The Letter R

Daddy is on a break between school semesters so he got to help with our letter today.

R is for...

Racket

Roots (we had to teach you this word)

Rake

and Rose (or in your eyes, Brier Rose, aka Sleeping Beauty:) 

Garden Lovin'

So happy to have a garden this year.

It's something fun for Leilani and I to do together.

She helps me weed, water, pick and of course eat the vegetables:)

This year we planted tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, zucchini, butternut squash, and cucumbers.  Mmmm!

Snackin on some peas

TJ helps too:)

Two peas in a pod:)

Our happy harvest for the day

Twinners

                                        

Everyone always tells me that TJ and Leilani look alike.  

Well, here you go.

I think Leilani is definitely more feminine and TJ is definitely more masculine.

You can decide:)

TJ's 5 months!

Can't believe my little baby is getting so big so fast.

I have very much enjoyed his infant"ness" so I know I am supper in for it later:)

• He can roll over from his back to his tummy but he still doesn't usually choose to.  He doesn't get upset when he's on his tummy though so that's good.

• He is now eating rice cereal, sweet potatoes, green beans (such a mean trick), and squash.  He has also eaten little pieces of bread, bananas, watermelon, grapes, and nectarines.  He loves it!  He will squeal and pant in between every bite as if I can't get it to him fast enough.  He still looks at me at every meal as if I have just committed a horrible crime for not giving him some:)   

• Daily routine: 8am wake up and eat. Play until 10ish. Nap 10am-12pm.  Wake up and eat.  Play until 2ish.  Nap 2-4pm.  Wake up and eat.  Play until 5:30ish. Nap 5:30-7pm.  Wake up and eat plus his solid food.  Play until 9ish.  Eat his last meal and then sleep ALL night.

I love his schedule.  It is very healthy and it keeps both he and mom happy.  Thank you little boy!

• He's now an extra big boy in his own room in his own big boy crib.  It's always a little nerve racking to move them to their own room, but since he sleeps all night, the transition was very smooth.  I have big plans for his nursery so there are bound to be pictures when I am finished:)

• He loves to laugh and smile.  He giggles at high pitched noises and smiles at strangers (after he studies their faces for a minute).  He loves it when Dad comes home which is usually during his last feeding but he will stop and grin at him for a few minutes which melts my heart.  He also adores and grins at his big sister.  She is quite entertaining so he is very content to be glued to her every move, but as soon as she talks to him, he's all smiles.

• Grabs and sucks on EVERYTHING.  It's time for the quick reflexes because he will grab for whatever is in reach and then attack it with his face:)

He really is such a happy and good natured baby.  I am immensely grateful for his easy going and patient demeanor.  He has been such a great addition to our family!

Love you my TJ boy!

The Letter K

K stands for

Kite (which you still try to fly on days there is no wind)

Kitchen

and King ...Triton (which turned into the entire cast of the Little Mermaid so now you think Ariel and Sebastian start with K too:)

It's all about Novelty People!

So we've colored before

a lot

But we've never colored...

SEA SHELLS!

You know you're a mom of a toddler when you try to make things sound cool even though we've already done them a hundred times before:)

I found a box of sea shells I had collected at the beach when I was in sixth grade and decided it was time to let go.  So, I let Leilani play with them.  

Nothing is more final than allowing a two year old play with it.  You've definitely got to be willing to let go if you're gonna do that!

my psychedelic shell 

TJ helped.

He is always present at our activities, but he usually participates by doing this:)

Showing off our creations

AND 

this is why I still don't let her color with markers.

Cousin Week

Last week Leilani's cousin Kooper came to play with us.

Leilani loved having a built in friend and it got me excited for the day when Leilani and TJ will be able to play together.  

I hope they are good friends instead of the siblings who despise each other.

I've already seen the sibling rivalry in action, though.

As soon as TJ tries to grab for anything of Leilani's, she screams "NO TJ!!  STOP IT!!"

I just laugh

Anyway

We tried to keep busy and luckily it was hot so I could pull out the pool one of the days.

This is what mostly happened:)

It wasn't really a fair match, but she didn't complain so he kept doing it- lol

I love his face.  No mercy and completely boy!

Kooper's cannon bomb!

Leilani's attempt at the cannon bomb:)

He humored Leilani most of the time and even played dress ups with her.

He had made her a car out of k'nex and after he had left, she picked it up and hugged it saying "Kooper made me my favorite car in the whole world!"

Thanks for the fun Kooper!

The Letter C

Word ideas and illustrations by Kooper:)

Your cousin, Kooper, was here to help us with this letter.

C is for

Croquet (you played that together for a while)

Cookie (we made some cookies of course)

Corn (your favorite food right now is corn on the cob)

Cricket

and Cat (probably your favorite animal)

The Letter F

The Letter F is for:

Flowers (you help me water our flower pot every morning)

Feather (our neighbors have ducks)

Foot/Feet

Friends (you love playing with friends.  You like to ask people at the supermarket, "Are you my friend?")

and Fence!

Leilani's 2 and a Half!

Ok, so I've had this post sitting in my archive for almost a month now, partly because I don't have as much time to blog right now and partly because I haven't been quite sure what to say.
My two year old...
I love and adore her dearly and at the same time struggle and fight with her.
She's a spit fire this one.
You know when friends and neighbors start suggesting books to you on how to help manage your toddler that you've got a "lively one" on your hands:)
(Either that, or they're trying to find a polite way to say, "You're a crappy parent!")
I prefer to think it's the first.

Leilani has a gift for speaking.
That is the first thing people notice when they meet her.
"Wow she talks really well for her age!"
They've been saying that since before she was one.
She could probably star on "Kids Say the Darndest Things"
She constantly keeps me laughing by the things she says.
You could probably hear me say several times a day, "You need to learn to close your mouth and open your ears," because she's also a master selective hearer.
She hears EVERYTHING because I often hear it repeated to me...oops! But she is very good at zoning away off into some play land when she knows a command such as "Leilani come clean up your toys" is coming her way.
Which leads me to her next greatest talent.
Imagination
This girl has got it!
Sometimes I have no idea whether what she's telling me actually happened in the real world or whether it happened in her own head because both are extremely real to her.
She often has many imaginary friends to talk to and I rarely am asked to call her by Leilani.
It's either some baby animal, mostly "baby kitty" or some princess.
For example:

She found this umbrella and played for hours pretending all sorts of things, Mary Poppins included.  

 or

this bubble packing became Rapunzel's hair, a snake, a pet dog, a pillow, a lion's mane, and the list continues.

I love this aspect about her because it makes playing with her a lot of fun!

She loves playing with friends!

This is Harrison, one of her favorite friends to play with.

She gets absolutely gitty when I tell her a friend is coming over to play.

She is silly!

And just like most little girls she LOVES to play dress up.

She puts on ridiculous costumes and twirls around the floor.

She recently got to wear a "pretty married dress," as she calls it, to be a flower girl in Targhee's cousin's wedding.

The dress

The shoes

The bow

The audience's attention all on me!

She was in heaven!

You can be sure she thought the whole day was about her.

We practiced for months because I didn't want her to choke under pressure:)

Instead she did perfectly and made sure that EVERY petal was out of that basket.

When she reached the end of the aisle she turned around and declared,

"We need to get some more!"

It was hilarious.

And last but not least,

She is a Daddy's Girl!

Leilani adores her Dad.

They just understand each other in a way that I can't.

Targhee is going to school full time and works full time and so his time at home is precious to all of us.

Leilani eats up every minute she gets to spend with Dad.

I love watching them laugh and play.

I wonder sometimes if Targhee was exactly like Leilani when he was two because he can still play pretend with her for hours.  Dad's have a gift to never grow up:)

I am so grateful for my little girl.

My life would be very boring without her.

I know she was sent here as a teacher to me.

She will often remind me, "Mom, you need to be patient!"

Which is of course one of my biggest weaknesses.

She is the perfect teacher to help me learn this quality:)

I love you Leilani!