Bye-bye binky

All my babies used a binky. At 18 months I cut the tip off of Evan and Makiah's binkies, I'm all about stopping habits like this just cold turkey. But with Daph it's been different... She is my baby. And really, things like binkies are really for mom and her sanity, right? Evan and Makiah stopped napping at 2 years and I've always been convinced that it had something to do with taking away their binky or their crib. So I've been holding onto both as long as possible, and guess what? Daphne still naps!

On Wednesday I gave in and decided to be done with the binkies. She became obsessed with them to the point that not only did she need one for her mouth, but as many as she could find and carry around. She had names for each one and would ask for specific binkies at different times. It was getting annoying and even to the point that they didn't calm her, they just caused more stress.

I only could find two so I cut of the tips and gave them to her when she asked for them. the next five or so minutes went something like this...

Daph: Uh-oh! My binkys broke!

She still put them in her mouth and tried to convince herself that she still liked them. She didn't.

Daph: Evan broke my binkys. I sad.

Me: You are a big girl you don't need your binky. They are broken, do you want to throw them in the garbage? They are yucky now.

Daph: They are yummy! (puts them in her mouth, takes them out) my binkys broke. Kiahs broke them. Mommys broke them. I want a new binky.

Me: Do you want to throw them away?

Daph: my binkys broke. I throw in garbage.

And she did it herself, she threw them away! We cheered for her and have been calling her a big girl every time she talks about it... Which is often. When she wakes up, in the car, when she is sad, at nap time and bed time.

She is fine though. She has a blanket obsession and sleeps with any blanket in sight and still asks for more. She also loves books and she also rubs her belly button when she is tired. She has many ways to comfort herself.

Yeay for no more pictures like this with a binky covering up her cute smile...

And more smiling pictures like this...

As for the crib, she actually knows how to climb in and out with a chair. Sometimes she sleeps on her mattress on the floor and does great. I'm holding onto the nap time though, so she still sleeps in her crib for naps. We'll get there... I don't want my baby girl to grow up.

He's growin' up on me

I am quite proud of myself. I did very well today... I didn't even cry or think of crying... until I loaded these photos to the blog. Then I cried. Oh dear. My boy is in Kindergarten, and today was his first day. 

Last night we went to back to school night and met his teacher Mrs. Schmidt. We looked around his class room, Evan is pretty excited...

Then today he got ready to catch the school bus...

He didn't look back, he didn't hesitate... he didn't even give me a hug goodbye (tear). 

And he was gone :( I smiled then, but now I am crying. It's one of those bitter sweet kinda days. 

First bath

Daphne hardly ever cries. She has been such a good baby. She is on a consistent schedule and is a very good sleeper. She does wake up every 3-4 hours during the night, but she goes right back to sleep. I really, REALLY hope she stays like this... but she still is a newborn, so there is no telling how things might change.

After 2 weeks her umbilical cord finally fell off, so we were able to give her a real bath. She hated it. This was the most I ever heard her cry...

One calm moment...

It took her awhile to forgive me.

What has been going on...

I feel like I have been so silent on this blog lately. I have much to tell, but I wasn't so sure about what to write on the blog. I mentioned a few posts down that life has been crazy and it has. Crazy but good. Ever since we moved to this duplex Dallas and I have been considering the option to buy a home. The idea came and went so often that we finally decided that we needed to just look into it and see if it was right for us.

So that is what we've been doing... talking to lenders, budgeting, searching online at real estate, talking to Realtors, builders, looking at homes and model homes, sorting through floor plans, the works. Fun stuff. Stressful stuff. Crazy stuff. For awhile there we were feeling really good about the decision and we started talking more and more about it. Then this past week we just started getting frustrated with the idea. It was still exciting to think about, but I started getting doubts about a few things.

So. I have a really neat Dad. He is my go to guy for just about EVERYTHING. He knows when I call and ask for him that I am needing advice about one thing or another. The really cool thing about my Dad is that he will give advice that fits your needs... not just his. In other words, he won't tell me what to do and he won't give his opinion on what he thinks I should do. He will just put everything in perspective, weigh the pros and cons for the decision at hand and then he will leave it up to me to decide for myself. I love that. Thanks Dad.

I was on the web cam with my family yesterday (Happy Birthday Mom!!) and I ended up talking to my Dad about housing. I told him my concerns and he worked his magic and gave me the advice that I needed to hear. Basically it came down to the fact that, yes Dallas and I could buy a home. We could make it work. And we would probably be happy. BUT (there is always a but, right?) we would be happier if we waited. We could pay off our student loans within the year, continue to save for a home, save for a car, and have time to find the neighborhood and home that is just right for us. It makes perfect sense. For us at least. For some it would make more sense to just buy. But for us.... we feel SOOO good about waiting! I can't tell you how good it felt yesterday when Dallas and I made our decision. Relief.

The other part about waiting that makes me happy (Dallas claims that it is my only reason... but it isn't :)), is that if a year or two passes and we decide that we are ready for a change... we could pick up and move and not have to sell a home. That would be a relief as well :)

I am so glad that we considered buying a home. We have learned so much about the process and we understand it all so much better. Next time we jump into the process again we will be much more prepared and we will have a better idea of what to look for.

So that's our life. For now. Thanks for listening :)

Growing up.

Yesterday we had some fun :) When we woke up in the morning I told the kids that I was going to take pictures of them... and Evan was excited! I usually have to beg (or bribe) them to let me take their pictures (okay, there was ice cream involved...) These turned out just perfect. I am simply in love with each photo. I also posted them on my photography blog.

This past month Evan turned 4 years old, and Makiah is now 2 1/2. As always it is fun to see the things they are picking up and learning. It is interesting to see comparisons between the two... and their differences. They are both slightly shy, but Kiah seems to be my brave child. She is more likely to tell someone hello in passing. Evan usually puts his chin down and won't say a thing. Evan is a little more picky about what he eats. Again Kiah is the brave one trying new things. Some of the things she likes to eat that Evan won't touch are, olives, meatballs and pepperoni. Evan prefers to eat the same thing each day. Lately it is nice to hear them say... "Yeay! Carrots!" or "Yum! Celery!" 

Both of my kids have extremely strong wills. It's their way or the highway. Some of our struggles lately are: getting Kiah to stay in her seat at dinner time (she wants to sit on my lap), getting the kids to stay in their room at night (Kiah now knows how to open doors), and Kiah wetting her pants when she is upset... I think it is her way of showing me that she is the boss. 

Our biggest struggle is bedtime. The kids want me at bedtime. Dallas and I help put them to bed, but then they cry and cry for mommy. If I go in there they they both fall to pieces because they want another story, song, or they just want me to hold them... All. Night. Long. So what do we do? We "pretend" that mommy had to leave the house. They see that I am "gone" and they are fine. They go right to sleep. I really don't know what to do about this. I don't want to have to leave every night just so they can go to sleep. Ideas? I know we should stop this before things get worse, but really. Kiah was up till 10:30 one night crying for me. They both know what they want, that is for sure.

Even with the silly struggles we go through, we have lots of fun. I am amazed at how much these two love each other. There are times when I turn to see them hugging, or snuggling. Evan likes to pick Kiah up and they just giggle and fall to the floor. Most days they just play. I don't have to entertain them so much anymore. They love to pretend together. Often I hear Evan calling "Mommy!" and I respond only to hear him say "No, the other mommy!" Meaning Kiah :) 

I am so lucky to have these two in my life.

Sunbeam!

This year at church Evan started going to primary rather than nursery. He is in the Sunbeam class which is for the kids who are 3 going on 4 this year. He has been pretty excited about this... but it is taking some time getting used to it. His first week was fine because Dallas was in Sharing Time with a different class, that way Evan wasn't too nervous to go. His second week he got hurt right before going into the room and so he just cried for me. This past week was fine except he didn't sit with his class when he went in... it is getting better though. Next week he gets to tell a scripture story in front of the Jr. Primary... We'll see how that goes ;) 

We got him a new suit for his birthday... doesn't he look handsome? Cute, cute, cute! I love little boys in suits :) 

A few Sundays ago Kiah asked me if she could go to primary. I told her she had to be 4 to go to primary. She told me that she is 4 and she gets to go to primary and Evan is two so he gets to go to nursery. Hahaha she is a little smartie :)

4 Years Old??

It's official. He is not a baby anymore. He isn't even a toddler. He is 4! But a very cute 4 year old at that. We all had a great time on his birthday....

He got really shy when everyone started to sing to him and he covered his face...

I had so much fun with his cake last year so I had to do something fun again. This dump truck cake was so cute! 

Evan had a small and simple construction themed birthday party... I made some cute signs and trucks to hang on the walls and we played pin the wheel on the truck :) Evan loved the gifts that everyone was so kind to give him. Thank you to everyone who helped make Evan's birthday so special!

One of those things that is just bound to happen {Part 2}

I posted three blog posts today :) Feel free to scroll on down to read more...

I took these pictures of Kiah's hair on Monday and I am so glad I did. Her hair finally got long enough to fit into these adorable piggy tails. Aww, they are so cute!

The cute piggy tails did NOT last long enough for me. On Wednesday afternoon Evan and Kiah decided to play hairdresser and Evan took it upon himself to cut Kiah's hair... again. This time since I wasn't around to stop it, it got a little out of control. I had so much going on around the house that day that I didn't even notice. I noticed the scissors and all the cut up paper on the floor. I put the scissors up and went on with my day. An hour or two later Kiah pulled out her piggies and I realized what happened. There was a big chunk cut right in the middle back and off to her left side of her head. I cried a lot that day. I was already emotional as it was...

Friday morning I took Kiah to get her haircut. This time a friend cut her hair for me and she did a great job! Last time we went to Cookie Cutters and I really wasn't too impressed ($16 for a 5 minute haircut is not my thing). My friend took her time, called a friend for advice, and blended the bad spots very well. Now Kiah has a cute little bob cut again. If you look closely on her left side there are some short spots... but they blend in pretty well.

And because he is cute, and because he asked me to take his picture... 

Mmm... donuts are good.