Time To Party

What a difference a couple of girls make! Gone are the days of wondering what outfit I will wear, how I will fix my hair, and an alarm clock to wake me up in enough time to make it to work in the super-fun traffic. Now I am lucky to be dressed before lunch, fixing my hair means putting it up in a ponytail or tucking it into a baseball cap, my alarm clock is Brinley crying to nurse or Makenzie saying, "I kiss Blinley's cheek" or "Gabba night night". Now, instead of driving 30-45 minutes to work, I snuggle in bed for at least that same amount of time with my earth angels. Normally, I'm nursing one while I watch Yo Gabba Gabba. It's the time of day when I'm most tired but also most content. The rest of my day? Well, instead of reports, spreadsheets, Quickbooks, emails, and phone calls, I do stuff like this:

Water the flowers with Makenzie, which always turns into watering her feet, pushing her in both the big and little girl swings, watching her slide, and listening to her proclaim, "I go to Minnesota" (which is the little fort under her slide).

Clean diaper rash cream off her face and hair. She did this while I was nursing Brinley. I thought she was watching Sesame Street. I got concerned when I heard her walking into the room I was in saying, "I put some on Mommy's leg". When I saw her, I thought she got into mayonnaise somehow, but as soon as she smeared it on my leg, I knew by the smell what just happened. Luckily, there was only a small amount on my area rug. I learned this day that Dr. Smith's is not only the best diaper rash cream on the planet, but also a great way to hold Makenzie's pigtails in place.


Here's Brinley at 11:45 pm, wide awake and kicking. Time to party. Because to be up during the day and sleep most of the night is unheard of to a newborn (or at least to my newborns).


Play tea party. I can safely say I think this is Makenzie's favorite indoor activity. One of the most attractive things Dave does is to sit at this little table with our daughter and play tea party.

I love to give Makenzie treats. When she earns a treat, it's because she has done something spectacular. There's nothing like walking out of church knowing she has once again outdone herself by staying quieter than last time and has gotten better at whispering, and all of that without having to bring along distractions of snacks, coloring books, etc., all because she knows she will get a donut. The rest of the day, she will say, "I good girl, listen to Mommy & Daddy, get donut!" Before I had kids, I wondered why they had donuts available after church every Sunday . . . now I know. Bribery is a wonderful thing!

Below is a video of Makenzie enjoying Fruity Flakes, some Trader Joe's yummies straight from Seattle and Aunt Sarah. She gets these snacks just for being cute because they're part of her birthday gift! We also practice Makenzie's enunciation. I like to use that word because it reminds me of my childhood and one of those things your parents would say to you over and over that you thought was a real hassle at the time but then in your adult life you actually appreciate what it taught you. You will notice Makenzie calls these Fluity Flakes. So I'll say to her, "say root" and she says root. Then I'll say, "say FRuit" and she says, "FLuit". One of these days she will get it right . . . practice makes perfect!