The Fair

Last Friday night was Lailey's first fair experience. Maddox too, but he was pretty much content to snooze the night away. I told Lailey all about it - the rides, food, fun - before going, so she was very excited. When we drove up and she saw the lights, she starting saying excitedly, "The zoo! I wanna go to the zoo!" I said "It's the fair!" She then says, "Oh yeah, the fair! I wanna go! Let's go to the zoo!" Somehow "fair" just wasn't sticking so she continued to tell us all the way into the parking lot how excited she was to be at the zoo. So cute.  Uncle Nick, Aunt Julie, and cousin Addie came along with us. We ate ridiculously expensive fair food, bought some tickets, and let Lailey have a blast. 

First up, the helicopter ride. 

Since fair rides freak me out a bit, Davey gladly rode with Lailey.

Surprise! We happened to see Katie and Gracie, Lailey's cousins.

Next ride, the swings! Definitely a Lailey favorite.

All warm and cozy.

I think she's having a blast.

Julie, Addie, and Nick

The pretty ferris wheel that we did not ride. $1 per ticket, 5 tickets per ride, times 3 people...
yeah, don't think so.

Last ride, the giant slide. I am a fan of the giant slide since there are no spinning things or moving cars, or rusty old bolts holding me suspended high in the air that haven't been properly inspected. Oh wait, okay, there probably are old bolts, but at least I'm not suspended in a car or something. Yeah, it's in my head, but still.

Before leaving the fair, Lailey asked to ride the "bouncy thing," which involved being strapped into a harness with two bungee cords attached, then bouncing very high on a trampoline. It was 10:00 pm, but we had had so much fun that we decided to bid farewell to Nick and Julie and then head back to the "bouncy thing." While observing this ride earlier in the night, I noticed the obscurely placed sign read "for 20-180 lbs." Unfortunately, when we got there and asked if she could do it, the man informed us it was an old sign and she had to be 40 lbs. Yikes. I took a deep breath and attempted in the most straightforward way possible to explain this to my toddler, who despite her sweet disposition for the evening, was probably pretty tired at this point. Well, she handled it like a champ. Disappointed? Yes, but no tears.  I couldn't have been more proud (and relieved!).  She still talks about it over a week later, and I promised that someday, somewhere, we would find a bouncy thing when she was big enough to do it.

Thankfully, family outings have been redeemed since the Noah's Ark trip. Hey, ya win some, and you lose some. Or in family speak, you enjoy some days and make tons of memories, and other ones you wish you could have a do-over. 

The time has come. The blog needed a new name and a new face. I loved calling it the Daily Lailey, but the name is not as fitting anymore with two munchkins. So, the blog is now "under construction." It might be under construction for awhile, or I may decide to keep it like this. Either way, I hope to continue with posts about the fun bits of our life.

Lailey - 2 and 1/2

Oh my beautiful girl. When did you grow so tall? When did your hair get so long, your blue eyes so big, and your smile so infectious? I can't even type this without crying. I am so blessed to have you.

My sweet Lailey is growing by leaps and bounds. Not a day goes by, no scratch that, not an hour goes by that she doesn't amaze us with something she says or does. She absorbs information like a sponge. The child does not forget anything. The saying around our house is now "A Lailey never forgets." Don't know much about elephants, but Lailey has them beat. 

I totally let her jump onto the cushions from the arm of the couch - usually off limits - to play with my new camera

She is fiery, feisty, and determined. She is energetic, adventurous, and silly. Sometimes I think she really understands things far beyond her age. She is generous, sweet, and affectionate. Oh yeah, and very silly too.

She plays hard and sleeps hard, still sleeping 12+ hours most nights. Probably because she never quits moving during the day (except for a long afternoon nap). Her current favorite things are:

Her blanket (miney)

Her teething toys (Donuts the fish, Freddy the frog, the butterfly, and the bee) - why teething toys I have no idea, but she loves them. And George the hippo, who is not a teething toy but still enjoys membership in the posse.

Puddles, her little beanie baby duck, also an honorary member

Being thrown, body-slammed, twirled, and spun by Daddy. She is fearless when it comes to this kind of stuff.

As far as foods go, her favorites are blueberries, grapes, Raisin Bran, cashews (crazy, right?), and like every other kid on the planet, pb & J. Oh yes, and marshmallows. One taste back when we went camping in April and she was hooked. She would be an addict if we allowed it.

The aftermath of the s'more Daddy made for her.

Since Maddox was born, Lailey has taken it upon herself to use the potty on her own. I still remind her occasionally, but for the most part she doesn't need help. She scoots the step stool over, climbs up, and only occasionally needs help unbuttoning pants. We haven't used M&Ms as a reward for awhile, but I reinstated the M&Ms to encourage her to stay on the potty and call us when she was finished. Worked like a charm! I was fully prepared for a regression in the potty-training area with a new sibling, so this has been a very pleasant surprise. Just one more thing that reminds me how grown up she is.

As with any toddler, we have our days when things get a little crazy. But it is such a blessing when she does the sweetest thing, or makes a good choice and gets so excited about being obedient, or just runs and hugs my leg and says "I love you, Mama." Makes all the hard work of discipling her to be a Godly little girl so worth it. She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure.

Maddox - 2 Months Old

I will never get used to the way time goes so quickly with kids. Every parent says it, and I know I've said it a hundred times, but they grow so fast. It seems like ages ago that I was big, round, and pregnant waiting (and waiting...and waiting...) for our sweet baby to get here. I can barely remember life without him. Occasionally Davey and I muse about how easy it was before Lailey and Maddox, how we could just pick up and go somewhere. Now, I have a mile-long list of things to do and pack before I can even get in the car. But we wouldn't trade it for anything. Being a parent makes you appreciate the little things in life: butterfly kisses, a sleeping baby in your arms, and those quiet moments when finally, finally both sweet babies are asleep in their beds, safe and sound. 

Maddox was 2 months old on Oct. 6th, and he's the sweetest little boy that I could ever imagine. As you can see, he is very smiley and laid back. Of course, you have to get his attention because he's quite the curious little guy and is usually looking wide-eyed at the world, taking it all in.

Maddox is still sleeping great at night, and we still have to wake him most of the time during the day to get fed. He's definitely hungry and eats quite well, but he sleeps so hard.  A couple weeks ago, he started waking in the middle of the night and not sleeping well during his naps, and I was getting very concerned because I was about to go back to work. Well, I finally figured out the solution and it made me feel so silly. He was cold! You'd think that the second go around I'd have the basics down, but no, I still have more to learn. Silly Mommy. I was just putting him in a onesie and then swaddling him just like I did with Lailey at this age. I'm always more concerned with them being too warm than too cold, especially since Lailey was a pretty warm-natured baby. So now if he's not in pajamas then I make sure to have pants and socks on him, then the swaddle, and a "miney" (crocheted blanket) over him from the chest down. Lailey was a little, hmm, shall we say perplexed when she saw that Maddox got a miney too and she tried to steal it a couple times, but I think she's okay with it now. Unfortunately, the poor two-year-old believes she has a monopoly on such things as mineys.  Anyway, now that he's cozy and warm he sleeps wonderfully, even through all the toddler drama adventures.

Maddox is beginning to notice Lailey and he likes to smile at her, much to her delight. She often tells me now, "Mommy! He's smiling at me!" It is going to be a fun day when he starts laughing at her. Oh, I can just imagine the antics she will attempt to get a laugh out of him.

I am not sure how much he weighs or how tall he is, but I will find out at both kids' appointment next week.

Noah's Ark

In an effort to have one last family day before I went back to work, we ventured out to Noah's Ark, an animal rehabilitation center that is donation-only and has lots of cool animals. I thought the day would be a perfect opportunity to enjoy the sunshine, get great pictures with my new camera (early birthday present from Davey!), and make some memories. Now, going out with two kids is no small feat, but the morning started well with a very bubbly and happy two-year-old.  We went out to breakfast at The Waffle House and had a serendipitous visit with some friends of ours, Dustin (also the WH manager), his wife Meredith, and Zadee, their daughter and Lailey's play-buddy. The day would be perfect, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, it spiraled from there. Noah's Ark is only open from 12-3 pm, and Lailey usually is ready for a nap at 1 to 1:30. I was hoping to get there right at noon so as not to push our fun time into naptime. Yeah, not so much. I missed a turn on the way there and put us late. Blunder number one. Then when we got there, Maddox was ready to eat and letting me know about it. Davey unloaded Lailey and was going to take her to see the emus while I got my now rather noisy baby out of the car and into the double stroller. In my haste to get stuff out of the car, I grabbed the strap to my camera bag, but I had forgotten to zip it, and...yes, my brand new camera tumbled onto the ground. I just stood there in shock, feeling sick to my stomach. Davey, already several paces away, turned around and said "what was that?" I couldn't even speak. So now, Maddox is screaming, I'm getting teary-eyed thinking my awesome-new-birthday-present-that-I've-wanted-forever is probably broken, and Lailey? Oh, she gets bit by an ant. Perfect. Then while we're mildly freaking about the camera (baby still crying!), she starts to walk away. I see an oncoming truck backing up, and we yell our heads off in panic. Thankfully he saw her and really didn't get that close. But still. Enough already! We finally get rolling to find a place for me to feed the baby, and at this point, Lailey is either getting really tired or sensing our tension (probably both) and starts whining about everything.  Maddox, though fed and changed, was uncharacteristically fussy and didn't want the stroller to stop moving. Makes it a tad difficult to enjoy the scenery. This continues for pretty much the next hour or so until finally we put up our white flag, surrendered, and headed home. Hmmm. So much for a perfect day! Oh well. Despite the drama, we did get to see the animals and I got some decent pictures. Praise the Lord, the camera only had a couple tiny, almost unnoticeable scratches and still works fine. Phew!

Lailey pursuing a peacock

Two tigers playing

Is it wrong to caption this photo "E.T.?"

On Daddy's shoulders, checking out the frog in the box

This hilarious bird kept mimicking Lailey's whining and crying!

A briefly happy moment

The goat who wouldn't come to the fence to be petted, much to Lailey's dismay.

Lailey's friend for the day

I think this will be one of those days we just laugh about for awhile. At least we tried!

Catching up with Family

Thanks to maternity leave, back in September I was able to spend a lot of time with family members.  Here are some highlights in pictures...

Lailey and cousin Sadie on the merry-go-round

 My wonderful grandma flew all the way from WA state to spend time with us and meet Maddox. I'm still kicking myself for not getting more pictures. Grrr. I guess with less sleep, more responsibilities, and adjustments to life with two munchkins it got overlooked. But we got to spend a lot of time together and I'm so thankful for the visit.

Lailey and Great-Grandma Cele (or "Gigi," but I kept calling her "Grandma" so Lailey didn't ever really call her "Gigi.")

Doing push-ups

Lailey always says "I want to snuggle with him!"  

5 weeks old

 To add more fun to the mix, my sister and bro-in-law visited also to spend time with us and Grandma. Lots of people in my relatively small house, but it was fun. I got spoiled and got all my meals cooked for me. Thanks, Grandma!

Silly faces

Nothing like an uncle to liven things up a bit!

Lailey L.O.V.E.S. Aunt Amy and Uncle Tim. 

 Davey was traveling (National Quartet Convention) while all the company was here, and Lailey was REALLY happy to see her daddy when he got home.

Lovin' on Daddy-O 

Golly, they grow up so fast.