First Dentist Trip

A few days ago we noticed a discoloration on one of Nicole's teeth that wouldn't come off after brushing her teeth. Then, Nicole started to complain that her tooth hurt. Matt felt the tooth and discovered that the discoloration was a pit in her front tooth.

So, I called our dentist (Dr. Prince, we love him!) and made an appointment for my sweet two year old girl. Yesterday, we kept telling Nicole, "We are going to the dentist today! The dentist looks at your teeth." Then, Nicole would smile and show us her teeth.

We went to the dentist and Nicole was a very brave girl. She sat in the big dentist chair and let the dentist look at her tooth.

Nicole "smiling" for me before the appointment

The dentist said that it didn't look like any decay had occured in the tooth, but if she kept complaining about it, that he would refer us to a pediatric dentist. Apparently, normal dentists do not work on children under 3 years of age. He wouldn't even touch Nicole, he just sat back and looked at the tooth while I peeled back her lip.

Nicole in the dentist chair, refusing to look at me.

So, yay! No work on the teeth for Nicole, but we are still going to watch that tooth to see if it gets worse. I hope it doesn't get worse until August because Nicole is not yet on our dental insurance. I didn't think a two year old needed to be on dental insurance. Now I know better.

Nicole got a little bracelet for her trip to the dentist it lasted until we got back to the car and then she started crying because she had broken it. Oh well!

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy Tips Tuesday

My sister Marie and I decided that we should start sharing our vast baby knowledge with the throngs of people who read our blogs. Okay, like 12 people read my blog and like 35 read hers, but all the same.

I have a couple of sisters having babies this year, so, for the next few weeks, Marie and I will be sharing our favorite baby items with you! I am re-experiencing all my favorite baby things as I have a new baby in my house.

If any of my friendly bloggers want to join in on Mommy Tips Tuesdays, I will link your blog in my posts, but for now, it is just me and Marie.

Fisher Price Precious Planet2-in-1 Projection Mobile

My babies love this mobile! It is a mobile, a music box, and a light projector. Nicole loved the heartbeat sounds, but Daniel loves the nature sounds and all babies love lights! 

Plus, it comes with a remote, so you can turn it on without waking up the baby. The mobile comes off when baby is big enough to attack it and then it is just a music box and it projects lights onto the ceiling. Nicole used this until she moved to her big girl bed at 18 months, so even older babies love it.

Daniel falls asleep to this mobile. I don't have to rock him or feed him to sleep at night; I just put him in his crib, stick in a pacifier, turn on this mobile and he falls asleep all by himself.

It is also great because it is gender neutral. A lot of baby items are either for a boy or a girl, but this one I have been able to use for both of my babies.

It is a pricier mobile at over $40, but I think it is totally worth the investment. You also need 4 D batteries to run it, and it takes up a lot of power, so don't go buying those cheap batteries to run it or you will think that it eats batteries because you will be changing them every four weeks. Be a big spender and buy the $5 Energizer batteries, you will save money in the end.

Books I've Read This Year

It is well known that I am an avid reader of fictional books. I don’t read those silly non-fiction books because they are lame and boring. (No Marie, owner’s manuals are not interesting and not cool to read!) 

When I was pregnant with Nicole, I lost my desire to read. I read maybe 5 books during my whole pregnancy. This was a pathetically sad number because I usually read about 30 books a year. Back in my single, college days, I read between 50-80 books a year, but that was when I was carefree and had a lot of time. Now, I’m more momish and I read when I’m feeding the baby, while Nicole watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (for the 100^th time), or when Matt wants to watch Top Gear.

During my Daniel pregnancy, I did not lose the reading bug. Near the end, when I was just waiting for that baby to come, I increased the amount that I normally read. Now, I am back on my 2 books a month schedule. 

I thought that I might share some of the books that I have read this year to throw out some recommendations and to brag about how many books I can read. Just a note, these are all fantasy/sci fi books because that is the kind of girl I am.

 

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan;
Synopsis: Egyptian gods are real and modern day children are related to them, but they don’t yet know it!
3 Stars

The Lost Hero-Rick Riordan;
Synopsis: Greek Gods are real and modern day children are related to them, but they don’t yet know it!
3 Stars

Shiver-Maggie Stiefvater;
Synopsis: Werewolves are real and Grace is in love with one and hopefully she is the cure.
5 stars

Linger- Maggie Stiefvater; Currently reading.
Synopsis: Sequel to Shiver

The Host-Stephenie Meyer; Pulled off my own bookshelf and read for the 3 time.
Synopsis: The human race has been taken over by parasitical aliens, but one of these aliens is not like the others.
5 stars

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets-JK Rowling; Pulled off my bookshelf and read for the 10^th time.
Synopsis: Witches and wizards are real and you should really at least watch the movies if you don’t already know what this book is about.
5 stars

The Lost Saint- Bree Despain;
Synopsis: Werewolves are real and Grace is in love with one and she already cured one (sound familiar? See Shiver above. No joke, the main characters are both named Grace).
4 stars

Clockwork Angel- Cassandra Clare;
Synopsis: Angels and demons are real and one young girl discovers she is a demon, but hopefully, she is the good kind.
5 stars

Forest Born-Shannon Hale; synopsis: Magic is real and some people who live in the forest have it.
2.5 stars

Peeps-Scott Westerfeld; Pulled off my bookshelf when I had nothing else to read. This was my second read of this book.
Synopsis: Vampires are real, except it is like a parasite, kissing disease that is rapidly spreading through New York City.
3 Stars 

 Last Days-Scott Westerfeld; Pulled off my bookshelf for a 2^nd read.
Synopsis: Sequel to Peeps, the disease has spread farther and is affecting rock and roll music!
2 Stars

 So Yesterday-Scott Westerfeld
Synopsis: Young kids realize that what they think is “cool” is actually decided by evil conspirators!
3 stars

Skybowl-Melanie Rawn; Pulled off my bookshelf for a 3^rd read.
Synopsis: Sequel to the Dragon Prince series, Dragons are real and people can talk to each other on rays of sunlight. Oh, and there is a war.
4 stars

Dragon Token-Melanie Rawn; Pulled off my bookshelf for a 3^rd read.
Synopsis: Dido.
3.5 stars

Stronghold-Melanie Rawn; Pulled off my bookshelf for a 3^rd read.
Synopsis: Dido dido.
3.5 stars

 

Nightshade-Andrea Cremer; Synopsis: Werewolves are real (that brings our werewolf book count up to 3) and the packs are colliding. Things are not what they seem in the werewolf world!
4.5 stars

Letters to Mommy

Dear Mommy,

I really loved it yesterday when Dad fed me every hour. Then, when you got home, I just wanted park myself on the breast and never leave. I really love milks! Thanks for feeding me when ever I make that high pitched squeally noise, it fills my belly, makes me happy and makes me very fat.

I realized yesterday that I now have three sets of rolls on my thighs and I love to hide things in my folds. I know you complain when you find grime and guck in my neck folds, but I think it is super funny. I know it may look like I have rubber bands around my wrists, but really it is just my ample fattiness. Thank you Mommy, for keeping me fat and happy.

And, just to show you how much I care, I slept for 6 straight hours last night. You are welcome Mom! I know that Dad couldn't tell the difference because he has gotten really good at sleeping through my night-time activities, but I did it for him too. I owe him for all those delicious bottles.

Mommy, I know you are not used to sleeping for 6 hours without feeding me and by the time you woke up , you felt like you were going to burst, but that is okay, I can take care of that. It is my specialty. I love the milks!

Love,

Daniel

Tribute to Matt

In honor of the recent father's day, I thought I might write a little tribute to my husband, the father of my children, Matt. My gifts for Matt this year were less than a surprise, so I thought a love note over my blog would be better. Except that he rarely reads my blog. Well, he has that box of meat and those tennis shoes that I got him to fall back on (the gift of steak is the greatest gift).

Matt is a wonderful father. He is so caring, patient, and attentive. He loves our kids so much and is willing/likes to stay home and take care of the kids while I am at work (not something that every Dad can/wants to do).

Nicole and he have a great relationship because he works really hard to let her know how much he loves her. He serves her, plays with her, teaches her, and is always thinking of special things that they can do together that would make her happy. It makes me so happy to know how well my little girl is taken care of. And, she loves her Daddy so much, she is definitely a Daddy's girl. When she is hurt or sad, she doesn't want Mommy, she wants Daddy.

Matt is getting the experience of taking care of a newborn baby. I loved doing this with Nicole. It is a precious time and it goes by so fast. Suddenly, they aren't babies anymore, they are whiny two year olds. I'm so glad that Matt gets to spend this time with our Daniel. I can tell how much he loves our Daniel. He takes such good care of him that Daniel hardly ever cries. Plus, Matt is a pro at juggling both kids by himself (something that I am still learning to do).

I often see Matt whispering to Nicole when she is having a meltdown and explaining to her that she needs to calm down and I marvel at his patience. I am more apt to count down from three and send her to her room after the 2nd meltdown that I see, but Matt deals with it all day long and still keeps his cool.

Matt is a fantastic Dad and the better he gets at being a father, the more I love him. Matt and I were talking the other day and we realized that serving your children is the same as serving your spouse (because if you do it, then your spouse doesn't have to). I am so grateful for all my husband does for my children.

Going from one to two kids and then going back to work has been an emotional time for me, but Matt has been so supportive and a calming influence. He makes it almost easy to go to work every day because I know my babies are in good hands. I love you Matt!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

I love these books! I have read them more times than I can count, I own all the movies and I am excited for this final film. To see the books put to film has been a fun experience and it is a little sad to see it come to an end.
This last book is my favorite of all the books, perhaps because it is so sad. I like sad books and sad movies because it makes them seem more real. Life isn't a wonderful fairy land and there isn't always a happy ending (one reason why I love Serenity).
So, this final trailer came out for the films and I think it was cut really well. It shows some thrilling moments in the final film and it makes me excited to see it. July 15th! Or, probably not on opening day because I have to find a sitter and convince Matt to come with me, but I will see it soon!

2 Months!

 Daniel went to his 2 month appointment yesterday. Here are his currents stats:

Weight: 12lbs 15 oz. 90%
Length: 23.5in 75%
Head: 15.5cm 40%

So, he is a fatty fats with a little head. I like little heads, they come out nice and easy in 30-45 minutes. Bigger headed babies *cough Nicole* take three hours and a vacuum to come out.

 Daniel is definitely our smiley baby. I love it! Nicole was not smiley, but Daniel loves to smile at us.
But, there are always two sides to a coin. Though he is more smiley than Nicole, he also cries more than Nicole did. Nicole rarely cried (for the first year, she cries all the time now), but Daniel is very dramatic already and cries for us often enough.
Daniel's favorite pastimes are eating, sleeping, smiling, playing with his fan friend, and watching his sister play with her toys.
His accomplishments: sleeping for 4-5 hour stretches at night, doing stand-ups (while mommy is holding him up) for more than 5 seconds, and waving his arms like a maniac.

We love our little guy so much! I seriously doubted that I could love another baby as much as I love Nicole before this little man came around, but I do, I love him just as much as I love Nicole. Motherhood is awesome.

Nicole saw me taking pictures of Daniel this morning and she said, "You da da take a picture of me?"
"Da da" is her way of saying "going to." Which is funny because "Da" used to mean "you" "me" or "I." She likes to make up her own words for things.

She DID IT!

We bought Nicole a toddler toilet seat and stool a few months ago in anticipation of her potty training some time after the baby was born.

One thing I figured out very quickly when we started trying to get her interested in potty training is that it is a lot of work! First, I have to explain how to use the toilet and then I have to try and describe how she knows WHEN she needs to use the toilet and then I had to take off her pants and diaper every single time she wanted to sit on the toilet and it just took up a lot of time. Plus, I was going through more diapers because I couldn't put a partially wet diaper back onto my child, that just felt wrong.

So, since we have the new baby, and it was a lot of work, we kinda stopped pushing the potty training. We figured that we would wait until SHE was more interested all on her own. In the mean time, we got her a Potty Power DVD to watch often.

Last night, I was about to put her diaper on after the bath when she said, "Momma, I have a pee pee."
And I said, "What?"
And she said, "I have to pee!"

Normally, I would just put the diaper on and call it a day because it was 9pm and it was time for her to go to bed, but instead, I said, "Okay, lets go and sit on the toilet."

She sat down on the toilet and then got off and got back on and got back off and back on (she did this a few times, she was obviously practicing her skills at getting off and on the toilet). I just let her go, doing her thing and I continued getting her ready for bed as she sat on the toilet (brushing her hair, putting lotion on, brushing teeth, ect...). Then, as I was getting ready to brush my own teeth, I heard it!

She peed all on her own! I thought she was just playing like she usually does, but she actually did it! I called Matt in and we cheered for her, which kind of scared the pee away for a bit, but then she finished and got to put money in her piggy bank (this is our current reward system for good behavior).

And, since she got so much positive attention for peeing, immediately washing her hands and putting money in the pig, she said, "Momma, I feel the poos coming!"

So, I let her sit on the toilet again and she grunted, but it was all for show and so I made her put her diaper on and go to bed.

So, we think we should go and get her some big girl underwear to wear over her diaper for a little while to get her excited and maybe some pull-ups so that I don't have to pull off her diaper every time she has to go to the bathroom.

Teething

This is a typical face for Nicole. She is often very serious and often has crazy hair (because Daddy does her hair or likes to take out her pony tails).

Nicole has been having a rough time these last few days. We thought she was just being extra cryey, and that she was having crowd anxiety (she cried being around Matt's family on Sunday), but then we figured out that she is cutting two new molars.

Cutting teeth hurts. I know because I remember when my wisdom teeth came in, it really hurt! So, Nicole has been crying extra much and eating less and less and she has been all around grumpy. This makes for a less than fun time in the Kimball household.

I assumed that she wouldn't get her second set of molars (aka the 2 year old molars) until much later because all of her teeth have come later than expected, but they started popping up over the weekend. I hate teething time. It will be so nice when all her teeth are in and we don't have to go through this every few months... until Daniel starts teething. I hope his teeth come late like Nicole's.

Working vs. Home

I went back to work this week and I miss my babies very much. I know that Nicole is 2 now, but she will forever be my baby. Matt has been wonderful enough to bring the kids to come and see me during the day this first week back. I know that this practice won't be able to continue on forever, but I have really loved it. I look forward to seeing them every day.

Transitioning back to work has not been as difficult as I thought it would be. I haven't been as emotional as I thought I would be. Seeing my baby in the middle of the day has really helped.

Work is not too different from when I left... except for my new office mate (who smokes, yuck!) and my new boss who is starting next week. Work is work, whether I am working with new people or not. I don't have as much to do as I had hoped to because some of my projects were given to other writers in my absence. Ugh!

It is difficult to not feel like I am wasting time when I could be home with my babies. But, I know, logically, that providing for my family is just as important as being with them.

The difference between being home and being at work:
-I check my email about 30 times a day rather than every other day.
-I don't get a nap.
-My day seems so extremely long!
-I am more patient with Nicoley's constant whining/crying.
-My sarcasm has increased since I now talk to adults. (Nicole doesn't get sarcasm for some reason)

This is an adjustment, but I just have to keep telling myself that the kids are with their Daddy and they are well taken care of. And, I have to tell myself that this situation is all temporary. Someday, in the not too distant future, I will be able to be home with my babies and Matt will make the sacrifice to work every day.... for the rest of our lives. I really think I am getting the better end of that deal.

The best thing about being back to work... a paycheck.

Wordless Wednesday

Flowers

Me, Marie and my Mom got together a couple weeks ago to make pretty hair flowers. I've seen them on a lot of little girls, and I have seen them at boutiques, but they are always really expensive; like 5 dollars for one flower.

Nicole sometimes has breakdowns and we like to take pictures of her. But look at the pretty flower in her hair!

So, I went to Hobby Lobby (like the best craft store ever!) and bought some flowers. Marie provided the clips and Mom had the ribbon. We made a bunch of flower clips for the little girls in the family. I made like 7 for Nicole because they are so stinkin cute.

Baby Blessing

Yesterday we blessed our Daniel Alan. When we blessed Nicole, we were very excited because it was our first child and we invited everyone that we knew to come and it was chaos. Our little house was never meant to hold so many people. So, having learned our lesson last time, we just invited parents and siblings this time. It was a much more manageable crowd.

 Many people go with a white outfit for blessings, but this is not a requirement (contrary to popular belief). So, instead of buying a white suit that he would only wear once, Momma Kimball gave us this super cute purple suit and we put him in that for the blessing.

 I also dressed Nicole in her beautiful purple dress so she would match. I also wore purple. Matt did not wish to wear a purple tie, so he was the odd man out on Sunday. It is okay though, he still looked good in his "Kristy wedding" tie. It seems like he only gets new ties when someone gets married, but that is okay with me.

 Daniel was a happy little boy and was very good during the blessing.

 It was a very nice blessing for our little man; Matt did a great job. I imagine that it is a wonderful feeling to use the priesthood to bless your own children. I'm very grateful to have Matt as my husband.

 After sacrament, we had everyone back to our house for lunch. We made very easy stroganoff sandwiches and they were a success! We had plenty for everyone. Momma Kimball and Anne were a big help with getting all the food ready.

 My Mom, Kristy, Momma Kimball, Miranda, Sarah, Marie, and Anne all contributed to the lunch so everything was very easy. The sisters and the moms really stepped it up and it was all delicious.

It was nice to spend some time with my family and Matt's family and just enjoy my last day with my children before going in to work today. I'm very happy with my little family. I couldn't be more lucky.