3 Year Doctor Visit

I took Riley in yesterday for her 3 year check up.  I wasn't really too worried about anything, especially because I knew she wouldn't have to get any vaccinations for this visit.  Riley's name gets called and we walk to the back to have her weighed and measured.  I asked her to take off her shoes and step on the scale and she burst into tears.  I tried to calm her down and told her it was just like our scale at home and we just needed to see how much she weighed.  She loves stepping on the scale at home, it's like a game to her.  Riley was having no part of stepping on the scale.  Therefore I had to pick her up and put her on the baby scale.  So we finally manage to get her weight and now it was time for her to just stand up against the wall to see how tall she is.  Well that wasn't happening either.  Riley kept falling down to the ground and was screaming bloody murder.  You seriously would have thought the girl was being tortured.  I was so embarrassed.  So I had to get down on my knees(which isn't easy for me to do) and pin her against the wall.  It was terrible.  And to make matters worse, Hadley was crying every time Riley started screaming because that's just what Hadley does.  Anytime Hadley hears anybody cry she'll start to cry too.  Once the nurse gets Riley's height measured she walks us back to our room so we can wait to see the doctor.  A couple of seconds later the nurse comes back in because she forgot to take Riley's temperature.  We decided to take Hadley's temperature first so Riley could see that it was easy.  Riley allowed her temperature to be taken without a fight, praise the Lord!  Apparently at age 3 they start taking blood pressure, but that didn't happen this time.  The nurse didn't even attempt to with the way that Riley had been acting.  When the doctor came in Riley didn't become any more cooperative than she had already been.  Lovely.  Thank goodness Riley is an overall healthy kid, because taking her to the doctors isn't fun at all.  I was seriously ready for a caramel apple martini after that visit.  I settled for a decaf caramel frapp from Starbucks!  The good news is that Riley is growing and is healthy!  She weighs 32.5 lbs and is 39 in tall.  She is in the 50% for weight and 75-90% for height.  I'm just hoping I don't have to take her back to the doctor until she's 4!!

Caught You!

Little Hadley is always getting herself into something.  If I hear silence I normally know that she's doing something that she isn't suppose to be doing.  I was cleaning up in the kitchen and noticed that I didn't hear Hadley making any noise.  I asked Riley where Hadley was and she told me that Hadley was in the bathroom.  I walked in and found my innocent little angel with her baby on the potty.  I ran and grabbed the camera because she looked so sweet trying to potty train her baby.  Then I realized that Hadley had also unrolled the entire roll of toilet paper into the toilet.  Doesn't she look proud?  

Riley's Big Girl Bike

A big thank you to Poppy, Grandma Kathy and Uncle Tyler for this awesome bike!  Riley received this cool birthday present in the mail yesterday and her awesome daddy put it together for her today despite the fact that he's still battling the stomach bug.  Riley was thrilled to pieces with her new bike.  She especially likes that it has a bell!  That's my favorite part too!  I've been trying to teach Riley how to ride the bike but it's a much harder process than I expected.  Not to mention that it's difficult for me to bend over for too long.  Riley tends to get frustrated easily, so I'm sure over time she'll get the whole "how to" pedal a bike.  Even though she can't make the bike go, she loves to sit on her bike.  Riley's an expert on how to brake.  Now we just need to teach her to pedal!  Thanks again for the awesome gift!

Stomach Bug Strikes Again

Just yesterday Trey made a comment to me about how he managed not to catch the stomach bug unlike the rest of us in the house.  Well he spoke to soon!  Trey came home from work early because the stomach bug had reached his body.  He felt miserable and I could totally relate because I just started feeling normal(minus the cold and sinus issues I am now dealing with).  He pretty much slept for most of the day up in our bedroom so that he wouldn't spread his germs back to us girls.  It was late afternoon and Trey made an appearance downstairs.  Riley was exhausted and decided to lay next to her daddy and take a nap with him.  I couldn't pass up this photo opportunity.  My poor sick husband passed out with his little princess.  I hope that Trey feels better quickly because I know how miserable he is feeling!  

Hoppy Easter

Thank goodness for grandparents is all I can say!  As you know, the stomach bug had hit my house and not only did I have a couple of days of sicks kids, I was sick myself.  Luckily, Kiki & Nana both sent the girls some Easter packages.  I am so grateful for this because I was out of commission and couldn't go get the girls little treats.  Unfortunately we didn't even get to dye eggs because I was sick.  The girls didn't know the difference though because this was going to be the first year I tried it out with them.  Better luck next year!  The girls each got a cute bathing suit, barrettes and a couple of books from Kiki.  Nana sent them bunny ear headbands(which I couldn't get them to wear for a picture), little purse with a $1 bill, little bubble buckets and some cookies.  Their Easter basket was nice and filled up for them.  

Trey attempted to buy some of the plastic eggs so we could let the girls do an egg hunt, but everywhere had been sold out for a week.  Oops!!  So the Easter bunny brought the girls a swimming pool for the backyard.  Riley jumped right in and loved every second.  Hadley wasn't too sure at first, but then joined in on the fun.  Trey got in the pool with the girls and splashed around.  I sat on the porch and watched all the fun because I was still feeling a little under the weather.  It was a really low key day for us, and that was fine by me!!  Thanks to Kiki, Po, & Nana for the Easter treats!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Riley!!!

Today my first born turned 3.  I can't even believe how fast the three years have gone.  It's as if I blink my eyes and another year passes that quickly.  Unfortunately the stomach bug has hit our home.  Yesterday, Riley was sick.  She was running a fever and throwing up.  She slept for most of the day and I was hoping the bug would be gone for her birthday.  I didn't want my poor baby girl to be sick on her special day!  I woke up in the early morning hours sick as a dog.  I was on the toilet with my head in a trashcan.  Not a fun start to the day.  Every time I'd get sick I would drink some water afterwards to prevent dehydration, but it just came right back out.  Trey insisted that I go to the hospital so they could give me some IV fluid.  At 4:30am I was headed to the hospital.  I was given two bags of IV fluid and some medicine to help with my nausea and vomiting.  I felt like death.  

I got home around 8:30am and wished Riley a Happy Birthday.  Luckily, Riley was feeling completely normal and was over her stomach bug.  She told me that it wasn't her birthday until she had cake.  The last thing I felt like doing was baking a cake.  I felt so guilty that it was Riley's birthday and all I wanted to do was sleep. Trey took Riley out and got her some balloons which made her super duper happy.  Then Trey gathered up Riley's birthday presents and we had her open her gifts to get her in the birthday spirit.  She had a blast opening up her gifts.  She was excited about everything.  I must say that I won with one of the favorite gifts, a flashlight!  Riley has been obsessed with flashlights for some reason or another and I picked her out a really cute flower flashlight made by Melissa & Doug, which she loved!  One of the other gifts she got was the movie Tangled(thanks Kiki & Po).  So I put in the movie and we sat down together to watch.  We never saw the movie but Riley saw commercials and always said she wanted to see it.  It was a really cute movie and we both enjoyed it.  Kiki & Po also got Riley something she'd been asking for, Harry Potter.  So we watched that next.  Well, Riley watched and I took a nap!  

After our little movie marathon Riley politely asked if we could make her cake.  Despite the fact that I barely had enough energy to stand, I got up and let her help me make her birthday cake.  I mean, how could I not bake her a cake on her birthday.  My mom had sent a butterfly pan because that is the type of cake Riley requested.  I was planning on decorating the cake very nicely.  I was going to put different candy on each wing and just be creative.  However, today just wasn't a day where I could be creative.  Riley was lucky that I colored the icing pink so she could have a pretty pink butterfly cake!  I'm pretty sure it's the worst job I've ever done icing a cake, but it was the best I could do.  The poor butterfly was pretty pitiful looking, but Riley still liked it and that's all that matters!

We sang Happy Birthday and my shy girl hid her face from us.  It was only Trey, Hadley and myself so I'm not sure why she was hiding.  Riley is definitely getting more and more shy these days.  Riley blew out her candle and was ready for her cake and ice cream.  Despite the poor look of the cake, it tasted good.  Riley and Hadley were both in heaven eating their cake and ice cream.  

 Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet Riley!!!!!

I asked Hadley to give me a smile and this is what I got!

Teething Nugget

 Yesterday morning when Hadley woke up I was greeted with the smell of poop as I opened her bedroom door.  I could tell by the smell what I was about to experience wasn't going to be delightful.  I looked in her crib to see that she had an explosive diaper which was all over her sheet and up her back.  As I picked Hadley up I noticed she felt really warm.  I got her all cleaned up and then took care of her crib.  Then I took her temperature to find that she had 100.5 fever.  She didn't want to eat anything for breakfast but drank her milk which made me happy, at least she was going to stay hydrated.  She's having a little crush on Buzz Lightyear these days so I turned on Toy Story for her and let her watch a movie.  She snuggled up on the couch for a bit and didn't make a peep.  Then she started her whining and rubbing her eyes so I gave her some Tylenol and put her down for a nap.  I knew she was feeling cruddy because she had only been awake for a hour and a half and she was already ready for a nap.  She slept for a good two and a half hours.  I was hoping she'd wake up with a decrease in her temperature but it was still over 100.  I tried to feed her lunch but she only ate about 5 goldfish crackers.  She snuggled on me for a bit and then requested Buzz again.  

Only this time as she was watching her movie she curled up on the floor and decided to go back to sleep.  I was shocked that she passed out on the floor.  My poor little nugget was definitely not feeling herself.  She is cutting new teeth and I'm pretty sure it's her molars.  She won't let me look in her mouth but she has been jamming her fingers all the way in the back of her mouth, so I'm assuming that is where the teeth are cutting through.  She ate some applesauce for dinner and by the time I put her to bed her fever was down to 99.5.  I was praying she'd wake up today feeling better, or at least not running a fever and having diarrhea.  

Hadley got up this morning without a fever and ate some pancakes for breakfast.  She seems to be in much better spirits today.  Thank goodness!  It breaks my heart when my babies don't feel well, which isn't often(knock on wood)!

Score!

Trey and I have been on the hunt for new baby furniture for our newest bundle.  Both Riley and Hadley have cribs which convert all the way to full size beds. So our plan was to do the same for baby #3.   A couple of months ago we got Riley a full size mattress and box spring because she had outgrown her toddler size bed.  I have been trying to order the pieces to convert Riley's crib into the full size bed but it hasn't been available to order.  Babies "R" Us keeps telling me they are having issues with the manufacturer.  So here we are about a month away from having baby girl #3 and Riley still doesn't have her bed frame and we still haven't gotten new furniture for the new baby.  Trey jumped on craigslist to see if there might be something good available on there to buy.  He came across an nice full size bed and armoire for sale.  It looked like it was in good shape and I loved the fact it was a sleigh bed.  New furniture here in Hawaii is ridiculously expensive and isn't all that attractive.  Most of the furniture has that island/vacation feel to it, if you know what I mean.  That's not the look I'm going for!  Trey called on the furniture he found in hopes that it was still for sale.  Luckily nobody had swooped in on the bedroom set and we were able to look at it and decided it would definitely work for Riley.  It's made by Ethan Allen and I know they make nice furniture.  And we couldn't beat the price.  Plus, now we are giving Riley's baby furniture to our  newest baby girl.  We killed two birds with one stone!  Of course I'm still trying to order the pieces I need to convert the crib into a full size bed so we will be prepared when the time comes!  I'm totally satisfied with our decision to buy Riley used furniture.  It's in pretty good condition and she loves her new bed!  It was funny because the guy we bought the furniture from just moved to the island, he's military.  After talking to him for a bit we found out he's in the Navy and transferring to Trey's command.  What a small world!  So we know where to hunt him down if something goes terribly wrong with the furniture!!  

Morning at the Zoo

 This morning I took the girls to the zoo to meet up with some friends.  I'm pretty sure we picked the warmest and muggiest day to spend at the zoo.  My sunglasses kept fogging up on me I was so hot!  I didn't let that stop me from enjoying a nice morning out with the girls.  Of course being that hot at 9:30 in the morning was a sign to me that we'd probably only last a couple of hours, which is plenty of time for us at the zoo!  Riley was excited as soon as she saw the first animal, the pink flamingos!  Then we headed over to see the elephants.  Riley and Hadley were both amused with the elephants, especially since they got to watch one get a bath.

After the elephants we headed over to see the monkeys.  Now this was some entertainment for all the kids.  The monkeys were swinging all over the place and talking like crazy.  Riley kept mimicking the monkeys and telling me that they were talking to us.  Hadley kept laughing every time she heard the monkeys talking.  We stopped at a park bench for a quick snack for the kids.  Then it was off to see the reptiles for a few of us, while Norma and Kim went over to the park so they could feed their babies(both of them have 6 month olds).  

Below is a shot of Riley trying to get as close as possible to see a frog in the water.  I'm pretty sure she would have jumped through the glass case if she could have! 

 Once we had enough of the lizards, snakes, turtles, and frogs we headed towards the park so the kids could play for a bit.  On our way there, Sivylay(one of my friends) got a call from Norma.  It turns out that her son Jonathan(Riley's age) was missing.  He was playing at the park and then she saw him walk over towards the tigers and she went to get him and he was gone.  It was a frightening thought that one of the kids had wandered off.  Kim and I stayed at the park area with the other six kids while Norma, Sivylay and the zoo staff searched for Jonathan.  After about thirty minutes he was found, thank God!  I felt so bad for Norma, but it's not the first time that he's wandered off.  I'm glad that Riley acknowledged the fact that what he did wasn't good and she knows better!  Needless to say, Jonathan was strapped in his stroller for the rest of the time at the zoo!  Since we were all able to relax now that all the children were accounted for we went over to the Keiki Zoo area which is so much fun for kids.  Riley had a blast checking out the fish and climbing through the tunnel and watching the fish swim around her.  

Of course Riley had to enter the petting zoo area.  I let her go in with Sivylay and Keerin because I stayed outside with Hadley.  Hadley has a tendency to pull and yank on dogs so I didn't think she was ready to pet the goats!  Hadley still tried to follow Riley in though!

Despite the missing child incident it was a fun filled morning at the zoo.  Both of the girls enjoyed themselves and didn't really want to leave.  After almost three hours this pregnant lady was ready to get into the air conditioning and relax a bit.  I'm glad we got to have some fun with our friends for a little while.  The next time I go to the zoo I'll be bringing my own zoo with me, three little girls!

Backyardigans

 One of the great things about our new house is the fact that the backyard is flat and has grass.  At our old house the backyard was all red clay and on a slant, so we weren't able to play out there.  I love being able to just go out back with the girls and throw/kick a ball around or let them play in the sprinkler.  It's been rather warm lately, so I decided to put them in their swimsuits and let the play with the sprinkler.  They both love to play in the water but hate when the water hits their faces.  It's really funny to watch them touch the water but not run through the sprinkler.  I guess as they get older they will understand that they are suppose to run through the water!  As long as they are having fun I'm a happy camper.  When there is water for them to play with they will last for hours outside.  I like those kind of days because I can just sit back and relax for the most part!  Hooray for our new backyard!

On Her Own

For the past few weeks Hadley has been insisting on using the potty.  At first I totally ignored her requests because she's only 16 months old and I really didn't think she knew what she was asking.  Now, she's not saying "I need to pee," but she is pulling at her diaper and putting the potty seat on the toilet.  When I ask her if she needs to pee pee she either says yes or shakes her head up and down.  So I figured I'd be a bad mom if I kept ignoring her requests.  And why not let her sit on the potty when she asks to?  For the past three nights before her bath she has actually been peeing on the potty.  I'm totally amazed and in awe that my 16 month old is potty training herself.  I'm sure it has a lot to do with watching Riley use the potty all the time.  I'm excited and relieved that it's probably going to be easier the second time around with potty training.  I just wish Hadley was talking more so that she could communicate her need to use the potty better, but I'm impressed with how she lets me know now.  Who knows, maybe she'll be fully potty trained before she's two!  That would be totally awesome in my book!  Then I'd only have to deal with one child in diapers!  

Hadley won't let me feed her anymore.  She has to do it all on her own.  Sometimes it drives me crazy because of the mess she makes.  Then I remember how I have both of my hands free to myself so that I can eat and the mess becomes less of an annoyance to me.  Hadley has always been a messy eater anyway.  I think it's just the fact that I'm 8 months pregnant and almost everything annoys me these days.  I'm trying to keep my patience at the highest level possible and not let little things bother me.  It's much harder to do this time around for me.  Cheers to my messy eater and little potty trainer!  

Sweet Girl

The other day Riley and I were sitting on the couch together watching a movie while Hadley was napping. Riley looked over at me, rubbed my cheek and said, "Mom, you're my best friend."  She made my heart melt!  Let's hope she still feels that way when she's 16!