A Catch Up Post

My dear little humans, 

I apologize for not updating in 2 weeks. In the history of this blog (besides when we are on vacation overseas) this does not happen. It's just been such a busy 2 weeks. As the school year comes to a close, there's just lots of things to take care of, but that doesn't mean that we missed out on family time. That, I'm still keeping a priority. 

 Hannah is starting to practice bike riding. We are going to take the pedals off so that you can start riding the bike without pedals. This idea sounds simply ridiculous to you and you throw a tantrum every time Daddy tries to remove the pedals, but trust us, this is the fastest and easiest way to learn to ride a bike.

 The weather has been pretty awesome the past 2 weeks. Hailey has been generally taking a nap around pick up, so on those days that she falls asleep in the car, I'll roll down the windows and let you guys just play a bit longer before we head home. There's this tree stump at your gymnastics school that all the kids just love to climb.

 Academy 4 (the mentoring program that I've been helping out with) ended today. The days leading up to the big event has been crazy. But luckily, I have great helpers that will help me stuff envelopes. I paid you guys a penny for each envelope that you stuffed and in the end. It ended up being a pretty good impromptu lesson on money.

Hailey, you are quite the eating machine. Now that you will eat purees from a pouch, mealtimes have gone much faster. Besides acidic foods, your body will tolerate most foods. I say most, because I think you may be sensitive or allergic to egg white. I had given you little bites of egg white and you seemed to not have any reaction, so one day I decided to make you scrambled eggs. A few minutes after you ate the eggs, you started to have a rash on your face and chest. I quickly cleaned you off very well and started to observe to see if your reaction got worse. Luckily it did not and by the afternoon, the hives on your chest had disappeared. 

So during the day I'll give you a pouch and then give you finger foods for you to practice eating. 

 You enjoy chicken, fruit, crackers, pretty much anything.

 Even bitter melon (which no one in the family likes except for me). I had actually given you just a small piece to see what your "yuck" face would look like, but you really liked it and kept grunting for more every time you lost the piece in your hand.

 Hailey, you are sitting up pretty well too. Now I feel pretty confident to just plop you down somewhere and know that you won't fall backwards.

 You are also very destructive. You love to knock over towers and take things apart.

 And about 2 days ago, you discovered your hands. Like you will carefully examine them in front of your face as you move your fingers around. It was very cool to watch you make this discovery for the first time.

On Saturday, before grandma and grandpa came, Daddy took you two to Home Depot. There we saw Nathan's best friend from when you were toddlers. 

 That afternoon, you all drove up to Temple with grandma and grandpa to the air show.

 The coolest part was a pearl harbor demonstration where there were airplanes zipping around and bomb sounds going off...so I heard.

Hailey, you must have gone through a major mental leap, because now you are a giggling machine. Almost anything silly that Hannah or Nathan does will solicit a giggle from you. You go bizerk when Nathan will throw himself on the ground.

You love just playing next to Nathan and Hannah, watching them and occasionally screaming at them.

 This is such a fun age. We are just having a blast and enjoying this stage in your life. Your sleep...is a different story. I'm not sure what happened, but you've been waking up 1/2 hour after you are put down at night and then you pretty much scream and scream unless I go and nurse you back to sleep. You have a slight runny nose, which I hope is the cause of this craziness, but I'm praying for a longer stretch of sleep. I need it. You need it.

 At preschool there was a special mother's day celebration. We had tea, snacks, did a craft and took photos. I asked both of you Nathan and Hannah whether or not you wanted to take a picture with just you and me, or if you wanted to include Hailey too. As you can see, both of you made the same choice, which I think is so sweet.

 As I sigh a big sigh of relief after a busy week, I have to stop and think about how blessed I am. Maybe one day I will write a separate post about it, but I really thank God for many opportunities for growth in the past few weeks. I have to continue to remind myself that God is in control and I need to trust Him more.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll make another post on Wednesday to get back on schedule.

Until next week,
Love,
Mommy