Bath time fun

I need to begin this post with some givens:

* Keeley is transitioning from 2 naps to one nap. In addition to only getting 57 minutes of nap time in for the day, she woke up 30 minutes too early today.
* Kayden, who was developing a rather nice schedule, decided that nap time was prime time for trying to learn to roll over so she didn't nap today.
* I smiled through ALL of this. How can you not when the kids in question are so cute?

Kayden being her smiley self.

So happy to be covered in post it notes.

Sister tummy time.

Basically, it was a long day. Nobody was terribly grumpy but everyone (including Mom) was just tired. When Kelly called to ask if he should schedule a long overdue appointment for this evening at 6 or Wednesday, I told him he should do it today. I said that both the girls would be going to bed early and he wouldn't get to see them long anyway so he might as well get the appointment done today (plus he'd get home early enough for me to work out...). He asked several times if I would be okay putting the girls down and I several times assured him I could handle it just fine. I was wrong.

From the time it was decided I would be doing it by myself, I tried to plan what to do. Both girls needed to be bathed and put to bed pretty much at the same time. This was based on the assumption that my attempts to keep a schedule are even possible. I think we all know how that always turns out for me...

I get everything in the bathroom I need. This includes the newborn lounger and Kayden's pjs. I figured I could let her rest in the lounger on the floor while Keeley brushed her teeth and then I could dress her in the lounger as Keeley played in the draining bath water. The following is what actually happened.

Kayden was playing in the living room on her mat so I got Keeley down to her diaper and told her to put her dirty clothes in the hamper. While she is doing that, I started the bathwater and then got Kayden situated in the bathroom. Once Kayden was in the lounger, I turned to the tub to check the water level and temperature. When I turn back around, Keeley, now completely naked, is putting her wet diaper on Kayden's face. Lovely. Urine is sterile right? Why Keeley even took off her diaper is beyond me because she always does that RIGHT before we put her in the tub - otherwise she pees on the floor.

Okay, so I'm not going to stress about that. I get Keeley up on her stool to brush her teeth (she has three toothbrushes she insists on using). Once I brush Keeley's teeth, I let her continue to "brush" them and then turn to Kayden on the floor to get her undressed. As I pick her up to take her outfit off, I glance at Keeley and notice that 1. there is a puddle of urine on her stool and 2. she just finished brushing her "girl parts" with one of her toothbrushes. As I open my mouth to tell her that the toothbrush is only for cleaning her mouth she puts that toothbrush in her mouth. Great.

Moving on...there has already been too much pee for bathtime....both girls are now in the tub. I think all that got washed was Keeley's hair and Kayden's tummy. After everything else that had happened, I didn't want to spend too much time with slippery girls in the tub. I start the water to drain and get Kayden to the lounger to dress her. As I turn around, Keeley is drinking bathwater. I tell her that is yucky and then turn back around to Kayden. When I turn around again, Keeley is coloring all over herself with her bath crayon.

We all move to Keeley's room. I figured Kayden could hang out while I put Keeley down but she might cry if I left her in another room. She cried anyway. I put Keeley down (usually very easy at night) and leave to go nurse Kayden and put her down. Keeley screams bloody murder. I make up my mind to ignore her. She is fine, just overtired and mad that I am spending time with Kayden. That plan doesn't work because she continues screaming so loudly that Kayden won't settle down to nurse.

I finally relent and bring her into Kayden's room to sit with us while I nurse her. I close the door to lock her in with us so that I can at least see the mischief she is getting into. Today is the day she chooses to figure out how to open the door. She makes this discovery just as I sit down and get Kayden to finally start eating. So, I put Kayden down in her crib and turn her mobile on. Then I go back to Keeley's room and put her back down. She cries again but not so loudly that Kayden won't nurse.

She is still crying 10 minutes later when Kayden is finally in bed. I go back to cuddle with her again for a few minutes.

Goal: Both girls to bed early since they are both overtired.
Result: Both girls to bed right on time and baby didn't eat enough.

I will try a different plan next time!

How great is my life

Look how cute they are! My husband is vacuuming and my adorable daughter wants to be just like him!

First Bath Together

The girls took their first bath together the other evening. Kayden still isn't on a predictable schedule so she usually bathes after Keeley. This particular night however, it worked out nicely that we only had to run one bath. Some highlights:

Keeley:
* of course, wanted to bathe Kayden and scrub her with a wash cloth.
* gave Kayden lots of kisses and pointed out body parts.
* tried to pick her up out of her bath chair.
* thought she should use her bath crayon to color on Kayden. Once she saw color on Kayden she would say "yuuuck" and wave her hand over it (this is a new favorite thing for her to do). She would then pick another spot to color on Kayden and repeat with the "yuuuck"

Kayden:
* gazed adoringly at Keeley the whole time.
* smiled and talked to Keeley.

Hi

Keeley says "hi" a lot to everyone now. I really sounds more like "hiii ee." We have just started reading "Brown bear, brown bear" a lot (her new favorite book). EVERYTIME we get to the purple cat she will take her pacifier out and lean forward and tell it "hi" with a big smile on her face. Only to the purple cat and she does it every time. Sometimes I really wonder what they are thinking...

So in love

I'm so in love with my girls right now. Keeley is at such an adorable stage. She loves to help with ANYTHING I do. If it involves Kayden, she is even more eager to pitch in. The best part though is that she is still very, very cuddly. The other night she wanted to take a shower instead of a bath before bed. The shower had to be in our shower and she really wanted me to take one with her. I didn't want to shower so I sat on the floor while she played and she would periodically say "mama" and point to where she wanted me to sit (in the shower) or she would come give me kisses or very wet hugs. Too, too cute.

Kayden is still so very sweet. She is sleeping better and is just as in love with her big sister as Keeley is with her. She "talks" a lot already and gave her first real laugh today. She has had the start of a laugh a while ago, but today it was a full laugh. I loved it!

I try to remember these wonderful things when I get bogged down in the endless cycle of wake up, diaper change, eat, diaper change, play, diaper change, eat, diaper change, go to sleep that seems to be repeated 17 times a day now that I have two little ones that each have their own schedule for all those things!

Seattle

This last week, Kelly and I took Kayden to visit our good friends on their road trip. Dave and Cara are were in Seattle and we thought it would be fun to visit. We originally decided on it so that we could see Forks but it turned out that Forks was going to be too much of a trip to take Kayden. If you don't know what Forks is, you are missing out on some unbelievable novels.

Kelly talked me out of taking Keeley. It took a lot of work for him to do it, but I think it worked out for the best. Kayden is still little enough to travel fairly easily whereas Keeley is WAY too into her world to sit still or take naps during a trip. While it was really hard to leave Keeley, I knew that she and her Oma would be having tons of fun. It also gave us 3.5 days of bonding time with Kayden - without big sister around. The bonding was pretty intense for me. This is how our day went: wake up with Kayden beside me (she didn't like the hotel crib much), get ready for the day and put Kayden in one of my wraps, take her out of the wrap when it was time for her to eat, let her face out for a while and then turn her back around to sleep. She did awesome! She even let me nurse her under my cover while we took a tour of Pike Market.

On her first plane ride.

With Dad at the aquarium.

As a scuba diver "catching" Mom.

After our tour of Pike Market.

While we were gone, Mom and Keeley played really hard. One of the highlights was their trip to the beach club in our neighborhood. Keeley is at such a fun age!Running through the square of water - her favorite on the splash pad.

Look at that concentration!

Headed out to deeper water...

Thanksgiving Turkey

Kayden had her appointment today with the gi doctor. The very first thing he said when he walked in the room was that she was a Thanksgiving turkey and clearly not hurting for food. She did weigh in at 1/2 a lb bigger than she did last week - 13 lb 7 ounces. And, there might be a few forearm rolls....
Anyway, all is fine. The doctor reassured me that she is healthy and said to call in one month if things don't get better.

Toddler Games

Here are a few of Keeley's favorites right now:

* Up/Down all around - This is where Keeley insists on getting up and then down over and over again. She particularly likes to play this game when Kelly gets home as she asks for up/down/Mama/Dada over and over again. We don't think this is so much fun.

* Car tricks - Keeley LOVES her red car. On days when I don't feel like braving the 115 degree heat, I can appease her by taking many, many laps around our house. Other days, I just can't turn her down when she comes to me dressed to go outside (hat and shoes) and proceeds to lead me around the house to get my hat and shoes. These days, I'm tricked. She insists on taking the red car. We get exactly 4 houses away from our house when she starts the up/down game. Holding a toddler on your hip, wearing an infant, and pushing a car while the toddler gets up and down over and over again is not my idea of a good time. We promptly proceed home until I am suckered again another day.

* Dog chasing - Keeley has discovered that the dogs are great fun. I'm not sure the dogs think she is fun. She will chase them forever giggling all the while. Maggie isn't particularly found of the girls and pretty much tries to just stay out of their reach. She runs from Keeley not understanding that Keeley thinks that she is participating in the game. Carbo is VERY patient with the girls and allows himself to be fairly abused. He thinks Keeley is trying to catch him and sits down. This prompts Keeley to push him and sign "more" to us. When we ask if she wants more chasing, she quickly responds with exaggerated head nods and a "ya". Poor dogs!

Mommy skills

I'm having to fine tune many of my mommy skills lately:

* Mommy muscles - Kayden's reflux has been acting up so she's been in the moby wrap more than usual. She is happy upright and we are all happy when she isn't crying. Keeley is going through a bit of a cuddly phase and wants to be carried the majority of everyday. So, for most of every day, I have one baby on the front and one on my hip. Cleaning the house and shopping like this must burn extra calories right?

* Mommy patience - Our once happy, smiley baby has become very unhappy. We are going to the doctor on Thursday to make sure it is just reflux. It is becoming increasingly difficult to put her down at night (almost 2 hours before we could lay her down without crying last night). When I say "put her down" I don't even mean before she goes to sleep, I just mean until we can lay her down. Also, instead of sleeping for 6-9 hours that first stretch, we make it about 2 and then there is crying again. I know that this too shall pass, however, spending 3 nights in a row on the floor in her room is getting a little old!

* Mommy creativity - Trying to quietly entertain Keeley while getting Kayden to sleep in her own crib is proving to be a bit of a challenge! As will be the doctor visit on Thursday...Thankfully, she's really into reading again and books are small and quiet! Plus, I can hold her and a book on my hip easily.

* Mommy vigilance - Keeley is a monkey. There is just no other way to describe her. Some of her latest climbing escapades:

- In the bathroom - both hands in the sink, both feet flat against the cabinet doors trying desperately to pull herself up to her toothbrush
- In the living room - climbing onto the couch and then onto the pillow behind me while I'm nursing and can't really do much about it
- In Kayden's room - taking advantage of the drop side being down, trying to climb into the crib; when that didn't work, she climbed on the little table next to the crib and attempted to hike her leg up over the crib
- At the doctor's office - while I was changing Kayden's diaper, Keeley used the kids chair to climb onto the adult chair and then on to the exam table

In addition to her climbing escapades, she's also just figured out how to undo our "childproof" cabinet locks. Good times ahead at the Culhane house!!