Kinsey at 20 Months

Kinsey is an extremely strong-willed little girl whose emotions can change in the blink of an eye. I never know what I'm going to get when she wakes up in the morning. It's funny how much toddlers resemble teenagers! I can't wait to see what the next 16 years have in store for me with this one. And if you think she wears pajamas all day long then you'd probably be correct. It's pretty common for us to get dressed when she wakes from her nap (which happens to be after 4 pm). 

We tell Kinsey "no" A LOT so I guess it was only a matter of time this became her favorite word. She doesn't listen when we say it and we don't listen when she says it. It can be a vicious cycle. Over the past 2 months we have started putting Kinsey in time-out on the stairway because she doesn't listen to us. This usually results with her smiling at us so we have to put on our angry face to really show her she is in trouble. On the plus side, she now brings us our phones (even when we don't ask) instead of running away in the other direction with them!

Kinsey has been chewing on her crib since she started teething. There are about 20 teeth marks and a big chunk taken out. This was the first time she took a bite out of me, however. 

Her jealousy of the babies started the day she turned 19 months old. It was rough for a little while with the combination of teething, but I started having Kinsey help me out with things around the house. Her jobs include giving the babies a pacifier when they cry, soothing the babies, and helping me unload the bottom of the dishwasher. I think doing these "chores" have helped her feel more a part of everything going on around her.

But she still loves doing what her sisters do. 

Kinsey has had a few toys for a long time that she had zero interest in. All of a sudden, she loves her blocks and ring tower. 

She used to HATE wearing headbands. If you look back at our Halloween pictures, she refused to wear her Snow White headband until the very end. FINALLY she loves headbands. When they fall off Kinsey actually ASKS me to put them back on.  

And although there's some confusion on what clothes belong to Kinsey, don't be fooled. She is officially out of all her 12 month clothes and doesn't wear sisters' and daddy's clothes on a regular basis...

Cutie!!

You can find Kinsey's books anywhere in our house. Yes, even the bathroom. She currently enjoys taking every single book off the bookshelf. Cleaning up the books, in addition to all her food, off the floor is a little tedious. 

Reading with Papa. 

When Kinsey is upset the first thing she does is look for a blanket to be wrapped up in. She also started playing with her hair to comfort her. 

Now that the weather has been nice, we've had lots of fun playing outside!

Kinsey loves collecting rocks and sticks on our walks.

And lastly, Kinsey is OBSESSED with the movie Frozen. It's the only show she will sit down and watch without playing with her toys. She'll even ignore Daddy when he comes home if the movie is on. She even says the name "Anna" like in the movie. It's super cute. 

Happy Easter!

 We have 9 AM church this year so the Easter fun didn't start until Sunday afternoon. After church we immediately took family pictures because you can only go so long until one of the kiddos messes up their outfit (and this was AFTER Shayla pooped through her first onesie of the day). 

These two were our favorites from the photo shoot. Thanks to Lindsay for taking the pics!

This is the ultimate "lounging in the sun" picture. I love it!

And that's about all the photo fun we got with Kinsey because she was hungry and needing a nap. But, hey, what's a holiday without an overly emotional toddler?

Me and my littles. I love them so much!

 After a tantrum and a 3 hour nap, the Easter Bunny visited our house!

We told Kinsey to "find the basket." Considering the basket was out in the open, this took longer than I thought it would. Kinsey was still waking up from her nap and just stared at the basket for awhile (after spending 3 minutes finding the thing). 

She slowly approached it but was hesitant.

Kinsey started looking through her basket AFTER sitting on my lap. I guess a basket full of surprises is a little intimidating to a one year old. 

The Easter Bunny brought Kinsey a bunny, coloring book, play dough, bracelet, lots of grass... 

 and let's not forget her new Minnie Mouse sippy cup she is in love with!

 Pretty girl. 

 Then we had a little photo shoot with our three beautiful daughters. 

KINSEY

SCARLETT

 SHAYLA

Apparently the basket wasn't too comfy. Scarlett hated it too. 

I love planning holiday fun for the kids, but I don't enjoy preparing glamorous meals. Thankfully our friends, Shelby and Thane, brought Easter dinner!!

It was a pretty good first Easter as mom and dad :)

Kinsey's 1st Easter Egg Hunt

This is our first Easter as parents and we loved being able to do an Easter egg hunt for Little K. She was the perfect age for the hunt. As we left the house she spotted the eggs but wasn't really sure what to do. She picked up an egg and looked at it for a second. We told her to put it in her basket...

 and the rest was history! This girl did not slow down. 

 Kinsey ran from egg to egg.

 She couldn't be bothered with stopping for a picture op. 

 But my sweet little girl did stop to give some eggs to her friend, Hailey, who is younger and was a little slower at snatching up the goodies. I thought for sure Kinsey would steal Hailey's eggs rather than help her.  

 They were so happy with their eggs that they both ran in the opposite direction with their full baskets. 

 My gorgeous little girl is growing up so fast!

 She was full of excitement when it came to opening her treasures. 

 And once Kinsey got a taste of the Easter goodies (crackers, fruit snacks, and marshmallows), she downed all of her eggs in less than fifteen minutes. Silly girl. 

 Kinsey not only collected eggs, but a baby!! Scarlett witnessed the whole Easter egg hunt while Shayla slept, blissfully unaware of anything going on. 

My Babies Are 2 Months Old?!

 I look back at pictures from when we brought Scarlett and Shayla home from the hospital and they were so tiny! They are still small, but not like they were. At 2 months old, they seem like giants to me! I wish they would stay small forever, but at the same time I love watching them grow and learn new things. These two babies could not be more different in personalities but their mannerisms are exactly the same. I love looking over at their sleeping bodies and seeing their arms up and heads facing the exact same way. 

For over 7 weeks we had family come and help us and the girls met all three sets of grandparents. As much as we loved the help, I couldn't wait to be alone again (with three kids, of course). 

My dad and Scarlett

My stepmom, Cyndee, and Scarlett

My mom with the babies

They had their 2 month check-up the day they turned 7 weeks old. Scarlett weighed in at 6 lbs 3 oz and has since grown to 6 lbs 14 oz.

And Shayla weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and is now 7 lbs 8 oz! Both girls are consistently in the "less than 1" percentile in weight, height, and head circumference for their age. Only this last visit Shayla was a whopping 6% for height!! Clearly she doesn't get that from me. 

I started tandem nursing the girls at 5 weeks old and it was the best decision I ever made!! It is such a time saver and now I'm not tied down nursing or pumping 24 hours straight. It's not uncommon to see this in our household:

Nursing babies and reading to Kinsey. She needs attention too!

All afternoon during Kinsey's nap I nurse Scarlett and Shayla until they go to sleep. This pillow is their favorite place to fall asleep. They usually end up falling through the middle and cuddle up to my stomach with their heads touching. It's adorable. 

 Even though they are small, they are right on track with their age. They hold their heads up SO well (Shayla is a little better at it than Scarlett). If you hold them against your shoulder they will pop back up and just look around. Shayla is really starting to enjoy sitting up more if I prop her against my nursing pillow. Tummy time is hit or miss. They definitely squirm around like they want to crawl. 

 SCARLETT

At 6 weeks old Scarlett was checked for hip dysplasia (when the hips are loose in the socket) because the condition is more common in girls who were breached. It appears she doesn't have hip dysplasia but her hips may be a tiny bit loose. We are supposed to send her back in for another check-up in the next month or so. 

Getting ultrasounds for her hip dysplasia testing

 She is such a sweet sleeper...as long as she is cuddled up to someone. This girl LOVES human contact like no other. Rarely is she content lying on the couch or the floor by herself but once you pick her up she's okay. This would be great with one baby but sometimes it can be tricky when she's crying at the top of her lungs, Shayla is fussing, and Kinsey wants attention. She sleeps with me all the time and when I get out of bed and she isn't right up against me anymore, she notices pretty quickly. In the evenings she tends to cry the most. The only way I can quiet her down is by nursing her and she'll quickly fall asleep. This solidifies my choice in breastfeeding. I don't know what I would do without it! It also means the moment I leave Eric alone with the girls they start crying and he doesn't have the "tools" to make them stop. 

Scarlett has always had a high pitched cry. It was super adorable when she was born and now...not so much. I always have to put her in the carrier if I want to make dinner in peace. She is also a grabber, constantly death gripping anything she can get her hands on. Unfortunately, she scratches her face quite a bit when she pulls on it. 

SHAYLA

Shayla is kind of Scarlett's polar opposite. She doesn't need a body to fall asleep (although she'd prefer one) and if she does fall asleep on you, you can set her down and she won't wake up. She is my lifesaver in this twin business! She only screams when she is REALLY hungry and it is absolutely heartbreaking. She has a lower cry and, because she doesn't cry that frequently, it's really sad to hear her upset. I tend to feel bad for Shayla because since she is less needy I don't get as many snuggles with her and she's left alone longer. 

 Shayla also loves being in the carrier and she's more comfortable in a variety of positions. Although neither girl is in love with the swing, Shayla is more content in there longer. She doesn't need her pacify all the time. In fact, when I try to shove it in her mouth she just pushes it out with her tongue. She smiles more than Scarlett although you still have to work for it. I also feel like she's a lot more aware of Scarlett when I put them next to each other whereas Scarlett will look away and doesn't pay much attention to Shayla. 

 I'm still doing everything on demand, but we fall into a pretty predictable schedule. Bedtime between midnight and 1, one of them wakes up around 5 for snuggles, nurse around 7, bottles when Kinsey eats breakfast, nurse in the afternoon, bottles when Kinsey wakes up, nurse in the evenings, and a formula bottle right before bed to keep them full longer!

 Because they are nursing better, instead of pumping 8 times a day and giving them 8 bottles a day we are finally down to 3 and sometimes 4! I'm so glad they are progressing in that department. Minus the clogged milk ducts, it makes for a happy mommy. And despite being left alone with all three children on occasion, Eric is a pretty happy daddy as well!

Don't forget to check out Kinsey's 19 month video!