Summer Fun

Before we get to the fun, of course all three kids had to get sick this summer. The winner - Roseola....here is a picture of the dreadful looking (although not really bothersome) rash after the high fevers. I don't have a picture of the girls but it started with Brynn who gave it to Hailey who gave it to Klayton. I am not looking forward to winter... Now, on to the fun!


We took the kids to Blank Park Zoo. They enjoyed it a lot more this year than last year. It probably helped that it was sunny instead of rainy this year!

The pink flamingos are the girls' new favorite animals.

Looking at the colorful birds with daddy.

Check out the big turtle in the background.

Klayton did a pretty good job and he enjoyed the big animals (lions, tigers, and giraffes) and was entertained by snacks in the stroller.

The giraffes. The girls were very excited that there were three giraffes so they labeled them the daddy, the mommy, and the baby.

The Aquatic center was one of their favorite spots this summer. The last hour is "free hour" so we hit the water quite a few nights. Especially when we had our streak of 90s it would still be 89 degrees from 7-8 in the evening and the kids all had a great time in the water. This is Brynn on her favorite slide.

And Hailey...

And Klayton....splashing can keep him entertained for the entire hour. That is no exaggeration!

"Observing". Hailey loved to go down the big slides with Daddy and Brynn preferred to hang back on the little slide and just people watch from a comfy spot in the water.

We also have a great splash park. If you go at 10 AM it is free so I ventured with all the kids by myself one morning to check it out. The girls had a good time but were disappointed when they got their swimsuits on and didn't get to go to the "big pool" :).

We hit the splash park during Klayton's morning naptime. He got a nice nap in the stroller while the girls played.

We checked out the National Balloon Classic this year. The girls loved the "big balloons".

We got there in time to watch a few of them lift off the ground and then a lot more balloons started coming in for the evening "night glow".

This hot air balloon was huge.

I am not sure which the girls liked more - the balloons or the kettle corn that Daddy bought them for a snack. Yummy!

Brynn would not look at the camera - she was worried that Hailey was going to pick up the next piece of popcorn :).

Klayton enjoys our evening activities but refuses to sleep when every one else is having fun - so, he joins in!

Oh - and the lemonade. Toss up between balloons, popcorn, and lemonade. The lemonade might just take the prize for the best thing of the night!

Reading books while we waited for the big night glow extravaganza.

Hailey's favorite balloon was this panda bear.

The long-awaited night glow. Now, this was beautiful...for the 10 seconds it lasted. I had some expectations about what this night glow would be and I did not anticipate it would only last for 3 "ready, set, glow" 10 second events. Oh well - the kids had a fun time and overall it was worth it to see all the balloons, eat popcorn, and drink lemonade!

In other news, Klayton is fascinated by the fridge and books it to the door every time someone opens it. And with Hailey and Brynn in the house, it is opened often. He also tries to get all the girls' letters which they don't always like. So, we now have levels - low where Klayton can reach and "high" so Hailey and Brynn can reach and "really high" where only mama can reach :).

Hailey has taken up reading to her babies. She didn't take a nap one day - guess she wasn't tired or something. The unfortunate thing about sharing a room is that she sings when she is not tired (have I mentioned how much she loves to sing) and I am afraid she will wake Brynn up. So, she comes out and gets to experience what being an only child is like. That is a very rare occurance at our house. I was folding laundry so she decided to read to me and her babies. It was so very sweet. She will be a great mama someday!

The next two pictures are very random. I realize this. But, these are the little people from the girls' dollhouse. Now, Jason will not have anything to worry about in old age. Notice how the daddy is in the rocking chair with a blanket so gently placed on his lap by his adoring daughters. Now check out where mama is...I am outside on the porch fallen over the railing with no one to help me. What is this??? I guess I will have to work harder on Klayton so that I too will get to enjoy a rocking chair with a blanket!

One other funny thing. Brynn always asks if she can have "two more minutes, mama. Two more minutes to play." They have caught on to my "give me two minutes girls" phrase. Uh oh! I am going to think of a new one!

Klayton - 8 months +

Klayton turned 8 months on July 8. I thought I better get something posted before his 9 month rolls around in a couple weeks. He has quite the little personality and is a pretty happy kid most of the time. I will give you a glimpse of life in Klayton's world at this very fun age.

Klayton loves to eat food and he is starting to get the hang of drinking water out of his sippy cup. Although, half the time he would rather chew than drink. His favorites - squash and sweet potatoes for veggies and plums for fruit. He could eat yogurt and cheerios for every meal if I would let him. And, of course, he loves puffs and yogurt melts.

Just like his sisters, Klayton loves to swing in the backyard.


He crawls EVERYWHERE. Klayton loves this new freedom. He started with an army crawl on his belly and soon realized he could go a lot faster if he got is belly off the ground. Hailey and Brynn are very helpful and have started to put shoes away so they don't become the next object of Klayton's oral exploration. The girls are very stern when they say "No!!" too. It is quite funny to listen to. Klayton completely ignores the warning and usually does what he wants until mama comes to rescue the girls' toy or whatever else he has hijacked.

As you can see in the background, our house is usually in some state of chaos when the kids are awake. Season of life, right??? Right....

Klayton loves anything to do with water. If the bathroom door happens to be open, he will crawl in there and pull himself up by the tub and longingly look over the edge and start babbling. As if he wanted to share is opinion that he wants to take baths multiple times throughout the day. He loves the pool as well and giggles hysterically when the girls jump in. He loves to bring his arms down really hard and splash water everywhere. This works better in the pool than in the tub!

Funny baby :)

Klayton enjoys being outside. Naptime is a good time to take him in the jogger because he falls asleep pretty easily as long as the sun is not in his eyes. We also have a string of toys I attach to the straps to keep him busy if he gets bored looking at nature.

He loves to hold your hands and "walk".

Jason played in a slow-pitched softball tournament one Saturday. Grandpa took Klayton out on the field to check it out.

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it. The girls are not the cleanest chicks around when it comes to meals. There are often a few crumbs left on their splat mats under their chairs. Klayton will sneak under there any chance he gets to try out foods that aren't on his menu. He knows if he gets caught mama's finger is going in his mouth to try to get the piece of food out. He is a quick learner - as soon as he sees me coming he swallows as fast as he can. Little stinker! Luckily he has not choked and I am trying to do a better job picking up after the girls eat.

He is a cruiser...loves to pull up on furniture and toys to help him get from point A to point B.

The toy below is a favorite. He stands next to it for long periods of time watching the lights and listening to the music. It was one of Hailey and Brynn's favorites too - I am so glad to give a second life to many of their toys!

Klayton loves to rock on Fergie the frog.

A few other things about Klayton:

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  He is working on tooth #7 - teething is the exception to the "happy kid". He got two on the bottom, then four came up on the top, and now he is working on the 3rd tooth on the bottom. I know there are official names for each tooth but I don't have time to memorize those!


• 
  
  He adores his sisters. Every night he gets kisses and just about every day Hailey says, "I love you SO much."


• 
  
  He naps well in the morning but the afternoon can be hit or miss. If the girls wake up before he would usually go down, he prefers to play and will yell in his crib until he is greeted by one of his sisters.

We have his 9 month appt in a few weeks so I will try to get updated stats up then.

Hailey and Brynn - 2 1/2 years old

Hailey and Brynn turned 2 1/2 in June. We can hardly believe how fast this year is going. The girls amaze me daily with the things they remember and always bring me laughs with their developing senses of humor. They are SILLY. They get that from their daddy!! A few things about the girls:

• Hailey loves to sing...doesn't matter what the song is, she is constantly singing. Brynn will chase her around the house shouting, "Hailey, no singing!!!" Brynn loves music too, she just prefers the artist's original version of the song!



• Favorite movies - Brynn likes any Veggietales and Hailey likes Strawberry Shortcake.



• They both love to play Ring-around-the-rosie and fall down in a crazy way.



• The girls like to help in the kitchen - pouring the measuring cups full of ingredients into the "big bowl". Favorite ingredient: CHEESE for a meal or Chocoloate chips for a treat



• Hailey and Brynn go to bed the same time, but Hailey will just hang out in her bed doing who knows what until late hours in the evening. We always check on all of the kids before we go to bed and she has been up waiting for us some nights. Crazy girl! Then she gives a summary of all the sounds she heard while we thought she was asleep. She is right on most of the time which is amazing to me.



• They love to wash hands. All.The.Time. The love to sing the ABCs while washing hands to make sure they wash thoroughly. And they like to use a BIG handful of soap. Brynn has been able to turn the water on and off for quite a while now but Hailey is finally tall enough so they can do this whole process independently. I have to make sure to keep the door shut or they would be in the bathroom washing hands all day.



• Both girls are very good mommies to their baby dolls. They like to strap their babies in Klayton's high chair, car seat, and once in awhile I even find their dolls "napping" in Klayton's crib.



• They have also developed into great big sisters. They love their little brother and are pretty good helpers. They always make sure he has a toy and if he is crying Hailey says, "What's the matter, buddy?". Brynn will go get a toy for him and say, "It's ok, Klayton. No crying." They always make him giggle and provide a constant source of entertainment.

Here are some much overdue pictures of the girls and our activites this summer.

They love to use their buckets to take water from their water table and give our flowers a drink. Thanks to the girls, our flowers are alive this summer :)

The swimming pool in the back yard is a hit. I haven't taken them to the city pool yet but that is on the agenda for tonight. So, possibly more pictures to come (probably in September at the rate I update this blog!).

Daddy and the Grandpas built the kids a swingset this spring. I don't know what we would do without it! The girls love swinging and playing up in the playhouse and going down the slide. And it is nice for me because it allows Klayton to nap in his crib while we play outside.

Hailey and Brynn took their first carousel ride at the carnival at Summerfest. Hailey chose the horse and Brynn chose the giraffe. They kept saying, "again, again". We tried to use the "it is someone else's turn" card, but there was only one little boy in line so there were lots of animals left just calling their names. They LOVED it to say the least.

I am so excited to report that both girls have long enough hair for pigtails. Yay!! I don't claim to be great at hair but I love being able to pull their hair back for the summer. Oh, and Hailey was sneaking her thumb in the below picture. Both girls have sucked their thumbs since they were about 2 months old. Shortly after they got home from the hospital they found their thumbs and it helped create two great sleepers. But, now we are trying to break this habit and thumbs are only allowed if they are in bed. You can kind of see a smirk on Hailey's face because she knows she is breaking a rule...

The new favorite toy at Grandma and Grandpa's house - a yellow Camaro! The girls LOVE this car and do a pretty good job of taking turns in the driver's seat. At first, Hailey always wanted to drive and Brynn would be in charge of the radio from the passenger's seat.

Oh my...the picture below is the result a few unsupervised minutes while I was changing Klayton's diaper. Diaper cream is the one item the girls are not allowed to play with so Brynn took this opportunity to check it ou. Wow...40% zinc diaper cream does not clean up well... Luckily the cream was relatively confined to the changing pad, jammies, and of course hands/arms/legs. It took me 45 minutes to clean up this one but I couldn't help but laugh and grab the camera. I have a similar picture from my experiments as a child - I had squeezed out a tube of toothpaste. Now I know how my mom felt!

Burley rides are so fun! Daddy usually takes the girls on a bike ride and Klayton goes in the jogger stroller with me so we can all get out of the house for some fresh air.

Brynn on her favorite princess couch.

Hailey on the deck with bubbles.

The girls have a picnic table that they love to eat on. Whenever they drop food, they have learned not to pick up the food because it is "for the birds". Now, even inside when they drop food they say - "it's for the birds"...well...not so much but at least they aren't picking up gross things outside to eat. Now if only Klayton understood :)

Sometimes we take a picnic lunch to a park just a few blocks from our house. Hailey and Brynn love to go to the park and are very daring on the play equipment. Brynn is usually eager to try just about anything and Hailey will wait to see how it goes before she attempts it. The park and our walk there and back usually guarantee a great afternoon nap for all three kids!

We are so blessed to have Hailey and Brynn in our lives - they are two amazing little girls and they bring so much joy to our lives. Happy 2 1/2 girls!!!