April Fools!

Yes. It is time again to catch up on what our girlies have been up to!

Let's start with Mirren. At least once a day, I wrap her up for her nap, lay her in her bed, binky her up and leave the room. Approximately 5-10 minutes later I hear excessive squeaks and sounds from her so I go in to her room only to discover her on her tummy, still wrapped. I laugh, roll her back over, and giggle at the proud smile she has on her face. I pull the blanket back up to give her a dark place to snuggle her face and 6 times out of 10 she goes to sleep. What a goof. Her proud little smile is so funny and sweet. She has begun making lots of noises with her mouth open and her tongue sticking out. And she really and truly had a belly laugh last night when I "goo"-ed at her. Evidently right now she is working on her talking skills. She's finally contentedly sleeping again after fighting it off and on for a few weeks but it was only during the day generally. At night she's still sleeping pretty good,  maybe waking up a bit more erratically in the morning for her first drink of milk.

Bronwyn just decided to tell us yesterday that she had an earache and had for a few days. Luckily, a little garlic oil in her ears and a very long nap and she felt better. Oh and some tylenol. She had her first dental cleaning yesterday. Possibly because her ear hurt and I didn't know it yet, she struggled a bit with wanting to open her mouth and have strange things going inside. But she loved the spit sucker! One oh so slightly annoying thing was the way the hygienists at the doctors office talked to her. Now call me a meanie, but knowing Bronwyn like I do, if you treat her like a big girl then she is more apt to respond like a big girl. The hygienists talked to her in baby talk. Seriously, she's almost 3 people. Anyhow, I kind of think that may have been why she wasn't as compliant because she felt like she could get away with it. And yes, sometimes it is tempting because Bronwyn can't always say her "R"s to talk to her like that but she can carry on the most enlightening conversations sometimes and tell you stuff that you didn't even know she knew about! Having had a personality much like Bronwyn's when I was little I see the merit in helping her see that she's more than just entertaining. She also has things of merit to say when she is taken seriously. Sorry, this is just a rant of mine. But she is fun and sweet and naughty. She has been on a coloring spree at my house again. Pretty sure every crayon in the whole house will be under lock and key for at least another 6 months. She colored on yet ANOTHER table. Heaven help me with this child. Luckily we replaced normal crayons with washable crayons about a year ago when this problem was REALLY happening all the time.

Aftyn continues to be her generally helpful self. She gave her first talk in primary this past Sunday and did so well. She memorized all the words to a song, she didn't know it was a song, and did it pretty much from memory with a little help from me. She was so proud of herself! Proud parent moment there.  She is so into pretending right now with Bronwyn and I love how much genuine love she shows to Mirren. She loves to help snap Mirren into her clothes and helping to change her wet diapers. She is always observing and watching and asks so many questions about things. It's fun to watch the way her mind works. We have finally reached a fun age where we can play games for Family Home Evenings and have treats and the girls love to lead the music to our opening and closing songs. Aftyn is a great leader and is learning how to help all of her family. She LOVED getting her teeth cleaned yesterday and had no worries at all. It helped that she remembers having it done before. I'm grateful for her positive attitude and the help that she can be to me. I can tell that she really and truly loves her family.

My favorite is when we are all gathered together doing something and Bronwyn bursts out with "we're a family!". What a sweet spirit of love and happiness that brings over us all. We sure do love being a family.

Yucky Monday's and Losses

The view out our master bedroom on St. Patrick's Day. No green in sight!

 Last Monday held lots of promise to be a fun holiday since it was St. Patrick's Day and all. Until we heard the wind howling. Aftyn said to me "Mom the wind is making noises!".  Not something we hear everyday. And then the snow started! And kept on going for a few hours. We just settled in to stay home and stay warm and un-winded and snowed on.

Aftyn and her puppy, Fluffy

We started a new job system at our house. The girls do jobs to earn marbles. When they earn enough marbles they have earned some spectacular something. Bronwyn has earned an ice cream treat and seemed to enjoy that. Aftyn has earned a few things. :/  Mostly because she grabbed something off the shelf at the gas station, wouldn't put it back when asked and when Reed tried to take it from her hand and she pulled back, the packaging ripped spilling candies on the floor. Reed had to pay for it and so Aftyn lost her almost full jar of marbles. She earned all the candies that she and Reed had to pick up off the floor at the gas station. Sad! But a good lesson learned I'd say.  She recently filled her jar once again after lots of work and she earned her puppy. He walks and yips and is so cute and soft. She adored him and carried him everywhere. 

Until today. See, Aftyn played with one of my earrings I left in the bathroom. Dumb me, I didn't put them back in my jewelry box after I switched earrings because it was right before church and Reed and the kids were waiting for me in the car. So I switched them, left my gold hoops on the bathroom counter and ran out the door. And promptly forgot about them until later in the afternoon after church. I dismissed the prompting I had to go and put them away and didn't think about them until later last evening as I brushed my teeth before bed. There was only one earring there in the bathroom. I searched the whole countertop and floor and the top drawer as well. Nothing. Fearing my earring had gone down the drain but not knowing for certain, I went to bed.
  I asked Aftyn in the morning if she knew what had happened. She blamed Bronwyn. I asked Bronwyn who really tried to come up with a good story of what happened, not unlike Anne of Green Gables and Marilla's broach. As she stood there really trying to convince me with her story and Aftyn was listening, Aftyn suddenly blurted out, "I did it Mom." .
I said to her "Okay, well if you did it then where is it?". 
"Oh, it fell on the rug." (meaning the carpet).
"Well then let's go look".
No sign of it. I asked Aftyn if she wasn't sure if it had maybe gone down the sink.
She answered and said that was what had happened to it. I still had hope my little gold hoop would be in the pipe under the sink and so I asked Aftyn to go get me a bowl so I could unscrew the pipe under the sink and get my earring out.
Long story short, no earring. My heart sunk. I have had those earrings for over 10 years. They
have become my go-to earrings. They were the only earrings I owned that I could wear for forever because they were made from gold and so my ears had no reactions to them.  I was so so disappointed and sad to lose that earring.
And our day became even sadder when Aftyn's puppy had to go to the trash so she too could understand how hard and sad it is when you lose something that you really really love.  Tears have been shed on both sides, but I think the saddest part was when her puppy was put in the dumpster and we both just had an empty sadness in our hearts. It's so hard when kids have to learn lessons like this. No one put situations like this in the parent handbook that I got. ;)  Hopefully this will be a lesson that stays learned and we don't have to re-visit with her again.

Now Bronwyn I'm not so sure about. That girl has an attention span of about 5 seconds and so it may be a whole lot harder to make an impact on her. ;)

Mirren's Official 4 Month Visit

13.9 pounds ~ 35%

24.75 inches long ~61%

16.3 inch head ~72%

She cried more over the stethoscope on her bare skin and everything that preceded the shots than she did over the shots. 

Poor thing. 

She just knows when something is up I think. 

Once she was done being handled by the doctor and the nurse she calmed right down. 

At least she didn't hyperventilate like last time when she got the shots.

The doctor said she has no concerns and that she's healthy!

I really like this doctor. 

She seems older and comes across in a very grandmotherly way. 

No superiority complex that I've felt from some doctors who try to act like they know better than me what is best for my child.

I recall with Bronwyn trying to ask our doctor (a pediatrician in MA) 

 if it were possible for my child to be

allergic to Gogurts.

 She kind of scoffed and said she didn't think that was possible if she weren't allergic to milk.

Then the next visit I confirmed to her that we had been experimenting with different yogurts and

that yes Bronwyn was allergic to some yogurts because of something in them. 

She could do all natural yogurt but that was pretty much it.

Anyhow, it's interesting how Heavenly Father prepares us in knowing what's best for our kids

and standing up for them to try and get things figured out as to the problem.

I asked our pediatrician this morning about Mirren's eye. One of her eyes seems to have a drooping lid and/or a potential muscle issue with the eye itself. She is referring us to 

an eye doctor here and we will see what comes of it.

If nothing more it's good to get on top of it.

4 Months - Where did they go???

Love this girl. 

3 months was exciting, 

can't wait to see what she whips out in her 4th month!

Picture Catch Up From The Weekend

Lots of happy baby holders . . . . . and Bronwyn

Mirren and her cousin, the singer. Seriously, doesn't he look like he's singing something???

"Cousins, non-identical cousins...."

This boy is cute. And so very fun. I love his ears. :)

Mirren's New Talent

 

Just Your Average Sunday Nap

Bronwyn was being too quiet

And fell asleep mid-naughtiness

Laura and Dalana - these gifts just keep on giving! How adorable are these tights with this dress?!?!  She had a bow on her head, but I was just about to change her clothes when I thought to take this picture, so at least I got this. :)