Good Bye Binkie!!

On Wednesday, I decided that it was defintely time to get Rya off her binkie. We were hoping to have her off it by her 2nd birthday but that didn't happen. We tried a few things like cutting the tip off & giving that to her. We also tried explaining that binkie's are for babies & she's a big girl but that didn't work either. Everyone said to just take it from her. She'd probably cry for it & have a few temper tantrums but that would only last a few days. I really didn't want to do it that way. I felt terrible at just the thought of taking her binkie from her especially when her doctor told me that it's her comfort.

I still thought that she's too old to have it so it's time to say good bye to the binkie! When she woke up on Wednesday, I gave her breakfast & when she wasn't looking, I took her binkie & hid it along with the extras. When she finally noticed it was gone, I told her that binkie is all gone. She cried a little for it but I told her that binkie went bye-bye. She forgot about it for awhile but later wanted it again. I finally told her that her binkie went home. That she understood! She knows the all gone means there isn't anymore. She knows that bye bye means something or someone is leaving & went home means it's gone for good. She was so great after I told that. She kept saying, "Binkie, home! Binkie, home"  She never had a temper tantrum for it or ever really wanted it. She would ask for it but then say "home" so I knew that she understood that it was gone!

Today is now day 4 without the binkie & she's still doing so great! She doesn't even ask for it @ nap time or bed time. It really took a day to get her off her binkie! If I had known it was going to be that easy, I would have done it months ago. I'm so happy she isn't using it anymore! Also because she always had it in her mouth so she always had a rash around her mouth. No more binkie = no more rash!! She now calls herself a 'Big Ga' (big girl).

I realized that as a stay at home mom, I have alot of time on my hands which is partly why I started a blog. I don't blog very often so I'm really going to try to do so more often. So this blog is all about my babies! I don't think I've been keeping up on how well they're doing!

My precious little Rya is now 27months old! I can't believe she'll be 3 in November! She's the sweetest & smartest little girl. Everytime Garyn or I leave, she says bye & gives a kiss & a hug. She loves to cuddle with me (which I love!) & she is so attentive to Hayden. If he cries, she pats his head & tells him it's okay. If someone gets hurt, she asks "what happen?".

She's so incredibly smart too! She knows 7 colors (black, blue, purple, orange, green, pink & yellow). I was reading an article that said the average kid between the ages of 24months & 36months knows 1 color! She also knows 10 body parts (hair, nose, mouth, ear, chest, belly, butt, toes, foot & fingers). We can't believe how smart she is! I never believe in Preschool, I felt that it was not necessary, there was no reason to put a 3 year old in school so you might as well put the child in daycare. It's funny how your opinions change when you get older & have kids. We're thinking about putting Rya in preschool next year since she already knows so much!

I love when she talks! She repeats everything she hears. She knows her name (has for awhile) but it comes out 'Wy-wy' or 'Wya'. My favorite words she says is "Kepish" (ketchup), "Manch" (ranch) & "Puppa Dog" (puppy dog).
She's so tiny too! She still fits into 18month onesies. She can wear a 2T but most of those sizes are a bit too big. I'm having a hard time with jeans for her though. Her 18month jeans fit her around her waist but are like high waters. Her 24month jeans are long enough but literally fall off. We're going to try to find her a belt so that will solve the problem. At her 2 year doctor's appointment, she was 27lbs & 37" tall! We can't believe how tall she is! She is just the sweetest, most beautiful little girl & we're so thankful for her!

Our handsome son Hayden is doing great! He'll be 9months old in 10days! He is such a sweet & funny little boy. He makes the funnist faces & noices.

I was a little worried about his milestones because of the extra fluid in his head but he's doing great! He's been sitting with any help for weeks. He love to sit on the floor & play. He can scoot around on the floor on his tummy. He's very strong so we think he'll be crawling soon.

He loves to play in his saucer all the time! He has been eating baby food since he was 6months but we just recently started him on the baby snacks. His favorites are the Mum Mum cookies & the Yogurt Drops.

He's a big boy too! He's already in 9month clothes which we expected. At his last doctor's appointment, he was 19lbs & 28". Growing like a weed! He has his 9month appointment on the 28th & I'm so anxious to see how big he is.

He was a huge surprise but we're so thankful for him.

We're so very blessed to have these 2 little angels in our lives. I love watching them grow & discover new things everyday! Being a Mom is by far the greatest job & having kids is the best gift ever!

I love garage sales!

Yesterday morning I got up at 6:30am to go hit up some garage sales. Getting up at 6:30am is early for me since I get up with the kids & they don't wake up until at least 9am. It was kind of hard for me to get up that early especially since Hayden still wakes up at least 4 times a night! But I haven't been garage saling in a long time & I really enjoy it now! I'd been looking forward to it all week! I was on craigslist everyday trying to find the good ones that I wanted to go to & making sure I knew how to get to each one. My wonderful husband not only was just as excited as I was about it, but he even said he'd take care of the kids while I was gone!

I never really cared for going to garage sales until we moved to Arizona back in March 2009. I went to a few with my mother-in-law & then Garyn & I went to some & found some awesome deals including an authentic Coach purse! I was hooked! I've gone out once or twice by myself but never found anything.

My main goal for going to garage sales is to find clothes for the kids. They grow so fast (especially Hayden) so I think it's pointless to always buy their clothes at Children's place, Target or even Ross. I'll still pick up outfits for them if I find a cute one on sale but I won't spend too much money at the stores for their clothes. I did recently find a store down the street from us called Once Upon a Child. They take gently used children's clothes & give store credit in return. I have 2 bags full of clothes I need to take in! So I was really hoping to find alot of new outfits for the kids. Most of the garage sales I found on craigslist advertised that they had plenty of kid clothes.

I started out to at 6:45am & the 1st two garage sales on my list weren't even there! On my way to the 3rd one, I decided to stop at one I was just passing by. I got out since I saw a bunch of kids clothes. As I'm walking up, I see a white Louis Vuitton purse! I couldn't pass it up! It looked authentic (even if it wasn't, it looked like it) so I snatched it up right away.

I was then very happy with my find! I continued for about another hour & a half. Almost every garage sale I went to had toddler or baby clothes. The problem was that I was looking for 2T girls & 9month boys & each garage sale had 2T boy & 9month girls! I finally gave up & went home so excited to show Garyn my awesome new purse! He & the kids were up by the time I got home. He was proud of my find. I did go online to see if my purse was real or not. It didn't really matter because I liked but I was curious. I found a website that described the difference between a real & a fake & mine is definitely real! I'm the proud owner of a Louis Vuitton purse thanks to a garage sale. I was disappointed I didn't find any kids clothes but I'll be going to Once Upon a Child this week & will hopefully get some store credit so the babies will get a few new outfits! But another successful garage sale day!