SHE DID IT

Harlyn is the most strong willed baby I know. At fifteen months and with legs that make her hover over most other kids her age, can I hardly call her a baby anymore?

Doesn't matter, I will anyway.

My baby, she officially did it, she has stopped sucking on her fingers and has refrained from hair pulling. Two struggles I foolishly feared would last clear through her high school days. But not this girl, she's too determined for that.

If your child suffers from either of these habits, I hope our methods can help you, help your child through this phase...

We helped her stop finger sucking by wrapping her finger in medical tape during the day, and put her in a night shirt with the sleeves stitched closed while she slept. She made quite the effort in removing the tape all throughout the day, but I was persistent and would reapply it continuously until she understood that I too meant business. After a week of that game, she hardly noticed the tape there at all. And a few times, when I forgot to tape her fingers, I noticed as she would pull her hands to her mouth and decide against it... she truly is my strong willed baby.

As for the night, I figured breaking the sleeping habit would be the hardest because she finger sucked as a form of self soothing, especially when she was tired. I foresaw her waking up through the night with the inability to put herself back to sleep, but happily that wasn't the case. The first night she was obviously upset and confused, but fell asleep after only 15 minutes of tears and didn't wake up until morning. And it only got easier from there.

Because finger sucking and hair pulling went hand in hand for her, as one habit was broken the other slowly went away as well. I haven't even seen her attempt to pull her hair even though it has slowly begun to grow in.

 It has been about 3 months since we decided to shave her head, and I can't believe the progress she has made. I may be hasty in proclaiming this habit of hers broken, but truly it doesn't matter. For her, right now, within this moment of her life, she did it. She found other ways in which to express herself, to sooth herself and to communicate her emotions to us. Hasty or not, I am incredibly impressed by her.

Bald or fuzzy haired, she is our beautiful little baby with a will that makes us proud.

A LESSON FROM KHAGE....

Khage: Me and sister and Daddy have popped boobs.

Me: What?

Khage: Me and sister have popped boobs and so does Daddy.

Me: Oh ya?

Khage: Ya, and you have blown up boobs.

Me: Well, okay then.

Nice to know that, to him, were all just walking around with balloon boobs on our fronts. All at various degrees of inflation of course.

IGNORE THIS

No seriously, you should ignore this.

This isn't one of those don't look, even though I am secretly hoping you'll be intrigued enough to look moments. I really think you should skip this one... unless your name is Harlyn.

After all this post is about her first birthday, the same one that happened over TWO months ago.

Told you. You should have ignored it. But now I am hoping that since you came this far, you might as well take a little walk with me. Oh how fun memory strolling can be... especially when its long over due.

We don't have to hold hands, but it could be nice.

Harlyn started off less then pleased to partake in a day dedicated solely to her. My kids are funny like that, they never want the spotlight.

They get that from their Daddy.

She loosened up once the food came out... that she gets from me. We served hot dogs, with plenty of fixins to create delicious dogs from Chicago style to chili cheese, tator tots, pasta salad and coleslaw. Nana baked her beautiful lemon cakes, we decorated with cheery hues of yellow and pink, and I displayed her monthly pictures which only made me want to cry. We planned pot painting and flower potting for her kiddie guests, and it became pretty necessary to hose them off in the sprinklers soon after.

She was gifted with everything a little girl could ever hope for: a purse, baby pram, cradle, tea set, clothes, a doll house, and books. She was spoiled rotten and I think she knows it. Her Tete Cole even made her a dress, just about the cutest thing you will ever see. We are still waiting for this scrawny chick to grow into it, but beware when she does she will be modeling it for all to see.

In true girl fashion, she didn't dive into her cake. She sampled a few licks before she realized it was sugary goodness and then all refinement went out the door. Nothing the sprinklers couldn't handle.

It was a wonderful day, celebrating our little sunshine with a bunch of family and a whole lotta love.

CAMPING JULY 2014

 

We will never take these kids camping again.

 

Never ever.

And when I say never ever again, what I mean is: we will probably go again in a few months.

But definitely not next month.

Brad and I hardly deserve that kind of torture.

Although, our wilderness devil children would probably love that, purely to pang us.

 

Stop. I need to explain this cheesy fingered situation. While we were scoping out the ideal campsite we were all chowing on Doritos, and every time Harlyn wanted another one all we could see was her little orange dusty fingers shoot up from the back seat. We died. All 6 times.

 

And that concludes the fun portion of this trip.

 

Commence all the crying and wining, disguised in photos as an enjoyable family camping trip.

 

Where there is mud, these kids will go. I'm not complaining, I love me some filthy outdoor babies. Just as much as I love getting all Sacagawea on them later, and bathing them in the lake.

 

 

 



 

Do you see how close I am? I think if I were quick enough I could have snatched him up and skewered him. Maybe this one's too cute to eat, but he had a little fat friend running around that I wouldn't mind gettin' my hands on.

 

 

 

Grandma and Pompa even drove up for a day to go fishing with us. These kids are so darn lucky, clearly they wouldn't have made the drive just to smell see Brad and I. 

 

Things I want to remember about this trip:

Once the kids got a whiff on the fresh air they morphed into miserable little people, but returned to their natural selves once the campsite was completely packedup and the fire was put out. oh joy.

While camping, both kids were happiest once when we let them play inside the Tahoe.

Khage zonked out early in the evening, Harlyn on the other hand was on crack and refused to go to sleep at a normal hour. She spent her time winding down by jumping all over her slumbering brother while Brad laughed uncontrollably, only encouraging her poor behavior.

While hiking, Harlyn was thrilled to stop and pick flowers.

Khage absolutely loved fishing, but even more so he just loved playing with the bait worms.

So much in fact, he wanted us to take them home, sadly we made him release them into the wild. #myparentsaresouncool

#getoveritkidoryoucanwalkhome
#whyamitalkinglikethis
#makeitstop

...

Ya. I think were done here.

TO MY WIFE

Jamee Mae

Thank you for all you do and all the selfless acts you commit, our children and me are truly blessed, they do not understand yet as much as you would like but I certainly see it every day. You have sacrificed so much for the sake of our children. There is no better match for me our are children then you. I don’t tell you enough (well  I've never told you) but if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be the man I am today  you help me in everyway .  Thank you for being such a wonderful person, the light in our little world, the sanity( sometimes), the laughter, and all the greatness in this crazy little home.  Thank you Jamee Mae for all that you do. I love you so much honey.

                                Your loving husband.  

STORY STONES

Khage loves when I tell him stories. He asks me all day long; before naps, when he's bored, in the car, during lunch, while he's on the pot, while I'm on the pot... too much? I always go too far.

Anyway, its kinda our thing. Like a club that only we are apart of. Brad has gotten in on it a few times but that Khage always seems to come running back to the real story telling master. And I loved telling him stories, up until the other day when...

I ran out of stories.

So there Khage sat, crossed legged in front of me, with his eyes burning a hole into my soul, anxiously waiting for a magical tale... I had nothing.

I went into panic mode.

Come on guy, I'm an adult for crying out loud, I am growing out of my imagination by the day. I can't just think up fictional stories on a whim anymore. And I surely can't think up multiple stories in a day to appease his undying requests. I have life insurance, I read nutritional facts on the backs of food labels, and I watch black and white movies... I'm no longer a kid. I'm a full blown adult and my head is consumed with other things outside of the realm of mystical lands and talking animals.

Something had to be done. After all, I didn't want to be kicked out of the club. I have never belonged to a club before, especially one as prestigious as this.

And so Story Stones were born.

Technically speaking, they were found and painted. Never born.

 

Now I just grab a few of these bad boys and build a story around them. Khage loves it, and I'm still an honorary member of the club.  Khage is none the wiser.

Tell me you saw the little house. Pretty proud of that little house, with it's picket fence and a tree to boot. Who would have thought my hidden talent was in tiny rock painting? Is that a thing, tiny rock painting? If so, I should compete.

And people say stay at home moms just watch tv all day. Puff on that, haters.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY... BLAH BLAH BLAH

Lets talk about what's not a good idea:

Selfie shots on your 28th birthday.

I'm old now, and no number of selfie shots can reverse it. Simply saying selfie makes me feel outdated. Stand down if your older then me. My birthday, my rant.

I took over thirty something selfies today, and yup those bags under my eyes are present in every single one.
I turned away from the sun.
I dropped my chin.
I swung my hair about.
And I used various rooms in the house.
But darn if those eye bags aren't persistent.

FYI, selfies in the family room look about the same as selfies in the living room.

I keep telling myself, self your a mom and this is what mom's look like. But all that does, is remind me that my stomachs not in great shape either. Oy vey.

And don't bother asking me about the placement of my left arm in picture 2 and 4. I was going for the casually sitting about while feeling playful look. But seems, I captured the don't mind me pulling the back of my own hair look. There's a thin line and I crossed it. 27 year old Jamee would have nailed it, darn this older version of myself.

And if you must know, I didn't even bother to put on real pants for these pictures. I'm still in my pajamas. My energy levels also not what it used to be.

My face is a hot mess. My stomachs in shambles. And my energy's junked... thank goodness for the best birthday presents a mother could ask for: a reason to never take selfies again.

These cute little chums really know how to distract the eye from the car wreck that is my face.

Don't pity me, just tell me how to stop it.

This aging thing ends tonight.

... or we'll just revisit this again next year.

HALLELUJAH

It rained. In Arizona, it actually friggin rained.

Water, literally fell down from the sky and made massive puddles. And the next morning those puddles got together and called our names. And when a puddle calls your name, you listen.

And sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes it demands you get your bike and ride through it... preferably shirtless and in tight pajama pants.

Well, not all of us got the same request.
It made itself very clear it wanted me: with shirt and preferably in loose fitting bottoms.

Don't hate, puddle, don't hate. Mama's got it going on. But yes, I will wear a shirt.

Now, lets ride. 

 

 

 

 

  

Khage kicked up the cutest little wakes.

His pj's were soaked and he laughed hysterically.

 

I love when it rains. But even more so, I love what the rain does to my boy. 

 



GUESS WHO

Your never gonna believe this. Guess who stopped by our house today for lunch and a play date.

Don't you see him?

Look closely, there to the left of a pant-less Khage.

It's Buzz Lightyear. If you can't see him, well safe to say your an adult and lost all your childhood sense of imagination. Picture me feeling sad for you.

And in true Khage fashion, answering the door for his imaginary friends dressed in a pair of jockeys and socks.

I say that like its a weird thing.

And for all we know he's got his imaginary pants on.

Fridays are a special day in our house. Typically I am pretty controlling around here. I'll put that right out there, I'm not ashamed of it. But when Friday rolls around its a little more laxed; Khage gets to pick what he wants to eat for lunch... and picking his lunch is a pretty big deal to this kid. I like to sneak pureed veggies into unsuspecting dishes whenever I can, so biting into a quesadilla that doesn't ooze green cheese is always a good day for him, but even more fun is that he also gets to invite over an imaginary friend.

He chooses the character and I give their mom a call. Mickey Mouse has stopped by a few times, then Woody and now Buzz.  And in case you were wondering, all their moms have been very nice. Mickey's mom is a little full of herself, but that's to be expected, her son is hugely famous.

I initiated Mission Grow Imagination about a month ago, and at first Khage didn't understand the magic in pretending. He would just sit back, very skeptical, and observe me as I talked to his friends. If ever Khage wanted to talk to them too, he would ask me to relay messages between them. He couldn't hear his friends when they talked to him and he definitely couldn't see them.

But now to him they are very real, as real as those pants he's wearing.

Khage is a very creative boy but needs a little boost in the make believe department, and this does just that for him. He has a very practical sense this one and he knows that his toys aren't real, and that I can't have. After all, the kids only three and I don't want him not believing in the tooth fairy before he even looses a baby tooth. But today he actually played with Buzz, they even wrestled together. They rolled around in the living room while Khage laughed and jumped around, thrilled to be doing something out of the ordinary. Something a little... magical.

Incase you are calculating how many hours of therapy he is going to eventually need to fix this mess, I want you to know that I am not tricking/forcing him into seeing these pretend friends. We have discussed how they are not real and its just fun to use our imaginations and pretend. I remember as a child wanting so badly to have an imaginary friend... only to find out years later that I could have had one all along. I don't want Khage to miss out on the wonderful magic that comes along with playing pretend, so now the pretend knocks on his door...

COURAGEOUS KHAGE

Remember last time you stopped by, you figured you would waste a few minutes of your day on some light hearted fun....

but then I was all BAM in depression mode because my daughter was bald and I started projecting on you.

Sorry 'bout that. It's just that, if I'm having a crumb day I want company.

I'm obnoxious like that... and I get lonely in my misery.

But maybe I owe it to you to make this right. Challenge accepted.

Who doesn't love a tale of courage and heroics?

Let us begin...

A few nights ago Khage was lying in his bed, we read him a book, told him a story and kissed him goodnight. The little tyrant still takes more then an hour of lying there before he actually falls asleep, so we left his door slightly cracked so the lights from downstairs could give him just enough comfort but not keep him awake. Brad and I were in the kitchen when Khage started calling our names, not completely unusual considering if you tell a kid to go to bed they will always ask for a drink of water. Always.

We ignored him. But then he started getting frantic. Brad went in to check on him and he told Daddy that a scorpion monster came into his room.

And so the nightmares begin.

But then he quickly changed his story to just a regular scorpion came into his room. Because his story was jumping all over the place, he obviously couldn't be trusted. Three year olds at lightsout will start getting desperate. So Brad tried to put him back in bed but Khage wasn't having any of that business. So the kind Daddy that Brad is agreed to black light for scorpions and prove there weren't any...

But then there was. A scorpion was right next to his door. Khage literally lied in bed and watched a scorpion walk into his room. Because the door was cracked, he could see it moving in the sliver of light. Apparently his eyesight is marvelous.

I think a thank you Mommy for making me eat all my carrots is in order.

After Brad killed it we let Khage lie in our bed for a good 45 minutes to calm down. By then it was getting pretty late and we all needed to get to sleep. Just to throw it out there Brad told Khage it was time for him to go get into his own bed. And he did it. He actually did it. When I was a kid and there was a spider in the house I avoided that area for weeks, even after it was dead. As far as I was concerned that area belonged to the bugs. It was like their delegated hangout spot and I wasn't gonna fight them for it. It was an unspoken agreement, if the spiders had clubhouses in various spots of the house they wouldn't need to go into my bed. Even as a child I was very wise.

But Khage and all his moxy. He didn't have an issue climbing back into his scorpion infested room to go to sleep.

This kids a warrior.

 

 

And that's the only picture you get.

 

If you thought for one second that I was going to leave my child alone in his room with a scorpion while I went for my camera, you are sadly mistaken.

 

Talk about traumatizing. Khage try not to get stung by the poisonous creature while Mommy documents this charade. I wanna capture the look of terror on your face so don't move a muscle.

 

And the award for worst mommy ever goes to...