5am - Mystery Solved?

This morning I finally was grumpy enough to bark at Brian that it SURE IS COINCIDENTAL that exactly 3 seconds after his alarm stops each morning, Charlie starts fidgeting and is fully awake within about 5 minutes.

Did I mention that he gets up at 5am? And I am 4 months pregnant. And can't seem to fall asleep before 10pm. And that I REALLY DON'T LIKE 5am wake-ups?

I have even become thankful for 6am.... what??? Anyone that knows me well knows that I am definitely, without a doubt, a 7am girl. If I can sleep till 7, the day is beautiful. Six... well, it's still good, but I am a little sleepy and sometimes nap in the afternoon. But 5 - it's like Oscar the Grouch has entered the premises. I am no fun to be around... and the old saying definitely holds true for this family: "If mama aint happy, aint nobody happy!"

The interesting thing is that I really didn't think he could hear Brian's alarm. I was just super tired and grumpy, and the irritation at yet another 5am (5:11 really) wake up made me snap at Brian (sorry Brian!). Charlie has been waking up this early for a few weeks now, and he does it on the weekends, too, with no alarm clock, so that didn't seem to be a common link.

But Brian, being the problem-solver man that he is, brought his phone in to the dining room this evening. I didn't know what he was doing until the involuntary cringe went up my spine as I heard his alarm tune go off.

Which hopefully solved the mystery of the 5am wakeup. Charlie, who was very interested in his dinner, started flapping his arms and cracking up - he LOVES it!!! Absolutely LOVES Brian's wake up song. I swear, he might be just 8 months old, but he was dancing.

So... sorry Charlie, we changed the tune. Although I love that he wakes up in such a fabulous mood, I am hoping for another hour (or two??) of shut eye in the morning.

Easter

Oops! I can't believe that I haven't posted these yet!

Well, actually, I can believe it.

Whatever. Here's some memories of our Easter this year!

We had a few close friends over on Good Friday for a little party. The big girls, Bella and Kailyn, we so efficient at finding the "hidden" eggs that we had to congratulate them almost right away on "winning" and have them go to the table to decorate eggs. They were ecstatic and I was relieved that the younger girls would have a chance to find a few! Who knew that amongst the squeals and giggles they would be filling their little bags to the brim so quickly?

Thanks to Justin Major for saving the day and painting the little Easter baskets after Brian got stuck in Anchorage, each little girl was able to have a basket to carry her eggs home in. I'd say that we will do this again for sure!!

Then, Easter morning was beautiful. Kailyn wasn't sure if the Easter Bunny was going to come since she had such a hard time falling asleep. Plus, she knows that he won't risk coming in a home with toys on the floor since he could fall and get hurt and therefore not be able to visit other good little girls and boys. And she accidentally left some toys on the kitchen floor she remembered. Well, luckily for her, he found time to come after she did fall asleep, and Dad saved the day by cleaning up her toys (shew!). Not only did he leave a few candies, but he brought some presents, too!Here she is coming downstairs to check it out... a little worried!
Her first sight of the some hidden eggs...

Charlie's just happy that he woke up again - he thinks life is just fabulous!

Some presents from the Easter Bunny...

I wonder how he knew that she LOVES to color - the window markers were a total hit!
Jumping up and down with excitement to show dad the baby dress that the Easter Bunny brought.

And still more presents from Memere and Papa...
Kailyn's new kuspuk from Memere.

Silly Hair

Well, I always wondered when the dreadful event would finally happen. Just after ballet practice yesterday, while dressed in pink from head to toe, and I mean all pink - pink hair ribbon, pink leotard, pink skirt, pink coat with a pink bunny zipper pull, and pink boots - Kailyn completely and utterly embarrassed me in public. She has done it a few times in front of friends, but this time was at the grocery store on a Saturday afternoon. In a VERY small town.

As we were walking to the deli to get a yummy turkey sandwich, Kailyn spotted the lady in town that I only know how to describe as the "pink hair lady." We actually had our kids together at T-Time, but I am ashamed to say that I never really befriended her, and not for any good reason. She seems nice enough. And come on, I am originally from FL... it takes more than hot pink hair to scare me.

And I am talking hot pink. Like this.

And apparently she didn't scare Kailyn either. She thought that the whole thing was quite silly.

"Mom!!" she yells as loud as her little lungs will allow. "That lady has SILLY hair!!!"

In total shock and completely at a loss for words, I grab Kailyn and tell her that's not nice in a voice as hushed as hers is loud. To which she starts cracking up, both hands palm up, and yells again, directly at the nice lady with pink hair, who happens to be, I don't know, 3 feet away, "You have the SILLIEST HAIR I ever saw. People don't have PINK hair!!!"

All the while giggling like the 3-year-old that she is.

I think that the lady was possibly as embarrassed as I was, because she made a beeline for the next aisle. I didn't get the chance to explain that my daughter just loves pink, and would actually love to have pink hair herself but I haven't been able to find the right shade.... where did you ever find your color?

So what do you say? I mean, really, it is kind of silly to have pink hair, isn't it? Kailyn was making an honest observation about what she saw as different. And it wasn't to be mean. When I asked her later if she liked it, she emphatically responded "YEAAAAAH!"

Of course.

Not that the pink hair lady will ever know this. I am hoping that by having hot pink hair she welcomes the added attention that I am sure it brings, and since she has kids of her own, I can only hope that she understands. That is the only thing that will keep me showing my face in public for some while. That hope.

Failing already...

I can't believe that I posted last night and did not even think to mention one super important update. A couple moms have been giving me advice on spreading out the attention so that each of the kids feels important, and I have been soaking it up as much as I can.... but apparently not as much as I need to. Maybe there will just be some days when one child stands out to me more than the others.

Because, yesterday, at not even 12 weeks, I FELT THE BABY!!! And I felt it again this morning - there is no doubt whatsoever! It's more like a bump than a kick, but there's definitely something moving around in there!

One would THINK that would be worthy of a post, and it certainly is. I honestly just forgot. I called lots of people to tell them... just didn't think to post it here on our journal.

Maybe I need to listen to that advice a little more carefully! Hopefully by October I will be better =).

Kailyn's First Haircut

Kailyn and I finally got some much needed, one-on-one girl time last week while we were in Anchorage. Mom flew in on Tuesday night, so Wednesday morning we took off to Allure Hair Design & Day Spa. Brian gave me a gift certificate for Christmas, and I thought that this would be a great way to spend it.

I had my MUCH-NEEDED hair cut scheduled first so that Kailyn could get a look at everything that would go on.... which is why I was surprised that she was so uneasy about the whole thing. She is normally a pretty conservative girl - almost always watching from the sidelines when approaching new territory. That's not to say that she doesn't completely jump in once she checks the scene out, but she's a little cautious. So I was thinking that this would go great since she got to watch me first.

Not so much.
-
Although she had the best of manners and listened to all the instructions that Natalie gave her, she just did not look like she had a good time... Luckily she had already won everybody over by the time that it was her turn!
How cute is this?? They had a little smock that was just her size!


This is about as close as we got to a smile during the actual hair cut.
***I was almost going to do a bob, which I think is super cute on little girls, but I just didn't have the nerve. So, most people can't really even tell that we cut her hair - we just took off the ends. Oh yeah, this part is VERY important, especially if you get to see it in person. It looks JUST LIKE SNOW WHITE'S HAIR. Really. It does. Just ask. Or be told if you mess it up and forget. Or... gasp.... make a reference to the oh-so-yesterday's-favorite-princess Cinderella.