Pigtails

Mom finally got some pigtails tied up on Madelyn's head. This is no easy task as Madelyn really doesn't want anything to do with having her hair done in any way, shape, or fashion. She would really like it to just be left alone! (I'm picturing a future Tom-Boy) I am not sure we'll have this repeated anytime soon..but we have pics to prove that this girl once had pigtails. I love them and think they are so dang cute. Too bad Maddy doesn't feel the same way. She was happy with them once they were in..but getting them in involved some whining, tears, and bribing. Lots of work for cute pigtails.

More phrases:

BK eat Mom - We asked Madelyn what Makena eats. BK is her nickname for Makena.

No, no go that way - backseat driving apparently starts at age 2 and continues though your 60's.

Big girl - answer to the question of "what's your name"?

4 Months

My sweet little newborn is 4 months old. I guess the newborn term has to be put away as she is definitely not that anymore. 4 months...what happened to the time? Look at how big Makena is getting... Its just amazing how fast it goes even though there are nights in those first few weeks, you are pretty damn sure time has officially stopped and your stuck in some sleep deprivation hell.

Stats:

Height 26 inches

Weight 16lbs.13oz

Life is pretty good for having a 2 year old and a 4 month old. Not much is boring, mostly chaotic, and always tiring...for everyone involved. Makena was sleeping through the night for a few weeks and then decided to keep it real for Mom and Dad, and regressed back to waking up at 3am. I can live with that but am hoping she'll soon remember how joyous it was to just sleep all night long. She continues to be a pretty easy going mellow baby and after knowing what her sister was like as a baby, I can very much appreciate that.

Big Sister still finds Makena interesting and gets the biggest giggles when Little Sis tries to reach out and grab her. She got in the crib with Makena recently as mom snapped some pics. Maddy thinks this is really fun..and Makena just stares in awe of Big Sis.

Don't wipe my butt

Life continues to move fast, we blink and weeks seem to wiz right on by. Makena's smile will light up a room, she's quick to watch your facial expressions and actions and react to them, grabbing on to your fingers or kicking her legs if she is really happily. I sneezed in front of her the other week and she must have thought I blew myself up, it took me 5 minutes to calm her down again. She can sit up in the bumbo and take a wack at any toys nearby as well.

We had to move out last week to a hotel to have our floors refinished after a water leak caused our floors to buckle in a few places. Madelyn seemed to enjoy her time there the most out of all of us, she tossed her tub toys into the hot-tub and found a light she could turn on and off all on her own. She was in 2 year old heaven to say the least. Mom came down with the stomach flu on the second day while Dad juggled jury-duty and tried to keep everybody happy. We were thrilled to move back into our house last Friday.

Maddy's phrases:

"Don't wipe my butt" - said on the changing table - 20 times last week. I'll happily stop wiping your butt when you figure out what that pink potty upstairs is for. It still amazes me that a human can go from a little bobble head of a baby to a toddler with an option like this in 2 short years.

"Out my ball game" - said when she wants you to sing her Take me out the Ball Game before naps

"Juicebox go outside" - Ummm let me think....yes, do you really thing we'll give you 8oz of fruit juice to squirt all over the inside of the house!?

"Curious George BubbleBath"- you guess it, that little monkey has his own brand of soap.

"Sing hush baby song" - A must before bedtime.

and on and on and on.......

Where did you get that hair!?

Makena is doing well and still has her crazy hair that sticks straight up like a butch cut. Now that she has her neck under control she's able to have more fun in bouncers. Life is still hectic with two little ones in the house, we have some days where we appear to have everything under control and others that just feel like a slow moving train wreck until bedtime.

She is also starting to recognize and interact with people more. We are getting lots of big smiles and coo's.

Edmonds Marina

The neighbors flower patch, 2 acres, is in full bloom and we head over ever day to check things out and feed the goats the old blooms. Apple season is in full swing and Maddy enjoys tossing them into the goat pen.

3 Months!

It's hard to believe that 3 months have passed. Makena is growing like a weed to put it mildly. She loves to give people big smiles and will make all sorts of sounds when in the mood. She has become a champion sleeper, and will go to be around 9:00pm and not wake up until 6:00am or so. Lets hope that's not a phase for her. We are out of the hip-harness for the daytime and only wear it for 12 hours at night. Her hair is growing in and sticking straight up, kinda like a Marine buzz-cut.

Can't quite sit up on her own for very long and is kinda top-heavy :)

Madelyn continues to be a very active 2 year old. Always curious about her surroundings and pushing limits whenever she can. Our neighbors have two goats and since it's Apple season we bring fallen apples over to them every day and watch them chow down.

New Sentences are tumbling out of her mouth daily, hear is what I can remember her saying. Most of these are repeated 20-30 times in a row, either she likes the sound of her voice at times or wants us to acknowledge what's she is saying.

Daddy wake up

Daddy close eyes

Airplane way up high

Mommy go away

My Friends Tiger and Pooh

1...2...3..4..5..6..7 - Hurray

My hold BK, repeated several times each hour of ever day (Makena's nickname as in BK Broiler, Makena is still too much for Maddy to say right now)

Sing hush baby song

Mac Cheese

Wyatt kitty

BK wake up (%#^$& be quiet Maddy you'll wake the baby up)

Watch Curious George

Some of her favorite things:

Anything having to do with Winnie the Pooh or Curious George

Blueberries and Strawberries

Anybody besides Mom who gets her up from her naps

Bubble baths

Feeding any animal, the neighbors Goats, handing out treats to the dogs.

Dumping toys onto the floor

Chapstick

Gummy Vitamins

Playing with any of her friends, Scarlet, Molly, Brooks etc...

Any other kids toys

Random

Its another sunday night and this family is tired. To be honest, 3 out of the 4 have already gone to bed and are in sleepy-land. Mom is still up trying to get a few little things done while the house is quiet. I'm really too tired to blog much and don't really have the energy to form any meaningful sentences. So, I'm posting some random pictures I found, all taken in the last few weeks! More talk later...for now just pics.

Looking Cool

Maddy's cousin, Junior was in town a couple weeks ago. She was loving it!

Junior & Michael having fun out on a friend's boat

One happy baby

One happy Meme & Baby

Maddy caught setting her doll up for breakfast!

Hanging out in her brace..batting at some toys

Wyatt!!!

Well look what the cat dragged in!! I was on my walk with Makena the other night and found Wyatt hunting for a mouse in about 1/4 mile from our house. I ran home, grabbed a car, drove back, opened up the door and tossed him in. Back at the house we had to look him over a few times to make sure we were not cat-napping somebody elses pet. He's lost 6lbs and has some war wounds and a few chipped fangs from living outside these past 4 months. He's been mostly sleeping out in the garage since he came home 48 hours ago. We are more than happy to have hime back home.

Thankfully the weather has finally cooled off in Seattle, the heat wave was brutal. Makena is doing great. We are getting lots of smiles and some Coos out of her when she's well fed and happy. She's starting to go to be earlier in the evenings so we might get some time to catch up.

Hanging out in her bouncer

Look at those curls.

Speaking of catch-up, I did not even know we owned this many clothes, it's amazing how fast laundry can pile up with 4 people in the house now.

Kicking back

I'll blame this on Karin, that's cheese in our pantry, she did the same thing with Madelyn except it was string cheese in the utensil drawer.

2 Months old in Record Heat

Heat. It's what we have a lot of this week in Seattle. If your reading from another part of the country, than you might be surprised to know they are forecasting a high temperature in the Puget Sound tomorrow of 101 Degrees!!! Yep, triple digits. A potential new record. In Seattle....rainy, dismal, grey Seattle. Needless to say most of us are not handling this heat-wave very well.

The Potter family is spending much time at the InLaws who have AC! Let's give a big shout out to the Inlaws for making a very wise decision to install AC a couple years ago. We are sooo appreciative of them letting us cool off for the days in their comfy home. Madelyn plays, Makena has many multiple people to nap on, and I rest nicely on their couch. Its a good thing.

Another good thing is my bundle of sweetness who is now 2 months old. Two months today. I swear the time flew by. The first couple months with Madelyn seemed to last so much longer - probably being a new parent and stressed out all the time. But with Makena, its just flashed by in a blip. I guess we are too busy handling two kids and trying to keep the chaos to a minimum.

I have no pics today as I'm camped out in the bedroom, which has a portable AC unit - an don't have a way to upload them. But, when I can brave the heat in the rest of the house..I'll post some pictures. So check back. I'm also checking the weather reports like a mad-woman hoping all the "weather models" have messed up and the temps miraculously fall to the mid-70's overnight. It could happen.....

Popsicles

One of the top enjoyments in life has to be being a kid on a hot summer day with a Popsicle melting all over yourself. And now I know that watching your kid make a mess of herself is even more fun. Maddy had her 1st Popsicle earlier this summer and she is definitely onto them now. I found her one day, as we were playing outside, in the garage by the freezer...slapping it and yelling "POP".."POP"!! Yep, she knows what they are, where they are..and that she definitely needs to have more of these things.


Yesterday after dinner we seemed to mention that Daddy and her could go outside on the patio and have a Popsicle. The eyes light up and two feet go in a flat toddler run for the door. Soon, these classic images were captured. It reminded me of how much fun it is to be a kid sometimes.

First Taste

Oh...So Cold

But so worth it!!

And not to be outdone, here is a couple pics of the other bit of sweetness in our lives. Makena is 7 weeks old and become quite a good sleeper. We are thrilled to be getting up just once a night and back to getting some more normal sleep. Her fussy evening hours are still going, but were onto some tricks to making things a lot easier. And she's becoming more alert and throwing us coo's and smiles all over the place. I can't get enough of this sweet little sly smile.

You know you love me....and just you wait and see the trouble I'm gonna cause!

Pure Sweetness

Another Hip Baby

I really thought with my second baby I'd have a "Get out of Jail Free" card with regards to Hip Dysplasia. You may or may not remember, but Madelyn was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia at 8 weeks. It was a mild case but we chose to put her in a soft brace and treat it. I had this as a newborn and it can be passed down.

But I was so sure, that we'd done our time and this baby would not have it. Not so true. Makena was also diagnosed with it on Monday. She also has a mild case. And now she has her own brace which she is learning to love...or maybe tolerate is a better word. I had a harder time with it this time..knowing what my baby and I are in for, not to mention handling it while dealing with a crazy toddler running around.

So she is in this lovely thing for 6 weeks, 23 hours a day. And then with some luck and good ultrasound pics, we'll move to 12 hours a day for another 6 weeks. All this pales in comparison to what happens if its not treated. The older the child gets the harsher the treatment is - from hard braces to multiple surgeries. I'll take the soft brace, no matter how much I detest the thing.

Makena is not looking too upset...at least at this moment!



Maddy checking it all out!

2nd B -Day Party

Wow what a difference a year makes, Madelyn apparently loves cupcakes this time around and could not get enough of them. She ended up licking the frosting off of 3 of these things. Compare that with the picture taken with Mom from last years party when she came unglued over cake.

We had a great party, Mom&Dad decided not to cook and had it catered instead (B-bque). All the kids had great fun and tore up the place, from dumping all the toys out of our toy bin to splashing everything in sight at the water table.

Winnie the Pooh was all over the place, from the Balloons & Decorations to the cake and wrapping paper. Pooh was it. Yes the bakery was in a hurry and spelled Maddy's name wrong...

Checking out the presents with the Leaty boys

Wow, handmade Quilt from Meme

Six Weeks!

Well in the chaos that comes with having two kids, and one being a newborn.... we didn't get a post up marking Makena's one month birthday. She is now 6 weeks old! Time flies. I swear we just brought her home and I was a walking zombie. But now at six weeks things are looking a little bit better.

Makena is quite the calm, mellow baby which is such a contrast to what I remember of Madelyn at this time. However, like any normal little one - she has fussy hours in the evening which we struggle with every night. She was diagnosed with Reflux a couple weeks ago and have started medication which seems to help. But every night about 7:30pm the fussy's start up...and the dance begins to see if we can calm her down...which usually takes us till 10:30pm or so, when she passes out and then we fall right behind her. So goes our life right now. I can't complain too much as this girl seems to be a good sleeper and is currently only waking us up once a night. We'll see if this lasts, but for now I'm just grateful for each night I get some decent sleep.

Her sweet little face has filled out and my little newborn is gone....and is turning into a well-fed chubby cheek little baby.

Six Week Stats: Weight - 11lbs 12 oz Height - 23 inches

Two

Today is Maddy's 2nd birthday. I had to post a couple pics and reflect on the fact my baby is now two and no longer a baby but a little girl. Its hard to believe how fast the time flew by. My little sweet squishy thing that was born two years ago, is now carrying her own book bag, insisting on certain clothes to wear, and picking out snacks of the pantry, and has new words everyday to shout at us with. I found her this morning sharing books with her little sister, which just melts mom's heart. I suppose soon she'll be trying to throw books at sister...but we'll worry about that issue another day.