Happy 18 Months, Kayla!

Kayla Bean, I can not believe you are a year and a half old today.  I was shocked and tearfully elated upon hearing the words, "It's a girl!",  in the delivery room 18 months ago.  I have enjoyed cuddling and snuggling with you as a little itty bitty baby; watching you determinedly figuring out how to move your body in order to keep up with your big brother throughout your babyhood; admiring how you can switch in a blink of an eye from the sweetest, most loveable little sister and daughter to the strict and stubborn headmaster who is running the chaotic show known as the Jean Household; keeping up with you keeping up with Avery; teaching you new songs and watching you watch my mouth so you can sing along with me; trying to quell your competitive nature during games/meals/playtime/using the bathroom so you don't upset your brother too much; making you dance just by absent-mindedly humming or whistling a tune; getting hypnotized by your big, bright, Cindy Lou Who eyes only to get smacked out of my trance by your open palm and an impish giggle; and all of the thousands of little things in between that make up 24 hours a day of Kayla World.  You rock, girl.  I am so proud of you. 

Leapin' Lizards...Literally.

After we had a screened-in porch added to the back of our house, my mom said, "Oh no!  This means you can't look at Larry the Lizard while Avery eats his lunch!".  Larry the Lizard is the generic name for the conglomeration of anoles and skinks that would crawl on our sliding glass door, much to the kids' delight and the dogs' annoyance.  HOWEVER, after the porch was added on, we have had several up-close and personal encounters with these frisky reptiles, as they invade our porch by slipping through some unidentified crevice, James Bond-style.  Here are some pics and video from our first visitor. Phil made a display case out of a diaper box so the kids could view the lizard without getting nipped at, thus contracting some crazy reptilian disease that makes one sprout a long tail, or something equally ridiculous like that.  Avery was such a sweet kid and was very empathetic to the fact that the lizard was: a) alone; b) scared; c) missing his Mommy; and, d) wanting to go home.  Man, I love that kid.

 

 

 

Here is another video of a different lizard.  No boxes were involved this time. And now we know where they are sneaking in.

 

My Entertainers

I *Heart* Daddy

Water Fountains

We went to the water fountains at Wannamaker Park one Sunday with our friends while the guys went to the PGA championship on Kiawah Island.  Being the neglectful mother that I am, I had yet to take my kids to play in the fountains this summer.  While my water baby, Avery, had an absolute blast, Kayla was a bit timid of all of the splashing fountains and took almost an hour to warm up to them.  By the end, she was enjoying herself...a little bit.  Oh well, can't win 'em all!  A special thank you to Uncle Jon Jon and Aunt Luz for her super-cute bathing suit that I had put away for next summer...I can't believe that my little baby is in a 2T suit already.  Where does the time go??!!  I also want to add that with Phil's body and my personality, no one is going to mess with this kid!! 

Dancing With The Star

Yup, Kayla loves to dance.  All the time.  In the car...at the dinner table...while bathing...in her bed...you get the picture.  Here are just a few clips of Kayla shaking her booty (literally) to Beyonce and ODB, as well as to some more "age-appropriate" music. 

And when she isn't dancing, she is practicing her drama skills:

Growing Girls

Next thing we know, they will be asking for the keys to the car....

August 2012:

August 2011:

Time for a Big Bed for a Big Boy

Avery was running out of room in his toddler bed and he was unwilling to abandon any of his stuffed animals or blankets (he is pretty loyal and soft-hearted with all of his toys).  This is how I found him sleeping one night: 

Phil says he used to sleep the same way, but on his knees, when he was in gradeschool and didn't fit in his twin-size bed anymore....being six feet tall in the fifth grade might do that to a person!

 We bought Avery a full-size mattress just in case he turns out to be big like his Daddy, but mostly because that is what his convertible crib converts to.  One broken bedrail and multiple gouges in the wood on the headboard later, we discovered that Avery's new mattress is about a quarter inch too wide to fit into the converted full-size bed frame. But even without his head- or foot-board, Avery has transitioned to his new "big bed" well and has only asked for his "little bed" a couple of times. And the good news is that when we are ready, we won't need to buy a third crib. Kids are getting kind of expensive. :)

Pics of July Randomness

After a walk to the alligator pond (that's what Avery calls a pond near our house because we always see an alligator there; I would like to point out that ALL ponds in Charleston have alligators in them, but try explaining that to a three year old) one hot evening, Kayla strolled back to the house with her shirt up, already soliciting comments from the redneck neighbors across the street.  Watch out boys: if this over-protective momma doesn't beat your a*s, then Kayla surely will.

One day, I put Avery in a timeout for some reason....most likely for not listening to me for the twentieth time (three year olds have short attention spans and very selective hearing...the perfect concoction for sitting in a corner for three minutes at a time).  Kayla came to visit him in timeout and even brought him a chair.

Avery can enjoy a good book in any location of our house.

This is a video of Kayla and Avery entertaining themselves with a babydoll stroller.  For once, Kayla got Avery to push her...usually, she is forced to push him, which is the one thing that Kayla lets Avery boss her around on.  Funny how we all pick our battles in life.  :)

I am not sure how moving books from Avery's bookshelf to Kayla's crib turned into an afternoon's activity one Sunday, but as long as it keeps them happy, I don't really care.

Avery and Kayla are playing "monster" with Maw Maw.  I love how Kayla is wearing Avery's shoes on her feet and his socks on her hands...very creative.

The Sattelmeyer Fam July 2012

A Pride of Lions, a Gaggle of Geese, a Band of Gorillas....

...and a Swarm of Sattelmeyers.