I actually can't remember which night it was, but we let the kids open the Christmas presents from Uncle Adam and Aunt Krista. Ryan got a play tool set, a "Tex" car from the movie Cars, and another Mater car to replace the one we thought he'd lost at home. Daddy eventually found the other Mater in the bottom of one of his shoes. Alyna got a doctor's kit, and a Tinkerbell activity set. Within 15 minutes of opening the two kits, Alyna was making sure that the pieces didn't get mixed up. All the doctor's stuff had to go in the blue case, and all the tools had to be in the orange case.
It was a longer day to get home on Monday, but it was very similar to the ride there. The kids knew what to expect more, so it was a little easier to go through security and walk down the aisles of the plane until Mommy said to stop.
I woke up at 4:30 am (EST) to fed Kellyn, then got myself ready and made sure everything else was packed away. We woke the twins up at 5:45 to change diapers, and gathered all the last minute items like the white noise machines. Alyna laid side-ways on the bed looking out the door into the living room while Ryan was being changed. Then she asked very clearly, "Uncle Adam, what are you doing?" when she saw him picking up suitcases to take outside. That was the first time I mentioned to them that we were going bye-bye on the planes again to go home. They got excited.
Neither slept on the ride to the airport at 6:30 am. We said goodbye to Aunt Krista, made it through security, ate breakfast in the food court, spent 15 minutes in the family bathroom, and made it to our gate with plenty of time to spare. Once again I passed Kellyn around when I needed to take care of Ryan and Alyna. They both fell asleep at different points on both flights. We had a 2 1/2 hour layover at DFW so we ate lunch, played at a play area, and visited the family bathroom 3 times to change 3 different sets of poopy diapers. (Better there than on the plane.)
We were all very excited to Daddy met us at the baggage claim in Midland. We ate dinner nearby and drove an hour and a half home.
We spent the rest of the week recovering... and putting up Christmas decoration. It took about a week for the kids to start sleeping past 6 am our time again.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Boston Adventure: Part 3 (Museum and more)
Monday was a lazy, stay home day at Aunt Krista's house. Alyna found a new favorite movie in Stuart Little. I don't think she understood most of it, but she kept asking to watch the mouse movie.
Tuesday we bundled the kids up and braved Boston's chilly Atlantic wind to head downtown to the Children's museum. We made it out of the house with the 3 kids by 10 am, and had a great time.
Kellyn actually slept most of the time in her stroller or was content to look around. That left Aunt Krista and I to help the kids explore the exhibits. We didn't even make it to the 3rd floor because there was so much to do on the first two floors.
We spent lots of time in the first room we went through teaching science lessons using golf balls. There were lots of ramps to roll the balls down to see what would happen from different heights. The circle ramp (pictured below) was a favorite because they could watch lots of balls go down and around.
Note to moms: wear short sleeves and sweaters to a children's museum so you can remove the sweaters for the water room. They got their sleeves all wet, though thankfully that was about all. They didn't even WANT to go into the sandbox which was just fine with me.
In the Kindergarten room, they both spent their time right where I would expect them to be. Alyna was mostly in the section marked for Creative Arts, and Ryan was over in the Math and Science area. Alyna spent her time playing with magnets and organizing shapes and colors onto 4 squares. Ryan drew with markers on the white board and loved turning the gears that interlocked together (our little engineer in the making).
In the toddler playroom, Ryan discovered a huge train set that kept his attention for over half an hour. Though he looked into the other areas, this is all he did the whole time, and he cried when I made him leave.
Alyna found a room with a play house, kitchen, and lots of baby dolls. She played with the shopping cart to collect food, and rang the door bell on the house repeatedly.
We headed home about 2 at which point the kids all fell asleep in the car. They even slept another hour when we got home too because they were so worn out from all the walking and exploring.
Wednesday was another lazy, home day. By the afternoon, Krista's dog was a little irritated at the twins constantly bothering her while she tried to nap so the dog went to visit a friend dog down the street for the afternoon and evening hours.
Thursday we went shopping for clothes for Kellyn, took Aunt Krista to a doctor's appointment, and ate lunch out.
Friday we stayed home again... love having lazy days in between the busy ones, especially with a little baby.
Saturday we did more shopping and visited Uncle Adam at work. He is a manager at a Walgreen's store, and had a Santa there to take pictures, but Ryan and Alyna wouldn't go near him. Oh, well. We also spent about 15 minutes looking for the Lightning McQueen car I mistakenly let Ryan take inside with him. It was in my diaper bag... after looking all over the store.
Sunday we went to a mall with a play area while Aunt Krista looked in a couple stores. Ryan tried to take another boy's shoes because they had Lightning on them... we may have to get him some of those next time. We ate lunch and went home for nap time. We worshiped again with the Quincy house church and had a good time with them again though several people were out of town.
It was a funfilled week, and a great time for them to get to know their "Unco Anam" and "An Kissa" who live so far away.
Tuesday we bundled the kids up and braved Boston's chilly Atlantic wind to head downtown to the Children's museum. We made it out of the house with the 3 kids by 10 am, and had a great time.
Kellyn actually slept most of the time in her stroller or was content to look around. That left Aunt Krista and I to help the kids explore the exhibits. We didn't even make it to the 3rd floor because there was so much to do on the first two floors.
We spent lots of time in the first room we went through teaching science lessons using golf balls. There were lots of ramps to roll the balls down to see what would happen from different heights. The circle ramp (pictured below) was a favorite because they could watch lots of balls go down and around.
Note to moms: wear short sleeves and sweaters to a children's museum so you can remove the sweaters for the water room. They got their sleeves all wet, though thankfully that was about all. They didn't even WANT to go into the sandbox which was just fine with me.
In the Kindergarten room, they both spent their time right where I would expect them to be. Alyna was mostly in the section marked for Creative Arts, and Ryan was over in the Math and Science area. Alyna spent her time playing with magnets and organizing shapes and colors onto 4 squares. Ryan drew with markers on the white board and loved turning the gears that interlocked together (our little engineer in the making).
In the toddler playroom, Ryan discovered a huge train set that kept his attention for over half an hour. Though he looked into the other areas, this is all he did the whole time, and he cried when I made him leave.
Alyna found a room with a play house, kitchen, and lots of baby dolls. She played with the shopping cart to collect food, and rang the door bell on the house repeatedly.
We headed home about 2 at which point the kids all fell asleep in the car. They even slept another hour when we got home too because they were so worn out from all the walking and exploring.
Wednesday was another lazy, home day. By the afternoon, Krista's dog was a little irritated at the twins constantly bothering her while she tried to nap so the dog went to visit a friend dog down the street for the afternoon and evening hours.
Thursday we went shopping for clothes for Kellyn, took Aunt Krista to a doctor's appointment, and ate lunch out.
Friday we stayed home again... love having lazy days in between the busy ones, especially with a little baby.
Saturday we did more shopping and visited Uncle Adam at work. He is a manager at a Walgreen's store, and had a Santa there to take pictures, but Ryan and Alyna wouldn't go near him. Oh, well. We also spent about 15 minutes looking for the Lightning McQueen car I mistakenly let Ryan take inside with him. It was in my diaper bag... after looking all over the store.
Sunday we went to a mall with a play area while Aunt Krista looked in a couple stores. Ryan tried to take another boy's shoes because they had Lightning on them... we may have to get him some of those next time. We ate lunch and went home for nap time. We worshiped again with the Quincy house church and had a good time with them again though several people were out of town.
It was a funfilled week, and a great time for them to get to know their "Unco Anam" and "An Kissa" who live so far away.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Boston Adventure: Part 2
Saturday we played around Aunt Krista's house all morning
After nap time walked down the street to her best friend's house for Krista's baby shower. She is due in February with baby Madison. It was wonderful to meet all of her friends and share that special day with her.
Ryan kept his new favorite toy close by... though we did have to hunt for Lightning McQueen a few rare times when he'd play with another toy.
On Sunday we went to a local mall to eat lunch, play at the play area, visit the pet store, and get supplies from Target.
We worshiped on Sunday night with the Quincy Community House Church. It was a special experience to worship with the group. The two 2 year olds certainly added a new level to their experience and Aunt Krista eventually took them and the 1 year old upstairs to play. We shared communion and dinner before heading home.
We Skyped on the webcam with Daddy that night, and they also took a bath in the big whirlpool tub. Each night was a little easier to get them into bed, but they still would ask to go home to their own beds.
After nap time walked down the street to her best friend's house for Krista's baby shower. She is due in February with baby Madison. It was wonderful to meet all of her friends and share that special day with her.
Ryan kept his new favorite toy close by... though we did have to hunt for Lightning McQueen a few rare times when he'd play with another toy.
On Sunday we went to a local mall to eat lunch, play at the play area, visit the pet store, and get supplies from Target.
We worshiped on Sunday night with the Quincy Community House Church. It was a special experience to worship with the group. The two 2 year olds certainly added a new level to their experience and Aunt Krista eventually took them and the 1 year old upstairs to play. We shared communion and dinner before heading home.
We Skyped on the webcam with Daddy that night, and they also took a bath in the big whirlpool tub. Each night was a little easier to get them into bed, but they still would ask to go home to their own beds.
The Boston Adventure: Part 1
We left the house at 7:30 in the morning and with the time change driving into Texas, checking bags, diaper changes, feeding Kellyn, and going through security, we barely made it onto our 11:30 am flight to Dallas.
Security was by far the toughest part of the trip both ways, but not because of the newest measures we've been hearing about. It was just tough to get shoes off, bags off, Kellyn out of her carrier, the twins out of their stroller, walking through the metal detector, calling the kids to follow me, and then putting everything back together again. It took 15 minutes just for us to go through. They also tested the breast milk bottles I had in Midland, but didn't seem to care about them in Boston. What does that tell you about the security?
As we walked onto the small airplane, Ryan realized Daddy hadn't come with us and started crying his name. Everyone on the plane seemed to think this was very sweet. I pulled out his monkey cuddley, and a new Lightning McQueen matchbox car for him... and he seemed to forget everything else. That Lightning McQueen stayed attatched to his hand all week long. Alyna got a new My Little Pony and several new coloring books for the trip. She was also glad I brought her baby doll and her "Find Elmo" book for her to look at.
Alyna sat in the single seat by the window by herself and I sat across the aisle from her next to Ryan. They both did very well and Kellyn slept pretty much the whole time. I got a can of juice from the flight attendant to split between their two sippy cups.
We had a lunchtime layover in Dallas so we went to the McDonalds where they also have a few toys for the kids to climb in/over. They didn't actually eat anything, so I just packed up their nuggets and took them to the next flight with me.
The 4 hour flight to Boston was as good as it could be. A nice lady named Jennifer helped me down the ramp and to our seats with the kids. They kept trying to sit in available seats as we'd walk by them, but we were at the back of the plane. Jennifer said she had 2 small children of her own (though not with her) and if I needed any help to let her know. During the takeoff, I fed Kellyn a bottle and changed her diaper, then passed her to Jennifer when we were in the air. She held Kellyn for over an hour because she fell asleep. I put "Mater's Tall Tales" on the IPod for the kids to watch, and Alyna fell asleep. Ryan actually watched Mater twice through and then got down on the floor to play with his cars. Everyone was willing to help watch the kids for a minute while I took a trip to the restroom, and took Alyna potty too.
At the end of the flight Kellyn was flirting with the older gentleman on the aisle a row behind me. When Ryan started acting up and not wanting to sit in his seatbelt, I asked if he would hold her. He gladly accepted, and even sang, "Old McDonald had a turtle?" to her and put her to sleep. He held her for the landing, and I could keep Ryan entertained and in his seat.
It was after 7 pm (EST)when we met up with Aunt Krista and Uncle Adam in the Boston airport. We got our luggage, went to dinner, and almost immediately upon arriving at their house started putting the kids to bed. At this point Ryan started pointing to the door saying, "bye-bye" repeatedly. After that long day he wanted to be home.
Security was by far the toughest part of the trip both ways, but not because of the newest measures we've been hearing about. It was just tough to get shoes off, bags off, Kellyn out of her carrier, the twins out of their stroller, walking through the metal detector, calling the kids to follow me, and then putting everything back together again. It took 15 minutes just for us to go through. They also tested the breast milk bottles I had in Midland, but didn't seem to care about them in Boston. What does that tell you about the security?
As we walked onto the small airplane, Ryan realized Daddy hadn't come with us and started crying his name. Everyone on the plane seemed to think this was very sweet. I pulled out his monkey cuddley, and a new Lightning McQueen matchbox car for him... and he seemed to forget everything else. That Lightning McQueen stayed attatched to his hand all week long. Alyna got a new My Little Pony and several new coloring books for the trip. She was also glad I brought her baby doll and her "Find Elmo" book for her to look at.
Alyna sat in the single seat by the window by herself and I sat across the aisle from her next to Ryan. They both did very well and Kellyn slept pretty much the whole time. I got a can of juice from the flight attendant to split between their two sippy cups.
We had a lunchtime layover in Dallas so we went to the McDonalds where they also have a few toys for the kids to climb in/over. They didn't actually eat anything, so I just packed up their nuggets and took them to the next flight with me.
The 4 hour flight to Boston was as good as it could be. A nice lady named Jennifer helped me down the ramp and to our seats with the kids. They kept trying to sit in available seats as we'd walk by them, but we were at the back of the plane. Jennifer said she had 2 small children of her own (though not with her) and if I needed any help to let her know. During the takeoff, I fed Kellyn a bottle and changed her diaper, then passed her to Jennifer when we were in the air. She held Kellyn for over an hour because she fell asleep. I put "Mater's Tall Tales" on the IPod for the kids to watch, and Alyna fell asleep. Ryan actually watched Mater twice through and then got down on the floor to play with his cars. Everyone was willing to help watch the kids for a minute while I took a trip to the restroom, and took Alyna potty too.
At the end of the flight Kellyn was flirting with the older gentleman on the aisle a row behind me. When Ryan started acting up and not wanting to sit in his seatbelt, I asked if he would hold her. He gladly accepted, and even sang, "Old McDonald had a turtle?" to her and put her to sleep. He held her for the landing, and I could keep Ryan entertained and in his seat.
It was after 7 pm (EST)when we met up with Aunt Krista and Uncle Adam in the Boston airport. We got our luggage, went to dinner, and almost immediately upon arriving at their house started putting the kids to bed. At this point Ryan started pointing to the door saying, "bye-bye" repeatedly. After that long day he wanted to be home.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
We're Home
We made it home safely on Monday evening. I got up at 4:30 am (EST) and we left Aunt Krista's house at 6 am (EST). Our 2nd flight arrived in Midland, TX a little after 4 pm (CST), fed Kellyn, ate dinner, and drove 1 1/2 hours home to New Mexico arriving around 7 pm (Mountain time). Long, long, day...
Full trip report at a later date.
Full trip report at a later date.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
We're off
Friday is the big day. The adventure begins at 7:30 in the morning (mountain time) with an hour and a half drive to the Midland, TX airport factoring in an hour time change to central time. We'll check in, say goodbye to Daddy, go through security, fly to Dallas, eat lunch, and then fly to Boston arriving at 6 pm (eastern time). Please pray for safe and fast travel for us.
I've got a front carrier for Kellyn, a double stroller for the twins. We'll stuff our coats in the basket of the stroller except when we have to leave it to be gate checked. Alyna and Ryan each have a small backpack for their own toys, coloring book, change of clothes, cup and snacks. I've got a large backpack for all our extra things, and a small diaper bag that will fit under the seat for the immediate needs.
I'm so excited to see my sister and meet all her friends up there.
Side Note:
Kellyn had another growth spurt last week and at 3 1/2 months old she weighs 15 pounds.
I looked back at my archived blogs, and at the twins' 6 month checkup they were just shy of 15 pounds. Kellyn feels so heavy to me, and she is already starting to look snug in some of the 3-6 month clothes. It was already fully spring when Alyna got to 6-9 month clothes, so Kellyn may actually need an all new wardrobe soon. Even at only a month apart the hand-me-down system doesn't always work.
I've got a front carrier for Kellyn, a double stroller for the twins. We'll stuff our coats in the basket of the stroller except when we have to leave it to be gate checked. Alyna and Ryan each have a small backpack for their own toys, coloring book, change of clothes, cup and snacks. I've got a large backpack for all our extra things, and a small diaper bag that will fit under the seat for the immediate needs.
I'm so excited to see my sister and meet all her friends up there.
Side Note:
Kellyn had another growth spurt last week and at 3 1/2 months old she weighs 15 pounds.
I looked back at my archived blogs, and at the twins' 6 month checkup they were just shy of 15 pounds. Kellyn feels so heavy to me, and she is already starting to look snug in some of the 3-6 month clothes. It was already fully spring when Alyna got to 6-9 month clothes, so Kellyn may actually need an all new wardrobe soon. Even at only a month apart the hand-me-down system doesn't always work.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving
Alyna and Ryan sat for 20 minutes licking the freshly made whipped cream off the beaters.
We are so very thankful for our blessings this year. At the top of the list is Kellyn's arrival as a happy, beautiful baby girl in August. Ryan and Alyna are growing into such wonderful children who love everyone and love to learn. Barry is blessed with a good career which allows me to be at home with our young children. And while we may not love the city we live in, we defintely love all the people we know. It is a wonderful blessing to have lots of substitute grandparents, aunts, and uncles to mentor our children in God's ways.
We are also quite thankful to not have company for this holiday this year. This will be the first time since the Thanksgiving we were in Europe in 2007 that we haven't had anyone here (that includes the Christmas holidays as well). We love when we do have family visiting us, but it's also nice to enjoy just being our small family of 5 as well.
Thank you for reading this... you are my support system and I love sharing our lives with you.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Every month counts
It's amazing how much kids learn in a month's time.
We all know how infants change rapidly each month. Kellyn this month is interacting with her world so much more. She wants to sit up in your lap to look around, and she loves to watch her siblings play.
But I've been surprised lately at how much Alyna and Ryan still change every month. It's getting easier all the time to communicate with them. They are learning to follow directions, and to form complete sentences when they are speaking. They love to learn new things.
Sometimes I work with them on pronouncing a new word or someone's name. Last week Ryan learned to say "monkey" very clearly. This week the word blanket has gone from "bet" to "bayket". I figured out just today that when Ryan asks where "Whining" is he's saying "Lightning" meaning his Lightning McQueen car.
Alyna called from across the house yesterday, "Mom, where are you?" I chuckled because she sounded so grown up. Every time you sigh or say, "ouch" she asks "Are you okay?" It's so cute that she shows such concern for those around her.
Ryan knows many of his letters now, but doesn't respond to questions about them like Alyna does. Alyna can tell you many of the lowercase letters now along with the capital letters. She looked at a lower case "d" today and said "Daddy", because d is for Daddy.
She often says pieces of the alphabet repeatedly though she'll skip letters. She gets "A, B, C, D" easily then skips around a bunch until "W, Y, Z, now I know".
She does the same with counting to ten. Right now it's: 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10
Alyna knows what the computer mouse is and the remote control so she can bring them to me across the room while I'm nursing. Ryan and Alyna both love to take Kellyn's empty bottles to the sink for me. When their drink cups are empty they will often go put them on the counter by the refrigerator so I can refill them.
I am so thankful for every day that they grow and learn. God's blessings are overflowing in my house this holiday season.
We all know how infants change rapidly each month. Kellyn this month is interacting with her world so much more. She wants to sit up in your lap to look around, and she loves to watch her siblings play.
But I've been surprised lately at how much Alyna and Ryan still change every month. It's getting easier all the time to communicate with them. They are learning to follow directions, and to form complete sentences when they are speaking. They love to learn new things.
Sometimes I work with them on pronouncing a new word or someone's name. Last week Ryan learned to say "monkey" very clearly. This week the word blanket has gone from "bet" to "bayket". I figured out just today that when Ryan asks where "Whining" is he's saying "Lightning" meaning his Lightning McQueen car.
Alyna called from across the house yesterday, "Mom, where are you?" I chuckled because she sounded so grown up. Every time you sigh or say, "ouch" she asks "Are you okay?" It's so cute that she shows such concern for those around her.
Ryan knows many of his letters now, but doesn't respond to questions about them like Alyna does. Alyna can tell you many of the lowercase letters now along with the capital letters. She looked at a lower case "d" today and said "Daddy", because d is for Daddy.
She often says pieces of the alphabet repeatedly though she'll skip letters. She gets "A, B, C, D" easily then skips around a bunch until "W, Y, Z, now I know".
She does the same with counting to ten. Right now it's: 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10
Alyna knows what the computer mouse is and the remote control so she can bring them to me across the room while I'm nursing. Ryan and Alyna both love to take Kellyn's empty bottles to the sink for me. When their drink cups are empty they will often go put them on the counter by the refrigerator so I can refill them.
I am so thankful for every day that they grow and learn. God's blessings are overflowing in my house this holiday season.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
picture updates
Kellyn is now 3 months old. She interacts a lot with everyone, cooing and smiling. She reaches to hit and grab toys, but her favorite thing to do right now is watch ceiling fans. It's fun to watch her as she stares and talks to the fan as the shadows move across the ceiling above her.
Ryan actually shares his most prized possession with her as a blanket. This is his monkey cuddly that he sleeps with and carries around when he's not feeling well. He loves her so much.
Alyna and Ryan are loosing that toddler look and looking more like little kids. It's fun to watch them grow.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Yucky
We've got a nasty stomach bug going around our family this week. This is actually the first one we've had since the long before the twins were born. The poor kids didn't even know what was happening since they'd never thrown up before.
Ryan got it first, on Monday afternoon, and he got the mildest case. He threw up a couple times, and had a few yucky diapers on Tuesday.
Alyna and I both got it worse on Tuesday night. Alyna was fine by morning, but I still have some symptoms hanging on even now. I didn't eat anything until Wednesday night. I'm just trying to stay hydrated.
The poor kids are going crazy because Barry and I are too tired to do anything with them. He was just coming off night shift on Tuesday so his lack of sleep was evident yesterday. He hasn't gotten the bug yet, but odds are he will in the next few days. Hopefully since Kellyn hasn't gotten it yet she will be fine. She would have been exposed when I was since I'm breastfeeding.
One of the hardest parts for me is still trying to nurse while sick. Even to pump the milk is a chore of sitting in one place for a while. I learned how to feed her while lying down because of it. She looked at me really funny at first until she figured out that the food was there so it didn't matter that we changed positions.
Ryan got it first, on Monday afternoon, and he got the mildest case. He threw up a couple times, and had a few yucky diapers on Tuesday.
Alyna and I both got it worse on Tuesday night. Alyna was fine by morning, but I still have some symptoms hanging on even now. I didn't eat anything until Wednesday night. I'm just trying to stay hydrated.
The poor kids are going crazy because Barry and I are too tired to do anything with them. He was just coming off night shift on Tuesday so his lack of sleep was evident yesterday. He hasn't gotten the bug yet, but odds are he will in the next few days. Hopefully since Kellyn hasn't gotten it yet she will be fine. She would have been exposed when I was since I'm breastfeeding.
One of the hardest parts for me is still trying to nurse while sick. Even to pump the milk is a chore of sitting in one place for a while. I learned how to feed her while lying down because of it. She looked at me really funny at first until she figured out that the food was there so it didn't matter that we changed positions.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Today's thoughts
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday I always feel so blessed by the LORD to be where I am today.
It's an extra windy fall day here in southern New Mexico. Barry's at work all day (12 hours shift) and I'm home with the kids. There's a couple errands I could run, but I don't know if we'll do it today or not. Ryan awoke with a constant cough, and as I mentioned before, it is really windy outside.
I've already got 2 loads of laundry waiting to be folded, and about 3 more to go. I got a little behind on it this week.
Beef stew is in the crockpot for dinner, and the dishwasher is unloaded.
Alyna and Ryan woke up at 6:30 and are having a pajamas morning, and watched a movie because I knew they wouldn't go outside to play this morning. Kellyn is in the swing about to take a nap.
This afternoon, their new friend Madison is coming over to play with them. Madison is in 7th grade and just moved here in August. She and her 5th grade sister, Casey, are absolutely wonderful with the kids, and come over a couple times a week just to play with them. They'll even change diapers or take them to the potty without being asked. Since they live about 5 blocks away, it's a perfect situation. They're family attends our congregation, and we get along really well with their parents too.
Alyna loves having them over so much that last night before dinner she kept asking for them. She'd say "Mad and Cases?" over and over again.
P.S. Only in New Mexico would the Thanksgiving meal bags we give out from church include bags of rice and pinto beans. LOL!
It's an extra windy fall day here in southern New Mexico. Barry's at work all day (12 hours shift) and I'm home with the kids. There's a couple errands I could run, but I don't know if we'll do it today or not. Ryan awoke with a constant cough, and as I mentioned before, it is really windy outside.
I've already got 2 loads of laundry waiting to be folded, and about 3 more to go. I got a little behind on it this week.
Beef stew is in the crockpot for dinner, and the dishwasher is unloaded.
Alyna and Ryan woke up at 6:30 and are having a pajamas morning, and watched a movie because I knew they wouldn't go outside to play this morning. Kellyn is in the swing about to take a nap.
This afternoon, their new friend Madison is coming over to play with them. Madison is in 7th grade and just moved here in August. She and her 5th grade sister, Casey, are absolutely wonderful with the kids, and come over a couple times a week just to play with them. They'll even change diapers or take them to the potty without being asked. Since they live about 5 blocks away, it's a perfect situation. They're family attends our congregation, and we get along really well with their parents too.
Alyna loves having them over so much that last night before dinner she kept asking for them. She'd say "Mad and Cases?" over and over again.
P.S. Only in New Mexico would the Thanksgiving meal bags we give out from church include bags of rice and pinto beans. LOL!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Booked
We're doing it. I'm flying with the 3 kids to Boston on Friday, December 3 and returning on Monday, December 13. I'll be there for my sister's baby shower on Saturday which I'm really excited about. We'll miss Barry's really rough week of work and when we return home on Monday he is off work until Thursday.
We have one stop each way at DFW where we should have enough time to eat lunch, play, and change planes.
So I've been busy making sure we have warm clothes and a few new toys/coloring books for the trip. While it is in the 30s here at night, it was 80 degrees here yesterday during the daytime. We haven't needed more than a sweatshirt yet.
I'm excited, and the next few weeks will be very busy.
We have one stop each way at DFW where we should have enough time to eat lunch, play, and change planes.
So I've been busy making sure we have warm clothes and a few new toys/coloring books for the trip. While it is in the 30s here at night, it was 80 degrees here yesterday during the daytime. We haven't needed more than a sweatshirt yet.
I'm excited, and the next few weeks will be very busy.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
A Test Run
Next month Barry has a week of work that will be longer and harder than any of his usual shifts. He will work 3 long days and then 3 long nights. I'd rather not even be here with the kids that week, but none of my family or close friends live with-in close driving distance. So I either have a 8+ hour drive by myself, or a couple plane rides. Neither is appealing with the 3 kids, but I'm also just anxious to travel somewhere. I've been couped up in this town for 4 months now, and that's very unusual for me. I really want to go visit my sister in Boston that week.
Barry's worried that a plane ride with the 3 kids will be so rough that I'll regret doing it. I think a long drive would be even worse. My biggest challenges with the 3 little ones are parking lots and public restrooms. At least in the airports they are usually bigger and clean, and you don't have to cross a parking lot to get there. So.....
I realized that if I really want to do this I need to prove myself first by taking the 3 of them somewhere other than just to the church building and friend's houses. So off we went today on a short road trip (Barry was sleeping for night-shift anyway).
We got a late start because Kellyn slept from 9 pm to 9 am straight. So by the time I fed her, dressed her, and got everything loaded it was a little after 10 am. We drove an hour and 40 minutes to the Target in Odessa, TX. Everyone traveled wonderfully. Kellyn didn't start crying until 10 minutes away when she decided she was too hungry to wait any longer. I gave her a bottle as I wheeled in the cart across the parking lot.
The main goal was to buy coats and backpacks for Ryan and Alyna and look at or purchase some other small items. It's such a warm season here, that they didn't have many actual coats out. I found one I think will work for Alyna that is a fuzzy pale pink and lined with fake fur. I didn't find one for Ryan. I'll have to visit a couple local stores in the next week or two to find one for Ryan. Since we aren't out in the early morning or late evening it's not an urgent matter.
Alyna picked the Tinkerbell backpack and sippy cup over Disney Princess. Ryan got a Toy Story backpack because there weren't any Cars motifs available, but did get a Cars sippy cup. We don't use sippy cups a lot except when we go places, but the ones we have are leaking. We found the backpacks in the luggage section where they discovered the rolling backpacks. Ryan was instantly zooming around with Lightning McQueen from Cars, and Alyna took the Disney Princesses (in the absence of Tinkerbell) for a stroll. I let them take them along to the next few stops. We filled the cart with a couple long sleeve shirts for each of the 3, and next-size-up shoes for the twins.
We went back to the toy section to look at the tricycles. There was only one without security bindings on it that they could sit on, so I had to supervise them taking turns. (This was a test to see if it would make a good Christmas present... and I think it passed.) When it was time to put it back on the shelf, Ryan was reluctant to dismount.
When I turned around from putting him back inside the cart, Alyna was gone. I walked to the end of the aisle and looked around but she was nowhere in sight. I turned to a couple other moms with kids and carts and asked if they saw a 2 year old girl pulling a suitcase. I started calling her name and walking toward the baby section across the path. After a very long minute (or so), one of the other moms called out that she saw her. Alyna was right back on the aisle with the tricycles. She must have gone down and back around one of the next aisles to find me again. It was a very scary moment for me.
After a bathroom stop where Alyna actually used the potty, and checking out at the register, we went to Chick-fil-a. We stayed there for over an hour because it had a great play-place. I fed Kellyn her 2nd bottle right before we left.
I also realized that Ryan has developed a fear of public restrooms. I had to pick him up and carry him in both times. I think it's because he hates the hand dryers. The one in the Target restroom was used 3-4 times while we were in there and he screamed his head off. One of the workers said she'd wait and use the towels in the staff room so he wouldn't cry again. The Chick-fil-a bathroom didn't even have a dryer and he screamed and tried to crawl under the stall door several times. I hope he gets over that soon.
All the kids napped on the drive home, and once again Kellyn started crying about 10 minutes away. I guess that's here limit.
So I made it. It's not quite like an airport and long plane ride would be, but at least it didn't discourage me from it. Now we have to decide about the plane... hmmmmm
Barry's worried that a plane ride with the 3 kids will be so rough that I'll regret doing it. I think a long drive would be even worse. My biggest challenges with the 3 little ones are parking lots and public restrooms. At least in the airports they are usually bigger and clean, and you don't have to cross a parking lot to get there. So.....
I realized that if I really want to do this I need to prove myself first by taking the 3 of them somewhere other than just to the church building and friend's houses. So off we went today on a short road trip (Barry was sleeping for night-shift anyway).
We got a late start because Kellyn slept from 9 pm to 9 am straight. So by the time I fed her, dressed her, and got everything loaded it was a little after 10 am. We drove an hour and 40 minutes to the Target in Odessa, TX. Everyone traveled wonderfully. Kellyn didn't start crying until 10 minutes away when she decided she was too hungry to wait any longer. I gave her a bottle as I wheeled in the cart across the parking lot.
The main goal was to buy coats and backpacks for Ryan and Alyna and look at or purchase some other small items. It's such a warm season here, that they didn't have many actual coats out. I found one I think will work for Alyna that is a fuzzy pale pink and lined with fake fur. I didn't find one for Ryan. I'll have to visit a couple local stores in the next week or two to find one for Ryan. Since we aren't out in the early morning or late evening it's not an urgent matter.
Alyna picked the Tinkerbell backpack and sippy cup over Disney Princess. Ryan got a Toy Story backpack because there weren't any Cars motifs available, but did get a Cars sippy cup. We don't use sippy cups a lot except when we go places, but the ones we have are leaking. We found the backpacks in the luggage section where they discovered the rolling backpacks. Ryan was instantly zooming around with Lightning McQueen from Cars, and Alyna took the Disney Princesses (in the absence of Tinkerbell) for a stroll. I let them take them along to the next few stops. We filled the cart with a couple long sleeve shirts for each of the 3, and next-size-up shoes for the twins.
We went back to the toy section to look at the tricycles. There was only one without security bindings on it that they could sit on, so I had to supervise them taking turns. (This was a test to see if it would make a good Christmas present... and I think it passed.) When it was time to put it back on the shelf, Ryan was reluctant to dismount.
When I turned around from putting him back inside the cart, Alyna was gone. I walked to the end of the aisle and looked around but she was nowhere in sight. I turned to a couple other moms with kids and carts and asked if they saw a 2 year old girl pulling a suitcase. I started calling her name and walking toward the baby section across the path. After a very long minute (or so), one of the other moms called out that she saw her. Alyna was right back on the aisle with the tricycles. She must have gone down and back around one of the next aisles to find me again. It was a very scary moment for me.
After a bathroom stop where Alyna actually used the potty, and checking out at the register, we went to Chick-fil-a. We stayed there for over an hour because it had a great play-place. I fed Kellyn her 2nd bottle right before we left.
I also realized that Ryan has developed a fear of public restrooms. I had to pick him up and carry him in both times. I think it's because he hates the hand dryers. The one in the Target restroom was used 3-4 times while we were in there and he screamed his head off. One of the workers said she'd wait and use the towels in the staff room so he wouldn't cry again. The Chick-fil-a bathroom didn't even have a dryer and he screamed and tried to crawl under the stall door several times. I hope he gets over that soon.
All the kids napped on the drive home, and once again Kellyn started crying about 10 minutes away. I guess that's here limit.
So I made it. It's not quite like an airport and long plane ride would be, but at least it didn't discourage me from it. Now we have to decide about the plane... hmmmmm
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Crazy Tuesdays
Tuesday mornings we attend Ladies Bible Class at our congregation, and there's a paid nursery worker to watch Ryan and Alyna play in the nursery. Another 2 year old, Mia, usually comes too, and they get along very well together.
Class starts at 9:30 so we have to be loading up in the van by 9:10 just to make it in time with all the car seats to fasten and unfasten even though it's only a 7 minute drive. This morning at 8:55 I was finishing up getting ready and thinking that we were all set to go a little early when I looked over and saw that Ryan and Alyna were still in their pajamas. I hadn't even picked out clothes for them yet, so I had to rush around to get them changed in time to leave.
We weren't late, but it wasn't the easy pace I thought I was achieving...
At the very end of class we heard screaming coming all the way down the hall from the nursery. I couldn't tell if it was Ryan or Mia... so Mia's mom and I both ended up going down there to see what was happening. It was both of them. Mia was throwing a tantrum because she didn't want to put her shoes on, and Ryan was crying because he didn't understand why Mia was upset. He's such a sensitive guy, and was a little tired today from waking up early today.
We went to lunch with a bunch of ladies where Ryan ended up in our preacher's wife's lap... because she had chocolate cake in front of her.
Kellyn slept through most of class and lunch. When she woke up at the end of lunch one of the ladies held her and fed her some of the bottle. Then she gave me a special treat... a blowout poopy diaper. It leaked up the back onto her shirt. I didn't have an extra shirt with me because I switched bags this morning, so she got to wear a blanket for coming home.
The 3 kids all napped at the same time for almost an hour... that was some nice quiet time.
After nap, and snack (applesauce) we all went for a walk. I carried Kellyn in our baby carrier on my chest. (It's like a backpack but worn on the front.) I decided that instead of pushing the double stroller that I would pull the kids in our 2-seater wagon. The polling place is only 2 blocks away, and they enjoyed the ride to the fire station. The ladies at the tables were happy to talk to Ryan and Alyna while I filled in the bubbles on the ballot. Kellyn had fallen asleep by then.
As we exited the fire station we stopped at the fenced in park next door for about 20 minutes. It's a small play area with a tunnel and slide in the shape of a fire engine. Ryan ran to the back gate and looked at the fire engine, and watched a digging machine help some men move rocks.
On the way home we stopped to visit our neighbor Mrs. Smith who just adores them. She brought a basket of stuffed animals into her living room for them to play with. They made all the animal sounds for her as we talked.
Our outing didn't end there. We loaded up into our van and went to the drive-thru of the bank for some cash and picked up dinner on the way home.
I'm hoping the kids will all sleep really well tonight. Kellyn seems a little out of sorts from the strange schedule of the day. Tomorrow we stay at home all day until church at night. It will be nice...
Class starts at 9:30 so we have to be loading up in the van by 9:10 just to make it in time with all the car seats to fasten and unfasten even though it's only a 7 minute drive. This morning at 8:55 I was finishing up getting ready and thinking that we were all set to go a little early when I looked over and saw that Ryan and Alyna were still in their pajamas. I hadn't even picked out clothes for them yet, so I had to rush around to get them changed in time to leave.
We weren't late, but it wasn't the easy pace I thought I was achieving...
At the very end of class we heard screaming coming all the way down the hall from the nursery. I couldn't tell if it was Ryan or Mia... so Mia's mom and I both ended up going down there to see what was happening. It was both of them. Mia was throwing a tantrum because she didn't want to put her shoes on, and Ryan was crying because he didn't understand why Mia was upset. He's such a sensitive guy, and was a little tired today from waking up early today.
We went to lunch with a bunch of ladies where Ryan ended up in our preacher's wife's lap... because she had chocolate cake in front of her.
Kellyn slept through most of class and lunch. When she woke up at the end of lunch one of the ladies held her and fed her some of the bottle. Then she gave me a special treat... a blowout poopy diaper. It leaked up the back onto her shirt. I didn't have an extra shirt with me because I switched bags this morning, so she got to wear a blanket for coming home.
The 3 kids all napped at the same time for almost an hour... that was some nice quiet time.
After nap, and snack (applesauce) we all went for a walk. I carried Kellyn in our baby carrier on my chest. (It's like a backpack but worn on the front.) I decided that instead of pushing the double stroller that I would pull the kids in our 2-seater wagon. The polling place is only 2 blocks away, and they enjoyed the ride to the fire station. The ladies at the tables were happy to talk to Ryan and Alyna while I filled in the bubbles on the ballot. Kellyn had fallen asleep by then.
As we exited the fire station we stopped at the fenced in park next door for about 20 minutes. It's a small play area with a tunnel and slide in the shape of a fire engine. Ryan ran to the back gate and looked at the fire engine, and watched a digging machine help some men move rocks.
On the way home we stopped to visit our neighbor Mrs. Smith who just adores them. She brought a basket of stuffed animals into her living room for them to play with. They made all the animal sounds for her as we talked.
Our outing didn't end there. We loaded up into our van and went to the drive-thru of the bank for some cash and picked up dinner on the way home.
I'm hoping the kids will all sleep really well tonight. Kellyn seems a little out of sorts from the strange schedule of the day. Tomorrow we stay at home all day until church at night. It will be nice...
Friday, October 15, 2010
up to speed
We got our computer back with a new hard drive installed on Wednesday afternoon, and it's been crazy trying to find time to re-install all the programs we use frequently. But today the kids are taking a longer nap than usual, so I have a few minutes to upload some recent pictures.
Kellyn's first smiles have been precious... and hard to catch on camera.
Ryan and Alyna both love to get down and play with Kellyn. This has also been the cause of many time-outs as they learn how to be gentle around a baby.
Ryan is saying "shhh" because she's sleeping.
He still fits... kind of...
Alyna loves to practice being a Mommy. She's a very good helper with everything too.
Kellyn's first smiles have been precious... and hard to catch on camera.
Ryan and Alyna both love to get down and play with Kellyn. This has also been the cause of many time-outs as they learn how to be gentle around a baby.
Ryan is saying "shhh" because she's sleeping.
He still fits... kind of...
Alyna loves to practice being a Mommy. She's a very good helper with everything too.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
computer issues
Just so everyone knows... we're all fine... we are just having computer issues.
The hard drive crashed on our main computer last week while I had a bad cold and Barry was on his work shift. So today we took it to a repair shop to see if the tech can fix it or he will replace the hard drive for us. It's frustrating because this is the 3rd time the hard drive has had problems, and the computer is only 1 year old. We do thankfully have backups of all our pictures on an external hard drive.
We've plugged our old computer in now, but it is very slow. I don't want to even mess with uploading pictures from this one.
Kellyn is growing so big already. She is 7 weeks old and is already outgrowing some of the 0-3 month clothing, but the 3-6 month stuff looks really big still. She's starting to give smiles now and coo at us. It's a precious age.
As is typical of 2 year olds, Alyna and Ryan are learning new things and testing boundaries every day. Alyna recognizes almost all of her uppercase letters now and is working on the sounds. Ryan is ever the little boy, eating everything he finds and climbing anything that will be still.
I hope the computer is fixed soon so I can put up more pictures for you...
The hard drive crashed on our main computer last week while I had a bad cold and Barry was on his work shift. So today we took it to a repair shop to see if the tech can fix it or he will replace the hard drive for us. It's frustrating because this is the 3rd time the hard drive has had problems, and the computer is only 1 year old. We do thankfully have backups of all our pictures on an external hard drive.
We've plugged our old computer in now, but it is very slow. I don't want to even mess with uploading pictures from this one.
Kellyn is growing so big already. She is 7 weeks old and is already outgrowing some of the 0-3 month clothing, but the 3-6 month stuff looks really big still. She's starting to give smiles now and coo at us. It's a precious age.
As is typical of 2 year olds, Alyna and Ryan are learning new things and testing boundaries every day. Alyna recognizes almost all of her uppercase letters now and is working on the sounds. Ryan is ever the little boy, eating everything he finds and climbing anything that will be still.
I hope the computer is fixed soon so I can put up more pictures for you...
Saturday, September 25, 2010
2nd Birthday Pictures (and update)
It's been really busy in our house the past 2 weeks. Nana and Papa were here to help celebrate the twins birthday on the 15th (and Barry's too). They left on Friday morning, and then my brother Matt and his family arrived from Austin that evening. Ryan and Alyna love playing with their cousins Sean (11) and Joshua (7), so it was a very loud and active weekend.
They left on Monday morning, and Barry was on day shift at work... so this was my first week home alone with the 3 kids. They kept me so busy I barely could find the time to eat or go to the bathroom. We survived the week. I did almost have a breakdown on Wednesday and called on a friend from church to play stand-in Grandma and take the twins for half the day. It was a much needed break after the twins kept us up every couple hours the night before. I think they are just now adjusting to having and now not having all the company here.
Kellyn starting to interact with us more, and reach toward things she sees. Ryan and Alyna always want to kiss her, hold her, and play with her.
Here are pictures from the birthday party with Nana and Papa. We had an ice cream cake. They got lots of books, some stuffed animals, and other assorted small toys. Alyna got a kitchen setup with dishes, and Ryan got a basketball hoop. They both love both of those toys.
They left on Monday morning, and Barry was on day shift at work... so this was my first week home alone with the 3 kids. They kept me so busy I barely could find the time to eat or go to the bathroom. We survived the week. I did almost have a breakdown on Wednesday and called on a friend from church to play stand-in Grandma and take the twins for half the day. It was a much needed break after the twins kept us up every couple hours the night before. I think they are just now adjusting to having and now not having all the company here.
Kellyn starting to interact with us more, and reach toward things she sees. Ryan and Alyna always want to kiss her, hold her, and play with her.
Here are pictures from the birthday party with Nana and Papa. We had an ice cream cake. They got lots of books, some stuffed animals, and other assorted small toys. Alyna got a kitchen setup with dishes, and Ryan got a basketball hoop. They both love both of those toys.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Triple Birthday
Happy 2nd Birthday to Alyna and Ryan... and Happy much older birthday to my wonderful husband Barry.
It's amazing to see how much can change in a family in just 2 years. Barry and I went from no kids to 3 kids in that time and so much has changed in our perspective on the world. Alyna and Ryan have learned so much this year and have definitely lost that "baby" look.
They are saying more words and sentences every day. They are learning their colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. Both of them can pick out "A" and "R" all over the place. Alyna also knows E, O, K, and sometimes other letters. They are great big siblings and very loving toward the new baby in the house. Alyna loves to hop like a bunny everywhere she goes, and Ryan still climbs on anything we'll let him. It will be a challenge to have two 2 year olds at one time. They are both already very opinionated about what they want to eat, play with, and do during the day.
Barry works very hard to provide everything our family needs. We don't enjoy his shift periods where he is gone most of the time, but we all treasure his long off periods when he is around all the time. I love having him as my husband and parenting partner.
I pray God's blessings for many more years on our family as we all grow older, and hopefully wiser.
It's amazing to see how much can change in a family in just 2 years. Barry and I went from no kids to 3 kids in that time and so much has changed in our perspective on the world. Alyna and Ryan have learned so much this year and have definitely lost that "baby" look.
They are saying more words and sentences every day. They are learning their colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. Both of them can pick out "A" and "R" all over the place. Alyna also knows E, O, K, and sometimes other letters. They are great big siblings and very loving toward the new baby in the house. Alyna loves to hop like a bunny everywhere she goes, and Ryan still climbs on anything we'll let him. It will be a challenge to have two 2 year olds at one time. They are both already very opinionated about what they want to eat, play with, and do during the day.
Barry works very hard to provide everything our family needs. We don't enjoy his shift periods where he is gone most of the time, but we all treasure his long off periods when he is around all the time. I love having him as my husband and parenting partner.
I pray God's blessings for many more years on our family as we all grow older, and hopefully wiser.
Monday, September 13, 2010
3 week update
I'm tired... but that's to be expected. At 3 1/2 weeks old, Kellyn is an easy baby. She eats well when she wants to eat, and sleeps well when she wants to sleep. She still sleeps for long stretches at night as long as she's eaten enough during the day. 2 nights this week she's gone for 8 hours between feedings and I've woken her up at about 5 am to eat. Of course, we've also had a couple nights like last night where she just won't settle into that deep sleep until around midnight and keeps waking up every 20 minutes or so for various reasons. Kellyn has baby acne really badly over her neck and face right now, but there's not really anything we can do about it but wait it out. It's already getting better on her forehead which is where it got bad first.
Alyna and Ryan seem to be having lots of trouble sleeping right now. They had small colds last week, and I think both have the last few teeth pushing into their mouths too. They keep waking up way before 6:30 am (their usual time) and taking much shorter naps than usual as well. It makes for 2 whiny almost 2 year olds during the daytime.
They are both talking a lot more each day. Alyna is working on full sentences like, "I need help" (to get up into the booster seat), and "I ready go play." It's nice when I decipher a word like "pie" into "play" because knowing what she wants takes a little bit of the frustration out of my day.
3 of the 5 members of our househole have birthdays on Wednesday, September 15. Ryan and Alyna turn 2, and they were born on their Daddy's 30th birthday... you do the math. Barry's parents are still here, and since Barry is working a lot this week, we actually did their birthday party last week. I'll post pictures of that later. I figure I had this whole week to work that out.
Kellyn is crying... gotta go feed my littlest munchkin...
Alyna and Ryan seem to be having lots of trouble sleeping right now. They had small colds last week, and I think both have the last few teeth pushing into their mouths too. They keep waking up way before 6:30 am (their usual time) and taking much shorter naps than usual as well. It makes for 2 whiny almost 2 year olds during the daytime.
They are both talking a lot more each day. Alyna is working on full sentences like, "I need help" (to get up into the booster seat), and "I ready go play." It's nice when I decipher a word like "pie" into "play" because knowing what she wants takes a little bit of the frustration out of my day.
3 of the 5 members of our househole have birthdays on Wednesday, September 15. Ryan and Alyna turn 2, and they were born on their Daddy's 30th birthday... you do the math. Barry's parents are still here, and since Barry is working a lot this week, we actually did their birthday party last week. I'll post pictures of that later. I figure I had this whole week to work that out.
Kellyn is crying... gotta go feed my littlest munchkin...
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Changing of the Guard
Grandma Lee left this morning to fly home to Tennessee... Nana and Papa Love arrived last night and are here for about 2 weeks.
(Nana is on the left, Grandma on the right)
It was great having my mom here for so long. She did so much to help with the twins, the baby, my recovery, the housework, the cooking, and the cleaning. I'll miss having her here. Alyna couldn't quite pronounce "Grandma" so it's been coming out Mamaw. They really got used to how she did things, so hopefully the transition isn't too difficult. I'm sure it will be more difficult for me than for them.
(Nana is on the left, Grandma on the right)
It was great having my mom here for so long. She did so much to help with the twins, the baby, my recovery, the housework, the cooking, and the cleaning. I'll miss having her here. Alyna couldn't quite pronounce "Grandma" so it's been coming out Mamaw. They really got used to how she did things, so hopefully the transition isn't too difficult. I'm sure it will be more difficult for me than for them.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Pictures This week
We attempted some family photos in the back yard this morning... but it didn't go so well. Ryan ran away, and as Grandma caught him she bonked him on the head with the camera. So he has a nice goose egg forming above his left eye in the picture. Then Alyna wanted to hold Kellyn, and then she was just done. We got some funny candid shots, but nothing worthy of the living room wall. Maybe we'll try again next week.
These pictures were taken on Sunday morning when Alyna and Kellyn wore matching dresses to church for Kellyn's first appearance. Alyna thinks that was a pretty neat idea.
And Grandma sure does enjoy snuggle time with her new granddaughter...
These pictures were taken on Sunday morning when Alyna and Kellyn wore matching dresses to church for Kellyn's first appearance. Alyna thinks that was a pretty neat idea.
And Grandma sure does enjoy snuggle time with her new granddaughter...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Kellyn's First Week
Kellyn Brooke is a sweet and beautiful baby girl. She always looks around when she hears noises to see who is making them, and doesn't seem to mind her toddler siblings playing and screaming right next to her. She eats well and sleeps really well too. At only a week old, we usually have a 4 hour block and then 6 hour block between feedings at night. I'm amazed at this, and have enjoyed having the extra sleep. This does present a challenge during the daytime though because she wants to eat more often to make up for the lack of night time feedings. So we are flexible and watch for signs that she is still hungry.
Grandma gave Kellyn her first sponge bath at home... she squalled the whole time. She seemed to enjoy it the second time around though.
Kellyn actually has enough hair that it has to be washed and rinsed well or it gets oily.
I am nursing Kellyn, but sometimes pump into a bottle which she takes quite well. This gives her Daddy a chance for some special one on one time.
Ryan and Alyna enjoyed having Grandma and Daddy around all week to play with them. Barry returned to work on Wednesday, the 25th.
Alyna likes to look at the "Where's Waldo" books with her Daddy. She can even find Waldo by herself sometimes now. She has a lot of focus for not even being 2 years old yet.
Grandma made a really cool tunnel with 2 dining room chairs and a sheet.
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