Mommy's little helper!

Morgan can be a very good big sister when she wants to be, which it most of the time. Today we had a very long day at the church picnic. By the time we got home, we were extremely tired, sweaty, sticky, & stinky. After we all cleaned up, Morgan wanted to feed a very tired, and a little cranky Kayleigh! Here she can be seen posing for the camera in her I am a cute little momma pose kissing Kayleigh on the forehead!Morgan got so tickled with herself that the next obvious step was to lick Kayleigh's forehead!

By this time she was extremely tickled with herself! I was actually able to finally get a candid shot of her being the wonderful big sister she is, sweetly feeding Kayleigh her bedtime bottle!

There are very few things that Morgan has been willing to "pass on" to Kayleigh. Baby blankets were a definite NO! However this little stuffed cow Morgan has named "cowie" has been lucky enough to be passed down to Kayleigh! This has become her FAVE stuffed animal! My dad would be so proud! I think Kayleigh will be a definite country girl at heart!

No two children are alike!

So over the last six months I have learned one definite thing about my children...no two babies are alike! When Morgan was a baby, she never was a very big eater (however that has changed as she got older). It was always a struggle to get her to finish her bottles, she had projectile spit up, and when it came time to introduce baby food, she eat well, but she was very calm about it. It took her about 4 years before she eve caught up with other kids her age weight wise. Even today while she seems to be hungry all the time, she is still a very lackadaisical eater, nibbling a little here & a little there.

Kayleigh on the other hand has been a serious eater since the day she was born! She sucks down her bottles a quick as she possibly can. She did have a little bit of a reflux problem at first, but she has pretty much out grown it now. Now that Kayleigh is eating baby food, meals have become a speed event! I can't ever seem to shovel it into her mouth fast enough...she screams between bites until the spoon it inches from her mouth...here is a picture from last nights feeding.
You know Kayleigh is full when she stops fussing between bites. Last night she strated trying to devour a toy on her exersaucer between bites when she hit the full stage. Patience while eating is definitely not her forte. Not to mention that at nearly 6 months of age, Kayleigh weighs more than Morgan did when she turned 1!

Growing up too fast!

Kayleigh has started purposely reaching out for things...toys, her pacifier, the pull ring on her floor toy that makes music when this ring is tugged on, etc. She especially likes things that make noise! Tonight she was laying on her floor mat kicking around as happy as a clam until her foot kicked a Hobby Lobby plastic bag that had folders Mom had purchased for Morgan in it. Now before K started kicking herself around, this bag was a good 2 feet from her! Well all it took was for her foot to touch it just one time. In a matter of seconds, she had hooked the bag with her toes & had maneuvered it to hers hands & had the handle headed toward her mouth! Not to worry, Mom was watching very closely the whole time, the curious part of me just had to see if she could do it!

This morning I placed K in her exersaucer while I fixed my hair & got dressed. When it was her turn to get dressed, I held out my hands to her saying, "come to momma." Normally this elicits no response but a smile & her sweet dimples, but this morning she threw one arm my way! YEAH!!! We are making progress! My little girl is growing up fast...I can't believe she will be 6 months old in 7 days! Now if only I could get her to sleep through her 3:30 am feeding!

No Motivation!

So I just have to say it...I have been lacking motivation lately, well let's be honest it started when I went back to work from maternity leave. Don't take this the wrong way, I like my job, and I like working, but then again, I don't have a choice, I HAVE to work! But since returning to work I have had the hardest time keeping my focus, staying on task & getting myself motivated. I find myself washing dishes & clothes only when necessary, & not putting away the clean clothes (they are piled on top of my bed, while I sleep on the couch.)

I get off work, pick up Kayleigh, run to the grocery if needed, or run through the drive-thru, then head home. Once home, I look around and think of a million things to do, but just never decide on a good place to start. So my goal the week, is to get my house in order. I am making my list, & hopefully I won't have to check it twice. Cross your fingers that I find my inner cleaning pixie...she's been lost, & I really need to find her!

Pics of the Girls

Kayleigh during Spring Break '10 (2.5 months old)
Morgan at the Nashville Zoo - Spring 2010 (5 years old)

Morgan, Morgan "Brickhouse" Barby, & Kayleigh after the first Vette City Roller Derby bout!
Morgan has become a huge fan of our local Roller Derby!

Kayleigh with her Godparents, George (my brother) & Tracey (one of my best friends)
Baptism 5/16/2010

Morgan & Kayleigh at my friend Stacy's Wedding Reception.

Morgan is a very PROUD big sister! June

The Exersaucer Mishap!

So I am playing Frontierville on Facebook, completing challenges when I here Morgan yelling Mom I need you help! I get up & head in the direction of my bellowing 6 year old expecting that she simply wants help in the bathroom. Instead I see that she has climbed into Kayleigh's exersaucer & she is stuck! Does it make me a terrible mother that I wanted to run and get the camera to document this hilarious moment in cyberspace? If so, relax I didn't take a camera break! But we did have to figure out how to bend her leg back underneath her so that I could lift her out...not an easy task. The once she was back on her feet we had to work the leg holes of the seat back down her legs. Morgan was only semi-traumatized, but just enough that I don't think she will try it again! While I didn't stop for a camera break...I must admit I couldn't stop laughing once I knew she wasn't really hurt!

Failed Attempt at Coconut Ice Cream!

So my mother made this fabulous coconut ice cream on the fourth of July. Ever since then I have been craving homemade coconut ice cream. I picked up everything I needed at the store about a week ago, then came home to find that the canister of the used ice cream maker I found at a garage sale last summer was rusting on the inside! Bummer! So I borrowed a Cuisinart 2qt ice cream maker from a friend yesterday. It is one that has the canister that you freeze so that you don't use ice. First let me say that I would rather have the old ice & salt ice cream maker anyday. Even with cold ingredients the gel canister thaws out too quickly and doesn't freeze the ice cream all the way through. Second the recipe I found on-line turned out not to be as good as my mom's! It wasn't sweet enough! I was so greatly disappointed...to be craving something for a week, finally get it, & it tastes like crap! So, so disappointed, but I will live to make ice cream another day!

First Cloth Diapering Experience!

So after work today, Kayleigh & I ran to the mall to pick up a quick gift. Then we headed home to get K all diapered up. I guess it went ok, however folding my first cloth diaper was quite an experience, but K was VERY patient with me. I was trying to decide which way I should fold it...one way was extremely long and the other was good for the length but extremely wide! figured out a way to make it work, or least it seems to. I think this will definitely be a practice makes perfect venture! So far no leaks, just a really fluffy behind!

A New Beginning...in More Ways Than One!

So I have tried to blog before, but never been very successful...I think my life was either just too boring before, or I was just keeping my life too close to the vest for fear that others would not approve! Well not anymore! I would have to say that I am happier right now that I probably have been in years! Morgan & I moved out on our own (long story) right after I found put I was pregnant with Kayleigh this time last year. Since moving, Morgan started Kindergarten with some of the best teachers I have ever known, she learned how to cope with her new life & pretty much non-existant dad, & she became a big sister to Kayleigh and continues to deal quite well with it all!

I have learned that I can do this parenting thing all by myself, cause let's face it, I had pretty much been doing it on my own for years anyway! While money is often tight, I am finding ways to stretch my budget & save money here & there. I have decided that now that I have been given the wonderful new laptop from my parents, I am going to take back my DVR box & drop down to basic cable. At first I thought about looking for a VCR at a garage sale, but with Hulu & most cable stations showing online episodes, I decided there wasn't a need. I can watch just about anything I want for free on the internet if I miss it when it first airs! I also keep my thermostat set so that my AC doesn't kick on and off all the time, I also turn it up (down in the winter) when I leave in the morning to go to work so that I don't cool/heat an empty house. This cut down on my gas bill in the winter & my electric bill this summer. This most recent money saving endeavor is my branching out into the world of cloth diapering.

Both of Morgan's Kindergarten teachers cloth diapered their daughters. They were the ones that first got me thinking about trying it, but I wasn't quite commited to the idea. Then a friend of mine told me about her decision to cloth diaper her second son due in about 7 weeks. That got me thinking even more. My mom cloth diapered me back in the 70's & cloth diapering has greatly improved on the last 30-some-odd years! So when I got the invite to my friends cloth diaper shower, I decided to do some research when I went to purchase my gift for baby Grayson's precious behind. For an investment of around $100 dollars, I could never have to budget for diapers again, as the size I would be purchasing for K is adjustable & works for 8-35lbs. This inventment would take her all the way through potty training! I have already spent well over $100 in disposable diapers in K's short 5.5 month life! That really put the idea into perspective for me. I found a starter kit of Econobum cloth diapers (a brand Morgan's teacher used & mention she liked) for a reasonable price, so I decided to just in. I am going to try it at home for a while & decide how I like it. Not to mention I had just purchased a jumbo box of diapers for both home & daycare use. Also, I don't want to bring the daycare into the mix until I am used to functioning with them & until I have used up the jumbo box of diapers. So the starter kit arrived today via UPS & her cloth diapers are in the wash right now to get them prepped for use. They will be ready to put on her precious tushie tomorrow when we get home from work.

I am slowly but surely building my savings and always looking for new ideas on saving money! Once I get going on the cloth diaper run, I am contemplating making her baby food rather than buying it at the store! But that is a whole other under taking all together!