Bedtime Sillies

Last week Jeff was in the final stretch of his busy time for the 1st quarter. So Connor, Kaitlynn and I had some good quality together-time while he was away. Our nighttime routine has started to include some "silly time" on our bed before I give the kids their bath.

With Connor in his undies and Kaitlynn in her diaper, we play some little games and enjoy being silly together. One of the games we call "Face Plant" where we sit Kaitlynn up and bounce the bed until she falls over while we yell, "face plant!" Another game we play is called "Roly Poly" where Connor lays on one end of the bed and Kaitlynn on the other with me. Then we encourage Kaitlynn to roll over and over until she reaches the end of the bed where Connor is. It's a perfect way to end the day: playing, snuggling, and laughing.

I'm not sure who enjoys it more, Connor or Kaitlynn.

Or Mommy.

Sleeping Habits

A few months ago, Jeff and I noticed a new behavior in Connor. When he sleeps, he now likes to pull his covers over his head. Tight. It's like he can't sleep without having his head completely covered with the blankets. We've tried talking to him about it to get him to stop. I mean, it can't be good for him to be breathing all that used air, can it?



But he continues to sleep this way. So every night before we turn in, we head upstairs to pull down the covers from Connor's head. I'm hoping it's a phase.



Around the same time Connor started his new sleeping habit, Kaitlynn developed one of her own. Jeff came to bed one night telling me that Kaitlynn was asleep face down right up next to her crib bumper. I went upstairs to see, and sure enough, her face was perfectly positioned flat against the crib mattress, face down. It really made me nervous so I turned her head to the side, waking her up in the process.

(OK, I realize that sounds silly and a bit paranoid. But any Mom with a baby is always nervous about SIDS--sudden infant death syndrome--and it's suggested that babies are safer on their backs when they sleep.)

Now I know that Kaitlynn is strong enough to sleep on her tummy without it being a big deal. But if you walked in and saw her sleeping like this, wouldn't YOU be a little nervous too?











So for now I usually end up peeking in on both kids (often) while they're sleeping, just to make sure they're both still breathing! Call me crazy, but I'm hoping these sleeping habits won't last too much longer.

Princess Night

A couple of weeks ago, we visited our local Chick-fil-A and Connor noticed a sign on the door. It was a flyer announcing that Jan. 26 would be Princess Night with an appearance by Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Tinkerbell. The sign also said that anyone dressed as a prince or princess would get a free ice cream. Well, that's all it took. Connor was SO excited and just couldn't stop talking about Princess Night.

He said, "Mom, I need to dress like a prince so I can get some ice cream!"

I said, "What does a prince look like?"

"Well," he replied thoughtfully, "the prince wears ball shoes and has big shoulders." At this point I was thinking that this kid has watched WAY too much of the Cinderella movie at his MeMe's house! (That's the only place he can watch it, thanks to all his many girl cousins.)

So I start to leave Chick-fil-A and Connor asks, "Mom, what will YOU wear on Princess Night?"

"I don't have any princess clothes," I replied.

"Well, maybe you can get some at the Chick-fil-A princess store." He was very concerned that I have the proper attire for the big event. But then he added, "But I don't know if they have one around here..." and he seemed to ponder that for a while.

Seriously, I can't make this stuff up.

For the last couple weeks, Connor would bring up Princess Night at the most random times. He clearly wasn't going to forget about it. Then this morning, he woke up and asked about it again. It was like he knew today was the big day, and he wasn't going to let me forget about it.

So this evening after naptime we all got dressed up and headed to Chick-fil-A. Both kids were dressed as close to a prince and princess as we could get by digging around in their closets. And I dressed up from my usual casual jeans/sweats by actually wearing a dressy shirt and boots. Connor was NOT happy with my appearance--he was expecting a ball gown--until I pointed out my dangling, sparkling pearl earrings and necklace. His eyes lit up and he seemed to appreciate my efforts.

Here are the kids all dressed up and ready for Princess Night.



We arrived at Chick-fil-A early and it was already packed. We sat down with some dinner, and Connor said "Mom! This is so exciting!"

All of a sudden the princesses came walking by our table. Connor flushed from head to toe. I'm not kidding, his sweet little cheeks were crimson--whether from fear or adoration, I'm not sure. I said, "Come on! Let's get in line to get a picture with Snow White." But he wouldn't have anything to do with it. I finally convinced him to get a picture with her, as long as Kaitlynn and I were in the picture too. We waited in line for 10 minutes, and when it was finally our turn he totally chickened out! He stood in the picture but wouldn't get close and certainly wouldn't smile. After all of that effort!





By the time we left, that place was so packed you couldn't even walk through the crowd. And the entire time we were there I only saw one other little boy who dressed up, but he wasn't a prince. He was Spiderman.

I don't think we'll be attending Princess Night again anytime soon!

Kickin' Back

Anyone else see a pattern here?

Kaitlynn, um, Grunting?

I couldn't resist posting yet another video of Kaitlynn. She's been doing this thing lately where she communicates by grunting, for lack of a better word. I honestly don't know what to call it, but she does this ALL the time. When she's happy, bored, frustrated, or just trying to get our attention. It's her version of talking and it just cracks me up! And you may not be able to tell from the video, but it's LOUD! Lately she's been doing this while we've been out in public and you just can't imagine the looks and stares we get.



And here's another quick little video from my IPhone that I took yesterday while we were out and about. The spitting thing is another recent trick.

Shopping Carts

My friend Dana recently posted about the genius idea that some stores have when it comes to catering to Moms with little kids. I thought it was super cute, and then last week I was pleasantly surprised to notice that our local Kroger seems to have adopted the same idea! Connor, Kaitlynn, and I arrived for our weekly grocery trip and realized that the store had upgraded all their old shopping carts along with some new kid-size carts. Connor quickly grabbed one of the carts and began shopping with me. It was really cute to see how much he got into shopping!



You can't really tell from the picture, but Connor's cart was MUCH fuller than mine. He really wanted all the groceries in HIS cart!



A couple days later, I was shopping at Walmart with Kaitlynn and she seemed to be a little restless in her carseat. She is thisclose to outgrowing her infant carseat so I thought maybe I could see how she would do sitting up in the shopping cart.



She LOVED it! She was definitely wobbly and needed me to brace her a bit so she wouldn't fall over, but she seemed to enjoy the freedom from her confining carseat.



Who knew shopping carts could be such a source of entertainment?

7 Months

Didn't I just finish posting about how Kaitlynn turned 6 months?? Sigh. Well, she turned 7 months today and we are having so much fun! She is such a cutie and is keeping me on my toes.

She has become a little roly-poly lately. She rolls over and over all across rooms. I like to put her on the floor but I can't leave her for long or she will get herself into some kind of pickle.



Usually she is a pretty good eater and eats the size 2 baby foods, 1 fruit and 1 vegetable each day. But lately she's been turning her nose up at most solids and definitely prefers her bottles (or as we call them, buh-buhs). I guess it's a phase?





She LOVES sitting in her high chair, though.



This past month we've had a bad time of sleeping. I am now completely convinced that Kaitlynn loves HER bed and HER bed only. Every time we travel she wakes often during the night while at home she usually sleeps through. Except when she has an ear infection, which is now a frequent occurance unfortunately.



We've been battling the same ear infection in her left ear since Christmas Eve. 3 prescriptions and 5 doctor visits later, I'm hoping it's finally clearing up. We have yet another trip to the doctor early next week.



Kaitlynn loves to be in the middle of everything. She wants to be a part of the action. Here she is surfing the web with Collin.



She seems to be growing out of the strong resemblance she has with Connor. Granted, they definitely still look alike. But not as much as in the very beginning. See below, the first picture is Kaitlynn followed by Connor, in the same bouncy chair at around the same age!





Believe it or not, Kaitlynn seems to be catching up to Connor in the weight category. The last time we were at the doctor, she was 21 1/2 lbs! She is really too big for her infant carseat now, but I haven't yet moved her into the bigger one because that would mean I have to buckle/unbuckle her everytime we're out and about. Oh, and in case you missed her latest video, she is starting to sit up as well.



One last comparison pic...here's Connor and Kaitlynn side by side at the same age in the same pose. Can YOU tell which one is which?

It CAN Be Done!

Last week Connor had another meltdown reminiscent of his ones from last summer. You remember, the ones where I was convinced we would have to call Supernanny. I thought we were past all that, but last Sunday after the Texans game Connor just lost all control. He was beyond exhausted, but I was still surprised at how quickly he escalated into meltdown mode. Kicking, screaming, crying, hitting...you name it. Who IS this child??

Anyway, during his many outbursts I threatened to take away TV if he didn't shape up. He didn't. Gasp. No TV? For an entire day??

Well, I was determined to follow through. Maybe no TV for a day sounds easy to some. But TV has become a major fixture for us since I started staying at home. I realize we should cut back. And we have cut back some. But to take it away completely? For a whole day? Well, that's just madness! And not just because Connor loves it. Have I mentioned that Kaitlynn has developed a fondness for TV as well?





Guess what? It wasn't so bad! It CAN be done! What did we do instead of watch Disney or Nick Jr? We played with alphabet flashcards. We worked in Connor's preschool activity book. We did a cooking show. We danced. We acted out some scenes from one of Connor's favorite TV shows. (Oops, that doesn't count as TV does it?)

Hmmm, maybe I need to shut that TV off more often!

Kaitlynn's Newest Tricks

I'm on a video roll here. Check out one of Kaitlynn's newest tricks: sitting up! Well, she only does it for a few moments before she falls back, nosedives, or face-plants. But she's working on it!



And here she is rolling around on the bed, back and forth. And then she gives me a little wave bye-bye.

Sweet Laughter

I've said many times before that Kaitlynn is stingy with her laughter. And I do mean stingy! If I had to guess, I'd say that we only hear her laugh about 1-2 times a week. If we're lucky. And we work hard for it...funny faces, tickling, silly songs, bouncing around, anything for a laugh.

So imagine my surprise the other day when Kaitlynn just suddenly starts laughing out of nowhere! I was in the bathroom getting ready while Kaitlynn and Connor were just hanging out nearby. Of course, Connor was entertaining her and I admit he's pretty funny sometimes. I thought for sure after I grabbed the video camera that she wouldn't laugh anymore, but here she is. Listen to that sweet laughter!

Is it Just Me...

...Or has this sweet girl gone and wrapped Daddy around her little finger?

Winning Season

Well, after an exciting final game and a full evening/night of follow-up NFL action, the 2009 Houston Texans season has come to a close. For the first time in franchise history, the Texans had a winning season at 9 wins, 7 losses. We actually had a shot as a wild card contender for the playoffs, but the NY Jets had to go and ruin it by winning their game on Sunday! Oh well, it was an incredible season and now we're more excited than ever for next year!

The last game held this past Sunday was incredible: a win over Tom Brady and the Patriots! Our whole family was there (minus Kevin) and it was such a fun time. The weather was COLD, though. Unfortunately it was too cold for Connor to be able to wear his new Texans football uniform, but he still had fun before the game in his helmet. For some reason I didn't end up with any pictures of him, though. Like I said, it was cold so I guess I was a bit distracted.

Some final pics of our 2009 season...


Sweet Kaitlynn was bundled up while we tailgated before the game.


I'm sure I would receive the worst-parent-of-the-year award for bringing her along in this weather...with an ear infection!


She got a little restless after a while, so Jeff carried her around like this in his coat.


She loved it!


She was nice and toasty in there while the rest of us were freezing!


Luckily the stadium roof was closed, so she was able to wear her new Texans cheerleader outfit. And check out those sweet Mary Jane tights from her MeMe!


Can't resist kissing those sweet cheeks!


She is SO good during the games. It's super loud in there, but she just loves it. She even naps for part of the game despite all the noise.


After the game, Collin carried Connor out of the stadium. So cute!


Can't wait 'til next season!