Happy Birthday Princess V

Happy Birthday Princess V

I can't believe you're 5 years old. The time has flown by.  I remember when you would keep me up at night crying and I would rock you to sleep every night. Most night falling asleep in a chair. Now you keep me up at night with stories, drinks, and back scratches. I wouldn't have it any other way.  

I remember the day you started really talking. You walked around the corner pointed at a hammer and said "hammer" then you started naming everything around you.  Now you tell me your own stories, you ask questions that make me thing.  You can still "crack me like an egg" with some of the crazy things you come up with, and I love it. 

Right now you are playing in the hair box. You and Princess C are doing barbie's hair. I much prefer this activity to your periodic hair cutting endeavors. I'm sure your sisters appreciate it to.  

Yesterday you turned 5. We didn't throw a big party, but you had fun all the same. After a morning of playing, you went to preschool.  At school you got to wear a crown, and got some birthday treats. The smile on your face as you came running out of class made my heart beam. When we got home, Princess C gave you her present

a new kitty cat (you've named it Hello Kitty) and Toy Story Markers.

Then we enjoyed some home made cake from Daddy

After cake, a babysitter came over for Princess C and Princess R, so you could go out with Mommy and Daddy.  We had so much fun with you Princess V.

riding a carousel

drinking chocolate milk and having pizza and fries

playing mini golf

and roller ball.

We also took you to the bookstore to choose a present from us. We came home with a Melissa and Dough wooden Birthday Cake. You have had tons of fun playing with it and sharing it with your sisters. 

Princess V, I am so glad you are a part of this family. Life would not be the same without you.  What a special daughter of God you are, and I thank Him for sending you to us. 

Happy Birthday Princess!

X marks the spot

With preschool starting and watching extra kids, I got behind in our letters, again! So today we started on the letter X.  This morning I noticed that it happens to be International Talk Like A Pirate Day as well. So what better way to celebrate then with some Yar's and a good ole treasure hunt?
I used these cute free printables from Familyfun to write up the clues.  Then I attached an x made out of tape in the corners for some finding fun! 

Princess C fell asleep just before we were going to do our hunt, and she slept for a long time. So I let Princess V have fun and do the treasure hunt on her own.

Indoor Camping

Princess V and Princess C and I slept out in the front room last night. It was tons of fun. We read some fairy tales, sang songs, and had a bedtime drink. The Princess' sure enjoyed this special treat. I didn't mind the couch too much, but Princess R had a rough night and the up and down stairs multiple times wasn't so fun. We may try this again...make a tradition out of it.

Preschool

Princess V had her first week of preschool this past week. She loves it! Last year Princess V went to preschool 1 day a week with Miss Cheryl. It was always the highlight of her week. She now has preschool 3 days a week - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Since Wednesday Princess V has been carrying her backpack everywhere with her. For school she had her pencil box and notebook. Now that it's the weekend, it has filled up with toys. I love this girls love for learning. She has continued to practice her letters, without any kind of prompting from myself or the King. 

30 Day Mom Challenge Days 3-8

Whoa, this week got away from me fast! Here are days 3-8 for the 30 Day Mom Challenge from imom.
Day 3 - hug you child 3 times today.  EASY PEASY! I love hugging my kids. Princess R has especially taken to hugging lately. She even got so excited with hugging she hugged Princess V one morning when she woke up.
Day 4 - Kiss your chid while they are sleeping. This one is a little more difficult. Princess R falls asleep on her own, and I am really terrified of waking her up, so I don't go in after I've put her down. I just made sure to give her extra kisses while I was laying her down for bed. Princess V got some sleeping kisses, and Princess C got lots of kisses after reading her some bedtime stories. Princess C and I actually have a fun night routine. We hug and then we kiss cheeks, forehead and noses.
Day 5 - tell yourself "She's only ___years old. He's still a child." Then treat her that way. I try every day to treat my kids their age, to not expect more out of them then they are capable. So I did remind myself of their ages, and than I let them play the whole day long.
Day 6 - Bake, Make, or buy them their favorite food. For lunch I asked Princess C and Princess V what they would like. One wanted mac and cheese, the other hot dogs. Those go very well together, so we had chopped up hot dogs in mac and cheese for lunch. The joy on their faces when I served what they wanted was so nice.
Day 7 - Leave a sweet note for them. This I didn't do. I kept thinking about it all day, and just didn't do. Even though they can't read yet, I was thinking about putting a note on their doors with hearts. I failed. I will make up for it.
Day 8 - Calculate how many more weekends are left until your child graduates high school. Oh gosh this is a lot for us! Princess V has 728 more weekends! Princess C has 780! Princess R has 884!!  We've got many more weekends to enjoy!

Letter W and writing A's

This week we talked about the letter W. We read Word Wizard by Cathryn Falwell. The girls enjoyed it, but I don't think they understood how the words were changed using the same letters. It's a good book for elementary aged kids.

Princess V also spent some time working on her letter A book. She calls it her homework to get ready for school.

30 Day Mom Challenge Day 2

DAY 2

It's day 2 in the 30 Day Mom Challenge, and I am excited! Today's challenge is -

Go the whole day without yelling at your children.

Adimittedly I have struggled with this lately. I don't know why, I've always felt like I was a patient person, and then I had kids. They can really take it out of a person, but they also teach me every day. So I am trying hard today. I don't want to yell, I'd really love to never yell again unless it's something like "GET OUT OF THE ROAD A CAR IS COMING!" You know the things that need to be yelled to keep them safe. 

30 Day Mom Challenge

I feel bad, but I found this through another blogger. I wish I could give her credit for finding it before me, but my mind just doesn't hold on to things that long! 

I am so excited to try out this 30 Day Mom Challenge this month! Each day has one thing to focus on to become a better mom. I want to be a good mom, and I want my kids to always know that I love them!

So for today's task we have -

Ask: "What is one thing we can do together this month?"

I haven't asked the Princess' this yet, but here are some things we already have planned!

Go to a Baseball Game

Princess V and Princess C starting preschool (ok that's not a family thing necessarily).

Princess V's birthday is this month, and we plan on taking her out to dinner.

I guess I should go ask the Princess' now what they would like to do this month! 

Toddler Talk Thursday - Food Allergies

Welcome to another Toddler Talk Thursday! Hosted by Family and Life in Las Vegas, My Life as a Sippy Cup Mom, and Crazy About My Baybah.

This weeks topic is Food Allergies.

Princess C was intolerant to milk for awhile. When we first made the switch to Cow Milks at her 1st birthday she started having some pretty bad nights. Acid Reflux become a consistant thing when laying her down, and we always had to raise one end of her mattress. We finally took her off the cow's milk, and she got better. Following our dr's recommendation every month we offered her cows milk, and after about 3 months she could tolerate it again. Now I continue to only give her dairy in smaller doses, but now if she eats too much her only reaction is some constipation. She deals pretty well with that, so I'm no longer concerned about her.

Princess R also has an intolerance for dairy. Her's was a longer battle of figuring out. From birth on she was always constipated, it hurt me to watch her try and poop. Finally, I decided to just cut out dairy in her diet. I should've done it while breastfeeding, but I didn't. A day or two after I cut out dairy, she began sleeping through the night, and pooping with ease. It was like I had a whole new child on hand! We do periodically let her have some cheese, or sour cream. She absolutely loves those foods, especially since everyone else is putting them on their plates! But we still really have to limit it, or we have sleepless nights, and upset tummys.

Since I am the Princess' main caretaker, and we rarely leave them for more than just a few hours for date night, I don't  really have to worry about others feeding them too much dairy. I'm very thankful it's just an intolerance and not something so serious that could make them stop breathing.

When I go to party functions, where we bring food, I always try to make something without peanuts (as it is the most common food allergy). My nephew has an allergy to peanuts, so when we had a family gathering I did actually make a peanut butter bar cookie. But because I knew my nephew would be there, I added a little sign on a toothpick stating that they contained peanuts. His mom was very appreciative that I did that.  So when you can I suggest adding little signs that claim whether it has an allergen in it, or if it's free of allergens.

I have another friend who's daughter is allergic to fruits. Not all, but most of them. In her case, whenever I am watching her, I just give her mom a call when I'm not sure if she can have something or not. There is so much out there, like lemonade, that she can't have, that I never even thought about.

Future Topic - switching from crib to toddler bed.