More photos

Baylee & her friend C playing at the park & holding hands. Of course, she's leading him.

Baylee saying "cheese" for the camera & hamming it up.

Pics of the Girls

I just realized I haven't posted any recent pictures of the girls. Here you go!

Livy is modeling one of my recent bow creations. It was hard getting these pics because she wanted to bounce & move.

This was at a recent playdate with Baylee's favorite friend, J. She wanted to push him in the swing.

Here's Baylee with one of her ECFE friends, C. C told his mom that he wants to marry Baylee. :)

Just When I Thought Things Couldn't Get Worse...

Baylee woke up at 4:30am today & tried to break free from her room.  She has never woken up that early before in her life without going back to sleep & waking up at a reasonable hour.  She has wanted the light on at night lately too.  Needless to say, after getting up with Livy for a feeding at 2/2:30am, I was not a very happy camper.  I pretty much yelled at her that she was going back to sleep until a reasonable hour.  When Mike went to check on her at 6:30, she demanded a "princess dress" to wear instead of her jammies.

I took the girls out for a park playdate at 10am.  I was completely exhausted because I couldn't fall back asleep after hearing Baylee at 4:30, but I knew we would go crazy staying inside all day too.  Baylee started to throw down around 11:30, so we took off so I could scope out some parks for a family picnic on Saturday.  Baylee crashed in the car & I successfully transferred her to the crib for an afternoon nap.

Unfortunately, things did not get better after naptime.  For some reason, Baylee HATES bath time.  I don't know if she's afraid of the drain (I hear some kids are afraid of getting sucked down), does not like getting her hair wet, etc., but I had to wrestle her into the bathtub screaming, flailing, & kicking.  She screamed so hard that she scared Livy who started to cry too.  Sigh...

Because B got up so early, I tried putting her down at 7:45.  She fought her bedtime until 10:45.  The entire time she screamed, tried to open the door, cried, etc.  I have no clue what her deal is lately, but my friend S (J's mom) suggested I talk to the pediatrician.  Mike doesn't think there's anything wrong with Baylee, but she might not be able to tell us.  For all we know, she could be having nightmares, have tummy aches, headaches, toothaches, be afraid of the dark, & so forth, but she doesn't have the words to express those feelings.  If anything, I just want a ped. to provide some sort of guidance so I don't go crazy.

On the positive, Livy is a mover & a shaker!  Baby girl is crawling!  Not very fast or very consistently, but she gets up on her hands & knees & goes hand, knee, hand, knee.  If she falls flat on her stomach, she gets back up & sits & scoots.

UGH!

I guess they don't call them the terrible two's for nothing!


Like I mentioned before, Baylee has been refusing to nap & go to bed at an appropriate time.  Last night, she fussed & fought with us until 10pm.   We put her down at 8pm, but she cried & cried so I went in to check on her.  I asked her if she was afraid of the dark because she flipped on the lights, but I got no response.  Then, I asked if she had a bad dream, which she replied affirmatively.  Not sure if she really did or not, but I laid next to her for a little while.  When I was sure she was tired & would fall asleep, I gave her kiss & asked her if she wanted the lights on or off.  No answer, so I flipped them off & left.


This wasn't the end.  A little bit later we hear her trying to break down the door again.  Mike went to check on her.  She ripped off her diaper & peed on her toddler bed, so we had to put her in the crib.  I'm not sure if she has suddenly developed a fear of the dark or not, but I'm hoping it is short-lived.  B was such a good sleeper!  I need those old days to come back.


Since Baylee didn't really nap or sleep well yesterday, I thought surely she would be exhausted at nap time.  NOPE.  No such luck.  She got out of her room by 2:30 today.  I decide we should make a quick run to Target to get chicken nuggets (one of very few foods she eats) & some chicken so I can make dinner).  When we get there, I decided to get a cup of coffee at the Starbucks.  I was tired & could use the caffeine jolt.  Clearly I wasn't thinking straight.  Baylee spotted a juice box & wanted it.  I would not cave in-it was a $1 juice box-but told her I would get her some juice down in the juice aisle if she sat in the cart.

As I left the Starbucks counter, Baylee proceeds to scream & starts climbing out of the shopping cart.  By the time we get to the juice aisle she is screaming & chasing me.  I get her a juice box, but tell her she has to sit in the cart.  She throws down.  "NOOOOOOO!!!!!"  I hold firm--no juice unless you sit in the cart.  More screaming.  I put the juice box in the cart & start to walk down the aisles to get the chicken nuggets & chicken.  Baylee tries to grab the juice from the cart, but I snatch it away from her telling her that she has to sit in the cart.  More screaming "NOOOOOOO."  As I walk away she grabs the juice.  I start to put her in the cart, but she screams again & starts to climb out.  I wrestle the juice from her & she screams again.  By this point everyone is staring at us.  I'm sure I provided a very valuable birth control lesson.

I finally get the items I need & Baylee has decided to sit in the cart & drink what is left of her juice.  As we head to the express checkout, she hands me the juice & says "All done," & starts grabbing another one.  I tell her no because her juice box isn't empty.  Another throwdown begins until she spots the Holy Trinity of Princesses in the checkout line.  Her grubby little paws snatch up Ariel, Belle, & Cinderella.  After her little tirade, I was definitely NOT going to buy her Disney princesses.  Before we leave, I took the princesses away & the scream fest begins again.  At this point, I have no hope of trying to push a cart & wrestling Baylee out at the same time.  I put Livy in the shopping cart seat (of course I have the shopping cart with the broken seat strap) & snap Baylee into the Ergo.  B thrashes & screams the entire time to the car & flails as I strap her into the carseat.

Toddler: 1

Mom: -1

After all that, I am ordering take out tonight.  I have no energy to cook.

A Very Trying Week...

Baylee has been refusing to nap this week.  She figured out how to climb out of her crib & runs to the door & tries to get out, but can't since we have childproofed the door.  I have left toys in her room & have tried to explain to her that she doesn't need to sleep, but she has to play quietly in her room.  Not getting through.  I need the 2 hours to catch up on housework & just relax.  I'm not sure what to do except keep her there & hope that she either passes out from exhaustion or just learns to play in her room.  I'm at my wits end.

Livy, on the other hand, is growing up way too fast!  She so wants to crawl & is always on her hands & knees rocking trying to grab objects.  I didn't need to babyproof with Baylee, but I'm thinking Livy is going to get into EVERYTHING.  Poor girl has been super fussy this week, so I think her upper teeth are coming in.

Pool Time Fun!

We're going through another heat wave here.  Mike is DYING for the fall.  It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so humid.  To beat the heat, we've been going to pool a lot.  Since we now have a LifeTime family membership, I go to either the Maple Grove or Plymouth locations depending on what time I can schedule Livy for day care.  I just can't handle both girls at the pool at this age.  Next year, I'm sure it will be fine.

This morning, we met up with our friends J & C.  We haven't seen C & his mom in FOREVER!  They have been traveling fiends.  In July, they went to Spain & they just got back from a visit to California & Hawaii.  C's mommy is one brave woman.  Oh, & to show what a small world it is, C's dad now works at Mike's company too, so we've been meaning to surprise the dads at work during lunch time.  Soon hopefully.

Anyway, Baylee & J jumped & splashed like crazy as C darted off stealing everyone's shoes.  It was a fun morning even though I got called to pick-up Livy.  Poor girl is starting to have some separation anxiety.  Baylee must have worn herself out because she passed out on the drive home.  We're planning on meeting Mike after work at Medicine Lake for some beach time &/or playground time.

On another note, Livy is just dying to crawl or at least move.  She is rocking on her hands & knees all the time & when her little arms give out, she goes flat on her tummy, which she HATES.  I've never seen a child dislike tummy time so much, yet has to sleep on her tummy?  Such an odd little quirk.

Princess Baylee

I had intended to give this tutu to Baylee's cousin Nina as a birthday present, but Baylee saw it & just had to wear it. Guess this means I'm going to have to make another one for Nina! Now, Little Miss Diva has been referring to herself as "Princess B" & "Princess Cute." Sigh...

Fun in the Sun

After a few rainy weeks we've finally had a stretch of nice sunny days.  We've taken advantage of these days by going to the parks & playing outdoors.  Last Wednesday, Baylee & Livy's cousin N came over to play.  N is getting so big!  I bet by the time the girls are 3, N will be much taller than Baylee.  N is so adorable & I'm glad the girls will get to be cabin buddies.

We also celebrated J's 2nd birthday last week.  Baylee took a few bites of pizza!  J & Baylee are very cute together.  Baylee talks about J all the time & they seem to gravitate towards one another in groups.  We saw them over the weekend too at LifeTime.  We walked in & J looked all said in daycare until he saw us come in.  Baylee was ready to throw down until I told her J was there, then she was very excited.

Livy's been eating solids like a champ.  Every morning she gets a fruit/cereal blend & at night she eats a yogurt.  This has been so different from Baylee who didn't eat solids at all.  Livy has finally figured out her jumperoo too!  I put her in a baby swing this morning & she loved that too.  I can't believe how quickly she's growing.

Mike's been working long hours the past few weeks.  His forecast is due so it's been very busy for him.  I've been trying to make a new bow style every evening.  I sold my first set this morning at a playdate, so hopefully I will generate some traffic soon & sell more.  :P

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

We are almost halfway through summer!  Mike can't wait until fall; he's becoming a true Minnesotan.  He thinks it's really hot & unbearable at 80 now.  So far, our summer has either been rainy or very sunny & humid.  Today is the latter, so Mike isn't thrilled.

The girls are finally getting used to going to LifeTime Fitness with mommy & sometimes daddy.  I try to go at least once a week.  Livy's pretty good, but Baylee is less than thrilled.  The daycare workers are nice enough to let Baylee go in to the baby area with Livy & they amuse themselves.  Today, we dropped off both girls for a little while so we could get a quick workout & then grabbed just Baylee & hit the outdoor pool.  I think Baylee really enjoyed having a moment with just Mommy & Daddy.  Livy didn't even know that we were gone.  :)  I hope that continues!

Baylee is still talking non-stop about princesses.  Livy is doing her best to crawl.  She just wants to go, go, go with the older kids.  Livy also loves her solids.  She ate an entire jar of bananas & mangoes this morning!  We're going to try peas & rice for dinner.

I've taken up a new hobby--hair bow making!  I do love accessorizing the girls & Baylee is turning into such a girly girl that she won't leave the house without a bow in her hair, so this is perfect.  My new blog for the bows is: http://princessbandlivytoodesigns.blogspot.com.  I'm going to try to sell my excess of bows.  If you know anyone who is looking for bows, let me know!  I'm having fun learning how to make different bows.