Getting Older...

I'm turning 29 in 2 weeks. I'm totally OK with that. I have no problem getting older. I'm actually looking forward to 30, believe it or not. I guess I just still feel like such a kid...maybe when I turn 30 I'll start to actually feel like an adult...maybe not. But, there is one thing that bothers me about getting older. This:

Yup - that is a gray hair. Plucked straight from my head. It is the 3rd gray hair I have found in the last several months. (I TOLD YOU MOM!!) When I called her and told her I found one a couple months ago, she did not believe me, so now I have proof.

I haven't dyed my hair in a long time - it may be time to get back in the habit. Hmph.

A Turtley Day at the Zoo

We went to the zoo on Saturday and it seems like all we saw were turtles and tortoises all day. And as many of you know, we like turtles and tortoises - almost as much as we like frogs. We have a box turtle named Moe...

and we just adopted a tortoise named Curly (he likes eating flowers).

So it was a beatiful day at the zoo - I just wanted to share some pictures...

"Look Mommy, I'm a monkey!!"

According to Haylie, this is a "Grandpa" turtle, cuz it's so big (small turtles are babies, medium turtles are mommies, etc.)

"Two turtles!!"

Haylie really wanted to feed the giraffe, but when we got up to him, she got scared and made me do it. Notice how tightly she is holding on to my shirt!!

Haylie's 3rd Birthday - Take Two

We had another party for Haylie's birthday on Wednesday - she was finally feeling better and it was good timing because Grandma Jane was in town too. So I made the long-awaited Spongebob cake...it came out pretty nice - definitely could have been better, but Haylie LOVED it! I made his eyelashes and pupils out of black licorice!! And the 3 candles are supposed to be a nose.... (Oh, and please ignore the fact that her hair is all over the place - that is just what it looks like at the end of the day!)

Here's a shot of Haylie with the Soldani boys - these are her cousins that live here in town (Eric's sister Rachel's kids)

She disappeared under the table when we sang the Happy Birthday song - then wasn't quite sure about the whole blowing out the candles thing...


So Eric helped her blow them out...

Finally! A smile after opening a present!!! A cute froggy box from Grandma Jane - to put little treasures in...

And a mini Cabbage Patch doll from Aunt Rachel

She's also finally been able to enjoy the shopping cart that Grandma Jo got her. It's so nice to have my happy girl back.

Haylie's 3rd Birthday

Well, Haylie's 3rd birthday did not turn out at all like I had planned. Her birthday was Friday. We were going to have a Spongebob cake, celebrate with Grandma Jo and Grandpa Garry, open presents, and PARTY!!! Unfortunately, on Thursday around noon, she started throwing up - and it continued throughout the day. Thursday night she developed a fever and was up about every hour or so. So this is what she looked like for most of the day on her birthday...her fever was about 103 all day.

So we decided to postpone the festivities to Saturday. We went to the Clovis Rodeo Parade in the morning - her fever broke while we were there and I think she may have actually enjoyed herself...even though she never cracked a smile...

Anna had fun - she was so cozy on Grandma Jo's lap that she even took a nice little nap.

Saturday afternoon we decided to give Haylie her presents - she had perked up ever so slightly...can't you see how excited she was?...

Yeah, no, she was not excited at all. The poor thing still just felt too lousy to get excited. This was truly the most pitiful birthday ever. She made me open all her presents for her. Later, when she got a little more energy, she played her new computer game, but her energy only lasts for about 10-15 minutes at a time, then she crashes...like this....

This pic was actually taken Thursday night, but with her fever, she has been napping on the laminate floors quite a bit - they stay nice and cool.

It makes me so sad to see her like this. I took her to the doctor Thursday afternoon because, as you may remember, she spent a good majority of the month of December puking and I'm really starting to get concerned that there is something else going on. The doctor is convinced that she is just dealing with viruses. I don't know what to think anymore.

Luckily, we were already planning on having another birthday party for her this coming Thursday when Grandma Jane and Uncle Neal come to town - so hopefully she will be feeling better by then and we can have Spongebob cake and celebrate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLIE!!! MOMMY AND DADDY LOVE YOU!!!

Follow-up Eye Appointment

Anna had her second eye appointment today and it went really well. They dilated her eyes - I've never had my eyes dilated but am told that it can be very uncomfortable - well, it didn't even phase her - she was great! The doctor said that her eyes dilated well - meaning that the muscles in her eyes are working properly - so that is good. The cyst is still there, but is not impairing her vision at all. I think it is truly amazing that they can tell if a 3 month old is seeing properly! She was still crossing her eyes a bit in the office, but she (Dr. Lanier) attributed that to the dilation making it difficult for her to focus and said not to worry. So, they want to see us back in 6 months just to check up on things. I have a feeling we'll probably be seeing the opthalmologist every 6 months or so until the cyst is gone - which could actually take a couple years. In the meantime, she should be just fine. What a relief. Although, I have to admit that I think babies with glasses are absolutely adorable!! hehe...

I've had so many people (including the doctor) lately say "She has such a perfect little face" - I love hearing that kind of thing because mothers always think their own kids are the cutest - so it's fun when other people actually agree!!!

Sisters

I'm so proud of Haylie and how sweet she has been with Anna. She's been especially attentive over the last few days (pretty much since they started sharing a room) and I got some cute pictures of her being "the big sister".

Snuggling on the couch before bedtime

Haylie came in this morning to tell me that Anna was awake, then she ran back to their room. This is how I found them.

Watching Aladdin together - well, Haylie's watching Aladdin. Anna's wondering how long before she comes face to face with froggy silky. While they were sitting here, Haylie gave Anna a kiss and said "You're my best friend". Sooo sweet.

After Anna's bath last night, while I was putting her clothes on, Haylie stripped down and jumped in her baby tub!

Every night, we sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to Haylie at bedtime. I've caught her singing it to Anna on several occasions...and caught her this morning on video finally. She gets a little distracted toward the end...you can hear Aladdin playing on the TV.

This picture has nothing to do with my post, but thought I'd share just one of the joys of motherhood with you. :-) Notice the poop on my shirt? Nice.

Sleepy Time

Last week, Anna slept through the night 5 nights in a row! If I feed her at about 10 pm she will sleep until about 7 or 8. So I decided that it was time to put her in the crib. We put the crib up last night and took the bassinet out of my room, put my nightstand back and got everything back in order. Woohoo! She woke up twice but I helped her find her thumb and she went right back to sleep. I'm feeling such a wonderful sense of freedom right now!! Here's the cutie pie on her first night in her crib...

It was Eric's idea to put her "bubby" that Grandma Jane made down under her because that is what she has been sleeping on for the last couple months. He wanted her to have something familiar - what a great idea.

And I just had to throw in a couple shots of Haylie too...this is how she was sleeping in her bed last night when I shot the pictures of Anna...looks comfy, doesn't it?

She went to bed so much easier last night with Anna in the room - she was very excited about Anna's new bed and having her in the room with her.

And these were taken a few nights ago - she has been wanting to sleep on her Dora couch at bedtime...she's getting a little too big to do it comfortably...

After she falls asleep we put her in her bed...