Thank Heavens For Little Girls

Sometimes I feel like my 3-year-old isn't really three. Case in point: one night this week while reading scriptures, she told me very seriously that she only wanted to do "good jobs" and no more "bad jobs." I said that is very sweet and a good idea to try that, but then I explained that its ok if she messes up because mommy forgives her. And I told her about Jesus and how we do our best and he makes up the rest. She then said she is perfect and she doesn't need Jesus. GASP. So, I explained that everyone needs Jesus. Which prompted my favorite question that I hear 100 times everyday, "why?" I  proceeded to explain a three-year-old version of why we do and she very earnestly said she can be Jesus and doesn't need him. SIGH. So, I re-directed a little and decided to talk about humility. Not sure if I reached her, but she stopped insisting she didn't need Jesus, and even liked the word humble when I explained it to her. She went to bed without any other questions. I have to say this was better than the Priesthood conversation we had a couple months ago. I am grateful I get to bear my testimony to her in simple terms. My goal is to always keep the Spirit there...I can only pray I'm doing it right. Meanwhile, it makes for a good laugh with Kelly later on.

Tonight we took Daphne's 3-year-old pictures in the woods by her preschool. She is so funny and all of these poses are her.

Bath Time

Eve is no longer frightened and/or cries during baths. Occasionally if the water is on she will get a little scared. She loves to lay in the water and kick, kick, kick. I keep it very low so it just covers part of the ear. I wash her and let her kick for a little bit, and then I add more water for Daphne to play once she's out. Daphne is pretty patient. I have to remind her a lot, but she knows Eve will be out soon. She might try to "help" a little too much, but overall I really enjoy bathing them together. Ok, maybe "really enjoy" isn't the right phrase, but I do think it's pretty cute. And it beats bathing them separately!

She Did It! Part 2

Eve can sit up all by herself these days. Well, once I get her in position. It all started at the 6 month check up. The doctor asked if she was sitting yet...umm no, she's 6 months old, duh! And a preemie. Then he proceeded to show me a good way for her to practice; its called the tripod sit. Why didn't I learn this with Daphne? Daphne learned to sit and then the next day she crawled. I always wished she would sit and play with toys before she learned to take off. Well, I guess mom is still learning new tricks for babies. She can sit for long periods of time now and ca \n even lift a hand with success. Look at her...so proud of herself and happy! Mom is proud too!

She Did It!

Daphne learned to ride her tricycle! She can pedal all by herself now. She LOVES it. She still needs some help steering...its just too much to pedal and steer at the same time! I told her at Christmas when she got this bike I would get her another battery-operated Thomas train if she learned. I reminded her a few times over the past few months. Yesterday however, she didn't didn't seem to care or remember when I brought it up. Hmmm...does that mean I didn't even need to do that in the first place? So much to learn with the first kid.

The Secret Keeper

My friend Kelsey recommend some good reads a few months back. I have enjoyed reading many of her suggestions. I read some novels by Kate Morton and while they were intriguing and well written, I didn't love the plots. However, I recently finished The Secret Keeper and I really loved it. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good family mystery.
                                 
                                      

Books and Sunglasses

This girl loves her sunglasses. She has a very weird sense of style sometimes, but I guess that is what Mom is for. I teach about sharing, cleaning, praying, being kind, and matching clothes, among other things. She tells me she can't see without these glasses.

She also loves books. We went to the library to get some new books and she picked out a good amount. Upon checking them out the librarian said my fine was over $5 so I couldn't check out any books. Of course I didn't have cash on me. I asked if we could get at least one for Daphne since she was so excited. She said no. Needless to say Daphne was balling when we left the library. Poor girl. Reading to her is so nice most of the time. It reminds me how young she really is.

"Bear Bear" and "Talli" Visit

I just love my sisters. They make me so happy. They are all so special and beautiful and wonderful aunts to my girls. Carrie, aka "Bear Bear", has lived in Boston for the last year and a half. She has done amazing work counseling. She has had some interesting roommates too. She has served in the temple and taken lots of weekend trips to states up and down the East coast with friends and her ward. She visits other friends, goes to big cities, and participates in service projects (like cleaning up Hurricane Sandy in NYC). I'd say she had a great time in Boston. Not to mention several of us Hakes made it a good excuse to see Boston ourselves. But, it was time to move back to Cruces. So Kalli, aka Talli (currently teaching seminary and missonary prep and getting ready to move somewhere and get her teaching license to teach high school), flew out and packed up Carrie and made the 4 day drive home. They stopped halfway for 3 nights in good ol GA to see the Kelly and Cassi Wood family...that's us! What did we do? We got yogurt a couple times, went to church, took walks, got nails done, zumba'd, played with the girls, and watched movies with Kelly at night. I finally saw Skyfall, which for a James Bond movie I liked it. Here are some pictures from the nail salon. I would have to say this was by far the best pedicure I ever paid money for (I've only had maybe 7-10?). I received a gift card to this place after helping a friend. It is called "Nail Luv". No idea if it is a chain, but it was great. I always wonder when they are talking in Chinese to one another if they are making fun of my feet. Have you ever wondered that? I cannot stand the part where they take the cheese grater and shave my feet., or whatever. I think I jerked my knee about 5 times, each time the guy laughed at me. But, my feet feel pretty now.

Bike Rides

Tonight I took a bike ride. I know it’s only March, but this is Georgia and the current temperature is 57 degrees and it is almost 8pm. Since Daphne is struggling to nap these days, both girls are in bed no later than 6:30. While I miss her nap and hate her current 5pm meltdowns, I do like being free at an earlier time. Since Kelly was working on his gun, I went out for a ride (after I cleaned up and did the usual “the girls are in bed” routine). I really want to do another Sprint Triathlon-in June. The ride tonight completely spurred my triathlon enthusiasm. There is a sense of disquietude when riding. It is addicting. With a bike, one can go places a car cannot and at a speed legs are unable to. It is exhilarating! I love my bike trailer and I love taking the girls on rides, when the weather permits. They love it too. Look how adorable they are together. Tonight I learned I am much faster when not pulling a trailer and 40 pounds of cuteness. Ok, maybe only 20 pounds, depending on the day.   J

New Favorite Recipe

I really love salads. I really do. Maybe it has to do in part with how healthy they are, but they are just so good. They are fresh and big and can be made with a myriad of ingredients and done up differently every time. And they take a long time to eat too. And you don't feel guilty about having dessert, which I love to have. This is a current favorite of both me and Kelly. This is as a side dish, but you can add chicken and make it into a main dish. I took a few different versions of this salad and made this specific recipe. It is mostly inspired by my cousin, Natasha, who made a version of this in college. She used her mom's recipe (my aunt Cathy, who died almost 2 1/2 years ago) which is called "Selfish Salad". Since this isn't exactly the same, I didn't title it selfish salad, but it makes me think of my aunt, so I named it this.

Cathy's Cabbage Salad

★★★★★

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 0 hr 0 min | Makes: 4-6 servings | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

Salad:

• 1 package broccoli slaw*
• 2 green onions
• 1 package of chicken flavored ramen
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 chicken ramen flavor packet
• *You may also use shredded cabbage or slaw mix of your choice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Without opening the bag of ramen, break the noodles into small pieces. Place the dry noodles and almonds on a baking sheet and roast for 5-10 minutes, until they are golden brown. Chop the onions. In a large bowl place the salad mix, onions, and roasted ramen noodles and almonds. In a small bowl mix together the salad dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and either refrigerate or serve, depending on your chosen temperature and how soggy you like the noodles to be.

JSTARS Family Day

We FINALLY got to see Kelly’s “desk in the sky” a couple weeks ago. Robins AFB was having a JSTARS family day. JSTARS is the plane Kelly works and flies on at home and overseas. He has is very own desk and computer where he does intelligence. We got to tour the plane, look at some weapons, and eat hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch. Here are the pictures we took. For the record, that gun was VERY heavy and the picture was Kelly’s idea. J

As you can see the plane is very impressive looking.

It is a little old and 70's looking inside but better than I was expecting...Kelly doesn't talk it up too much.

Pictures

Eve is slightly worried, but still curious

More worried

Very Worried

And ahh...kiss from sister

My independent crazy girl won't let me help her with the bathroom, so this is how I found her underwear after going potty!

Daphne was thrilled to help feed Eve, and it was a huge help to me at that moment. She did a great job.

Gotta love that

Soap Box

As I posted on Facebook, Daphne had her Thanksgiving feast at her little preschool. It is a private school at a Baptist Church down the street. The meal sign up earlier in the week was for chicken nuggets, cheese, crackers, juice boxes, and grapes/apples. I was a little surprised they didn’t have real food on the menu. But then I remembered this was a meal for 2 year olds, so I didn’t let it bother me TOO much. I signed up for the grapes, of course. I walked in a little late and saw Daphne sucking a caprisun, which is NOT juice. In front of her was a plate of food hardly touched. The kid next to her had a bag of skittles open and was eating those. I couldn't believe it. It turns out each kid got a bag of skittles as a present. Daphne hadn’t received hers yet but quickly noticed the other kids eating them and asked for them. I told her to eat a little more food and then I’d get them: WRONG move mom. Serve them with the food. All Daphne took from that is once I’m “done” eating I can have my candy. So, she proceeded to pick up her plate and head to the trash. I caught her half way and tried to persuade her to eat more, aware that there are lots of other parents around and not wanting to make a big deal of anything. Daphne won, only because we were in public, something I am still learning how to deal with. I gave her the skittles and she ate them all and then wondered where her food went. So, she ate maybe one or two chicken nuggets, some fruit, a full caprisun, and skittles. Ok, so this is one meal, no big deal right? BUT, what really bothers me is that we think 2 year olds need candy! Daphne didn’t know what candy was on Halloween; she called the candy cupcakes. I know she needs to fit in with society and I don’t need to make her weird about food and all that, but why can’t society change? Why must we conform to society?  Some kids are born pickier than others, but I think we make it harder for them to choose the healthier option when we’re giving them unhealthy options from the time their tastebuds are fragile and barely exploring the world. 

Even though her mom is crazy, Daphne is pretty cute. :)

I took Daphne with me to get my flu shot and the pharmacist was very nice and great, but he felt the need to offer Daphne a sucker. Luckily he asked me first and I didn’t want to look like a bad parent so I took it. But Daphne never saw it and I put it in my bag. The sucker isn’t bad. That is not what I am saying. What I think is bad is that we feel the need to give the sucker to a kid. Daphne would love it if you have her stickers or watermelon or a high five. And why do I care what other parents think about me? I guess I don’t want others to think I am better than them because I am a Dietitian. I screw up as a parent in lots of other ways I am sure of it. I am learning so much. This is one area I feel I can contribute to Daphne and Eve's well-being. And it is still possible Daphne and Eve will prove me wrong! I’ve struggled with eating unhealthy in the past. I used to struggle with emotional eating. I just don’t want Daphne to have to do the same. But maybe I can’t prevent it. And I don’t want to make it worse by making a sucker a big deal. That is why I gave her the skittles and didn’t comment on the caprisun. I guess what I"m trying to do is follow what the Lord says in D&C 59:18-20. I hope I didn't offend anyone too badly. As you can see I feel a little passionate about this!

Three Months

Eve is pretty cute. Looking back at the time Daphne was a baby, I really loved 3 and 4 months. Five was good too, but she started getting really difficult to nurse. Eve has been pretty consistent with that observation. The only difference is she hasn't quite gotten over her colic so she is slightly more difficult. She usually has to cry herself to sleep every night. It isn't for very long though. But, while she is awake she is VERY sweet and sometimes I just want to eat her up! She smiles at everything and just loves attention, but is ok if we have to ignore her in order to help Daphne. I notice Daphne watching everything I do with Eve so I try to give her equal attention and usually include her in Eve's care as much as I can. She has proven helpful, and I can only imagine how much more helpful she will be for the next child in 10 years...ok so not that far away. As much as I love for the girls to nap at the same time, I do enjoy getting some Eve time all to myself. I usually try to see how much I can get her to smile and hopefully get a little squeal. But look at this girl, ears and all:

Eve doesn't seem anywhere close to rolling over, but she is rocking the bumbo quite well. She is sleeping longer stretches at night and going down for naps a little better. She is getting chunky, weighing in at least 12 pounds. On Tuesday evening Daphne, Eve, and I headed out to Hobby Lobby to do some returns. Kelly was out of town. When Eve cries in the car I usually say "its ok, Eve, we're almost there." While driving on this night Daphne said out of nowhere in a concerned, motherly voice, "its ok, eve, we're almost there." And then I said, "Oh no, I forgot my wallet! We have to go home." And then Daphne said "its ok, Eve. Momma forgot her wallet, we have to go home." I felt like I had an echo, a cute one at that.

Hair Mishap

Last Saturday night Kelly told me he needed a haircut before going TDY to Fairchild AFB in Washington. About four years ago ( I can't remember if it was before or after deployment) Kelly and I decided to buy clippers for me to cut his hair, rather than he pay to have it cut. He taught me how to do it and for four years I did it well, never really messing up. Well, last week I had my first mess up and it was big. I had just finished trimming his neck. When I went back to do a few more touch ups I forgot to put the clipper back on so I pretty much took out a huge chunk in the back, as seen below. Yeah....

 Kelly was very kind about it, even though he looks kind of fierce in this picture. He even had fun shaving his head off as you can see. He looks pretty cute with a shaved head, I think. Unfortunately we do have family pictures this week. I don't think I would've been so nice had he messed up my hair like that, but that is why he doesn't cut my hair. 

What I won't post are the pictures of bruises and marks he received from the training at Fairchild. He did an advanced interrogation course. He said after asking a sort of smart aleck question on Day 1 he was the first person interrogated on Day 2 and they were pretty rough. This course is required so he can deploy in March to Japan. I hate the idea of him leaving again since I just love having him home. The girls do too!

Pink Eye & Church

Today I woke up with pink eye. I seem to get it once each year since being a mom. Its pretty gross. I hate not being able to wear my contacts or eye makeup. But, it is a good excuse to get some new eye makeup. And maybe looking like I do will convince Kelly to let me get lasix...? Alas, I got out of bed this morning to nurse the baby and get Daphne ready for church. I let Kelly go back to sleep since I felt pretty rested and he has some jet lag from being in Washington state all week. By 8:00 Daphne was completely ready for church (church is at 9am). To keep her preoccupied so she wouldn't pull her hair out or destroy something, I put on The Living Scriptures for her to watch. I skipped past the scary storms to the part where Christ comes and blesses the children. I figure she is too young for the scary stuff. She loved the video. We had just read about Jesus' Coming for scriptures this week. 15 minutes later she was up and saying "I wanna go church!" Well, Daddy wasn't ready yet and it was still too early anyway so she helped pick out Daddy's tie, clothes, and shoes. I am grateful Daphne loves church so much. It must be nursery because Sacrament meeting isn't exactly fun for her (or us sometimes). I also think she is a very outgoing and happy person when others are around, and she loves seeing people at church. Sometimes I wonder where the innocent and child-like qualities we read about children having are in this 2 year old, but then she does something like this.

She observed Kelly and I singing with the hymnal so she followed suit. Kids really do notice everything. 

2 Months

Well, WE DID IT! We survived the first two months of Eve's life. In my opinion, that is the hardest time because you sleep very little and have the whole emotional and physical adjustment to get through. Eve has settled down a lot at night and seems to be happier. Kelly and I have recently debated whether or not she has colic. I say no, and he says yes. He bases his opinion on the definition of crying for at least 3 hours per day, 3 days per week for at least 3 weeks. I feel she may have done the first of those, but did not cry that much for 3 weeks. In fact, she is able to take a brief nap in the evening now, which gets her happier to bed time and therefore allows her to go to sleep right after I nurse her around 10, instead of crying her head off for another hour or two. She has stretched out her nights a little and always goes back to sleep now, YES! She did sleep almost all night last night to celebrate her 2 months, which is exactly what Daphne did, but as Daphne did, she will probably go back to a much shorter interval. I am OK with that. I do not expect my preemies to sleep through the night this early. At this point, I am very content with them going back to sleep each time they eat. I am so grateful for the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" because I would be lost without it.

Some things about Eve:

• She has a winner smile. That girl will smile so huge with her whole mouth open and melt your heart!
• She has her appointment tomorrow and will probably weigh around 10-11 lbs. She has grown MUCH faster than Daphne did. 
• She is a great eater and only spits up a little bit. 
• She likes to kick her legs when she smiles and even lets out a little squeal. 
• She has started doing some baby talk which is just adorable
• She still hates her tummy and since she gets mad pretty easily, I admit I have just started putting her on it everyday
• But somehow she is able to lift her head, but I think rolling over will be much later than Daphne 
• She LOVES to hold onto something, like my hair. We just got Daphne to stop pulling hair and now she is. Its cute when Eve does it though. 
• I have to be careful about her getting to sleep when tired or else I will pay for it. It is almost comical how she can smile that huge grin one minute and scream her head off the next.
• She takes the pacifier pretty well, which Daphne didn't, so I am happy about that
• She takes a bottle like a champ, which I do once and a while with the help of my breast pump
• I appreciate the baby stage more this time since I have a toddler to keep me busy

Speaking of our sweet toddler-she really is sweet. She has nailed down her potty training. So much so that she shuts the door on me when she goes to the bathroom and doesn't allow me to help. She's even figured out a way to climb the cabinets to get the soap for herself. If I try to help, she says "NO, my do it!" She is very independent. I raised her to be so, but she her personality has added to that. She is currently obsessed with Sandra Boynton's books. One in particular is "Blue Hat, Green Hat." So, for Halloween she will be the Turkey from the book who can't seem to get his clothes on right and she will probably wear a sign that says "oops." My other idea was Thomas the Train since she loves him and trains too, but I couldn't get Kelly to be Sir Topham Hat! Daphne loves preschool but I feel guilt about her being there, even if its only twice per week. She LOVES it so much though. The teacher has taught her to say "yes, Ma'am" and I was completely shocked when she said it to me a few weeks ago. She also taught her to say "yes" and not "yeah." Kelly and I are kind of annoyed she did that, but otherwise we have no complaints about the school, just mother guilt as I seriously consider pulling her out in January when Eve is sleeping regularly during the day. 

She also has learned to chew and not swallow gum. Well, she chews it for a long time and then swallows it. She stole grandma's gum a lot and I have successfully taught her to now ask for gum...I hope it sticks. When I tell Daphne she needs to ask, all she says is "ask." I'm hoping we will get that concept down soon. She is pretty helpful too and I can get her to help with some small tasks. We have a tired household lately, and the picture below of Kelly asleep on the couch after work is an example. She wanted to help Daddy sleep so she brought him some blankets. She also likes to "help" Eve which means touching her all over her face. She hasn't hit Eve in a while, so I think she is getting more used to her sister. 

I have posted some pictures below of happenings in the last 2 months. We recently said goodbye to Janelle who was here helping for a week. She was amazing with the girls and Kelly and I even got out for a night. She also made some wonderful food and it was just so nice to have the companionship during the day since I have felt a little stuck at home. We also ate out a lot since that's what you do when you have guests! It is so fun!

And a note about my husband. He is so awesome. He helps so much. I cannot believe what I'd do if he were deployed right now. It seems so much easier with him around. Bless those single moms and moms with Dads who are gone a lot. My favorite "treat" for a while was getting a long nap in the guest room with the box fan up high on the weekends. I feel we are very in sync with our parenting techniques for the baby this time around, which is wonderful. He is also pretty handsome. 

A nice couple in our ward offered free family photos to anyone interested. Daphne cracks me up in this photo. She was so stoic. 

I think they are pretty cute.

The wife took the kids and said, go enjoy your husband. We couldn't believe it. I had forgotten what it was like to just hug Kelly without worrying about the kids. We are laughing here because he is saying, "act in love, remember you just made 2 babies together!" 

Monkey Joe's!

The Boarding House-family style Southern food. It is pretty good.

One of the ways we can get Eve to stop crying is by turning on water or a youtube video of running water. Here is she is finally passed out next to the sound. It's pretty funny.

Grandma's gum!