Happy Birthday, Kaylee!!

 My little Kaylee is two years old today. She is so grown up for a two-year-old. The thing that really amazes me is how much help she is with Ben. Yesterday I was in the other room, and Ben started crying. She climbed up on our bed to reach his bassinet and found his pacifier, and gave it to him. She even remembered to take her shoes off before climbing on our bed. She loves giving him the pacifier and does it whenever she thinks it's necessary (and it often is exactly what he wants at the time). When I do the dishes, she sometimes looks around the house and brings me any bottles or dishes that were left out anywhere and puts them on the counter for me. One time I said Ben needed a diaper change. She looked in the diaper bag and when she saw that there were no diapers left in it, she went into our room, found the package, and brought it out to me. Yesterday, Will and I decided to play a little trick on her and see what she did. We pretended we were going to the store with her, and leaving Ben alone in his swing. We barely got out the door before she was saying "Ben? BEN!!!!" She loves her little brother so much.

The other day it made Will and me laugh because we were at Red Robin and Kaylee had chocolate milk. She drank it all and wanted more. I said she shouldn't have any more, but when the waitress came, she held up her cup and said "Mmm?" It was so cute that I couldn't resist letting her have more. She didn't say it that time, but she's also getting pretty good at saying please and thank you. It actually sounds like "Peesh" and "Dip-doo!" though. She says "bless you" whenever someone sneezes. However, she says "Meh-neh." I have no idea how she came up with that one.

She's quite self-sufficient. She hates being alone, but if Will and I need to have some time to talk all I need to do is tell her that it's Mommy and Daddy time and she'll happily go play by herself for at least a couple of hours. One of the mornings soon after having Ben, I slept in a little bit with him and she got up by herself. I found her on the living room floor, eating cereal and drinking water out of her water bottle. If I let her play outside with some water and water toys, she's literally happy for hours. I really never have to entertain her, which makes it much easier to care for a baby. I said before Ben was born that she would be a great big sister, and boy was I right!

We did a photoshoot for her birthday today. She is so girly it's funny. We did her hair, painted her nails, and put her in a tutu and she absolutely loved doing all that. I know it might be a little pathetic but I have never made a tutu for her before. She got so excited about it. It was hilarious. Anyway, here are some pictures:

As always, it was a very exercising endeavor. I think I got some good ones though, and we had fun, so that's what counts, right?

Of course, she IS still two. She still has plenty of tantrums, and she gets into everything. A few days ago I found her covered in diaper rash cream, along with the coffee table and Will's school laptop. It was quite the mess, that stuff does not wash off easily. And taking family pictures a few weeks ago was difficult. She was not exactly cooperative.

It's really quite funny looking back on these pictures. I can't wait till she's a little older and I can torture her with them. :)

PS Thank goodness for my sister-in-law Tiffany, she managed to get a few smiles out of Kaylee so we got some decent pictures. She has skills!

One of those days...

WHY yes, I did just lock both of my children in their rooms. And then go out and proceed to eat a bowl of ice cream for lunch.

Yes, I did.

Was it a good idea?

Eh, probably not. But I think I needed it.

The last couple of days have not been much fun for me. I have an absolutely horrible cold. Not the kind of cold that you sort of have a stuffy nose and feel a bit out of it for a few days, and maybe a cough. No...the kind where my head feels like it's going to explode. My nose is so stuffed I can only breathe out of one side for days, no matter what I do, and constantly runs. I might as well stuff tissues up my nose and call it good. (My husband finds that super attractive...) I can't sleep, during the precious times at night when Ben IS actually sleeping, because breathing through my mouth hurts my throat, and obviously I can't breathe through my nose. I have this weird cough that is really deep and makes me feel like gagging every time I need to cough.

Now, I do know this is just a regular old cold, because Kaylee just had it. And SHE had the kind that was just a little runny nose, and a bit of a cough. She didn't really seem to notice it.

*sigh*

I should probably go get the kids out of their rooms, as I just heard Kaylee start screaming again, and a little thump. She's probably stuck in one of her toys. Sometimes she's in her shopping cart, sometimes the doll house...

4.5 hours till bedtime. Not that I'm counting.

Baby didn't hang on!

I was REALLY hoping that Ben would stay put until after Paul's wedding on Friday. That was all I was really asking. He didn't cooperate.

I had an appointment with my midwife on Tuesday. Since I was previously dilated to a 4, she wanted to check and see what I was at then too. And what do you know, I was at a 6. We were getting a little bit worried because my labor with Kaylee went pretty quickly, and second babies tend to be a bit faster. I didn't particularly want to deliver a baby in the car on the way to the hospital, and neither did my husband. I was having some contractions, but nothing strong or regular at all. We went home (my midwife was very hesitant to let us leave, but she did, saying COME BACK SOON!) and got things packed up. Yeah, I put it off so much that I still didn't really have a hospital bag ready. Kind of dumb on my part. Anyway, we called Will's family in Provo and asked them to come pick Kaylee up at the hospital so we could go get checked in at the hospital. We got there and hung out for a little while, and a couple of hours later I was dilated to an 8.5. Yeah, I was just...hanging out, in transition. No pain medication at all. Weirdest thing ever. Kaylee's birth was easy too, but believe me, I felt it when I was in transition!

 This was after the baby came. I wasn't *that* relaxed in labor. ;)

My midwife decided to break my water to get the contractions to pick up. That did the trick! I finally felt like "Okay, THIS is labor now." After a little over an hour it was time to push, which lasted around 10 minutes or so. It was definitely more painful in the hospital than it was at the birth center with Kaylee, but not bad. Our hospital stay was fine, except that every. single. nurse and their cousin came in and asked me if I needed pain medication while I was recovering. One nurse must have asked me at least six times. Finally I realized that they were all asking because on my white board under "goals for mom" it said "pain control." Thanks to my first nurse that wrote that, they all thought I must be in a lot of pain. Other than that, I didn't get a bit of sleep, the food was delicious, and I liked always having help with whatever I needed. I was very ready to go home on Thursday, though.

I think it's a really good thing that we went to the hospital that night. I am quite certain that I would have gone from nothing to baby if I hadn't had my water broken. It was such a gentle labor that it may have taken till the last minute for my water to break on its own, and then...well, we probably would have had a baby alone. 

I ended up going to the wedding anyway. We got home on Thursday at around 6pm, and the wedding was the next day at noon. Since it was close by in the Salt Lake Temple, it wasn't a long drive, and the actual ceremony is quite short. Ben stayed with his dad, and he just slept the whole time (nothing new for him, he is the opposite of Kaylee and sleeps ALL THE TIME).  I'm so glad I was feeling good and was able to go.

 We finally caught him with his eyes open!

Anyway, that's the story. We're happy and still a bit shocked he's already here!

And for good measure...here is a picture of Kaylee.

Hang in there, baby!

I just had my 35 week appointment the other day, and to my surprise, I'm already dilated to a 4 and 75% effaced. Meaning...I could have the baby any day, or in 5 weeks or something. Okay, so really it doesn't mean all that much. But it means enough that my midwife told me to take it easy, lie down a lot, don't pick up Kaylee, and don't run up and down stairs. Yeah, as if I'm running up and down stairs at 8 months pregnant.

Okay, actually I was, but that's beside the point.
 

35 weeks

Well, the end is coming right up!! Just a few more weeks. Will says we'll have him May 15th. (I say he's crazy. I doubt he'll be that early.) At church on Sunday I had several people ask when I'm due and then give me looks of pity, or say something that implied I must be completely miserable and want to be DONE.

I guess it has been kind of hard this time. I would list all my complaints...but I'll spare you, because that's boring. But I really love being pregnant! I'm not miserable at all. I'm quite content feeling the kicks and squirms. I love having a baby belly!

I'm a little nervous to have a toddler and newborn to take care of, though. Another reason to keep him in a little longer. :) Kaylee was not easy for me at all as a newborn, so I hope this one is easier. That said, I think she is going to be a WONDERFUL big sister. In general, she is:

• Very helpful. She loves to get things for me, or throw things in the trash.
• So independent. Yesterday she got a snack by herself, and she's extremely good about playing alone. She's not dependent on me for entertainment.
• A great sleeper. She has her bad times, but generally she sleeps so well and even goes to bed well.
• A good eater. Of course she sometimes refuses to eat anything I put in front of her, but she loves her fruits and veggies and I usually have no problem getting her to eat at least some of what I make for her.
• Obedient. She has certainly found her defiant side, and realized that she *can* say no and not do what I ask. However, I don't put up with it, so she knows that she can't get away with it anyway. Let's just hope that sticks with her.

I was worried that maybe we should have waited a little longer to have another baby, because she won't even be two when this one is born. But I've heard a lot of people lately saying how age 3 is a hundred times harder than age 2. Now, people are always saying "Just wait." and this might be a continuation of that, but it seems there might be some truth to this one, because almost everyone seems to agree on it. So maybe it'll be better to have a one-year-old than a newborn when Kaylee is three. I'm pretty sure this will be about right. I think it'll be a great time for a new addition.

This article really got me thinking.

Your Children Want YOU!

Thanks, Mom, for posting it. I read it and it wasn't quite describing me, but I couldn't figure out why at first. I think I finally put my finger on it. I'm sort of the opposite. I feel like all the other moms out there are so much better than me - because they're good MOMS. Not because they decorate cute, or they're so organized. In fact, who cares about all that, really?

You're probably thinking... "Umm, Becky, take a look at your blog here. What are you always blogging about??"

Yeeeah, about that. Homemade Easter baskets. Homemade Easter dress. Cute cupcakes. Handmade entry table. Ruffled bedskirt made out of old sheets. Oh yeah, and I'm 8 months pregnant and have a toddler.

It's obvious that I LOVE crafts and decorating and organizing (although I'm still working on that last one). I especially developed a kind of passion for decorating when we bought our house. I just find it so much fun. I'm not trying to compete with anyone or anything, and honestly, I don't really use ideas online much at all. I get inspiration, then it's all me. I really honestly dislike Pinterest. It kind of annoys me.

So I wonder, am I one of "those" moms? Am I one of those moms that make other moms feel guilty that they're not good enough, because I cook pretty food (sometimes...), and I love decorating? Did I help start this whole trend in the first place? I've kind of gotten comments that imply that before. Things like "How on earth do you know how to do all those things?" and "Oh...is THAT what a good wife is supposed to do?" I've actually had quite a few people say things like that to me.

The truth is, at the end of the day, I don't think "Man, I wish my house was prettier. I wish I was perfectly organized." (Okay, I do sometimes wish my house was prettier, but it's usually something to do with taking out more black marble floor). I do, however, wonder if I spent enough time with Kaylee. Was I patient enough with her? Was I available when she needed me? Most of the time, I don't think I was any of those, and I feel guilty that I didn't make sure she had the best day she could.

Maybe those people you see on Pinterest have kids crying in the background because they want their mom. And their mom says "Oh, be quiet. Go play. I need to finish my blog post." Maybe their dad comes home and the house is messy, and there is no dinner made, and the kids are all yelling, and their mom says "Sorry, I had to finish this photoshoot of these Babyshower decorations I made. I didn't have time for much else."

So, something to think about. If you're ever feeling like your house isn't cute enough, or clean enough, or you're just not crafty enough...remember the other side. They have problems too. And they might be problems that actually MATTER. For me, I know what matters. It's just that I would rather go create something than read "Barnyard Dance" for the 100th time to my daughter. But in the grand scheme of things, reading that book is so much more important than making her bed look perfect.

I need to work on that.

Just one more...

Okay, okay. Three blog posts in one day might be getting a little ridiculous. But I have ONE MORE THING I want to post about today. Simply because I am so proud of it that I can't wait. But, I have to tell my story first.

Kaylee has been on a little crib mattress on the floor since she was 6 months old, or so. It worked fine, it was convenient when we moved, she wouldn't fall far if she fell off, she would get up and play for a little while in the morning instead of crying like she would in a crib. We were planning on buying her a bed when our new baby outgrows the bassinet, but her Grammy Castrey beat us to it. She came over last week and bought Kaylee a new "big girl" bed. I was so excited to finally be able to use the quilt that I made for Kaylee at Christmas. It definitely didn't work with a crib mattress on the floor, that is for sure. Now...the bed was very cute, but it was missing something. I really wanted a bedskirt for it, because the quilt wasn't big enough to hang over all the edges. I had a bedskirt from Target that I was going to use, but I ended up not liking the color, so I exchanged it for a white one. The white one was...well, really ugly. It honestly just looked like the bed wasn't made correctly and a white sheet was hanging off the side.

I got to thinking. I really wanted white, but it just looked bad. Maybe a ruffled one would be better. But all the nice ones I could find were $25 or more and I am really trying to be frugal with all my decorating lately (I'm kind of on a decorating kick, if you haven't noticed yet). So I thought, why not make one? Well, you might say, because fabric is so expensive when you need a lot that it would be cheaper to just buy one anyway. That is true. I looked into it and it really wouldn't be much cheaper to buy the fabric, if at all.

Sooo I returned the failing bedskirt and went to DI, and I got two white sheets for $5. (I thought that was a little expensive for USED SHEETS, but I always think DI is a bit overpriced. Oh well.) Normally I wouldn't touch sheets at DI with a 15 foot pole. Even if you paid me. A lot. Just, ew. *shudder* However, I figured for a bedskirt, it was no biggie. I washed them about 5 times in REALLY hot water and bleached them and Boraxed them and...well, you get the picture.

And THEN! I cut them all up and sewed them together and two hours later...

It looks exactly how I wanted it. In fact, I like it even better than I thought I would. Take that, Target! And Walmart, and everywhere else. I'm not showing anything else in the room because it's not done yet. But it is getting there... :)