And here we go again with another catch up post!!
Our friends adopted 2 kitties, and they are Hadley's favorite things ever! One day I was nursing her and a kitty jumped onto my lap to snuggle and started licking Hadley's face, she was laughing and trying to continue nursing at the same time.
Hadley's so silly. Sometimes she'll do weird things and we just watch her and wonder what's going through her mind! Here she kept leaning back on this booster seat over and over. You can see her stomach muscle thing well, it shows up whenever she engages her core like that.
We got to keep the kitties at our home for 10 days while our friends went on vacation! It was so fun, and really got us wanting a cat. We still miss Donte and I'm so sad that Hadley never got to know him.
I won tickets to Disney on Ice and Makena invited her friend P. It was a late night (on a school night too!) but they had such a blast! Makena has had some weird issues with this friend, who is the sweetest thing and adores Makena, but for some reason Makena kept getting get annoyed with her. She would get grumpy that she wanted to sit next to her all the time, but then she would cry when it was time to leave her house. Thankfully she got over it because it was bumming me out!
One day at preschool it was pajama day, and each kid was told they could bring a stuffed animal with them. Makena picked her giraffe, "Giraffie". Pam bought it for her while I was pregnant. We thought it might be her lovey some day but she never took to anything in that way. But she does seem to like it more these days so I wasn't surprised when she picked to take him. She missed pj day last year due to illness, and was very excited to experience it this year. It was a busy morning, and as we got out of the car at school I realized we had forgotten Giraffie at home. I was frustrated. I had told Makena to make sure she remembered, and I had seen her holding him at the table for breakfast. We checked the car to be sure but she was in tears saying she left him. She was a complete wreck. My heart was breaking, I felt bad that I didn't remember to check that she had him when we left. I got her to calm down a bit and we walked into school and I offered her to pick one of the stuffed animals at school to adopt for the day. She was trying not to cry but I could tell how sad she was. I normally don't go home while she's at preschool, it feels like a waste of time because it's really only about 2 hours once I factor in that I usually don't leave the school until 9:30, then like to arrive at 11:45. Plus the drive time of about 15 minutes each way. So I really didn't want to go back home to get it, especially not to grab it and rush right back to school. A small part of me thought that it was a natural consequence type of life lesson, that oh well, you forgot it so now you have to deal with not having it.
But mistakes happen, and that kind of attitude is not exactly how I parent. Because here's the thing, if I had forgotten something and was upset about it, I would love it if someone went to grab it for me. It's just the kind thing to do. I was able to run home and get it. It was a little inconvenient, sure, and not fun for Hadley to go back into the car for the 30 minute round trip, but it's not like I had somewhere else I had to be. I COULD go get it, so why would I CHOOSE not to? That's not the type of lesson I want to teach her. So I explained that to her, and got the giraffe, and brought it to school, and she was so thankful and happy. And it was totally worth it.
Here is Makena with the avocado tree my mom planted when she was born. Look at that 5 year old tree!
She's been doing so well at going to bed by herself. We say goodnight, give cuddles, put on a CD of instrumental lullaby music, turn off the lights and walk out of the room. And she tends to just fall asleep! Sometimes she asks us to stay in the bedroom for a bit, and sometimes she says she's worried that she just can't do it by herself, but we remind her that she has before and will be asleep soon. But there are times when Pam is out late and bedtime duty falls on me alone, and that's trickier because Makena is needier and I can't help her as much because Hadley just wants to climb the ladder up to her bed and play. So sometimes I will let Makena watch a movie on the couch with me while I try to rock and nurse Hadley to sleep. On this particular day that's what happened, and when I went to transfer Hadley into bed Makena came in with me and wanted to lay with us, since I usually have to nurse the baby a little more when she wakes as I lay her down. And then I realized both kids were asleep curled up next to me, and as I slowly got up they cuddled up closer to each other.
Fun at the Children's Discovery Museum!
Getting ready for St. Patrick's Day with Grandmo!
I love that when Makena is in bed if her hand flops over the edge I can almost reach her from my spot in bed. Some day I'm sure we will live in a bigger place and eventually the kids will have their own room. But I do still miss sleeping next to her every night and all the snuggling, so for now sharing a bedroom is fine!
Notes from Makena always make me smile.
Last year we noticed a flyer that the school across the street from our apartment was having a fun run, to raise money for orphans in Zimbabwe. We signed up Makena and she participated in the little 220 yard race. This year we signed her up again, and she talked about wanting to run fast and win. Pam stood with her at the start line, and sent me a text saying Makena changed her mind and didn't want to run. We told her she doesn't have to, but she might regret not doing it, and it's just for fun anyway. So she ran, and I stood by the finish line taking a video of her. As she came into view I cheered for her, and I saw her about to cry. I directed her to where Pam was standing and they finished the race together. Makena ended up being in 2nd place for girls! She cried at the end, saying it was too far and she didn't know where we were and it was crowded. But she was thrilled to receive a trophy! They called her up and she was nervous standing there with the other winners. We were right in the front row through, and soon she was all smiles showing off how proud she was!
I really appreciate little opportunities for her to learn how to overcome her feelings of being uncomfortable. Chances to speak up and raise her hand and such do wonders for her self confidence. It's such a hard thing for me to relate to. I know I had plenty of shy moments of a child but now that just isn't my personality at all. At her preschool towards the end of the year her teacher introduced Teacher Of The Day, where each kid got the chance to be the helper and ring the bell, bring in something to share for show and tell, and a book. I Makena debated for weeks what book to bring, and what toy to show. She decided on Katy No Pocket, and a Lego Friends Jungle Rescue set. She had such a blast, and it was so cute to watch her take that leadership role. When it was time for the teacher to read out the names of the kids who were going to music class Makena asked to read them. She read every name! She also read the names that she picked out of the cup for kids that circled the letter of the day in the morning message. When it was time to select the final name I saw her looking at the orange popsicle sticks and trying to find her own name. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she pulled her name! Normally such a rule follower I was glad to see she did that tiny little sneaky thing. And I love how discreetly she did it too. Gosh I love that girl.
During the preschool carnival auction we bid on (and won!) a 4 pack of tickets to a little local children's theater. We decided to split them up so Pam took Makena to see Madeline, and I took her to see Charlotte's Web. Time together is so important, we have so much fun and it's so relaxed without me needing to run after the baby. I love when I get the chance to sit and chat and reconnect with my darling firstborn!
