On Our Toes

Boy are we on our toes. Kaitlyn has now unlocked and opened the front door and walked out by herself. She has gained a lot of dexterity so she can turn those locks and knobs easily now. We are putting in more locks at the top for sure!



Today, Kaitlyn went to the dentist for the first time as recommended by our pediatrician. All is well with those 20 baby teeth. She was so great in the dentist's chair. She sat still and wore sunglasses so the glare did not bother her eyes. She received the bubblegum toothpaste flavor and even let the dental hygienist floss just a little bit. She even nodded when asked if she wanted the sunglasses back on or off.

To see video, click here:
http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n301/kleinerbug/?action=view&current=MVI_1923.flv

Three Piggy Opera

Kaitlyn performed last night the Three Piggy Opera for her school's end-of-year program. She was in the pig pen along with the other toddlers and she did pretty well trying to do the hand signs. She loved wearing her Piggy headpiece and would not let us take it off all night.



She then played with Ian, who calls her a girlfriend, and had a cookie to top it off. She starts summer school in early June and it will last til mid-July. She will be going back to school right when we are due with Jackson.

Count down to 10

Well, I am back. I have started to feel better after a bad bout with a cold the last couple of weeks. The coughing was horrendous. But never fear, it didn't stop us from moving Kaitlyn to a big bed and redecorating her room. She is getting smart too. We have been working on redecorating and once we have a few more things, we will be posting some photos.

I am now 6 months pregnant. Just a little more to go. I can't wait to have him! I guess I hate slowing down because I am so big especially in spring. I have stopped picking Kaitlyn up, except if I have to. She hates it, but she is getting used to holding hands a little more.

Happy Late Mother's Day to all those moms out there! Hope you had a great day. We did. We went to the Fort Worth Zoo. I can't even believe I now have the title of mom because mom is such a big role to fill. I hope Kaitlyn knows how much joy she has brought to my life. It is my gift to be able to be her mom.

Before I forget the little things she has been doing this week and last, let me recap.

1. Hide and Seek. This is her new favorite game. While Brandon was painting we were playing around the house. She then takes off and hides. Who knows where, I just couldn't find her. Of course, I didn't expect her to be running off to play hide and seek at any given moment. I searched the house top to bottom and no Kaitlyn. She then comes out and finds me in the office. I couldn't believe it. She takes me back to where she was hiding, in the old guest room behind the dark curtain. She kept saying hide, hide.

2. When she saw her room painted pink for the first time, she gasped. She then said pink room. I am not sure if she really associates this room with being her room now. It has taken about a week for her to get used to the change, but is doing a lot better now.

3. She is a master on the playground. We still spot her, but she climbs up everything, slides on everything, swings on everything and if she can't do it, she says it is for big kids. She really has a confidence about her abilities on the playground and she holds on tight.

4. She can count to 10, just about! It was a newsflash to us, but we would say one and then she would say two and so on. It just seems as though everything is clicking in her head. Although, she does this when she is in the mood for it.

5. But now we have a little more to worry about. She can now open any door in the house, except the sliding door. She opened her room door last week for the first time.

She has been loving on her stuffed animals. We took some photos with the bear today and loved to pose for the camera and then come look at the picture.

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This Past Weekend and More

I apologize in advance for being brief and not including photos, I was up until all hours with a lousy cough and blowing my nose.

This past weekend Brandon's parents and Uncle Perry and Aunt Bonnie came in town for the Byron Nelson golf tournament. We gals had a shopping spree and learned very quickly that Kaitlyn likes to not only shop but run around the store so you can't catch her. I think Bonnie and Gigi had their hands full trying to help contain her.

The guys enjoyed the tournament and came back with sunburns all around. Gigi and Big Daddy babysat on Saturday night and we were able to go see Wicked, the musical. That was great! I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have to sit in my seat just perfectly because I had a huge man in front of me. But even with that, it was really great to see all of the costumes and set.

On Sunday, Brandon took Kaitlyn to her friend, Zoe's birthday party at Owens farm. She didn't want to feed the animals, but liked looking at them. I stayed home because I had a fever. I am still not doing well, but hopefully the doc can prescribe something today because nothing is working with this. I won't bore you with the details.

You would have thought a hurricane came through last night. Around 7 pm, the winds started blowing the rain sideways and everything was blown everywhere. Our lounge cushions were in the pool and chairs knocked over and a big tree branch blown off. Driving through the neighborhood today, you could tell a storm came through, fences and trees were down all over. Our power was out all night as well. Well, off to clean up and wait for the doc to call back. More to come soon.

Superman Solves All Your Problems!

This weekend we had a great time celebrating weddings, babies and birthdays. After it was all said and done, we really can't say enough about Superman coming to save the day. Hehhe.

We celebrated my dad's 60th bday this weekend at The Magic Time Machine. I am sure he doesn't want me to broadcast it, but it is a special birthday and we wanted to have fun for him. He even got to have his favorite dish, Blackened Catfish.



Our waiter was Harry Potter; however, Superman was close by and came to save the day. Brandon, Kaitlyn and I arrived early. This place has all sorts of nooks and crannies including a real school bus to sit in to eat, a Harry Potter hat with a booth inside, etc. Kaitlyn loved the school bus the most and we could not get her out of it while singing, "The Wheels on the Bus."

Finally, dinner came and we were in a pinch to get her to sit in her high chair to eat. She almost screamed and was causing a fuss. Then Superman appeared out of thin air. He came down to her level and talked to her in a low, sweet voice. He was quite entertaining, but not quite as entertaining as Kaitlyn staring at him with her big, blue eyes opened wide. She was quiet the instant he started talking to her. For the rest of the dinner, she was happy and content to eat and then ask for Superman when she caught a glimpse of him.


She then had a whole five-minute conversation with Harry Potter. I don't think he could whip up a spell to understand half of what she said. He had his arm across his chest with the other arm under his chin. In the middle of him saying, "Interesting," she propped up her arms like his. It was very cute. I will have to see if I can't get Stephen's video to put up. He caught some of the conversation with her.

Books are Fun

Books are fun! Kaitlyn is now reading to us. Just kidding, but it is wonderful to see that she really does love books, especially ones with zoo animals.

Storms and rain

Well, we have been hard at work doing some spring cleaning and yard work. We even had help from my dad and Stephen to cut down a huge dead branch from our front tree. If it was just Brandon, it would have taken the whole day. With all of us, it only took an hour and a power chainsaw.

The weather has been a little on the nippy side and Kaitlyn hasn't been able to wear all of her fun, warm weather clothes yet. I don't have any new photos to share just yet, but will post some soon!

God Bless

Last night Kaitlyn and I were playing and daddy was on the computer in the sun room, but the door was still open. He sneezed loudly. Then Kaitlyn says, "Bless you." It was so cute. She then repeated, "Bless you, daddy." All the while my mouth and Brandon's mouth are wide open. We are staring at each other with a look of, "Did we just hear that without any prompting or copying?"

Other Updates:
Kaitlyn and I are both fighting a cold today. We have been so tired that we haven't even fully unpacked from the weekend trip, but will hopefully work on that today when we have some energy.

Results of our visit to the doctor today:
We went to the doctor today for a sonogram and everything looks great. Baby Jackson is growing just like he should. He weighs almost a pound. I think he was trying to sleep this morning because they could not get a good look at his heart so they are going to look again next month. He is very active and has a great heart beat. I haven't been gaining a ton of weight, but Jackson is, so the doctor is okay with that for right now. I just don't have the appitite that I did for Kaitlyn. My brother still teases me about how much I ate with her!

Happy Easter 2007

Okay, so I have been into pictures for the last hour from this weekend and springtime looking at how much Kaitlyn has changed. I must admit, it is amazing how little kids show you how time goes by so quickly. I usually mark time passing with all the different memories from holidays, but it now has been everyday trying to keep up with my changing daughter.

First of all, I have this timeline in my head of how we can try to accomplish everything we need to before baby Jackson Meche arrives; however, I think Kaitlyn can read my mind before I even think things. She went number 2 on the potty this weekend and pushed and everything with some help. I am just so happy to see her evolving into a little girl. I was going to wait until after our trip to Destin to really pull all the potty training together with a "potty party." But now, I think we will have to see if we can't get this started earlier.

And second of all, she is saying sentences now. What? Where did this come from? Saying phrases like, "I see you," "Daddy's milk," or "I love you." She is a wiggle worm and has climbed out of the crib this week, which is another to-do on my list: moving her to a big-girl bed. We hope to have that all arranged and re-do her room in the next month.

It is ironic that we are planning to paint her room pink because when we moved into the house her room was pink with a few pink bows around. We painted over it because it was going to be our office at the time.

Well, this Easter weekend, was so cold - Snow in Dallas and freezing rain/mix in Ville Platte. Who would have thought it? We went to be with Brandon's family as they have a crawfish boil/Easter celebration complete with an Easter Egg hunt every year. Kaitlyn loved pocking eggs as is the tradition and looking for eggs with money inside. She liked playing with the money too.

Brandon brought water balloons and here is a little clip of what the boys did this weekend. (You may hear a hilarious laugh at the end. That is my laugh as Brandon makes me laugh so much with his sound effects.)
As for us Meche girls and Kaitlyn, we pocked eggs, had the kids play with the pinata, eat crawfish, play with puppies and visit with family in Ville Platte, LA. Kaitlyn loved the yard and has just exploded with conversation in the last few days.



She was the official greeter of the crawfish boil. She greeted each family as they arrived at the farm. She was very excited to see everyone. I think she spent the rest of the weekend trying to recover from all the excitement on Friday. Here she is in her Easter dress this year.

Gearing Up and Resting Up

The last couple of days have been busy. We really didn't mean to pack too much into a couple of days, but it just worked out that way - gardening, going to dinners, movies, going to the Arboreatum twice and furniture shopping. I have a few photos and a video; however, I am too exhausted to stay up on the computer another minute. More to come soon...

Playing in the Rain

Kaitlyn loves to say umbrella and held one in the rain yesterday for a little bit. It may rain again on Thursday and we will have to get out her rain boots and jacket.

Kaitlyn has been testing me a lot lately. We went to the mall today since the playgrounds were wet. She didn't want to be in her stroller and protested very loudly. She then ran away from me in the mall several times. She ran into the Disney store and ran out with a Winnie the Pooh plate. I almost didn't catch her. She then could not leave the Easter bunny alone. She said hi and bye to him three times. She also mastered all of the indoor playground equipment. It was a very lively hour and a half at the mall today!

Longest Day

After a pretty busy week for my contract work and Kaitlyn worn out from Mother's Day Out. We were ready for some fun. Friday, we were going to go see Thomas the Train; however, Brandon was out of town and it was here next weekend too. Kaitlyn took a really long nap instead.

Saturday, we went to a wedding in Weatherford with my family and ate in downtown Ft. Worth with Brandon's family. It was quite a day. Before the wedding, we dropped off a birthday present and picked up some maternity and boy clothes from one of Brandon' co-workers. She had tons of stuff and so much of it that we had a full car. I was so scatterbrained on Saturday trying to think of everything going on that I forgot wipes and diapers. Luckily, there is always a Walmart in plain site in the middle of nowhere.

Kaitlyn wowed the crowd everywhere she went on Saturday. She stayed quite for the wedding ceremony. Afterwards, she practiced being a flower girl. She danced a little bit on the dance floor too, swaying back and forth. She konked out on the way to Ft. Worth and then played again showing everyone how she rows a boat and talks a lot. She did really well for getting home late and not having a good nap.

Today, she took a long nap as well as all of us today. We then played in the foot spa.

16 Weeks

Okay, I am on a kick. I went for a 16-week check up and heard the heartbeat. It was really strong. They took blood to find out if the baby has any abnormalities. And can you believe this, I have only gained 5 pounds since January. I think I gained some weight before I even went to the first doctor's appointment, but technically doesn't count.

We all rode bikes on Sunday; but now I am under the doctor's orders to not ride anymore. My sense of balance will probably be off so it is not recommended in case I fall. That is the update there.

Kaitlyn is doing great and it is hat week at school. Brandon is trying to get to San Antonio for A&M in the Sweet Sixteen!

Weekend Fun

I can't get over this weather. It has been fun to have a two-year-old as an excuse to get out of the house. We went to the Dallas Arboretum on Friday and listened to a kids concert. The flowers were really pretty. Here is Kaitlyn sitting in some trying to become a butterfly.

We had family stay this weekend too. Aunt Linda and Uncle Butch and family stayed on Saturday night. We ended up watching college basketball all night and then fixed a big breakfast in the morning. I filled out a bracket this time against Brandon. We have a bet going on who predicted the games better and I am winning so far. I guess luck of the draw or something like that. We didn't really figure out what to bet yet except spending some cash on whatever you want.

Brandon figured out how to hook the bike trailer to his new bike so we rode bikes on Sunday with Kaitlyn. She loves riding in it and tells daddy to go and go faster. I am so sore today. Talk about out of shape!

15 weeks already!

Well, got three things today. (More photos coming as we are going to a kids concert tomorrow with some friends.)

First, I am 15 weeks this week, and I just suddenly popped out. Really, I noticed a lot of change last week, but I am starting to feel huge now. This time with Kaitlyn I was barely showing and many people had to stare at me to see. I feel like I am eating less with this pregnancy, yet I feel bigger. Hmm, go figure. Here is a photo of me today.

Second, A&M is playing basketball in the first round of NCAA March Madness play. Guess what we are doing? Going to a friend's to watch with husbands and kids. Brandon somehow magically got out of work just for the game. Ha!

Third, our sweet, ol' daddy taught Kaitlyn a trick without meaning to teach her a trick. He forgot to mention this to me after he took Kaitlyn to the playground this weekend. He went down the slide on his belly, feet first. She copied him several times!

I took her to the park on Tuesday and she started turning around to get on her belly to slide down and I am about to have a heart attack as she slides down like it is no big deal. Talk about our little dare devil! Personally, I think it is cute to watch, but probably not the safest thing for her as she is still falling a lot. I called Brandon after this to tell him and he is laughing because little did I know, he taught her the trick! Lesson: Kaitlyn mimics absolutely everything you do even down to marching down the sidewalk!

PARK, PARK, PARK

Goodness this weather has been great. We met some friends to play at the Plano Nature Reserver and Park today. It wore us out as we were there two hours. I was really worn out from following Kaitlyn everywhere. She climbed up a mountain (playground mountain) and played with Emma by the creek. We even saw a bunny.

She is self-assured and so confident in climbing anything on the play ground.

Emma and Kaitlyn enjoyed sitting on a rock by the creek watching the water. We all held hands as we walked the trail - mommies and girls.

Time to break old habits

This time of Lent is really a season to prepare for Easter. To truly turn from old ways and be repentent for our sins. Brandon and I have both decided to give something up for Lent, but I think I am going to give something else up besides Spider Solitaire. I have become addicted to playing this while I wait for Internet pages to come up when I do research, etc. I would find myself playing a couple of times while on the phone and not even think about it and then catch myself doing it. I have broken the habit after realizing how much it was becoming second nature.

My other bad habit is watching a little TV before going to bed. It drives Brandon crazy, but I have felt that I relied on this to help put me to sleep. But really, there are other ways of winding down and I really need to get as much sleep as possible nowadays. So after talking to my friend Stephanie this morning, I am going to make a huge effort to break this habit. I know Brandon will quite appreciate this as he values his sleep a lot because he has to get up early to go to work.

Here's to breaking old habits and replacing them with better, beneficial habits.

Too Excited to Sleep

This gorgeous weather has made Kaitlyn too excited to sleep, literally. On Monday it took her an hour just to go to sleep after discovering chalk. This is great. I just sit back and watch her run around and love the weather and playing. Today we played all morning outside in her playhouse and out front coloring with sidewalk chalk. It was great fun. Here are some photos and videos. I was able to take some good shots, which I rarely get time to frame up in the camera, but love to try.

This weekend was one of the bi-annual Divine Consignment sales where you can get a great bargain on gently used baby and toddler items - everything from toys to clothes to strollers to bouncers. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are pregnant with their first baby and she and I had a field day. I then went back yesterday to volunteer and they still had tons of things to sell, but I worked the credit card line the whole time. This is definitely a great way to buy and sell children's clothes/toys. There are a ton more sales, but I think we have stocked up for the summer already. Kaitlyn now has a little life vest for the pool too - $4 at the sale!

Kaitlyn is off from school this week because of spring break and I have had a lot of work projects coming up. Luckily, she has been taking two hour naps so I can get some work done. We are planning a picnic this week at the park. Kaitlyn loves saying park. Her memory is great. She knows how to walk to the park now and which house is her house. She also knows where the movie Nemo is in the movie cabinet. We sang a whole round of Old MacDonald with her leading it this morning!

I am getting big with Baby Boy and don't know how to make it through the summer. Hopefully, there will be relief in the pool! I can already feel some movement occasionally. I am starting to feel a little pinch to get things done for Kaitlyn and his rooms so when I am really big, I don't have to do much.

Spring Time is Here And That Means...

Kaitlyn wants to be outside all the time. We have taken her outside play toys and put them in the fenced off area of the patio so we can keep her contained. We have moved the table and grill to the cabana. This should also make it easy for friends with little ones to come and keep them contained when not in the pool. Kaitlyn is already enjoying coloring outside while I am writing this blog!

Oh, The Things We Can Do At Two

Oh the things Kaitlyn does. The other day she woke up and took my hand and led me to the TV to watch her favorite movie, Babe. She has watched a little bit every day for a month and it still doesn't get old for her. She even starts dancing before the farmer starts dancing in one part.

Now when we go grocery shopping she likes to walk with me and hand me groceries or put groceries in the cart. So far she walks or stays by me and does not run off. She did the same thing for Brandon too, although he let her put some donuts and rice cakes in the cart. She actually didn't like the donuts for breakfast.

She is now climbing in her own chair and this is a really good thing. I am having a harder time lifting her. She now loves to put me in her playhouse in the backyard and not let me out. She then runs to the windows to put stuff in the house or take stuff out of the house.

It was so windy yesterday that we had to stay inside to play. The whole sky was brown and cloudy because of all of the dirt in the air. We could even smell the dirt in the air.

Here are a few photos of her playing around on Friday before the dust storm on Saturday. Please excuse her snack mouth as we had some snacks outside.