She then wanted to paint Daddy’s hands. We told her she could paint his toes. So she set to work painting his toes light pink. She then wanted me to promptly remove her polish. (She is not too into new things and especially not on her own body – don’t think I’ll have to worry about tattoos, odd piercings, etc.)
Work was cancelled for me today, so I spent the day playing with the girls. I covered the plans with McKenna for her approval. We discussed visiting Daddy at work, taking him to lunch, then home for naps. After naptime, the plan was to meet up with Heather, Finn, and Riley at Leaping Lizards for some bounce house fun. McKenna fell asleep on the way to see Daddy. When I woke her up in the parking lot of Chad’s office, she excitedly exclaimed “Heather, Finn, Riley HERE!!! Time to bounce!” I reminded her we were visiting Daddy first. She said “but I napped”. Smart girl. She got over it quick enough and we looked cute and remained shy meeting some of Daddy’s co-workers. After lunch, on the way home, I worked really hard to keep McKenna awake. If she fell asleep in the car, that would be the end of naptime. She managed to stay awake – just barely – until we climbed into bed. After a good nap, we met up with not only the Heather and her boys, but Sarah and Davis as well.
McKenna was finally able to climb the steps of the bigger slides without help and was SOOOO Proud of herself. A BIG thanks to Heather for helping her “learn a new trick” which gave her such independence! Kara spent the afternoon in the Bjorn watching the toddlers play. She finally got to lay on a blanket and stretch out as McKenna’s energy wound down and she stopped running all over. We met up with Daddy and had dinner out with Heather and the boys. We ended the day with showers/baths and playtime. An exhausted McKenna and Kara happily went to bed and and exhausted mommy is still working….A good day had by these three ladies!
Finn and McKenna played on the lion statues before quickly moving on the the hand washing station. 
We left Todd and Finn to go home and were on our way out when McKenna said “choo choo train!”.
So we turned around and went to ride the train. She then saw the carousel and wanted to ride it…4 times! Tiger, elephant, panda, and peacock…oh my! Kara enjoyed the pretty weather and a good nap. She also liked the carousel music kicking her legs and waving her arms each time it went round and round.
McKenna used to eat all sorts of veggies…carrots, broccoli, peas, beans, etc. Since about 18 months of age, she has cut every vegetable out of her diet except carrots. Hence, we eat a lot of carrots here. I always put a few veggies on her plate, but they go untouched every night. For about 6 months, I’ve not seen her touch anything but a little bit of corn and carrots…until last night. I steamed carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli. I put a lot of carrots, and broke down one small bit of the other two. I made a big deal of the white and green trees on her plate. She said “white trees?” and began to eat the Cauliflower!!!! Then, she found the “green tree” and ate that too. She proceeded to eat 4 servings of trees! I don’t know what got into her, but I was so stunned we took a video. Tonight was lasagna – so I didn’t get to see if this was a one night wonder or a new love of trees.
Each night, before McKenna goes to sleep we say an individualized prayer and the Lord’s Prayer. We’ve done this since she was an infant. She has never joined in before. Usually she lies quietly, listens, and if she’s super tired falls asleep before the “amen”. Tonight, was different. When I got to the “hallowed be thy name” she said, in unison, “how big is thy name”. I almost laughed and could hardly make it through the rest of the prayer. In fact, when I got to the “and lead us not into temptation”, I paused, struggling to remember where I was and she reminded me with a “temption momma”. SOOOOO Cute!
McKenna first initiated potty training when she was 17 months old…
She stopped for several months before restarting around 20 months. Unfortunately, the transition to a new classroom and the addition of her baby sister at 22 months set her back.
Now, at daycare she does a fairly good job going to the bathroom and staying clean and dry throughout the day. However, at home, her motto has been “I do it like baby Kara. I go in my diaper.” So, we’ve been trying to find ways to make potty time more fun (doesn’t it look like she’s having fun?!). Mommy bought her Minnie Mouse panties to dress up in and play with after she tee tees in the potty; Daddy bought her a step stool to help encourage independence with getting on and off the potty.
At 25 months (8/09)
The panties are way too big (smallest size we could find at Target) so she has a hard time keeping them on. Potty time has never been so humorous and full of laughter as now.
Today was the first day I sent Kara to daycare. McKenna was excited to know her sister was going to school today…until today. When we got to school, McKenna went straight to her classroom as always; she didn’t even realize I would be leaving Kara as well. Ms. Renee, Kara’s lead teacher, was also McKenna’s when she was in the infant room. McKenna loves Ms. Renee and was excited to go visit her today…and according to Ms. Renee, even more excited when she saw Kara. As for Kara, she ate very well (sucking down both bottles with vigor), slept very little (all the excitement of a first day), and was generally sweet. I felt like I was forgetting something all day as I ran errands…what, no carrier, no crying baby, no searching for pacifiers and lugging diaper bags?! I didn’t know what to do with myself and just one little purse to carry!
When I picked my girls up early this afternoon, one was all smiles and the other all snores. Kara went to bed early this evening and hasn’t made a peep since. Apparently learning and meeting new people is tough work when your 3 months old. We’ll see what tomorrow brings….
Kara celebrated twelve weeks with a cold beer and a nap….followed by flirting with her boyfriend Riley.
McKenna played in the rocks, cooled off in the mist, and ate part of Mommy’s sandwich.
Daddy and Mommy tag teamed chasing McKenna and watching Kara.
Kara is usually very happy after bath time and makes funny faces. Last night, she decided to talk….and I finally remembered the video camera.
We visited a new extremely fun place this past weekend: LottaFrutta in the Old Fourth Ward. It is a fresh fruit market and restaurant filled with yummy treats. Myrna is the owner; she is warm, personable, inviting and engaging. McKenna (shy around almost everyone) warmed to her quickly – though it may have been the treats. We tried their delicious fruit pops – one strawberry and one andean blackberry. Myrna gave us a small sample of one of their fruit cups: the Cremolatta. It was so yummy we ordered a large cup to share as well! It will certainly be a place we visit again…and again.
Just before McKenna’s 2nd birthday party with her neighborhood friends and family at the park, I bought an ice saver. My thought was: “this will be a fun treat at the party”. However, I missed the “electric” portion of the title on the box. 
McKenna’s 2nd birthday lasted much longer than most celebrations – almost three weeks!! 
Add to these, celebrating Ella and Addison’s birthdays in June and Caleb’s half birthday in late July, and it is no wonder McKenna thinks if you sing the birthday song, cake appears. She woke up for two weeks straight say
She also loves going to the pool with the family and usually quite content to sit and watch the children play. We are having difficulty finding a hat to fit and are doing the best we can. With a head in the 5th percentile, our face is often covered by the hat…unless we keep our eyes on it. Out of 5 pictures taken, this is the only one where her eyes are showing!
