Trick or Treating

Well, tonight is Halloween. Kelly and I decided that one of us should stay home and one of us should take the girls. Kayden refused to wear a costume so she was going to stay with Kelly and hand out candy. Keeley wanted to go with me but only made it to the end of our driveway before she changed her mind.

So, all costumes off and all four of us settled in to hand out candy. People approaching freaked Keeley out for a while. We let the girls practice their trick or treating skills with us while we were handing out candy to other kiddos. After watching the other kids and consuming some candy, Keeley decided she was ready to head out. I suggested that she maybe go to Peter's house (5 houses up the street). Kayden refused to wear a costume but also refused to stay home so she went too. This time however, Keeley wanted Daddy to take her.

No worries I thought. They'll probably only make it half way there before they turn around.

Fast forward 45 minutes. I am out of candy and missing my girls' first trick or treating :-( I tried to call Kelly to see where they were but apparently he didn't take his phone since they weren't really planning on going far.

They came home full of candy and big smiles. Apparently no one cared that Kayden wasn't in costume or that Keeley didn't have on a full costume!

First trick or treating, success!

Bonk

Keeley accidentally hit my head really hard today and I said ouch. She said she wanted to see it and then gave it a kiss. Since Kayden has to do the same thing as big sister, she ran over to us full speed. And, I guess it wasn't good enough for her to kiss where my head already hurt. She head-butted me, said bonk, and then kissed it.

No sharing

When Keeley doesn't finish her food, which is frequently, I ask her if I can give it to Kayden. This is both a) to conserve food and b) to try to trick her into eating it. Sometimes she says yes, sometimes she says no, sometimes she eats it. Tonight this is how our conversation went:

Keeley: "I'm all finished"
Me: "Okay, baby."
Keeley: turns to me with serious face "Don't give it to Kayden. Uh-uh. Just put it in the trash"
Me: "If you aren't going to eat it, I think it would be okay to share it with Kayden."
Keeley: "uh-uh. Just put it in the trash" tiny head nod

Kids really just crack me up.

Mom just can't win

Much to my disliking, the girls really like to match their clothes. Sometimes it is okay if the shirts are the same but different colors, but most of the time, the outfits need to be the same. Because the weather has turned cold again and long sleeve pjs are back, Keeley is back to her old self and wearing them as much as she can get away with. Her favorites are still the footie pjs. I've had some problems finding matching footie pjs because they don't make a whole lot of them in Keeley's size (3T).

I thought Monday was my lucky day! We found some that matched and they had them in both girls sizes AND they had owls on them (Kayden really likes owls right now). Of course the girls wore them that night.

The next morning, Kayden decided that she had had enough of her feet being trapped and started to fuss...no more footie pjs for her. That's okay, she's allowed to have preferences. However, before we got the pjs off, Keeley noticed that Kayden's had a little strap of material and button at the top but hers did not. I really, really thought she was going to cry. I tried to explain to her that they only put those on the smaller pjs but she was having none of that.

Fortunately, it was time to get her school clothes on so all was good. When she got home, she was changing into her jammies (she does this for naps now....she loves her pjs) and saw Kayden's pjs. Somehow, she managed to get herself in them and slept in them.

Since then, she has insisted on wearing them whenever they are clean. She looks a tad bit ridiculous in 18month one piece pjs but she insists "they fit! I'm littler now"

I suppose if she's okay, I should be okay too right?

And score two for the little people

Yesterday was Kayden's dress up day at school. Of course, she refused. Fortunately for me, I do know my children well and she did want to wear her back-up "costume" - the cupcake shirt. Unfortunately, she likes to chew on the cherry. I didn't think that it made the sparkles come off because they hadn't disappeared after the Halloween party. But, after I washed it, most of the cherry was missing :-( Oh well. I think everyone's favorite part is the word "cupcake" on the back anyway!

We have a party tomorrow and then Halloween Saturday. Maybe I'll at least get to snap a picture!!

(In other news though, she had her best day yet at MDO! Hooray!!)

Score one for the little people

I made the girls really cute cupcake costumes for Halloween this year. Keeley requested that them and so mom helped me figure out how to do it. I didn't have high hopes that they would wear them for long, but I thought that they would at least wear them for a minute. So far, I'm wrong! Monica and Stevie's annual Halloween party was today and they refused to wear them. Fortunately, other kids did too, so I wasn't the only parent with non-costumed kids! Frustrating as it may be, I'm glad that my girls have an opinion and are independent enough to express it!

Because I didn't think they would wear them for long, I made them "back-up" costumes. I had them wear sparkle cupcake shirts. These I was successful in getting them to wear! Now, posing in their shirts was another issue all together.

Keeley wouldn't look up at me, just down at the cupcake while I was trying to snap a shot.

Kayden wouldn't stand still so I could get the "cupcake" on the back of the shirt.

And, yes, I know she has two different shoes on. One of them is definitely a sandal that she is wearing with socks, and that shoe is not even hers - it's Keeley's. That's what she wanted to wear.

Trying to get smiles for the camera also wasn't so successful.

However, despite the refusal to wear what I wanted them to or smile like I wanted or stand still long enough for a cute pose, they had a blast. And, really, isn't that what a kid's party is all about?
Well, having fun and cupcakes of course!

Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz

Keeley has needed more lights in her room left on at night lately and has been reading more books. She's coming up on the age of nightmares/monsters and I knew that her desire for more light and delving more into the world of make-believe were likely to expedite this process. Fortunately (?) we haven't updated our books in a while so we have mainly tame stuff - lots of Sandra Boynton type books.

Tonight, we ended our marathon reading session with the board book version of Dr. Seuss' ABCs. The last picture is of a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz. I think he is pretty creepy looking and we talked about it because Keeley said she didn't like him either.

He is pretty freaky looking for a kid's book. Anyway, I put her down and came out in the living room to talk to Kelly. Not three minutes later I heard our bedroom door swing open (we are working on not throwing doors open) and tiny footsteps. I went back to the hall to see what the problem was and a very wide-eyed Keeley said "I want the ABC book in Kayden's room". She then ran to get it and said "out there". I had to take it out of her room. She said she was scared. Poor thing.

Kayden

She is almost 17 months old and definitely is busy figuring out her world. She is working hard on becoming more "self-sufficient" like Keeley (i.e. getting dressed, going potty, covering herself with a blanket). Unfortunately, she has spent the last 17 months developing her big gross muscle skills and everything she wants to work on now is small muscle skills.

Last night, or maybe I should say very early this morning (4am), I heard "help. help." coming from her room. She didn't sound panicked and she wasn't crying, but a quick glance at the clock made me realize she needed to get quiet before both girls were awake for the day! I went in her room to find her sitting in her crib trying to cover her legs up with her blanket. I suppose this is progress. For a while she was taking shoes to bed and trying to get them on during the night. At least a blanket belongs in the crib!

This morning I was in the kitchen and Kayden was playing in the playroom. I got out some celery and peanut butter for a snack for me. I hadn't even finished chewing my first bite when she came running up the hall way saying "ome" (some) and pointing to her mouth. Perhaps I will need to have quieter snacks if I want to keep them to myself!

Bed Update

Keeley has been doing much better than we had expected in her big bed. She just now figured out she can get out when she gets up. This, unfortunately, resulted in two nighttime visits last night. However, it is really cute when she gets up from naps and says "Mama, Kayden needs you." Apparently, if Kayden wakes her up, she needs to come look for me so that I can take care of it!

"Me too!"

The girls are really cracking me up lately. They have to be exactly alike. Keeley insists on matching clothes and pjs most of the time. Kayden refuses to use her booster seat because Keeley doesn't want hers anymore. If one is riding their tricycle, the other wants to do so also. They have to have the same food (thank goodness they aren't counting the pieces yet!). The list goes on and on. What really makes me laugh the most though is one gets an injury, the other automatically has one too. Keeley verbalizes very well that her .... hurts also. Kayden says "ouch" and points to whatever is the same as Keeley - all the while with a very serious look on her face. Too funny!

Pumpkin Patch Slide

The complete, unadulterated joy in toddlers amazes me. Keeley's slide here is the best!

Safety Town

We went to Frisco's Safety town with our playgroup on Wednesday and the girls had a blast. I thought they would have fun, but I had no idea just how much they would enjoy exploring the fire truck and safety town.

From the fire truck window.

Driving. She is serious!

On the radio.
Kayden still supervising as Keeley takes over the wheel.

Mesmerized (momentarily at least) by the smoke in the clown's bedroom.

Exploring safety town. It is scaled down to kid size. Older kids actually get to ride little vehicles/bikes around.

One last ride in the fire truck and a smile before we left!

No more crib

Earlier this week, Keeley was playing in her crib after her nap. Suddenly I heard her crying so I went in there. When I asked what was wrong, she said she fell in her crib. I guess she was trying to get out and fell backward. I asked if she would like to be able to get in and out of her bed by herself and she said yes...so we made the big move!

Her crib converts to a "toddler" bed. I thought that meant it had a railing - it does not. Unfortunately, we didn't realize this until too close to bed time. Kelly laid some pillows on the floor in case she fell out and we hoped for the best. Two nights ago, I checked on her and heard her fall out of her bed. When I peeked in, she was climbing right back up and covering herself up. She's done great at night and for naps. In fact, only once has she gotten up from sleeping on her own; most of the time she still calls for us.

Both the girls are really enjoying the freedom of the bed. Keeley spends most of the day after school in there reading. She and Kayden play on the bed and under the bed. So far, Keeley only makes Kayden get off the bed if it is right after she has woken up. Most of the time, they are both playing up there.

The only down side I'm seeing right now is that Kayden will want to move to a bed sooner because Keeley is in one. And, unfortunately for us, Kayden is a little bit, shall we say exploratory!

Sweet Girls

This afternoon, the girls were playing after their naps. It got very quiet so I went to investigate. They were both in Keeley's room reading. Each was reading her own book and they were facing each other. As I walked in, I heard Keeley say "You want a hug, Kayden" and watched Kayden dive into Keeley's arms. I love my girls.

Big Orange Pumpkin Farm

Sunday, despite the cold and mud, we headed up to Celina to meet up with the Martinez family at the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm. We went last year too, but the girls had SO much more fun this year.Here we are, all ready to go. Notice Keeley even let me put not one but TWO bows in her hair!

Kayden wanting a bit of the camera action with her ever ready "cheese!!"

The girls checking out the animals:

Keeley was a little less afraid than last year, but not by much.

Kayden checking them out with the big kids. I swear she forgets she's not even 1.5 years old!

The girls "riding" the tractor.

On our first hay ride. They both enjoyed it more than I thought they would.

This, however, was the highlight of the trip. They had a bounce house and a giant bounce slide. I paid $1 for Keeley to "bounce" in the bounce house for about 15 seconds before deciding there were too many big kids. Upon getting out, she ran over to the slide and I was sure the scene would repeat or that she would be scared. They both LOVED it though! It was too funny to watch how excited they were. I had to go with them because I was scared they would fall and I thought the slide was scary. The girls did not!



Covered in cheetos!


As we were leaving, Keeley was sitting on these pumpkins.

When I told her we needed to leave. She said "I need to sit on my pumpkins some more". Sometimes being more vocal isn't necessarily a good thing!!

Play on TV

When Keeley woke up from her nap, Kelly was watching the football game. Keeley commented that she would play on the TV when she was grown up. I asked if she would play football or hockey since those are the two sports Kelly watches on TV. She said football. She then said that she needed a helmet to play football.

Something tells me Keeley is not the one of my two kiddos that will be playing contact sports when she grows up! I mean, really, she eats cotton candy wrapped in a wipe because it is sticky.

Grandma Trip

This past weekend, we took our first family trip since Kayden was born. We decided to go to some cabins up in Oklahoma so we could have a vacation but also have it be as low stress as possible since it was our first trip with both girls. After thinking about it a little more, we decided to have it be a grandma trip so Oma and Grandma both came with us. Uncle Brent even flew in town to surprise Grandma for her birthday. We had so much fun!

The weekend got off to a little bit of a shaky start as Keeley fell while dancing for Brent before we even left. Her face broke her fall and her eye was pretty much swollen shut when we headed out. The girls did great on the car ride (even though they napped for no where near long enough) and we had tons of fun the first day there.

Both girls were initially fascinated with all the rocks and bugs around the cabin.

Kayden loved this bear on the front porch and gave it lots of big bear hugs.

They also were excited about their "cabin beds" - even though Kayden refused to sleep in hers (up every hour the first night and from 12-2am screaming the second) and Keeley escaped. Keeley came out of the room saying "I bounced away Mommy". She had bounced her bed to our bed and then thrown her leg up there and climbed out.

We went to ride a little train through the forest and saw some deer. Keeley requested to sit next to Uncle Brent her "best friend" and Kayden squirmed until she was able to pick her own seat, several rows away from everyone else - but closer to the horses.

She still didn't sit still on the train ride and I had a tough time corraling her as everytime I put my hand on her, she would furrow her brow, move my hand, and say "no". Independent much?

Uncle Brent's train ticket won us some free cotton candy which the girls both enjoyed.

You can see Keeley was a bit concerned about her hands getting dirty so she wrapped the cotton candy in a baby wipe to keep her hands sticky free. Does anyone else's 2 year old do that?!?
The second day was pretty rainy all day so we weren't able to do much. The girls didn't seem to mind though. I really think that if they could have played in muddy puddles all weekend they would have been happy!!

Hopefully, we'll be able to make this a yearly event. The girls loved getting to spend so much time with Grandma and Oma...and of course Uncle Brent!

Too big

Keeley is growing up entirely too fast. She does things that I remember doing when I was in elementary school - like telling Kayden "don't say hi to me" and "don't say cookie with me". These just make me laugh.

Sometimes, however, her growing independence and self awareness makes me sad. This afternoon she fell and really scraped up her knee when we were outside. I got up to go help her and she looked up, held her hand out to stop me, and said "No kisses. It will be okay in a minute."

NO KISSES?!! She's not even 3 yet!

Sensory Overload

Kayden has always been a child to want to experience life. It is not enough for us to warn her or for her to tell her to stop, she needs to physically get hurt before she'll stop - and even then, it is only for a minute. She has also always been very interested in knowing how things feel and taste. Already, we can tell that she is a very tactile learner.

This morning, the girls were outside playing while I got my breakfast ready. I could see them out the window and they were both happy and weren't climbing on anything too dangerous. All of the sudden, Keeley's sweet face appeared at the door. She opened it smiling and said "Kayden has dog poop on her hands. And I do too."

I glanced at her hands and didn't see anything, and then Kayden rounded the corner. Kayden didn't just have dog poop on her hands, she clearly had spent some time exploring its squishy properties. It looked as though she had been playing with play-doh. It was all over her hands. Keeley, upon closer inspection, did have a little on her hands. I told Keeley not to touch anything and grabbed both Kayden's hands as we all walked to the tub. She started to touch her face with her hand and I said "dog poop is yucky Kayden". Instead of putting her hand on her cheek, she decided she needed to see if it was really yucky so she put it in her mouth. Lovely.