The Treadmill

About a month ago I went for my usual Saturday morning run while Sam watched the girls. When I finished Sam decided he would hop on and go for a little run (a rare occasion). I hopped into the shower while he was running and I was shocked at how loud the treadmill was. When he finished his run I told him how loud it sounded and he reassured me that it was super loud when I ran too. Later that day Sam came across our neighbor downstairs (my brother's roommate other Robbie) during a trip to the trash cans. They made their casual chit chat and then Robbie asked if we had run on the treadmill that morning. Robbie asked if maybe Terri ran first, and then Sam; and Sam said yes. He said ok, I thought so. I was watching tv and heard a noise and had to think...is it the vacuum, a loud movie, no, probably the treadmill. Then he told Sam that he jumped on the treadmill and his first thought was "Oh my goodness, the house is coming down!!!" Ha. So much for me being super loud too.

 (Hazel is angry. They are having a fight over the pacifier. One of about a million fights they have during the day. They are either about to claw each other's eyes out or the happiest of friends. They haven't just figured out how to leave each other alone yet. One day.)

 Karma did come back to get me a few weeks after teasing Sam so much about making the house fall down.  I have gone through many scenarios over the past few months to try to find a small chunk of time where I can run in peace. The television worked decently, but I didn't love all the screen time they were getting. I moved them to the back room with toys and snacks, but that only lasts still the snacks are gone or a big fight breaks out (which usually isn't that long). Chair barricades are climbed over, under, or through and I paid the price dearly a few weeks ago. When they broke through the barricade they used to just sit there and watch me run. After a few days then would get more adventurous and touch the belt just barely with their fingers. And soon enough it was sending down toys and almost taking me out.

The final straw was the morning when Hazel decided to trip and fall on the end of the belt and send herself down while taking me out in full swing. Thank goodness I had the magnet clipped to my shorts so the machine stopped about five or so seconds after the spill. She hopped on at the top of the belt and was kicked off about half way down.  Hazel came out unscathed, just scared to death. I wasn't so lucky. My knee came down hard on the belt and then I was launched into the back wall. I have no idea what my shin hit, but it swelled up like a goose egg. I basically came out all bloodied up and bruised. My first fall ever on the treadmill and it was all Hazel's fault (yes I do stoop to blaming my children for things). I called Sam right after it happened and after making sure I was okay his next question was, so was this a horrible incident that needs to be forgotten or will it be funny enough one day that it can go on the blog. Well, there you have it Sam. You are all free to be like my Mom and laugh away.

Dr. Mario

About a month ago there was talk about dusting the good old nintendo off and pulling out Dr. Mario to rekindle our early marriage battles. We never did get around to it, but the game did manage to find a new home on top of our dresser. Bailey would see it on a daily basis and always ask "Mom, what's that?" I explained to her each day it was a game and she would always ask to play it. We constantly put her off, until today, when Sam decided it was time she learn to master Dr. Mario.

Sam did say at one point he was half paying attention to her playing and he became extremely excited about the idea of a Dr. Mario prodigy when he mistook her playing for the demo.

She loved every second and has asked every day since to play more of the game. Her training has begun and don't be too offended when our children destroy all of your children. Let the games begin...

Another Princess Tent

For Christmas this year the girls scored a second princess tent from Grandma Pam. Today was the first time it actually got pitched and you would not believe the shrieks, giggles, laughter, and all out wrestling that ensued as soon as it was upright. (And by upright I mean Sam was inside finishing the final touches on it and they could hardly control their excitement for him to navigate his body out. He may or may not have hollered a little bit at them to calm down and hold on a minute...)

 They were running in and back out, chasing each other around it and then diving back inside, looking out the window, and wrestling each other in and out of the door....it was complete chaos. I thought boys were supposed to be the crazy gender. It took a whole ten minutes before we heard a snap...pop...and the tent collapse over to its side. 

 Sam pulled out the duct tape and after some finagling with a broken pole it was back, but not quite as good as new. It now stands up with a slight (and by slight I mean significant) tilt to the right. The good news? Thanks to the girls it is hardly ever in the upright position.

China may not make quality princess tents like in the olden days, but nonetheless it was a huge hit (at least for the few minutes that it actually lasted). Thanks so much Grandma Pam.

Potty Training

Well we officially started the potty training adventure last Saturday because of the MLK holiday weekend. I figured it was the only way to keep my sanity and get all 3 of us girls out alive. I must say that after day 1 I was ready to throw in the towel. It must be easier to change diapers for the rest of my life than to have to ask the busy two year old every five minutes if she has to go pee or poop yet. 

After 2 days of trying she has had only 3 pee accidents and about a million successes. She has eaten more candy, juice, ice cream, salty snacks and other bribe related food in the past 30 hours then possibly in her entire life put together, but at least it keeps her on task.

The girls are sympathy criers, get sympathy band aids and owies and have now stepped over to the sympathy underwear over diaper look on potty training day #1.

The kid can pull off the wife beater undies look quite well.

As the week progressed and Sam returned to school there were a few hours in there that I was sure I would kill someone. I about gave up a few times, and actually sort of did on Thursday afternoon. After a day full of pee and poop in the panties I decided I couldn't clean up anymore bodily waste for the day and put her in pull ups. It was at this point that she decided to finally pull her weight and from then on she has asked to wear big girl undies and hasn't had an accident since. I hate to jinx myself, but I think I officially have a potty trained toddler; and for my sanity sake just in time.

Package

This package came in the mail for Sam today. When Bails got up from her nap she gasped and asked me what it was. History tells us they are usually fun presents so she was quite disappointed when I told her she had to wait for Dad to get home. She was okay with it until Robby came up and inquired about the box. Bails immediately told him "No, No Robby...That is for Sam." Robby told her she didn't know who Sam was and she said he was a guy. Good description Bails.

After he left she couldn't handle her curiosity any longer. She ran over to her kitchen and grabbed various play knives to try to cut the box open. Eventually this happened to which she exclaimed, "Woah, so cool Mom" as she swung it around and demanded I take a picture of her. Seriously, where did this girl come from? 

Sister Friends

As much as they fight with each other, they also play together great and are the best of friends. Whenever one finds a new trick or toy to play with, the other is right there to join in on the fun.

 After they had their fun squishing into the small cupboard Bails tackled Hazel down so she could blow raspberries on her tummy. She also demanded that I get up so I could take a picture of them (which is a regular occurrence these days).  

If Hazel hadn't been laughing hysterically I would almost feel bad for her.

oga oga oga

One day a week I do a little yoga, the rest of the week I run. Today was a run day, but superwoman (yes that is her daisy and minnie undies outside of her pants) decided it was a 'oga oga oga' day for her and asked me to turn it on. 

This was definitely worth the interruption in the middle of my run.

The Fireplace

You could give this girl all the toys in the world and I am pretty this is where you would still find her playing as happy as can be...

It probably took her at least twenty minutes to emerge despite me calling to her to get out; but if it allows me to finish my run in peace I will take it. Thanks for babysitting Hazel old fireplace.

'Occaball

Bailey loves her some occaball. Its this new sport she invented that mixes the fundamentals of basketball and soccer perfectly. It is also called occaball; which also blends the two sports together quite well. You make baskets, dribble, and kick the ball while tackling and of course flopping.

 She can also set up a train of balls and then dance in the middle of it...

My little athlete.

One Year

Height: 28.15 inches - 11.03 %

Weight: 17 lbs 13 oz - 16.19%

Head Circumference: 47 cm - 85% 

My Hazel is growing up so fast. I would say like a weed, except she is the teeniest, tiniest thing you will ever see. She is petite, but feisty and has officially stopped being the push over sister. If they get in a fight you can rest assure that both girls will be in tears by the end of it because Hazel can now strike and do some damage.

She is constantly exploring and climbing. If she can get her little body into, on, or over she will. She loves to dump anything out and make messes and then look at me like 'oh no what happened.' She also loves to clean up messes almost as much. She will begin to put everything back, only to dump it out again. The game usually officially ends with her boredom and everything all dumped out. 

She is still my little roamer and can play quietly by herself for awhile if she doesn't get interrupted. 

She is also a little thief. You better not leave your bags or purses unattended or she will be all over it within seconds. Aleesha, Bailey's speech therapist and Sam have all learned this the hard way. 

Hazel thinks she is one of the big kids for sure. She is always right alongside Bails trying to tag along and do anything her big sister does. She is also Bailey's little crutch. When Bails is too shy to wander around by herself she will definitely use Hazel's fearlessness/curiousity to her advantage. Like at Target when they were climbing all over the clothing racks together and giggling like crazy; or at Bailey's school meeting when Bails finally ventured over to the toys without me because Hazel wandered over to them first.

The little girl is in love with walking and has become quiet good at it over the last month to six weeks. Church is officially hard again and Sam and I take turns going to class while the other roams the hall after her as she finds all the junk on the floor to eat and the stair cases to climb.

A Bailey Update

Bailey is just my stubborn girl full of personality and the best sense of humor. The girl knows what she wants and she knows how to get it. I know if it is too quiet in the house that she is probably up to no good. The kid knows when to hide. Like for instance the time that I heard her get into the snacks while I was finishing my shower and getting ready. I could hear the bags wrinkling, but I let it go for a few extra minutes of peace. When I finish I go in and find that Bailey is fast asleep in her bed, hidden under the covers. I guess she was tired and hiding in a dark warm place while she finished off the treats she sneaked was too much for her to handle.

She will also sneak the Ipad any chance she can so it has to be up high or hidden well. She navigates through the thing like she has been doing it all her life; because she pretty much has. She knows how to pull up her shows on netflix as well as all of her little educational games. Youtube has been dismantled for a year now because of her antics. Too smart for her own good I guess.

We have been doing a lot of reading during Hazel's nap time lately. When I say a lot of reading I mean we get stacks of books and just sit there and read for hours. This one was in the stack about a week ago and ever since then she tells me "I too mad, mom." Like the time she peed in her underwear a few minutes after I asked her if she needed to sit on the potty. I looked at her disappointed and she told me, "Mom, I too mad....just go. Leave me alone." Yep. I get told to 'leave me alone' or 'just go' on an almost daily occurrence. I fear for her teenage years.

Her Rudolph antlers lasted hardly a day after her December creative capsule class because she played with them too much. Construction paper rips too.

 When the bear family all piled into their car to head up to their mountain vacation home Bails pointed to each member of the bear family and said, "Look Mom, it's Papa, Honey, Rachel and Rex" as she pointed to papa, mama, brother and sister bear. I looked at her and started laughing and she just got the proudest grin on her face.

About a week ago I told Bailey the story about how Sam and I fell asleep in the car and the cow woke us up shaking the car and mooing at us. I told her how it scared Sam and it was so funny. This is now her favorite story and she tells/acts it out daily and also asks us to tell her the 'cow story' constantly (like 6, 7, or 8 times in a row constantly). 

Bailey has also decided to call her Daddy, Sam. If i refer to him as Daddy she corrects me..."No Mom, Sam." Sam loves this. Especially when we are in public. I guess he will have to be ok with people thinking he is the step dad until this phase passes.

Master Sushi Chef

We were all just sitting around before bed time when Sam randomly got up to check the mail; not completely unheard of since I never check it and it only gets brought in if Rob or Sam decide to check. He walks back in with a package and slides it over to me. I look at him suspiciously and open it up to find a new sushi set for the little girls. Bailey and Hazel pounce on me like they have never seen a toy in their life and next thing I know I have  two sushi chefs on my hands.

 Getting used to her Japanese roots and their use of chopsticks.

 This is what I got when I asked her to look at me and smile. I think she was pretty happy with her new toy.

This is her demanding to see the pictures. She will pose for anything as long as she gets to look at the results asap.

 Hazel checking out the tuna roll.

 Slicing up the california roll like a master already.

Real sushi, fake sushi...my girls love it all.