A Trip to the Beach

 

Kerala and Kian had their first trip to the beach this past weekend. Unfortunatley, I did not take any pictures while we were on the actual beach since we had our hands full with the two little ones. Instead, you get to take a look at a photo of Kian in his favorite position and Kerala and Daddy at the pool. We had a great trip and really enjoyed getting away. It was particularly wonderful since we got to spend quality time with Troy who has been working a ton in July.

The kids did pretty well on the actual beach. Kerala spent most of the time digging in the sand looking for rocks and racing up and down the beach with her buddy Sean. She also liked laying down and letting the waves hit her legs. Kian spent most of his time in the sun tent that Brandy lent us. Unfortuantely, he wasn't too psyched about it so we ended up heading back to the house we rented earlier than I had anticipated.

On the trip, Kerala also had her first ice cream cone. It was awesome because we were walking down the street and Kerala kept going up to random people telling them to look at her ice cream cone. She looked pretty adorable eating the cone that was about half her body size.

The only difficult part of the trip was sleeping. We were all in the same room, so trying to get both kids to sleep and not wake each other up was a bit of a challenge. Sleeping definitely got better as the weekend progressed - our first night Kerala kept slamming the bathroom door waking up Kian and then telling me she thought he might be crying. All in all it was a successful trip and we are hoping to go back next summer.

We are still making progress with potty training. Last night Kerala kept delaying going to bed by going to the potty. It's a difficult balance because we know it's a delay tactic but at the same time she will sit on the potty and go. It's pretty cute when she goes potty because if you are standing in the door way ready to help her she will tell you to "leave my alone" instead of "leave me alone."

 

A Case of Pink Eye

 

We have our first case of the pink eye at the Smerry household. Kerala's left eye started to ooze this morning (right in the middle of Spanish class). We talked to the doctor and now we are on antibiotic drops. Unfortunately for Kerala her eye has gotten worse as the day progressed and is now really swollen and puffy. Fortunately, it is suppose to clear up pretty soon with the drops. Pink eye is not pleasant and I hope we didn't pass it on to any of the kids in her Spanish class. So far Troy, Kian and I are all okay (knock on wood).

On a positive note, we are making great progress toward potty training. I was talking to a friend last week about how it seemed like potty training would be a long way off, but since then Kerala has been really psyched to wear underwear and she has gone in the potty at least once a day since last Thursday. All very exciting. She was pretty cute today after she pooped in the toilet she started to dance and sing her potty song which goes something like this...

Kerala goes poo poo in the potty
Kerala goes pee pee in the potty
And when she is done with her fun,
she wipes her bum, washes her hands, and does the potty dance, dooh dah dooh dooh.

I can't really do it justice, but it is pretty darn cute when Kerala and her daddy sing the potty song. The other positive note is that Kerala is doing great in the pool this summer. She consistently wants to go in the big girl pool and is doing really well kicking and moving her arms. She also loves to hang on the side of the pool and practice floating.

Kian is doing really well. We have been practicing sitting up with him and he seems to be getting stronger each day. He was doing a great job sitting up in the bath tub today and making a big mess splashing. He is still the happiest little guy and seems to really enjoy being outside every day. He has been doing a ton of tummy time at the park when we are having picnics with our friends. Also, this past week he had his first swing in the baby swing at the park. He seemed to love it, especially when Kerala was pushing him. He just lit up every time he got close to her. The only trouble was that Kerala wanted to push him a bit higher than I was comfortable with.

I don't know what we have in store for tomorrow. Usually, we head off to music class but Kerala will still be contagious until about 5:00pm tomorrow night so music class is out.

 

Kian's 4 Month Check Up

 

We had Kian's 4 month check up today and things went pretty well. He is still growing very well and Troy is very proud that he is 90% for height. His weight growth slowed a bit, but the doctor said that was normal and was very pleased with his weight. She was also very impressed with all of the milestones he has reached and kept commenting on his strength. The only downside to the appointment is that Kian is starting to get a bit of a flat spot on the right side of his head. The doctor said that she was not too concerned with it and there was definitely no need for a helmet, but she did suggest making sure he slept on his left side and to do some exercises. Overall though a very good appointment.

As for Kerala, she has actually been sick the last two days. She went down for a nap at 1:15 yesterday which was unusually early. When she woke up she was in really good spirits and asked if we could go to the park with Henry and Silas. So we met Henry and Silas at the park and had arranged for them to come over for dinner. On the way home from the park Kerala started to get really hot. When we got home she just wanted to be held and seemed to be pretty lethargic. I took her temperature and it was 100.3. As soon as we realized she had a fever, Tamra packed up the boys and at that point Kerala puked all over the place. Unfortunately, Kian started to make a beeline for the puke while I was comforting Kerala. He didn't get near it but of all times to show off his scooting ability. We had a low key day in the house - she was actually pretty psyched because she got to watch a ton of Curious George and drink Gatorade.

A couple of somewhat sad milestones with Kerala's language development. She no longer says "wa wa" for water or "balloonee" for balloon. Our little baby is growing up and while it is so exciting to see her progressing so well, it is also kind of sad because she is growing up so quickly. One funny note with her language development is that she is continuing to have little conversations with us. The one that stands out from tonight is while we were eating dinner Kerala informed me that our friend JT made the soup we were eating. I asked why she thought JT made it and she said because it was yummy. I don't know if I should be happy that she thinks my cooking tastes like JT's or sad that she thinks I can't cook and the only time we get yummy food is when JT makes it.

Finally, a lady at the park this past weekend told me that Troy should receive the father of the year award. She was sitting next to him while he was watching Kian and she was super impressed with how much he interacted with Kian. It was very sweet of her to comment on him. Troy is a great dad and I am very lucky to have him as a partner in raising our kids.

 

A Perfect Day

 

Today was such a wonderful day with the kids. It started with a trip to Brookfield Zoo with our friend Tabitha and her little ones. The zoo was great, although I think the kids enjoyed the park at the zoo more than the animals. After the zoo, Kian and I headed off to a mommy and baby yoga class (which was suprisingly intense) and Kerala headed home with our summer nanny, Molly. After yoga, we had a playdate/dinner with Chrissy and Sean. The kids had a fabulous time at a local park followed by a dinner of hot dogs and shrimp on our deck. All in all, it was an absolutely perfect day. The only tears from my little ones were from a couple of skinned knees at the zoo. Other than that Kian and Kerala were in the best of spirits the whole day. Finally, we have had some beautiful weather and we are definitely taking advantage of it. Tomorrow we have music class with Kerala's buddy Ella which we will follow up with lunch out with the kids at a local cafe. I am loving this maternity leave.

We had a great father's day and birthday for Troy this past weekend. We hosted a little picnic at a local park to celebrate Troy's b-day. Kerala had a ton of fun playing with her friends, Kian was pretty chill the entire time and loved being held by Chrissy.

The kids are doing really well. Kerala has been pretty funny lately before she goes to bed. She will ask that you lay in her bed with her and she just talks away. Every night she asks what do whales say and I will usually respond by saying "I don't know, what do you think whales say?" and she will say "I think they say hello." It's pretty funny. It's hard to believe that we are having little conversations with her since it seems like just yesterday we were in awe with the fact that she was putting two words together. Kian is still as mellow as ever. Today, he kept cracking up which was super cute. He definitley laughs a lot more than Kerala did at this age. With Kerala she would laugh at something but than it was hard to get her to laugh at the same thing twice while Kian will just sit there and laugh for no apparent reason.

Kian's 1st Trip to the Country...Kerala's 2nd Trip to ER...

 

The family headed down for Kian's first trip to visit Grandma Smith. We had a great time although sleeping was a bit of a challenge. We tried to put a pallet of blankets on the floor for Kerala, but she was all over the place (see photos). At about 2:00 am she wanted in bed with us - it was a bit crowded so we didn't get a ton of sleep at night. In fact, I kept getting kicked in the head by Kerala. Fortunately, Troy's mom watched both of the kids in the am so Troy and I got to sleep in until 10:00am. That's the latest we have slept in since Kerala was born and it was bliss. We were pretty tired when we got back home and were looking forward to a nice relaxing evening. Troy and I had just put both kids to sleep and were sitting down on the sofa when we heard a huge crash from Kerala's room. We ran in and she was standing in her closet crying. When we turned on the light she couldn't open her eyes, so needless to say we were freaking out. We asked her what happened and apparently she was swinging on a hanger in her closet and fell. While she did calm down in about 10 minutes she still wouldn't open her eyes so we rushed her to the ER. They found two scratches on her pupil and gave us some antibotics to apply at home. Kerala seemed almost back to normal at the hospital and was enjoying her 9:30pm popsicle treat at the ER. While Children's Memorail did give us fabulous service, they prescribed an ointment that we were suppose to rub over Kerala's injured pupil. We tried to apply it once and it was horrible, so we headed to Kerala's pediatrician the next day and got some drops to use instead. Kerala seems to have made a full recovery. It was pretty scary and I was balling on the way to the hospital worried about my baby's eyes. Very sad.

On a happier note, we had a fabulous past weekend. We enjoyed having Grandma Perry, Uncle Ralph and Aunt Julie over Friday afternoon, friends over Friday night and two birthday parties. Kerala was pscyhed about all of the opportunities to eat cake. Kerala seemed to have a good time at the parties although she did get a little freaked out about the live music at her friend Jonah's party. It was sad because our friend had learned to play Kerala's favorite song on the guitar but Kerala wanted none of it. When Sean started to play the guitar for her she asked to go home. Thanks anyway Sean! Kian was great at all of the events. He did get a bit fussy when we went out for Indian food on Saturday night. Unforutnately, it seemed like everytime he would calm down the servers would clear plates next to our table and make a huge noise.

Kian is doing great. He now consistently rolls from back to belly - in fact, he really won't stay on his back anymore. He is really enjoying his mommy and baby class. He gets a huge kick out of it and it completely wears him out. It's really cute to see him just light up when we do the various songs and dances. I just can't say it enough - he is just the sweetest little guy.

A Fabulous Vacation

 

Our first trip together was a great success. The plane ride going to Arizona was a bit rough. Kian slept (as usual) and Troy and I felt like we were playing defense the entire time with Kerala. She generally did okay, but there were a few points where she got pretty fussy and we did get a couple of not so nice stares from the couple in front of us. While we were in AZ we decided to invest in a portable dvd player and that seemed to help on the way back. The biggest snafu on the way back was that we missed our flight coming home. Unfortunately, I got the flight information screwed up and thought our flight left at 9:20 when it actually left at 7:00am. Fortunately, US Airways was very accommodating and we got on a 8:49am flight. I did feel like a scene from Home Alone with us running through the airport to get to the gate in time.

We started our trip in AZ with a visit to "Pump It Up." It's this crazy play place with huge inflatable slides and jumping places. Kerala really loved it - especially when Troy felt well enough to participate (he threw his back out the night before we left). When we got to Kim's house we had a quick lunch and then Kerala was off to nap. After lunch, Kim had a very fun activity of finger and feet painting. It was a ton of fun and Kerala really enjoyed herself. We even had Kian do a couple of foot prints.

 

On Friday, we headed over to Uncle Kyle's mom's house for a fun day in her pool. Kerala loved playing with her cousin Macline and has actually been asking about him since we have returned home. Again, Kian basically slept.

On our last day, we enjoyed a great day at the AZ Science Center, which included a visit to the planetarium. Kian actually really enjoyed the planetarium. He was awake the entire time and loved looking up at the stars. The only funny thing was that it was a toddler story hour and the presenter did not know his audience. He kept telling jokes that were a bit over the kids' heads and his stand up routine went on way too long. It was just funny because you could see all of these kids squirming in their seats.

While we were visiting Kim and Kyle's we were treated with gourmet meals every night. Kyle is a chef and Kim and Kyle let us pick the menu about a week before. Kerala had her first experience with scallops and loooovvvveed them. She ate about 1 1/2 scallops which is just amazing. Overall, it was a fabulous trip and we can't wait to go back.

Since we have been back we have had a break through with potty training. Tonight, Kerala asked to go potty three times and went all three times (although she was straining pretty hard the last time). It's crazy how fast the kids are growing up - I can't believe we are on the verge of potty training Kerala. Kian has rolled a few times from back to belly, which we are very excited about. He also will laugh a ton if you pretend like you are eating his belly.

First Vacation Together

 

Tomorrow, we head off to Arizona to visit my sister Kim and her husband Kyle. I am kind of dreading the flight with the two kids. Last time we flew with Kerala she was still using pacifiers and I think that helped a lot in getting her to sleep on the flight. We have packed a ton of toys for the trip (in Kerala's new Strawberry Shortcake backpack which she picked out) and hopefully we can distract her for the three hours it takes to get there. We are only going for a few days, but it will be jammed pack with activities.

We have been doing well. This past holiday weekend we had a bbq to attend every day, went to the park several times with friends and the zoo on Sunday with Grandma Perry. The kids are doing very well. Kian is starting to be up for longer stretches which is fabulous. He is still a happy guy and smiles a ton. He has also started to consistently laugh. Today he was cracking up at Target for no apparent reason - it was pretty cute. Kerala is really sweet with Kian - she has been practicing her ballet moves with him and loves to hold his hand. You can tell that Kian adores Kerala because he saves the biggest smiles for her. It's really sweet to see.

Kerala is doing great. The past three days she has napped which is terrific. In fact, both kids have synchronized their naps the last two days (yeah!). Troy did have some trouble with Kerala napping on Sunday. Basically, she took off her clothes and pooped right in front of the door. When Troy walked in to check on her he smeared the poop all over the floor. Before Troy got to the room, Kerala decided that she would clean up the poop which resulted in poop all over her hands. Thank goodness I was out of the house for that little adventure. The nice thing about the story is that we think she may be on the verge of potty training.