Run-'a'way -Model

Rilyn loves walking outside and being Miss Independent. On our way back to the car after Jaymin's swim lessons, I let her walk by herself down the walkway and back to the car. I generally carry her where ever we go because she likes to wonder and parking lots are crazy and keeping track of two kids on foot is not fun. But here, the walk way is far away from the parking lot and it's pretty secluded. She loves it. Everytime we get there, it's like she instantly knows and is antsy to get down.

She runs. Stops. Points up at the birds and talks. Runs alittle more. Stops. Points up in the sky again. Runs some more to catch up with her brother who is waiting for us at the end of the walkway. Stops. Runs. Stops. Runs.....and then tries to breakaway from me. She goes in circles and we play "I'm going to get you" and she grins from ear to ear and loves life! It's one of those memoments/memories I'll remember forever.

Month 2 Swim Lessons

Working on putting his face in the water while swimming.

Jumping back to the wall with no help.


Back floats. Jaymin's least favorite part of lessons.

Well, he's completed his second month of swim lessons. I'd say he is doing better and better but nothing like his cousin Morgyn who is now swimming all on her own. In fairness to Jaymin, she has been in the swimming pool much much more than he has but hopefully he'll be able to catch up to her soon!


He is still pretty timid when they get further away from the wall when he has to jump back. I've noticed that if the instructor talks to him about it, he does worse and thinks about it which causes him to get worried. He still really doesn't like back floats. I think it's because he hates getting the water in his ears cause most of the time he tries to cover up his ear.


The first thing they start with is head bobs which is dunking their head under the water. He use to not do it then slowly started dunking his face down but not getting all the way under. This last week, it finally clicked and he figured it out. Now he does it non-stop and literally the whole 30 minutes he's there. The kid does it with his eyes open, too. I tried to tell him to close his eyes but he insists that he keep them open and if you know Jaymin...you don't argue...and pick your battles with him and as long as it doesn't bother him, it doesn't bother me. I think I'm only going to do one more month (April) cause he's gone in May to Florida for 8 days and that was the whole purpose of doing them. And probably in June we'll get him signed up for soccer or baseball. I can't find any pee-wee baseball down here and that's what I really really want him to do because this kid can hit a ball like no tomorrow. Now he needs to learn how to catch!

Blogging Mom

I honestly never thought the day would come that I would actually get to meet, in person, any of my blogging friends I've acquired over then last 3.5 years of blogging. Never say never! Lindsey, is a preemie mom who I met online right after I came home with Jaymin from the hospital. I had posted a slide show/video I made of his 69 days in the NICU on YouTube and somehow (I don't exactly remember how) I stumbled across a video of Adam and Andrew, Lindsey's twins who were born more than three months early. I reached out to her for support and we've maintained friends through the cyber world since. I can honestly say she is and has been a true inspiration to me. She is also a major supporter for the March of Dimes and one of the years she even had shirts made that included Jaymin's name for who she was walking for

I found out that she was going to be in the Seattle area supporting the Womens and Men's Texas A&M basketball teams and I jumped on the opportunity to meeting up with her. So on Monday, I met her at Fox Sports Grill in Seattle for lunch and enjoyed talking about life and kids. It really did seem like I've known her forever but had never met her in person. How awesome is that?

Wordless Wednesday

Can you guess....

.....what both of my kids are screaming about and pointing at?

Here, I'll give you a clue.

Awe, now that's much better.

I was holding their blankets to try take a picture of the two of them without the blankets but that didn't go over so well. And after giving them back...well....the picture speaks for itself, they even posed for me, both saying "cheese!"

First Day of Spring

Saturday was the first day of spring and we took full advantage of the spring like weather. We woke up early and took the kids for a walk up to the park, played on the playground for a bit and then watched some of the little league baseball games going on. We saw lots of deer in our neighbor's yard (up the road) which was pretty exciting. They were watching us the whole walk up the hill. I think they were more interested in Kona than us really.

Then we came home and played in the yard (or watered the lawn/fence according to Jaymin, wonder who he learned that one from?). It was the perfect day to clean out the flower beds and do some yard work. The temperature was 71 degrees on our back porch which by the way was in the shade. I can't wait for summer already. It's amazing how much Jaymin is an outdoors boy. He truly is a different kid when he is outside. He becomes a chatter box but the kind of chatter that is so joyous to listen to him talk about what is on his mind. He stayed right by my side the whole time, helping me pull weeds and chatting non-sense kids talk. I LOVED IT. When Tyler started laying the bark in the front yard, Jaymin was so proud of himself because he was raking it into the right spot and spreading it out like his dad. He came running up to me with such excitement saying...."Mom, it looks so beautiful. It's so beautiful." Seriously, the things that are coming out of his mouth right now are priceless.

And of course, when the weather is nice and it's not raining, that means they get to eat their lunch outside on the picnic table. What better lunch than a PB&J?

Let's go camping!

All the kids buckled in in Grandpa Wes and Grandma Rita's second home.

Do they look excited or what?

When I went up north to visit my Grandma in the hospital, my dad and Rita graciously took the kids for me so I could spend quality time with her and my mom. And what better way to go than in style....in their 38 ft motorhome. I can't wait for camping trips together.

A week in my life

Many have asked how 'I' am doing these days. I don't usually write about me on this blog but since this has become my baby book for the kids (I will be doing the Blogs2print soon), I want to look back and remember what I was doing and when. So here goes nothing.

Monday: Tyler's parents come down early Monday morning, around 7:30am - 8:00am. Depending on if the kids are already up, I generally get out of the house by 8:30am and head into the office. This is my one day in the office for work. I generally work from 9:00am - 5:00pm and rarely take a lunch or break. I see it as my full day with no kid interruptions and cramp as much work as possible in that one day. I get home and dinner is cooked by the parents and we all enjoy a sit-down dinner as a family (something I wished we did more often). They clean the kitchen and Tyler/I get the kids in the bath and they get out just in time to kiss good-bye Grammie and Papa around 7:00pm. By 8:00pm, Rilyn goes to bed and Jaymin goes into our room and watches the PBS Sprout channel until generally he falls asleep or about 9:00p.m.

Tuesday & Thurs*: Wake up between 7:00am - 7:30am with one of the kids. Get them both fed and dressed for school. Leave the house about 9:00am to take the kids up the road to school. Get back to the house around 9:10am and start my work day. Work. Work. Work. until 2:30pm and then pick up kids. We are very routine so as soon as we walk in the door, Jaymin walks into my room, Rilyn and I give Jaymin a big hug and kiss goodnight for nap time. Then I lay Rilyn down. I got back to working on the computer until 4:15, I make Jaymin's 'pre-dinner' meal. Wake him up at 4:30, put on his swim trunks and feed him. Wake Rilyn up at 4:40 and put both of them in the car to head to Jaymin's swim lessons. Arrive at 4:55 for lessons at 5:00 - 5:30pm. Get back to the house about 5:45ish. Make the kids dinner and get them fed. Tyler generally gets home around 6-6:30pm and starts our dinner. Honestly, I can't exactly say what I do between 6:30 - 8:00 but I can say, I don't sit down. I generally am picking up, doing laundry, dishes etc etc etc. 8:00pm rolls around and we shuffle the kids off to bed and we finally get to relax.

*There are many Thursday's that I have a meeting or have to be in the office early so generally Tyler takes the kids to school and I leave around 2:00pm.

Wednesday: The same morning schedule and getting the kids to school as Tues and Thursday. Only difference is I pick the kids up at 3:00pm (their normal pick up time). Again, get home, tuck Jaymin into bed for his nap, lay Rilyn down, and then get back on the computer to work until the kids awake which is about 5:00 - 5:30pm. Make them dinner. Tyler gets home. We eat, we play, we pick up more toys.........and 8:00 rolls round again and off to bed the kids go.

Friday: Morning schedule is the same. And up until two Friday's ago, I had an old co-worker watching the kids from 9am-3pm at my house. She got a new job. I'm so happy for her but so stressed because now I have to juggle two kids and work on Friday's from home. Let me say....it's stressful! At most, this will last until June/July when they will go to the same school. Until then, I am one crabby mom during the day. When Tyler gets home, we generally go out to dinner with the kids or over to some friends otherwise we lay low at home and do nothing on Friday nights.

I am so thankful that 1) I have a job in this economy and 2) that my job allows for me to work from home and is pretty flexible. What I really wish I had more of is patience with my kids (and husband). I know if I didn't bring my job home, I can give my family more attention and time but without my job's flexibility and working from home, I wouldn't get to spend the time I do with the kids. Tyler switched to his new business last September and is working on building that new business which has been doing great but the overhead is expensive right now given he has over 15 agents working for them. They are nice bosses if you ask me because they are giving their agents free rent for the first 6 months which is why the overhead is so high right now. But come May/June/Julyish it should be much less which means more in the bank. I am so proud of him and his business is flourishing beyond words. They have been in business for just over a year now and they have been written about in one insurance magazine and is getting a full article write up in the most predominant insurance maganize out there. Needless to say, he has been ecstatic about his job and the path it's heading which makes me so proud of him. Hopefully all his hard work will pay off!

Giveaway!

A Blogging/Preemie Mom that I met over three years ago from Texas, has started her own business, Pixie Stitch Boutique. They make adorable personalized clothing and other accessories. Currently, they have a free giveaway going on so head over to their website by clicking on the button above. Enjoy!

My not-so-little boy

A few months ago, I went through the car wash with the kids. I can remember when I was little going through the car wash and being mesmerized by it and I thought the kids might do the same. Now Jaymin says about once a week that the car is dirty and that we need to go through the car wash. At first, he was scared of the "thunder" as he called it but I assured him that it was just the machine and it was making our car nice and clean. And yes, he had to have his 'security' blanket with him as we drove through and he kept it nice and close to his face in case he needed to cover his eyes.

I really should start carrying a note pad with me on some of the things Jaymin says these days. He is so smart and picks up on the smallest things we talk about let alone remembers everything you promise him or tell him we are going do. Gone are the days that you could bribe him with something and enough time goes by that they forget! Today, Tyler came home early to finish up our taxes (so he claims) but really I know it was because he wanted to watch the NCAA basketball games. It was perfect timing because I was just getting ready to leave to take Jaymin to swim lessons and Rilyn was still sleeping and I didn't want to walk her up.

As we were walking out to the car, Jaymin said to me, "Mom, Rilyn might be sad when she wakes up and we are not there." Really, he knows that? I assured him that it would be okay because daddy was there and he was okay with that and said "Yeah, she will play with her toys and be okay." He really does have this sweet and concerning side to him, now if only he can be like that in person with her ;). On our way back home, I was playing with my hair at the stop light and he said to me, "Mom, you are so pretty." That melted my heart and I can honestly say I never expected something like that coming from his mind. Just when you least expect it, he blows me away. I guess that's part of life and he is no longer my baby and is growing up to be a big boy now. He definitely is my sentimental child and really takes everything in.

Sunday drive

Ms. Rilyn sportin her new shades from Grammie.

And a rare photo together with them on. Rilyn loves to play with her glasses instead of having them on her face. And Jaymin's new kick is this little dog that he takes everywhere with him including his blanket (aka: nigh-nigh). My little Linus.

Notice where his glasses are. On top of his ear instead of behind. Goofy kid!

On Sunday, the kids and I headed up North for the day. Daddy got to go snowboarding as his reward for being Mr. Mom on Saturday ;). My grandmother, Gerri, is very ill and in the hospital and I wanted to be with her and the family. We drove up and my dad and Rita took the kids so I could spend some time up at the hospital.

On Friday, she became very ill/weak that she collapsed on the floor and it was 5 hours before someone found her at the house. She is in critical but stable condition in the ICU. She has pneumonia, fluid around her heart, decreasing liver function, etc etc etc. She is intubated and the doctors are still working on finding out why exactly she got to this point. She is only 74 years young and has many more years to live a healthy life. We continue to pray that she makes a full recovery and pray that they have some answers so they can properly treat the issue. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my family as of late. It's been a crazy year and I'm ready for this streak to be over for us.

I'm starving dad!

On Saturday, I had a volleyball tournament in Des Moines. On my tournament days, I'm generally gone all day so it's Mr. Mom or Daddy duty time for Tyler. Of course, the day I'm in a gym all day is the day that the weather has to be nice and even warm (55-60 degrees). We don't get many days like that around here especially this time of year. Tyler made sure to forewarn the kids that if it was going to be nice on Saturday they were going to go to the dog park at Marymoor and just play outside all day. And that they did, all morning. After, they came home and he fed them lunch and they got a quick snooze in before driving down to watch mommy play. It's fun being able to have the kids come watch me play. The last time Rilyn had been to a game she was weeks/months old. I played when she was 5 weeks old last year. And it's fun to let my friends see how big they are getting!

After they watched one game, we played volleyball together and I worked with Jaymin on his 'spike.' He likes to throw the ball up in the air and spike it but the ball seems to go backwards so we'll be working on it when he gets a bit bigger. Baseball is his naturally gift in talent (right now anyways). After Jaymin got all sweaty (as he told me), Mr. Mom took the kids over to our friends house for a BBQ with 72 oysters to cook up. If anyone knows Tyler, he loves oysters and if anyone is having a party and they are there, he'll be there, hands down.

I didn't get to their house until about 7:00 p.m. It had been a long day of volleyball for me. I was tired and in desperate need of a shower. After being there for 1/2 hour, the kids were getting cranky. I couldn't tell if it was because it was close to bedtime or because they were hungry. I asked Tyler if they had eaten any dinner or if he brought them anything his response was "the dinner food should be ready in 10 minutes."

Me., "Babe, it's almost 8:00. That's generally when Rilyn goes to bed. The kids normally eat at 5:00 p.m. Are you serious they haven't had any dinner?"

His response, "They're fine. They've been eating/snacking on stuff since we've been here. They can eat our food (which was steak, grilled veges, bread, etc) when it's ready."

Me. "You don't get the point. They need food now or like three hours ago. What did you bring them to eat over here?"

Him (hesitating to answer). "Uhhhh, nothing."

Me. "Right. Makes perfect sense!"

Needless to say, I made them Easy Mac to get something in their tummies quick. Rilyn was double fisting her noodles and seriously, no joke, eating like she hadn't eaten in days. Jaymin....well he's a different story. He took a few bites and then wouldn't eat anymore. I asked him to take a few more bites which he did. Then I turned by back and he puked up into the bowl. Not sure why he did it or what happened. Lisa later told me that all he had been eating since he was there was Girl Scout cookies and junk food so I'm sure he was full to the brim. But after he puked, we were done visiting for the night and ended up going home at 9:00 p.m. Jaymin turned a switch and kept telling me that he puked and he was sad.

Now the moral of this story is NOT to pick on Tyler just to document one of his elite moments. He is very good being Mr. Mom but sometimes he needs a reminder that they aren't like us and can't eat at odd hours of the night. Regardless, the kids had a good time visiting. We put a movie for them in their room but really no one was watching the movie because it was more fun jumping on the bed! Stinkers...

look-a-like

What do you think? Same smile....same face?

That is me on the right when I was 2 years old. I couldn't believe how much we look-a-like. I just pray that she isn't a pill like I was for my mom growing up. I mean, it's good she has a strong personality and knows what she wants (it's better later in life) but man, I can think back to how I was growing up (okay, I wasn't that bad all the time). For now, all I have to tell her is "NO" with a stern voice and she knows to stop. She actually gets this pouty lip then puts her head on you as if to say "I'm sorry." It's sweet.

lefty?

Gettin' the ball to play kick.
This girl is all lefty! The whole time she played she kicked it with her left foot.

Proof. And just for the record, she's good. I think we have a little athlete on our hands.

When I was telling Tyler about her kicking it with her left foot, he said that he is left foot dominant as well so I guess when know where she got that gene from. As for what hand dominant she is, I'd say she is primarily right but she's been using her left hand alot when she eats especially if she is using a fork/spoon. So we shall see!

Sleepover

This last weekend, the kids got to spend the night at Gma Rita and Papa Wes's house. My dad actually was down in our neck of the woods on Friday so he came and picked them up and they stayed there until Sunday. Tyler and I got to go on a date on Friday which was amazing!

The weather was great this weekend as well which meant the kids could go outside and play.

I asked him "Jaymin, what you doin?" He said "Playing in the dirt."

This little girl is into everything these days. Literally, she pulls everything off the shelves, out of the toy box, or from her clothes drawers in her room. Actually, she didn't learn about the clothes drawers while her and her brother locked themselves into her room and they both went at it and took everything, I mean, every piece of clothes from her drawers. They had fun and thought it was funny but mommy didn't! In her room, I have a small basket full of her hats. She loves going in there and taking them out and trys to put them on her head. The other day, she thought she was pretty funny throwing her hat up in the air in the kitchen. She did it for 5 minutes, keeping herself entertained, and laughing the whole time. It was pretty priceless.

ear infections

This is how he falls asleep. Hands behind his head. And he's also starting to put the pillow and/or the blanket over his face just like how his dad sleeps. Life Father Like Son.

This poor guy just can't cut a break. He finished up his antibotics early this month for an ear infection in his left ear. A few days later, he woke up from a nap screaming saying "it hurt." I thought it was his throat because he pointed to his mouth. Thinking he might have strep because I had been exposed to it while playing volleyball, I took him in again to the doctors. Sure enough, he had yet another ear infection now in his right ear. This is third ear infection in about 1.5 months. His tubes just fell out as well. He also has a horrible cough (as well as Rilyn) that just isn't going away. I'm hoping with this new antibotic he'll kick this all together and stay healthy. It really takes it out of him and he especially gets grumpy. I try to wait it out as long as possible when they have runny noses and coughs but because he doesn't usually whine or complain of pain or sickies and when he wakes up crying I know somethings going on that I can't fix or make better. I can't wait for summer to be here!

16 Months

At 16 months, Rilyn weighs about 21-22 lbs. She's wearing size 18 - 24 months clothes and has a smile that is infectious. She definetly is a girl who knows what she wants and will tell you if not. She is starting to fight back more with her brother and stand her own. She's still napping 1-2 times a day and her longest nap being about 2.5 hours. She still wakes up once a night around 4:00 a.m. but occassionally (rarely) sleeps through the night. She's generally a good eater and particularly loves meat (steak, ribs, pork, etc). She nurses two times a day and is still a mommy's girl. She goes down to sleep without a hassle but likes to turn her light on to go to sleep (mommy has to sneak in later to turn it off). She still doesn't have too many words but they are coming, I can tell. She is a blankie girl just like her brother. And she has the cutest little curls on the back of her hair.

I pick the kids up at 2:30 - 3:00 p.m. on Tues-Thurs from school. Our routine once we get home is to 'tuck Jaymin into bed,' Jaymin give his sister a big hug and kiss and then it's my turn, and then I go with Rilyn into her room to nurse for 5 minutes or so. It's very routine that they both expect this everyday we come home and it's never a fight. The other day, I had to go the bathroom really bad and had to put Rilyn down and 'wait' to tuck Jaymin in bed. Rilyn walked into her room with her blanket, stood by the gliding chair, and babbled like..."hurry, mom!" She gets this giggle when it's time to nurse like she's so excited/beside herself. I honestly never thought I would nurse this long but she is still a baby (in my eyes). She doesn't nor hasn't ever pulled my shirt down to tell me she wants to nurse which if she had at this point I'm sure I would've said enoughs enough. And honestly, I love it and I know she loves it. She's my last one and I'm milking it as long as I can. But I promise, 2 years old is my maximum cut off! The good thing is she is starting to like and drink more whole milk which will make it easier to stop.

Wordless Wednesday

Really, did you expect me to keep wordless? How could I given how stinkin cute she is in these pictures. She brings such joy to all of our lives. My favorite is kissing her silky soft cheeks.