A Royal Wedding Tea Party

Well today Prince William and Princess Catherine got married. I hadn't even thought Courtney might be interested in watching until she saw part of the movie "Enchanted" this week and loved it and then a friend mentioned she was going to have her daughter watch. So I set the DVR to record and first thing this morning we talked about what had happened. I turned the TV o. And we started to watch, and we watched and watched. She made various comments like "Too much music! Where's the music? Where did the Prince go?". I told her it was time to go down and have breakfast and for the first time ever, she didnt want to. So I said she could watch the wedding in my room for a bit longer. She stayed another 20 min watching it.

Later that morning, once Caylee was down for her nap, I had noticed a friend posted on facebook that they had a tea party. I thought what a great idea and Courtney loved it. We laid a blanket down, got all out Tupperware, and some stuffed animals. We used Cherrios as our tea and she poured us all lots of tea. Even Romo joined the fun.

We had to stop because she started a meltdown while I talked to a friend on the phone. After dinner she wanted another tea party and more wedding coverage. Just when I though she had had enough, after bath time I asked what she wanted to watch and she said "The Wedding". So she continued to watch it. Of all the TV she watched, way more than usual today, he only thing she wanted was the wedding. Funny girl! It was cute to see her so excited.

My Girls are Growing Up

I've been looking at my Caylee lately and she is getting so big. I love seeing her get so big and learning new things, but it makes me sad. I just want to freeze her and absorb everything I can. I have so much to do every day and I need to just stop what I am doing and play with her. She is just so cute right now. She is grabbing at everything, starting to sing and I just love her laugh. Tonight Courtney, Caylee and I were dancing in the kitchen and she was just cracking up. It made me want to keep going. I usually don't let her fall asleep in my arms while feed her, but I did tonight. She was so sweet.

Caylee is already eating 3 different yellow vegetables and loves them. She eats so much. Last week I really worked on her taking the bottle and I pumped every day and worked on giving her the bottle. We did it 6 out of the 7 days. The whole process takes over an hour, but I know it will pay off in the end. This week, I am doing every other day and she even drank quite a bit out of the sippy cup today too.

Just like Courtney she gets so much attention while we are out. She is smiley, easy going and goes to anyone.

Courtney has had a really good week. I don't know if it is because she is growing up or if we just had a good week. But she seemed older this week. She seemed as though she understood more and I could trust her a little bit more. Going from the car to the house was easier and I was able to get by taking the stroller less.

I have been doing a lot of positive encouragement for her and she loves it. On Tuesday we went to the beach as a family. She was having a hard time and was not listening. We told her she wouldn't get to go if she kept that up. I started praising her for good behavior and her attitude turned. We continued to point out what she was doing well and complimented her a lot. Today we went to the pool with her friend Haley and she did great just playing on the stairs and I could tell she was trying to listen and do the right thing. Of Course we have definitely had our moments, but now when she gets in trouble it seems to impact her more because it is not just another time out.

Waste Management Field Trip

Today we got to go on a field trip of Waste Management with my Mom's Group. It is pretty close so we walked. I thought walking there would be a good idea, Caylee could nap and I could get some exercise. Well Caylee didn't nap, oh well. It was a great walk and Caylee napped in the Ergo during the tour.

They led us thru the area and we got to see where the trash goes and we saw the trucks dumping it. We all had to wear safety vests and hats. Courtney did great wearing it. We also looked at the recycling area and got to tour a truck. Courtney loved it. It was stinky and kind of boring but the kids loved it.

On our way I noticed an El Pollo Loco and Caylee and Courtney needed to eat, so we walked over there. We ate lunch and walked home. Courtney did great Caylee did great, the walk felt great and the weather was great. Great morning!

Such a busy week

It seems like it takes a week to pack for a trip and a week to unpack and catch up. So this whole week was spent unpacking, doing laundry and catching up. Then on top of that, I finally have gotten Caylee to take the bottle more consistently. But, the whole process (pumping, feeding her the bottle and food) takes about an hour and a half. So each day this week I gave her the bottle and it just added to the stress and then the following happened:

Monday: Maintenance was here for about 45 min fixing several things and we couldn't really do anything. That night as Ben was cleaning up dishes he noticed our kitchen sink was leaking. So I spent the evening cleaning up the mess.

Tuesday: No kitchen sink to use so I took the girls out to breakfast. Came back and sink was still not fixed. It didn't get fixed til noon. Then I had to do all the clean up, dishes, dishes and more dishes. Then I had to make cupcakes for a baby shower and baby food for Caylee. That night I had a baby shower and my Mom's night out.

Wednesday: Made dinner for my friend Stacy's family and brought it to them in Santa Ana

Thursday: Dishwasher breaks. I have to handwash all the dishes in the dishwasher and all the rest.

Friday: Disher not fixed til 4:30 pm. And then we had church at 7.

Mommy's Photo Session with the Girls

I love to take pictures of my girls. I tried doing this way before and it didn't work, so I tried again and I got some great shots of the two girls.

Making Baby Food

Caylee is going to start eating vegetables tomorrow! I can't believe the time is already here. She has been eating only cereal for the last 4 weeks as I introduced the different ones, one at a time.

So here is my hobby the next 18 months: (I did the same for Courtney when she was the same age. I used to do big batches on Saturdays while Ben worked. My plan this time around is to do it every Tuesday afternoon while the girls nap).

When Courtney was this age, I really enjoyed making all her food. For one, it was way cheaper than buying it, two I have control over how it was made, three it is a lot healthier, and four she gets the actual flavor of the veggie instead of the store bought baby food flavor. Also, I can int

Step 1: Buy the veggies

Step 2: Cut the veggies

Step 3: Steam veggies


Step 4: Put in blender

Step 5: Blend and add breast milk and water veggies were steam in for desired consistency

Step 6: Pour into little salsa cups and let cool

Step 7: Freeze

Vacation Day 7,8,9

My mom took the shuttle to the airport on Tuesday morning and we headed off to the Phoenix Zoo. The zoo was really big and spaced out. Also a bit crowded with school kids. But we made to several animals. Ben hadn't been feeling well since Sunday and with the heat and walking he was feeling really dizzy. So we took off early. We got back and put the girls down for naps and just relaxed. It was nice to just sit on the patio, enjoy he sun, watch the lazy river and read.

Once the girls woke up we just grabbed a quick dinner at one of the hotel restaurants near the music. They had a bunch of tables out in front of the musician, so we grabbed a table in front, ordered some drinks and relaxed. Courtney loved the music and danced her heart out. There were a few other kids there and she had them all dancing. The musician said he would take requests and so Courtney went up and asked for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star "Tinkle Tinkle". She was so excited that he sang it. I danced with her and followed her around. It was right on the water and there were a few fire pits so I wanted to be careful. Ben manage to get Caylee asleep in his arms, so he sat back and held her asleep and listened to the music. We stayed out late, well late for Courtney, and I took the girls back and got them ready for bed. Courtney was being so sweet that I let her watch part of a movie with me and fall asleep in our bed. She loved it and so did I.

Wednesday was our last full day on vacation. We walked around the resort looking for bunnies and enjoying the scenery. Then we headEd to the pool, the hotel had a fun little Nickolodean show that Courtney loved. Her favorite part was the "pie in the face". When you ask her what we did on vacation that is the first thing she tells everyone. We grabbed some lunch by the pool and Courtney stepped in duck poop. It was hilarious. She kept saying "ick ick!", we saw some ducks and I told Courtney to show the ducks her foot, she did and one of the ducks ate the poop right off her foot. They had some fountains that Coco had a blast playing in.

Naptime again, it sure puts a damper on a vacation day. But I just used the time to relax and bed laid by the pool. Once they got up, we got
dressed up and headed to dinner and to hear music. The musician wasn't as entertaining and Coco was really tired so we didn't last long. I
ended up taking the girls back to our room and put them to bed. Once Ben came back we sat in the patio, enjoyed our nice view and drank
some wine. A good end to the trip.

The next day we headed home. Long long drive. The girls did really good considering the circumstances. Courtney was content with the DVD player and she took her nap on schedule. I did need to crawl back to Caylee a few times. I think it was boredom. Once was a poop that made her fussy, but I think she was just sick of being in there. We did stop for a while at Joe and Laura's house. We let the kids get out and play and then it was just a quick finish to the end o the trip.

It was good to be home, get into routines, but the mounds of laundry was no fun.

Vacation Days 5&6

This morning we woke up early and packed up the car again. My goal was to be out of the house by 8:30 and we were 3 minutes late. Not bad. We dropped Romo off at Heather's house, got gas ($4.15/gallon!!), and Starbucks and we were on our way.

The drive went ok. There sure aren't many places to stop along the way. Caylee was really fussy and and I needed to feed her, so we pulled over at the next stop which was 20 miles down the road, it's hard to explain that to a 6 month old. At this exit there was absolutely nothing. I mean nothing. There was a scary gas station that I didn't dare put my credit card in the machine.
There was also a scary looking cafe. I decided to nurse Caylee in some dirt lot and we were going to just wait out the next 40 miles for the next town. But either my mom felt adventurous or really had to use the bathroom because she suggested checking out the cafe to see if we could get some food to go. It ended up not being so bad and we got some food for the road. The drive was pretty uneventful, though at about an hour an half before Scottsdale, Caylee started screaming. I let her scream for a long time. She started at the gas station and I pretty much knew nothing was wrong. It was just boredom. But after about 15 minutes, I decided to literally pull off the side of the freeway and nurse her. She still fussed a bit, but did fall asleep for the last hour and 15 minutes.

Courtney was so excited to be out of the car and to see daddy. She ran right into his arms. She also begged him to take her swimming. Once we got a little settled, we let her go in. It was late and not hot, so we let her just take a quick dip in the spa "the bubbles" and then ate a quick dinner at the bar.

Ben was super tired so we just ended the night by relaxing in our room.

The next day we quickly packed up and Loaded the car only to find he we had either too many people or too much stuff. Fortunately we were pretty close to our next hotel. Ben loaded what he could and went ahead and checked in and brought our bags to the room. He had to park and walk really far that the whole process took 2 hours. It was a bummer because it was precious time that we wasted sitting around. If we had known, I could have taken Courtney swimming or to the park.

Finally we got to the Marriott and we were ready to relax. But relax is not what we were about to get. Courtney was being a 2 year old, we were all hungry and needed different wants. I ordered us food, meanwhile Caylee was fussy from not getting a nap. So Ben took Courtney swimming, I held Caylee and waited for our food, while my poor mom shuttled all our stuff and food between our first pick poolside and our next along the lazy river.

We ate and drank our beers in the shade, I turned my head and Courtney poured her water in my beer. Argh! This was not relaxing! My mom held Caylee while Ben and I took Courtney for a few laps around the lazy river and then it was up to the room for naps.

My mom was sweet enough to stay in the room while the girls napped so that Ben and I could take a walk and grab some drinks at the bar. It was out first chance to actually connect after being away from each other for several days. I went back to the room and fed the girls and then we went back out and had a fancy dinner at a great Steak restaurant while my mom put the girls to bed.

Vacation Days 3 & 4

My Mom's annual tradition for the girls in our family is lunch and a shopping day. My birthday was in January but I saved my day for our vactation this week.

We started with breakfast and then hit a few stores. I would have like to have stayed longer, but two days of sparse naps has caught up to my Courtney. She was being so bad in the stores. I tried snacks, candy, letting her use my phone but nothing worked. It was disappointing because I look forward to this day. Once we were done we went to lunch at BJs and it just got worse. Poor thing was just exhausted and needed a nap so bad. We quickly ate our food and left, no time to relax and enjoy.

Fortunately, I have such flexible parents and once I got the girls down for naps they stayed home with them so I could get a coffee and a pedicure. Just what I needed.

We ended the day at my brither's house with his family. They made us all dinner and the kids played.

I signed Courtney and Cousin Malakai up for a class at Lowe's, so on Saturday morning Cheri and I met up at Starbucks with the kids and then headed over to the class. The class was pretty cool and the kids got an apron, goggles and a project all for free. They made a pinball machine out of wood. We didn't realize the class was outside, so between the wind and the tables being really close to a busy patking lot we didn't last long. We decided to pack up and finish the project at Cheri's house.

While the kids napped, I got our stuff organized, packed the car and made cookies for my sister's shower. My mom made to cobblers for the shower and as we were transporting them there, they started to leak all over her and the car seat. Then Courtney had to pee and I couldn't pull over fast enough. So she peed in her carseat. By the time we got to the shower both my mom and I were stressed and frustrated. She cleaned up the car and I cleaned up Courtney. Courtney was having a tough time, I'm not sure if she was tired or if the girls were being mean to her or what, but she kept crying and getting hurt. She was getting into everything, she put a white bear in my cobbler and even knocked over a heavy wooden rocking horse all over the presents. Then she peed her pants! Argh!! I was so frustrated with her. I just wanted to put her in a pack n play and walk away for 20 minutes. Finally Goldie and another girl put on a movie and the three snuggled in the bed and watched it. Finally, I was able to relax a bit.

We soon had to leave as we had a long drive to do and some unexpected laundry now. By the time my mom and I got home, ran the laundry, unpacked the stuff from Ventura and re-packed the clothes and stuff for Arizona it was midnight. I was so tired. I'm so glad my mom was there to help.

Vacation Day 2

Today was our Santa Barbara and Goleta day. I had pre-arranged meeting with a few friends, since we don't get up that way often I try to switch up who we see each visit. First thing this morning we met up at a park with my friend Shelly and her two kids. Raegan her daughter is only a few weeks younger than Courtney. The girls had fun playing and eating snacks. It took Courtney a bit to warm up.

Next stop was Coastline Christian Academy, the school I used to work at. We met my good friend Amy there, all the teachers were busy, so I fed Caylee while Amy played with Courtney on the playground. Then we walked to get lunch and Starbucks. When we lived in Santa Barbara, Amy and I used to walk to Starbucks once a week. So we continued our tradition.
There were some flowers planted along side Starbucks, Coco spotted them and went over (as i was busy talking) and picked a flower for me. The flowers were newly planted and so when she picked the flower she literally picked the entire flower, roots and dirt out. It was pretty funny, i ran over and literaly had to replant it into the ground. Courtney was being super hyper, which translates to being tired. So we walked back to the school and to visit with the teachers I knew. Courtney was able to play on the playground. Amy was a huge help with the girls. She is so good with them and Courtney just loves her.

I took off as school got out, I could tell Courtney was exhausted and acquire had barely slept. We still had one more stop to make. We headed back to Ventura to visit with Judy and Wrigley. It was fun to see Wrigley again. He definitely remembered us and was excited to see us. He didn't seem worried that we were going to take him, but definitely was super happy. He showed us around his new house and we played.

Then back to my parents for the evening. Once again Courtney went to sleep early, missing naps are tough on my little girl. She needs her sleep.

Day 1 of Vacation

Ben was up at 4 and gone by 4:30 am. Off th Arizona for his annual golf trip with the guys.

I was up at 5:30 and out of the house by 9. Hmmm! What's wrong with that picture. Yes it took me 3 1/2 hours to get myself ready, the girls ready, feed Caylee, feed both girls breakfast, and gather last minute items for the trip, walk partway to the car, come back fir acourtney to pool, walk to the car, load everything and realize we forgot rain jackets, unload both girls, put them in the stroller, walk back to the house, get jackets and back to the car. Whew!!

I had to get Starbucks so that tacked on another 25 min. So I was on the road by 9:20 and in Ventura by a little after 11. The girls did great on the trip up. Caylee slept most of the way. And Courtney kept wanting to play games Nd then finally conked out.

We went straight to my brither's house so Courtney could play with Kai and Caylee played with Caprice. It's fun that they are all pretty close in age. We took picnic lunches to the park. We only played a bit at the park and then the older kids played in the back yard while the babies played. Coco had so much fun, her and Kai get along really well.

We finally made it to my parents and just stayed there the rest of the day and night.

Surprise! Auntie Laura's Birthday

Saturday was such a busy day. I attempted to sell some of our junk at our community garage sale, but I woke up late and got out there late and there wasn't much business. I made $46 and took the rest to Goodwill.

When I got in from the garage sale, Ben's dad called and said he and Hilary and Zach were visiting Chris in Corona. I didn't want the girls to miss out on seeing Gak Gak so I rushed to get all the girls ready. Since Ben was on call, we were on our own. They were shopping at Victoria Gardens and it took us 90 min to get there and 2 hours before we found them. So, by the time we met up, we only got to spend about 30 minutes. Oh well. We tried. Then I had to feed Caylee so Gak Gak took Courtney around the Bass store. The girls were really good for me. The reason we had to go, was we had a surprise party to go to for our friend Laura.

Her husband Joe threw her such a nice party. He really worked hard, got her patio all done up, had a DJ, a taco lady, and lots of friends and family. I was bummed Ben had to miss it. Once the DJ started the music Courtney couldn't contain herself and she started grooving. She danced and danced. She was the only kid there (besides Caylee) and she loved all the attention. She kept walking around saying "Surprise! Happy Birthday!". After cake, and feeding Caylee we gathered our things and took off. I wanted to stay longer, but a two year old and and a 1 hour nap a d a full day is not a good combo. She was so tired that she told me she wanted to go to sleep. So back home we went. By the time I brought both girls in and laid them in bed and got myself ready it was pretty late.

The girls both did great, which was good for a mama venturing beyond my comfort zone.

Today got me excited for summer!

Skirts! Shorts! Sun block! Bathing Suits! Pool! Is it summer already?

Nope! But it sure felt like it today. We dressed in shorts and skirts today and headed to the pool. We didn't stay too long but it felt great to get out in the sun and pretend it was summer. We met Courtney's little friend Boston at the pool and they played on the steps and splashed around. I fed Caylee and then Courtney wanted to eat snacks (of course! This little girl loves her snacks AKA lunch). She loves snacks so much that I just call her lunch snacks.

Afterwards, I had to go to get something at Best Buy so we grabbed lunch at the District, then headed home for naps. It was a quick dose of summer, but it sure felt good.

Once naps were over, I fed the girls early dinner and we headed out again. We went to the nature center in Newport Beach. I had heard they were showing a movie for the kids. I wish I would have known the situation before we went, but we still had a great time. It was just me and the girls that went, Daddy was on call tonight. They had the nature center open and we played around in there and then we went on a hike with the group, Courtney found a bunny and was calling it, "Sweetie Pie". Hmm wonder where she got that name?! After the hike we sat down for the movie, which was outside. Of course I had the girls dressed for summer and had taken out all our sweatshirts from the car. So we were a bit cold, a lady from the center loaned us a blanket. We lasted for awhile and then Courtney started to get really loud and silly which is her signal of getting really tired. But we really had a good time. I'll definitely take the girls again.

It was funny, by the time we got home, Courtney would go from super happy to crying back to happy in seconds. She was so worn out fronour busy day. I usually don't do this, but she asked to sit in her chair with me in her room. So I turned on the lullaby music and held her for about 20 minutes and just silently prayed for her. It was really sweet she quietly asked me if I would pray. I prayed outloud and then put her in bed. A perfect end to a great day with my girls.

Caylee was really cute this afternoon. She was so happy and laughing about everything. She was loving eating and any attention I would give her. She did great at the movie. She was even awake when we go home and I just laid her in the crib and she fell asleep as I got Courtney ready. Why did I get such a perfect baby? Thank you Lord!