers waved racing flags to cheer on their teammates.

In the end, everyone was a winner! Each kid received a gold medal - just like in the Olympics - and we gathered inside for a really cool cars-themed song and dance show put on by the kids.

How cute are they?!

Car Wash - 2011 PS2 Derby Day Original Performance

Life is a Highway - 2011 PS2 Derby Day Original Performance

After the dance show, the kids had a Build Your Own Sandwich lunch, followed by an art project, and finishing with story time and a nap!

The kids loved it, the parents were beside themselves proud of their kids (at least I was) and impressed by the teachers, and even the school owner, director, and other teachers sneaked a peek throughout the activities to see what an incredible job this class did with the Hollywood party theme.

Birthday Cake Engineering

2011-07-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make these ice cream cone cupcakes for Abby's 4th birthday. They really turned out adorable. We had them frosted in vanilla, chocolate, and cherry icing, then decorated with crystal sugar sprinkles.

When I was growing up, my mom made these cupcakes with the batter poured right into the cone, but usually, this meant that very little cake created the dome at the top for icing. By baking the cupcakes upside down in regular cupcake cups, I had a fair amount of cake to decorate, creating a much larger looking ice cream cone!

The only problem with this method was that the cupcakes became extremely top-heavy. So, how do we transport them?!

I read nearly a hundred reviews and everyone complained about the transport of these cupcakes. Oh, they're adorable and well-loved by kids, but transporting them is a pain. I couldn't find any good suggestions, so I came up with my own.

5 oz dixie cups, turned upside-down, with the bottoms cut out made for an amazingly stable ice cream cupcake holder.

Place them all in rows inside a couple of giant cake boxes we picked up at Michael's and you've got a great way to transport these cupcakes!

Plastic bags added extra stability and spacing so that cones didn't dive into one another.

This is how they are enjoyed!

Paul and I were really in a baking mode, so we also made treats to give away at the party. The intention was to create goody bags for each child, but after searching far and wide and getting frustrated with only finding cheap plastic toys, we decided to make cookies on a stick then decorate them. Paul was a huge help creating batch after batch of perfect chocolate chip cookies on popsicle sticks. Abby and I frosted and decorated them.

We were all really happy at how well the baked goodies turned out for the party.

4th Birthday

2011-07-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

Click on photo collage above to see all the pool party birthday photos.

Our precious Abigail has turned 4! We celebrated with a pool party for family and friends last weekend. For someone who refuses to learn to swim (because she doesn't want to get her face wet!) Abby really insisted on having a pool party this year.

In Parker, CO, there is a fabulous outdoor pool at O'Brien Park. The pool is called the H2O'Brien Pool. :) We reserved a pavilion, which allowed us to comfortably host our nearly 40 guests. All guests received full-day admissions to the pool and everyone - including us - was impressed by how nice the pool was - well suited for young kids as well as adults.

The party was from 3:30-5:00. Grandma and Grandpa Newell arrived to celebrate Abby's birthday earlier in the day since they were not planning on coming to the pool party. We didn't get to the pool until after 3:00. For the first hour, everyone just wanted to jump into the water.

Kids young and old all had a wonderful time! Abby's luck (born on 7/7/7, after all) played a huge factor in the success of this party. For about 3 weeks solid we have been experiencing afternoon thunderstorms. Huge, sky-splitting lightening and downpours. Wouldn't you know, that for the day of the party, there was barely a few fluffy clouds and not a single drop of water came from the sky to signal any ominous intentions.

At 4:30, we managed to pull everyone out of the pool to hydrate, feed, and sing Happy Birthday to Abby. The kids were all smiles as we pulled out homemade ice cream cone cupcakes, popcorn, and berries.

As soon as everyone was warm enough, we handed out treat bags (decorated cookies on a stick) and families either went home or headed back to the pool until closing at 6pm.

Turning 4 is a big deal for Abby and she has been looking forward to it for a long time. "Now I get to go to Kindergarten!!!" We're still not quite sure why going to Kindergarten means so much to her, but she will be transitioning to pre-K (where uniforms are required during the school year!) in a couple of weeks.

Devil's Head Hike

2011-07-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

For this holiday weekend, we decided to take the family for a hike up Devil's Head at Pike National Forest. The trail is about an hour from our house and is supposed to be an easy, beautiful, family-friendly hike.

While it was over 90 degrees in Castle Rock, it was a cool 72 at Devil's Head, making the hike wonderfully pleasant and comfortable.

Abby loves hiking and has been asking for a Camelbak hydration pack of her own to go hiking with. As an early birthday present, we got her one and she looks adorable in it!

The 1.4 mile hike ascends almost 800 feet, so it takes about an hour and a half to climb. Kayleigh was in the Ergo carrier, on my back for the ride up and on Paul's back for the ride down. (Paul is much more sure-footed than I am.)

The views at the top were unbelievable! Wow-worthy.

We all made it to the top, including the 143 steps up to the Fire Lookout Station - the last manned lookout station in Colorado - and met Bill Ellis, who has manned the station for the past 20+ summers.

Making it to the top and meeting Bill meant we all received souvenir certificates stating we are now members of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Squirrels!

Abby made the entire climb and descent by herself with only the stop at the bottom of the lookout station for a snack.

We saw something quite motivational during this hike - a young woman with two artificial legs making it to the Lookout Station!

Abby got a Camelbak - just like Daddy's, except pink - as one of her birthday presents this year. She couldn't wait to use it on this hike.

Kayleigh was my carry-along.

Nice views all the way up the trail.

Mr. Bill Ellis mans this station and demonstrates the instrument used to pinpoint fires.

The stairs leading up to the Lookout Station worried Abby a bit, but once she was up, she was running around the deck and shouting, "Mom! Look at that VIEW!"

Even Kayleigh made it to the top!

Signed Guest Sheet at the Fire Lookout Station

Views from the Lookout Station

Hike map and stats from MapMyRun.

Our California Vacation

2011-06-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from a great family vacation to California. We were there to attend the wedding of a dear, old friend. While there, we took Abby and Kayleigh to Sea World and Disneyland.

Over 1200 photos were taken and I managed to screen out most to come up with 200 to put into a photobook.

Here it is. Click on the picture below to see the book.

A Box of Crayons

2011-06-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

This is my job...

There are 10 kids. They are starting an art activity. There are 3 tables set up - one for tracing the images to be colored, one for coloring the pictures, and one for accessorizing the pictures with glued-on accessories/glitter, etc.

I need to buy crayons for the coloring table. How many boxes do the children need? The teacher figures no more than 6 will be at this table at any given time since table 1 and 3 take so much more time, based on her years of experience doing this activity.

I confirm the 6 boxes, I consult other teachers who have done this activity before to make sure I'm not missing anything, and I talk to the children to make sure they understand that there will only be 6 boxes of crayons.

Everyone agrees. 6 boxes will be good.

I go out and buy 6 boxes of crayons.

Turns out these 10 kids like to move together and all 10 hit the coloring table at the same time. Bickering ensues. Tears flow. Blood is drawn.

Teacher smacks me for only getting 6 boxes of crayons, not 10. Look what my ignorance has caused!

Ok, in reality, this is just one aspect of my job and the crayons don't just cost 50 cents at Walmart. They're more like $5000 and require legal contracts and 7 levels of approvals.

BUT, this is just one of the many, many ridiculous examples of what I've encountered over the past year.

Over and over again I've asked why I don't have mind-reading skills or a fortune telling ability. I doubt my qualification for the job because I'm missing these obviously required skills.

There is no additional experience or additional (learnable) skills that would help me out. I think a mixture of bad luck and poor management has given my job the sourness it has become. I like to pride myself in my work ethics and values. I do not sit back or give up until I have done everything in my power to be successful at a job.

In this case, I strongly believe we have a lost cause.

I won't admit to failure because I don't believe I have failed.

It is time to move on, though, and I will mark this job as having been a learning experience.

So, anyone hiring these days? Note: I can't read minds nor predict the future. If you ask for 6 boxes of crayons and I find the request reasonable and there are no contradictions to that request, I will get you 6 boxes of crayons. If that's not satisfactory, then don't bother contacting me.

We're Still Here

2011-06-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, it feels like it's been a year since I last blogged.

It's actually only been about 3 weeks.

A lot has happened in 3 weeks, though, and this is what happens when I get overwhelmed with too much stuff I want to share......I end up sharing nothing.

So often I start composing emails, letters, or blog posts in my head. If I don't write things down, the content just builds and builds until I finally give up trying to organize it all into something comprehensible and consumable by another human being.

Maybe I can handle organizing what's been going on over the past 3 weeks though and then try to tackle them one by one while things are at somewhat of a lull. I won't create a post about everything listed here - just simply identifying its occurrence is enough information to capture in many cases.

So, let's see...what are the top 10?

1. Kayleigh started really walking - beyond just taking a handful of unassisted steps - 4 weeks ago and now walks about 95% of the time rather than crawling.

2. We are looking into selling/trading in our truck, Burt (yes, he has a name), and our car (ok, she has a name too and it's Mixie) to purchase a fuel efficient - probably hybrid - commuter vehicle for Paul. Top contender right now, the Lexus CT 200h with all the bells and whistles. We had barely made the decision to try and sell Burt when we found a buyer. He will be going to a friend this coming Sunday! For Mixie, we are probably going to just trade her in. With over 150,000 miles on her, despite her age (2004 model year) it'll be difficult to find a buyer.

3. Paul, Abby, Kayleigh, and I have just returned from a California vacation where we attended the wedding of good friends, Shawn and Lily, visited relatives in Valencia, visited Sea World San Diego, and introduced Abby and Kayleigh to the wonders and excitement of California Adventures and Disneyland! We had an amazing time and I must say that as much fun as I had visiting these places myself as a kid, it is a completely different and much more exciting, special, memorable time going with your own spouse and kids.

4. At the conclusion of the vacation, Kayleigh naturally weaned herself. I am no longer nursing her and this coincided with her ability to sleep through the night completely - from 8PM until 7AM. She still may cry out a couple of times a night, but they last about a minute and she puts herself right back to sleep. Yes! Yes! Yes! We thought this day would never come with this child.

5. We are contemplating what to do about the lawn in our backyard. The sod we laid last year is almost dead, primarily due to broken sprinkler lines (pesky rabbits!) we didn't discover in time. Perhaps artificial grass? There are some very realistic looking fake grass available. But don't kids deserve REAL grass in their backyard?

6. Linda and Vernon had their baby! We are planning to visit this weekend.

7. Sinus infections, double-ear infections, coughs, coughs, coughs. This - in no particular order - sums up the health status of Abby, Kayleigh, and me over the last couple of weeks. Bleh!

8. Went and saw Billy Elliot the Musical at the Denver Buell Theater with my brother, Allen. It was his birthday present. This was a great show and a wonderful adaptation of the film. I didn't think Paul would like it, but was surprised that he did!

9. Many flip-flop discussion on what to do about our careers and our lukewarm feelings towards this house. No conclusions on the career front, but I think we've both decided that we want to stay in this house and we're trying to figure out what changes are needed to improve our feelings towards the things we don't like about it.

10. Part of the problems we have with the house is related to the schools Abby and Kayleigh would attend given our location. We made sure we are in a great school district, but as Abby nears Kindergarten age, we're doing a lot more detailed research and realized we have a ton of options, but none that fit perfectly for our situation. So, wanting the best for our children, how do we weight all of our evaluation criteria to assess the options?

Hmm, that was a good exercise. Now, I just need to do that with the bajillion-item email I've been trying to compose to my neglected friend, Holly, since oh I don't know when!

C-A-T

2011-05-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

Less than two months ago, Abby came home with a letter from her Preschool teacher saying she had mastered her alphabet and knows what sound each letter makes, so she will begin to learn phonics.

They breezed through the concept of syllables the following week and Abby came home one day and clapped to the sound of each letter in "C-A-T" and announced, "Cat has 3 syllables!" Well, not quite, but I didn't understand what she was doing until I talked to her teacher a few days later. She told me that the kids were focusing on the sound of each letter, clapping for each letter as if they were separate syllables, which helps them understand about blending the sounds together.

This was fascinating.

At the end of last year we had attended an information night for a local charter school and the Kindergarten teacher spoke to the parents about the different reading levels of 5 year old students. Blending sounds is one of those things that each kid needs to figure out on their own. Some can master the sounds of letters - even complex letter combinations - but not understand how to blend those sounds together for a long time.

So, imagine our surprise when a couple of weeks later, Abby picked up the Fun with Phonics "Fat Cat" book and could sound out and consistently read every "short a" word introduced in that book. She then did the same for all the words in "Jen the Hen."

The problem with Abby is that she's got a great, great memory, which means that I was actually skeptical about her actually "reading," thinking that she was probably memorizing the letter combinations and spouting it back at us. So, I talked to her teacher and she recommended the series of BOB books. The mostly black/white pictures didn't distract kids as much as they're learning to focus on the words on the pages.

We looked at the boxed sets and Abby refused to touch Set 1 (Beginning Readers), hanging on to the books of Set 2, begging me to get them instead.

For a couple of weeks the 12 books in this set were thrown around the back of our van between Kayleigh and Abby. Abby made up stories based on the pictures in the book. She really loved the size of them and was constantly flipping through them during car rides. During this whole time, neither Paul nor I read to her a single page from these books....we just hadn't gotten to them.

A few days ago, on the ride home from school, she picked up and read TWO ENTIRE BOOKS ("Sox the Fox" and "The Red Hen") from cover to cover, stopping to ask for help only twice! She has gotten very good at reading individual words and is now reading short sentences and COMPREHENDING the story being told.

I must say I'm completely blown away by how quickly reading has come together. Once a few pieces start to click into place, figuring out the rest seems to follow smoothly. It's only been about 6-7 weeks since we got that note telling us Abby would begin phonics.

I'm amazed that her teacher can accomplish so much in such a short time. She first taught Abby when Abby was 2 years old, but she was frustrated with the younger kids. This teacher likes a challenging, structured educational environment and she felt that at 2, a lot of kids were still not developmentally ready to be in a structured learning environment. Her philosophy seems to be that kids have no bounds to learning and can achieve anything given the opportunity. So, she started teaching Preschool 2, the 3.5 to 4 year olds. She provides endless challenges to these kids and is willing to help any of them - and help the parents help their kids - to achieve. We have been extremely lucky to see Abby thriving in her class.

There are kids in Abby's class who have picked up reading even quicker, but some who are still working on sounding out the letters. Regardless, all of them are exposed to these lessons and concepts, which puts them in a better position than a lot of kids their age as they head to Kindergarten.

A couple of great reading resources that have worked well with Abby are:

- Blend ladders (thanks to Holly for recommending these!), which can be downloaded here. We laminated a set and use them with magnetic letters on a cookie sheet for games.

- Website called Starfall.com, containing basic ABCs, interactive stories and activities geared towards learning to read.We're so, so, so, so PROUD of our Abigail!!! :)

Rock Park

2011-05-08T20:37:00.001-07:00

For Mother's Day, we took the family on a small hike at Rock Park. The summit was the rock for which the city we live in is named after - Castle Rock.

I believe that the round-trip distance was less than a mile and a half and the difficulty of the hike was minimal, so we thought this would be a great introduction for Abby to hiking. She had been begging to climb a mountain for awhile, so we wanted to know how she would do.

Kayleigh - unlike Abby - has spent very little time in a baby carrier, so we were worried she might fuss, but she loved the ride and kept leaning to the right to look at the drop down the side of the trail.

Abby was ecstatic to be hiking and led the way all the way up to the top, shouting reminders back to us every few minutes.

"Hold your hands out to balance. Like this!"
"Go as slow as you need to."
"Steps! Use your hands if you need to."
"Keep your eyes forward."

Despite the tutu, Abby was as serious of a hiker as they come.

At the base of the Rock, we get a panoramic view of our little town. The sky looked HUGE.

In the end, we all really enjoyed this little hike and Abby was beside herself with excitement that she had climbed a mountain. Despite ample sunscreen, the unshaded trail meant we all got a bit more sun exposure than we had wanted, so we need to make sure we have hats and more water on our next family hike.

A Morning at the Botanic Gardens

2011-05-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

Just 5 minutes up the road from where I work there is a Denver Botanic Gardens preserve with a pond, grasslands, trails, a farm - an entire ecosystem that can be explored. We were here last Fall to experience their amazing corn maze, but it feels like a completely different place seeing it in Spring.

The last few days in Denver have been beautiful. Temperatures in the high-70s, low-80s. And, of course, having recently moved back from the East Coast, I have to repeatedly point out - NO HUMIDITY!! :)

Spring is in full swing, vibrant colors are everywhere. So, this past Friday, we ended up spending the entire day outdoors, with the morning and early afternoon spent at the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield.

We played through lunch. I guess Kayleigh was telling me it was lunchtime when she started munching on sticks!

We are definitely not allowed to pick flowers here and I reminded Abby so many times, but it was impossible for her to resist when she saw these tiny purple beauties near the pond and she plucked one before I could stop her.

Kayleigh and Abby both loved the chicken coop, admiring the huge variety of birds, including some gorgeous roosters with spectacular plumage. Until Abby saw the hen in the picture above - I believe it was a hen - and jumped back in surprise. "That hen doesn't have any eyes!" "Why, sure it does," I assured her. We looked and looked, though, and couldn't find them! Must be under all the feathers because she could obviously see.

We walked to the pond and watched a pair of geese and their little goslings floating across the water.

There were a few school groups there and several educational stations set up all around the area. A swarm of kids were by the pond, studying wetland wildlife, scooping samples of pond water and observing the critters living in the water under microscopes. Abby was so intrigued by what the kids were doing she's anxious to become older so she can participate.

Kayleigh took a great afternoon nap as Abby bird-watched and discovered a variety of butterflies.

This whimsical tree house was in a children's play area and Abby spent ages there while Kayleigh napped, rock-wall climbing (until she fell and scraped her knees), "baking" cake out of rocks, bouncing on logs, and playing in the brook.

We got to visit the little farmhouse, but Abby was very disappointed that there were no animals housed there.

So, back to the tree house where she and I sat on logs and enjoyed some shade while we watched Kayleigh continue to nap.

The last thing we did before heading out of the garden was stand on a little bridge and toss some rocks into the brook. While Abby tossed, I tried to take a picture of these flower clusters on the tree that hung overhead. This bumblebee came into the shot just as I clicked the shutter, which is probably the only way I will ever get a photo of a bee! Seconds later, I was scurrying as fast as I could with the girls back to our car!

I never imagined we would have so much fun at the place. It is definitely worth many, many future visits. A very different experience than the Denver Botanic Gardens up in downtown Denver, though, where the abundance of flowers is a picturesque backdrop for countless weddings. The Chatfield preserves were definitely more of an ecosystem exploration than a walk through gardens. I can't wait to take Abby and Kayleigh to the Botanic Gardens downtown someday soon to see all the blooming flowers, however, for now, there is still a lot to enjoy at Chatfield.

Waking Up Is Hard To Do

2011-04-28T20:35:00.001-07:00

Meet Kayleigh's Truffles sheep. She loves her new friend. We got her Truffles for her first birthday knowing how much she loves Abby's Truffles dog.

Truffles was intended to be something fun to lay on while we changed her diaper so she wouldn't be screaming through the whole process. Alas, her clinginess to the sheep meant it made it into her crib. And this is how we find Kayleigh in the mornings - sprawled on TOP of the sheep, an arm wrapped tightly around its neck.

That is one HUGE lovey!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Waking Kayleigh up in the mornings is funny. She goes through a roller-coaster of emotions in a span of 1 minute.

She's happy to see you....
She's upset you've woken her....
She's excited to be picked up and free from her crib....
She's still tired.

The only person who can consistently keep her in a happy, giddy state during the wake-up routine is Abby!

Kayleigh loves seeing her in the mornings and is very entertained by her. But she knows Abby can't pick her up, so she sits back and watches her sister or will try to play with her thought the crib slats.

So, on weekends, we like to send Abby in to Kayleigh's room first thing in the morning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kayleigh had her 1 year well-baby checkup a couple of weeks ago and she is doing beautifully.

She is currently teething, which means that no one in this family's getting a good night's sleep. She has two little front teeth on the bottom and SIX on top - two of them are molars that have broken through.

She's a statue when she stands - very steady - but will only take about 6 unassisted steps, so we have a ways to go before she walks.

She speaks only a few words and refuses to sign, even though she knows how, yet the pediatrician assures us any speech by 1 is fantastic.

I am still nursing Kayleigh most of the time, but we have started introducing other beverages into her day.

We've learned that Kayleigh is a bit lactose intolerant, so we have been experimenting with soy, almond, hazelnut, and rice milk. Her hands-down favorite is hazelnut!

We love our pediatrician. She is such a practical lady. Since whole cow's milk is less tolerated than 2% or skim, she suggested that we give Kayleigh the latter two to try. Immediately following her suggestion she says, "I know what you're going to ask next. Don't babies need the fat? Well, yes, but we live in America. Even with the healthiest diets she'll get enough of it in her diet." Working with her has really made parenting stress-free. I wish we knew her when Abby was first born.

We have a friend who is a chiropractor. Kayleigh had her first adjustment done on April 10th. We had noticed some alignment issues with her right hip and feet and after the adjustment, we noticed a significant improvement.

Kayleigh was so cooperative during the adjustment - even when the Activator was used on her sinus region to help stimulate her immune system - and leaped into the chiropractor's arms after her treatment.

We talked to the pediatrician about the chiropractic treatment and she expressed how fortunate Kayleigh was to get it. We learned from her - as well as from our chiropractor friend - that babies are extremely prone to mal-adjustments due to the transition from womb to world and all the shifting/fusing of bones during their first years. As they grow and as they begin to walk and develop their muscles, most of these alignment issues fix themselves, so they're rarely a concern, but to have a chiropractor's help is tremendously beneficial. We have agreed to see the chiropractor again after Kayleigh has been walking for awhile.

1 Year Well-Baby Stats (4/15/2011)
Height: 30 inches (90th %-ile)
Weight: 18 lbs 14 ozs (25th %-ile)
Head Circumference : 17.25 inches (50th %-ile)

Gymnastics

2011-04-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

This is the preschool gymnastics class. Abby has been doing gymnastics since she turned 2. Over a year and a half later, she still looks forward to going to the gym every Saturday morning.

Recently, the competition team girls began practicing during the preschool class. At first, they were a distraction for the younger boys and girls. However, you can tell how much they inspire the little ones now.

Water break

A sly one on the balance beam. When instructors are nearby, she feigns helplessness and needs a lot of assistance. If no one's around to help her, she jumps on and runs across the beam.

Ever since the first day of gymnastics the trampoline has been the hands-down favorite of Abby's.

We have learned that for preschoolers, stamps and stickers are the best rewards and the promise of getting one can motivate them to focus immediately. So, to gather all the kids for the end of class, the instructors shout, "Stamp Time!" and they all make a mad dash for the edge of the floor exercise mat, with hands place upon their heads, waiting for the stamp to come down the line.

Motivating. Challenging. Fun.

Kayleigh's First Birthday Party

2011-04-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

Birthdays are all about family and friends. So last Saturday (4/16), the grandparents, Uncle Allen, and a couple of close friends were invited to help us celebrate Kayleigh's special day.

The extra treat Kayleigh and Abby enjoyed was our community's Easter Eggstravaganza egg hunt earlier that afternoon. For the first time since we've participated in the festivities, the weather was pleasant and the winds stayed relatively calm. The Fishers joined us at Butterfield Park.

Later that afternoon, we gathered at our house for some casual food and birthday girl doting. Paul grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, Po-Po made some California rolls, tea eggs, and traditional Chinese birthday noodles, and we finished up with the world's most delicious cake - the Spring Fling from a Denver cafe/restaurant, called The Market.

Lucky for Kayleigh she has an older sister who could help her blow out her candle. Otherwise, she kept staring at the cake as if expecting something startling to pop out of the center! (A cupcake incident on her actual birthday left her a little cautious of cakes - she touched cake frosting for the first time and the unexpected texture frightened her to tears!)

After dinner, we cleaned her up - digging cake out of ears and nostrils - and quickly tore into presents because Kayleigh was quickly running out of steam. So many great gifts!

Kayleigh's party consisted of a lot of laughter, kisses, and hugs for the birthday girl.

Kayleigh happily dove into any open arms waiting to hold her. She knew how much she was loved.

All in all, a sweet celebration for our sweet little girl!

All 160 birthday photos have been uploaded to Fotki.

Happy First Birthday, Kayleigh

2011-04-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Dearest Kayleigh,

Just one year ago we held you in our arms for the first time.
Tonight, as we hugged and kissed you goodnight,
we want to say how blessed we have felt this past year
because you were such a big part of it.

We love you so much.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Jiao Zi Sous Chef

2011-04-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

Abby loves cooking with my mom, playing her little sous chef. Whenever we visit Po-Po and Gong-Gong, Abby looks forward to helping Po-Po in the kitchen, whether it's in making cake, watching dinner being prepared, or getting her hands dirty to roll jiao zi (dumpling) skins, she has a wonderful time.

After some hard work in the kitchen, it's time to play. Abby recalls how much fun she used to have riding in a wee-wee-wee, so she introduced Kayleigh to the joys. Kayleigh didn't know what to expect at first, but soon understood the enjoyment.

Bedtime stories are always a great way to end the day. Kayleigh has a pretty short attention span, so she likes to wrestle with Abby's floppy dog in between pages. (Notice the monkey-pajama-ed blur in the picture?)

P90X Update

2011-04-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, Paul and I are enjoying the second "Recovery Week" of the P90X workout, which means we have only 4 more weeks remaining.

We have definitely been noticing results. Weight-wise, neither one of us have lost more than a couple of pounds, but what's shocking is that our body fat percentage has gone down significantly. Mine has been cut in half! Which means that despite very little weight loss, I'm fitting into clothes that I hadn't worn since I was 10-15 pounds lighter!

Both of us are much, much more flexible and feeling more toned. Stamina is up, energy is way up for me. I'm not as lethargic during the day and feel like I'm getting more things accomplished overall.

The biggest shocker for me is that I'm still enjoying the workouts. We have skipped several days due to illness or Kayleigh not wanting to go to bed, but more often than not we are looking forward to the 1-1.5 hours of working out. We are both getting better at the workouts - Paul can do impressively low, chest-brushing-ground push-ups now - but they are tailored for a wide variety of fitness levels, so they continue to be just as challenging.

The one workout we still despise, though - Ab Ripper X. Not even a full workout, just 17 minutes of pure torture!

Steps and Haircuts

2011-04-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

I came home last Thursday to a couple of surprises. Gong-Gong had been watching Kayleigh while I went in to the office for the day. Since Kayleigh had slept in that morning, I did not get a chance to get her dressed and ready in the morning. When I walked in the door, I saw that Gong-Gong had done it again! This time to Kayleigh. Her famously floppish hair was no more. Gong-Gong had gotten tired of it always getting into Kayleigh's eyes, so rather than finding a hairclip, he found a pair of scissors and took care of the problem.

After being slightly disheartened that I wasn't there for her first haircut, I actually thought Kayleigh looked quite cute with her choppy bangs. So, hair shock was surprise number one.

Surprise number two was I saw Kayleigh take her first unassisted steps. With her froggy in one hand, she let go of my fingers and walked towards the chalk board, taking two fairly steady steps!

Over the weekend, we saw her take up to three good steps on her own. Still very cautious, she will generally go to her knees and crawl if she needed to go more than a couple of feet. Quite a huge milestone, though, for the little one!

So, surprise number one, needed a bit of a fix. Because of how short her bangs were cut, I did not know how to attempt to fix it, nor did I think Kayleigh would cooperate well enough to let me mess with her hair, so we took her to the Jack and Jill kid salon.

We knew of this place because Abby had recently attended a princess birthday party there. The stylists there work great with the youngsters.

Kayleigh sat in a pink Hummer and did everything the stylist asked of her, not protesting one bit!

In the end, the stylist just softened up her bangs and evened out the sides and back. Because of how short her bangs were, she did not want to cut off any more.

I had her hair clippings saved for a "First Haircut" certificate just for fun.

Baby Girl's Gonna Be 1

2011-03-28T21:39:00.001-07:00

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.

Swim Party

2011-03-28T21:34:00.001-07:00

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.

Girls Club

2011-03-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

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."

The Stars Tangled Banner

2011-03-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

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?

Baby Frightened By Mom's Nose-Blowing

2011-03-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

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.

My P90X Excuse

2011-03-08T22:17:00.001-08:00

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.

Coloring House

2011-02-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

These days, coloring is one of Abby's favorite activities, along-side dressing up and role-playing.
So, this cardboard playhouse that she and Kayleigh can color and play in is about the most perfect gift a 3.5 year old can receive. This was a very early birthday gift from our good friends, the Fishers. With the amount of house to color, she still may not come close to having it completely colored and decorated by her birthday in July!

This is the Discovery Kids Color Me Play House. What we love about it is that the graphics are not terribly intricate and complicated, yet they're really, really cute. For the level of coloring and sticker-fying that Abby does, it is perfect. The front and backs are identical, with doors, mailboxes, windows, and lights, so that one side can be Abby's (labeled 'Abby's Cottage') and the other can be Kayleigh's - well thought out for 2 kids.

(Note: Check out the printing! Abby's writing has been improving a lot and we're very impressed with how much she enjoys writing. She has mastered uppercase letters and have recently began to learn the lowercases.)

Kayleigh has been observing Abby, her dad, and me coloring this house and she has been eager to join the fun. For the past couple of days, every time she gets her hands on a marker or pen, she races for the play house and attempts to scribble. We loved how she kept turning the marker around to find the tip!

Kayleigh Colors House

Phone Number Show-and-Tell

2011-02-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

Since Abby's started going to the Preschool II class in November, she has had weekly homework assignments that is due on the day of show-and-tell, where they would share the results of their assignments with the class.

A typical homework assignment is pretty simple - something busy or forgetful parents can easily scramble and help prepare a kid for in the five minutes prior to hustling everyone out the door on the day the assignment is due. For example, bring in a tool or a utensil (toy or real) and explain how the tool is used. Or color a rocket ship and write down child's answer to: "What would you do in space?" (Abby's answer: "Wear a black top-hat, build a snowman named Hissella and one called Ms. Louton and then build a snow dinosaur.")

This past week, the assignment was to memorize and recite your home phone number.

Seriously?!

We got the homework sheet on Monday during pick-up and Abby's show-and-tell day is Wednesday. In 2 - that's T.W.O. - days she needed to memorize 10 digits in the correct order. Right!

She's 3.5 years old, I wanted to remind her teacher! She can barely get her shoes on the right feet most mornings, how can she be expected to get 10 numbers in the right order in 2 days?

But Abby has a teacher who believes very much in her kids, so we had to do the same.

Luckily, Abby is pretty smart and has a quick memory.

After pick-up on Tuesday, we had 45 minutes in the car ride home (usually only 25 minutes, but due to some heavy snow and ice from the day before, the drive was much slower) I decided we needed to work on the assignment.

I'm ashamed to admit I had to resort to threats to get her motivated enough to focus. "How would you feel if everyone got up tomorrow and knew their phone number except you?!" "Sad." "That's right. I would be too! So, stop playing dumb and work with me. I will help you get this." "Ok."

We drilled the area code, then the first 3, then last 4 digits over and over again, then put it all together. And repeated, broken down, then strung together.

As she started getting it on her own, the confidence in her voice became noticeable and I heard her murmuring the phone number to herself in the backseat.

Abby had our phone number memorized before we got to Castle Rock.

She was proud to tell daddy she knew her phone number that night.

We quizzed her this morning and she still got it!

Show-and-tell was a success.

Abby was so proud of herself, as were we.

:)

Snow Slugs

2011-02-05T20:51:00.001-08:00

We recently taught Abby how to make snow angels. Yes, she's 3.5 years old and she had never made a snow angel before. The reason is because she had never owned a pair of snow pants before now, so we had never really encouraged her to lay in snow.

Anyway, she did enjoy the process for awhile.

And made a few good angels. See?

But she quickly became bored with angels and started thinking outside the box. Here, she is showing me a new type of snow creature....

"What is it, Abby?" I asked.
"It's a snow slug!! And you make it like THIS! I'll show you."

She belly-flopped onto the ground. I cringed, thinking she'd hurt herself, but she was very well padded. And she slithered across the snow to create her snow slugs.

I guess snow angels are so passé!

Their Monkey PJs

2011-01-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

Abby begged me to take some pictures of her and her sister in their matching monkey pajamas.

So, bright and early one morning, we came downstairs before the sun had barely peeked up above the horizon and goofed around the living room for some fun photos.

Princess Parties

2011-01-23T19:39:00.001-08:00

The world of princesses is one I'm not terribly familiar with. Little girls getting all dolled up with crowns and tiaras, pink frilly dresses, and high-heels, parading down run-ways.

I missed out on it, not having been into girly things - not even dresses - when I was growing up.

There really is a HUGE industry out there geared towards the stereotypical little lady and we're just starting to get a peek into how much of a draw that is.

Starting at age 4, the birthday parties start getting divided. Boys and girls start having separate parties. I'm not sure what the boys are doing, but the girls are having an amazing time playing princesses - getting dressed up, having their hair and make-up done, and looking pretty.

I'm not going to offer my opinion yet on how I feel about the obsession these girls are developing for looking beautiful, 3 and 4 year olds wearing heels and make-up, etc. For now, my daughter is enjoying time fostering friendships and she is learning a lot of great social lessons, including self-confidence. For example, it's just as cool to sport sneakers with her princess gown as it is to have sparkly ballet slippers that everyone's ooh-ing and aah-ing over.

I admit I cringed when I first realized princesses had taken over our house - at least that's what it felt like. However, we have also discovered so many opportunities have opened up for us to talk to Abby about things like judging things on appearances alone, friendship, kindness, duty, responsibility, stereotypes, and much, much more. So, princesses on the brain hasn't been bad at all.

A friend of mine works at a local children's bookstore called The Bookies - a great bookstore by the way - and she recommended a fantastic princess book to Abby called Not All Princesses Dress in Pink. I love this book, which celebrates individuality in a highly appealing, brightly illustrated, fun-to-read story. The princesses in this book don't twirl around in dresses and heels all day, but enjoy getting dirty and stinky playing sports, running around with dogs in the rain, gardening, fighting monsters, or working with tools. But, they do it all wearing a sparkly crown!

Anyway, sparkly crowns, painted fingernails, and fluffy, twirly dresses are all the rage for the preschool girls these days and we keep feeding the industry as these little girls enjoy playing princesses in extravagant salon birthday parties.

They are having an excellent time and there's no harm in letting them role-play along with their friends and be little girls so long as we, as parents, help them understand that the real world is not like fantasy.

Why is My 3.5 Year Old Always Right?

2011-01-20T21:07:00.000-08:00

We're driving home from daycare and I am heading East on C-470, a major highway in the Denver area.

Abby: Mom, you need to slow down. That was a yellow light.
Me: What? This is a highway, there are no traffic lights.
Abby: Yes, there was. I saw one. It was yellow and you didn't slow down!

It was rush hour, so on-ramps had yield lights flashing for traffic control.

Me: Oh, no, Abby. Those lights are not for us. If there is a yellow light for us, I will slow down. I promise.
Abby: Only GREEN means go! YELLOW means go slow!
Me: I know, Abby. Thanks.
Abby [through rear-view mirror, I see she's got her hands on her hips]: I am NOT happy with you! You need to start listening or you will have to stand in a corner when we get home.

====

Last week I took the girls to visit the Wildlife Experience - a little interactive museum and activities center. Abby was being such a good girl that I decided to give her a treat from one of the best donut shops in the area. Unfortunately, because this was such a great donut shop, it was 12:30 PM and all donuts were already sold out.

Abby: That's ok! If we pass by another good donut store, we will stop, all right? Does that sound like a plan?
Me: That's a deal, Abby.

We drive home. No donut shops along the way down that stretch of I-25. Later, we met up with friends to visit the Buddy Center - a pet adoption center - just to visit some adorable animals. On the way, we pass the gas station right outside our housing community.

Abby: Look, we're passing by a donut store!
Me: No we're not.
Abby: Yes!
Me: What are you talking about?
Abby: THAT is a great donut store.
Me: The gas station convenience store?
Abby [after a pause, huffily]: Are you telling me that THAT is NOT a great donut store?!
Me: YES!
Abby: We'll ask daddy when he gets home. Whatever he says [goes]!

That night, I relayed our conversation to Paul and he gave Abby credit for winning the argument because she somehow remembers visiting that convenience store with Paul over a year and a half ago and seeing fresh Krispy Kreme donuts there.

Critter Drama

2011-01-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

The other day, a rabbit came up to our back door for a visit. It had recently snowed a ton and I think the rabbit was trying to figure out how to come inside the house.

He kept going into the space between the screen and glass doors, but rather than scooching out backwards, he tried to turn himself around.

Tigger and Belle watched this guy, amused, repeating his little dance over and over again.

He scrambled and scratched, jumped and flailed. Tigger tried to match the rabbit's steps.

He would pause and rest, while pondering.

The cats kept a close watch, waiting for him to repeat his moves.

But in the end, even the cats got tired of the rabbits stupidity and lost interest.

Kayleigh 9 Months Old

2011-01-15T13:58:00.001-08:00

Kayleigh turned 9 months old and had her well-baby checkup last Thursday.

She no longer minds long car seat rides and can entertain herself rather well. It is a lot more fun to venture out of the house now that she doesn't scream as soon as she is buckled in the car seat. Unfortunately, she has completely outgrown the infant car seat and is ready to move up to a convertible. We will wait until Abby is able to be in a booster and then just have Kayleigh use Abby's current seats; there is no reason to buy new convertible seats when Abby is so close to being upgrading to a booster (age 4).

Kayleigh is also not as sensitive to the slightest wet diaper anymore, which helps car trips immensely as well.

She has said her first "ba-ba," her first "ma-ma," and to Abby's delight, her first "abba!" She waves when you tell her bye-bye. She chatters non-stop most of the time and loves to sing and have you hold her up to dance.

She can hold a crayon and draw with it, rather than putting it in her mouth immediately.

Kayleigh takes 2 30-minutes naps during the day and goes to bed promptly at 8:00 PM at night, getting up at 11 and 4-ish to feed before waking up around 7:00 AM. Her schedule is pretty much set and we've adjusted to it. However, we would like to wean her off of one night-time feeding and I talked to the pediatrician about it during her check-up. He suggests weaning her off her pacifiers because the last thing she recalls before falling asleep is sucking. If she comes up to a light sleep in the middle of the night and can't find her pacifier, she will become fully awake and will cry for us. Sounded reasonable. So, since that night, Kayleigh has not had her pacifier except for a few times to calm her down, but never to fall asleep with. We have not gotten a single complaint. She falls asleep just fine. She may stir at random times, but will chatter and fall right back to sleep. Yet, at 11 and 4-ish, she will inevitably cry for us, fully awake, demanding a feeding. So, I think she might actually just be hungry.

Abby and Kayleigh have started to play together, teasing each other, calling and responding to one another (Abby will squeal at Kayleigh and Kayleigh will match her sound and pitch exactly, then both girls will burst into laughter).

She is creeping along furniture, crawling her funny crawl everywhere and over everything. She can climb up stairs, but not down.

She certainly is more stubbornly focused on trouble than Abby ever was - going after power cords, lights, outlets, cat toys, cat food, cat water fountain, the cats!

After getting her two bottom teeth at 5 months, her upper two front teeth are finally making their appearances (1/15).

She dropped a bit in her height and weight percentages, but no one's worried. The doctor believes we might have caught her just before a growth spurt, so we have that to look forward to.

Only the Hep B shot was given, but she had her finger pricked for a blood test for anemia. We didn't even get a whimper for the shot, but the finger prick was unnecessarily deep and looked pretty painful. Plus, the Band-aid she received really frightened her.

Overall, she is doing great.

9-Month Well-Baby Stats (1/13/2011):
Height: 28.75 inches (85th %-ile)
Weight: 17.5 lbs (25th %-ile)
Head Circumference: 17.25 inches (50th %-ile)

Note To Your Pets

2011-01-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

This one has been going around on e-mails for a few years, but every time I see it, it makes me smile.

Enjoy!

==============

The following was found posted very low on a refrigerator door.

Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes on the floor with the paw prints are yours and contain your food The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate does not mean that it is suddenly your food, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Racing me to the top of the stairs is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It Is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space that you are taking up, is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't.

(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.

(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

(1) eat less,

(2) don't ask for money all the time,

(3) are easier to train,

(4) normally come when called,

(5) never ask to drive the car,

(6) don't hang out with drug-using people;

(7) don't smoke or drink,

(8) don't want to wear your clothes,

(9) don't have to buy the latest fashions,

(10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and

(11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children.....(*_*)

Preschool Holiday Program

2011-01-01T15:05:00.001-08:00

Holiday Program 2010 from Cecilia Newell on Vimeo.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

This year was a little more challenging in that Kayleigh came down with Roseola - high fever for 3 days (starting Christmas Eve) and after the fever went away for 24 hours, she broke out in a rash all over her body. 3 days later, she was fine and completely back to normal, but we're having some serious frequent night-time wakings.

Last year, Abby had an upper respiratory infection that led to a trip to Urgent Care on Christmas evening. Not wanting to repeat the Christmas excitement, we took Kayleigh to the doctor's on Christmas Eve as soon as she started showing a mild fever. The doc at first thought she had a sinus infection, but it wasn't until a few days later and a return trip to see the pediatrician when Kayleigh's rash broke out that we learned it was Roseola.

Santa was generous this year. Paul and I both allowed ourselves to purchase a couple of large gifts prior to Christmas - an iMac, a used Xbox 360, and a used Bugaboo Bee stroller - and Abby made out like a bandit, as usual. Both girls got some wonderful toys and much-needed clothes.

We had 2 Christmas dinners! Mom and Dad Newell came over for a Christmas lunch/dinner around 2:00 PM and we had our second Christmas dinner party at 6:00 PM. The evening party was a gathering of my childhood friends and family for our annual reunion. This year, we actually got to play Mafia! The mafia won a few rounds and the townspeople won a few rounds. This game really shines light on the duplicitous (new vocab word - thanks, Yu-Ching) nature of one's friends.

It was sad that my brother, Allen, was missing from the party, but don't feel too badly for him - he's on an eight-week, whirlwind tour of Taiwan and having a blast.

Christmas day was busy, yet so much fun. Abby was ill for last year's party, but was really able to enjoy herself this time. For me, watching her have such a great time with all the family and my good, old friends meant a lot. Abby absolutely loved spending time with Linda and Lily! She zonked out at 8:00 PM, completely worn out from the day's excitement. Kayleigh woke up with a fever shortly after, spent some time with the guests, and joined us in some photos, before the Ibuprofen kicked in and she was able to go back to sleep.

Next Christmas, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that every member of the family will be healthy.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Here is our Christmas Photo Album.

Visitor

2010-12-11T21:55:00.000-08:00

Look at this cutie pie we found under our couch in the basement last week.

You would think that with 3 large cats in the house one of these little guys wouldn't survive! Yet, there he was, alive and well.

We set up a trap for him, but he cleverly figured out how to grab bits of cracker out of the trap and avoid getting caught. Eventually, peanut butter on a cracker did catch him and Paul released him in some tall grass in the foothills by our house.

Our house is situated among protected open space, so wildlife is prevalent. These tiny field mice seem to make it into the houses quite a bit, unfortunately.

We just pray that they are not carrying any diseases and try to handle them as cautiously as possible. Otherwise, they bring a bit of excitement into the house for our kitty cats.

Waking Up

2010-12-04T23:18:00.000-08:00

Just for fun. This video shows what Kayleigh is like first thing in the morning. "Happy" about sums it up.

Halloween Morning (trimmed) from Cecilia Newell on Vimeo.

She's Mobile!

2010-12-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

It's been very, very busy at our house lately. Lots of engagements with friends and family this holiday season, but sadly, the main reason for the lack of communication from us has been due to both Paul and I overextending ourselves at work. Just lots and lots of year-end deadlines for which we are responsible.

As of December 1st, Paul is officially out of the Naval Reserves. Although he is still considering renewing his military commitment later on, perhaps with the Coast Guard Reserves, we're just grateful that he has freed up a weekend in December without drill, which is turning out to be a very busy month.

Abby has transitioned early to the second preschool class for 3.5-4 year olds. In this class, she is now responsible for doing weekly homework assignments. The structure of the class and the amount of teaching that actually happens in this class is mind-boggling and we've been extremely impressed with the teacher. Abby is thriving and has a renewed enthusiasm for learning, which had unfortunately dwindled over the last few months.

The students (from toddlers through kindergarteners) are preparing for their annual holiday program, which will be held December 15th. Just one week in the new class Abby got an award for knowing the whole holiday program by memory - songs and dances. Thank goodness that girl inherited Paul's stellar memory and not mine!

Meanwhile, Kayleigh has been hitting some major motor milestones! It really feels like one day she was a sack of potatoes and the next day she's a mobile monster truck, plowing over everything.

On Halloween, she learned to pull herself up to stand. We were in Oklahoma to visit Peter, Nicole, and Annette - and to allow Abby and Annette to go trick-or-treating together again. On the 31st, we took the kids to a park and Kayleigh was playing in her stroller, which was fully-reclined and being used as a play-pen, when she pulled on the frame and canopy and stood up!

A few weeks later, she started sitting up on her elbows, but would lay on her belly and flap her arms and legs, trying to figure out crawling. Up until then, she had been getting around by pivoting on her belly then rolling to wherever she needed to go.

On November 19th, she got herself on her hands and knees for the first time and figured out how to do a pseudo-army crawl! No hesitations. It was almost as if she knew exactly what needed to be done, but was waiting for her muscles to get strong enough to support herself on all fours.

She was also able to sit up from laying down and transition from crawling to sitting on the 19th. It was a big day for her!

This first video shows her crawling on November 25th. Kayleigh is so dominantly right-sided that she was still struggling a bit with her left limbs and figured out she could move better by army-crawling on her left side and on hands and knees/feet on her right side.

Watch Grab (trimmed) from Cecilia Newell on Vimeo.

Just a week later, you can see the improvement she's made in crawling. Still a little weak on the left side, she would stumble a bit. You can also hear her frustrations as she wants to move a lot faster than she can crawl.

Crawl (trimmed) from Cecilia Newell on Vimeo.

By this week, she has become a mean crawler. We got a report from daycare that Kayleigh sees no obstacles when she crawls. In fact, rather than crawling around other babies, she tends to crawl right over them! Luckily, her baby friends don't seem to mind.

I'm shocked that it's December. This month will fly by as our weekends have already been booked solid with holiday parties, birthday parties, and visits with friends and families.

In case you don't hear from us again this month, we wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday!

Abby Math

2010-11-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

If you ask a preschooler what 1+1 is they'll point one finger on their left hand and one finger on their right hand, count them, and tell you 1+1 is 2.

Great!

Math lessons have extended beyond basic counting to addition and subtraction and I'm pretty impressed.

However, when I asked Abby the other day what 5+6 was, she said 7!

When she showed me how she came up with the sum, though, I had a good chuckle.

See, Chinese number gesturing is done with one hand. You count all the way up to 10 using one hand and the gestures from 6-10 represent the characters for those numbers. See this wiki page for a good explanation.

So, 5 digits on one hand to signify 5 + the thumb and pinkie fingers to signify the 6 = a total of 7 fingers up.

+ = 7

Q.E.D.

End of Daylight Savings

2010-11-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

It's the end of Daylight Savings Time and pretty soon it will be too dark to take those evening walks. So, today, we tried to catch the last hour before the sun disappeared for a quick walk by our house.

There is a trail just out our front door, so we bundled Kayleigh up in the stroller (Abby wanted to brave the chilly weather with a sleeveless dress!) and headed out.

In less than 5 minutes we were at the top of a ridge overlooking miles and miles of land. The Rocky Mountains can also be seen at the horizon. It was a really pretty view with the orange glow of a sunset.

This trail is about 10 miles long with plenty of little side-trails (cow/goat paths) which are meant to promote exploration of remote locations.

At 5:30 PM it started to get pretty dark and we headed home. The above photo was taken just across the street from the trail head. You can see our house just down this street (our truck is parked in front there on the right).

As much as I love the fall it is always sad to lose the daylight.

Oh well, at least we get to sleep in tomorrow.

Pumpkins and Corn Mazes

2010-10-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's fall and we have been enjoying some beautiful color changes in the foliage. This is my favorite time of year when the air is cool and crisp. Light jacket and sweatshirts weather! So long as it stays dry, though.

Fall festivals, pumpkin patches, hay rides, and corn mazes are abundant this month and we have been out to enjoy a few of them.

Two weekends ago, my parents and I took the girls to a local family farm out east in Elizabeth, CO. We got to go on a tractor-pulled hay ride to see llamas, horses, and cows. Abby and Kayleigh then got to hold and pet some rabbits, see goats, donkey, geese, and pigs. We saw brand new baby bunnies and went through a straw maze in one of the farm buildings. Finally, the trip concluded with all of us plowing through their pumpkin patch trying to find an Abby-sized pumpkin to cut off the vine. We eventually did find one small enough!

Abby holds up her Abby-sized pumpkin that took a lot of searching to find.

This past weekend Paul and I took the girls to a corn maze at the Denver Botanic Gardens in Chatfield. The corn maze is there from September through October and I used to see the sign for it every day, driving to work, and have wanted to go, but we never found a good weekend to do so. This year, we finally got to explore the 8-acre maze!

Look, ponies!

Kayleigh was snuggled up in the stroller and slept through most of the maze adventure.

We stomped through the maze cut in the shape of a marmot for about an hour and did manage to find the exit. For the most part, we let Abby lead the way, but since she only liked to make right turns we had to strongly suggest certain routes in order to head in the direction of the exit.

Focused on getting un-lost and finding that exit!

This week we are heading to Oklahoma to celebrate Halloween with Paul's brother, Peter, and his family. Abby has been anxiously waiting for this road trip so she can see Cousin Annette and go trick-or-treating with her as we did last year.

See more fall photos in our Fotki albums: Pumpkins and Corn Maze

Dentist and Allergist

2010-10-17T20:27:00.001-07:00

Cavities.

We're doing things right, but Abby's just a bit prone to cavities.

Luckily, we have found an amazing pediatric dentist and Abby was able to get 2 fillings and a crown done with no problems. She was so brave. Just look at all the stuff happening around her head - sunglasses to protect eyes from the gas and splatter, headphones for the movie she was watching, gas mask, "raincoat" in her mouth for the drilling work, and stretcher to keep her mouth open.

The dentist did the right side of her mouth 2 weeks ago. This past Thursday, he finished the left side. The first visit required a brief break when Abby started crying in the middle of the filling, but she was able to calm down and the work was finished with Abby still willing to go back again. The dentist kept reassuring us that even with the breakdown, she did surprisingly well for a 3 year old. The visit was just too long, requiring x-rays, analysis, then the actual procedure. This past Thursday, she was calm and did not resist anything. Not a single whimper, flinch, or cry of objection. We were very proud and impressed by her composure.

We very much liked that they treated her with respect and was so good at explaining every single step they did to her to help alleviate any fears, constantly reminding her that if she wanted to ask anything to please do so. The words they used to help her understand were also carefully selected not spawn fear. So, drilling away the decay was explained as brushing away the sugar bugs!

Abby seemed to be pretty happy about getting a "Princess crown" for her tooth, as the dentist called it.

The next day, Abby went to National Jewish Health Clinic for an allergy evaluation. She is very prone to developing upper respiratory infections which leads to wheezing, bronchitis, and trouble breathing. When cold season hits, she ends up with an infection once a month it seems. So, her pediatrician recommended that she see an allergist and National Jewish has the leading allergy and asthma specialists in the US.

A skin prick test was performed and once again Abby showed us how brave she can be with medical procedures.

It turns out that she is allergic to cats (a bit) and dogs (a lot), plus grass and weed pollen. She is on an inhaler of the corticosteroid, Flovent, twice a day and Zyrtec at bedtime.

Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable with the dosage of antihistimine being prescribed and I'm concerned about giving her Flovent for long. For the antihistimine, the doctor is prescribing 5 mg, which is twice the recommended dose for a kid her age. At the normal dose, during an allergic reaction, she already gets drowsy, meaning the dose is too high. We've been able to nullify her allergic reactions by giving her less than the recommended dose. So, I am definitely not comfortable about giving her twice the dose when she's not even having an allergic reaction, especially at bedtime when it's much more difficult to monitor her! Flovent has a side effect of making her susceptible to bronchitis. The whole reason we visited the allergist was to figure out how to PREVENT her from getting bronchitis. Needless to say, I'm a little confused, so I'll be calling the doctor on Monday to get a detailed explanation of this recommended treatment.

Half a Year Old

2010-10-14T22:07:00.001-07:00

Kayleigh is now 6 months old!

She's starting to be able to play with Abby more and older sister is very much enjoying that. However, at times, Kayleigh is still just a doll to her.

Kayleigh is sitting up very well now and can look up and down and all around without falling over as easily. She is still wobbly when cats come close because she gets very, very excited and loses concentration.

She has 2 teeth at the bottom now and with copious amounts of drooling, the doctor and we all believe she will be getting her upper 4 quite soon.

Kayleigh is still not sleeping through the night as much as we would like. She goes to bed at 8PM and wakes at 11:00PM, 3:00AM, and 6:30AM for feedings. We're trying to work on having her drop the 3:00 AM feeding/waking, but it's a lot easier said than done. We have tried every recommended method for dropping feedings, prolonging sleep, and eliminating any sort of night-time sleep issues. Nothing is working so far! Fortunately, she's still the happiest baby we could possibly ask for.

Immunization shots this time included DTaP, Hib, Prevnar, Rotavirus, and half a dose of the flu. The second dose of the flu shot will be given in 4 weeks. She had a slight fever the night she got her shots, but it was quickly remedied with a dose of infant Tylenol drops.

6 Month Checkup Stats (10/13/10)
Height: 27 7/8 inches (97th %-ile)
Weight: 15 lbs 10.5 ozs (50th %-ile)
Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (40th %-ile)

Meeting Mo

2010-10-05T21:00:00.001-07:00

We had a really neat opportunity to attend a book signing event with children's author, Mo Willems, at the Highlands Ranch Tattered Cover Bookstore this evening.

One of Abby's very first book addictions was with Mo's "Knuffle Bunny: A Case of Mistaken Identity", the second book in the Knuffle Bunny trilogy. Also, one of her all-time favorite books is "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" by the same author.

"Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion" is the most recently published book and it concludes the Knuffle Bunny trilogy. With the purchase of this book, we got a free ticket to attend the book signing event, which I thought would be neat to take Abby.

Mo is a very animated reader - he was a comedian before his Sesame Street days that led him to authoring books for kids - and Abby laughed so hard during readings of Elephant & Piggie's "We Are in a Book!"

Activities were set up for the kids at 4 different stations. Playing on the travel theme of "Knuffle Bunny Free" the kids were each given a passport and as they visited each activity table they collected a stamp. While groups of people were called to stand in line for the signing, the activities were a diversion for the rest of the folks.

Since I wasn't sure how long the signing would be and whether or not we would actually make it to the event, I had reserved the books yesterday and requested that they be signed. So, when we arrived at the bookstore, we found that our books had already been pre-signed, so we never had to wait in line. Unfortunately, that also meant we didn't actually get to meet Mo up close, but Abby was fine with that. She felt that she had "already met Mo" when he read his books.

In the end, both Abby and I had a great time and we got to do and see a lot in the 45 minutes we were there.

Along with "Knuffle Bunny Free," we also got "We Are in a Book!" and "Cat the Cat Who Is That?" signed for Abby and Kayleigh.

"You will all get the opportunity to hug and take pictures with Knuffle Bunny and at the end of the night we will give it to........the Centers for Disease Control because it will be a petri dish brimming with good stuff!"

"We are in a book!" - "THAT IS SO COOL!!!!"

Mo also read "Knuffle Bunny Free"

Hugging the giant Knuffle bunny and Pigeon. We ended up having to bring that pigeon home with us and Abby insisted that Kayleigh got a mini Knuffle Bunny.

See if Mo Willems will be heading your way on his world tour at http://www.gomo.net.

Let Sleeping Giraffes Lie

2010-10-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

We are extremely blessed with a child who at 3 years old understands letting mommy and daddy sleep in.

Even though Abby may get up early, she finds something to entertain herself if everyone else is still asleep. Usually she'll read in her room or play outside our bedroom. Many times she'll even go back to her room, tuck herself back into bed, and sleep for awhile longer.

At 7:45 AM yesterday I was woken up by the sound of Abby whispering something in the distance then thump thump thump thump thump, shuffle shuffle, pause, thump thump thump thump thump followed by more whispering.

"Abby?" I called out, still groggy.

She is just outside our bedroom and pokes her head in, smiling.

"Abby, Kayleigh is still asleep, do you want to come in the room and play quietly?"

Whispering, "Um, no thank you. My giraffe is trying to sleep, so I have to stay with him. You can sleep in."

I don't argue with that! So, I closed my eyes and listened to her chattering quietly with her giraffe for a good 20 minutes before guilt pulled me out of bed for good.

When I took Abby to get dressed, this is what I found at the other side of our bedroom door. She had been running back and forth from our bedroom to hers to gather blankets for her giraffe.

Playtime Creations

2010-10-01T20:49:00.001-07:00

More than 10 years ago, the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver opened their indoor play area, which consisted of soft, giant, breakfast items where kids can climb, jump on, crawl under, and basically have a great time.

So, for as long as I could remember, hopping on sliced bananas, skipping on the waffle squares, and sliding down bacon strips was the huge attraction for me at this super chic mall where the only thing I could afford was a Cinnabon.

In August 2010, they had pulled all of the breakfast items and created a new "Looney Toons in Colorado" themed play area and we went to check it out yesterday.

Kayleigh is finally old enough to get in on the action, with lots of help, of course.

"Look, Mama! I'm on fire!"

I am thrilled with Playtime Creations, which is the company that designed this play area, which is creative, fun, and safe for the little ones.

Wouldn't you love to have some of their Classic Elements in your backyard? Prop your feet up on a ladybug or read a book while leaning against a baby bigfoot turtle? I definitely would!

Another Great OK Go Video - 'White Knuckles'

2010-09-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

How can you not be happy after seeing an OK Go music video?

A few of my favorites include:
This Too Shall Pass (Rube Goldberg Machine Version)
This Too Shall Pass (The Marching Band Version)
Here It Goes Again (The Treadmill Video)

Here's their latest video for 'White Knuckles'. With the help of some very well trained, four-legged performers, this is probably one of the most difficult videos OK Go has filmed, I would imagine.

If Facebook Existed Back Then

2010-09-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

I got this in an email. Not sure where it originated, but it's pretty funny.

Preschool Emotional and Behavioral Roller-Coaster

2010-09-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

Abby is just hilarious these days - our clown extraordinaire! Although, her emotional swings are so dramatic that it's exhausting to try and keep up sometimes.

At 3 years old, she is shaping her personality and taking responsibility for her actions. The days have been challenging for both parents and child as she tests boundaries and tries different approaches to situations to see what the consequences are.

She reacts to everything over-dramatically. Like last week when her sister had to start taking medication for her ear infections. Abby saw us with the liquid and she exclaimed, "No!! Is she dying?!" Everything is extreme.

We have been working on her reaction to food being offered to her to taste. She had been putting her nose up in the air and shouting, "Yuck! That's gross! Ewww...." and going on and on until the offerer loses their appetite.

We explained to her that just because she may not like something doesn't mean that it doesn't taste great to someone else. It's rude to proclaim something disgusting, especially if you haven't tried it. You can decline nicely if you don't want to try it.

Well, it's working. Although she has been great about trying most things, when she declines, she says, "No thank you. I know it's probably very tasty, but I don't want any. Thank you, though." Nice, Abby!

She is starting to resolve issues with friends using words and her sometimes warped sense of logic, but it's a huge step forward compared to the emotional breakdowns to which she usually resorted. I think she is starting to notice that other people respond better when she is cool and collected herself.

It's pretty neat to see her observing what results from her actions. You can almost see her banking the information in her head and making mental notes of, "Ahhh, so next time if I approach this situation from THAT angle, I should get them to bend at my will. Mwahahaha!"

5 Things About Being 5 Months Old

2010-09-15T21:08:00.001-07:00

~Kayleigh has gotten to taste solids for the first time...and liked it so much daddy had to restrain her hands when she kept reaching for more! (Oatmeal and apple juice at 4.5 months.)
~Everything she see and touch ends up in the mouth. See - touch - taste - assess.

~Kayleigh can sit up a bit on her own without support. (4.5 months)
~Kayleigh had her first real illness - a double ear infection and sinus infection - although you wouldn't know it looking at her since she acted perfectly normal aside from getting up a couple of extra times at night (9/13).
~The ridges of her first tooth popped out (9/16)!

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

2010-09-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Goodness gracious! Wouldn't the thumbs be more accessible?

Tubby Time at 4.5 Months

2010-09-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

I found this picture of Abby when she was 4.5 months old. I couldn't believe how much she looked like Kayleigh right now!

I tried to get a picture of Kayleigh yesterday in a similar pose, but she just wanted to sit up and smile at the camera. I even took off the duck hammock to force her to double over, but she is working so hard on sitting up on her own. She is still quite wobbly right now, though.

Balloon Glo

2010-09-04T22:19:00.001-07:00

Here's something unique and fun to do this Labor Day weekend in Colorado.

The Colorado Balloon Classic is an annual hot air balloon festival held at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs.

At dusk, many of the balloons are laid out to participate in the Balloon Glo - a beautiful display of lit balloons. Because this particular event occurred so late, we stayed for less than an hour. Abby was frightened by the sight of flames shooting up into the balloons plus the crowd screaming and cheering as the balloons all lit up. Kayleigh just didn't like the crowd noise. Despite the short amount of time we spent there, we had a great time seeing this neat display.

I would have loved to see the balloon ascension, which occurs first thing in the morning. I hear that as the mass of balloons take flight over Memorial Park lake, the colorful sight in the air is reflected in the water, doubling the spectacular effect. Maybe next year.

The Energize Bunny('s rear) balloon - a rare sight, as this balloon

can only be seen at 3 events across America this year.

SmallFrys

2010-09-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

So cute! Coming Sept 3rd from Build-a-Bear. I love that bunny with its long lashes and bucktooth. The frog also makes me smile. Can I convince Paul the girls each need a Smallfry?

Roly-Poly Toy

2010-08-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Did you have one of these roly-poly chicken toys growing up? Everytime you pushed it down, it would right itself and a chime in its belly would make a pleasant ding-a-ling sound. I haven't seen mine in years. In fact, I'd completely forgotten I had one....until now.

See, my 4 month old has decided she wants to be a roly-poly toy. I can't talk her out of it! She is working on perfecting the self-righting mechanism whereby she will always end up on her tummy, arms smacking the ground and legs kicking in the air. No matter how many times we return her to her back, two seconds later - bloop! - she's on her tummy.

The problem is that she hasn't perfected the roll from tummy to back, so she gets very, very frustrated as soon as she finds herself on her tummy. "So, why put yourself in that position, Kayleigh?!" we ask her, but she just won't listen. Furthermore, she is subconsciously performing her roly-poly routines. At night, when she's just about to fall asleep, she starts rolling, which inevitably puts her in a wide awake state. Then throughout the night, every 90 minutes or so, she comes up to the light sleep phase and finds herself roly-polying again.

Unfortunately, instead of the pleasant chime, she makes cute-for-30-seconds-but-definitely-not-so-pleasant-at-3:00 AM baby grunts, crescendoing in volume until you help her flip over. Of course, as soon as she's on her back, she pushes to roll onto her tummy again.

I don't understand why this is happening. After all, she has been rolling over for over a month and a half now. I'm betting that she's persistently working on nailing down the tummy to back roll, though - something she has only done a couple of times and probably unintentionally. So, maybe the best way to help her out is to always put her down on her tummy during the day to play so she has as many opportunities to practice during the day as she wants, rather than having to practice at night. Once she's figured it out, maybe we'll be able to get more than 4 hours of sleep at night again!!

In the meantime, we are enduring the hardest nights we've had with Kayleigh since her birth.

I know once I start getting 6 hours of sleep this will all be very amusing to me.

Ding-a-ling. Ding-a-ling.

Going Bald

2010-08-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

How could I forget the copious amounts of hair shedding that occurs about 4 months after baby is born?! Ack! So, obnoxious. I feel like I'm going to be bald if this continues for another week and I didn't have that much hair to begin with.

Well, now's as good a time to try Mane N Tail as ever. We heard about this shampoo awhile ago. Paul and I had a good laugh and then thought, why not give it a try. It was developed for horses, but when owners saw the shinier, stronger, healthier hair on the horses, it was believed that humans might benefit from the same formula. Many, many testimonials indicate that this product is worth a try, so while I'm going through this dramatic hair loss, we thought we would try Mane N Tail to see what we can salvage.

It's only been about a week and so far I have found that my hair is a lot more manageable. I was afraid we may smell like horses, for some reason, but thank goodness that's not true. The shampoo smells really nice and lathers great. The conditioner smells ok, but works very well. Both rinse out cleaner than any other shampoo I've ever used.

Time will tell if this has any effects on creating healthier, shinier, stronger hair, as advertised!

Kayleigh - Four Months Well-Baby Checkup

2010-08-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

Kayleigh had another great checkup yesterday. She is doing beautifully. We have been advised that Kayleigh can start solid foods if she is showing interest, which she is. I think we will probably wait another month and then start giving her some cereals and fruits. She has already had licks of a few things and we get to see her make some of the funniest faces when she tries something new, so we will certainly have some good laughs when we start introducing solids.

Kayleigh had 4 shots yesterday (Polio, DTap, Hib, Prevnar) plus the oral Rotavirus vaccine. So, today, she was a bit groggy and had a slight fever. With a tiny bit of infant Tylenol, though, she is all better.

Stats

Height: 26 inches (90th %-ile)
Weight: 14 lbs 3 ozs (75th %-ile)
Head Circumference: 16 inches (50th %-ile)

When Gong-Gong Babysits

2010-08-16T20:53:00.001-07:00

We are so fortunate that my dad is able to watch Kayleigh while I'm back at work one day a week. And it's quite obvious that he is having a great time playing with his youngest grand-daughter!

DoodleBuddy

2010-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

The greatest toddler entertainment invention in all of history is easily the ipod touch/iphone with countless available applications for kids.

When she gets bored, she always asks for our ipods and generally she'll start off playing something educational, generally a puzzle game, but towards the end, she always unwinds with DoodleBuddy, an application that allows you to use your fingers to paint, draw, and stamp. Numerous backgrounds to choose from and drawing techniques lead to fun and creative works of art.

Look! Below, Abby drew Paul (left) and me! I don't understand why Paul has a nose and ears, but mine are missing, though.

Although, I caught her laughing maniacally the other day and found her creating the disturbing image below. Drowning, blood-stained emoticons - yikes! As it turns out, though, she just likes the sounds that these stamps make when she plops them on the screen. She's really not losing her mind!

If you have a toddler, here are a few of Abby's favorite apps, which we really recommend.

LetsTans 10-in-1 - (free) A tangram application. You WILL be amazed at your toddler's spatial awareness!
FirstWords (Deluxe) - ($4.99) Awesome game! Learn to spell common words in various categories: around the house, colors, shapes, animals, etc. Teaches letter recognition, pronunciation, and letter order for spelling.
TrueLearning's Alphabet Air and Numbers - ($0.99 each) The former is a matching game that teaches upper and lower-case letters. The latter is a set of animated flashcards to teach numbers and counting.
Matches - (free) Test your memory by matching pairs of cards. Cute and simple illustrations with 3 levels of difficulty.
Scoops - (free) Various themes available, but the original is for stacking scoops of ice cream as they fall from the sky. Avoid the vegetables!
BubbleWrap - (free) Who doesn't love popping bubble wrap? This app recreates the experience decently well, but turns it into a timed game where the bubbles keep coming back! You definitely miss the feel of the real stuff, though.
Angry Birds - ($0.99) A really creative game! Fling angry birds via a sling shot at the green pigs who stole their eggs. These birds of various talents want to demolish the fortified lairs of the pigs and get to them, but should the birds fail, you'll be listening to the swines' smug chuckles.

Colorado Girls

2010-08-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well done and cute. :)