Elevators and new friends

I have to say I have the sweetest little girls! Yesterday we had to spend an hour at a Dr. appointment and Aleigh was so well behaved. We spent about 30 mins. waiting in the waiting room and she just sat in a chair by herself the whole time quietly watching and smiling at everyone a couple times she wanted to get on and off the chair again. The next 30 mins. we spent running the halls and taking the always fun elevators. Everytime the elevator door would open she would run for it. Yikes! A year from now I will have 2 kids bolting this way and that. She made probably 50 friends in that 30 mins. She used to have bad stranger anxiety where if someone just looked at her she would cry. Over the past month it has gone away completely. Now she just gives everyone the goofiest grins she can muster up.

Amelia just had her first little bit of carrots, her first vegetable, and loved it! She has also started babbling a little and is talking up a storm these days. Yesterday we were trying to watch a movie but we couldn't hear most of it because she was just gabbering away. So cute. I believe she is trying to catch up to Aleigh.

Aleigh is getting there on the talking. Her words still don't really sound like words but I can tell what she is trying to say by the actions she is doing. Sometimes she will say dow-while getting down off something. She will say ah da-when she is all done with her food. She has said Bayaya while pointing to her favorite food, a banana. She will sometimes say yeah when i ask her a question. She has said mil several times while standing with her hand on the fridge wanting milk. Those are the words she has added in the last month. At least we are getting somewhere! So proud of my girls!

On Wednesday we will be in Tulsa! I cannot wait to see everybody!

Jiggly belly

The pink eye is almost gone I believe today will be the last day using the medicine. But Amelia is now sick :(  she has extreme congestion and just a tiny spike in temperature at times. Poor girl she just sounds and looks awful.  :(

Some things I have realized the last week:

Apparently God gave moms extra jiggly belly's is so it can be a fun drum set for your toddler.

Aleigh has to have music playing for bedtime and now Apparently when I tell her it is Amelia's time for nap or bed, she runs to Amelia's bed and turns on the music machine under the bed.

When Amelia was just born I thought it was harder trying to put both kids to sleep at the same time. Now that Amelia is almost 5 months old it is now harder to get them both to sleep at different times. One is always waking the other.

I always wondered why everyone who does yoga wears skin tight clothes. After a run on the beach I now know why. Next time I go to a yoga class, which more than likely will be never, I won't have the embarrassing moment of everyone behind me getting a show.

Sickness really affects your running goals. One week off is a nightmare and even then you just don't have the energy.

While running it made me laugh when I saw two women running together, one was fit, one not so much. The fit lady was talking up a storm, the other lady was practically gasping for air and throwing in a"yeah", "uh huh" then gasping for air again. I think it is great that she was exercising as it takes some guts to get out there but I thought it was funny because I have been there and I could practically hear her thoughts and she was saying "Can you not hear me dying here? Please stop making me talk, you are making it way harder. I am never going to run with this person again."

Aleigh can now take off her own diaper which means I need to leave pants on her, or a onesie.

Amelia can now roll to where she desires. She was eyeing a toy halfway across the room, it took a couple mins. and about 5 rolls and there she was playing with the toy.

Sickness

The last week all 4 of us have been sick in one form or another. Living in Hawaii we thankfully don't get sock as often. Well it caught up to us. 2 little ones with pink eye and I believe a bit of a cold. 2 big babies (Jake and I) with a lousy cold and sinus infections. Thankfully we will all get better eventually!

Things we have learned recently,

•To get an appt. With your primary care Dr you have to call 4 months early.

•Do not pretend like you're kids stuffed animals are kissing your baby unless you want your 16 month old constantly pretending also but instead of kissing the baby the stuffed animal is smacking the baby in the face.

•If you let your 16 month old "carry" the baby, she will want to do just that every time she gets the chance to wrap her arms around the baby. Which in turn makes your arms very sore having to help hold the baby while crouching down low enough to let your 16 month old think she is walking and holding the baby.

•Babies learning to eat solids is quite cute and very messy. Don't remember it being that messy with my first.

•Apparently if Amelia starts crying while putting Aleigh to bed that means we get to skip nap time and help sister instead.

•cutting out sugar and bread completely from your diet really helps u lose weight. 13 days later and I have lost 5&1/2 lbs! I only cheated two of those days when I was really sick I had 1 biscuit, a can of chicken noodle soup, some popsicles and a little bit of cold ice cream.

•Nyquil helps you sleep really well. Too well really. I didn't even remember when my 4 month old woke in the middle of the night.

Now time for some rest while I can.

Love, Jen

Life in the day.

Thought I would make a post about how my day goes on the days when Jake works. One day I will look back on this post and smile.

I wake up a little before 7am and usually Aleigh senses I am awake (even though I am extremely quiet) and within 5 mins she also wakes up. Sometimes I try not to breathe loudy in hopes it will get Aleigh to sleep longer and I can get some alone time. Never works. After I get Aleigh out of bed, change the diaper and if she leaked also her clothes and sheets. We then try waking up the sleepy heads, Jake and Amelia. Usually only Jake wakes, Amelia will normally sleep an extra 30 minutes.

Another way Aleigh is just like me is she is a big breakfast lover. As soon as she wakes she is ready to eat. Don't blame her, I am too. So I make some breakfast for the 3 of us. After eating mini sleepy head has woke up and is searching for her bottle. Amelia gets fed and changed.


I then clean up the kitchen mess from the day before, as best as I can while having Aleigh try to get my attention or pulling everything out of the cabinets, or taking things out of the dishwasher, or trying to climb up my legs into my arms. I have such an amazing hubby who also helps as much as he can while having a baby or toddler who is also demanding attention. Usually only half the kitchen gets clean.

Next we wrangle Aleigh to brush her teeth. She likes brushing her teeth but she now thinks it is a game to run away and be chased when we need her. What a goof. Now Jake and I get to take care of ourselves. Change clothes, shower etc. After all that it is usually about 9:30. Amelia is now ready for nap #1.

2-3 days a week I go for a run. On those days we usually go to the beach so I can run on a flat surface. Where we live has a bunch of large hills. I usually go about 9-9:30. We get home at about 10-10:30. I take a quick shower. By 11 it is Aleigh's nap time. She sleeps anywhere from 1-2:30. After spending about 30 mins. getting her down for her nap I then make lunch, which is usually more like dinner as Jake is at work for dinner. Jake and I then take turns between feeding Amelia and feeding ourselves. Jake goes to work and Amelia is ready for her 2nd nap at around noon. Amelia has become pretty hard to get to sleep. Some days it takes 5 minutes and she falls asleep on her own. Other days it takes an hour filled with piercing screaming no matter what I do.

Some days I then have an hour or longer to myself to relax. Other days as soon as Amelia falls asleep Aleigh then wakes back up. It is now Aleigh's lunch time. Then about 30 mins after she eats Amelia wakes and is ready to eat. The rest of the day is filled with lots of laughs, play, tickles, crying, many diaper changes, singing, dancing, hugs, kisses, chasing each other, teaching Aleigh to be gentle to Amelia, praying over owies, reading a gazillion books, playing outside, talking to family and friends, cleaning up spit up, petting and climbing over Kea the dog.

Dinner time is the hard meal to get Aleigh to eat. It is usually the meal that includes veggies. Instead of eating her veggies Aleigh likes to feed them to the dog. I believe this is the trade to use the dog as a jungle gym, Aleigh pays the dog with veggies. It is then bath time.

Amelia is then ready for bed around 6pm. This is the hardest time to get her to sleep. Usually Aleigh is also getting sleepy around this time so they are both crying and cranky. I try and help Amelia to sleep but Aleigh also wants to be held and screams out of jealousy. After maybe 45 minutes Amelia is asleep and then it is Aleigh's turn. She is almost always sleeping by 7:45. I then finally take the time to use the bathroom as I realize I have been holding it in most of the day without time to go.

This is also where my chocolate addiction comes in. After a long tiring day chocolate does my heart good. I then partake in some sweet yumminess, sit back and watch about 15 minutes of TV. or I check Facebook or surf pinterest. Amelia usually wants to eat about this time. Jake then gets home about 8:45. We then spend a little time talking and go to sleep. Amelia wakes us 1-2 times a night to eat.

My days are exhausting but being a stay at home mom is a dream job and I love every minute of it. I am so thankful I am able to be there with my girls all day. Yes sometimes I am desperate for a break. A break I never really get. Jake tried his best to help but with a 16 month old and 4 month old they take up both our arms, minds and hearts every minute we are with them. I never get a true break but in a couple years, I will. In the meantime God is helping give me the strength to get through the hectic days. Just because my days are a little crazy doesn't mean these aren't the best days of my life.

update

For those who haven't heard, we did not buy our place at auction. It was a learning experience. We went to the auction with a friend and a cashier's check in hand. There was one other property up for auction. It was a very laid back auction with only a handful of people there. For the 2 properties there were only 4 people there to bid, one of those 4 were us. Both properties ended up being "bought" by the bank that already owned the properties. We were the only one there to actually bid on our property besides the bank. The bank set the opening bid and it was set at $212,000. The place is only worth $10,000 more than that. That means the bank will now contact us before our lease is up the end of May and let us know if they are wanting to put the place up for sale or if they would want to rent it to us again. So until we hear from them we won't look for any other rentals.

We are also waiting to hear from Dallas. The person in charge there hasn't even decided to post the job yet, so it might be awhile yet. Or just another thought, since Jake and I have been together God has planned changes out so well for us. He will close a door in the most perfect timing, then immediately open another in such an obvious way there is no question in what we are supposed to do. Maybe the job will open up just in time for us to move the end of May so we don't have to step in another contract. Only time will tell.

As of the two mini loves of my life, they are growing and learning constantly. Amelia is now a roller queen. One second she is in one place on the floor and the next she is half way across the living room running into the furniture. She has also found her feet and loves playing with them. She has always been a fantastic sleeper, until 4 months rolled around. Now she fights going to sleep. Hopefully if I am consistent enough I can get her to start falling asleep on her own again. I really don't want to get into holding her until she starts to drift off like I still have to do with Aleigh. Thankfully they both sleep well once they fall asleep and are both good about going back to sleep if they wake in the middle of the night. Its just those transitions my girls have problems with.

Aleigh is getting better about talking. She still says mama, Dada and dad. But she has also added "hi" to the list several days ago. She won't say it too often just if she wants to. Hopefully over the next month she will add another word or two to the list so her Dr. won't worry.

Cute story of the week. Amelia was sitting in her little booster type chair that has toys around it. She loves that toy and was in it for about an hour. She then wanted out and was getting cranky. Aleigh and I were sitting on the floor playing. I said to Aleigh "We need to get sister out of her chair". Aleigh then runs over before I could even get up, grabs Amelia's hands and pulls her out of the chair and Amelia lands on her belly on the floor perfectly happy just looking up at Aleigh in awe. Goofy girls.

Starting on the 20th I am starting a new diet. I have never been into diets. I only wanted to work out, count my calories and try to eat healthier items. Well I have only lost 1lb over several months even though according to the amount of calories I eat I should lose 1lb. A week. Also running 3 times a week for 20-30 mins each time and still I am not getting anywhere. For about a month I was losing inches and lost about 11 inches total off my body but was not losing the lbs. So in a couple days I am going to test how I do with no grains of any type and no sugar of any kind for a month, along with the running and see if that helps. My Dr. tested to see if I have a thyroid problem and I don't so there should be no reason for me to not lose the weight. Wish me luck! I am addicted to my sweets and carbs so a full month is going to be hard! Haha

Today is the day

We go to the auction of our place today. Either we basically win the lottery and walk away with this place for no money at all, or we find out we have to move today. I am hoping for the first option.

We have not heard back about the job possibility in Dallas. The lady was on vacation all last week. Hopefully we will hear from them soon as we are still hoping it will work out.

Both the girls are starting to try to talk more. We decided to take the paci away from both of them except for when sleeping. They have both done really well. Aleigh's words still aren't clear but since she is actually trying to talk now is great improvement.

Amelia went to the Dr just over a week ago. It is interesting to see the differences between her and Aleigh. Aleigh had her 3&1/2 month checkup just one calendar day later than Amelia just a year ago. Their lengths were the exact same and Amelia was 1 oz more in weight than Aleigh was at that age. Very interesting. In some ways I feel like this year is on repeat as Amelia progresses on the same timeline Aleigh did last year.
Aleigh is becoming such a big help with Amelia. She will help roll her over when Amelia is frustrated. When I ask her to find me sister's paci, she finds and brings it to me. She has been helping me burp her for months now. When I say we need to rock sister she runs to the swing and starts rocking.

Yesterday I held both of them and read them a book. This was the first time I attempted this, and Aleigh sat there the whole time with a grin on her face and her forehead resting on Amelia, and giving her kisses. She sure does love her sister.

One thing I am still struggling with is finding the time to cook and clean. Aleigh is constantly making a mess. Our place always looks unrecognizable. I know it wont last forever though. Plus with all the sippy cups and bottles I have to wash. Look at the picture of all the cups and bottles. It fills up half of t
he deep sink we have.

I have been running for about 10 weeks now my goal is to run in a 5k in april. I am now at just over 2 miles so I still have a mile to go. I average about 12 mins a mile so I am pretty slow but that doesnt matter. It is getting frustrating though. I have been trying to lose this baby weight and with running 3 days a week and eating about 1300 calories a day I should be losing 1lb. a week. It has been more like 1 lb. a month, very frusrating.

Anyways, love to u all.

Kiddos

Lately Aleigh has been throwing fits daily. It is not fun! She will scream her little head off for oh about 10 mins. before she calms down. It will be for all sort of different reasons like changing her diaper, not giving her something she wants or not paying her attention. Yesterday she was mad I was feeding Amelia and not able to hold her after a diaper change (which she hates) so the whole time I fed Amelia, Aleigh screamed at the top of her lungs while rolling on the couch next to me. Jake and I are still talking about how to handle these breakdowns. So far we just say screaming is not acceptable and I will talk to u when u are through then we ignore her until she stops since most of the time it is our attention she wants and we dont want her to think oh I can just scream to get their attention. My Dr. mentioned time out but I am not too sure how to do that at her age. I think she would just keep following me, and with my hands also full with Amelia I feel like that could get complicated. I know some do time out in the crib but wouldnt that make them think bedtime is punishment? I want Aleigh to only think of bed as a good thing.

Anyways to some cute things. Aleigh's new thing to do is to take out Amelia's paci then put it back in, then take it out, over and over again. Sometimes she will try to put it in her nose or her eye if I don't catch her fast enough. Oh boy. Haha Amelia most of the time doesn't even mind this game she just thinks Aleigh is fascinating to watch.

Another fun fact is Amelia thinks pat-a-cake is funny and Aleigh likes to do the motions along with us. I have made up a different more logical version of pat-a-cake and am now wondering if that was a bad idea. At costco the other day a lady was trying to play the game with Aleigh and Aleigh started to do my version of the game lol. I am worried she is going to go to school one day and show everyone my version and not know the normal version. Hmmm

So this next saturday jake and I are going to go see the Lion King show. Should be fun to see. It starts at 8pm so we are hoping Aleigh will go to bed by 7 and stay asleep for my friend Nikki as she doesnt do well with other people. She has known Nikki since she was born and sees her atleast every other week sometimes more. I dont understand her stranger anxiety especially since Nikki is not even a stranger. Hopefully it will somewhat end as time goes on and hopefully she will just sleep well that night.

This sunday we are going on a whale watching hike with our small group from church! It should be fun it is a group with two other families. One family has 2 boys, one close to Aleigh's age. The other family has 3 girls, one also close to Aleigh's age. Very blessed to know them all. Should be a fun hike!

Then not this tuesday but the next is the auction for the place we are living in. It should be interesting to see what happens.

The weekend after the auction the 4 of us are going on a trip to the big island! We will see a black sand beach, a green sand beach, stay in a tiny cabin in volcano national park, see a waterfall, visit the southern most point in the US, and stay one night and day on a pretty beach. It will be nice. We have never went on a vacation just us before without visiting friends or family so this will be different than most our trips. Only 3 nights but it should be fantastic!

The next two weeks will be a blast and hopefully sometime in those 2 weeks Jake will hear back from the job in Dallas!