Typical Lainey

This video explains a lot about Lainey. She's always singing, dancing, watching herself sing/talk in the mirror, singing her sentences, making up words to her own made-up songs...and making sure her brother doesn't get in her way. I sent her into the bathroom to wash her hands after dinner and she apparently got a bit distracted and forgot the purpose of her visit to the bathroom. :) Thank you, sweet Lainey, for making me laugh out loud every single day. You are one of a kind!

Memorial Day at Yellow Park

I took the kids to our neighborhood park this morning for some outside time. I must say, though, our park days are numbered. It's getting hot out there. Thankfully, both kids drank a lot of water and (hopefully) stayed hydrated but their little cheeks got pink and we were all sweating by the time we left. I hope to squeeze in a few more visits to the park before summer really sets in because I so love being outside with the kids, and they love it, too.

Notice Lainey's sunglasses - they are on upside down. Rarely does she ever put them on the correct way. Still.

Walker wanted to get down from the swings so that he could play with this orange ball. He loved watching it bounce!

Aww...x's and o's in the background. I'm sure Walker did that himself before settling down for a picture. Hugs and kisses to you too, sweet boy. :)

Recently, Lainey has started requesting her food to be "real." As in, nothing added or taken away. She will often tell me to "keep it real" and, of course, just hearing her say that makes me smile. For example, I'll ask if she wants peanut butter with her Cheez-Its and she'll say, "No, I just want them real." :) So, here's to keeping food "real." Maybe I should learn a lesson or two from her about keeping food real...

This sweet girl is awfully in tune with me. She can read me and my emotions so quickly that it's no use trying to hide anything from her. She can quickly identify changes in my tone of voice or behavior, even if I'm just the slightest bit frustrated. If she thinks I'm upset with her, her face crumples and she walks over to me, arms open wide for a hug, and says, "You a little bit sad (or frustrated/mad/disappointed)? But you always love me? Anything happens? Nothing changes?" I always tell her that yes, I will always love her, no matter what, and nothing will ever change that. I like how she interprets it, though. :) Each time, after we have a little scuffle, she eagerly waits for me to be "happy" again, so she'll keep asking me, "Are you happy now? Are you just a little bit happy? Are you a happy girl?" I just love her. And she has such a big, sweet, sensitive heart. I'm just amazed at how well she knows me. I always think that I know her pretty well, when in fact, she knows me pretty well, too. :)

We use a lot of Love and Logic in this house; she seems to respond pretty well to that method of discipline and can almost always tell me the reason why I got upset with her (after she's had a little time to sit and think and sometimes cry about it for a while). Usually it's because she did something hurtful to Walker or someone else or wasn't a good listener or talked back to me. It's hard being three years old and having to learn all this stuff.

Lainey is also starting to recognize when something is my fault (as her mom) or her fault. If I happen to step on her foot or something, I apologize, and say, "I'm sorry, that was my fault." And she'll repeat, "That was your fault?" She's started to use it when referring to accidents or mistakes that she's made (or that I've made!), and I think that's good. She's learning to take ownership of her actions!

Missing Daddy. I can never swing her high in the air like her Daddy does. She knows it makes me "nervous." :)

I'm pretty sure she's dancing in the swing and singing the Dora the Explorer theme song...except she's making up her own words. I think it was something about wood chips. :)

Walker's Favorite Activity

Walking the dog...yikes. Poor Reagan!

Webcam Ben

This is a picture of Ben (far right) and his buddies, Bruce and Wes, in Colorado for their annual boys' trip. We've started a tradition of trying to coordinate our schedules so that I can pull up the webcam at the same time that they are standing in front of one of the town's cameras. Since the webcam just shows a series of updated images, not a live-action feed, I'm able to capture a picture of the boys and save it to my desktop! Ahh...modern technology. Hope you guys are having fun, Ben. We miss you!

Keegan

Please, if you are a reader of this blog, take a moment to say a prayer for our sweet neighbor, Keegan, and his parents, Gray and Maddie. Keegan has had a rough time lately. Many of you know his story, but I invite you to stay updated through Maddie's blog. To put it very bluntly, Maddie, Gray, and Keegan are stuck in a seemingly endless cycle. It goes like this: home, ER, hospital, home, ER, hospital. It reminds me of the scene in the movie European Vacation where Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is stuck in a traffic circle and keeps repeating, with each loop, "Hey, look kids. There's Big Ben. And Parliament." I feel like Keegan and his parents are stuck in a traffic circle. A crazy, heart-wrenching, horrific traffic circle, where they are unable to turn left, and where each "Big Ben" and each "Parliament" is a kick in the gut. Literally. My eyes tear up at the mere thought of Keegan these days. Keegan was one of Lainey's first friends, and we miss seeing him. We miss his family.

Keegan is a true fighter. He has shown us that from the beginning. Maddie and Gray are fighters, too, always supporting their son and putting his needs ahead of their own. Fighting for the right treatment and care. Spending hours speaking with professionals, trying to decide the best course of action for this boy with so many conflicting issues. Keegan's spirit is strong, thank the good Lord. However, his body is rebelling - screaming with every infection, bleed, poke, scan, test, biopsy, sample, culture. It's hard to explain exactly what is going on, but basically, if you had a top hat filled with a bunch of different health-related issues written on pieces of paper (from the flu to renal failure to rejection of his transplanted heart) and just drew one slip of paper out at random...chances are, Keegan's had it.

I know that a "normal" life for Maddie and Gray feels about a million steps away. Family dinners, relaxed conversation, playdates with friends. Trips to the movies, playing in the pool, going to the grocery store. Toddler tantrums inside Toys 'R' Us. A simple runny nose. McDonald's and Chick-fil-A lunch breaks. My prayer is that Keegan will be able to experience these things, sooner rather than later. I pray that God heals and strengthens his little body and allows him to turn left, veering from that darn traffic circle.

Please keep this family close to your hearts and lift them up in prayer. They need you. Keegan needs you. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Maddie, Gray, and Keegan, we love you and pray for you daily. We are here for you!

My Favorite

Lainey drew this picture the other day. I love it!! It might be one of my most favorite things. Even though I look a bit like a fish. Actually, more like a Bubble Guppy. Anyway, I absolutely love this piece of artwork that Lainey made me. She was so proud and I was so thrilled to receive such a sweet picture. I love you, Lainey!

"Kelsey is a nice girl."

Yesterday we got a visit from a very sweet friend, Kelsey. I used to babysit Kelsey and her sister when they were little. I met Kelsey when she was six years old. (Her sister, Shelbi, was only two.) I have since watched them grow and mature into beautiful, smart, successful, and driven young ladies. :) Kelsey is now 21 years old and at Georgetown University doing all sorts of amazing things. She'll graduate next May. I rarely get to see Kelsey because she moved to Kentucky awhile ago so it's always a treat when she is in town and we do get to spend some time together.

Kelsey played a TON with both Lainey and Walker. She pushed them on the swings, played with them in the sandbox, "ate" bubblegum sand pies, jumped on the trampoline, and lifted them up on her shoulders so that they could pick leaves from the trees. She is amazing with kids. :)

Lainey didn't want Kelsey to leave. But, after giving her a tour of our house, we walked her downstairs and out to her car where we gave her hugs and said good-bye. As we were walking inside our house, Lainey said, "Kelsey is a nice girl." I agree with you, Lainey. Kelsey is a nice girl. I hope she comes back soon!

Bath Time Helper

Lainey insisted on wearing my shoes to help give Walker his bath last night. She eagerly ran into the bathroom to help me, then took an abrupt right turn into my closet to put on some shoes, and then announced that she was ready to help me. I mean, who doesn't bathe their kids while wearing heels?

Lainey loves pouring water over Walker's head. And she doesn't wait for instruction. She just does it at random times. She's such a great helper. :)

Ha! Who is this kid? And where did she learn that pose? Certainly not from me. I'm pretty sure that those shoes haven't been worn in a few years.

Yes, that is a paintbrush. It's clean and it has never been used. Lainey is still such an oral child.

Baby boy got a haircut yesterday while Lainey was at school. It's short! And he looks so much older with short hair!

Walker, 15 Months Old

I often think about Walker's first nickname..."Walk." Lainey couldn't say "Walker" so she just called him "Walk." The memory makes me smile. We love you, cute boy. You have a big heart, a sensitive soul, and an adorable smile. You are perfect!

This is the cute sleepy face that greets me every morning. Just love him.

Walker likes any cardboard box that can be emptied. Particularly if it contains powdered drink mixes, like hot chocolate or Crystal Light flavor packets. He also likes the challenge of putting the packets back into the boxes.

He has learned to climb upon a stool, and he loves "bouncing" on the trampoline. He is still a little guy, with strong little muscular legs and no rolls to speak of.

He loves watching TV in his sister's chair (also known as his favorite chair). Sometimes he can steal a moment or two in there before she notices.

Height: 31-1/2 inches (50th-75th percentile)

Weight: 21.8 pounds (just above the 10th percentile)

Walker and Lainey had been playing doctor and patient on the couch but she abandoned him to do something else, leaving him to play with her doctor kit.

At 15 months old, Walker can respond to simple requests, like "get the ball" or "bring me the (toy) hammer." Well, he responds when he feels like it, that is. :)

Lainey is one of his favorite people. He LOVES it when she plays with him (which she's starting to do more often). She will sometimes just start laughing at something funny and try to catch his eye so that he'll start laughing. And it always works. However, she has told him frequently that she "is disappointed" in him when he throws things. :)

I found Walker reading his current favorite book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? just before bed the other night. He had apparently gone over to his book bucket, gotten the book, and started reading while I was helping Lainey get ready for bed. Ha!

This little guy is still wearing size 3 diapers. At night, he wears size 4 diapers. Most of the time, he can still wear his 6-12 month clothes.

He sleeps all night, usually 10-11 hours. He prefers a small cat nap in the morning and a big nap in the afternoon. He had a nasty bout of strep throat this past weekend. He was miserable.

Walker loves...

• when I smell his tiny feet and say, "Poo-tinky!" He cracks up every time.
• bubbles. He can even blow bubbles using the bubble wand! He'll chase you around with the bubble wand, begging for you to play bubbles with him.
• his toothbrush. Not for brushing, mind you, but for chewing.
• blowing out pretend candles, blowing on hot food...etc.
• to laugh with us whenever we're laughing, even if he has no idea why he's laughing or why we're laughing.
• going night-night. He knows those words, so that's all we have to say to him and he starts marching towards his room towards his binky, blankie, and bottle. Sometimes, if I'm putting Lainey down first (like for a nap) then he'll bring me things from his room (his jammies, his sleep sack, the bottle's coaster) to show me that he's ready to go down for his nap, too. He'll just keep bringing me things until it's time for me to put him down for his nap.
• books. He loves books.
• Ainsley and Gage. I am pretty sure that he thinks they are his age. He points to their house, waves at them any chance he gets, and lets out little excited yelps when he sees them. Cute.
• dancing. He (usually) dances by bending his knees and lightly bouncing up and down whenever he hears a song that catches his attention. However, he does like to dance with Dora, and sometimes he'll move his arms back and forth like she does.
• our framed family picture from the day that he came home from the hospital. He picks it up all the time and carries it around the house and points to our faces and talks to it.
• playing "Where's Walker?" by hiding under his sleep sack. Lainey did this exact same thing when she was younger, too.
• trying to feed himself with a spoon.
• kicking the soccer ball (well, it's more like dribbling, but the ball does actually move forward!).
• food. This kid needs regular feedings or we have severe meltdowns. He will pretty much eat almost anything at this point - or he's at least willing to try it.
• his bottle. Good luck to us on breaking him of that habit. :)
• trying to go down the stairs by himself. As I've said before, I have to supervise this process because he still falls. He thinks he can go down the stairs like a big person - stepping down while holding onto the railing - but in actuality, he isn't quite able to do that. So we encourage him to do down the stairs by scooting on his bottom.
• babbling. I think the only "words" (and I use that term loosely, friends) he tries to say are "hi" ("ayyyyeeee" and waving) and "bo" ("boo") and, of course, "mamama" and "mommm mommm" whenever he needs something. :)
• clinging to me when in a new environment. After he's warmed up a bit, he'll get right out there and play. But until then, he'd prefer to stay on my hip or in my lap.
• the playground. And being outside. And climbing the ladder to our fort in the backyard, even when I've laid our small trampoline up against it and secured it with a bungee cord! He can squeeze between the trampoline and the ladder. So that's fun. I need to move onto Plan B because I need something to block him from going up there if I have to run inside for a minute.
• falling. Well, he doesn't love falling but he does it all the time. He bumps, trips, falls, collides, smashes, bonks, and doinks on a daily basis. The boy always has a bruise or a cut somewhere.
• exiting buildings/play areas. He's always headed for the doors, especially if they lead outside! He's a runner. ;)

We look forward to seeing what next month holds for Walker. Kids seem to grow SO quickly at this between-one-and-two-years-old stage. Happy fifteen months, Walker! You're a sweetie and we love you!

Navigating the Stairs

Someone has figured out how to get down the stairs. I don't trust him to do it by himself, because he still falls a lot, but he can do it independently if he goes slowly and thinks about each move. He starts by standing up, then sitting down on the stair, then moving down the stair on his bottom, then standing up again and repeating the process. :)

All done! So proud!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

This is the story of how "Mommy and Daddy went to get married." Lainey likes looking through our mini wedding album. This is a long video, and therefore not exciting to probably anyone but our loving family members ;) but take a look (or a partial look) if you need a laugh!!

Friday

This morning we went to this CRAZY fun place called Jump Street. It was awesome. It's literally an indoor trampoline park for all ages. So fun. Sadly, I had a sick boy on my hands (I didn't know how sick until later this afternoon) so I don't feel like we got the full experience but thanks to Kelley, Lainey was able to stay and play while I took Walker for a ride in the car so that he could take a small nap. I took these pictures with my iPhone so they're not the best but they're still cute.

A view of the foam pit (or as Lainey said, the "phone hit"): unknown child jumping in front of me, Kelley helping Gage out of the foam pit, Ainsley about to swing on the rope into the foam pit, and Lainey balancing on the end of the slide before dropping "softly" into the foam pit.

Gage

Lainey

Ainsley

He fell asleep before I even pulled out of our parking spot to take our car ride.

Poor Walker. Fever all day ranging from 101-104 degrees (with a brief respite this morning...hence the trip to Jump Street because he seemed to be feeling okay...yes...lesson learned). He has strep throat. Ben took him to see the doctor late this afternoon and that was the firm diagnosis. He's miserable. Sleeping/eating/drinking/sucking on his binky...all tough things to do when you have strep. :( Thankfully, we have antibiotics now and we hope to see some improvement by tomorrow.

Singing in the Rain

This picture explains Lainey pretty well. She's all about pink, princesses, tutu-type skirts, putting her shoes on the wrong feet, and using her umbrella. The only thing missing from this picture are the 40 or so roly-polys that she found while out walking this afternoon in the rain.

Lainey Visits the Dentist

Lainey went to the dentist today! This is her third visit to see Dr. Ty. The first two visits had to do with her top two teeth. Today, however, we went to see Dr. Ty to get her teeth cleaned for the first time.

Highlights:

• Her teeth look good and she has a lot of space in her mouth (a good thing!).
• She had major tartar buildup on her bottom two teeth. We had forever thought that she just had discoloration on those two teeth, but it turns out, it was tartar. Joy. :) So, they cleaned it off, and Lainey noticed a difference! She said, "It all comed off!" :) Ha!
• She doesn't have a cross-bite (yet). That comes from too much pacifier use. We were told that we need to really start cutting back on the pacifier by about age 4. (Can you hear my sigh of relief?!) I'm such a chicken about getting rid of it...I'm enjoying having both of my kids sleep through the night too much to start the process of getting rid of it. I know, chicken.
• She does have an extra tooth that may start to appear at some point. It's in the spot where she's already missing a tooth, and it could start to come in just behind the open space. It will need to be pulled when it comes in, and if it prevents the permanent tooth from coming in, then it will need to be pulled. So I think that it will need to be pulled at some point. I'm pretty sure that was the message there. :)
• She had a few almost-tears. Her face crumpled a few times but she regained her composure and stayed strong.
• Total number of goodies taken home from our appointment: 7 princess stickers, 1 Hello Kitty sticker, 1 tiny toy dinosaur (a "baby T-Rex" according to Lainey), 2 toothbrushes (one for her, one for Walker), 1 small tube of toothpaste, 1 pink hourglass sand timer, and several flossers that are specifically made for kids.

Lainey is waiting to get her x-rays taken (not a fun thing - always just awkward and uncomfortable, especially for a 3-year-old). The hygienist told her she was going to use her fingers to feel around in her mouth, and Lainey misunderstood and showed the woman her fingers. :) Sweet baby. Love her innocence!

getting ready for x-rays

watching the movie Tangled with her baby by her side

All in all, she did great. The hygienist and dentist were very pleased with her attitude and behavior. I don't think she loved being there, and I think it's going to be hard to go back in six months, but I'm proud of how she did today and that she did everything that was asked of her. Good job, Lainey!

Final Ballet and Tap Class

As a treat for the parents (and siblings and grandparents), we were allowed inside the dance studio this morning to video and/or take pictures of the girls during the last fifteen minutes of their final dance class. Each girl had a chance to perform the skills that she had learned during the course of the session. It was absolutely adorable to watch (if I do say so myself). The girls were so funny and sweet and cute and Lainey had a great time performing in front of an audience. She kept looking at us and smiling; she seemed so pleased that we were there to watch her dance. Although I understand its purpose, that little viewing window was getting less enjoyable by the minute. I'm so thankful that Miss Dawn invited us into the studio to observe today. Miss Dawn was a wonderful instructor; the girls had fun and learned so much in such a short period of time!

"Go Mavs!"

Walker was thrilled that Emmy was there to play with him. He had no idea that she actually came to watch Lainey dance. :)

"Asher won't mind if I poke him in the eye, will he?"

I love it when Walker sits like this. It's so funny.

The girls line up like this along the wall to wait their turn. Miss Dawn was fixing Lainey's shoe. She ties those shoes tight!

our little ham

Waiting can be SO tough when you're three years old.

sweet friends giving each other hugs

Walker was so supportive. He enjoyed getting to go inside the studio, too!

Click the links below to see some short videos of Lainey dancing:

Video 1

(Thanks, Kate!)

Video 2

Video 3