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!