Hotel Play Adventures

The Saturday/Sunday prior to Valentine's Day, before the girls and I celebrated our Princess Tea Party, we had a HOTEL SLEEP OVER that Saturday night! AND: better yet, it was at a WATER PARK hotel!! Yee-haw, did we all have FUN FUN FUN!

Here is Kyla, running around in her new froggie swim suit, and Avery (top left) and Keifer, having the time of their lives!
Saturday was a day of high anticipation for Keifer, as she was eager to be reunited with her friends that we had met up with this past Fall. We get together with my 3 other girlfriends from college (we are all Early Childhood Special Ed. teachers who attended college together and have been amazing friends ever since). Between the 4 of us girls, we have 10 kids, and there is only 1 boy in the mix! WHOA! I always say "poor Jerry now, but in a few years, he's going to be in hog heaven!" LOL.

Keifer is especially fond of Louise's daughter, Avery, who is only a few months older than her, and Kris's Anna and Emma, who are both very close in age as well.

Keifer has talked about playing doctor with these girls for months ("can we go to your friend's house that lives far far away and those girls can doctor me, again?") When she learned we were staying over all night long together and swimming, she was beyond excited.

The girls were all excited to get their suits on and splash around for awhile in the "mini" pool side, designed especially for little kids. It was nutso there, but us Mamas were able to get some chatting time in, at least a little bit! Here, Kyla goes down the little slide, again and again and again! Lather, rinse, repeat!
Later, the adults were up front, and the girls were in the back room of the suite,playing doctor. Keifer was in hog heaven "doctoring" up her friends. At one point, CJ went back to check on the girls, and overheard Keifer pick up the hotel phone (still connected) and say fast, "hurry, hurry, come quick, there's 2 dead people in here!".

Um, OMG!!!!! OMG is right!! I wonder where she ever heard anything like that? I'm thinking perhaps one of the older girls said something about dying (being sick) and Keifer picked up on that. I then made sure both phones within the room were DISCONNECTED! Yikes!

The crew (some of them) eating and laughing/giggling and having a blast!

Daddies in charge? Some of the kids went up to the arcade later and yes, that is Keifer and Avery up on the Skee Ball game!

Best pals forever! Avery and Keifer! Watching them together just melts your heart!

Kyla was very involved with someone's back pack for quite some time that night. She made sure it was zipped, and proceeded to drag it around the suite for awhile.

Later on, she passed out cold in the pack and play in our room. She stayed up to a whopping 9:30 that night. But the big surprise is that Keifer stayed up until 11:30 PM- the latest she has EVER been up in her life. And she did amazingly well!! She was so jacked up on life and joy! It was just so joyful to watch HER, interacting with the girls and having such a good time.

And to really enjoy a snippet of Keifer & Avery, here is a video clip:

There are more clips here - enjoy! There are 5 total from that night!

Old friends & new

A few weeks ago, I packed up Keifer and we headed up north a few hours to my ECSE friend Kris's house, to have our very first sleep-over without Daddy or Kyla! It was a mini-get together of my dear ECSE college friends, and their daughters. Kris's hubby was out of town, so what better to break up their weekend then a 2 year old and her mommy visiting? Louise joined us with her 3 girls, and Michelle arrived later with 2 of her 3 kids. Keifer enjoyed herself immensely, after an initial few hours of hanging off of mommy and being shy. We slept together in Anna' s big girl bed (Queen size, imagine that!), and just had a really fun time overall. It is so nice to spend time with my old friends, and for Keifer to meet new friends her size!

Keifer posing in her beloved new Rock Star shirt- she loves guitars and calls herself a rock star, now

Jamming on her mini-guitar
Anna and Emma had guitars and a keyboard, complete with a microphone! K1 loved exploring the musical instruments!
Having dinner at the "kids" table. She loved being a big girl with her friends!
Hanging out on Emma's Elmo couch, pounding away on the keyboard (I wonder where she picked that up? Hmmm)
The girls- with my girl leading the silly game of jumping on the bed (a favorite past time of hers)
So fun!
Some of the line up!
The next AM, Emma & Keifer hanging out
Testing out Anna's real rock star guitar!

AFter breakfast, Keifer and I packed up and headed a few miles up the road. We were so lucky, because my friend Bryant (whom I grew up with) and his beautiful wife Sara live up the road from Kris! How cool is that! They have 2 beautiful boys, Cameron and Cooper, and Keifer was just as excited to arrive at their house as the day before. It has been WAY too long since we've seen Bry, Sara and the boys, and we were so excited to spend a few hours hanging out and catching up with them.

Keifer loved exploring their house and asking for snacks, and was proud as punch to use their potty like a big girl. She even had me ask "that boy" (Bryant, hee hee) if he had any M&M's for her, since she went potty. He didn't, but he did have a gummy vitamin, which she thankfully took.

Cameron (5) and Cooper (just turned 3!) Sara & I were PG together! :)
Again, instigating some jumping on the bed. Oye.
Making a silly face

Girls, girls, girl.......friends

I'm trying to keep you posted on what we've been doing with the girls and our friends this summer, but time gets away from me, and already it's the end of August, and I have so many pictures to share, and stories to tell, but I'll try to keep it somewhat abbreviated.

August 1, CJ and I packed the girls up and drove North to my friend Jen's daughter Sloan's 3rd birthday party. Keifer had a ball, as the theme was "Carnival" and Jen went all out with toys, games and pools for the mass of kids to enjoy.

Here are the reunited mommies, which doesn't happen very often.

Beth, Jen (due in September with girl #2), me w/my Kyla in the sling, and Lori.

Keifer after she had her face painted- she picked out the heart all by herself, but didn't sit still long enough for the rainbow.

Cooling off in the pool- and mommy told her to keep her dress dry! The jumper was a sure hit with all the kids- we had to monitor Keifer, as she likes to swat at kids who get too close to her. Ahh, the joys of my particular 2 year old! Here she is with Lori's Isla.

Beth's daughter's Nina and Reya on the teeter totter with Keifer!

The line up! Keifer with Kyla, Nina, Reya, Isla & Sloan
Notice Keifer shoving Nina aside? "Don't touch my sister!"

Previously, in July, me and my girls packed up and drove up to my friend Michelle's (of my ECSE freinds crew) to meet up at Michelle's new home, and have lunch with their kids. We have 10 kids between us all - 9 of which are girls! Whew. Another girlie crew. We try to get together whenever we can, since we are all living within 2 hours of each other either way. Keifer had a blast exploring the new house and just watching the older girls do their "girl" things. She still wasn't interacting as in "playing" together with any of the kids, but that is her age, and she had fun while she was there. Kyla hung out and enjoyed being held and googled at.

The girls eating lunch, and Miss Keifer without a shirt- Mama knows better some days then to keep her clothes on! HA!

Louise loving on Kyla.

The girls having a dance party in the basement.

Keifer trying on Natalie's tap shoes.

Allison is the eldest and most apt to hold Kyla at this point!

Avery & Keifer were best pals (when they weren't being 2 year olds and fighting over toys,etc. LOL) Here they were last summer, and now they are getting SO BIG!!
So sad to me that they grow so fast! The attempt at a kid line - up -which, of course, my daughter Keifer refused to be a part of. As did Jerry, the lone boy!

The Lovely Miss Kyla

I sometimes feel like Kyla is getting the short end of the stick- I don't have many exciting stories to tell (which makes me feel like Knit Knots on Imagination Movers ((Keifer's absolute FAVORITE show ever these days))- as he doesn't like excitement, hee hee), so I am always blogging about how much we are doing and showing off our ACTIVE Keifer Lynn.

However, Kyla is a dream baby. She is a love bug. We are all so in love with her, and I've noticed that this time around, the dogs aren't flipping out at all by having her as the latest addition to our household (like they did with Keifer). In fact, Treble is often sniffing around for her in the pack -n-play, where we keep her Boppy seat (safe from 2 year old hands).

She is still in that newborn stage, even thought she's 2 months old tomorrow. She is eating every 2-3 hours still, and the MOST she's taken down at one time is 4 ounces. Otherwise, she often only gets 2 to 3 ounces and passes out. She also continues to be a 'sloppy eater, as her sucking is still very much like her newborn self. It's new to us to have this, as our Keifer girl was a tiny piglet who was already in 3-6 month clothes by this point. Miss Kyla is just beginning to fill out SOME of her 0-3 month clothes, and that is in length! She is still slender, although she does have the identical long torso like her big sissy, and is beginning to fill out in her cheeks.

CJ and I were looking at newborn pictures of Keifer last week, and it truly is amazing that although we used 2 different egg donors, we have two girls who look VERY much identical as newborns. However, I see more of a different face when Kyla makes different expressions.

We are finding that she is a fussy girl in the evenings: she whines to be held and fusses if we put her down. Of course, I'm trying to go to bed when Keifer goes to bed, around 8PM, so that I can do all these nighttime feedings for her, so it makes it difficult to do so when Kyla is fussing. But I know it will be short lived (hopefully!?). Kyla is also becoming more alert and aware of what is going around her. She is infatuated with the fan (as was big sissy, LOL), and she SMILED AT ME for the first time this week: an actual real smile- she looked at me, studied me, then broke into her little grin, complete with her dimple in her right cheek that warms my heart (as I have dimples!).

Here is our beautiful peanut. Our love bug. Our Kyla.

Ok, Kyla, I'll hug you! A lot!

Keifer is always asking : "can I hold her, mom? Can I?"
This lovey dovey look is truly Keifer when she's anywhere near Kyla!

I love this! It's like she's about to make a funny remark!

And, Kyla at my ECSE friend's house on Monday.

Let's Get Together

Two weeks ago, CJ, Keifer and I trekked to a hotel nearby and had a wonderful time overnighting it with my ECSE pals and their families. Luckily, all our guys get along famously (just talk sports and you're in) and between us, we have 9 kids (10 if you count Kyla on the way!). We try to get together a few times every few months, and usually manage 1-2 get together per year with the whole family.

We had a great time, Keifer LOVED swimming, and she also enjoyed running around the hotel hallways. She was able to separate from mommy and daddy for a little over a half hour, playing with all her new pals, before she realized mommy and daddy were down at the cocktail hour (where daddy was enjoying the free brews and mommy was enjoying some ice water! LOL). We enjoyed pizza and snacks, and good times, and then the yummy breakfast buffet on Sunday AM. All the kids were pretty cranky on Sunday AM, so damned if we didn't miss out on an opportunity to get ALL our kids together in one shot. Oh well, soon enough; maybe when Kyla gets here in a few months! :)

Keifer giving Avery a smooch goodbye on Sunday AM - Avery is about 5 months older than K- they seem to be good pals already!

Louise & I with our girls (she has two older ones, as well), and Michelle's Jerry, the lone boy of the group (Jerry will love it in a few years, I bet, with all the girls! LOL)
Some of the "bigger" girls - Madeline, Anna, Natalie & Haley

Kris with Emma, Louise with Avery, me and my monster girl, Keifer

Keifer was very preoccupied with the free popcorn (or"cockcorn" as she says! LOL)

The even "older" kids: Jerry, Allison, and Allison's friend, and Michelle

Miss Keifer, deciding if she wanted to plunge into the pool or just dip her toes- this was before daddy came down and she turned into a crazy girl!

Ahh, how I love my ECSE girls. We have so much fun together. I can't wait: our new "goal" is to go on a cruise together in about 7 years or so! LOL

The weekend

Well, the weekend was a blur, as usual.

Friday night, the snow started falling, and I went to bed. I knew I was coming down with a cold, and I passed out just as soon as Chris could take over on Keifer duties. It was only 5:30 PM and I was out cold, until 7:00AM the next morning. I still have a majorly runny nose, but feel a little bit better than I did yesterday morning.

Yesterday, CJ and I took K to her first "rock concert" for babies: Elmo's Green Thumb! More to come on that, but she was shell shocked and loved it. The pics really don't do our experience justice.

Then, we had to stop at BRU to pick up a few things ((*coupon time!*)) and then did USA Baby for some early double stroller shopping. Ahhh, the headaches that will bring. LOL. K was with us, so it was a perfect opportunity to throw her in the front, or side, or back of all the doubles we tried out. She wasn't ready for the Sit & stand: she fell backwards (mom of the year here). So far, we are in LOVE with the BOB double, but the price tag is scary. It was really cute, though: K kept trying to push all the strollers, and then she'd say "too big, too big". What? LOL.

It was cute, too, I found CJ researching double strollers on strollers.com this morning. He is one daddy that really gets into stroller shopping: he went nutso doing it when I was PG with Keifer. And in all reality (really) it's ME that really has to make the final decision, as I AM the one who does most of the walking/pushing the strollers with Keifer (and will in the future). I usually walk the fur kids everyday in the warm weather, and need something easy and light, but sturdy for outdoors; something that I can manhandle two frisky dogs on leashes with!

Today, I got to sleep in a bit (woke up drooling, mouth open and snotty nose, oh-so lovely) and got ready to meet the ECSE girls up in Maple Grove (our usual eating out spot) for a lunch. And what a lunch it was. I miss these ladies- I wish we all lived closer. We sat and ate Mexican (my fave, I could literally drink the salsa, it was so good), and we ended up sitting there for 2 1/2 hours. We made plans for next month, hoping to do a hotel overnight with the hubbies and our kiddos.

I got to stop at Target for some odds and ends, and ended up finding a few cute tops (sweater, sweatshirt) for myself that are in the "regular" section (not maternity) but still look decent, for clearance prices. Score! Then, I got home to find that Keifer had a nasty blow out and wasn't feeling well. Poor K. After some good cuddles, she decided to play hard, and she went to bed at 6:30 again tonight. She had a busy weekend!

Tomorrow I have work off, and K doesn't have daycare, so it'll be a mommy and baby girl day (and fur kids, of course). Then, we'll hopefully get to Baby Ballroom: last week it was canceled due to the nasty weather.

ECSE Friends: Through the years.....

Our friendship began in college, back in 1994, but I don't have our "early years" together pics on the computer yet......I just thought it might be fun to reminisce with some older pictures from a few years ago...the only ones I could round up at this time.....

Here we are in 2004, out to eat as always....this time was at Big Bowl

This was when we spent the day shopping and the night taking advantage of our hotel's free happy hour! (2005)
Louise & Kris
A much skinnier me and Michelle
Last summer: school's out for the summer and the girls meet Keifer (2007)
Last month, out to eat again......good times, and good friends!