We Are Snooow Happy!

Snow suit... Check

Boots... Check

Mittens...Check

Toys... Check

Snow? PLENTY!

Fun? YOU BET!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Check out the videos below:

Happy 4th Birthday My Little Sweet Pea!

Oh, the fun we had, as we celebrated Kayli turning 4, and cousin Jake, turning 10. Kayli has been counting down the days on our calendar, wanting and willing her birthday to come! Finally, the day of the party arrived (the 22nd) (Kayli’s actual birthday is on the 27th, but we’ll just call this her birthday week!) First thing in the morning I told Kayli today was the day we’ve been waiting for! She was sooooo excited! Problem was, the party didn’t start until 5:00p.m. Ooooh, this was a long day for Kayli. “Mom, it’s taking so, so, so long for everyone to get here!” There were lots of things to get ready for the party and I tried to keep Kayli occupied by letting her help me with some things. Of course, I’d put something away, then she’d take something else out. Then, I’d put out new hand towels in the bathroom, then she decided her puppy needed a bath! And, on it went. I let her open her presents from me, one of which was a Dora the Explorer DVD, starring Kayli! This was the greatest entertainment we’ve had for a while. I had sent in a photo of Kayli, so there was a birthday girl in the movie that had Kayli’s head on her shoulders (like a little bobble-head Kayli) This little bobble-head character of Kayli appeared throughout the movie. Dora would yell out her typical questions like “Where do we go next… and then yell “Kayli?” We laughed and laughed! Kayli was just dumbfounded as to why she was in this show. Then, knowing that having a good nap “under her belt” would make Kayli a better “party girl”, I used the “tried and true” trick of jumping into the car for a ride to nowhere! Works every time. The guests arrived at 5:00 and were greeted by Kayli and Jake’s “roaring” dinosaur cake. Literally, the signature cake from Hy*Vee, had a dinosaur head that roared and eyes that flashed. Kayli, with her ongoing obsession with dinosaurs, was thrilled with this cake and loved being scared by it, over and over! Kayli had such a great time running wild with her cousins, and eating cake and ice cream, and opening presents, and generally being in a suspended state of “over-the-top-excitement”! As the last person walked out the door, she said “Whew, that was such a fun party, Mom.” “That was the best, best party I ever saw!” I guess that says it all! Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!

Check out the videos below:

This is Why We Can Never Find Anything!

Kayli is a kid that loves to “squirrel away” random objects. I guess she sees me constantly putting things away in cupboards, closets, bags, so she thinks that’s what you do. If there is a box, bag, bench, or nook, in our house, it probably has something Kayli stored/stuffed in there. Problem? At least these things are not scattered all over the house, but, “storage” is not contained to a few common places. It could be anything that has a lid, door, or latch. So, if something is missing, like the remote control for the t.v., I might not consider looking in the step stool in the bathroom! Sometimes it’s downright hysterical, for instance, to open a closet and find something like a crumpled up pair of little pink socks stuffed in a toy teacup, sitting on the shelf next to a rubber duck. See a purpose here? Me neither. Sometimes it’s downright maddening, for example, Kayli’s favorite green toothbrush and Tinker Bell toothpaste turned up missing a few days ago. We looked and looked, and I kept saying “where did you put them?” and she’d look at me like I was crazy, and it did drive me crazy, until it hit me. I remembered that a few days earlier I had mentioned to Kayli that we were going to meet up with her cousin, Anna, for a playdate. She was so excited, she immediately went into “prep mode”. (“Prep mode” in our house: Whenever we are getting ready to go somewhere, part of the preparation is, me packing the backpack with any items a mom might find herself in need of while out: snacks, drinks, wetwipes, books, crayons, change of clothing, etc.) So, Kayli went into her own version of prep mode, and began stuffing “things” into a little book box that she found nearby. I didn’t really notice what she put in her box, but now, days later, book box still packed, I’m thinking, hmm, sure enough, there they were, in the mix of random items, the toothbrush and toothpaste. You never know when you might need your toothbrush and toothpaste!!! It sure would be helpful if she would just limit her “storage” to a few common places , but then, what would be the fun of that?

Happy Valentines Day!

I picked Kayli up from daycare and asked her if she'd like to go out someplace fun for dinner. She said she wanted to go home and have a picnic in the living room and snuggle on the couch with me and watch her favorite shows on the NOGGIN channel. Well, who could argue with that? So, we had a picnic with nachos, mac 'n cheese, and Valentine candy! Our big entertainment for the night was when I tried to read some of the names printed on the Valentines that Kayli received at daycare. Kayli would listen to the name, then repeat what I said, then double-over with laughter. There were some complicated names to read like Abhinav, and Sattv, and don't forget, these were printed by preschoolers!

A Little Confused!

So, we’re watching “Blues Clues” on the NOGGIN channel, and they are talking about "Baby Books". The host of the show is showing a couple of pages from his baby book, saying “Here I am as a baby”. Kayli looks up and says to me, “I have a baby book in my room” and she heads in that direction. I know there’s no baby book in her bedroom, so I’m anxious to see what she returns with. She comes back with this little board book from her book basket. (It was one of those books that you insert the child’s photo to make it look like they are one of the characters in the book.) She points to the cover and says “Aww, see mom, here I am when I was just a little baby mouse!”

*I'm still laughing!

Hydi Hydi Ho!

So, I come upon Kayli in the bathroom, standing in the sink, busy “cleaning” the mirror with a water-drenched cheese cloth she found somewhere. Water is dripping everywhere. You can’t see through the water droplets dripping down the mirror. And, really, how am I supposed to keep a straight face when Kayli turns to look at me, and I see that she’s also wearing her favorite work goggles, that cover half of her face, and she enthusiastically greets me with “Hydi hydi ho mom! Where did she learn that? All I can do is laugh.This child is a character!