Oh Mckinlee....

Mckinlee is at a tough age right now. Really really tough. She basically cries all day every day, will not let me out of her sight, and continues to cry. I'm about to loose my mind. I love her to death, but she is about all I can handle right now...

Compared to Caleb she has always been "my difficult one". She has a firecracker, strong willed, fearless personality, and is so up my booty that I can't get anything accomplished. This is all now combined with the early toddlerhood stage of wanting independence, testing limits, frustration because they can not communicate and tantrums. Literally I feel like I may get one hour total during the day (aside from nap) where she is happy.

Also, even though she cries when I leave her, she isn't a fuss with other people like she is for me. Nick tells me how she happily played and laughed for him the whole time I was away, an. as soon as I come through the door she starts screaming again....! I am left with a big question mark as to why to do??

I know that this is a hard stage, and I know that it does get easier, but I do lt always know that I am going to get through the day. I ignore, I cuddle, I put her in time out, I hold her......nothing works. She screams if you give her what she wants, and she screams if you don't. Basically my day is filled with her following me around screaming as I care for 5 kids, and try to maintain a house. I know this too shall pass, but for the first time since I became a mom I am actually wishing for her to be a little older......(sorry for the vent).

Kinlee know mama loves you no matter how you act, but I may secretly wish a daughter just like you upon you! ;)

"there's a little bit of devil in her angel eyes. She's a little piece of heaven with a wild side"

A Day Out With Daddy

This last Sunday Nick and Caleb had a father son day. For Father's day this year I bought them tickets to go watch a baseball game, and Nick decided to plan a full day of fun.

They started the day at the aquarium where they were able to see a giant alligator. Caleb is in an alligator obsession phase, so we knew it would be a hit. Nick said he just kind of stared. The hit of the aquarium was the shark tunnel. You basically walk through a tunnel with sharks swimming above you. At one point they have a glass bottom floor, and when Caleb realized he was standing on it he screamed and ran for Nick haha. Another hit was a tiny shark in a small tank that never moved. Nick said Caleb stared at it for ten minutes :).

After the aquarium they headed to a local pizza place for lunch. Pizza is the key to my child's heart, but Nick said Caleb barely ate because he wanted to leave and go to the game.

They rode a ferry across the river to the stadium and then enjoyed the game. They had amazing seats thanks to my friends husband who works there, and Caleb got his first game certificate.

He stayed awake until the 8th inning and then Nick had to carry him all the way back to the car. He had such a fun day with his daddy and he is still talking about it!

Father's Day

Father's Day this year was a lot of fun. It was a low key day spent with Nick, and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

The kids and I took Nick to a glow in the dark miniature golf course and it was hilarious. The 2 kids and Nick were free, so we were able to really enjoy ourselves without wasting a bunc of money. The kids were hilarious. Caleb would hit the ball and then pick it up and scoot it closer to the hole...I don't know where he gets that from ;). Kinlee was all over the place. Her club was as tall as her, and she enjoyed picking up our balls and running away with them. I took pictures of us there but the lighting and my camera did not corporate. I scored 2 hole in ones!!! woo woo!!

After golf we headed to Nick's parents for dinner. One of Caleb's favorite activities there is fishing in the pond. Mckinlee joined in that activity for the first time that day, and she was so cute.

The only thing that would have made the day better would have been getting to see my daddy. Sometimes living farther apart stinks... :(

A Day on the River

This past Saturday we joined up with Nick's mother's family for a day out on the river. His aunt and Uncle own a house boat, and they had family aboard to celebrate fathers day. His 89 year old grandpa (who gets around like he is 60) was the "dad" of the hour, and everyone was so happy he was there.

This was Mckinlee's first boat ride, and Caleb's second. Caleb was so excited He loved sitting up top and watching Bill drive the boat.

We parked for a while and had lunch, swam and rode jet ski's. Caleb rose a jet ski for the first time with Nick and I and he loved it. He was a little timid like me though, and did not want to go super fast.

My two children both fell fast asleep on the boat ride back to the dock! It as such a fun day!

Mckinlee 16 Months

My sweet girl your 16 month bday took me off guard this month. In fact I did not even realize you had turned 16 months until 2 days later. Slacker mama. You have such a personality at this age. You are lovey, feisty, bossy, spoiled, cuddly and funny all rolled into one. You definitely keep us on our toes.

Mckinlee at 16 Months

Eating: You still eat everything! You are always going to the panty, opening the door and pulling something out. Breakfast and lunch are your big meals, dinner is so so. You prefer to play in my plate at dinner. You are still drinking soy milk.

Sleeping: You nap from 1-3 daily and go to bed between 8 and 9 and sleep until 8/8:30. You fight going to bed when you are teething which is no fun at all.

Size: Still teeny. You are still 18 lbs, and can wear anything from 0-3 months to 18 months. All of your dresses from last year are now shirts, and your pants are now capris. You still have 3-4 bm a day, so I think that is part of what keeps you so skinny :).

Teeth: you still have 6. Your two lower canines look as though they could pop through any day.

Speech: your speech has blown up this month. You talk all the time, and you use almost all your words in context. You have about 25-30
words, and you use about 15-20 of them consistently. Your favorite word is still Bella and you make the cutest face when you say her name. You have also started using the sign for please while saying the word....so cute.

Exciting New Things:
you squeal all the time out of excitement now. so cute. You always squeal while running down the hall when daddy gets home.
You stand on a stool in the bathroom and peak your head over the sink until you can see yourself in the mirror. You then play with my make up brushes and pretend as though you are putting make up on.
You have become very stingy and scream so loud if someone tries to take a toy. We are working on that.
Tantrums are in full swing ugh.
I have to redirect you often to keep you out of trouble.
You love holding your baby dolls, patting their backs, rocking, and prying your finger to your mouth while saying "shh"
You love to help with baby Shelby and you always walk up to her a say "hi". "oh".
You have become very attached to your blanket. You always bring it to me to put over my shoulder, and then you like to cuddle up on my chest and lay your head on it.
I put you to bed the other night and when I started to leave your room you waved and said "bye bye" haha
Your hair is getting more and more blonde and curly.
You always want me to carry you around, and will get mad if I do not take you where you wanna go. We always play a guessing game of me saying "do you want to..." and you shaking your head yes or no.
You love to go through the pantry.
You can ride small riding toys like a pro.
You can walk backwards.
you love to spin in a circle.
You still have no fear other than me going into another room without you.
You are still super clingy, and you do not let me get out of your sight often.
You live to play in the dirt.
You always grab shoes out of your closet, lay flat on your back for me to put them on while saying "shoe on" or "shoe eet". You then walk over to your bows, pat your head and say bow please. Diva!!
you love to brush your teeth.
you love to flip through books. You'll say "ead please", but you will only sit for about 2 pages.

I love you my sweet girl.

Catching Up

This past weekend Nick and I took a couple's trip to South Haven, MI to visit some friends from college. The weather was blah, so we didn't get to sun bathe on the beach uninterrupted as I had dreamed, but it was still tons of fun. I was so happy to see my sweet friends!
The kiddos stayed with Nick's family and we face time chatted a few times. They seemed to of had a great weekend.
This week has been filled with getting back to reality. Playing outside, library outings, parks etc.