Fireflies are back!

For the last week we seem to have a gazillion fireflies flying around our yard just before it gets dark; I don't remember them being this thick last year. Kadyn loves them! I'm quite fond of them myself. So one of our newest traditions is now to go outside and catch them every evening. We often let them crawl on our hands onto Kadyn's hands. I'm hoping this will get her over her fear of bugs. I'm not sure she will ever get over her fear of crickets ever since she woke up nose to nose with one on one particular morning, but to have her not freak out every time she sees even a speck on the floor that might resemble a bug would be nice.

In other news, I have decided to try to wean Kadyn off rewards for going in her potty. She has gotten good enough at it that I really don't think they are useful in helping her learn anymore and she pretty much expects it every time she goes. About the only accidents she ever has anymore happen very sparsely either during time outs or when we are out and about in public. They are so far and few in between that I'm not too worried about it. So...the M&M's bag is sitting empty in our bathroom so she can examine it and determine that indeed we are all out. Hopefully she will quit asking soon. And hopefully I won't be buying a replacement anytime soon. I am so thankful that this whole process has been relatively easy with only a few set backs. I hope I get this lucky with all my children.

As for me personally, the pregnancy is still going well. We will be finding out mid July what we are having. I am so excited to find out. Will we keep it a secret? Heck no. I'm awful at keeping secrets! The morning sickness is almost completely gone although I have had a few relapses here and there. I suppose I'll never get over wanting to gag every time I brush my teeth, that happened to me the first pregnancy too. Other than that, I have started having trouble sleeping because of some pain in my left leg. I also got this when I was pregnant with Kadyn. Basically the only thing I can find to relieve the pain is to sleep on my back propped up on the couch. I am amazed how well I have been able to adjust to this new way of sleeping but still yearn for the days when I can sleep on my tummy and flat on my back again. But to make up for all the aches and pains of pregnancy I am finally able to report that I am starting to feel the first flutters. It is truly amazing and probably my favorite thing about being pregnant. The movements are consistent yet by any means, but there has been enough to reassure me that all is well.

Until next time. Toodle loo!

Cousins and gramsy last weekend

We had a good weekend with my sis, nieces, and grandma. We went to the park and flew kites, fed the geese (which was interesting trying to convince Kadyn that you don't let the geese take food directly out of your hands), played at the playground, went to Spirit of the Dance in Branson, and ate some great food at a Japanese steak house. Kadyn enjoyed spending time with her cousins and cried when they left. It was a short but sweet visit and we had a good time.

A not so pleasant, but funny question

Jeff was sitting on the couch with Kadyn Saturday morning and Kadyn saw his pokey belly and asked, "Baby in Daddy's tummy?" It was a innocent reminder of what Jeff already knows, a desk job isn't exactly friendly to the gut.

I may be partial but....

My kid is so amazing. Kadyn has known her ABCs for some time. She can say them and recognize them all, but we never really thought she could say them in order. Then the other day at random she just started singing them perfectly over and over again. I was blown away. We also started working with her on how to spell her name. She can't draw letters by any means yet, but I thought it would be great to at least get her used to spelling it outloud. I simply took the B-I-B-L-E song and used the same tune replacing the letters with the letters to her name. She loved it and can almost do it all by herself now. Although she does occasionally says I instead of Y when she spells it on her own. She also is able to recognize her name when seen on paper.

We have been working on her counting up to twenty for some time now and she does fairly decent with it, although all the teens sound so similar. Jeff has recently started going into the twenties. I just can't believe how quick she is to pick this stuff up. I really didn't think this stuff could be taught until three or four. I don't think Kadyn is gifted, I think it's just that we work with her so much on it all because we are both teachers at heart and love learning play. We enjoy teaching her this stuff and seeing her soak it up like a sponge. She uses counting regularly in her normal play now. It's fun to see her incorporate what she is learning into her personal play.

In other news my sister, her two girls, and my grandma are coming this weekend to visit. My sister talked grandma into taking a bus to Garden and spending two weeks with her. My granny was very nervous and unfortunately there were many mishaps along the way, so I'm not sure it's an experience she cares to repeat. But the good news is she is now in Garden and all is well. Kadyn is looking forward to seeing her cousins who she hasn't seen in over a year. It will be a short but sweet visit.

That's about it for now. Toodles!

Summer time fun!

Ahhhh!

I think the baby is finally starting to sink in with Kadyn. She has stopped insisting that she has a baby in her tummy too as my belly has started to grow much bigger. She constantly wants to lift my shirt and adore it. She pats it gently, asks if it is awake or asleep, tells the baby to wake up, and last night kissed it, told it she loves it, and laid her head on my belly telling me she was hugging baby. I'm so excited for her to meet her little brother or sister. She already is showing so much love for it which blows me away. She is going to embrace being a big sissy so well. Thank you God for providing this addition to our lives. It is wanted in more ways than one.

A typical lunch at my house

Here are a few things you need to know to understand some of this: Dodo and Koko stands for Kendall. Whoa stands for Will.

Today at lunch the conversation went as follows:

Will: "Dodo bye bye"
Kadyn: "Koko bye bye?"
Will: "No! Koko bye bye"
Liam: "Dodo bye bye Whoa?"
Will: "No! Dodo bye bye!"
(repeat this conversation about a hundred times then)
Darci: Will stop playing with your drink, drink your drink or I will take it away
Darci: OK Will I'm taking your drink.....No you can have it back when you eat more food
Kendall: Gaga, Gaaaagaaa
Will: "Dodo bye bye"
Kadyn: "Whoa....Koko bye bye?"
(again repeat some more)
Kadyn: Mama, I want chip too.
Darci: No Kadyn you have corn. The chip is mama's food. (thinking I knew I should not have put chips on my plate and not theirs, oh well)
Kadyn: I don't want it (pushes plate away)
Darci: OK then I guess that's all you get to eat. You'll just have to go hungry.
Kadyn: I eat again (pulling plate back)
Darci: Kendall you're making a big mess (thinking, thank goodness he hasn't dumped his plate yet and I'm going to need Brutus)
Will: Dodo bye bye
Darci: Liam eat some more food. If you get hungry later on that will be too bad. This is all you get. (see Will playing with vegetables and not eating them as usual, must take plate away I think)
Liam: (Put bite in, take it out, put bite in take it out, smile)
Darci: Ugh! Kendall you're spitting up? (thinking, you're too old for this)
Will: Dodo bye bye
Kadyn: I done!
Will: appy, Dodo
Kadyn: Happy bird day to you KoKo
Darci: Oh Will! Are you singing happy birthday to Koko? That's nice. (thinking, how did Kadyn figure that out but I didn't? We sang happy birthday to him am snack)
Kadyn: Aaaaaaaa!
Darci: Kadyn if you scream again, you're going to time out. We don't scream in the house. (thinking, how much longer until nap time? I really need adult time)

10 minutes later, kids all cleaned up and all in bed, not asleep but in bed, now I have 30 minutes of cleaning ahead of me. Really hoping Will can fall asleep in a t-shirt and diaper. He's out of clean pants and I can't bear to put Kadyn's flower shorts on him. Hopefully they will all be asleep in time for me to go brush my teeth. I have to have a cavity filled in 2 hours. Is it really only Wednesday?

-The end

Old MacDonald

Two baby bumps!

Ever since we told Kadyn that I am pregnant, she is convinced that she has a baby in her tummy too. You'll see her in these few pics sporting her new baby bump with mama. We have just kind of let it slide. When you try to convince her otherwise she gets very upset. So for now, until it really sinks in of course, Kadyn is having a baby too.

I wish it was a better picture of me, I was obviously tired and worn out from a long day of daycare. Oh, well I at least I have my first trimester documented on camera now.

In other funny news, I saw Kadyn cup the face of one of the daycare kids today, draw her face very closely and say, "Leeeeahm....listen....No!" He was hitting the air conditioner unit outside. Hmmm, I thought, she sure does pay attention when I discipline her. It's quite amusing to see her try to discipline her friends. Kids this age really do watch and hear everything you do. Be careful what you say.

Guests, guests, and more guests

In the past 3 weeks we have had visitors 3 times. First Dan, Sarah, and the kids came up to visit us which was oh so pleasant. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pics of that visit. Then my family came up. Afterwards Jeff's mom and dad and niece and nephew came to visit. Most of the pics from that visit are from our duck tour of Branson. Kadyn even got to drive the duck. She really did love it despite her expression in the pic.

We will be having even more guests in two weeks. My sister, grandmother, and two nieces will be visiting us. I guess we are the hotspot this time of year. Can be a little overwhelming, but we'll take vistors anytime we can get them because we don't get to see them often. I wish the layout of these pics was more professional but I can't seem to get the pics to move. I still can't figure out this program. Ugh! Sorry.

I swear, I'm loosing my mind with these kids!

WARNING: a little ranting going on here. Read at own risk.

As you know, I run a small daycare in my home. It has been good for my daughter and I think it has definitely made me a little bit more firm in my discipline. However, today I feel like I am about to loose my mind with these kids. One of them in particular, the 15 month old, has become a bit of a bully. He is constantly stealing EVERYONE's toys. I have taught the older kids to defend themselves by taking their toys back and telling him no. Since they don't pronounce his name correctly he doesn't understand that they are telling HIM no, so he ends up walking around telling them the the same thing. Then, when it comes to trying new foods he refuses. Kadyn is really good about at least trying new things. I can bargain with the other kid, but this one flat out refuses. I don't care if kids won't eat things as long as they at least try it. So.... my course of action is to shove a bite in his mouth. Sometimes he actually likes it, sometimes not. Watermelon was our latest battle. And to top everything off, he's going through a phase where he will try something over and over and over again after I have told him no just to see my reaction. It gets tiring to have to put him in time out over and over again. It makes me feel as though I'm not getting my point across.

The other toddler Kadyn's age is wonderful. I rarely have problems with him. Thank goodness for him or I would be scared to death to have a boy of my own. The last kid I watch will be one in a couple of days. He was hard to deal with as a baby, but has gotten much better as he has gotten older. My only complaint about him is that his cry is just ear piercing. I have never heard a kid cry that loud in my life. It just makes my skin crawl.

I think I am quickly reaching burn out with this daycare. I adore the kids and I know there are much worse out there to have to deal with. There are good days, thank goodness. Perhaps it's the pregnancy that's making me feel this way, but I really just want to be a mom again and nothing more. Teaching was so much more rewarding than this but I can't bare the thought of dropping Kadyn off for someone to watch during most of her waking hours. Being a mom is the most rewarding of all, of course, but quitting is just not an option for us right now. I miss just being able to pick up and go with Kadyn to run and errand, or to the pool with Kadyn, or to the library with Kadyn. I just want to be a mommy again. I just want to be a mommy again. I just want to be a mommy again. Lord please give me the patience and strength to keep doing this for as long as needed. OK that's enough. Anymore and I might pop a tear. Ugh the hormones! Someone is crying over a stolen toy again. Gotta go anyways!

Turned the corner?

As I have posted earlier, Kadyn had regressed a little in the potty training department, mostly with going number two, but I think we've finally turned a corner. We went to Branson Landing last weekend and in the middle of playing in the playground she told me she had to "poopoo." I couldn't believe it, she was willing to leave the playground to take care of business in a public restroom. She hasn't had dirty panties since. She has had a few little trickles leak out but only when she is really upset and crying because she is in trouble. So....perhaps we are on the road to full success once again. Before that she was averaging about 2 pairs of dirty panties a day.

In other news, I finally feel like the morning sickness is slowly lifting. I'm hoping by 14 weeks it will be completely gone. It is such a refreshing feeling to feel somewhat normal again. My belly is finally starting to "pop" which makes me feel so much better about the way I look. I hate the stage before where you just feel "fat." I am able to wear maternity clothes and Jeff let me buy a whole bunch of new ones so it has been fun to feel put together again. I also finally got to dye and cut my hair again (I gave up growing it out). So all in all I feel like a new woman. It's amazing what a good "doo" and new clothes can do for one's self esteem.

Well that's about it for now.