Our Latest Aftyn-isms

Just got this from Alyson - holy cow did she outdo herself here.  LOVE this picture with the caption Alyson!!

Aftyn is such a funny character - we have lots of laughs and giggles because of her around here.
Here are her latest things she likes to say:
-the word "lotsa" as in "Aftyn lotsa toots"
- the addition of the word "really" into her
                   "(fill in the blank bodily function) REALLY bad" - thank you Reed.  :)
- 3 word sentences are the norm around here, but she's venturing into 5 word sentences
- she learned to count to 3 this past weekend.  Very cutely done in a very excited way.
    "one, two, free!"
 - She amazes us with her use of past tense words, especially when she corrects herself from present to past tense.  I don' t mean this in a braggy way, I've just been amazed that kids in general this young could grasp something like that.
- today after watching Sid the Science Kid, Aftyn started jumping. She used to have a friend that would come and play who could jump, but Aftyn never seemed to notice.  Thanks to Sid for finally teaching her! :)
- Aftyn kind of freaks out when Bronwyn's poopy diapers leak onto me, or even when she burps up on my shirt.  Maybe it's because I sometimes freak out a little when it happens? Probably.  Lately, she doesn't seem to mind as much which is also probably because I've become accustomed to being burped up on.  I have got to get in better habit of using all my nice burp cloths that Aftyn never needed.
 - "Running away", or "running around", two of her favorite phrases at the moment.

1 Month Into Our New Way Of Life

Bronwyn's first little pony in her hair . . . in person, it looked a little ridiculous.  :)

Proof of what I said - she has curly hair straight out of the tub!

Oh boy, what a month it has been! Things are finally settling down, and we're starting to get the hang of our new schedule.  Aftyn seems to have adapted to the idea of sharing Mommy and Daddy, and she seems to have a healthy amount of affection for her sister.  Thankfully, she doesn't try anything crazy like picking her sister up.  Most of the time, these sisters coexist in the same space.
Some things I've learned about Bronwyn.  Boy is she different from Aftyn as a baby.
-she seems on the whole, a little calmer than Aftyn. Aftyn cried about gasses in her tummy, Bronwyn rarely cries about it, but takes care of it herself.  It's when she can't seem to get it out that she cries. Which is really not that often.
-Bronwyn loves to cuddle.  She loves to be held by anyone, as long as they let her sleep on their chest. She's so much fun to take a nap with!
- She sleeps really well in her bassinet.  Aftyn slept really well in the baby swing.
- Both girls share one thing in common, liking to bury their faces in the blanket to sleep.  Luckily, I have lots of practice at doing this in a safe way.  And this time around, Reed isn't as worried about it.
- Bronwyn doesn't like to have her diaper changed yet.  She doesn't seem to mind when she poops or goes potty in it, she just doesn't like cold wipes. 
- Maybe I'm only just learning this, but newborns REALLY like to sleep.  At least Bronwyn does.  I have found that if she starts to fuss, its generally because she's tired and wants to be wrapped up nice and snugly so she can sleep.  And then she's done being fussy.  I'm telling you, she is such an easy baby!
- she has been able to go to sleep on her own almost from the beginning.  I would fall asleep on the couch with her sleepy but still awake and I wouldn't hear a peep until I woke up and looked down to see she had fallen asleep too.

Overall, we are so grateful for the addition of Bronwyn in our family.  We think she looks a lot like Reed, and I think she definitely has more of his calm personality.  What a blessing that is when Aftyn and I are butting heads because of our stubborn natures!

We're looking forward to starting to see cute little smiles coming from our little Bronwyn - I've seen the previews, and boy are they going to be cute! :)

Good Thing She's So Cute

Aftyn has had a pretty productive week.  She finally seems to be settling into the idea that things have changed permanently and that she has a different role now, as we all do.  But the best part is that she is still loved and even has someone NEW to love.  And she does seem to love her sister, and whenever she hears her cry she books it over to her in whatever part of the house she is in to make sure her needs are being attended to.  Very sweet.

This week, Aftyn decided to do something very naughty. 
While she was supposed to be napping, and while mommy and sister were REALLY napping and daddy was listening for Aftyn, Aftyn decided to get creative with some petroleum jelly located in a canister on her dresser.
Mind you,  her parents were unaware she even knew it was there.
And now thanks to her creativity, we're going to have a lot of fun trying to get petroleum jelly out of sheets, shirts, curtains, and pillow cases.
Sadly, I didn't take a picture of her after the fact mostly because Reed and I were so frustrated and just trying to deal with starting to clean it up. 
But she had done a great job of getting it into almost every orifice of her face.
Up her nose, in her eyes, her arms and legs were well coated, her hair was nicely greased. 
Even her binky was covered.  Ew. 
Anyway, just had to get this written down for posterity.
I hope to forget this incident and never have to re-live it again. 
But, I seem to have signed up for this job for life, so we all know I'll be writing another tale just like this one in a few short weeks.
More than likely.

I Survived My First Deluge!

So, completely amusing that I took this picture 2 days ago, thinking I would use it in a post on this blog as a way of saying, man I am so busy with 2 kids that today I can't get out of my jammies!

More amusing when not 2 hours later, I had been pooped, puked and pottied on.  

Luckily it was by our very cute, totally blameless looking Bronwyn.   

Also lucky that I didn't take the time to get dressed because that lovely dark navy/bright pink striped combo hides stains much better than say a white shirt and light colored jeans.  

Sometimes sleep deprived moms make better choices than even THEY know. 

Pictures From Our Lives Lately

Alyson took pictures of Bronwyn!

Aftyn reading books to Bronwyn . . . in her way

Lots of snoozing for Bronwyn

Aftyn seeing all her baby accessories for her birthday. Thank you Mark and Dalana!! She LOVES them all !!

Daddy and Bronwyn taking a much needed nap

I love how I am not in any of these pictures.  I should probably get Reed to take some with me and Bronwyn. 
   Life is pretty normal right now, normal for having an 11 day old baby.  She is up a few times a night to eat, I'm definitely getting more sleep than I did with Aftyn at first but it is still kicking my rump.  I'm tired.  Luckily I usually take a nap with Bronwyn when Aftyn takes her afternoon nap and that helps. 

Aftyn is being her little 2 year old self, already trying to push boundaries.  Good thing we love her and are here for the long haul.  ;)  We're just trying to spend more time with her and being very firm with her when needed.  We're looking forward to our summer with GRASS in our backyard this year for Aftyn.  Should be lots of fun for all of us. Sorry this is short, but my attention span in the morning isn't that long.  :S  Enjoy the pictures!

Would you believe 2 WHOLE years?!?

Tonight at her 2 year birthday celebration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary'D

Many weeks ago, as many as 3 but possibly longer, Aftyn took one of her soft blankies and put it over her head like she was a shepherd in Jesus' time. 

I told her that she looked like Mary mother of Jesus. 

Talk about not thinking about the consequences your words can have.

  For at least 2 weeks following, she proceeded to do this dressing up of herself over and over and over, always reminding us that she looked like "Mary, mudder of Jesus".

In those exact words. 

Finally, now she just calls herself "mary'd".

Or any of her toys, dollies or stuffed animals that she also dresses up in this way.

She thinks its so funny to dress up her toys as "mary'd," using even baby wipes to dress up the very smallest of her toys. 

Fast forward to last night, as I went in to do my nightly check that she was covered with a blanket and all was okay after she'd fallen asleep. 

 Here's what I found:

                                                                  She'd been mary'd.