The Kelly Family: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

She Wants to Do What Her Brother Does

Anything he does, she tries to do. Playing t-ball? Sure! Looking cute doing it? You betcha!

My Little Ball Player

I just LOVE this picture! Thank you Jennifer for using your awesome new camera to take it!

Tim went out of town to do some work for the Army on Thursday so I begged his parents (not really, more like mentioned) to watch the kids overnight on Saturday. I thought I would be a mess by this morning since I sleep so badly when he's away, but today turned out wonderful!

Brenden had a t-ball game at 9 am and I thought for sure it would be rained out. Thankfully, the rain held off and they all had a great time. Brenden wasn't paying attention all the time, but he looked like he was having fun.

Showing off their helmets.

Right after that we headed to the Fishing Derby put on by his preschool. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the park, the organization, and how much fun we all had. Even Lauren, who was exhausted and not super happy, seemed to have a great time. Not long after we got there the clouds moved off and it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Fish!

The highlight for most of the kids was not the fishing, or the food, or even running around. It was the three turtles that one girl caught. For about an hour, Brenden and another little boy kept running over to the container they were in and repeatedly yelled, "They're trying to get out! Wanna look at the turtles?! They're trying to get OUT!" It was hilarious.

We caught at least 12 tiny fish, mostly by Mike, which tied us for first place in the number of fish caught overall. Brenden received a huge bag of summer toys and all of the kids were given goody bags. I am so very happy with the school we found and all of the people we have met that teach there or attend. It is worth every penny, and then some.

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Bits and Pieces

Brenden has had some funny things to say lately. Recently, he asked his grandma Ginger where her elbow was and didn't understand that it hadn't disappeared. We could not convince him that she just had her arm straightened. Not long after that we were at her house and he tried to go into her office, which is where he usually plays. My mom had been shredding paper and hadn't had a chance to clean it up. He opened the door and said "Whoa! What happened?!?" Just the tone of his voice cracked us all up.
He's also started saying his prayers with me every night. It took me a few days to realize that the first thing that he was thanking God for was his Kendyl, which is his friend that he plays t-ball with. He also gives thanks for his mommy, daddy, Lauren, grandmas, and grandpa...we just don't rank as high. Kendyl comes up quite a bit during the day. I found him in his room telling someone about his new bubbles. I couldn't figure out who he was talking to so I asked him. His reply? "My friend, my thumb. Her name is Kendyl." Yep, he was talking to his thumb and pretending it was Kendyl. Crazy little boy.
Lauren is doing fine with the tubes in her ears. Both her pediatrician and the ENT told me that she would be a completely different baby and my reply was always "I hope not!" She's a pretty easy going kid. The differences I've seen aren't in her behavior or her sleep, it's been in how social she's become and a complete lack of fear. When we go out to eat or to the store she smiles, waves and says "hi!" to almost everyone. The other day she managed to push her car over to the couch, crawled in it and then out the window onto the couch. Several times I've caught her standing in Brenden's folding chair. She wasn't trying to reach anything, she just wanted to stand in it. I'm definitely going to have to watch her as close, or closer, than I watched Brenden. She's a firecracker!
In her room, instead of a rug, we have foam puzzle pieces. If I need to change her, I usually ask Brenden to do a puzzle for me to keep him busy. Lauren has picked up on how the pieces work and loves playing with it. The other day we started passing a piece back and forth and suddenly she started to put it into my hand and then pulled it back. Finally, after I said "please" she placed it in my hand, then grabbed my arm and made me sign "thank you." I hope those manners stick with her!
There have been several times in the past few weeks where Brenden's happiness and kind heart have made me smile. During the Easter Egg hunt at church I saw him try to give other kids eggs several times. I thought for sure that he would be the type to hoard every one he picked up, but of course he surprised me. Also, at his t-ball game he was playing 1st base. Instead of going for the ball or waiting for someone to throw to him he ran to the kid who had just hit and made sure to high five them and tell them they were doing a good job. I just love my little boy!

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One Year Well Baby Checkup

Lauren was scheduled for her one year check up a few weeks ago but it fell on a day when we had much more important things to do. So I had to schedule it for today. Thankfully her ears look great (green tubes! My favorite color.) and she's growing and learning right on track. She even said "bye bye" to the doctor, which is the first time she's said it correctly, and "thank you."

Here are her one year stats:

Weight - 21.2 lbs (50th percentile)

Length - 30 1/2 in (89th percentile)

Head - 18 1/2 in (90th percentile)

So since birth she's gained 14.1 lbs and grown 10 1/2 inches. She almost exactly tripled her weight and doubled her length. Babies are such amazing little things!

I wasn't surprised that she hasn't gained much in the last few months. She's moving around a bunch and eating a ton so I know she's just burning it off. I thought she'd be taller but I didn't expect her to be over 30 inches. Her head...we knew it wasn't tiny. :) Although yay for not being over the 100th percentile!

She's walking more every day, talking up a storm (just today she said "hot" correctly and last night she called her dad "stinky") and is really enjoying life. I couldn't ask for much more.

Pretending to talk to daddy on mommy's phone.

She has no fear.

First sucker!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

It's a Hit!

Brenden is doing so well at t-ball! He loves playing, loves seeing his friend Kendyl (his favorite girl) and is actually learning how to play.

Here he is hitting the ball. He may not get it right the first time, but he tries again! So proud of him.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Bad Mommy Moments

Bad mommy moments are a part of life, and I've come to accept that I have my shortcomings when it comes to being a parent. That doesn't mean I like it, but I know that I'm not perfect and that I'm constantly learning. I think it's a good thing that I can realize that I've done something wrong and try to fix it. Every time I lose my cool, every time I react badly or just don't have the patience to be the mom that I want to be, I know that I have the chance to say I'm sorry and not repeat my actions.

Today I had a really bad mommy moment. Brenden and Lauren were playing in his room and I ran into Lauren's room to throw something away in her trashcan. When I walked back in I saw Brenden laying on his bed with Lauren in front of him standing on the floor. He had a hold of her hands and shoved as hard as he could to make her fall down. All I could think about was that her head was going to hit the corner of his cabinet. I jumped over the bed to grab her and on the way I smacked Brenden's leg. I wasn't even thinking about it. We don't spank or smack his hands so I'm not sure why that was my first instinct. I immediately felt terrible. He was totally shocked, too.

While I tended to Lauren I sent Brenden to time out. When he was done I asked him what he had done wrong and made him apologize to us. Then, I explained that I should not have hit him and that I was going to go in time out, too. He told me when to come out and I apologized and said I wouldn't do it again.

Apologizing to him is much easier than I thought it would be. I'm hoping it teaches him that even though he may make some bad decisions, an apology goes a long way, as well as making sure that the bad behavior changes. I know it will also teach him that his mommy isn't perfect, that I'm going to make mistakes, but that I'm doing my best.

Now I just have to forgive myself for doing something that I said I never wanted to do. It's so much easier for me to forgive other people. There's one more thing I can work on.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Meeting the Easter Bunny!

Meeting the Easter Bunny was fun for everyone...even though Lauren tried to nose dive off of his lap while we were picking out pictures. :)

Happy Easter!

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

We all had a wonderful Easter full of family and friends. The kids were spoiled by the Easter bunny (aka: grandma Connie and grandma Ginger...with a little mom thrown in.) and enjoyed going to church.

Happy Easter!

A Sigh of Relief

Bright and early on Friday morning (6:15 am...yuck!) we stumbled out of bed, chugged some coffee, and headed off to get the tubes put in Lauren's ears. We signed her in, changed her into her small, but still too big for her, hospital gown, and waited to have her taken back. The medicine they gave her to relax her kicked in pretty quickly, so waiting wasn't that difficult. She was hilarious!

They took her back a little after 8 am and not 15 minutes later she was done and screaming for something to eat. Poor thing. You could tell she was in pain and not at all happy about the anesthesia. We were home by 9 am and I immediately laid down with her. A few hours later she woke up and was completely happy. We were even able to go out for lunch.

Her ears looked pretty clear when the tubes were placed so hopefully this will help them stay clear and keep her happy and healthy. I'm so glad that we had this done and I'm so glad it's over!