Potty Pen

Well, I'd like to say that this was a good idea... But here's the true story. Tonight before bed, we gave Hailey the choice of sitting on our potty or her potty. She chose our potty. She's usually pretty good about getting up, down, wiping and washing hands without much supervision, so Mommy left the room to start getting Bo ready for bed.

Pretty soon, Hailey comes out of the bathroom saying, "HELP!" Normally, in the bathroom sense of the word help, this is a bad thing. But all she wanted was the pen out of the crossword book. She wanted to sit on the potty and color her own paper. So, thinking it wasn't an awful idea, we gave her the pen and got her the Maplewood education guide to write on.

In the mean time, Mommy told me to come up and check this out, because it was pretty cute. After checking out the situation, I agreed that Hailey sitting on the potty with her legs crossed coloring on some paper was pretty darned cute.

Leaving her to her own devices seemed like a good idea. Like I said before, she's pretty good about finishing her business on her own. So we went over to get Bo ready for bed. After a few minutes and still no Hailey. I decided it would be a good idea to go check on the little rascal.

Here is what I found when I came in! Hailey proudly stated, "I have black on my arm!!!" It was so hard to not laugh to make light of the fact that she was drawing on herself... But I was able to get her washed up and sent off to Mom to show her the good news! Mommy was most excited as well! It was all we could do to not laugh about the cool drawing on her arm!

This also proves that no matter what is happening during parenthood, there are just so many moments that remind you how funny kids are and just completely lighten up the situation!

Brainerd Fun

Well, I apologize to those who checked the blog with no note of where we were headed! But we went to Brainerd this last weekend and we had a good time hanging out with Darlene's side of the family! The cabin was great as always! I look back over the years that we've been going up there. As our family has grown, our accommodations have had to change with us. Before Hailey, we would stay in a 2 person tent. Then after Hailey, we got the end room on the cabin. Now with Hailey and Bo, we got the room with a full bed and a loft! We were super thankful to have an enclosure though, the overnight low last night was around 40 degrees!

As you can see from the picture, everyone was bundled up. We pulled out alot of the hoodies and warm clothes! I'll try posting more pictures later. Our camera only took a couple pictures and the rest, while they'll be good, will have to wait until I can procure some copies.

Thanks again to Jim for having us up to your family cabin! And thanks to everyone else for all the fun! We already can't wait for next years adventures!

Piggy Tails

This morning, Hailey actually ASKED to put her hair into pig tails! If you don't know Hailey, for the most part, she really dislikes having anything in her hair... However, due to the bow incident from a couple days ago, I think she might be coming around. Anyway, the best part was when Hailey looked into the mirror she said, "Hailey doesn't look like Hailey anymore!"

So Momma replied, "Who do you look like?"

Hailey said, "Addie!"

On Wednesday, she got to hang out with her friend Addie who loves pigtails! It was sooo cute!

Books for Bo

I'm really bummed that this picture turned out a bit blurry, but this was soooo cute! Bo was having a hard time getting to sleep. We were out of the room, and we were pretty sure that we heard Hailey get into Bo's crib. When I came in to investigate, I asked Hailey what she was doing. She said, "Hailey was just reading Bo a book!" I really didn't want to interrupt, however, there are times for reading books to your brother, and when the time is closing in on 9 p.m., that is not the right time! :)

One of Those Days...

Hailey spotted her bunny box of bow's and hair things today. Needless to say, a hair styling event broke out. Bo wasn't happy... And Daddy wasn't too thrilled either.

Sick Sick Sick

I'd like to say we started the week on a good note, but a sick girl was found instead. She has a stomach bug or something causing her to not feel good. She rested alot and urped alot for most of the morning. Here Mommy and Hailey are snuggling while watching a DVD. She fell asleep from 10-12 and then was feeling pretty perky. She seemed to not feel good just before bed again, but we aren't sure if that was just exhaustion kicking in or what. Either way, it's one of the hardest things to have to deal with. She's just not feeling good and there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. If you think of it, send some prayers this way to help us get better and that if it is a bug, that it doesn't make its way through the rest of us! Thanks and I'll keep you posted!

Bo and Big Bad Dad

This has been a fun weekend for me and Bo! With all the busyness of the garage sale, I felt like I had more time to hold and be around Bo. He's been quite the little Momma's boy, but holding him and when I'd hand him back to Mom, he'd seem to want to stay with me more! It was really cool to see that! It made me feel pretty neat and remind me why it's fun to be a Daddy! :)

Garage Sale - Day 2

Today, we had to pull out all the stops. We brought the jumperoo out to the garage for a little Bo entertainment! We did very well today and we sold all of the larger items that we were trying to get rid of! That was very nice. Our neighbor talked us into giving it one more day tomorrow. Now all we have left are a lot of clothes and other odds and ends from around the house. Hopefully we can find a good home for some of these cute clothes!

Oh, if you didn't notice Bo likes sticking out his tongue!

Garage Sale

We survived the first day of our garage sale today. Hailey would even say we prospered. I made a deal with her that if we did a great job of sorting through her old toys and clothes, and we sold enough stuff to pay for it she could buy something new. She had two choices: a wheelbarrow from Bachman's that she has been IN LOVE with since May, or a chair from Joanne fabrics that she has also been IN LOVE with, but only for a month or so. I thought they were both great purchases, so I tried not to sway her any, but I was really hoping she'd pick the wheelbarrow. Her pumpkin patch is coming along quite nicely and I think she'll appreciate having a nice new wheelbarrow to haul them in. We still have one more day for our sale, but we made enough today, so off we went to Bachman's. Normally Hailey and I are a bad combination at Bachman's. We could easily spend hours in there, but today we were all business. Hailey marched right over to the wheelbarrows, picked her's out, and wheeled it right to the cash register. When we got home it was too late to take it to the garden, but we did a little wheeling in front of the house. Hailey was a very proud little girl!!

Creatively Cute

When Hailey woke up this morning, we couldn't figure out what she was doing. She had the pillow cases off the pillows. The next thing we knew she was lying on the ground and had pulled herself into it and said it was her sleeping bag! I think she's ready for some more camping!

The Bo Abides

And luckily he likes links. :)

I'm Yelling!

Mostly because there are two things I want to do, but I cannot yet. First, there is at least one tooth that is trying to come in but it just won't! Second, I can almost crawl, but just can't get it moving! Boy oh boy do I want to do those things baaaad!

And I think Bo speaks for the rest of us. He'll be in a way better mood when both of those things happen. Although, we will have to start chasing the little guy around house then and not know that he'll be where we left him! :)

Goose Eyes and Black Eggs

Well, she's officially back in black! We woke up this morning to Hailey calling out, "MaaaamaaAAaaAAAaaAAA!" We were so thankful to hear her being so chipper! Other than the black eye, you really can't tell that anything happened! On the other hand, she's complaining about the little boil that she had on the back of her leg a month ago... So I think she's seemingly over the fall yesterday!

Birthdays, He-Man and the ER

Well, he's my official new slogan for my 30's. Nothing like broadcasting to the neighbors that I'm getting old! I was wondering if it would be a good thing to reset my counter and start at 0 again. Then I can just start over for another 30 years!

Then, to point out how old we are getting, we thought it was a funny thing to put Hailey's pegs together and I thought it looked kinda like a sword or something. So I put my hands up in the air and yelled, "By the power of Grayskull! I... HAVE... THE... POWER!!!" Hailey thought that was pretty funny so she was running around saying it too. Then she started saying by the power of "kitty" and "tree house" and other things... I suppose that's about how long the attention span lasts before creativity kicks in!

Then, unfortunately, here's our ER story. I put it at the bottom because everything is OK... But we had a little anxiety here this afternoon. Hailey and I were playing in the garage. She was in the stroller and got a little too far to the back and she tipped it over and went head over tea kettle onto the floor of the garage... Which is concrete... Which hurts like ... (Well, insert your own word(s) here)

Anyway, we got Hailey calmed down a bit, but she didn't seem herself. Usually when she's not feeling good, she gets really cuddly and wants to watch a DVD or just snuggle on the couch. But the only thing she wanted to do was lay there. She then threw up so we decided to call our doctor. They said to keep an eye on her, get her to drink some clear fluids and if she throws up any more to bring her in. So a little while later she threw up again.

We ventured to Childrens Hospital ER in downtown Saint Paul. One of the biggest things I'm thankful for in living in the Cities is the health care available within 10 miles is phenominal. I don't think I'd want to take Hailey anywhere but there! After we got there, Hailey was starting to be a bit more active. She was still in cuddle mode, but she was interesting in things and laughing a bit. Laughter is an amazing cure for the concerned parent by the way!

She was seen by the doctor fairly quickly and after checking her over and asking her a bunch of questions about her age, family and a picture of sea creatures (testing her memory and such) he wanted her to stay for about 45 minutes or so. She got a dose of motrin and got to try a popcicle which she thoroughly enjoyed. No more throwing up and by 8 p.m., she was really acting like herself again!

The best part that helped us out was that one of the recommendations was that we woke her up every 4 hours just to be sure she was doing ok. The doctor recommended not doing that since we were right at 4 hours when we were leaving. He said that typical cases that get worse, they gradually get worse over the the first 4 hours. With Hailey, things were continuing to get better.

Anyway, we got back home at 8:30, got Bo to sleep and shortly after, Hailey got to sleep. Now, everyone is sleeping soundly... and I think it's time for the birthday boy to do the same!

How Do You Know?

How do you know if it's a good day at the garden? Well, just check the following, and you'll know!

Exhibit A:

Wheelbarrow full of veggies! Tomatoes, banana peppers, broccoli, cucumber, grey kitties with green dino sticker hair ties, and mini pumpkins!

Exhibit B:

You come walking in the door with a dirty face and no pants on! If you can accomplish any or all of these things, you can rest assured you had a great time at the garden!

Bo's Turn

We have received a false and unconfirmed report that Bo was secretly a Bears fan (see comments in yesterday's post). He was out of jammies today and he decided that he'd wanted to let everyone know his favorite team! And just for good measure, he asked a really serious question: "Why does Iowa not have a professional football team?" I had to tell him the truth... So I said, "Because Illinois would want one too!"

Another Sighting

Goodness gracious there has been another cheesehead sighting! I really hope this fanaticism lasts until the season starts! I think she'll be the cutest little Packer fan in the place!! (Well, her and Bo anyway) :)

Butterfly Girl

Hailey is currently on a butterfly kick. I bought her the blue butterfly dress that she is wearing. She has a backpack with a butterfly on it. And lo-and-behold, she was invited to her friend Addie's "Butterfly Birthday" party!! At the party, they made butterfly wings and this morning, she was showing them off while riding her rocking pony. What a stunning combination!!!!

Bo's 6 Month Appointment

Well, Bo had his appointment today... And we were surprised to find out that he had lost weight in the last 2 months! He was down to 16 lbs 12 ozs. So he's lost about a pound. We're going to have to go back in a couple weeks to check his weight again. We're not sure what the deal is, but hopefully it corrects itself pronto!

On the slip side, he's getting SOOOOOO close to crawling. He can get himself into the push-up position with his belly off the ground and kind of lunge/fall forward. So sooner than we think, he'll be getting into everything! I think we'll have some toy-putting-away ceremonies when that happens. When Hailey was at the "almost mobile" part of development, we didn't have TONS of little toys laying around! We're really hoping he's not a toy eater!

Sunday Attire

Lost in the Candyland games yesterday was the fact that Hailey thought it was most appropriate to try and wear her cheese head to church! She put on her Christmas dress (which she calls all her dresses) and then went and got her hat and she was ready to rock!

Candyland Anniversary

Today was our 7th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been 7 years already. I also can't believe how different anniversary's are when you have kids! We used to go out to dinner and see a play and go for a walk... But thankfully Grandma Jane and Grandpa Tom came up today to watch Hailey and Bo so we could hustle out for a late dinner. It was a lot of fun to be out with just each other for the second time in 4 days!

Before we went out for dinner though, Grandma brought Hailey a surprise!!! CANDYLAND! We had just been talking about getting this game too! Hailey had a blast learning how to play. She loved all the blue cards, and really didn't want anything else... She drew a yellow one and said, "Hailey doesn't want that one!"

Thank you very much for coming up Grandma and Grandpa! We really really enjoyed out time out!

Football Stuff!

I always told myself that I would be the parent who allowed their children to choose which team they were going to cheer for... Today, I fulfilled that when we were visiting friends in Eau Claire... I asked Hailey if she wanted the Green one or the Gold one!

Go Packers!! :)

Peek A Book!

I see you!

Dolly House!

We have finally unleashed the doll house! We were seeing how long we could keep a hidden surprise from Hailey. I got the house from an old co-worker waaaaay back in January! It's been in storage for a rainy day special surprise!

She was sooooo excited when she entered the play room to find it all setup! She had to add the balloon too, to put her own decor. Wouldn't you like to play with that house?!

Sippy Cup

We have finally given in and tried Bo on a sippy cup! We have put it off long enough, because of moments like this:

If we didn't give him something to do, the little shark in him would do all he could to get at your plate! Even if it was already empty!!!

Room for Two?

This morning, I set Bo down in his little play gym thing while we were getting things ready for the day. The next thing we knew, Hailey was crawling in there with him! We didn't think she'd fit, but before we could stop it, she was in and showing Bo how to play with the toys!

I'm still so proud of her every day because she is such a good big sister!

The Girliest Little Tomboy

I have said many times that Hailey reminds me a lot of her Auntie Donna. I always remember someone describing Donna as "the girliest tomboy I know". I had never been able to put that into words but it is soooooo true!! My Hailey is very much like her Auntie Donna in this regard!!

Here she is at the garden wearing the same dress she wore to church (I remember Donna wearing the same dress to my wedding rehearsal dinner that she once wore camping). The picture doesn't really do it justice, this girl was FILTHY!! She gets right into the dirt and works hard (also like Auntie Donna). Ok, I'm not calling Donna filthy, just that she's a hard worker and not afraid to get her hands dirty. Also, Donna usually has a little more lady like posture than Hailey is displaying in this picture.

Hailey was very excited at the garden because she had planted some wildflower seeds this spring and just had some BLUE flowers start to open!! She loves all things blue and in the picture she's hanging out in one of the wheelbarrows sniffing her flower. That might be one of the differences between Hailey and Auntie Donna. . . . Hailey managed to keep her flower alive long enough for it to bloom :)

Love you Donna!! Come visit your miniature!!

Bo's Books

Bo's a little bit surprised by the picture, however, I think it's so fun that he likes to "read" books! I like to lay on the floor with him and read through some of the board books that Hailey used to like. He gets excited at the turn of every page.

He's also learning to sit up by himself as well!! What better way than to sit here and read some books with Daddy! I really like it and I hope he takes to books like Hailey did! Otherwise, what are we going to do with the 5 million books we have on our shelves?!

Park Day

This morning started out a little rough. Everyone woke up a bit tired except for Hailey. After breakfast, and a little bit of lounging around, Mommy and Bo snuck off to take a nap. So Hailey and I decided it was high time to get to the park!

One thing I wasn't expecting is that it was 63 and windy this morning and wow was it cold! But we still made it over and had a blast! We were out for quite a long time and didn't get back until lunch time. I really really enjoy the days when Hailey and I get to spend time together! During the work week, it's usually only an hour or two that I get to see her and alot of that sometimes is the going to bed routine. So I thoroughly enjoy these days!