Reddy Arrived

We had a special Christmas guest arrive yesterday. He will be here with us all through the holidays as long as we don't touch him. His name is Reddy and he is our Elf on the Shelf.

Reddy hangs out all day watching over Kaelin and Macie. Then after everyone is asleep, he flys back to the North Pole and reports everything to Santa. He will tell Santa their Christmas wishes as well as give a Naughty/Nice report. The only rule is... we can't touch him. If we touch him, he will begin losing his magic and won't be able to fly back to the North Pole.

Every morning he lands in a different spot. It is Kaelin (and eventually Macie's) mission to try to find Reddy every morning.

When Kaelin came down the stairs this morning, she looked in the spot that Reddy was in yesterday. He was gone, but had left a note from Santa. Now the chore of finding where Reddy decided to sit today.

Kaelin has spotted Reddy. She was so super excited. She started jumping up and down saying "There he is. I see him. I see him. Mom, look."

This was Reddy's spot of choice this morning. I wonder where we will find him tomorrow? I hope we don't end up on the Naughty list today.

Things I am Thankful For...

So, this is a little after Thanksgiving, but I spend most of my time these days running behind... running late... missing things all together... or forgetting that I had something I should have been doing.

Oh Well...

One thing I forgot on Thanksgiving... was to take pictures. (I know... I know... my baby's first Thanksgiving... how could I forget to take pictures).

I did take one picture, but it was after we returned from our Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Debbie's house.

My Thanksgiving day began with a lot of craziness. Macie decided she preferred me in my pajamas (not a bad idea) because every time I went to get dressed, she would just begin bawling. Then once I picked her up, the fit stopped. So, I would put her back down, make it to the bathroom to get dressed, and then the bawling would resume. We did this routine for about 1 1/2 hours. It was not the highlight of my day.

After I finally was able to get myself dressed, get Kaelin dressed with minimal arguments, and then wrestle Macie into some clean clothes, we were able to leave the house.

So, despite the dramatic beginning to our Thanksgiving day, we were all able to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch.

I am very thankful...

for my two wonderful girls that keep me on my toes and provide color to my life

for my fabulous husband who is much calmer than I am

for having such a wonderful family that always offers to help out when they know I need a break

Happy 1 Month Birthday Macie

Last night, we celebrated Macie's 1 month birthday. It is amazing how much can change in 1 month. 1 month ago, we were not changing diapers, washing bottles, looking for burp rags, trying to find the missing pacifier, packing diaper bags, or doing the majority of our shopping on the baby aisles.

Macie has definitely added a new level of craziness to our wild and crazy life and I would not change a thing. She is a very sweet baby (with an evening attitude). She is into discovering new things. She has figured out that the animals on her baby swing move- that keeps her occupied for quite a while. She recognizes voices and tries sooooo hard to find out who is talking. She is holding her head up, looking around, sleeping pretty good, eating like she is practicing for the competitive eating circuit, and snuggling with anyone that will snuggle her. She has begun to tolerate baths and diaper changes (not liking them, but finally succumbing to the fact that they are part of a babies life).

What... I am 1 month old today?

The best big sister in the world helped Aunt Debbie make 1 month birthday cupcakes for Macie. She was so proud of herself. She would do ANYTHING for her little sister. It is so sweet to watch.

Happy 1 Month Birthday Macie!!!!

This picture cracks me up because it looks like Macie is about to blow out the candle. This is just so sweet. Big Sister and Little Sister.

Little Sister rocking the hair bow

Small town Saturday night

If you are ever wondering just what goes on in a small town on Saturday night... I can show you.


We are pretty lively around her. These pictures were taken around 8:00 and you can see we are already in our pajamas.

Macie fell asleep while laying in her baby gym. Too much playing makes a baby girl very tired.

Kaelin is laying on the floor watching her little DVD player (because football is on the big TV... of course). If you are wondering what Kaelin might be watching... it is the Season 1 of King of the Hill. She absolutely loves King of the Hill. She and Todd watch that show every night, so we bought Seasons 1, 2, and 3 on DVD.

Date Night

Isn't she just the cutest little school girl you have ever seen. Her shirt reads "Smart Girls Rule" and includes lots of bling.

Friday night, Kaelin and Todd had a date night. He took her to a junior high dance at his school. Kaelin was so excited. She wanted to start getting ready Friday morning. I had to remind her that she was not going to the dance until Friday night. She even willingly took a bath and washed her hair so she would be super clean for the dance.

Kaelin and her Friday night date (I did not ask her to pose like that...)

Hopping Butterfly

We had the privilege of attending a Thanksgiving Feast with "Hopping Butterfly" last Thursday. "Hopping Butterfly" is Kaelin's Indian name. I think that is just the most appropriate Indian name for her.

Hopping Butterfly and her daddy

We were entertained by the 4 year old class performing a couple of Thanksgiving songs for us. We got to watch them shake their tail feathers, sing about Mr. Turkey, and do a prayer for us. Todd and I started laughing (very quietly) during the prayer because the stage was crowded with kids, but we could hear Kaelin's voice very loudly as they sang the prayer.

The Entertainer

Kaelin has become our evening entertainment. We never know what type of performance she has concocted for our enjoyment. We usually get some singing, a little dancing, lots of ballet and gymnastics, and occasionally the guitar comes out.

She is absolutely too funny. She will run up the stairs and not come down until you give her a proper introduction. We have to say "Introducing the fabulous Kaelin" and sometimes she has imaginary friends playing in the show, so we have to give them a proper introduction as well or the show just does not happen.

(If you look closely in the background of the picture, you will see a football game on TV. Todd just LOVES it when Kaelin decides to do a performance right in front of the TV when he is watching a football game.- I think it is kind of funny)

Another form of entertainment comes by way of her dress up trunks. She loves to go play dress up. She usually comes down as some sort of princess, but occasionally she comes down as a Mommy. When she decides to be Mommy, we all have to be her kids and she becomes quite bossy. Hmmmm.... I wonder if she is trying to tell me something.

Baby Parts

How many lives will these tiny hands touch?

What kind of journeys will these tiny feet go on?

How long will this thumb provide me comfort?

Nutcracker Market

Despite every rational bone in my body, I decided to take my girls to the Nutcracker Market last week.

Ahhhh... my two sweet little presents

For those of you that don't know what the Nutcracker Market is, (you are lucky)... it is a trade show or craft fair or whatever you want to call it. There are tons of vendors (by tons... I mean absolutely TONS). The vendors are all selling their stuff at a premium. It is a shoppers dream land.

Since it is a shoppers dream land, it attracts an incredibly large number of people- which results in a massive crowd. Massive crowd meaning 20 minutes sitting in traffic just to park... 20 minutes standing in line just to buy a ticket to get in... at least another 10 minutes of standing in line just to pay for items at each booth.

They also have this wonderful "No Stroller" rule... seriously... no joking... So, I toted Macie in the Baby Bjorn and Kaelin just held my hand. We also had our wonderful Mrs. Mary with us, so she helped corral Kaelin.

As far as buying stuff... I did not come home with much (which was music to Todd's ears). I came home with some wrapping paper and ribbon. I could have come home with more, but my nerves and patience did not allow me to stand in those long lines to check out.

Macie has the right idea about the Nutcracker Market

Mommy Tales

This is just a brief list of "Mommy Tales". This is my brief list of craziness that has gone in the last 2 1/2 weeks.

I know I took a shower, I just can't remember what day that was.

My pajamas smell like milk and it doesn't even bother me.

I can answer the question "when was the last time you had makeup on?" But my answer is in months rather than a week or day.

I love when I go to change Macie's diaper, just to open it up, pull it off, and then she starts peeing all over whatever she is wearing, me, her blanket, etc.

I also love to change a diaper, just to get the new one fastened and hear her pooping in the brand new diaper. So, I don't even bother buttoning or snaping her clothes because I know another diaper change is in my near future.

Just when I think I am about to get a MUCH NEEDED nap... I get Kaelin to lay down, finally fall asleep, then Macie wakes up. Thanks girls... can you please get on the same schedule. Your mommy could really benefit from a little sleep.

I also love it that my maternity clothes are the only things that fit and I am pretty comfortable in them. How long is TOO long to wear maternity clothes???

I am Macie's own personal vending machine. She thinks this vending machine should be open 24 hours a day for her snacking pleasure. She must have a hollow leg because she never seems to be full.

Why does it take over an hour just to get the gear together and get in the car and attempt to make a trip to Wal-mart or the grocery store?

I am sure there will be many more Mommy Tales to come.

Monday... grrr...

So, today was slightly better than the weekend, but NOT by much.

The second half of the can of soup ended up on the living room floor along with the first half that landed on the floor on Saturday. No joking.... I could not make this stuff up if I tried.

Macie decided that sleeping was not for her last night, so from 3 AM on, we were awake. The poor girl is a bottomless pit. I can't seem to fill her little tummy up, so we are looking at introducing rice cereal in the next week or so.

Macie decided to sleep almost all day, despite my efforts to wake her up. When I finally got Kaelin to lay down and fall asleep for a much needed nap, Macie decided her nap was over. This results in NO NAP for Mommy. GRRRR......

On a positive note... I went to the doctor, incision has healed beautifully, so I was cleared to run. Kaelin and I loaded Macie up in the stroller and set out for a 1 mile run this afternoon. There was nothing impressive about the run. It was slow... painful on the knees... but I finished and am ready to try it again tomorrow. The Houston Marathon is in January and I have a long road ahead of me.

Will tonight be any better???? Probably not, seeing as how Macie chose to sleep most of the day away.

The White Flag has been raised

I surrender...

You win...

Yesterday was just one of those days if something was going to go wrong... It Did... 10 times over

Where to begin...

Let's start with Kaelin, since she was a huge source of my surrender.

She spent the night at Aunt Debbie's and decided to throw herself an "all nighter" and stay up way too late. This set the tone for the rest of the day. I battled with her from the time she walked in the door.

We missed her school carnival because I knew there would be no way she could make that and then also attend the princess birthday party we had to go to in the afternoon.

When she got home from getting a pedicure, she had about 5 minutes to get ready for the birthday party. We got her dressed up as a princess. She came downstairs, got a Kool Aid juice box (Red in color).

She got in my car with the Red Kool Aid juice box, which quickly ended up ALL over the back seat of my car.

So, now we were late for the birthday party... I was not pleased to say the least. I went back inside, got a towel, cleaned the car and then off to the birthday party we headed. Kaelin was a bundle of whines by the time we got to the party. She was so sleepy she kept falling down, everything upset her, and her listening skills were non-existent. When we got ready to leave the birthday party (30 minutes early), she fell out of my car, skinned up her knee and continued to just be out of control.

So, a nap was just inevitable. We got home, went upstairs, she changed clothes and then insisted she was going outside to play. I quickly told her no, that she was going to take a nap and then the tantrum set in. She begin screaming, crying, and going hysterical. I went to get Todd, because I was DONE by this point. He got her calmed down and she took a 4 hour nap.

As if that was not bad enough, the day continued...

Macie was just grumpy most of the evening. I think her tummy was hurting and she was constantly hungry (probably resulting in the hurting tummy). My nerves were shot, my temper short, etc.

So, where was Todd during all of this chaos... Painting the garage (or occasionally coming inside to check the scores on the football games)... Lots of help he was to me.

After Kaelin's nap, she wanted some soup for dinner, so I fixed her some soup. She ran through the living room tripped over something and toppled the entire bowl of soup, her drink and the TV tray all over the living room floor. I wanted to go curl up in a nice quiet place and just tell everyone to leave me alone... I had enough for one day.

Does it end...

No...

Macie decides to test out her vocal chords and begins screaming... I guess she and Kaelin were in some kind of competition that I was unaware of.

Todd is still painting the garage and decides to ask me my opinion on the garage... Oh I had an opinion all right, but I used restraint in expressing my opinion.

Finally, sometime around midnight (but thanks to Daylight Savings Time, is was really only 11:00), I crawled into bed. Kaelin on one side, demanding my undivided attention. Macie in my lap, demanding my undivided attention. So, I am working on split personalities, so they will both have someone all to themselves.

After a semi-peaceful night's sleep, I am hoping for a normal day with the drama level remaining very low. If not, I will be looking at checking into an insane asylum shortly.

Two weeks old

Macie is two weeks old. Time is flying by way too fast. I feel like I should start exploring college options next week.

Macie is still a great sleeper. She had a couple of nights where she preferred to "hang out" rather than sleep, but luckily that has changed. I tried explaining to her that we "hang out" during the day and we sleep in the night. I think she understood.

She is a great eater. She loves her big sister. When she hears Kaelin's voice, she begins looking around to see where she is. (Usually she does not have to look far because Kaelin is usually smothering her with love, hugs, and kisses)

My two favorite girls in the whole world...

Macie has been playing on her entertainment mat. She is aware of the lights and the toys.

At two weeks old, Macie is very alert and loves looking at all the things around her

Two weeks old and growing bigger and stronger every day. (Yes, she has part of her sleeper unbuttoned- I guess she got hot in the night)

That is my sister

Kaelin is still so head over heels over her little sister. She had not gotten tired of her yet. (thank goodness). I am often finding Macie in some pretty precarious positions, thanks to her big sister.


Kaelin is so incredibly sweet. The other day, she told me "Mom, I just love Macie so much. I just want to hug her so tight." I said "I know the feeling all too well." I definitely could not ask for a better big sister for Macie.


I have caught Kaelin playing with Macie in the baby gym. I have caught her swing Macie in her baby swing (maybe a little too high). I have caught Kaelin getting Macie out of her car seat (even when I really did not want her out).


She is just so crazy about her sister and wants to help with absolutely everything. She loves to help bathe Macie, she will take the dirty diapers to the trash, she always gives Macie her pacifier when it falls out of her mouth and of course she loves to help dress Macie including the addition of a big hair bow.


I am just so overwhelmed with joy knowing I have such wonderful girls. Kaelin has a non-jealous nature about her that is wonderful to watch. She truly gives of her self unselfishly and is very concerned about the well being of those around her.

It is my turn to hold my sister

It is my turn again

Maybe if I got her out of the car seat I could feed her a little better.

Trick or Treating with the Rock Stars

Halloween 2010 proved to be one of the best yet. We did not do all of the running around that we usually do because Kaelin is very focused on the whole Trick or Treating process. She really got into going up to people's door and ringing the door bell.

Trip got to come trick or treating with us, so that made it that much more fun for Kaelin. She thinks trip hung the moon, so Halloween was extra special for her.

Our little pumpkin got to watch her sister and cousin trick or treat a few houses, then we headed back to hand out candy to trick or treaters that came to our house. (Is my bow too big????- no, there is just so such thing as too big)

Elvis and Taylor Swift preparing to go out and score some major loot

Taylor Swift

Elvis

Just think, next year, the little pumpkin will be trying to keep up with her big sister as they get to enjoy trick or treating together.

A few of Macie's visitors

We have had some great visitors come over to see Macie. (I did not take pictures of everyone- sorry about that).

Grandma Kay and PawPaw Bill came down from Corsicana to spend a few days with us. These are Todd's parents (Macie and Kaelin's grandparents).

Grandma Kay and Macie

PawPaw Bill talking to Papa and Macie

Grandma Kay, PawPaw Bill and Macie

Mamaw and Papa came to visit (and brought homemade vegetable soup- of which I have eaten every day). These are may grandparents (Macie and Kaelin's great grandparents).

Mamaw and Macie

Nannie and Pawpaw came to visit from Woodville (and brought a homemade chocolate sheet cake- which is my ABSOLUTE favorite). These are my grandparents (Macie and Kaelin's great grandparents).

Nannie and Macie

PawPaw and Macie

We have had lots of other visitors, but I have not been so great with the picture taking. Our Mrs. Mary came by to visit with Kaelin and Macie. Aunt Debbie and Uncle Truman come by daily (no excuses for not having pictures).