Adventures in Poop

Note to self: do NOT put Kennedy in diapers with Velcro closures any time she is unsupervised, such as nap time. Fortunately Jeremy was home today when Kennedy woke up from her nap and had poop EVERYWHERE in her crib. Also fortunately, she is still in her crib, so it was fairly contained. Daddy threw all the dirty things in the wash while Mom threw the baby in the tub. Kennedy was absolutely devastated by the reaction she got to having explored her creative side while penned up in bed, but quickly got over it with some snuggles from Daddy and yogurt drops from Mom. Cadence never once tried to remove her own diaper, but I have caught Kennedy on more than one occasion removing her diaper (only the ones with Velcro closures) and especially if she has no pants on over the diaper. I never imagined, however, that this would be the end result. She's been doing really well going on the potty. She likes using the potty seat on the big potty, and the little training potty we have too, and she's doing pretty well at it. Sometimes she tells me she wants to go potty AFTER the fact, but she is trying. Cadence definitely needed more coaxing and prizes. Kennedy seems content (so far) on getting praise and lots of clapping. If there isn't enough clapping she claps for herself to get everyone going. It's great. :)

Kennedy dotes on her new Cousin

This is a short clip showing Lily, only a few hours old, and Kennedy stepping into her new role as 'little mommy'.

Video from the Wading Park at the Bremerton Ferry

This video is over a minute long, so it might take awhile to load - be patient! It shows the girls and Dylan playing in the water. Mostly Kennedy. Cadence was busy making friends. She ended up making friends with a little blonde girl, but another little girl, who pointed out that she and Cadence both had Ariel on their swimsuits, worked really hard to run off the little blonde whenever she and Cadence got to having too much fun. It was really quite a circus, but Cadence didn't seem to mind. She was having a blast meeting new people, trying new things, and didn't even notice the dynamics in her new relationships. It was great. :)

Vacation at Auntie Pam's!

Whew! It's good to be home again. :) We've spent this past week twiddling our thumbs, missing the fun and excitement of playing at cousin Dylan's house, getting to know his new little sister Lily. We headed over to Poulsbo July 19 after Pam started having some pretty good contractions. Turns out they were all practice and no show, but it made everybody feel better knowing that we were there as Pam's due date drew closer. Pam ended up having several episodes of contractions, but didn't go into labor before her induce date on July 27. So, to pass the time we played in the pirate pool (yar!), went beachcombing at Point-no-Point, ate some delicious food, went shopping, caught Harry Potter at the drive-in (the kiddoes had a private showing of Bolt, Finding Nemo, Fox and Hound 2 [they didn't watch anything in its entirety] in the back of Uncle Jared's car while the adults sat out and watched the feature film on the big screen), and just generally had fun running around the house, doing crafts, and having fun. Grammy came to join the fun on the 26th.

Pam, Jared, and I were at the hospital with Pam after she was checked in on the 27th until Lily was born at 5:45 the morning of the 28th. The kids stayed with Grammy and came to visit us all in the hospital later that morning. The girls were in heaven! Dylan was glad to see his Mommy was okay, and knew exactly who Lily was, but didn't quite go as gaga over her as the girls did. That poor baby got more loves and hugs and kisses from Cadence and Kennedy in the few minutes the girls were with her, than she'd had her whole life. Granted, her whole life only consisted of a few hours, but still. Dylan stepped into the Big Brother role almost immediately, and it was so sweet to watch how he interacted with her. So loving, so gentle, so protective, so concerned. Cadence just wanted to sit and hold her and hold her and hold her. Kennedy wanted to show us all that Lily has a mouth and eyes and a nose and eyes and feet and eyes and hair and eyes... Before she'd even had a proper bath, Lily was showered with kisses from her brother and cousins. It was really sweet.

The rest of the week saw more crafts, more running around, lots of fun, and some really creative ways to cool a house, that doesn't have air conditioning, during a heat wave. We made sure to get in one more trip to the beach, (and miracle of miracles I got my homework finished) before we made the trek back home to more record hi's and an air conditioner on the putz. Fortunately we have an old-rock-quarry-turned-swim-hole nearby (same place we went for 4th of July) which we utilized every day over the weekend for a sweet way to cool down. The girls absolutely love swimming, and Cadence has decided she can abandon the 'noodle' and swim around in the deep water with Daddy with just her life jacket. Now that she's become quite adept at that, she's looking forward to taking the plunge without her 'life-it' and seeing what transpires.

Now that we've been home we've had a chance to just kick back, relax, enjoy our family time, play at Kids Castle, and terrorize the cat. Oh, life is good. :)

Here's a bunch of pictures from our adventures at Pam's:

Headin' to the beach

Posing in front of the driftwood fort we found waiting for us

Okay, let's get down to business

Sneaking up on the seashells

Eeeeewwwwwww! It's so gross! I don't want to touch it!

But I have to touch it!

Can you find Kennedy?

Posing for Mom

Hurry Dylan! Run with me!

Woohoo! The water is COLD!

But it's too awesome to stay out of it!

Cadence: See Auntie Pammy!? Look at the fish I reeled in!
Dylan: See Mommy?! Look at the fish I caught for Cadence!
Uncle Jared: What's up with these kids taking credit for my fish?!

Tackling a glue project

I can brush my teeth better than you!

Cousins in the tub!

Baby Lily is finally here! Welcome little baby!

Funny little monkey I found, hangin' in this tree, at the Bremerton Ferry
(As soon as we got to this park she climbed up in this tree and was happy as a clam to just hang around, until she figured out she didn't know how to get down...)

Time for Break!

Summer break has finally arrived! The end is nigh! Classes ended on July 31st, and now I get to catch up on housework, and paperwork, and any other kinds of work I've been putting off since January. Fall semester starts up again August 24th, but there is light at the end of the tunnel! I've filed for graduation this December, and if all goes as it has so far, I'll be getting my diploma in the mail soon after. Woot!