Knock Knock Who's There?

If you were to stop by my house unannounced you will probably see this

 

Yes, Khage will be there wearing an assortment of cute faces but it is the costume to which I am referring. On most days he can be found wearing it. Sometimes I will wash it and nicely lay it out for him knowing that will make him happy. And other days I bury it underneath a pile of dirty clothes and hope to neverland that he doesn't ask for it... usually he's on to me and by the middle of the day he will come strutting into the room wearing it with pride. Because I created this monster, the boy and the costume, I am solely to blame. I remember when I first made it how cute it was to see him wearing it... and now its taken on a life of its own. Khage has had numerous meltdowns over this costume. He pleads to wear it every morning when he gets dressed- whether it be clean or dirty and we fight just about every time that I ask him to take it off for bath time or to venture out in public. It even has an alter ego, sometimes when he's wearing it he isn't Peter Pan at all. No, he also goes by the name of Robin Hood. Maybe you have heard of him. Well just be sure if you do drop by you prepare yourself because, be it Peter Pan or Robin Hood, one of them is bound to answer the door.

Personally I think were making headway, at least he's fully clothed throughout the day.

And that's progress that I'm mighty proud of.

Our Little Beauty Pageant Reject

Good thing I am not the kind of mother who dreams of the day they can sign their daughter up for one of those baby beauty pageants. Thank goodness that falls into the category of: something I have absolutely no desire to do... ever. I have no inclination to parade my baby around asking for people to judge her purely on her physicality's. Don't get me wrong if that's what your about then parade away, in fact my Mom did. If  you knew what I looked like as a baby, then you would know that it wasn't I who she entered into such a contest. Which thinking about it now, maybe that is why I have such hostility toward this whole affair... AND the reason my self esteem is lacking. Thanks Mom.

Anyway. It's really quite a blessing because now I'm not disappointed in the fact that Harlyn wouldn't walk away with the grand prize. I'm not even sure she would be allowed to compete because it all starts with that entry photograph... and that isn't exactly Harlyn's specialty.

Let me just stop here for a moment and defend my baby. She is adorable. Cutest girl in the world.

Now that that is clear you must know this: While she IS adorable, majority of her photographs are not. This girl photographs bad. How bad you ask? You tell me.

 

 

Awww my poor Baby Love just can't keep it together when the camera comes out. Weird scary things suddenly happen to her sweet little face.

But then there is that rare occasion when the planets align, and we will snap a picture and she will look just as adorable on camera as she does in person.

 

And we can't help but love this beauty pageant reject. She will always be as perfect as ever to us... scary baby face and all.

Half a year old.

 

A few facts about our sweet girl:

After more then a month of getting up on all fours she graduated to crawling

In less then a week from learning to crawl she was climbing the stairs
She can also pull herself into the standing position

She loves loves loves to eat food, so much that she has yet to turn any food away even if you can tell she doesn't like it

She will stand up in her crib, lean her arms over the side and eventually drift off to sleep... then wake up a few minutes later, we can only assume from almost falling over
She is extremely fidgety; always bouncing or kicking her legs and flailing her arms around
Randomly throughout the day she will flash this creepy devilish grin for no apparent reason
She watches her hands open and close in amazement

She is our tough little cookie crumb, rarely crying when she falls down, and when she does cry it is only for a few seconds before she has moved on
She hums while she sucks on her fingers to sooth herself to sleep

She has finally started showing her Daddy the love that he deserves

9 times out of 10 she photographs horribly... pictures just don't do her adorableness justice

She gets the biggest kick out of strumming on our lips while we hum
She got her first tooth the day before she turned seven months old
and
We cant help but love and adore her sweet little self and I can only hope that she feels the abundance of that love everyday.

 

 

 



Khage is THREE

Hey Khagey boy, how old are you dude?

Nope. Not anymore. Guess again.

 

 

Ya right, turd. You wish.

 

YOU ARE THREE.

And we still can barely believe it.

 

A few facts about our little dude:

You are no longer able to be hushed. You ask questions all the time, including ones that leave Mommy & Daddy in quite the predicaments. Including: why are those people so fat? Why does that lady talk weird (she had a Chinese accent)? Why does that guy not have any teeth? & forget it if someone doesn't smile at you because you will demand to know why they have mean eyes and not nice ones.

You are such a good brother. As far as you are concerned Harlyn is yours and you love her so much... but you cannot wait until she is of wrestling age.

You love to be around your family (grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles), and love to meet new kids and will instantly refer to them as your best friends.

You hate going to sleep. You will lay in your bed forever before falling asleep or until you manage to convince us to let you up.

You are such an early riser, but I have brainwashed you into believing that the day doesn't start until the sun is up.

If we want an instant smile out of you all it takes is a mimicked fart noise.

You are so dramatic with your emotions. The world just about ends for you at least once a day.

You are very particular about your clothing. You will refuse to wear shirts with pockets one day and the next day your boycotting long pants, often times I catch you trying to change your outfit mid day and you will try to match Daddy any and every chance you get.

and

With such a big personality comes a lot of ups and downs but no matter what, one thing is for sure, you keep life interesting. You bring so many smiles to our faces and a coziness to our hearts, you are our world and one of the best parts of this life.

 



The show World's Strongest Man called...

and they want Harlyn to compete in the car pull.

 



 

Although I think her form may need a little work, forehead to ground isn't doing her any favors.

Were gonna harness her up to the Power Wheels and have her pull Khage around the yard.

That outta whip her into shape.

Five Months Old

 

A few special facts about our sweet baby girl:

She got her first fever on Halloween

We can hear her kicking the sides of her crib from all the way downstairs

She always grabs her thighs to look over her shoulder in a very hey boys like manner

She taps her right foot repeatedly when she's falling asleep or engrossed in playing with toys 

She has started eating baby food

Her first food was avocados
I find little dry shriveled up booger flakes in her bed just about everyday
She has figured out how to make a clicking sound with her tongue

She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth like she wants to crawl but never does

She likes to stand up on her hands and feet, with her butt high in the air, and her forehead on the ground
When she cries her nose and eyes turn red

She tugs on her hair when she's tired just like Khage does

She likes to touch my face and softly grab my lips and it is just about the sweetest thing ever

She has finally started sitting up

Sometimes she scratches and pinches the backs of my arms while she's nursing and it instantly ticks me off

She has already gotten a second hair cut because only the top of her hair insists on growing

I love when she rubs her little eyes after she wakes up

and

She makes loving her so easy with her silly grins and baby girl sweetness.

I don't think we couldn't adore her even if we tried.

 

 

 

Khage's Halloween Costume 2013

 Our little Peter Pan

 

 We had known for months that Khagey wanted to be Pan for Halloween and the costume was simple enough that this Mama was hook'ed. Not to mention its a character that suits him all too well. A rambunctious boy who prefers to live in the woods and avoids parental guidance at all costs? fits him better then a snug pair of tights.

And it wasn't a fight to wrangle him into the costume either, in fact it has become apart of his weekly dress up play. And nothing makes this Mommy happier then to see my kids enjoying the things I make them. And double doubloons when they look so darn cute doing it.

 Khage was as happy as could be on Halloween night. He was lucky enough to get in two rounds of trick or treating and would randomly yell off to Neverland as he ran up driveways to beg for his candy.

Because his costume wasn't bulky and awkward he was ready at all times to fight off pesky pirates, fly about with the help of a happy thought and play in the woods with the lost boys. You know, all the things that require a pair of green tights, pointy toed shoes and a little red feather.

 

Here's to hoping that this Peter Pan never grows. 

 

Harlyn's First Costume...

She was an owl.

 

 

And isn't she a doll?

No, she wasn't a doll. She was an owl. No, not an owl dressed as a doll.

 I think I may have lost a few of you with that one.

Let me clarify: she was an owl, but is a doll. Got it?

Moving on.

 

 There really is no significance to her being an owl for her first costume. I chose it simply because no little girl of mine was going to be a princess or something else equally glittery and covered in tulle. But it actually worked out quite well considering Khage was a chicken for his first Halloween.

Its a bird thing. Don't over think it.

 

With all the designing, cutting, sewing and gluing I probably spent well over 8 hours making this costume... and she probably wore it for less then a single hour on Halloween. On account of her getting her first fever she wasn't too interested in the idea of knocking down doors for candy, especially since she was fully aware that any and all candy was going to bypass her lips completely and go straight to Daddy's.

 

So on Halloween she actually looked like this. Sick, sad and down right miserable.

 

But she was happy as can be to wear it a second time on picture day.

 

 

 

 

Fly fly my sweet owl baby.

 

 



A Nice Guy in the Bike Section

Its been over a month since Khage was given this bicycle and he still loves to love it. A part of me thinks the way in which he got this bike only adds to it's appeal. We have bought Khage numerous toys that he just had to have that day but even hours later that toy is no where to be found and never given a second thought. But this toy, his bike, wasn't just picked out and purchased... it was gifted and it all happened so magically.

If we ask him where he got that bike he will happily respond from the nice guy and he couldn't be more right. A very nice guy, a total stranger, overheard us in the bike section telling Khage he couldn't have a bike because we couldn't afford it. We secretly planned to get Khage a bike for his birthday but all that nice man knew was that our boy wanted a bike and we could not get him one that day. He approached us and kindly explained that his son just grew out of a bike and if we were okay with it he wanted Khage to have it. Believe me, we tried to pay him for this practically new bike but his only response was pay it forward.

Not only did the nice guy give Khage a bike, he also gave all of us something even better: a wonderful lesson on the kindness within people. We are constantly telling Khage about the bad people who may try and take him if he wanders too far from us, or that cars will hit him if he plays in the road. All too often we forget to explain to him that in addition to the scary things happening around us, this world is also filled with such kind hearted people whose motives are good. People who are simply nice.

So we thank you nice guy for showing our son what true kindness is, and for reminding Brad and me that while fears are necessary in such a world, goodness is still all around us.

Please no.

Listen here little girl, Mommy and Daddy are not ready for this.

 

 

Your lucky your not of spanking age just yet.

 

Backpacks, bags and satchels.

Khage is such an interesting character. I have mentioned before how he becomes so attached to random things. Today it is the helmet. Apparently its not just for riding bikes. And that backpack has been a favorite all week. I can only imagine the oddities he has stuffed inside of it. I find various sorts of cloth bags all over the house, inside of them he hides his treasures. Whenever I stumble upon one I like to take a little gander inside at its contents. Usually its an assortment of peculiarities; a foam ball, a headless lego man, a hot wheels car, a few rocks, a plastic toy fence, always a weapon of some sort, a small plastic zebra, a wooden cookie and a dog tag that reads Baggera. Those have been the latest items I have seen inside one of his satchels. Why they have come to mean so much this week I will never know. But I do know this: I will never tire of finding his treasures and I hope he never grows out of collecting them.

 

 

Do you see those hands? I love that they still resemble chubby baby hands. I hope that never changes too. So basically what I am saying is that I hope he becomes that strange grown man walking around shoving various items into a backpack with creepy baby hands?

I guess it wont have the same affect when he's older.

Four Months Old

A few special facts about our sweet little girl:

She is now wearing size two diapers

We are truly amazed by how something so small can produce such huge boogers

She has started biting while she nurses

Her hair is getting so thick and coarse like Khage's

She refuses to try and sit up unassisted, her rigid locked knees prohibit it

She squeals when she's happy
She is now fully aware when we walk away from her or leave the room

We can tell she is awake in her bed by the sweet sounds of her talking to herself

If we take things away from her she will cry in protest

She is in the 80 percentile for height

She hates to nurse and will literally try and fight me off by clawing, scratching and kicking

She doesn't know the meaning of stranger danger, she will smile at anyone

She rubs her feet together quite vigorously when she's irritated

When she's eating and is tired she will violently sway her head back and fourth

She sleeps in her own room now

and

While most days she is sweet, sometimes she is incredibly feisty, and it only makes us adore her little self so much more. Though she be little she is fierce.

 

 

Huntington Beach 2013

A relaxing beach vacation is a must for any family. That's what any beach side hotel's brochure will say. They plant an ideal vacation in your head; complete with sandcastles, beach cruisers, delicious dinning experiences, and nightly strolls on the pier.

What they don't tell you is this: sandcastles are impossible to build with a boy who is smack-dab in the middle of his destructive phase.

Beach cruisers, while fun, have no place to stowaway a baby with a bobble head.

You will order your meal at a restaurant, take a single bite, then frantically beg the server to package it up to go because both your kids are throwing tantrums.

And nightly walks on the pier are impossible when your destructive kid and bobble headed baby require a bedtime around eight o'clock.

Stupid lying brochures.

Maybe we are just not your typical picture perfect family vacation people. Don't get me wrong, it was fun. It wasn't relaxing like you would assume a vacation would be, it's just so much harder with kids. Remember when you used to go to the beach with a towel and a couple snacks? Those days are dead. We were dragging and hauling kid necessary items all over that beach.

And the hotel room was a real party, especially when Khage got into one of his scream fests. I'm sure our vacationing neighbors loved that. It was awful to be on vacation with so much to do, but stuck in the room while the kids took naps, thank you hotel for free HBO. I'm sure Brad would say it was worth it purely for the continental breakfast. But I was just happy to sleep in a bed once occupied by hundreds of other strangers. Ugh, gross. Good thing I have enough sense to bring my own pillowcases.

Looking back now, it was really such fun to be with each other and experience new things. When your knee deep in crying kids it's hard to treasure those moments. But once your home, unpacked and looking back at the trip through pictures it really makes you realize how wonderful it all was. It was no brochure, but amazing in it's own hectic way.