watching your daughter on the spy monitor as she sits in bed with one of her stuffed toys patting it's back saying "Burp David!" then she proceeds to sing "Rock a Baby, Rock Tinkle Star..."

We had Kacey's birthday party yesterday at her Gym. We had decided to do it a month late just in case we were busy .... oh you know... having a baby around her birthday! She didn't know the difference and was super excited all morning when we told her it was her Birthday Party Day. We got to the gym and she went crazy. I swear she turned into a tazmanian devil. I have never seen that child run off so much energy in so short a timespan. She really had a great time and near the end went up to Nana Pat and said "Up?" and just laid her head on her should for a brief rest.

It went really great, the only downside was the fact that it was a pay per child party with a # of children limit so we were not able to invite ALL of her friends. Her very bestest friends were there though and everyone seemed to love it. Next year we will go back to our backyard so everyone can be invited!!

Some of my favorite pics....

David had his one month appointment on Thursday and passed with flying colors! Kacey enjoyed the appointment too and sat up on the examining table and supervised the nurse and doctor as they did their thing.

Turns out that David is taking after my side just as Kacey took after Jamie's side. Mainly the big head! Kacey's head always measured (and still does!) in the 75%. Well it turns out that David's, at 15 inches, is only in the 50%. His weight on the other hand is 11 pounds, 1 ounce putting him in the 75% for weight!

So all is good and he goes back in another month which I am sure will be here before I know it.

May pics are posted over there ----->

Yesterday at naptime I got a wild hair up my a$$ and after reading Kacey her stories I said "Why don't you sleep in your big girl bed" Before she could protest I got all 5 of her blankets and her big animals and put them int he toddler bed. I then put Big Kitty at the top and the pillow that was on the bed at the bottom. She though this looked fun and climbed in. I told her that if she slept in the bed she could have a very special treat when she woke up. We sang a few songs and she had me put little pink kitty on the pillow at the bottom of the bed and cover her up with the blanket. She then copied me with #2 little Pink kitty and once they were soundly sleeping she climbed under the covers too. She got up and down and messed with the blankets a lot and we sang a few songs. Eventually I left and she screamed. I grabbed the monitor and watched her.

She cried for a couple of minutes and then got up and climbed into the crib. I thought it was all over. I was wrong!! She grabbed all the little animals (making the crib empty) and climbed back out. She walked over to the bed and threw them in. She then climbed on top of the table next to the bed and started looking at books. She selected one and climbed into bed and started reading. Within a few minutes she was asleep.

I had Jamie on the phone for most of this and we were both really exciting watching her settle in. Our big girl in a big girl bed!!!

2 hours later she started to stir. Would she scream at the unfamiliarity? Nope, she sat up, looked around, took a drink of water.... got out of the bed and walked over to the ottoman and stood there looking around. She then sat on the floor and started playing with toys. 5 minutes later she climbed onto the bed and pulled a puzzle off of a shelf and started playing with it in the bed. I again had Jamie on the phone and we discussed what to do? Should I wait until she cried to get up or should I go in there now and congratulate her? We decided on me going in while i still had him on the phone.

I opened the door and she gave me the biggest, proudest smile. I made a big production of congratulating her and asked if she wanted to talk to daddy and tell him about sleeping in her big girl bed. She did and babbled to hm on the phone for quite a while. Eventually she got up and I gave her her special treat, half an ice cream sandwich which she ate half of (so ended up with just a 1/4.) It was a very successful venture!

Last night Jamie put her to bed and she did protest at one point pointing and screaming "Crib! Crib!" but he stuck it out and she ended up sleeping in the big girl bed all night. She again woke up and just started playing. I think she really likes it!!!

We were talking about taking the crib apart to get her to sleep int he bed, so glad we didn't have to do that!!

Got this picture this morning. We then headed out to ride the choo-choo at Descanso Gardens and then on to Joselito's for their Sunday Brunch (Jamie's favorite!) We are now sitting and relaxing. :)

It's hard to believe that one year ago we were celebrating Dash's, Taline's and Kacey's birthday in this backyard. This second birthday party was MUCH smaller but just as much fun. I love seeing our kids grow up together. The kids just played and played and all got along so well. The parents just sat around and chatted under the shade of the beautiful big tree back there. I just kept thinking to myself how perfect everything is right now! Rounding out all that perfection was Gwynn coming out of the closet to make her pregnancy (16 weeks!!!) public news. I can't begin to describe how wonderful this news is!! I suppose that is another blog entry all to itself.

The new mommy group that I joined a couple of months ago organizes a picnic in the park every Friday night in the summer. It's at Discovery Park in La Canada and I have always wanted to go there but just never got around to it. This past Friday we went and Nana joined us. Kacey LOVED it!!! There is a very cool water river/art thing and she really enjoyed touching all the sculptures inside. Someone had also drawn in chalk all over it and she had fun rubbing it away with the water.

It was a lovely evening as the weather was perfect, all the kids got to run around and it was just so nice. I think we will keep going weekly!!

On Thursday, Alex called to see if I wanted to meet up at the mall. We didn't have other plans and I wanted to see how the stroller would work with 2 monkeys in it so I jumped at the suggestion. I was really happy with the stroller and love the jump seat (Thank you Nana Rie and Babu!!!)

We got little Mister's social security card/number in the mail yesterday!!!

- I am tired.

- I average 5.5 - 6 hours of sleep a night. I don't think I have had more than that since David was born. The longest I have slept in one block is 3 hours and usually it is 1-2 hours.

- For some reason I am still functioning during the day and I don't even have a desire to nap. Weird.

- I am deliriously happy when Kacey goes and covers David's feet with a blanket or brings him a toy.

- I am deliriously happy when they are both asleep during Kacey's naptime.

- I am deliriously happy when I see my mom walk up our pathway around 4:30 every day.

- I LOVE playdates at people's houses (and at ours). Kacey is confined so I don't have to chase her and I get to chat with other moms. This is my favorite time of day and I try to go to one at least 3 times a week.

- I eat faster these days than I ever have before. Yet, it seems like I am still always eating.

- With Kacey I fit back into my pre-preg pants at 10 weeks. With David I was back in them by 3. I feel very fortunate!

- When people ask me how am I doing, I am not quite sure how to answer so I always just say pretty good. I may say I am tired but there's not a whole lot to say other than that. It really just depends on when I am asked and since the hardest times are when I am home alone I am not really thinking about them when I am around people.

- Hard time example... eating lunch at home. David is hungry so I start to nurse him. Kacey is needy and wants to sit on my lap to eat her lunch. So I have David in one arm and Kacey in the other and she spills her milk and starts to cry. All I can think is "Oh thank goodness the place mat is soaking that up so I don't have to clean the floor." I finished my lunch an hour later.

- The hardest time is nap or bedtime when no one else is here. David might be soundly sleeping in his bouncy chair in the other room and I can spend time with Kacey reading books and singing and rocking. Sometimes he wakes up though and starts to scream. I get tense and rush Kacey. She gets upset that she is being rushed which makes me more tense and it all snowballs. I end up with 2 screaming children. That is by far the hardest. I have been known to let them both scream and just walk into our bedroom and stare at a wall for a few minutes.

- Overall, I am good, Kacey is still doing great with David and David is a doll. Jamie is still the best father I have ever seen and I am just overall deliriously happy.

I forgot to add that she knows the letter "Y". I have no idea why the "Y" but there you go. We are working on "K" for Kacey and sometimes she gets it.

She is also into saying "Sowy Mama" when she knows she did something wrong. She will say it before I have time to say something first. Pretty cute.

- She had her 2 year check up the other day and weighs 27 pounds and is 33.5 inches tall (both in the 50%) her head is 19 inches which is in the 75%!! She got to be a big girl and stand on the scale, she grinned from ear to ear the whole time.

- She got two vaccines. When the nurse came in to give them to her she asked if Kacey would be ok with them. I said it had been a while since she got a shot so I had no idea. The nurse went to give her the first shot and told her to look at me. Kacey did for a second and then immediately went back to watching the nurse. She didn't even flinch! The nurse then moved to the other arm and again Kacey was intent on watching the shot go in. Again not even a flinch. When she was done the nurse went to get her stickers and Kacey happily followed. I overheard her tell the doctor that Kacey didn't mind the shots at all. I asked if they normally hurt and they both looked really surprised and said that most kids get really upset and that they do normally hurt. I am thinking Kacey has a really high tolerance for pain.

- Another pain example, Jamie accidentally burned Kacey's arm on a hot pan (very much an accident!!) I think it hurt Jamie more than Kacey. He said she got upset for a minute and then was fine. I think she just really likes having an owie to show off to everyone!

- She is starting to do more imaginative play. I watched her in bed on the monitor the other day and she was holding her Elmo over her shoulder and patting his back saying "Burp, baby, burp!" She also likes to say "Bye mommy! Bye Nana!!" and leave the room. She will tell us she is going to the store to buy mangoes. It seems like we always need mangoes int his house!

- She keeps asking for time outs. The couple of times i have given them to her she flips out though so I am not sure if she really knows what she is asking for. :)

- She still loves holding David but annoys me by saying "Mommy, hold IT please?" She will not say him, it's driving me crazy in a silly sort of way.

- She still smiles all the time. She makes me laugh and is just the sweetest little girl I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I still can't believe she is mine :)

- He is growing so much already!!! I put an outfit on him that used to be really big and I am thinking it might be the last time he wears it, it was a bit tight! OMG! How did that happen????

- He is starting to be awake for longer periods and loves looking around.

- He eats constantly (to my dismay at night where he is still waking every 1.5 - 2 hours... ugh!)

- His little butt is even starting to get a little bit of fat on it. :)

- I know they say smiles start around 6 weeks but I swear he is already smiling. I will get him in position to nurse and if he is not on the brink of starvation, he will take a moment to just stare at me. If I smile real big at him, he will smile back. You can't tell me that is gas!

- He also likes to lay on the changing table and stare into the baby mirror I have there. He will wave his arms all about and can be there for quite a while...

Sunday we went to Nathan and Austin's combined birthday party. Tons of fun at the park. Kacey made friends with some kids that had a box of cheez its and gt to whack a pinata.

Today was the last of the Spring classes at Kacey's Gym. They got to cross a makeshift stage and get a balloon. Very exciting!!! At the end of class the teachers somehow got all the kids to sit on the stage and pose for a pic. I was quite impressed as I try to do this at our Halloween party every year and it's very hard!

I decided hosting a playdate in our backyard would be doable with one key ingredient! Nana!!! She came over to help and held David most of the time. I was able to catch up with mommies and enjoy the kids having fun. I think we might do this weekly now that our Tuesday afternoon class is over for the summer!