Hailey's Surprise

Jaren & I went on a date tonight, and stopped by JC Penney's. At the register, they had harmonicas for sale. We thought that was a really odd thing for Penney's to have, and on an impulse buy, we got it for Hailey. She said it was the best surprise EVER. She played and sang, and Jaren and I laughed so hard. She is such a little performer, she cracks us up! She's so cute, she wanted to sleep with it!

Tired Girl

Hailey must've been REALLY tired today. She is not a napper, and takes forever to fall asleep if I insist on her taking a nap. This afternoon she lied down and was out in two seconds.

Fun in the Mud!!!

Addy has been getting in the mud lately and really been enjoying herself, so.....I let the girls make mud pies! They sure had fun!

Pretty Hailey......

We are in trouble when this girl gets older....

Another funny picture......

Little Addy just cracks us up! This is her version of what Hailey is doing....

Time Out Missy.....

This cute little girl has been spending PLENTY of her time in the time out chair these past couple of weeks. The little stinker is just SO stubborn. Most of her time out stems from not playing so nice with little sister. She means well, but gets frustrated when Addy does not understand her. She tries to tell her what to do when they are playing, and when Addy doesn't do it, she tries forcing her, which ends up with Addy screaming and in tears.

Week of June 18th, 2012

Monday was boring.....that's all I remember. Tuesday morning we went to Grandma & Grandpa Petersens so the girls could play with Elsie, who grandma was babysitting, while I did some visiting. After that we came home and did some cleaning and had quiet time. I am thinking of implementing a quiet time every day. Hailey is driving me NUTS! She's just playing, but she is loud loud loud! After about 30 minutes, I feel like I can't even think. Today I told her she had to play in her room, quietly, for an hour. She had to be reminded a few times to keep it down, but she did good the rest of the hour. That afternoon I started organizing her room, and setting stuff aside for donation. That's always tricky, because you have to do it on the sly. It's funny, months will go by without her playing with a toy but if she sees me with it, she is like "Nooooooo"....haha. She knows the process of donating stuff we hardly use, and tries to fight it sometimes. If it's something she plays with ever, or is attached, then of course I wouldn't get rid of it. The little dinky toys, from happy meals or whatnot, add up so fast, I love getting rid of them! Usually they play with them once or twice and then they just sit there, so they don't even miss them. Wednesday morning we were headed out to go to Nana & Papa's house and run errands, and I realized the tire was flat. I was glad it went flat at home, but went crazy being home with the girls all day. They were bored and needed to get out, but Jaren worked late, so we were stuck! Jaren tried explaining the air compressor to me over the phone, but it wasn't working. Thursday the girls and I headed to Discount Tire to get the tire fixed. We thought they would patch it, but unfortunately they said we needed a new tire. Jaren said we needed to go to the place that we bought them, so we decided to go the next day. Thursday afternoon the girls played house. It's so cute watching them. Addy is really started to get into the "pretend" play. I walked in Hailey's room and they were both in little made up beds with covers over them, and they were saying "sshhhh". I really enjoy that part of being a mom, watching these two little sisters play. I am also learning to appreciate these moments, because when they are not doing that, they are fighting. It's not so much fighting, it's mostly Addy not understanding and Hailey being demanding of her. Addy will take a toy and Hailey will pull it out of her hand, while Addy has a DEATHGRIP on it. And then it's screaming from both of them. I'm trying to get Hailey to understand that she needs to teach Addy about sharing. I have seen her do this a few times, and Addy is slowly catching on. That evening we got out the bounce, and then when daddy got home we went swimming. It was only the second time since Jaren had been in the pool that summer. We had lots of fun. Hailey told us she had some super cool moves to show us. She loves to jump in doing funny things. Addy is not scared of the water. It's almost hard to swim with her because she doesn't understand that she cannot get out of your arms. We tried floaties on her, but her head still goes under. And she is too independent to be stuck in a baby floaty thing. After swimming it was early to bed! Friday we took the car down to Fletchers to be turned away because they didn't have the right tire...ughhh. Guess I sat there in the waiting room for an hour for nothing....oh well, could be worse. I'm trying to look at things in a more positive light, but it's hard. Friday during Addy's nap Hailey and I had a princess party. We watched a Barbie princess movie, did our nails and hair, and listened to music. It was fun! After that a friend from the ward came over with her little boy. The girls had fun playing with him, and us girls got to chat about kids and her pregnancy. Later that day we met Jaren over at Fletchers to get the tire fixed finally. Jaren waited while Addy and I walked over to Goodwill. I was excited to find both girls a cute Christmas dress for $2.50! Can't beat that, and they look great! That night Hailey had a campout on the family room floor. Addy thought she was joining her and went and plopped herself down on the bed we made, with a big smile on her face. We almost let her, but then I figured she would sleep much better in her crib, so off she went! Saturday Hailey actually slept in until 7:30 and Addy 8 o'clock, which is UNHEARD of in our house! Sunday was a lazy day. I cleaned up a little around the house and Jaren made the girls a really cool fort. Next week I have GOT to get back into exercising. It's amazing what a little exercise can do for your mind, I feel SO much better when I'm working out!

Week of June 11, 2012

Monday we didn't do a whole lot. I was able to get a walk in with Addy before Jaren went off to work. Us girls played in the playhouse outside, fertilized the garden, picked some tomatoes and watched some tv. After Jaren got home we had planned an outing to Dairy Queen, but once we got there, Hailey announced she didn't have any shoes on! So, we didn't want to look like hillbillys so we hit the drive through instead. The girls enjoyed their ice cream and then had fun running through the sprinklers. After that it was early bedtime.....YES!!! Tuesday us girls went to the Riparian and walked around for a bit. We saw ducks, turtles and rabbits. After that it was so hot we decided to go to the splash pad and play. Addy is finally starting to like the water. She was so cute and kept trying to step on the fountains. Before we left we walked through the Disney store and the girls got matching pj's with Merida from the movie Brave, which Hailey cannot wait to see. Wednesday was visiting Nana & Papa and gymnastics. Hailey has a little friend named Aundrea in gymnastics that she just LOVES! It's fun to watch them together! Thursday the girls went to Nana & Papas while I got groceries for Pinedale. Friday we went to Pinedale. We had planned on coming home on Sunday, but Papa was in the hospital so we came home early. We thought Papa had fallen last week, because he was being forgetful, and just not himself. It took a while for him to be convinced to go to the hospital. Finally he went, and the doctors said he had a stroke. We were in shock because the day he fell, paramedics came and said he didn't have a stroke. We wanted him to go into the hospital that day, but he didn't want to for whatever reason. It's so hard for us to see him like this. The doctors said it affected the personality section of his brain. I guess there is a chance he could get it back, but maybe never. Seeing him like this makes me really want to cherish life, and make all the little moments last forever. Sunday was father's day and he got to come home from the hospital, but it just wasn't the same as other Father's Days. Sunday evening we went over to Jim and Gwens house for ice cream and swimming. The kids ate lots of sugar, but then ran around and wore themselves out. The girls both went to bed right away when we got home. I am looking forward to getting some things done around the house next week, and eating better. I ate HORRIBLE this week.

Sisterly Love.......

I love this picture I snapped of the girls while we were visiting a splash pad. Hailey was being so sweet & loving and Addy wanted nothing to do with it....haha.

Fun cutting hair......

Jaren got a haircut and grew a mustache in the same hour. Yes, we are immature, but we sure do
laugh a lot!

Sisters......

I was reading a book earlier in the day about parenting and there was a quote from a mom that said "the best thing I ever gave my children was each other". I thought that was the neatest comment. It made me think of my girls and how close they will hopefully be as the years go by and they get older. Later during the day I snapped this picture, and it reminded of that quote. I just love my girls!!

Week of June 4, 2012

Monday Hailey had a dress rehearsal for her recital. I had a scare because I couldn't find her for about ten minutes. The rehearsal was at Mesa High School. They have all of the little dancers, probably about 75 kids, stay in this room, while other dancers are practicing their part on the stage. It was hectic to say the least. Last year at this time I told Jaren "we are not doing this next year", but here we were again. And we will be doing it again next year, Hailey LOVES it. Anyhow, the kids are all running around like crazy, having a blast. Hailey was a bunny, and there were about 15 other bunnies. I was sitting on the side of the room with the other moms, while the kids ran around. I looked for her, and couldn't see her. For about five minutes I walked around the room, looking for her, but there were so many kids in costumes and running around, it was difficult. A friend of mine was also there and started looking for her as well. After ten minutes, I went to look behind the stage area for the second time, and she was walking back with someone who had taken her to fix a small tear in her costume. I was so relieved to see her, and annoyed at the same time. I wished the woman who had taken her back would've told me first. If all the bunnies were gone, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But when they are still in the room, and just Hailey is gone, I started to panick. I know I am a huge worrier, but ughhh, it scared the daylights out of me. Tuesday was her actual recital. We curled her hair in spiral curls and put makeup on her. She was having lots of fun getting all pretty! We arrived there, and it was chaos all over again. The dancers had to be there at six, while we went to the auditorium. It didn't start til 7PM, so we went to check on her twice. She had been crying :( I saw a few other little dancers crying also, I think it was just really hectic in that room. The show started and it was great. Hailey didn't go on until about 8PM, so she was in that back room for two hours! She did an excellent job, and we were all so proud of her. She waved while she was on stage, so cute. Nana & Papa came, and Papa bought her a rose. We went back to get her and she saw Papa and ran to him so fast, it was so cute. She loved the rose too. She was starving, and we got her McDonalds on the way home. She was so tired and went to bed right away. I don't even remember what any of us did on Wednesday, other than we completely forgot that Hailey had gymnastics.....oops! Thursday us girls got up and went for a nice walk before it got too hot out, then came home and jumped in the pool. Hailey is a little fish and is swimming so good. She loves to swim under the water with her boggles, as Addy calls them. Friday we hung around the house during the day, and that afternoon we went to a splash pad with John, Reagan and Gwen. It was hot for us moms, but the kids had fun. Saturday Jaren worked the morning, and then went to Payson for work that afternoon. Us girls went on an early walk, hit the park and then came home and watched Hailey swim. Later we went to Target and then stayed home mostly. We did a little project where we made bird feeders and hung them outback. Hailey had fun stirring the seed mixture and putting it in the different shaped cookie cutters. Her friend Makenzey came over and they sat staring out the back window to see if any birds were eating off of them. Hailey and Makenzey ended up playing for about seven hours that day! They played at our house for quite a while, then went to Makenzey's house. When they came back over, they were wearing Makenzey's matching pajamas. They looked like little twins. Those two have so much fun together. Sunday I ran to get groceries before it got too hot out, then came back and we played outside. We mowed the lawn and cleaned up the backyard and the girls ran through the sprinklers. Addy didn't really like it until we put some goggles on her....she looked so cute. Then the girls ate lunch out back, Addy still in her goggles. I let Addy eat chocolate pudding by herself.....BIG mistake. It was all over her, the table, the ground, the walls outside, the door, etc. She enjoyed though!! I decided to get a head start on the cleaning I usually do during the week and did a few loads of laundry and did the floors. I was sooo tired, but glad to get it done. The girls ended up going to bed really early, partly because they were worn out and partly because I needed a break from all of their energy!

Admiring her hairdo.....

Cute little Addy just loves to have her hair done. She is all girl, she loves babies, shoes, hats and getting her fingernails painted. I snapped these pictures right after we did her hair and she was checking herself out in the mirror....so cute!

Week of May 28th, 2012

Not a very busy week. I need to plan more things to do with the girls, but it's just so stinking hot out. Monday was Memorial Day. Jaren was off work and we just hung out around the house. Jaren got a lot done that he hasn't had time to do, like cleaning the garage, fixing his breaks and getting the lawn done. Tuesday Hailey got to go Makenzey's house for swimming & pizza, she had a blast. She didn't go to bed until 9:30, which is late for her, and it only took her about two minutes to fall asleep. She really wore herself out! Wednesday morning we went over to Nana & Papa's house to play with cousins that were there for the day. The girls had lots of fun and didn't want to leave. Thursday we ran a couple of errands and cleaned house. That evening Jaren & I got to go out to dinner.....whooo hoooo......while Autumn babysat the girls. Friday we ran more errands, went to visit Grandma & Grandpa Petersen, and met Jaren for lunch. That evening Jaren left for Pinedale to paint. Once Hailey realized she wouldn't see him for two days, she started crying. She brought him some fake flowers that were in her room, and pictures of her and Addy so he wouldn't forget what they look like.....so cute! Jaren called me later that night to say they hit a deer! The car was not drivable and they had to call triple A. Jaren was in the back of the van and not wearing a seatbelt, so I'm glad they were all ok. Ended up being a really long night. They didn't get to Pinedale until 2AM. They got up early Saturday and painted all day. Poor guys, this trip didn't go as planned at all. Anyhow, Nana stayed the night and kept us girls company. Saturday was VERY boring for the most part, until the evening. We purchased a used playset on Craigslist and the girls are having a BLAST with it. We brought it home and washed it up really good and put on new stickers, and it looks pretty good, almost new. After getting it cleaned up, we hit Toys R Us and bought some fake food, pots & pans and a toy cleaning set. The girls are in heaven!!! Sunday the girls got up and....surprise....wanted to play with the playhouse immediately. They made me sandwiches, hot dogs and more. Jaren got home around 6ish that evening and we were all very happy to see him!!