My girls

Happy Birthday Maia!!!

2009-07-06T11:11:00.009-06:00

My Maia is three years old today! She is such a big girl. She is always making me laugh. It is funny, whenever I try to describe her, I find that she is a total enigma. For instance, she loves to rough house with her Dad, but she also loves to play dress up and be a 'girlie' girl. She insists that her clothes be 'beautiful' (not cute, she always corrects me if I say her outfit is cute), but she loves to get dirty. She can be very stubborn, but also very sweet. She can talk non-stop, but then decide to be shy. She has the best manners, but will shove her sister as soon as I turn around. She is socially aware (out of the blue, she will say to me, 'I love your black hair'), but will snub any boy at daycare that tries to give her a hug.

My little Maia is three. How the years go by. I love you sweetie!

Just born:

1 Year:

2 Years:

3 Years:

Kira turns 5

2009-06-22T13:39:00.009-06:00

My baby is five today. I can't even believe it. It seems like just yesterday that she was a baby, crawling around as fast as she could. We would always play this game after her bath. I'd dry her off with her towel and stand up to go get her clothes and she'd take off crawling down the hallway with her little butt exposed under the towel...giggling the whole way. I'd chase after her and always snatch her up just before she got to the tile entry. I'll never forget that.

Now she is five. She will start Kindergarten in August. She dresses herself and brushes her own hair. She puts lotion on her face. She can get her own bowl of cereal. She can write and read many words. She knows our home phone number. Even though she is so big, she still tells me that she wants to stay little so she can always be my baby. I must record her saying this. Play it to her when she is a teenager.

I wanted to see how much she's grown, so I am posting a picture of her each year, from 0 until now.

Birth:

1 Year:

2 Years:

3 Years:

4 Years:

5 Years:

Happy Birthday Kira!!!! I love you to the end of counting.

Daddy/Daughter Sock Hop Dance

2009-05-06T12:03:00.007-06:00

Brian and Kira attended a Daddy/Daughter sock hop dance a few weeks ago. Kira got dressed up in her new 50's sock hop outfit and Brian work a leather jacket and slicked his hair back. They both had a great time dancing and goofing off!

Maia and I went over to Grandma and Grandpa Rhay's and had a good time ourselves.

Easter

2009-05-06T11:42:00.008-06:00

We went down to southern Utah to celebrate the Easter break. We all had a great time, enjoying the warm weather, coloring easter eggs, riding bikes and playing by the pool.

Here are some pictures of the girls coloring eggs:

And Easter morning...

Baby #3

2009-05-06T11:32:00.004-06:00

As I'm sure you all know, I am pregnant with our third child. A boy! Everyone is very excited. The girls are so cute about their new baby brother. Here are some quotes they've said since we told them about it:

Kira..

Mom, how did the baby get in your belly...through your belly button?
Mom, how is the baby getting out of your belly?
Mom, why did you eat the baby?

Maia..
Mom, that baby in your belly must be really big!
Hi baby, it is Maia, I love you.
Mom, can I hug the baby?

Of course, we've already had many changes at the house even though the baby is not due until August. The major change is that the girls now share a room so we can use Maia's old room for the nursery. They love it. Here is a picture of them snuggling together at bedtime...even though they have their own beds.

Spring Dance Concert

2009-05-06T10:37:00.004-06:00

It has been forever since I've blogged on the girls! They are both doing great and are as cute as ever. Kira had her school spring dance concert last night. They performed the Bunny Hop in the high school auditorium. She did a great job - we were all very proud of her! She was very excited about it, especially because she got to be on stage. Aunt Amanda came with and we all went out for frozen yogurt after to celebrate her stardom! Kira said to me this morning, 'Mom, let's talk about me on stage some more. What did I do that you liked the best?' I told her I liked her bunny hops the most. She agreed! This is my first video upload - I hope it works and you can view it successfully.

2009-01-17T16:21:00.002-07:00

Maia and Kira are very interested in sports and went with me (DAD) to basketball practice last Sunday. Both can dribble though they did have trouble being there so long.

I have no doubt that they will continue to be athletic and want to play lots of sports.

Christmas was great and we had a lot of fun. The girls graduated from their Little Gym Classes this week and got medals. Lots going on with Mom being pregnant and so the posts have been a little sparse though there has been no end of great comments and conversations by the girls. I will try and make sure they make it on the blog.

Kira is in Sunday School now so no end of intersting religous topics as her mind tries to assimilate Jesus and God.

Have a great day!

Where are the cameras?

2008-12-17T15:21:00.002-07:00

Kira and Maia are very excited for Christmas this year! They've helped me decorate the house, shop and wrap presents. We even made a gingerbread house. Their minds have been racing trying to figure out all there is to know about Santa, the elves and the sleigh. We were sitting at dinner the other day and Kira asked me, 'Mom, where are the cameras?' Puzzled, I inquired about what she was talking about. She then said, 'The cameras that Santa uses to watch us to make sure we are being good! I know where they are at, at school. Where are they in our house????'

Kira is also very concerned how Santa is going to deliver the presents when our fireplace is 'locked' (it is a gas fireplace with a permanent window). She keeps making me assure her that Santa has a key and will be able to get in. I don't recall thinking that hard about Santa and how he was going to accomplish everything when I was little.

Cloudless sky

2008-12-17T15:16:00.003-07:00

'Mom, God lives up in the sky in the clouds, right?'.

'Yes, Kira'.

'Well, when there are no clouds, where does he sit?'

Think fast Heidi...think fast!

'Honey, he sits by Grandma Linda's and Papa's house then because there are usually clouds where they live.' :)

'He can travel there fast huh? Because he is already up in the sky like the airplanes'.

'Good thinking, honey.'

Dear Santa...

2008-12-17T15:14:00.001-07:00

I want a new Nemo kite. I would like you to bring my sister a new doll. Please bring my Mom a new purse. Please bring my Dad a new computer.

Love,
Kira

Star Wars vs. DWTS?

2008-11-24T17:06:00.002-07:00

Brian and I were watching Star Wars - The Clone Wars on Sunday. Maia walks past and asks what movie we are watching. I tell her 'Star Wars'. She says, 'I don't want to watch Star Wars, I want to watch DANCING with the Stars'. I guess girls will be girls.

Kira's field trip to Gardner Village

2008-11-21T15:26:00.002-07:00

Kira went on her first field trip back in October to Gardner Village to see the Halloween decorations. She had a great time. She was very excited to get to ride on a school bus for the first time and spend the day hanging out with her friends. I've posted a few pictures...let me know what you think.

We need to get some money

2008-11-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

The other day we were eating breakfast and out of the blue Kira says to me, 'Mom, we need to get some money and take it to my school. Some people don't have ANYTHING! They don't have coats or food or money, so we need to give them some money, ok? Don't forget, ok Mom?'

Big Girl Potty

2008-11-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Maia went on the big girl potty all day yesterday!!! She has been going off and on for the past month or so, but all of the sudden decided she was going to use it all the time. I am so proud of her. She gets a huge smile on her face after she goes. She is very excited about wearing big girl panties soon. She of course likes to do these things by herself. She insists on getting her princess step stool, putting it by the wall and turning on the light. She then takes the stool and puts it by the toilet. Climbs up the stool and sits down. She even has to flush herself. If I try and do any of this for her I get the 'I want to do it by myself' talk. This is a talk that I get from her CONSTANTLY. Independence is supposed to be good though, right?

Baby Talk?

2008-11-03T18:56:00.002-07:00

I've never been one for baby talk. Every time I hear a Mom talking that way to their child I cringe. I've tried to make a conscious effort to always speak to the girls as I would an adult. I've never really used simpler words in exchange for more complex ones. The other night, the girls were playing one of their favorite games, which is building a fort in the living room, creating a tunnel between the couch and the ottoman. Kira said something that caught me off guard. 'Maia, I'm quite nervous about travelling through the tunnel'. While this is a perfectly fine sentence for an adult, when it comes out of the mouth of a 4 year old, you have a tendency to stop and wonder...have I gone too far with the adult language? Am I somehow making them grow up faster than they should? I decided to listen for the next few minutes to see if this was just a fluke. Some examples I heard are, 'Wow, that was wonderful', and 'Maia, I am so proud of you. I love you so much.'. I decided that having a decent vocabulary at that age isn't the worst thing in the world.

Halloween

2008-11-03T18:44:00.003-07:00

We had a great Halloween! The girls both dressed up as fairy princesses riding on unicorns. Brian and I went as vampires. We all get done up first thing in the morning and walked in the school parade and volunteered to help with Kira's school party. Kira loved the glitter make-up she got to have on, while Maia loved trick-or-treating. We all headed up the mountain to Mike and Susan's house for a party. The girls totally crashed after the sugar from all the candy wore off. Kira woke up the next morning upset because she said that it was going to take too long for Halloween to come again.

Before I forget, I want to record the costumes they have worn in the past:

2004 - Kira - a pea in a pod
2005 - Kira - dinosaur
2006 - Kira - Lion, Maia - Lion
2007 - Kira - Kangaroo, Maia - Kangaroo

Parent/Teacher Conference

2008-10-30T21:23:00.002-06:00

We had our first parent/teacher conference for Kira in her Pre-Kindergarten class. Brian and I met with her teacher, Miss Knudson. She said that Kira is doing wonderful and that she is a joy to have in her class. I am so proud of her. They made a picture with their hand print and on the back it has a sentence to complete. 'With my hands I can...' Kira said, 'hold my Mommy's hand'. So cute.

Last night the girls and I put together a new dresser for Kira. It was from Ikea, so you can imagine the number of parts/time involved. Maia was so funny, walking around with all the bolts and a screwdriver putting them wherever they fit (it is a miracle we didn't lose a part). She kept saying, 'Excuse me Mommy' whenever I was in her way. Kira helped put together all the drawers. She was in charge of giving me the parts for them. By the time we were on the third drawer, I noticed that Kira had the parts ready for me in advance prior to me telling her what to get. Meanwhile, I kept having to refer to the 8-step instructions! I'm pretty sure I donated the majority of my brain cells to her upon birth. No wonder she has been beating me at Memory since she was 2 1/2.

A card from Great Grandma Lois

2008-10-28T16:34:00.002-06:00

I thought of another funny story that I had to share quick.

As our normal routine, we had checked the mail on the way home from school/daycare. In it, there were two cards, one for Kira, one for Maia. They were Halloween cards from Great Grandma Lois containing a crisp $1 bill. The girls were so ecstatic to get something in the mail. They happened to be coloring, so I said to them, 'I think you should color her a picture and send it to her as a thank-you'. As per the look on their faces, they were very excited about this idea. You could see Kira thinking and she says to me, 'Mommy, do you think we should send her money as well?'

Finally

2008-10-28T16:06:00.005-06:00

I've been wanting to start a blog for quite some time now. I was just at lunch with my friend Brooke and she has started one...and pointed me in the right direction. Time passes so quickly. I'd like to write down all the wonderful, funny, crazy things that my little girls, Kira & Maia do on a daily basis. I hope to write often, time permitting.

Where to start?

Kira is almost 4 1/2 already. She is such a smart girl, I forget that she is only four. Just the other night at bedtime, we having our usual chat...'what was your favorite part of your day', 'what friends did you play with', etc. She says to me, 'Mom, I love my friend Elijah. I think he is really handsome'. I was dumbfounded. What do you say to that? She then goes on to tell me that he has told her that when they grow up that she should only love him. Again, completely dumbfounded. I'm not ready for these kinds of conversations. I thought I had years to prepare for anything remotely like this. Rude awakening for sure.

Maia is almost 2 1/2. She is a total crack up. She doesn't like going to bed, as I'm sure most 2 year olds don't. Every night she suddenly gets extremely thirsty at bedtime...even though she has just had milk. Every night I try and tell her that she just needs to go to bed, but eventually give in and get her a glass of water. What is funny about this is that she gulps down that glass of water like she has been in the desert for days. In her haste to drink every last drop, she generally gets water on her jammies and insists that she has to change, as she is quite particular about her wardrobe. Needless to say, bedtime has passed, we've both had some laughs and she finally submits to snuggling into her little bed...with baby, monster, polk-a-dot bear, beaver and dolly.