Not Much Of A Sweet Tooth.

I was a weird child. My parents used to joke that I could've gone on an all raw food diet and done fine. When I was Holynd's age, my favorite food was a tomato.

Yep. Tomatoes.

I've always loved veggies. All kinds. Probably because my grandpa always made sure there were tons going in his garden. My mom used to tell Matt that I'd only eat five things, one of them being Diet Coke and another being tomatoes. When it comes to sweets, I've always rather had straight sugar, then anything rich or chocolately. People always think I'm weird when I tell them I hate chocolate cake. As I've gotten older (mainly since I married Matt) I've been up for trying a few different things. (Mainly sushi.)

When Holynd started baby food, I started with veggies. She LOVED them. I didn't think it was odd, until I started feeding her fruits and she hated them. Then, I thought she was weird too. She still prefers veggies over anything else. Most days, when I ask her what she wants for lunch, she'll say: Peas. (???) In fact, most days I have to tell her that she can't have anymore veggies until she eats her main dish. (??????)

Sloane was way different. She just wanted to nurse. All the time. She hated the bottle and hated baby food more. It didn't help that she didn't get teeth until she was almost a year old. She loves fruits the most, but is slowly learning to love veggies. This is how I expected most kids to be.

But.

Guess what kind of child Maddox is?

A veggie lover.

I gave him a mushed up banana yesterday for breakfast. You would've thought I had just given him a spoonful of bleach. He gagged and gagged and refused to put another bite into his mouth.

Later on, I tried squash.

He ate the entire bottle.

I don't blame him. I'd take squash over bananas anyday. ;)

Let Down Your Hair

No I didn't make it. I don't make stuff.

Found it on Etsy.

She loves it.

Maddox has to play Eugene.

Sloane's should be here next week.

I anticipate hours and hours of Rapanzel play.

Happy Saturday! Our plans? Rolling sushi with friends. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Poo Please...

This is a story about Sloane's hair.

Not poop.

Are you disappointed?

Yes? No?

Ok.

When Sloane's hair started to curl, I was so excited. A little girl with curls. It was so much fun and, for me, it just symbolized the night-and-day differences between my two little girls.

However, as it grew longer, I found myself completely oblivious on how to take care of it. Every night I would comb it out and it would break-off in chucks. It was so sad to see those curls come out in the comb.

When Holynd started dance class, I noticed that one of the little girls in her class had a head full of curls. Curls like Sloane. I turned to her mom and said, "How do you take care of it? I'm struggling!".

"Stop shampooing"

I wasn't sure what to think after that. Bathtime was my favorite time of the day and I loved to have my girls come out of the tub squeaky clean. Not shampooing just didn't feel as clean for me.

Later on, my sister-in-law said the same thing. "No more shampoo. Just conditioner. Once her hair gets long enough, you'll be able to wash her scalp without washing the curls, but until then, just quit."

So I tried it.

By some miracle, it no longer broke off and her curls became as cute as ever. It still kinda bugged me that I couldn't shampoo, but I got over it. Not having to listen to Sloane cry while I pulled out her hair was worth it.

Fast forward, to a few nights ago. I had come to the determination that Holynd was probably ready for some REAL shampoo and not the baby 3-in-1 stuff. (Yes! I was still using the baby stuff!) I went to the store and found something with princesses on it. When I read the fragrance name, Twisted Swirlberry, I knew I had found something Holynd would LOVE. I bought it.

That night, Holynd was so excited to try her Princess Shampoo. I finished washing her hair and went to put the same old conditioner on Sloane's hair.

"Poo please?" She said.

She looked at me with those big blue eyes and I couldn't say no.

It had been awhile since Sloane's hair had been scrubbed, so I decided to wash it with shampoo. Secretly, I knew it would make me feel better. After all, the word, "detangler", was all over this shampoo bottle - how bad could it be?

Turns out.

Bad.

Sloane's hair had grown a lot since we had stopped using shampoo and trying to comb it out was ten times worse. It didn't matter how much spray-in conditioner I used, I could barely get a comb through it.

It was awful. She cried a lot and we ended up having to take a few breaks during combing. Chunks of it were coming out in the comb. UGH! 

After about 20 minutes of torture, we finally got her hair combed out.

I vowed, no more shampoo.

I still love those curls.

Hurt.

Holynd has been growing.

It started a couple of weeks ago. My friend Nicole noticed that her dress-up dresses were all the sudden a lot shorter. They were no longer hitting the floor when she wore them.

I told myself it was nothing.

Then, her Easter shoes started to look to small.

Again, I tried to not read too far into it.

But then she started to complain of pain. "My legs hurt" she'd say.

This is when I knew there was no denying it.

Holynd was growing again.

Holynd grows like her dad did. In spurts.

I didn't ever have growing pains, so I thought they were just a myth. But, no. They are very real and they hurt.

So, at the end of the day when her legs, feet and ribs ache from growing, I hold her and rock in my grandma's rocking chair. I try my hardest to rub the hurt away.

Watching your kids grow is hard. It's so exciting, and yet devastating at the same time. I love being home with my babies, but everyday they show me that these experiences are here for only a short time. I don't like it.

It hurts.



6

My Mister Man is 6 months old today. Where does the time go?

Maddox is the happiest baby in the world. His sister's adore him, which works out nicely because Matt and I kinda like him too. 

He started eating cereal a few weeks ago. I hate baby food. I was set on waiting until he was over 6 months old, but when I got The Plague, I decided to start him on it until my milk came back. 

Much to my disapproval, he loved it. He'd eat it three times a day if I let him. 

Contrary to popular belief, this does not mean that he is sleeping through the night. I'm pretty sure the person who started this rumor was just playing a cruel joke on mothers everywhere. Matt and I actually noticed that the cereal made him want to nurse more. Weird? Yes. But maybe instead of just getting longer and longer, he'll start to put on a few pounds.

Speaking of sleeping, Pudman is pretty much the best baby in this department. You just put him down and he goes to sleep. We do have to swaddle his arms to his sides or else he'll just lay in there and play with his binkie. He doesn't cry when he wakes up, he just kinda starts yelling and talking. I'm pretty sure he wakes up at 6am every morning, but being the good boy that he is, he just lays in there kicking around until everyone else wakes up. Sometimes he gets himself into some really weird positions in his crib. This also means that he's ready for a nap at 9am.

Maddox loves to wiggle. I fear he's never going to be able to sit up very well because of how much he moves. No wonder he's so skinny. (He was like that when I was pregnant with him. He never stopped moving. Ever.) He still hates tummy time. Hates it! If I put him on his tummy he usually just rolls right back over onto his back. Tummy time is usually the only time we ever hear him cry.

Maddox also loves to grab your face for a big wet kiss. It's pretty much my favorite thing ever.

Maddox is just so easy. I can take him anywhere and don't really have to worry about him getting upset. This is great because his sisters usually always end up upset and demand most of my attention.

For awhile, I thought he hated to be in the car but, after some experimentation, I figured out that he hated to sit by his sisters. I don't blame him. They pick on him relentlessly. We remedied that situation this weekend.

We honored the day today with a long walk. Maddox is loving riding in the stroller. I really need to buy a stroller that sits all three kids, but for now, Holynd puts a doll in her stroller and follows me. This does mean we have to stop and collect zillions of rocks on our way. We also have to stop and name every potato bug or lady bug we pass.

We love you Pudee.