Monsters and a Giveaway

Remember the picture of Brett being attacked by monsters? Well, those were what I made for Hayden's monster themed party. I didn't really do much other than have a monster Evite and make these softies. Oh... there was also a small monster on the cake.

Anyways, the monsters were lots of fun to make. They are all basically the same but their facial expressions are slightly different. I used fleece for the body and felt for the face. Everything is machine-stitched on.

Here is a picture of my Monster Army.


Hayden had a great time playing with all the monsters. I put them all in his crib and let him hug and kiss them. He also really enjoyed rolling around on them.




Then I let the girl join in and the two monsters, together with the 15 fleece monsters really went to town.




So, as a BlogLand celebration of my little monster's first birthday, I would like to give away a yellow fleece monster. If you would like this happy monster, please leave a comment on this post and include some way for me to contact you between now and Sunday Nov 30th. This is my first giveaway and I am a pretty unknown blog, yours maybe the only comment. :-) If there is more than one comment, I will pick one at random.

Have a good monstrous week!

Happy Birthday Little Monster

Our little monster turns one! Yeah!

"Yeah! Cake!"


"Come on, come on! The song is too long!"


"Yummy! Thanks for celebrating with me, everyone."


More pictures to come later.

Fearless

Yep, that's my girl on the very top of that scary, tall slide. She got up there all by herself.


"Weeeeee! That was not scary mommy." What a brave girl! Although, she did have a hard time with the dismount. She kind of sat at the bottom and waited for me to go help her.


Here is a video of my other fearless child. Look at how fast and high the swing was going.



So the only way to get a picture of the two kids together is when they are stuck together. Neither could get off the swing thingy on their own. The funny thing about this picture is they have approximately the same expression on their faces. That, I think, is where the sibling resemblance ends. I don't think they look similar anymore. What do you think?


This is what I got after screaming, "hey, both of you look at mommy and SMILE!" I know... not the most convincing way to ask someone to smile...

I will explain later...

New Trick

"Yeah! I did it! I climbed onto the fire place all by myself."


"Oh! Mom just spotted us. Quick, look innocent."


"Eh, it's no use, she's onto us."


"I know I won't get into trouble. I am a princess. What can happen to a princess?"


"You have a point. I am just going to play the I-am-so-proud-of-myself-and-I-am-cute card."

Regain My Territory

"zz.z..zzzz.... we've driven for an hour. So tired. Where are we going anyway?"


"Well... I will tell you where we are going when we get there. First, Chicago style pizza."


"okay, the pizza was pretty good but this car is even better. I am not even one and I know exactly what to do with a car. How about that, big sister?"


"Whatever, you keep the car, they gave me a lollipop!"


"Waaaahahahahah! Party's over. We drove far far away to get gates to stop these monsters from entering my kitchen. MY kitchen! Waaahahahahahah!"

Freakishly Good Weather

Some parts of the country is snowing and we get 70+ degrees weather. What is going on? Don't take me wrong, this is not a complaint. I am just wondering out loud.

So, to take advantage of this beautiful weather, we headed outside to play. Our first destination was BADM.

"Yeah! Finally big and mobile enough for the water beds!"


"Hello, old friend."


"Cool Moon Sand. Mommy won't let me play at the table but she can't stop me from picking them off the floor."


"Ooops, I am trapped. Can't figure out how to get back out."


"Hi Crab!"


"Too sunny! Must take a break from this heat."

If you water them, they will grow...

That's what a flight attendant told us the first time we took Kira on a plane. So growing is what the baby has been doing. Sure, we water him a little now and then but boy is he ever growing.

Baby books always tell you that when everything seems super and the rainbow is out and the sun is shining, often you will experience sudden set backs. For example, a baby who normally sleeps a 6 hour stretch at night starts waking up every 2 hours for no apparent reason. A baby who normally is happy and independent suddenly becomes super clingy and grumpy. A baby who normally smiles and giggles all day long suddenly starts to whine and cry non-stop. The books advise that unless said baby is sick, it usually means that baby is about to achieve some major developmental milestone. The tiny baby brain just needs to adjust to the big change.

I had a whiny, grumpy, angry, clingy baby for a couple of days and I was wondering what was in store for me. The answer is: standing. Baby figured out how to stand! Poor kid hasn't figured out how to sit back down so he'd get up, stand, explore and scream in frustration and exhaustion after 10-15 min of standing. It's kind of funny to watch.

Story telling time is over. It's picture time.

"I am so tall!"


" and hot!"


"Sitting is fun! Especially when the bossy big sister is not around to push me over and reclaim *her* chair."


"Is the air fresher up there?"


"These fingers are mighty yummy."


"Do you want to try them? Unlike my sister, I am all about sharing."


"Back to my usual cheerful self."


"I think I am teething like mad. There always seems to be a pool under my chin."

Sleeps Around

When should I start correcting this behaviour? My girl keeps getting into these scandalous situations.




And here is a random picture of Kira declaring her love for Big Bird.


Actually, on Sesame Street, her first love is of course Elmo. Then comes Zoe and then Big Bird. Lately, she has been quite obsessed with Princess Ariel. There is also a picture of Dora dressing up as a princess on her diapers so she also likes Princess Dora. She is not so fond of commoner Dora.

Kiraism of the day:

Kira: (points at crescent moon) Somebody took a bite out of moon.

Kira: (On a different night, points at full moon) This is a different moon. Not a bite out of it.
Mom: Really? What happened?
Kira: Somebody spit it out.

Diva

This kid has a lot of attitude.









I know I often sound mean when I talk to Kira but I can't help it. Then, this exchange happened:

Me: Kira, where are your socks?
Kira: I don't know.

I chased after the baby to put socks on him. Then I came back to put socks on Kira.

Me: Kira, where are your socks?
Kira: How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know, Mommy.
Me: (laughed to death inside) Kira, that was rude.
Kira: I don't know, please. Thank you.

Play Cradle

Remember I blogged about this doll cradle that I bought at a garage sale? When I bought it, I envisioned little dolls lined up and covered in little hand made doll quilt and Kira gently rocking the dolls to sleep like that good little mommy that she is. Not for a moment did I imagine the cradle being used like this:

These three are crazy when they play together. Sometimes they fight like siblings. Other times they are partners in crime. It's been fun watching them grow into little people, each so different in his/her own way.







This is as close as it came to my vision. Hayden gently rocking Kira to sleep one afternoon.


While we are on the topic of play, this is a little inflatable ball pit that I bought for Kira when she was a crawler. She didn't have any interest in it so I put it away. I took it out again and both Kira and Hayden loved it. They actually played together in it. After 3 days of it being taken out of storage, it broke. Kira and her friend were apparently a little too rough. The tent part on the top got snapped in half. Hayden still plays in it sometimes but it's just not the same.


Moral of the story: the kids are growing up and they are rough on their toys.

Crazy Week

This past week involved hosting playgroup, lunching with friends, hosting pre-school, me almost having to post bail in the amount of $400, and me trying to get my hands on this:

Ironically, there are $400 in this purse and my pursuing this purse has nothing to do with the bail. These stories are all too long. They are more phone conversation stories than blog stories.

Anyway, I am back and should be blogging regularly again.

Here is a little performance for a first return-to-bloglang post. This is currently her favorite song and dance.