That Hill Has Nothing On Us.

Kendall has conquered the little hill by our house. Several weeks ago, she was riding down the hill for the first time and lost control. She proceeded to fly head over handle bars. Thank goodness for her helmet! After a few minutes of tears, like the mean mother I am, we climbed back to the top of the hill and learned all about "riding the brakes". It took a good 20 minutes to make it back down the hill that day. She has been down it a couple of times since, but it has taken a bit of time since she comes to a complete stop after each rotation of the tire. Not yesterday! She rode down like a champ. The neighbor lady and her five kids even came out to cheer Kendall on. As I was minimizing the whole thing, the woman said "No, really that is quite an accomplishment. My six year old still walks her bike down that hill." Great job Kendall!

No more toddler beds or cribs...
WooHoo. Sidney now has a big girl bed. It is a captain's bed with drawers underneath. On night three, she fell out of the bed. I heard a bit of whimpering and went to check it out. There she was sitting next to the bed. Uh Oh. Now we line up Winnie, Tigger, Big Bear and Lambie along the edge. It is week 3 or 4 and no more falling out of the bed for Sid. I cannot say the same for Kendall. She had never fallen out of bed I think?). About two nights after Sidney fell out of bed, we heard a loud thump in the middle of the night. Kevin and I went flying into Kendall's room and she was fast asleep right next to her bed. Kevin was assessing the situation trying to wake her up and ask her if she was okay. Seriously...she did not even wake up. Crazy! So we picked her up and put her back into the bed. That was the end of it.

The new school...
They love it. Thank goodness! I mean REALLY love it. We have not had tears. They both are like spunges learning all kinds of new things. The second week without my prying Kendall told me, "I really miss Rebecca, but I love my new school." Fair enough. Sidney's favorite song seems to be "Head, shoulders, knees and toes". Her teachers absolutely adore her. They have said they wish they had a thousand Sidney's. Hmmm...does this mean I should be grateful for all of her 2 year old whining...I think not. She has also come home many days with piles of sand in her clothes. Kendall's class gets to take field trips on the school bus. This excites her to no end. She has also told us about Brian who is not so nice. Here is her conversation with Kevin:
Kendall: He tries to take off my socks.
Kevin: Then just walk away.
Kendall: I did, and he followed me.
Kevin: Then take off his socks.
Heather: Really? Is that what you want to teach her? God help us!

Dance Class...
We have been suckered in by a VERY excited Kendall. She is in week two of her dance class. Let me say that I have been very impressed. She has learned one routine (which she CAN repeat). She has also started learning all of the positions, by other names of course (i.e. "mermaid fins" and "picking apples on her toes"). She also has learned ballet arms, which is "very tiring".

Potty Training...
UGH. I think we are ALMOST ready to dive in. Not sure if I want to do that yet. Although, I do think we have a "little" bit of time. The other day when Sidney woke up and grabbed my hand and said poopy and walked me to the bathroom, I knew it was almost time. Don't get too excited though, she has yet to do a darned thing in the toilet. She sits on it quite frequently, but not so much as a tinkle. Oh well. I am positively hoping that she will tackle the toilet the same way she has tackled many other things thus far. Observe, think about it, observe, think about it, DO IT! I can only hope.

Dorothy, "We're not in Kansas any more."

This is what happens when you let your three year old pick out her new shoes.  They are so sparkly and red and have a bow on them.  Little sister just had to have a pair too!

Not sure what is so hilarious...

I could not figure out what was so funny, but watching this video is enough to make anyone start laughing.

My Little Bakers

The girls have really been helping in the kitchen lately.  I do mean "helping" very loosely.  However, yesterday we made cookies and they genuinely did just about the whole thing.  Of course, I gave them a little bit of guidance (measuring and pulling things in and out of the oven).  Here they are my happy little bakers.  The hardest part was getting Sidney to wait until AFTER the cookies were baked to enjoy eating!

We also found some great Halloween costumes yesterday.  I know it is a bit early, but this is the first year that Kendall has had an opinion about what she wanted to be.  I just could not resist.  We could not find a "green" giraffe to match her favorite stuffed animal so brown will do.  What you cannot see in the picture is that the girls are soaking wet!  They were outside in the backyard when the sprinklers came on.  Instead of rushing in, they decided to have a little fun.  Good times.

Friday the girls had their first half day at their new school.  Sidney did not even cry when I left (sniff, sniff).  They had a blast.  Kendall was so happy that she got to be the "line leader" when they came back in from playing outside.  They also got potato chips as a treat with their lunch (such deprived children).  When I picked Sidney up, it was absolutely adorable.  There were about 6 kids in her class and they all knew her name.  A few of them shouted "Bye Sidney".  Hopefully tomorrow goes as smoothly when it is the real thing.

Seriously Fun. Seriously Tired

Yesterday afternoon we went to Planet Kid at the Wing's Center.  I have never been there before and neither have the girls.  I had no idea what to expect, but after an hour and a half of playing non-stop, we were all exhausted.  This place is a definite "do over".  For those who have never been, it is a two story soft jungle gym with ball pits, rope ladders, mats, nets, climbing walls, slides and more.  It takes up the size of a gymnasium.  It is great for parents.  There is a little cafe where you can read or enjoy free WiFi while watching the kids.  The place is meant for children 12 and under.  There is a special area for kids two and under.  Sidney spent about 5 minutes there and it was off to the big kid area.  I did not get to sit and veg-out.  Instead I was chasing Sidney around the place thinking that she might get scared or stuck somewhere.  But no, instead I received a massive workout.

Sid was in ball heaven, as she dove straight into the huge ball pit.

Kendall met yet another friend.  Here she is with 5 year old Alyssa.  They had so much fun.  Kendall did not even have time to stop and say hello to me. 

  

This was the first moment that I knew Sid was off to adventure on her own.  We were standing at the bottom of this rope wall when she just took off climbing.  She swung her legs over the first bar and off she went.  I followed of course, just in case...Again, workout for mom.

In many places the floors were made of canvas nets.  I was a bit worried about Sid's foot punching through, so I told her to crawl on her belly.  Good thing she had her army pants on.

Here is Kendall climbing yet another wall.

In the end, the only person who got hurt was me.  Yes, that is correct, ME.  When we first got there I took Sid down this really scary big slide.  I thought we were going way too fast, so in my brilliance I stuck my foot out to try and stop us (sans shoes, only socks).  Ouch.  We did not stop and I just got this huge bruise that is killing me.  Too make things even more beautiful, Sid went down the huge scary slide by herself after that.  I guess I was the only wimp.  It was kidn of reminiscent of the time I fell down Observation Hill in Antarctica.

Sid's First Trip to the Dentist

 Do not let this look of bravery fool you.  Today we took Sidney for her first trip to the dentist.  She loved the idea of it, loved sitting in the chair, loved watching the monkey video.  She DID NOT let the dentist or the hygienist touch her mouth.  Silly girl.  When it came time to brush her teeth, she took the toothbrush and did it on her own.  She kept climbing out of the chair every time someone would try to look at her teeth. 

The hygienist was great.  She showed them all of the tools, sprayed water into a cup, then sucked it back out, blew "the wind" on the girls.  It was a good time, even if it did not result in a teeth cleaning for Sid.  I am certain we will have plenty more opportunities for that. 

Kendall did get her teeth cleaned today.  She is an old pro at this.  Her only request was that she get to leave with a "pink" toothbrush.  Fortunately, they were able to round one up.  At mom's prompting, the dentist informed Kendall that she HAD to stop sucking her thumb.  After that, she has been extremely diligient about keeping her thumb out of her mouth.  Sometimes a parent needs a little intervention.

Around and Around We Go!

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at POJO's.  For the girls ages right now, this place is awesome.  There are a lot of games and rides for their pint size.  They had a blast.  Each time we have been there, the people working have been great.  One would think that they would be really bored with their job, listening to cheesy music and  kids screaming all day, but they seem to enjoy the kids.  It never fails, they always offer to let the kids ride the carousel...just one more time.  Yesterday, the girls each rode the carousel 4 times.  Good thing I do not get motion sickness, or we would have been in trouble.

We played a lot of games.  The girls seemed to really enjoy "milking Bessie".  Personally I think this game is disgusting, but the girls got a real kick out of it.

Sidney had two favorite activities.  She liked a game where the music was blaring and she had to jump a bunch of times to get the music and lights to stop.  By design, I think the player only needs to jump once.  Her little mass required a few jumps, with a little momentum.  Her other favorite was the airplane ride.

Kendall loved the bug smashing game.  It was similar to Dance Dance Revolution.  She could not get enough.  Watch out nintendo, here she comes.

Then it was off to the Lion's head to hydrate before heading home.

The Many Faces of Kendall.

Kendall is really going through a stage right now where she wants to either take pictures of everyone or have pictures taken of her.  Yesterday I took advantage of the opportunity and captured the many faces of Kendall.

Happy

Sad

Puzzled (she reminded me of this one)

Surprised

Then I asked Sid for her sad face.  This is what I got:

Sad face was not such a stretch for Sidney since about 5 minutes before she had gotten herself stuck in the dirty clothes basket.

This week I am home with the girls.  I am really looking forward to it.  We have lots of fun little trips planned.  Next week the girls start their new school.  here is Kevin prepping Kendall for school (not really).  They are doing flashcards though.  Bike riding and "preschool" are two of Kendall's favorite activities lately.  She is getting pretty good on her bike.  Last week her and I rode to the park and I did not have to stop and wait for her once.  Though I will state that I was pedalling VERY slowly. 

My baby Sidney.  I think she realized that she turned two, because the emotions have been crazy.  She wants up, she wants down, she wants this outfit not that one, she wants to put her own shoes on, she does not want to put her own shoes on.  Calgon take me away!  I was hoping that she would skip this chapter altogether.  After all, she is SO calm.  Nope, she is normal.  She is going to let us know that she is no longer the baby.  Snuggle moments like these are becoming rare.  (Photo courtesty of Kendall, back to the opening line of this blog...)