tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51246455607434582282024-03-04T23:31:39.595-08:00Team HarmanKelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-50756839773200305212017-07-12T13:00:00.001-07:002017-07-14T14:23:56.271-07:00Wow, has it really been almost 2 years since I’ve updated the Harman blog?! Rob has been not so subtly dropping hints that I have neglected my record keeping duty. “Oh that would be a great thing to add to the blog….” So for our anniversary, I’m making an effort to catch up slightly.<br />
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Um well, in the last 2 years…we had another baby. Bradley Thomas joined us on May 17, 2016. Kids ADORE him! And yes, that’s all 3 boys born in May. It’s a fun, busy month!<br />
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We moved into a new house in October 2016. More space, yay!<br />
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Cubs won the World Series. Whoa.<br />
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We visited Wrigley after, so exciting!<br />
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Kids started a new school in October - Roosevelt Elementary in Park Ridge. They did great, but not without some hiccups. Thankfully Brett and Bailey are both smart, cute, likeable kids! So they actually had 2 firsts days of school...<br />
Oriole park in Sept<br />
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Roosevelt <br />
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<br />
While transitioning to our new house, we had a week or two of either living at a hotel or living out a suitcase in the new house with no furniture. It was an interesting time...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlgjfizDkps8n9LsmwTazuOy78zHH5mYkyDZjLW2pHxDbnEoap1rGQV-RH83RYNoa8EARev0iuTCdKe8SGzeK6sON3HfKVYQjjXecNhXZ1AKvof9urPfEn-Flx5hfpJn-fmPz4KB8dQOW/s1600/all+in+hotel+bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlgjfizDkps8n9LsmwTazuOy78zHH5mYkyDZjLW2pHxDbnEoap1rGQV-RH83RYNoa8EARev0iuTCdKe8SGzeK6sON3HfKVYQjjXecNhXZ1AKvof9urPfEn-Flx5hfpJn-fmPz4KB8dQOW/s320/all+in+hotel+bed.jpg" width="320" height="240" data-original-width="1072" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuigV1jm3ysJk9SjLOEyy5dyXYr1n820WIogQihEFHKh5V-id1ee3XCyslm8B2KAE4T0nQryhmQ3vVCo-VViUoeJakFYvzuW4tEcc4Mhj5US6nnbnHb_XNGQyIlInX0r9mhMtL3ju3FM5W/s1600/Bradley+in+hotel.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuigV1jm3ysJk9SjLOEyy5dyXYr1n820WIogQihEFHKh5V-id1ee3XCyslm8B2KAE4T0nQryhmQ3vVCo-VViUoeJakFYvzuW4tEcc4Mhj5US6nnbnHb_XNGQyIlInX0r9mhMtL3ju3FM5W/s320/Bradley+in+hotel.jpg" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBKZawnKrVOYh8Dg-pV5xgv1FmzpAVi-izrPZhfKhr17ScnowtBLahZuTV96UelP7EFVTeTEMKa3qvV9us1HqUIQa6BBSAv_AH4E21HER9lkVYULwzX3ubYUTtUWa0VZhl8LHZE6SeydD/s1600/hotel+eating.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBKZawnKrVOYh8Dg-pV5xgv1FmzpAVi-izrPZhfKhr17ScnowtBLahZuTV96UelP7EFVTeTEMKa3qvV9us1HqUIQa6BBSAv_AH4E21HER9lkVYULwzX3ubYUTtUWa0VZhl8LHZE6SeydD/s320/hotel+eating.jpg" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRH9EEPDhkpSo2tcpJTDJVa7-uZoR8Wb_uvEDsG5EfEuTKEiioIu8WxNufUYx36y8QXclKdHwYTzbMZJPQGT8W7QMMIRUe9L3c4n3fsZLdE-zy0RTmcbtiKSNG76pPRbC-kSEqO1rv-PWM/s1600/hotel+popcorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRH9EEPDhkpSo2tcpJTDJVa7-uZoR8Wb_uvEDsG5EfEuTKEiioIu8WxNufUYx36y8QXclKdHwYTzbMZJPQGT8W7QMMIRUe9L3c4n3fsZLdE-zy0RTmcbtiKSNG76pPRbC-kSEqO1rv-PWM/s320/hotel+popcorn.jpg" width="320" height="240" data-original-width="1072" data-original-height="804" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMLbW1hH1p6PRgxYeZtJxzMnwSeOA-1qpJWlurfL4rD29W9abfIxBlUSb41I1JEbqgGrPEAo1Vk8hVQ48uaZXGllc7f_TaOzB3TmBwMTCyTOOcMKsm9JiOsAIBSjkRaEYRH-jqLjVWAYF/s1600/painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMLbW1hH1p6PRgxYeZtJxzMnwSeOA-1qpJWlurfL4rD29W9abfIxBlUSb41I1JEbqgGrPEAo1Vk8hVQ48uaZXGllc7f_TaOzB3TmBwMTCyTOOcMKsm9JiOsAIBSjkRaEYRH-jqLjVWAYF/s200/painting.jpg" width="200" height="150" data-original-width="1072" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozRMDEMynUus8VnG-U3Yq2dvbZcEF1mDEJivvkFD_cAVIsCqQZLCwOFm-9LwkpgwJeDIlovxmYCj7gdYzTGaOPVXI9b52asnRJJse2yrpVVZ0ZyYNYChdAtC1Js64LMMkum8ajDc1WxO3/s1600/playdate+no+furniture.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozRMDEMynUus8VnG-U3Yq2dvbZcEF1mDEJivvkFD_cAVIsCqQZLCwOFm-9LwkpgwJeDIlovxmYCj7gdYzTGaOPVXI9b52asnRJJse2yrpVVZ0ZyYNYChdAtC1Js64LMMkum8ajDc1WxO3/s200/playdate+no+furniture.jpg" width="200" height="150" data-original-width="1072" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFftyAJFhfo0BtRbrxqyuUsXdl5qkYjI4sKMyf3KEsI4KtqyaDAi-hMow8a1ub-rQSc9SIhjvr_NQIvNJ-rfiNiybwOM4wOT0AgxrpnB3SYECSerlb8aTO1AsAhfrxNSyF5JjT0uy_TDk/s1600/sleepover.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqFftyAJFhfo0BtRbrxqyuUsXdl5qkYjI4sKMyf3KEsI4KtqyaDAi-hMow8a1ub-rQSc9SIhjvr_NQIvNJ-rfiNiybwOM4wOT0AgxrpnB3SYECSerlb8aTO1AsAhfrxNSyF5JjT0uy_TDk/s200/sleepover.jpg" width="200" height="150" data-original-width="1072" data-original-height="804" /></a><br />
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Thankfully the hotel had a starbucks...and a bar :)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxRmW9w1y_bIe_7EWxXrVPwPHq8qSn1urrqAB2mobo8Za4Ttoh-D-JRod8Gx6T2Z8LCYpvdF4B_PuDWYug_MtuhP9jezk1k_5ASjzHsZVkvNb_31Vuv8dIi3gp2BAe3NckVVte6X-Qpcw/s1600/wine+and+starbucks.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxRmW9w1y_bIe_7EWxXrVPwPHq8qSn1urrqAB2mobo8Za4Ttoh-D-JRod8Gx6T2Z8LCYpvdF4B_PuDWYug_MtuhP9jezk1k_5ASjzHsZVkvNb_31Vuv8dIi3gp2BAe3NckVVte6X-Qpcw/s320/wine+and+starbucks.jpg" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="804" /></a><br />
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The previous owners bought the kids a baseball set and had it set up when we did the final walk through. It was very sweet and helpful when the kids needed something to do!<br />
Rob tests out HIS spot on the couch...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcy0h0QdN1qaG2woQo32ZPRBsq6U3TbK4-laui-6yNjvoFJf4ULLqxvJ6YeJJEd55mDaQB3lZfKEy0aKb2vLQBsDW9XEvYup43agl_Idf2K_d6QyysahDdC4lfwIh1NfTm_yyaIfIiDJ5/s1600/baseball+in+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXcy0h0QdN1qaG2woQo32ZPRBsq6U3TbK4-laui-6yNjvoFJf4ULLqxvJ6YeJJEd55mDaQB3lZfKEy0aKb2vLQBsDW9XEvYup43agl_Idf2K_d6QyysahDdC4lfwIh1NfTm_yyaIfIiDJ5/s320/baseball+in+back.jpg" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuH4viGzRIemrK6gF2ZT-uvsheRYj_NUPwyhk7wz7Ja8_7erPAQk0dF2eAmRNLG2Zpnq9ErUxcbnd3n308l_uf6TeMwg_XjKKyWK-7fvzbMFi9cKQp1pTaSAH5uu6f0bQLN25CsnaroO3/s1600/baseball+set+in+backyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuH4viGzRIemrK6gF2ZT-uvsheRYj_NUPwyhk7wz7Ja8_7erPAQk0dF2eAmRNLG2Zpnq9ErUxcbnd3n308l_uf6TeMwg_XjKKyWK-7fvzbMFi9cKQp1pTaSAH5uu6f0bQLN25CsnaroO3/s320/baseball+set+in+backyard.jpg" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpTcPWiDLoql-zBvwp5F5jbU2n-ka5nhRzy4bhONuE08Eb6JjLJpiXzIc8KsfBk8-bagQG2FtMuwnG6UWCy5ooyZ6mSdFQl_wFTCzbPbgrJEohPaqgZABWFAXxAvuhbg8IV5J4d0GVZAv/s1600/bball+in+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpTcPWiDLoql-zBvwp5F5jbU2n-ka5nhRzy4bhONuE08Eb6JjLJpiXzIc8KsfBk8-bagQG2FtMuwnG6UWCy5ooyZ6mSdFQl_wFTCzbPbgrJEohPaqgZABWFAXxAvuhbg8IV5J4d0GVZAv/s320/bball+in+front.jpg" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="804" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe0FS9vfaFrs5UThLeMRSsznAzHSWJ5UQWWF1uDIDbNV6ortfJCSPlsu-JFAAUKx_svmNcW3hVeyi7K9P8gsC_NilvJA9gsbIulED53uDKv3ic_U9OlCaJ2XayT5_O43tSGvmdw0HxHss/s1600/daddy%2527s+spot+on+couch.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe0FS9vfaFrs5UThLeMRSsznAzHSWJ5UQWWF1uDIDbNV6ortfJCSPlsu-JFAAUKx_svmNcW3hVeyi7K9P8gsC_NilvJA9gsbIulED53uDKv3ic_U9OlCaJ2XayT5_O43tSGvmdw0HxHss/s320/daddy%2527s+spot+on+couch.jpg" width="320" height="240" data-original-width="1072" data-original-height="804" /></a> <br />
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Bailey's class made her a goodbye book....this one made us laugh.<br />
"Mom isn't S-H-I-T a bad word?"<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYbjDsUBbGfzqa9CKKUQoIivFF2gD2geO0vK-ruG7U82QSBeXUlA6X6opYCPypahgnWxBmhcxQggw8vxbCNcR0OFb1MsPOcEhjNLUkuf5dIEYaFfCo0Mx9s6piGnoiJ6rHNAyTWd8KoP4/s1600/bailey%2527s+funny+goodbye.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYbjDsUBbGfzqa9CKKUQoIivFF2gD2geO0vK-ruG7U82QSBeXUlA6X6opYCPypahgnWxBmhcxQggw8vxbCNcR0OFb1MsPOcEhjNLUkuf5dIEYaFfCo0Mx9s6piGnoiJ6rHNAyTWd8KoP4/s320/bailey%2527s+funny+goodbye.jpg" width="240" height="320" data-original-width="603" data-original-height="804" /></a><br />
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Thankfully the baby, at 5 months, was super flexible. He just fell asleep wherever, whenever he needed to:)<br />
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Kid Catch ups<br />
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Brett just finished the 3rd grade and turned 9! I really can’t believe he’s 9. It just doesn’t seem possible. I look at old pictures and feel like he was 2 yesterday! He has really enjoyed watching baseball this year. We typically let him finish watching Cubs’ night games in our room when the other littles go to bed. He started collecting baseball cards and plays some baseball game on his kindle any chance he can get. That and Madden Mobile (a football game). He’s constantly telling me what players he’s traded and who made a great play. I often have no idea who he’s talking about. For his birthday this year, Rob took him and 2 of his buddies to a Cubs game (on a school night!). Ironically Brett picked a friend from each school to join him. He said he knew they would all get along, he was right! Rob said they had a great time and didn’t want to leave their seats to miss a single play! Brett would run down to the edge of the field in between each inning trying to get a ball. Every time he would come back to the seats empty handed. After Anthony Rizzo got the 3rd out in one of the last innings, he ran back to the dugout and flipped the ball up into stands. Rob said Brett was deflated (and Rob annoyed) when a tall twenty-something guy grabbed it. Soon after, the young guy searched the stands for Brett and gave him the ball. Cubs lost the game, but Brett said it was the best time. Brett did wrestling and baseball again this year. He is really excited to do a football camp this summer and flag football in the fall.<br />
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Bailey is 7 and just completed 1st grade. I read in the last blog that she grew 3 inches in a year and we were all blown away. Well she did that 2 years in a row and then another 1-2 the next. She grows out of clothes so quickly! I’m currently buying her size 10! She is SO outgoing, sociable, caring, active and just honestly non-stop. Within 2 weeks in the new school she begged me to join the school’s talent show. I didn’t know who in the school to talk for her to be entered, I didn’t know any of the kids or parents that she was grouped with…but it didn’t matter. There was singing, dancing and performing involved; she was in! She continued her dance class. She goes to gymnastics once a week. Bailey started soccer this spring and LOVED it. She was devastated when her activities overlapped and she couldn’t go to everything! Or God forbid, Brett had a game or practice the same time she did and not everyone was available to watch her! This summer she has continued her hectic schedule. She has already completed a Cheerleading camp and a Hawkettes (dance group) camp, she is now doing a gymnastics camp and will be doing a performance camp at the end of summer.<br />
I was so impressed how well she jumped into a new class this year and made friends so easily. She and Brett both tested to be placed in an accelerated math program for next year. Brett was sick this spring and missed close to a week of school. I would email his teacher and ask if anything needed to be done; they could send it home with Bailey. I later spoke with Brett’s teacher who commented how mature Bailey was, and how seriously she took her job to help Brett. See sometimes they get along.<br />
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Brayden is 4. He’s still crazy, hard to contain, adorable and loud. He loves Transformers, Power Rangers, Turtles and dinosaurs. He requires a dino shirt daily. He genuinely gets excited when I do laundry and we put his clothes away, so he can pick his favorites. We started speech therapy with Brayden this year. The kid talks non-stop but there are some sounds he is replacing/substituting. We discovered he has a little tongue-tie, preventing or making it difficult for him to say certain sounds. He actually does a great job trying to get you to understand if you are having a hard time. Brayden will say, “No you don’t understand me” and then he may use another word or describe it another way. We are also working on his quick to rage temper. The speech therapist was working with Brayden on his control of emotions, explaining that there are big problems, medium sized problems and little problems. The size of the problem requires different size of response. Apparently he told her, “Well all my problems are big”. The conversation continued when Brayden said he knew a great example of a big problem…like when he jumped off the hospital bed when mommy was in the hospital getting Bradley out of her belly and his head spilt open and he needed stitches. The therapist said “oh yeah that sounds awful, did that really happen?!” To which I said, “oh yes…” At least we had already had their pictures taken with the baby! It’s funny now to think about it. The room was crowded and the kids were getting restless, so grandma and grandpa were going to take the kids to lunch. Brayden goes to jump off the bed but his foot got caught in the handle of the pull-out, leaving him diving head first into the corner of the solid wood bassinet cart for the baby. Rob picks him up and blood is just everywhere. I waddle my 1 day after delivery body into the hallway and say we need a little help. Well maybe I should have clarified, because they thought something was wrong with the baby, calling some sort of alarm. Soon 7 or so hospital people are rushing into our room. One doctor with a briefcase looking thing said he was from “airways” asking if we needed him. I said no, it’s the toddler. After some packing of the wound, they put Brayden in Rob’s lap in a wheelchair and pushed them down to the Children’s emergency room where he was given around 20 stitches in his forehead. The subsequent nurses would ask how Brayden was doing before asking how I or the baby were doing… Welcome to the Harmans baby Bradley!! :)<br />
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Bradley is awesome. The kid has been going with the flow since he was born. There has been no set nap or food schedule. We have yet to child proof the house. The other 3 literally fight to be the first to hug him or talk to him in the morning or after school. He only says ‘dada’. For everything but especially for Rob. He is started to gesture for things but so far it’s just a yelling until you guess what he wants. He bites more than any of the others ones did. And typically just bites mommy. He bites when he’s mad, when he’s excited and when he’s He may have been the biggest baby (9lbs!) but he’s the smallest Harman toddler. Daddy says he will be tough even if he’s short!<br />
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Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-88056244581755268782015-08-03T11:06:00.000-07:002015-08-03T11:24:55.187-07:00Summer finally!SUMMER!!!<br />
There is never enough time to get everything done! I’ve started this post a number of times. School year was very busy! I was watching 2 additional kids this school year so there were either 4 or 5 little ones every day! Kids were in school until mid-June so it felt like a late start to summer. We've tried to make it up!<br />
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Brett finished 1st grade with all A’s. Rob let Brett pick dinner the first time he brought home a straight A grade card; Brett did not forget this each additional time. He’s officially a reader now! I don’t know why I still get surprised when he reads something off a sign or the t.v. He has such an inquisitive mind; he wants to know about everything! He was named “Rocket Man” at his 1st grade awards assembly, the teachers commented that he runs to get everywhere and always has to be the fastest! He did an after school art class most of the year with Young Rembrandts, which he really enjoyed. He often asks to do crafts at home or will just grab paper to create pictures. I do not have this gene. This is something from his father’s side. Brett did floor hockey and wrestling again this year. He is finishing up baseball, as well as, gymnastics and tells me he’s excited to sleep in for the rest of the summer!<br />
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Bailey’s spring was quite eventful. In efforts to prepare her for all day kindergarten in the fall, I signed Bailey up for park classes after her pre-k. She was doing pre-k 5 days a week with the elementary, playschool 2 days with the park, an art class, and a young science class. No wonder she still napped if she had a free afternoon. She loved the idea of packing a lunch on her long day like Brett. She would ask me the night before what I thought I would pack for her. She was such a great helper with Brayden and the other 2 girls we watched. She loves to draw and would come home with 5-10 pages of things she drew or wrote on every day. And you better believe mommy better not throw any of them out!! Bailey may end up being our tall one. At her check-up this winter, we found out she grew over 3 inches in the last year, the doctor said she is on pace to be 5’7-5’8! She is head and shoulders taller than all of her friends in school. <br />
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Brayden is a 2 year old monster. A lovable, energetic, smart, hilarious, independent monster. He really is funny…and very challenging at times. I recently took him for his 24 month check-up, he is in the 50th percentile for height and weight. The doctor we saw was not our normal pediatrician so was asking a ton of developmental questions. Can he run? “yes”. Can he run well without falling? “yes, he runs away whenever possible”. Can he climb? “yes, he climbed on top of tables and furniture before walking.” I often walk into the room and find him on top of the back of the couch looking out the window for Brett to come home. He loves anything that Brett is into; legos, Star Wars, football, wrestling, nerf guns, Dusty from Planes and now dinosaurs from Jurassic World! Brayden insisted that he pack his own backpack when Brett and Bailey were getting ready for school. Brett had a small preschool shark book bag that Brayden has taken over, every morning I would find the bag full of his favorite toys, pacifiers and a snack that he grabbed from the pantry. <br />
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Brayden can throw a decent fit for whatever reason. I’m learning though, that he does well if you tell him what will happen in sequence. I don’t remember the other 2 being able to do this at his age. He can ask for something over and over….but if I tell him for example “after night night (nap), we’ll go get Brett from school, or after Brett and Bailey’s swim lesson, it’s your turn”, he does much better. He often uses this technique to ask for what he wants. “When dinner done, Truck on T.V?!” Then he will tilt his head and grin. He is incredibly cute when doing so hard to argue with!<br />
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<br />
Harman kiddo Mini’s<br />
Brett gets set on things. For a couple weeks he wanted me to make him math tests. I was fine with this, but not when he woke me up at 6am on Monday morning to do so. I also had to grade it immediately to confirm he got them all correct.<br />
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When changing Brayden’s diaper, he yelled out “AMEN!”<br />
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Brayden frequently would blame other babies for stinky diapers. “Brayden did you go potty?” No, baby did. Abby poo poo. <br />
The funniest was in Ohio when I asked and he said “no, grandpa poo poo’d”<br />
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Brayden has been the most inconsistent child with sleeping at night. He will go through phases of sleeping all night and then 7 days straight of waking up multiple times. This can get tiring. After a good night, I said to him “Brayden you slept all night in your bed! Good job!!” and gave him a high five. He said “mmm hmmm, mommy ache…” Oh did you give mommy a break?! “Mmm Hmmm!”<br />
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This brings me to another topic. Brayden for the longest time refused to say “yes” or “yeah” to anything. He would positively reply and say “mm hm” but FINALLY started saying “yeah” last month. <br />
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I was having the kids pick up their rooms. I went to check their progress and see Bailey shoving clothes under her bed! When I asked what she was doing, she said “the only thing I know how to do is hide things under my bed!” <br />
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Brett was getting on me about wanting a hot breakfast before school. I explained, if he and his siblings got up in time and I didn’t have to remind them 10x to get ready for the day, I would be able to make something other than cereal. He tried for about a week and then finally he was ready by the agreed upon time. “Thanks for the eggs and sausage mom, will you be making this in 11 days?” It was 11 days until his 7th birthday. Brett had quite the countdown for his birthday this year. He dropped many hints!<br />
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Brett said this spring “maybe we should move so we don't have to cheer for the Bears since they are so bad”.<br />
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Bailey is still a little drama queen! We had just talked to grandma from Ohio and she said she had a little cold. We were doing prayers that night and Bailey says “hope grandma is ok…and can come home from the hospital (she was not in the hospital). What would grandpa do?! Who would make us all the fancy meals?!” <br />
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I was sitting on the floor feeding Autumn while Brayden and Abby were in their high chairs. Brayden kept saying “done hotdog done!” I told him good job and asked him if he wanted more. That did not satisfy him. He said it over and over. I stood up so I could see him. He had plenty of food on his plate…and said “done hotdog DONE!” Then I realized, he was trying to get the hot dog on his fork, he was telling his hot dog to “COME ON!”. <br />
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“Brett do you think I like getting kicked in the back as you are climbing over me?”<br />
Brett – “what? I thought you like back rubs?”<br />
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Brayden is another snuggle bear. When sitting on the couch, he has to sit so close he’s basically on top of you and links his arm in yours. And when sleeping by us, he has to be touching; either a hand on my face or neck or he wraps his tiny arms all around my neck! It’s all nice and sweet until you are woken up by a swift head butt to your nose because he’s trying to get closer on your pillow!<br />
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Brayden is talking so much now! Common phrases "(name, toy) where ARE you?", "Mama, what you doing?", "Noodles for dinner please??", "Daddy at work", "Brett Brett, Bailey c’mon!". If you ask him if he needs a new diaper, he says “No, I ok”. He loves music and singing in the car. Every song is “me jam!” Brayden will act like he’s fallen off the couch and yell “help me help me!” He was obsessed with the Planes movie at his birthday. He would carry his “Dusty Crop-hop-hoper” with him all over the place. He loves the cars characters but calls Lightening McQueen, “King guy”. It took a while to figure that one out. He used to call all cars “guys”, and all he could say of McQueen was ‘king’. So now we know “king guy” is something we need to find often. He loves dinosaurs from the Jurassic World movie. He has not seen this but hears about them from Brett. He can name all the dinosaurs. He has multiple “Echos” that he takes in the car, in the tub and in bed!<br />
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Brett is very competitive. This summer is constant games of Uno, Go Fish, Battleship, etc. He is not great about losing….we are working on this.<br />
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For some reason, Rob had the kids saying “Sir, yes sir!” one weekend. That Monday, Brayden said it to me. I said, “mommy’s a girl so you would say Ma’am.” So he yelled “SIR, YES SIR MA’AM Mommy!”<br />
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Brett “Mom I wouldn’t try the Kragle out on you if we were legos.” Please refer to Lego Movie.<br />
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Bailey loves to work on things. She often tries to make things a mystery that she’s figuring out. <br />
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Brett- “Mom I love your egg sandwiches. Like, I'm in love with them. I could marry them. Actually maybe I'll just live with you when I'm an adult and you can keep making them for me”. I told him I would always make him a sandwich if he asked even if he was grown. <br />
“What if I'm like 86?”<br />
Me – “yes when you are 86”<br />
Brett- “oh you'll probably be gone by then”<br />
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The school had a horrible year with lice going around. We were lucky but we had weeks of me combing and checking their hair in the morning and night. Bailey was clearly over it “Ugh! Are we checking for lice AGAIN!? What, do they just like living and feeding off of hair? Why can’t they just go to China?” <br />
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Bailey was pushing my patience one afternoon. I was trying to get things done while the younger ones were napping. She asked for a snack probably 20 times. On the 21st attempt, I didn’t answer. So she said, “Mom, can I get a snack…or do you want Elsa to freeze the house?....Would you like the house to be all cold or would you like to get me a snack?” Ok, this time she wins for creativity.<br />
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Brayden can you please eat your strawberries?<br />
“no, I’m batman!”<br />
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Soaking up as much summer as we can before school starts!!<br />
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Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-30988655307323364092015-08-03T07:20:00.001-07:002015-08-03T07:20:51.108-07:00Winter 2015<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F6174789633914210129%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCLad2-zzvcqXBQ%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-17141136260992473392015-08-03T07:09:00.002-07:002015-08-03T07:09:45.653-07:00Spring 2015<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F6158064476543626881%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCMLG9tmMo4XfIg%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-39997870674302426832015-08-03T07:01:00.002-07:002015-08-03T07:01:41.163-07:00Summer pictures 2015<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F6174834486982042625%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCM-1naap3oXL3QE%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-71827868487418166822015-01-05T11:57:00.004-08:002015-01-06T12:54:01.427-08:002015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEk6F04Ibl4Fthyphenhyphenp4lhHaJWtLkmH2896hQPQWQQ-9l77SmIRA5YByxZnrCoKP63sH6zOJb-JXAuoOQcJ9hDv2vdxcTA_kAkAAIO72jp3SGGURC9F0v0ISz2YSZK6dag0tJ-NFMdTYwHQi/s1600/IMG_1118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEk6F04Ibl4Fthyphenhyphenp4lhHaJWtLkmH2896hQPQWQQ-9l77SmIRA5YByxZnrCoKP63sH6zOJb-JXAuoOQcJ9hDv2vdxcTA_kAkAAIO72jp3SGGURC9F0v0ISz2YSZK6dag0tJ-NFMdTYwHQi/s200/IMG_1118.JPG" /></a></div>I have lacked on my posting. My husband is the first to point out. It’s just so hard to keep up with everything the kids are doing! We have a lot going on!<br />
Over the summer we took a family vacation to Suttons Bay, Michigan again with Grandma and Grandpa Wood and some of our cousins. It’s becoming the kids’ favorite week! We were able to stay at the same house that we did the previous trip. It was a great week of going to the beach, swimming in the pool, riding bikes and playing games. We were there for 4th of July and the Cherry Festival. Mommy and Auntie Kylie took advantage of a couple wine tours during nap time. It was a win-win all around! <br />
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The rest of the summer was full of swimming lessons, Legoland trips, museums, T-ball and picnics at the park. We spent a week in Ohio with grandma and grandpa and got to spend time with our Ohio cousins. Mommy and daddy even got away for a couple of weekends, a night downtown and a trip to New York. Mommy came back rested and relaxed, kids weren’t really sure why? :)<br />
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Brett is in 1st grade. He is doing great. His confidence in reading has really improved and he blows us away with what he can read. He still loves manipulating numbers and constantly surprises me in how he plays with them in his head. At his parent teacher conference, his teacher remarked about what a kind, good kid he is. Wonderful to hear, you never know how your child acts when you are not around! Brett played floor hockey at the park district during the fall and is doing wrestling again with Daddy as the coach with the Maine Eagles. Brett loves playing football during recess, putting together Legos, learning Chess from grandpa and Star Wars.<br />
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Bailey is in Pre-K. She goes 5 days a week for the morning. A big change for her but she is doing well. She is making friends and I love hearing what she is learning in school. She has an incredible memory for songs and remembering lines verbatim. Which has come to kick me in the butt a few times, I have to be mindful how I say things! Not only does she take things literal, she remembers them exactly! She participated in tumbling again and took an Arts and Crafts class at the park this fall. She still loves the movie Frozen (Elsa specifically), dancing, drawing (hundreds of papers around my house!), American Girl dolls and pink dresses.<br />
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Brayden is now 20 months and is hysterical. He is OBSESSED with football and tackling. You may think I’m exaggerating; his first words were ‘Mama’ and ‘football’ in that order. We didn’t hear anything else for months! He has about 10 footballs around the house. When daddy walks in the door, Brayden gives him a tackle/hug and then runs to get a football. He constantly asks for football to be on the tv…that or Mickey. He is still very dependent on his pacifiers. He prefers to sleep with 1 in his month and multiple in each hand. He loves Mickey Mouse, apples, dinosaur books, trains, Olaf from Frozen, and running! Any chance he gets loose, he runs straight for Brett’s room to get his legos off the desk, especially the cars Brett has built. Brayden will play with it, drop it or throw it, say uh oh and then give it back to Brett to fix. Over and over. Brett is so good about not getting upset and just plays along.<br />
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Biggest news probably for the children - We took our first trip to Disney in October! After months of planning and despite Daddy’s skepticism, we had an awesome time! There was brunch at Cinderella’s Royal Castle, meeting all the princesses (ELSA!!), Star Wars Jedi Training, Space mountain and Splash mountain with Grandpa and Grandma, dinner at Chef Mickey, Frozen sing along show at Hollywood Studios, staying with our friends the Shemlucks, swimming with cousins, and topped off with Mickey’s not so Scary Halloween party and fireworks! It was so much fun! Seeing your children so happy truly outweighs any planning or financial stress!! Bailey is already asking when we are going next. Daddy did not say no….so I guess that means we should start planning and saving for the next trip!! <br />
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Kiddos Short Stories <br />
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Brett – “Bailey can you stop singing?”<br />
Bailey – “But I HAVE to practice!”<br />
Brett – “Then do it in your head.”<br />
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I was asking Brett if he was excited to start 1st grade. He said, “Yeah I am! It means I’m that much closer to being able to play dodgeball, you can do that in 3rd grade!”<br />
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I was so anxious the kids’ first day of school. I was thinking all the things I should tell them before they were off. “Be kind, do good listening, follow the rules, introduce yourself to new kids, etc.” I was running around packing lunches, finding shoes, and chasing Brayden. I came back, “ok, remember to be kind…”<br />
Brett – “Mom, is this the same conversation again or were you not done with the last one?” I guess I need to add, do not smart your Mama!<br />
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Bailey came to me with pen marks all up and down her arms. She said she was decorating.<br />
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Apparently Brett checks out his lunchbox when he gets to school to see what he’s having. Another mom overheard him yell “yes!! She packed broccoli salad!” I’ll take that as a win!<br />
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Bailey told me I looked like President Business because I was so big. (Please refer to Lego Movie, but still kind of mean!)<br />
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Listening to kids..<br />
Brett – “1 more”<br />
Bailey – “No I want 2500 more”<br />
Brett – “That’s not even possible”<br />
Bailey – “Watch me”<br />
Brett – “I am watching you, you aren’t doing anything”<br />
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I asked if Brayden was stinky.<br />
Brett – after checking “He smells like bacon. I’m not kidding, he smells like my salami sandwich” EW!<br />
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Brayden kept running into Bailey’s room, I hear her say “Brayden you are getting on my last nerds!” Oh Bailey I think you mean nerves. “That too!”<br />
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Bailey was totally decked out in princess awesomeness for her first day at Magic Kingdom. We were having a girls’ brunch with grandma at Cinderella’s Royal Castle. She got to meet Cinderella first, get a picture taken with her and then meet lots of other princesses while we were eating. In the car on the way, I caught Bailey with her finger up her nose! Bailey stop picking your nose! “I’m doing it now, so when I meet Cinderella she won’t see any boogers!”<br />
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Brett was really excited for Jedi Training at Hollywood Studios the next day. Finally something non-princess for him to enjoy. Bailey asked to do it too, we thought it would be cute for them to do together. They put on training robes, practiced moves and then went to the stage. For some reason they were on opposite sides of the stage, this probably didn’t help. The ‘mentor’ gave them all light sabers and was showing them the sequence of moves to do when the enemies tried to strike. I could see Bailey getting a little anxious...one of the moves was to duck. The mentor asked why would you need to duck…an eager student yelled so you don’t get your head cut off! Bailey looked terrified. Not a minute later, a door opens and Darth Vader walks out in all his glory. Bailey literally yelled NO, ran towards me and just jumped. I left the baby (mom of the year), crossed the forbidden yellow line and caught her in mid-air. She is in hysterics. Rob had to leave with her and bought her a storm troopers gun to protect her. Even after we left and getting into the car…”What if they know where our car is?!”<br />
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John Legend's All of me comes on the radio...Bailey 'oh is this my jam?'<br />
Yes honey, this is your jam<br />
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It took a couple days to get kids back into normal routine. Bailey in particular struggled going to school one morning and was being very dramatic about it. So I was trying to come up with happy things to talk about. Remember the castle, and meeting Elsa and how fun the fireworks were? Bailey responded with, "yeah but that Jedi Training was HORRIBLE! Brett liked it. That was probably the best 15 minutes of his life!"<br />
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With our last night of Christmas break, I asked the kids what their favorite thing we did and their favorite thing they got,<br />
Brett says – “Ice skating and nerf gun.” Plain and simple and he goes to bed.<br />
Bailey says – “Well I want 3 questions. 1st the favorite thing I SAW was the up and down hills. Grandma’s driveway has the big hill. Every time I go down a big hill I think WHOA I’m going to fall off my horse and fall into the road and get hit by a car and die. BUT, that didn’t happen. THANKFULLY!"<br />
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This is what it’s like having a conversation with my children.<br />
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Here’s to more fun and adventure in 2015! <br />
<br />
Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-89495465576149215772015-01-05T09:34:00.001-08:002015-01-05T09:34:50.171-08:00Pictures<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F6100482280874421329%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCJX2xcnZ2KnxdA%26hl%3Den_US" height="192" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="288"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-28706974122867581052015-01-05T07:43:00.002-08:002015-01-05T07:49:32.773-08:00Bailey's Story - "The Mean Monster and Jenny the Scared Knight"Click the link to be directed to the blog that featured Bailey's story. To view the text, you can click on the workshop link<br />
<a href="http://www.wherethegreenhousegrows.com/our-blog/our-first-forum-post" target="_blank">The Mean Monster and Jenny the Scared Knight</a><br />
<br />Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-56239121758558208462014-06-26T08:55:00.001-07:002014-06-27T06:27:48.722-07:00June 2014<br />
<br />
My husband has very kindly reminded me that I am late in updating the blog. Every time something happens or I take a picture he says “Oh that would be great on the blog…”<br />
It’s finally SUUUMMMMMEERRRRR! <br />
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Brett is 6 and done with kindergarten! I can’t believe he is officially a 1st grader! He seems so grown up and mature. He is constantly telling Bailey, it’s ok you’ll learn when you do kindergarten! I’m realizing now that he is home all day again, I need to keep him active and entertained!<br />
Brett and Bailey are BOTH doing Tball this summer, with mom and dad as the coaches (much to Rob’s disapproval). Kids are doing great when Bailey’s not playing in the dirt and Brett’s not climbing fences.<br />
Bailey finished playschool and is registered for PreK in the fall! She goes back and forth from being excited to being nervous. I’m sure she will love it.<br />
Brayden is ONE YEAR OLD. I am in a little disbelief about this still. He is constantly on the go; walking, climbing, throwing himself on the floor, you name it. He has 10 teeth already with 2 more on the way! He is hysterical. He says “uh huh” for yes and uses his whole body to nod. He does a “stinky face” that is adorable and he pulls it out when you can tell he is happy or thinks something is funny. He has a bit of a “throwing” problem. Seriously anything that he can pick up or put in his hand, he will find a way to chuck it across the room. He dances to music and loves to snuggle.<br />
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Brett was being a little smart aleck in the car, “Bailey is just saying that to be funny, she thinks she's funny.”<br />
I said, “Bailey is funny, you're funny and mommy is super duper funny.”<br />
He responded, “When have you been funny? Tell me. I don't remember a time when you were funny.”<br />
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Bailey proclaims she is going to be a space girl. I said “great, you’ll have to go to school for a long time to learn about it.” <br />
“AWE MAN!”<br />
<br />
My wonderful friend from Ohio Jen Bachelder (who I used to babysit!) was generous to help out with the 6 kids a couple times of week. There were 2 days a week when I had 3 napping, 2 going to a class, and 1 getting picked up from school. All at the same time. So assistance with logistics was much appreciated. Jen also worked on the side with the Chicago Wolves hockey team. After 5 years, I finally took advantage of her tickets and took Brett to a game. Just us. It was a great time. When I tucked him in that night we were talking about our favorite things from the day. I told him I was so happy to have a Mommy and Brett date. He said he didn’t remember the last time it was just he and I. A testament to why I need to do that more! Ms. Jen moved back to Ohio at the end of April, making the rest of the school year interesting. I looked pretty funny carrying 1, pushing 2, having 2 hold on to the stroller to pick up Brett from school. We are very sad to lose our babysitter!<br />
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Bailey came down for breakfast saying “I had a bad dream! I dreamt that grandpa turned into batman’s enemy. I hated it!”<br />
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"Bailey you can have my avocado if you want..."<br />
I'm thinking oh look they are being nice.<br />
"It has tarantulas in it..."<br />
And we're back<br />
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The joys of listening to brothers and sisters playing...<br />
"Pinkie Pie comes to the party first."<br />
"Then a bomb EXPLODES it!"<br />
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Bailey needed a lot of redirection one afternoon, “Mom you sound like an old lady…I mean you still look beautiful, but you sound like an old lady.” I asked, “WHAT?!” <br />
“Um, nevermind”<br />
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Brett was so excited that they were making something for mother’s day at school. When he came out of class that day, he ran up and gave me a frame he painted and a book he made. He was so proud!<br />
My Mom and I…<br />
My mom and I play games.<br />
My mom and I eat salad.<br />
My mom and I read books.<br />
My mom and I watch the news.<br />
My mom and I like to relax.<br />
My mom and I go to Mariano’s.<br />
(Rob can testify to the last one, he hates how much the new Mariano’s has increased our grocery bill! But it’s so good!)<br />
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<br />
You know Bailey is trying to make up some points when she compliments me on my earrings and ring, and then I tell her I’m not wearing any jewelry.<br />
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When we were out running around I asked Bailey where her hat was. She said she left it at home. I said, “It’s ok, we’ll get it when we get back.” <br />
“Oh NO! I hope it’s not in the toilet!!!!”<br />
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Brett has been big on wanting to do chores. He has told me multiple times, “mom I’m going to do all the cleaning so you can relax.”<br />
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Last night Brayden was getting fussy a little early. Rob had just gotten home so I was going to let him stay up for a bit. We are at that stage when he knows what he wants but can’t verbalize it so often he is screaming trying to communicate. This was one of those times. He wanted up, then fussed. Put him down, he fussed. So I said, “Wow you seem like you are tired, do you want to go to bed??” Thinking that would make him stop. He said uh huh, turned and walked out of the room right to the stairs, crawled up to his room and laid right down.<br />
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Bailey was wearing a new shirt. When I tucked her in for nap I told her that I liked her shirt and she looked so grown up and pretty. She said, “I look just like you”<br />
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Brayden loves his pacifiers. At bedtime, he has one in his mouth and 1 or 2 in each hand. We can never keep them all. He throws them out of the stroller. I’ve found 3 or so hiding in his book shelf. One was in the cage of the batman cave. Sometimes he hides them in Abby’s car seat. <br />
<br />
Brett was confused on a term. He asked, “is it booby trap or MOVIE trap?” I said, “Booby trap.” He said, “Oh well then that’s disgusting.”<br />
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Again, Brayden has an issue with throwing things. I saw him struggle with his ball popping train, he was stumbling and straining while carrying it. All the sudden he throws it down, making a very loud noise. I asked him why he did that and walked over and picked it up. When it turned upside down, 2 pacifiers fell out. I said, “Oh were you trying to get those out?” He did his infamous body shaking for yes, picked up his pacifiers and went on his way. Apparently our problem solving skills are as advanced as throwing and breaking things…hmm wonder who he got that from?!<br />
Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-47748745874785478712014-06-26T08:54:00.002-07:002014-06-27T10:11:52.422-07:00PicturesSpring 2014<br />
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<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F6028866485725363393%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCOLTlJGgos2LfA%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br />
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12 months of Brayden<br />
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<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F6000310952334553569%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCPXakIqq_OyjjwE%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-62123383680216297042014-03-02T19:02:00.001-08:002014-03-02T19:02:36.016-08:00What ice storm?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KVN6kV0E1Rw" width="480"></iframe><br />Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-16260308831062886112014-03-02T18:53:00.001-08:002014-03-02T18:53:15.835-08:00Bailey singing Rapunzel<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nUDxLnEr640" width="459"></iframe><br />Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-70518649738048133662014-03-02T15:16:00.001-08:002014-03-02T15:16:38.625-08:00Brett's first wrestling match<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LUFmIfOpT48" width="480"></iframe><br />Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-63404246078178221602014-03-02T09:33:00.001-08:002014-03-02T09:33:06.761-08:00Mamama Rob<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ekMTNXVC4iQ" width="480"></iframe><br />Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-5481909983180196052014-02-28T17:19:00.001-08:002014-03-02T18:49:53.100-08:002014?!Doesn’t seem like it should be 2014 already! It’s been so busy, I’ve started this blog multiple times and by the time I go to finish the kids are doing different things! Brayden is almost 10 months, Bailey is 4 and Brett is 5 1/2. The kids had a nice winter break although sick most of the time. I think in the 2 weeks Brett was out of school we had 5 sick doctor appointments. By New Year’s Eve, all 3 were on antibiotics for ear infections. Brett is currently home AGAIN with a double ear infection. Thankfully we had scheduled our Ohio Christmas trip for after the New Year so the three kiddos were feeling better by the time we went. Unfortunately that was right in the middle of the insane cold winter storm which made for a very long drive back with a hotel stay somewhere in the Indiana. Kids did well considering the 13+ hours we were in the car. We got home safe and sound and our house survived the bitter cold so we are counting our blessings.<br />
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Brayden is getting so big! At his last appointment he was 21lb 7 oz! He has 6 teeth, 4 on the bottom and 2 on top. He is crawling all over the place and pulling himself up on things. He loves music toys, sticks and balls. His first legit crawling was to a football! I made a lot of his first purees but have had a hard time keeping up! He first favs were squash and bananas. Now he just eats a bit of everything! Daddy’s going to start crying when we go out to eat, Brayden shared my Vday dinner of lobster, steak and green beans! He loved it! Another surprise favorite, cooked broccoli!? He shoves it in his mouth! Brayden certainly loves his brother and sister. He laughs at them all the time. He’s such a happy baby. He gives the best hugs and snuggles. <br />
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The kids went to see the movie Frozen. This has consumed Bailey. She has seen it 3x, has listened to the soundtrack a hundred times and read the books even more. If you would like to have a conversation with her, you should familiarize yourself with all things Frozen! <br />
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We have some newbies in Harman daycare! We now have Brett (5), Bailey (4), Grace (4), Brayden (9 months), Andrew (4 months) and Abby (2 months)!!! And for a special bonus week we had our old friends Colin (3) and Logan (1)!! Quiet it is not:) Everyone is adjusting well and the kids are all enjoying having friends to play with. Bailey helps getting things for me and Brayden loves to climb up and bounce the seat if someone is in it. It's so cute to see them interact so much already. <br />
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Shorts-<br />
Kids were a little stir crazy with the snow days and I asked them to calm down. Then I got hit in the head by a batarang…redirection fail.<br />
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Brett: “Look there's something on the table and it’s moving!! Oh it’s just my jello”<br />
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Jan 15th I grasped how much Bailey has grown up. She called my phone from Grandma Nancy’s. She knew my phone number, sounded so grown up on the phone and then as I’m running errands, I realized she was no longer in the baby/toddler clothes sections. She was in the big girl section. I called Rob and cried.<br />
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Brett realizing that it’s still dark in am. “Maybe God’s sleeping.” “No he watches us all the time.” Always having to have the last word he says, “Um maybe he doesn’t”<br />
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Bailey: “Um excuse me.” Tapping her finger on chin. Bailey knows she can get almost anything from Daddy<br />
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Bailey: “I can live with that”<br />
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Bailey: “For my birthday I can do whatever I want, except pick my nose”<br />
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Bailey: “Daddy let me tell you something and never forget. Mom is always right” Obviously she was trying to get some good points in with Mommy, it worked.<br />
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Brett and Bailey were playing with blocks. I hear him say, “Look, these are 3 dimensional shape…”<br />
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Listening to music, part of a song was Press play or press pause. Bailey says “Press pause if you have to go potty or someone gets hurt”. Wow how differently they understand just watching tv!<br />
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We were watching the last OSU game. I was putting dishes away. Brett says, “Mom we missed a touchdown, I’ll fast forward it backwards for you!”<br />
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We’ve had a few snow days in January! Brett was getting a little used to the extra time at home and more attention from Mama. “Mom, did you want to make pancakes today? I could go for some…”<br />
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Bailey “Excuse me, I’m a toot machine. I like to toot.” Yes, that means what you think it does. She even made a point to tell our pediatrician at Brayden’s check up.<br />
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Brett was trying to 1 up his father. He said “my brain is 80x bigger than yours!”<br />
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The kids were excited to see their Vday surprises. In reaction to Bailey’s purple My little Pony “I was expecting a blue pony, but this is ok!”<br />
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Daddy topped the day off by sending flowers for Bailey. She was ecstatic when they came to the door. “I’m so happy, I could cry!!!!” This will now have to be a yearly tradition! <br />
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Before the holidays I was running errands with all 3 kids. It can be challenging at times and it was freezing cold. We stopped for lunch and had to walk back to the car to head home. Half way to the car Brett realizes he left his sticker (someone was handing out to kids) at the lunch table. I told him I was sorry but we needed to get back home and it was too cold to walk back. It was not worth it to me to fight the weather with 3 kids to get a sticker that he will no doubt lose or throw away by the time we get home. My normally level headed mature child completely loses his cool. A tremendous fit ensues. Mind you, wind is blowing the hats off our heads, it’s snowing, it’s about 10 degrees, I had maxed out my allotted time with running around with Brayden AND I had told him to grab it before we left the restaurant. Brett wants to walk 10 min in the wrong direction to get a sticker. I told him no and next time to make sure he had all of his stuff. He is jumping up and down screaming. I continue walking. Knowing his fit is frustrating me, he then yells, “I will not stop crying until we go back and get my sticker!” I was impressed and shocked by his threat. He made a valiant effort and did last a good 25 min of yelling and crying but he did not win said fight. <br />
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Rob was out of town one weekend. I had to barter a little with the kids to get all my errands done. After a Costco trip (in Superhero Saturday attire), we went to the book store. After we got all the grocery shopping done, we went to the Jump Zone. On the way home, the car seemed quiet for the first time all weekend. I mentioned, I must have tired babies, it’s so quiet! From the back, Brett says “I’m not tired; I just don’t have any questions or many things to tell you.” <br />
Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-44187410592473318142014-02-28T16:24:00.001-08:002014-03-02T19:17:34.766-08:00Pictures<br />
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F5977700871495235153%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCJWCt6_Cw_-QZg%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-79786238513889773222013-11-12T14:45:00.003-08:002013-11-13T07:55:48.154-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg32LbP_dFG-AM-Wh-ee6bRHJ06XY2RkBYH_KJ7EvKgKXjBmmirh_H7OAlXszzKXWzcz6xl959dlWOES9TsAYfzw8TxnkCzLhAmez-dqtyFlHMOBVg5VUotS04GKnNCNUhzmRRkDAc2q6/s1600/2013-11-02+08.23.10.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg32LbP_dFG-AM-Wh-ee6bRHJ06XY2RkBYH_KJ7EvKgKXjBmmirh_H7OAlXszzKXWzcz6xl959dlWOES9TsAYfzw8TxnkCzLhAmez-dqtyFlHMOBVg5VUotS04GKnNCNUhzmRRkDAc2q6/s200/2013-11-02+08.23.10.PNG" /></a></div>We’ve had a crazy couple months! Brett’s goes to kindergarten and takes floor hockey. Bailey goes to playschool 2 days a week and is taking dance. On top of that, we found out Bailey needed to get her tonsils and adenoids removed. Brett had this done at 3 years as well so we kind of knew what we were getting into. What we underestimated was the difference between Brett and Bailey!! Brett had a rough couple days and then slowly got better. You could tell he didn’t love drinking when he was supposed to but did it because we told him it would help him feel better. Bailey took 15 days and was MISERABLE!! She was so brave going into surgery and then was so angry coming out. It took multiple adults to hold her thrashing body in recovery from pulling her IV out. She yelled at nurses and insisted on going home NOW! She was given stickers, icecream, juice, and multiple toys in attempt to calm her after waking. At home, she hated taking medicine, didn’t want to drink and fought us on anything you can think of. During this amazing time, Brayden was teething and cut his 1st 2 teeth, both boys were hacking like seals and Brett had an ear infection. When Bailey was starting to resemble her peaceful self, we discovered a rash on Brett. Apparently he is also allergic to penicillin (as is Bailey, their mama and Uncle Brett), which he was taking for his ear. We caught it, stopped it and thought he would look better soon. They said it could get worse before it gets better, and boy did it!! I had to keep taking pictures of his various red spots to show Brett and he would say “oh yeah, that does look bad.” Such is the life of having 3 children, as my father tells me.<br />
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Brett is doing great in school. We go for his first parent-teacher conference tonight!<br />
When Bailey is feeling well, she skips. Everywhere. She is loving her playschool.<br />
Brayden is a joy still. Smiles all the time. Laughs at his siblings and is so easy going. He recently has discovered the art of squealing! He does this often. <br />
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They still had their funny things to say…..<br />
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In Bailey’s 2 hour long yelling fit at the hospital, she yelled that “it hurts really badly and I am SO mad!!!” I was so proud that she was using words to describe her feelings and used correct grammar. At that point, you had to take whatever positives you could find! <br />
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Bailey was looking at a picture. “Where was I?” “That was before you were born, you were in my belly.” “I didn't like it in your belly it was so dark, I was scared.”<br />
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Urgh, I really like it. I like it really bad<br />
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Everything is numbers with Brett. In negotiations about eating, “Mom can I just eat 4 and 1?” In the car he loves to play “how many?” He’ll say “I know how many three 2’s is” Then he’ll ask me to give him more to figure out. <br />
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Brett had a homework assignment to memorize your home phone number. So we were practicing. Bailey says, “Why do I need to know.” I said,” In case you are ever away from mommy and you need to call me, you need to know my number.” <br />
She responds, “But if a monster asked for your number I would say no way! Because they would say where is she and they would gobble you up!”<br />
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One of Bailey’s new phrases is “I don’t like it….I LOVE it!”<br />
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Brett can be a little bossy sometimes. I told him one time, “remember, you are still a kid, you don’t have to tell Bailey what to do.” In complete seriousness he replied, “Oh yeah, I forgot. I thought I was in high school.”<br />
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Bailey was missing her friend. “I’m going to get Colin a blue ladybug (like her pink nightlight). I will sneak in his room and you will drive me home.” Apparently next we need to discuss stalking and breaking/entering.<br />
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Brett was having a hard time one day going to school. When I hugged him goodbye he said, “I don't think I like being away from you all day at school.” Then he blew kiss from the stairs before going in.<br />
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Bailey has been big on using similes. “I love you as long as a bronchisaurus’s neck.” “I like this as far as Texas.” “I love Brayden all the way to space!”<br />
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”Oh I forgot to tell Colin something...Colin I love you”<br />
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”Mom this banana tackled this one down”<br />
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Bailey has been the Queen of Indecision. She insists on something and then is appalled the next minute when you gave it to her. Which has made things really interesting. One morning for breakfast, she was very excited to eat. We agreed upon what cereal, said she couldn’t wait for her blackberries and sat down at the table. Then during breakfast she refused to eat said blackberries stating that she can NOT eat them. I explained that she had asked for them and I was not getting her something different. A large fit ensued. Shortly later, when she had calmed down she said “I'm sorry I was so upset about the blackberries, that was silly. I forgive you mom.”<br />
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We took a trip to Wisconsin to Barbie and Bobbie’s. The Thornburg boys met us for a visit. Kids had a great time and got to play at Badgerville during the Wisconsin football game. Bailey’s summary – “I just love those Thornburg boys, Will is SO silly!”<br />
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On the drive home from Wisconsin, Rob was complaining that he was SO tired and said he needed a nap even though he was driving. I told him that wasn’t a good idea since he was driving with his family in the car. Bailey’s solution – “Daddy just go to sleep, use your imagination and pretend you can't hear mommy.”<br />
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We were rushing one morning to get Brett to school. He asked to open the door. Then he said “Hold on the alarm is on, so bad guys don't come in and take our stuff.” Bailey said ”yeah like my banana.” Brett said “no not your banana.” Bailey said, “well maybe they are hungry!”<br />
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Bailey tends to be a little dramatic, if you haven’t noticed. Mondays are hard for everyone but especially her since daddy and Brett are gone. One morning, she told me, “my heart is broken when daddy is not around”. He liked that one.<br />
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Brett was preparing for wrestling season – ”I like to take the under hook and wrap my arm behind, then use my right arm to push and throw them down….see mom I push with this arm and pull with this one”. He then asked if I needed to video him so I could see what he was talking about.<br />
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Brett and Bailey were playing and racing cars. I overheard Brett say “That’s ok, I haven’t found a lady yet. But after this race I’ll have lots of money for my wedding”. <br />
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Bailey came over and whispered “I have a secret; I have the eye of the tiger.”<br />
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In the car Brett asked me if I knew about the Gorillagator. I misunderstood him and asked him to repeat himself. Sure enough, Gorillagator. I said I wasn’t sure what that was. He said it was a ½ gorilla, ½ alligator. I replied, “of course it is. Where does it live? The jungle or water?” Thinking I’ve stumped him! Without pausing, “Both mom, he lives in the swamp in the jungle”.<br />
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Bailey was up crying/screaming at 3:30am. I was dealing with a teething Brayden so Rob went to see what was wrong. She wasn’t making sense and yelled even more that Mommy didn’t come. I went to help and she was crying that she didn’t have a music box. I told her you don’t have one, we’ll talk about it later, go to sleep. The next morning, I asked her why she was so upset about a music box and why did it occur to her at 3:30 in the morning! She said she just had a bad dream, where she really wanted a music box. I told her (in her dream) that we would get one and took her to the store. When we got to the aisle where they were supposed to be, there were all gone! Hence the 3:30 am fit about a nonexistent music box. <br />
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Listening to music in the car, Brett was singing along. There was a dramatic pause in the song, Brett just started cracking up. “I thought she was done and then she just started YELLING!”<br />
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Bailey wore a cute dress to playschool one day. I asked her afterwards if anyone complimented her on it. She said, “yes, Ms. Laney did…And Brian.” I said, “oh what did Brian say?”. “he said I had a beautiful dress”. I said, Oh that was nice, what did you say back? “Whatever” What?! She said, “then I said oops, thank you. I forgot my manners!”<br />
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This Brian apparently has also asked her to be her partner when they walk in the hallway to hold her hand. Daddy was teasing her about this later. Brett yells, “Are you in love with him?!” Very exacerbated, “NOOO I don’t think I’m in love with him, he’s just NICE to me!”<br />
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When Brett was covered with his rash, I told him he had to stay home from school. He agreed, “I think I just need to lay on the couch and watch shows.” <br />
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Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-29384632496110329422013-11-12T14:44:00.001-08:002013-11-12T14:47:21.618-08:00Daddy boxing Brayden<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AkFP63VHfAs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-5471879762519989232013-11-12T14:43:00.001-08:002013-11-12T14:48:29.914-08:00Bailey's Lullaby<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/8XkhKXzKCgA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-42369607588572942712013-11-12T14:39:00.001-08:002013-11-12T14:39:46.255-08:00Fall 2013<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F5945095294507037825%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCKTlypSxqLf2xAE%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-52255615873030727802013-08-26T06:51:00.003-07:002013-08-26T07:17:32.446-07:00Update - Brett's First Day of Kindergarten!!!He was ready to go and went in without a problem. I, on the other hand, am a wreck! Even Daddy fessed up to a tear or two. <br />
Can't wait to pick Brett up at the end of the day and hear how it went!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEmCnOH2MM-Clh40CfZnS7tAJEyWPy-43OuNFbzCB1U5XrIPvZlNDih01kt16xJ31xtQvfloBuq1EMbCt145JJD6SXSMhzaiqE7ZCssogpci9602E75a9MIqvDPjEUBxRzCx_N_JkxtTk/s1600/IMG_7743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEmCnOH2MM-Clh40CfZnS7tAJEyWPy-43OuNFbzCB1U5XrIPvZlNDih01kt16xJ31xtQvfloBuq1EMbCt145JJD6SXSMhzaiqE7ZCssogpci9602E75a9MIqvDPjEUBxRzCx_N_JkxtTk/s320/IMG_7743.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaGEGyWZWLq7ffCHbEsPhYFLkgTXG-tFyMldpZ5_fFbUdLoopbUPVFbKmSeST9-cUhv5C-ndoQ88mEf_6bpYnVOtUuVEmegSMtUeiw3znjyJiLsnlB43fvQmLnBytOs4gVsPX9UReoKuX/s1600/IMG_7744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaGEGyWZWLq7ffCHbEsPhYFLkgTXG-tFyMldpZ5_fFbUdLoopbUPVFbKmSeST9-cUhv5C-ndoQ88mEf_6bpYnVOtUuVEmegSMtUeiw3znjyJiLsnlB43fvQmLnBytOs4gVsPX9UReoKuX/s320/IMG_7744.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwocD0e4Ntvl1L25LhZD_afsynMa3iPoOzvBnKHUHD-8UJ00ohLb1oB2LiLdzUVNm7nIMRvjbCYGvaxuLFeIhQOn5TJy1mBRk6KEkpfTsnWd4JlmKI2cDzWk2d5SgL7uGQgMfPyYcDj-K/s1600/IMG_7745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwocD0e4Ntvl1L25LhZD_afsynMa3iPoOzvBnKHUHD-8UJ00ohLb1oB2LiLdzUVNm7nIMRvjbCYGvaxuLFeIhQOn5TJy1mBRk6KEkpfTsnWd4JlmKI2cDzWk2d5SgL7uGQgMfPyYcDj-K/s320/IMG_7745.JPG" /></a></div>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-89773683400236919382013-08-25T19:51:00.001-07:002013-08-25T21:09:20.046-07:00Summer 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqqSl0v_O70mxVFJT2Asw16L2Eyh3FsLivCTrcm548RvDdXismmYamvFC9xaZEZE_9Q7gVEZU15CHjBavFgSaspq0IRC21saY1B21N0yrIq4ZgnJuLLTgK9RShnNPAloZZOJao1S8Fyk3/s1600/IMG_7683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqqSl0v_O70mxVFJT2Asw16L2Eyh3FsLivCTrcm548RvDdXismmYamvFC9xaZEZE_9Q7gVEZU15CHjBavFgSaspq0IRC21saY1B21N0yrIq4ZgnJuLLTgK9RShnNPAloZZOJao1S8Fyk3/s320/IMG_7683.JPG" /></a></div>Wowzers. And just like that summer is over and I have a child starting Kindergarten. Brett is excited and ready. I am not. Did we read enough books?! Does he know his numbers and letters? Will he listen to his teachers and be nice to other kids?! I’m sure yes to all of these but come Monday, he will officially be off to school and will be influenced by others throughout the day more than me. It’s scary, slightly terrifying actually. And in a blink of an eye, he will go off to college…Ohio State I’m sure. That will be ok. Brett did make a couple of good buddies in his pre-k class last year. They were on the same T-ball team this summer and will have the same teacher for kindergarten. I’m comforted in knowing they are good kids and I get along well with their mothers! That’s a little reassuring. <br />
Bailey is sassy as can be. Sweet, smart, silly and sassy. She and Brett have been attached at the hip for the most part this summer. I think she’s really going to miss Brett when he’s at school all day. They loved going to the pool the last couple of months. They are becoming quite the little fish! Must get that from their mama!<br />
Brayden is a joy. He is such a chill, happy baby who just goes along with anything. He’s sleeping great, usually 10-11 hours at night and he’s starting to form a good nap pattern. He eats like a champ and is growing like a weed. I know he’s only 3 ½ months, but I already miss him being a little baby! He’s smiling a lot and loves to watch what Brett and Bailey are up to. <br />
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Funny things they say<br />
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Bailey woke up and asked if anyone made it through the flying nunchucks!? B1&B2 enjoyed watching the American Ninja Warrior show the night before.<br />
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Brett saw someone on the Salmon Ladders (also American Ninja Warrior), “Mom, are you seeing this?!”<br />
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After a day with mommy and Brayden, Brett said he couldn’t wait to get home and see his sister.<br />
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I had all kids at the doc for the boys’ appointments. Both were due for some shots. I tried to talk Brett into being the example for Brayden and show him it was ok. Well, that backfired. Brett screamed and cried inconsolably, which made Bailey lose it too. I’m holding Brayden, getting a screaming Brett off the table and trying to calm a hysteric Bailey. Brayden’s turn was next, but Bailey started yelling at the nurses that she didn’t want them to hurt Brayden too. A second nurse had to take the older 2 out in the hallway for Brayden to get his shots…who by the way, whined for a second and then was fine. We had to go to Portillos afterward for hotdogs and milkshakes. We all needed it.<br />
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As I said kids have loved going to the pool. Had to have a few talks with Bailey though, she was having a little much fun splashing the lifeguard on duty and then deliberately splashed the older ladies on the side who just ‘dip their feet in’. <br />
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B1&B2 phrases I hear about 50x a day…Can I tell you something? You know what? Is it ok if….<br />
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Bailey ran into my bedroom yelling there’s a bug in Brett’s room, it’s between the windows! I tried to explain this wasn’t a big deal but went in to help defuse the situation. I walk in and Brett turns from the window with a hammer in his hand….I then I had to explain that we don’t need to break the window to get a bug that is OUTSIDE!<br />
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We were listening to music in the car. I can’t remember what song was playing, something about standing up for something. Bailey GASPS! “WHAT do I stand for?!”<br />
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Another day, we had the windows down. Bailey decides it was too windy; she didn’t like it because it was messing up her hair.<br />
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Rob and I were blessed to have Camp Grantie again. (Rob and I get to go downtown for a night and Grandma Nancy, Great Auntie Barbie and Great Auntie Bobbie come watch the kids. We were doing dinner the night before and then the aunts went to their hotel. I was getting Brayden ready for bed and Bailey comes in with her head down. “This is a bad day, a bad thing!” I asked her what was wrong; we had such a fun day together. “Barbie and Bobbie LEFT!” and slams her head down in her hands. Such a dramatic little one.<br />
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Bailey insisted she needed a backpack and school supplies for her ‘play school’ that she will be doing. She wanted to be just like Brett. So we ordered her a book bag when they were on sale. She asked for it every day. I told her we would have to wait until it comes to us but I could tell her when it shipped so she would know within a couple of days. She says “NO, don’t tell me when it ships please, I want to be surprised.”<br />
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We were going to dinner and told the kids we were meeting some friends, the Colellas. Brett says “Oh no, we’re going to have too much fun!”<br />
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We were meeting our friends Colin and Logan at the Children’s Museum. Bailey ran into the hallway asking if she could wear a certain outfit. I said sure, that would look great. She said she wanted Colin to remember that he loved her. Oh boy.<br />
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Bailey was being silly as usual. I asked her if she lost her marbles. In all seriousness she says “I don’t have ANY marbles!” So I asked where did they go? She says “They died. They were with Uncle Brett and they died.” Bailey mentions Uncle Brett almost every day.<br />
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Brett has been playing military a lot. We were walking at Navy Pier and past a Marine flag. Brett said he was going to be a solider. I said something to the extent of “we’ll see when you get a little bit older.” He immediately started reassuring. “It’s ok Mom, I won’t die young like Uncle Brett. I’ll make sure that I won’t get super hurt”<br />
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Bailey and I were driving downtown. To entertain herself, she brought these flashcards on the Presidents. We were crossing a bridge and she said she wanted to go swimming. But then decided, “if we went over there, I would lose Obama in the water!”<br />
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Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-86315984432087719562013-08-25T19:45:00.001-07:002013-08-25T19:45:11.382-07:00Summer 2013<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf" width="288" height="192" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F110696086749027523360%2Falbumid%2F5911270364645900193%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCMq2i7nA6NbIKQ%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-66744840314334911602013-08-25T18:49:00.001-07:002013-08-25T18:49:27.951-07:00<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Doo9sX2KqX0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5124645560743458228.post-68039774915108761022013-06-26T07:40:00.000-07:002013-06-26T13:26:34.438-07:00June 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-Y3DydPEQHYiX38tQNdM_NM_oU-HPShzpBJuwrLrB_RXy7F-3-8i3jrQDD4sFqbIKeaiQI8PlDlhLmJdiOs46GK38UR-zwwxdugquxRS2Khyphenhyphenek9DZQIurPQKkuyBXAMuL_IO07JDFYPF/s1600/IMG_0528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-Y3DydPEQHYiX38tQNdM_NM_oU-HPShzpBJuwrLrB_RXy7F-3-8i3jrQDD4sFqbIKeaiQI8PlDlhLmJdiOs46GK38UR-zwwxdugquxRS2Khyphenhyphenek9DZQIurPQKkuyBXAMuL_IO07JDFYPF/s200/IMG_0528.jpg" /></a></div>So it’s been a busy couple months! Baby Brayden is here! Our beautiful baby boy joined us on May 7th. He was bigger than the other 2. 8 lbs 5 oz and that was a week early! Rob and I found out our induction was scheduled for 12:30 am, so we got the kids ready for bed and went downtown for a date! It was great; we had a wonderful dinner, enjoyed a movie and then went to the hospital to have a baby! An older couple sitting beside us during dinner, made conversation and said she had to ask the obvious question ‘when will the baby be joining us?’. Their faces were priceless when we said tonight!<br />
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While we were in the hospital having Brayden, one of the Blackhawks’ players was also having a baby. Rob saw Duncan Keith (#2) outside the hospital during our stay. Our little boys were born within the same hour! We didn’t realize it at the time, but we also walked out and shared the elevator with his wife and baby. Maybe the boys were playoff good luck charms?! <br />
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Brayden has been a dream of a baby, sleeping and eating well. Which is nice, because an infant in addition to two others is a little crazy! Brett and Bailey adore their brother. Brett, especially, is so attentive and asks constantly to hold Brayden. We learned early on that Brayden has to sleep with his arms free. His hands are always by his face. I would put him in the tightest swaddle and he would grunt and squirm until his arms were out. Future escape artist?<br />
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Shortly after we were home with Brayden, Brett and Bailey both took turns getting strep throat. It was hard keeping them away from Brayden. One night a sick Bailey talked Daddy into sleeping in her room…in her small bed and in the ‘pink tornedo’.<br />
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A couple other things noteworthy…Brett turned 5 AND finished Pre-K!! Brett had a blast having his cousins come in town to celebrate his birthday. He received Batman and Spiderman costumes; they are often the outfit of choice when leaving the house. You can bet this elicits a comment…or many comments! It definitely makes people smile.<br />
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The funny things they say:<br />
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Bailey begged to go to wrestling with the boys one night. After she came back, she said 1. she listened to scary music (Daddy's heavy metal) on the way, 2. was not afraid of the big kids, 3. was SO tough, 4. her favorite part was 'throwing Brett'. She then asked me to paint her fingernails:) Proud daddy, happy mama!<br />
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The kids love Lucky Charms. So does mama. We have it occasionally. Brett loves to pick out the red hearts and give them to me. He says it’s his way of giving me love. So one morning Brett gave me his lucky charm heart, and I said ‘Brett its sticky!’. He said, ‘That's just because I wiped it off...because I accidentally put it in my mouth…’ <br />
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Brett - ‘I'm going to work at a super big company and have an office and say 'I need 62 things of money' <br />
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Bailey – I’m going to have 14 babies<br />
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I told Brett ‘You have to eat your dinner to have a snack.’ The kids were asking for a cookie after not eating much at dinner. Brett replied, ‘ I'm going to have different rules when I’m an adult’.<br />
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When it's kids' choice for dinner, they pick Red Lobster for fish! They love fish, which is unfortunate, since mommy doesn't know how to cook it! Brett requested I get lobster tail so he could split it with me and then last night ordered crab legs with daddy! <br />
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Brett - ‘I'm going to have a convertible until I get a wife. Because then I will have a wife and kids’<br />
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Kids were running outside. Brett is very competitive and made a point to beat Bailey. She started to get upset and then said, ‘Awww I guess I need to eat more chicken so I can catch up to Brett...’<br />
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Bailey was my little helper with Brayden when Brett was at school. She loves helping to give him a bath. She says ‘are you taking him a bath now?’<br />
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Bailey loves teasing Daddy. Would say that may be her favorite thing. She told him the other day ‘I wish your name was Winniett! Oh yeah, Hey WINNIETT!!!’ Knowing full well that Rob HATES his middle name.<br />
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Bailey and Grace were playing with a Minnie phone. They were pretending to take pictures of each other. Then Bailey would say ‘Oh that was a good one, who do you want me to send that to?’ Apparently they have caught on that I take most of my pictures with my phone!<br />
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I was struggling getting Bailey to eat her lunch. For some reason if I said the Jack and Jill rhyme, Bailey will take a bite of carrots. I had to say it 20x, but we sure got the carrots taken care of!<br />
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I’m not sure if she understood the full capacity of what she said…But Bailey told me ‘Mom I like to push your buttons!’ On the other hand, she may have known exactly what she’s saying!<br />
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We were in the car, listening to the radio. I said ‘whoa’ about something. Brett said ‘MOM, did that pop your mind?’. (blow your mind)<br />
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Brett helped Bailey put on his Spiderman costume. He said, ‘Go show mom Bailey, you look so cute!’<br />
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Brett and Bailey were getting ready for bed. Brett was done with school so we said they could do a sleep over if they wanted to. Bailey said yes, then no, then yes again. She loves staying with Brett but she also LOVES her pink room, tough choice. Daddy asked her ‘Why do you keep changing your mind?’. She said, ‘that’s what girls do…’ <br />
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We were watching the Voice and it was Danielle’s turn (young, pretty, blond girl). Brett says ‘I like her…she’s so good, and beautiful. I think I love her’. OH no.<br />
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We’ve been keeping up with the Blackhawks through the playoffs. Especially since Brayden’s buddy’s daddy was playing! Rob thought it was a good idea to get the kids hockey nets, sticks and pucks…to play INSIDE! They are having fun but I’m sure my poor floor is going to pay the price. Brett asks to play every time the Hawks are on and he’s getting good! The kids usually had to go to bed before the game was over. Bailey, being the first kid up a number of times would come in our room, ‘Where’s daddy? Did the Blackhawks win?!’<br />
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The kids now have Blackhawk stickers in their rooms (Patrick Kane for Bailey, Jonathan Toews for Brett). Bailey said now if she gets scared in her room, she will just look at Patrick Kane and she’ll feel better. <br />
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Kelli and Robhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07850005536584467333noreply@blogger.com0