Forgive the jammies, I try not to take the kids out in jammies but I was still not feeling too hot and David stayed in jammies all day. This is his first car ride and he seemed to really like it. It's a bit long and you will get it pretty much in the first 10 seconds but I didn't have the heart to stop recording or edit it. Just stop watching when you get bored!

On Saturday we got to go to 2 Easter parties!!! The first one was with my MOMS club and was tons of fun.



When we got there some moms were hiding eggs and Kacey kept finding them. I got a mom to put a bunch in her basket and she helped hide them! Perfect job for her and she had a great time.
David got the hang of puttin eggs in his basket although he did not go get them. I had to pile them up in front of him. :)
Here he is with Ollie and Lilli.
Sunday morning at home. The Easter Bunny decided to start a new tradition of giving them new bathing suits in their basket. David was unimpressed.

Kacey was very excited to see the Easter Bunny had eaten most of the carrots we left out!
She liked her basket and immediately noticed the pink sparkly shoes!

Here they are together. Typical with her next to him but facing away. She is "Helping" him eat treats from his eggs.
Over at GG's house they got baskets from Nana too!

and played with it in my car!!!! I found these pics when I downloaded my camera, looks like they were having fun!

When we were at Gwynn's for the photo shoot that Kacey looked so adorable in, David got to play with Beckett, here he is in the baby swing loving it.
and Mr. Beckett!
Kacey said she was tired and ended up falling asleep at the table. When I took her to her room and started to undress her she asked why the sun was still out. I told her it was still dinnertime!!! She perked up and returned to the table to finish dinner.
David is not about to fall asleep while eating!!!
Oh why me? Why am I so desirable to the ladies????
OK, I secretly like it!!!
Hey, look how cute I am!!! All grown up and riding in the big kid car!




I was washing dishes then heard a very delighted squeal from the living room. I look over and see David standing on the bench (AGAIN!!!) watching the cat out the window.

Baby cage!
Yesterday, David got to try his very first In N Out cheeseburger and he loved it. Ate half of one and a whole kiwi!
Last night I was putting David down to bed and Nana was reading books to Kacey in the living room. It got really quiet but I assumed they were just quietly reading. I came out to find this! Kacey said she wanted to lay down and then promptly fell asleep! I was able to carry her to bed and she stayed asleep.

Yes I skipped 47 weeks. I suck as a mom.

Sleeping:
* Kacey had been waking up pretty much every night several times... argh. She finally is now only waking up once usually and she quietly comes into our room with a pillow, blanket and a pink kitty. She curls up on the floor at the foot of our bed and goes back to sleep. Normally I hear her come in because she shuts her door very loudly and sometimes goes back and forth getting more kitties, blankets etc, but last night I never heard her at all. Jamie wondered today when we should try to break her of the habit of coming to our room? I said I couldn't care less if she does it as long as she doesn't wake us up. So hopefully she stops on her own before she is 15.
* Kacey has always been a bit difficult to put to bed, she will get up for another tuck, drink of water, etc. I read a couple of articles (http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-help-your-preschooler-establish-healthy-sleep-habits_64939.bc?showAll=true

http://www.babycenter.com/0_dealing-with-late-night-visits-from-your-child_64933.bc) that were really helpful. The second article had some good ideas but one I tried immediately. It said to promise to come back in 5 minutes after putting the kid to bed to check on them. It worked the first night I tried it a little less than a week ago and has worked every night since. I give Kacey her tucks and then before I leave the room I ask her if she wants me to come back in 5 minutes and give her one more extra special tuck if she stays in bed. She gets excited and says yes. When I go back in there she is usually almost asleep but very happy to get that last tuck. Magic I tell you!
* David is totally sleeping through the night except for waking up when Kacey slams the door on her way to our room. Poor little guy got stuck crying for 45 minutes a couple nights ago.

Stuff she says:
*Kacey is very into the word actually. She uses it all the time and it cracks me up. Today we were going to a couple of Easter parties so she was wearing a very pretty sundress. It was cold out so I tried to get her to put a long sleeve shirt and stretch pants on underneath it "ACTUALLY, I am wearing a very pretty dress now and do not need pants!" She was at my moms the other day and saw a picture and asked who it was. My mom said "Renee". Kacey thought about it and responded "ACTUALLY, it is Megann!" But then there are the crazy times. She was with Alex and they were talking about dogs and Alex said dogs have 4 legs, "ACTUALLY, my mommy says doggys have 2 legs!!"

...and he keeps growing...
*David is starting to wave hi and bye alot now as long as he doesn't have food in his hand. Food always takes priority. It almost sounds like he says hi too.
* David is very into handing us stuff - sharing. He likes to give you a toy and smile really big when you say thank you then he will take it back. He will do it over and over.
* I was sick the other day and Kacey was at Alex's so David had the living room and all the toys to himself. He was in heaven. He is really getting into playing and will sit and study toys and figure out what to do with them. He will also sit for a long while with a bucket, box etc and just put stuff into it and take it out. He seems to really like putting things away. A boy after my own heart :)

Speaking of me being sick, here is a brief rundown. On Monday night I had a 101 fever that lasted until Wednesday. Tuesday night was a bad one with David waking up at 1:30 and not going back to sleep until around 3:30. I was so congested that I couldn't go back to sleep until around 5. Combining the lack of sleep with the fever and Wednesday became a very long day. My mom had planned on leaving work at 5. I called her at 4:45 as I could barely keep my eyes open and was even getting dizzy from being so tired and sick. She told me she didn't know when she was leaving, I hung up the phone, went into the other room and wept. I called Jamie and he said he would come home early. I also asked him if I could sleep at my moms. Thankfully he said yes. As soon as my mom got there I left and was sound asleep in her guest bed by 6:30. I slept until 6:30am waking up a bunch to cough and sneeze etc but it was a wonderful night without being woken up by kids!

I am all better now with some lingering laryngitis, and hope to not be that sick again for a very long time.

Obviously this is Kacey showing off how she now tells stories! Rest assured we have no plans to put her on a plane with David all by themselves!

Argh. It seems like Kacey is sick every six weeks or so. What's with that? Congested and coughing and there is no real medicine out there that really helps. So here I am sitting on the couch hoping Kacey will fall asleep watching Sesame Street and listening to David cry it out in his room as I hope he falls asleep for a much needed nap. Story of my current life.... waiting for kids to fall asleep.

So I have been asked by pretty much everyone that breathes when Kacey is going to preschool. My standard answer is not now. We can't afford it. Maybe when she is four we might try to swing it for 2 days a week or so. Kacey has even asked me about it and I have told her that mommy can't go with her and that ends that for her.

On Monday we went to a playdate and the boy her age that lives there was at preschool so his younger brother was there along with a bunch of other moms and kids. Kacey did notice he was missing though and asked me where he was. I told her that he was at preschool. On the drive home she told me she wants to go to preschool. I told her I couldn't go with her and she would have to go by herself. Her response? "That's ok mommy. I have friends there, I not be scared!!"

So that made me start thinking. All sorts of rational and irrational thoughts.

* One of her friends goes to a local preschool and it costs about $290 a month for 4 hours a day, 2 days a week. That is almost a car payment and both of us will need new cars in the next few years. So yes, cost is a huge factor.

* The whole point of me staying home and not working for a paycheck is to be with our kids. Sending Kacey to preschool would feel like I was cheating.

* I could use the time to spend with David, maybe a class with him all by himself?

* I could use the time to put David down for a nap and sit on the couch and eat bon-bons.

* Kacey would have lots of new experiences, learn something, socialize, learn to work things out without her mommy, etc.

* I should be able to give her new experiences, learn something, socialize, etc.

* Does Kacey need a break from me?

* Am I a bad mommy for wanting a break from her? If I were a better mother then I would have a better behaved child and wouldn't desire a break right?

* Would a few hours, twice a week feel like a break or would I just end up wanting more?

I talked to Jamie a bit about it and he said we could figure out the money and not get cars for a couple of years. He has been alone with both kids for the better part of a day before and he can sympathize with why I might want her in preschool. He thinks it would be worth it and is willing to make it work if I want to do it.

So that leaves it up to me. If I don't blame it on the money then it truly comes down to guilt. I should WANT to spend all my time with Kacey and not want a break more than the weekend time, etc.If I were a better mom I wouldn't even be considering this.... It sounds really stupid to write that because I kind of envy my friends that have their kid in preschool a couple days and I don't think they are doing anything wrong at all... it's just a judgement on me. Argh. Does that make sense?

So I think I will look into the school that our friend is in because I would feel much better if Kacey went to school with a friend. That mom reassured me that it really has been a wonderful experience for them. So we'll see what happens, I would have until fall to get used to the idea.

Kacey is very much into scissors and cutting right now. I got this video of her cutting out a circle that she drew. Not too bad!

Since we started the monster hunting right before bed, things are getting better. She also has not had an afternoon nap in several days so she goes down pretty easily by 7:30. She might get up once or twice at bedtime but it's pretty quick and painless. Jamie says she normally gets up around 12 and asks him for water (weird, she has some right next to her bed) and he is usually asleep on the couch which is why I don't get woken up. She has then been sleeping until 5ish or so and the last 2 days she has then come into our room looked at us, gone back to her room, gotten a blanket and then laid on our floor at the foot of the bed and gone back to sleep. This morning I asked her why she came into our room and she said David woke her up, but she wasn't scared because there were no monsters in the living room! She also told me she brought in her puppy dog blanket so her Mickey Mouse one (which is tucked into the bed) wouldn't get all messy. Pretty smart if you ask me!

I have no problem at all with her bringing a blanket into our room and sleeping on the floor as long as she doesn't wake us up. I am waking up because i hear her but she isn't actively poking me or talking to me and that makes a big difference. In an ideal world she would stay in bed all night long until a beautiful bird sat on her windowsill and softly sung her awake..... but until then I will take this. Mommy is much happier not being woken up at 3am!!!

---------------------------------------------
Jamie and I were talking about her waking up and I remember hearing that with every big milestone babies and kids have wakeful periods. Rolling over, sitting up, walking etc. So my theory was that she was about ready to have some sort of milestone with 3 years old right around the corner. Jamie theorized that it's her cognitive development at work and now I am starting to agree. She is really "getting it" with things around her and remembering everything. (uh oh!!!) The teamwork example form the other day and she was out to lunch with Jamie, he pulled out his wallet and she grabbed it and said "That's ok, I got it!" She is also saying things and doing things that just make sense in the adult world, like she is really observing how things work and what to do. Even when she disobeys and acts up, it's clearly against what she knows is wrong, not just baby like silliness.

Speaking of acting up though, boy when she decides to misbehave...... oh my. She is always saying NO to me and purposefully doing things that I ask her not too. I am so clearly seeing a teenager in her. Scary.

Kacey and David are starting to really interact. She likes to call him into her room and he gladly crawls in. She then shuts the door and "plays" with him. She likes to get in her bed and pretend to sleep and then peek out from the blanket at him. He stands at her bedside and laughs hysterically. She also gets her doctor kit out and checks his heart, gives shots etc and will let him play with the toys too and say he is the doctor. She will read him books and dance around. It's all so cute to watch, I can't wait til I can stop worrying and spying like a hawk on the monitor!

David now eats twice the amount of food Kacey does at almost every meal. He is eating about 75% normal food and 25% jarred. He will really start to scream and get angry if he runs out of food or sees that I have food on my plate that he doesn't have. He also runs like a clock, he MUST be eating by 7am, 11:30 and 5:30. If he is not eating a meal at those times he really starts to meltdown. Once you put food in front of him, he becomes very focused and just eats and eats and eats.

And now for some random pics that don't warrant their own post so they get to glob onto this one.

Unfortunately my camera is in the car so I used my cell phone but at least I got a pic on the actual day!!! Only 6 more weeks and he will be 1 year old. WOW! Kacey jumped in to hold the sign for me, such a good helper!

Jamie and I were lifting David in the stroller up a few stairs. She yelled out "Now that's teamwork!"

My friend Gwynn (otherwise known as Dashell's mom) has a party planning business. She has put together an Easter collection that she is giving away for FREE!!! right now to help raise money for Japan. She wanted to do a photo shoot to show off the collection and asked to borrow Kacey. Well I think the pics turned out wonderfully!! Her use of color makes everything just pop out. The models didn't hurt either ;)

So if you want more info on getting the collection for free and see more pictures, check out her blog at Gwynn Wasson Designs.

This one is my absolute favorite!!

So 2 nights ago, Kacey and I had a big discussion about her being a big girl and staying bed all night. I even bribed her telling her she could have 5 M&M's if she stayed in her room all night. She said she would. Well after she fell asleep at 6:40, I held my breath. I woke up at 2:30 and the house was still quiet. At 3:30 she came into our room and crept over to my side of the bed. She told me David was crying. I showed her the monitor and that he was not moving, sound asleep. Oh, she said. I asked her to be a big girl and go back to bed by herself. She left our room but stood by the door. I reminded her about the M&M's and said if she went back now she would still get them. Off she went!

At 5:30, both Jamie and I heard her come to our door, she stood there a minute and then went back to bed. A bit after 6 she came back in and declared it morning since the living room light was on and we praised her and told her she was a big girl and everyone was happy!!!

Well you know how it goes 2 steps forward, one step back? So last night was a step back. I fell asleep at 10:30 and at 11 both kids screamed in unison hysterically. Not sure what happened or who woke up who. I heard Jamie go in there and I went in too. I tried rocking David for a minute and then told Jamie I was willing to just put them both back in their beds and lock the door*. He took over instead, got Kacey into bed and rocked David. I went back to sleep.

Kacey came back in at 12 and wanted told me her head hurt. Unfortunately I was not mentally all there having been woken up 2 times in 90 minutes. I instantly got mad and told her to go back to bed. She cried and blah blah blah more of the same. Jamie wanted to go tuck her back in and calm her down, I protested saying it would teach her it was ok to cry and get her way. Finally I relented as all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Jamie tucked her in and she calmed down and went to sleep. i expected her to wake up one hour later but she proved me wrong and slept until David woke us all up at 5am.

So it wasn't a good night but it wasn't the worst. Tonight I tried a different tactic. I asked her why she keeps waking up (my mom was telling me how she was scared of monsters and remembered getting into her parents bed sometimes until she was 7ish years old!!) Well it turns out Kacey is scared of monsters too. She told me that she hears them in the living room and that they shut all the doors and she gets scared. So before bed tonight we went on a monster hunt in the living room. She found a monster that I had hidden behind a couch cushion and we put it out the front door. No more monsters... for tonight... I hope!!!

* The other day I got fed up at her coming out during quiet time. I calmly removed our bedroom doorknob that locks and switched it with her doorknob. She kept asking me what I was doing and I said fixing her door so I could lock it. I then put her in there and very calmly told her it was quiet time and I locked her in. There was only 15 minutes left to quiet time and she cried the whole time. Now I just have to tell her I will lock the door and it sometimes helps. Not sure if it was the best thing to do but when you are sleep deprived and angry and trying to keep your calm you will do lots of things you didn't think you would do before!!

Oh Kacey.... you are soooo trying these days. I must admit that there have been times over the last few weeks that I just have not liked you. You have become very defiant and willful. You are purposefully misbehaving and saying NO as often as you can even to very simple requests. My patience is hanging by the thinnest of strings.... I feel like I am spending 90% of my interactions with you saying No, Stop, Don't do that, Come here, Time out, go to your room... etc. Our happy times are rare and so very shortlived. We can be having a very nice time and you will all of a sudden hit me, throw something, step on David, etc.; therefore, ruining the good time. I am left feeling it was not worth the effort. Part of me wants to just lock you in your room and drive away.

Kacey, if you are reading this in your older years, please know that I still loved you every minute of the day, I have learned how possible it is to love someone but just not like them at the same time.

So the worst thing you are doing lately is waking up multiple times through out the night. It started 6-8 weeks ago when David cried in the middle of the night and we let you sleep in our room on the floor. Since then it has morphed into David rolling over and you interpreting that as a noise and coming into our room. It wouldn't be so bad if we woke up at 6am and you were there sleeping but nooooooo. You have to wake us up and ask us to tuck you in, open the sleeping back, get your kitty, give you a tissue, etc. We keep telling you no, taking you back to your room, letting you CIO, you name it we have done it. You have woken us up, David, the cat and probably the neighbors. We are exhausted, frazzled and angry. it makes dealing with your new daytime attitude even harder.

Last night was the breaking point for me and I think your dad too. At 2am you came in and asked us to help you get in the sleeping bag, we obliged hoping to quickly get back to sleep. You then got your dad to tuck you in, get you blankets and kitty and gawd knows what else. He finally broke and told you to go to sleep. You started crying you wanted to be in our bed, daddy said no, you cried louder and longer, daddy yelled and threatened and you just cried louder. Finally I got up and took you to your room. You screamed louder and we spent the next 30 minutes... you coming into our room and me taking you back. can't you take a hint little girl???? I put the sleeping bag in time out and said you were not sleeping in our room again, I held your door closed and locked you in for a while, that did nothing, I locked our bedroom door and that did nothing. You just wandered around the house crying "Mommy and daddy locked me out here..... whahhahahahaha!!!" Then you would come cry at our door to let you in...

By 4:15am daddy had enough (yeah, that's 2.5 hours later) he held you in the living room and calmed you down as you were beyond hysterical at this point. He got you into bed and then had to rock David as he was also hysterical at this point. So by 4:30 everyone was in bed and daddy and I fell asleep.

5:30 you came creeping back into our room and we spent the next 30 minutes taking you back and forth to your room again. We all got back to sleep at 6 until 7.

You didn't nap today, you fought me all day, it was long and exhausting. I convinced you it was bedtime at 6 and you didn't really question me. You just wondered why the sun wasn't going down. We agreed to ask daddy in the morning. I promised you 6 M&M's if you stayed in your room all night. I am praying I have the chance to give you the candy in the morning!!!

You were sound asleep at 6:40 in front of your door and David was too. I took him into your room and put him in the crib. I picked you up and put you in bed and I was happily on the couch by 6:45. PLEASE STAY ASLEEP ALL NIGHT, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. I desperately want to like you again!!!

WOW! 45? That makes me smile!!
Here monkey, check this out!
Yeah mom, here, I'll show you too!
Wait a minute... what's over here?