Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy Birthday!
Oh how badly I want to call you my babies still! Sadly you are all grown up! You're two now. We've had the best birthday weekend ever!

It started Friday night. Uncle Wade came over and picked me up and we went to buy fish for your new aquarium. It was fun picking them out. We got a sucker fish, some tiger fish, and some other little neon fish. Uncle Wade spent a couple hours putting together your new aquarium and making sure it was just right. Then we wrapped it up so when you woke up the next morning you wouldn't know what it was. Saturday morning when you woke up you both noticed it. Hunter was a little more interested in the begining. He stared at it for almost two minutes and then he looked at me and said, "what's dat?"

I told him it was a present from Uncle Wade and he'd have to wait until his party to open it. That was when Connor got interested in it. You both kept walking by it slowly and looking at it. Every now and then one of you would get brave and go touch the paper only to be told immediately "Hands OFF!"

I had a ton to do to get ready for the party and Daddy was in charge of watching you and keeping you preoccupied. He put you down for an early nap because he wanted you to be awake when all your guests got to the house for the party. Grammy and I were running all over town picking up the cake and balloons. I was getting pretty stressed out. When we got home we started blowing up balloons like crazy! We had 180 balloons to blow up with the helium tank and only about two hours to do it. Grammy blew them up and I tied the ribbon on them. You woke up before we were finished and you were so excited to see all those balloons.

I began to panick when I ran out of ribbon and we still had about 100 balloons to go. I called Uncle Wade and asked him to bring ribbon ASAP! To which he replied, "This is a birthday party for two year olds, not a wedding."

I said, "We're in the big leagues now! This IS a birthday party for two year olds! RIBBON!!!"

Thank God Uncle Wade loves you enough to put up with your Mommy because not only did he bring the ribbon, but he brought the nuggets that we called and requested when he was driving to the house with the ribbon!

Mommy was at Toys R Us at 8pm on Black Friday Eve waiting for the store to open at midnight. There was a bounce house on sale for over half off! I ended up getting it (thanks to my friends sister who was 2nd in line!) It was the best $150 I've ever spent! We didn't wrap it up because we weren't sure what the weather was going to do and we didn't want you to get excited if we couldn't blow it up (although we've since found out it fits in the playroom!) When we blew it up you two were instantly excited. You love that bounce house! You've been bouncing in it for days! It will be a toy that we only bring out for special occasions so it lasts awhile, but we're going to let you play with it all of this week before we put it back up.

Mommy told everyone a different time for the party! I thought it was at 2:00. However, I sent out invitations that said 2:30 and I told Grandpa Youngs the party started at 1:00. Grandpa Youngs had to leave early, (which was no big deal because we got quality one on one time with him since he got there so early!) so we opened he present to you first. It was a robotic Gorilla and a robotic dragon. The Gorilla walks and roars to the same music and beat that Spike does! Do you know what that means? The Gorilla went "nigh night!" Almost immediatly too. Connor wanted nothing to do with that Gorilla. Hunter is not as scared of the Gorilla as he is of Spike, but he doesn't protest putting him to sleep either.

Opening the Gorilla....

Just a few minutes later, the Gorilla is taking a nap!

You liked your dragon. In fact, today you were pretending to fly him around the house. You both were taking turns very nicely. You boys got spoiled on your birthday. Tons of cool presents. So many in fact that you got tired of opening them and Mommy had to help you finish! You seemed to like your letter book though. You spent a good minute sitting on my lap and looking at the pictures.

You had fun with your friends at the party too! Kendall and Clayton couldn't come because they were sick, but Cale and Gabel came. You were glad to see them and you immediately showed them some of your new toys and the bounce house. Josie came too! You had a great time blowing bubbles with her.

Then it was time for cake. Our birthday party theme this year was Pixar's movie UP. You love that movie and you love balloons so it only made sense! That is why we had 180 helium balloons. We also had a custom cake made to look like the house from the movie. It turned out really good and it tasted great too! Daddy requested confetti cake and it was delicious.

After cake we spent the rest of the party visiting and you guys kept jumping in your house. It was 5:00 by the time the last guest had walked out the door and Mommy was beat. She didn't want to make dinner so we had a birthday dinner at Wingstop with Uncle Wade. The wings were yummy and you two were very well behaved! When we got home Daddy brought the bounce house inside and let you bounce for a few more minutes, you had a bath, read some books, and fell asleep hard!

Sunday was a recover day! The whole family had a three hour nap! We did go play at Josies for a few hours in the evening but nothing to crazy.

Today we went and had Birthday breakfast at Subway with Grammy. It was going to just be Birthday Cookies, but I burned the cinnamon roles so we ended up having a sandwich too! You asked me right away today for the bounce house so we've played in that and now you're sleeping hard again. Play hard, sleep hard.

It's hard to believe that you are two already! Time sure does fly. I love you two very much! Thanks for two years full of such joy!

Mommy

Little Bubbas Greeting Cards is Expanding!

Hi boys!

I think it is important that you know that you already have your own business. It's pretty popular but not very profitable. When you were only a few months old Mommy began Little Bubbas Greeting Cards Inc.

We make cards for birthdays, holidays, thank you cards, graduations, etc. We always include a picture on the cover, and since you've gotten old enough to color we always color the inside of the card. The back always (or as often as Mommy remembers) says Created By Little Bubbas Greeting Cards Inc. We always make sure to write somewhere on the card- colored by Hunter or colored by Connor.

You guys love to color and make the cards and Mommy likes attaching the pictures and the little bit of scrapbooking that goes into them.

And so this brings me to some very exciting news. We've just learned that Grandpa Vey has card making abilities!

He's very talented! He even wrote his letters the way Mommy pretends that you write your letters. He included a picture, and most important he told us who it was colored by. Very Impressive!

I love you boys!
Mommy

A NOTE TO GRANDPA VEY-
Dear Mr. Allen,
In regards to your recent ventures in the greeting card market we wish to inform you that you have violated the Little Bubbas trademark. Little Bubbas Inc. is a protected trademark and as such you must go through the proper channels to produce greeting cards under our jurisdiction. If you are interested in creating greeting cards for Little Bubbas Inc. we have an application you can fill out. Unfortunately due to this violation we can not reproduce your pirated greeting card. We are also obligated to serve you with legal papers concerning the matter. However, we do look forward to your future employment at Little Bubbas Inc. and wish you luck.
Stephanie Allen- President and CEO of Little Bubbas Inc.

Uncle Wade

No letter tonight, however there will be some great ones on Monday (Boy's Birthday Party!).
I just wanted to tell you how great my brother is.

Uncle Wade coined the term "hand snack" to define the way Kaylee shoves her fist into her mouth and sucks while she's impatiently waiting for a bottle.

Uncle Wade is the best. He's the kind of brother that will drop everything he's doing to come help you when you're in a jam. It doesn't matter why you need him: you ran out of juice, you need more string for the birthday balloons, one of your kids has to go to the emergency room... It doesn't matter what time of day you need him Uncle Wade comes when he's needed.

Uncle Wade buys the best birthday presents. Connor will tell you himself. After his party today he was sitting on my lap and the conversation went:

Mommy- "Are you having fun?"
Connor- "Yeah!"
Mommy- "Did you like your cake?"
Connor- "Yeah!"
Mommy- "What was your favorite present?"
Connor- thinks for a second, points- "Fishes"

The boys opening the fishes that Uncle Wade gave to them for their birthday!

Not only will Connor tell you that he buys the best presents, but I think he does too! He bought me a planner one year and wrote the sweetest note inside. The planner has long been gone, however the note was ripped ever so gently out and I carry it with me in my current planner always.

Uncle Wade can always make us laugh. Whether he's telling a story, a joke, doing an impression, or making fun of you (all in good fun of course).... he can always find a way to make you laugh!

Uncle Wade just might know everything... seriously. If he doesn't he has a phone that does! DROID!

Uncle Wade always knows how to fix our cars (and does frequently at all hours of the day and night).

Uncle Wade tells it like it is. After calling him the other night to tell him how cute the booties looked on Kaylee that he bought her he sounded confused...

Me- " the booties you bought Kaylee are so cute. They make her feet look so little."
Wade- "And"
Me- " That's it... I just wanted to tell you how cute they are on her.
Wade- "I don't get women."

Uncle Wade is the best Uncle in the world, but he's an even better brother!

Stephanie

Potty Training Update

Hunter still wants nothing to do with potty training. Every day I ask him if he'd like to try the potty. Every day he says no. Every day I ask if he wants to wear a diaper or a Buzz (a Buzz lightyear pull-up) and every day he says diaper.

Connor has learned how to take off his pull-up. Today he was so worried he'd potty on Buzz that he pulled his Buzz down and ran into the bathroom. By the time I got Kaylee laid down and into the bathroom to help him he was standing there with a pitifull look on his face.

Connor- " Uh-Oh, A MESS!"

Our tile is a 50's style yellow... totally ugly. It took me a minute to see the puddle of pee on the floor. He didn't make it to the potty. Bless his heart for trying.

I'd say we've made considerable progress this week. Especially since his potty training got put on hold for almost a week due to Kaylee not feeling well.

What impresses me is that Connor doesn't want candy or M'n'Ms as a reward. He just wants you to clap and tell him good job. He's such a people pleaser. Next time you see Connor tell him how great he's doing at using the potty- it'll make his day! =0)

The Allen Rules

Hello Boys,
We've had a rough go of it the last few days. It seems like every time we get into a great routine at home I get sick, go to the hospital, or something else breaks our routine. Whenever I come back you both decide to test the waters all over again. So the first two days of Mommy being back in charge it is full of screaming, tantrums, crying, etc. The last straw was when Connor wanted to eat a box of nerds. A big box of Nerds (Costco size). Where did they come from? I have no idea. I told him no, and he threw his sippy cup across the dining room. It flew all the way across the room and smashed into the wall. I can't even describe the RAGE I was feeling. It was at that moment that I realized I was yelling, you both were yelling, and we were feeding off of each other. So that night I had a conversation with your Daddy. We decided it was time for house rules that we were all going to follow. The next day I loaded you all up and we went to Target to get posterboard and markers. When we got home we had a conversation that went like this....

Mommy- "Do you guys want to color"
Boys- "YEAH!"
Mommy- "Do you want to help Mommy make a poster?"
Boys- "YEAH!"
Mommy- "We're going to make some rules."
Hunter- "NO WAY!!!!" (instant tears)

You never stop amazing me with how smart you are. I had no idea you knew what an actual rule was. We spent the next half hour making our rules. Another moment of brillance-

Mommy- "What are some things we should do at home to be good boys?"
Hunter- "Say Please!"

We came up with three rules: 1. Be Nice  2.Use A Nice Voice   3. Listen to Mommy and Daddy

We colored our poster and then left it on the table for Daddy to see when he got home. When he got home we showed him our hard work and he praised you two for a good job.

The next day after giving you some time to adjust to the rules (NO WAY!) I hung them on the wall next to the time out spot. The following conversation took place.

Mommy- "Remember the rules we made yesterday?"
Boys- "YEAH!"
Mommy reads the rules out loud and the boys are repeating after her.
Mommy- "Today if we break a rule... if we are not nice, if we don't use a nice voice, or if we don't listen to Mommy you have to go to time out for 2 minutes."
Hunter- "NO WAY!!!" (Instant tears)
Connor- Tie OUT!

And then... we had a great day. Connor went to time out twice. Only twice!

Hunter read the poster every time he walked by it. No sippy cups were thrown at Mommy and everytime someone screamed I just said, "remember our rules? We're suppose to use a nice voice." Mommy didn't even yell. When Daddy came home, Mommy was in a better mood and you two got to tell Daddy what a great day you had. So even though the rules were met with a "NO WAY!" I think we're all happy with them.

I love you guys! Thanks for being such good little boys.
Mommy

Dear Kaylee

Hi baby girl.
You did so good today! You ate every four hours just like you were suppose to. You didn't spit up. You didn't need oxygen. You peed lots! You did everything you needed to do for us to be released tomorrow. As long as you continue to do well through the night you'll  be in your own crib soon.
The best part of the day was you woke up to play for awhile today. That was a first. Normally you just stare at your toys with no expression for a few minutes and then cry out of boredom/hunger/fatigue/etc. Today you were cooing at your mobile. You smiled at it. You smiled at Grammy. You looked at the balloons that Aunt Diane brought you. Your brothers loved balloons at your age too so it was really fun to see you staring at them. You were absolutely adorable today.
I love you!
Mommy

You already love your mobile. I'm so glad! Mommy loves it too!

Your checking out the balloons that Aunt Diane brought you. You LOVED them!

Here you are cooing at the balloons. I couldn't help it today I had to put a bow in your hair and a cute onesie on you!

Grammy was trying to get you to look at and play with the bunny that she brought you the first day you were admitted into the hospital. You don't want anything to do with it. You wanted to look at the balloons! It is the cutest bunny. I have a feeling you'll love it in a few months.

Dear Kaylee

Dear Kaylee,
Hi Sweetie. I love you so much. You've had an awful cold lately. It started out as just a little cough last Saturday. Daddy and I took you to the Emergency Room 24 hours after you got sick and we spent from 8:30 pm- 3:00 am in the hospital. They did a chest x-ray which looked fine, but they didn't like how hard you were working to breathe and they wanted you to be seen by one of the pediatric doctors before I could take you home. Unfortunatly the peds doctor was tied up with a sick baby who had to be flown to another facility. I was relieved when they told me that. I was so thankful that I was with you and I wasn't the Mommy who was sending her baby on a helicopter to another hospital. We began watching you super close though because you were breathing funny. Wednesday you had an appointment with Dr. Steele to follow up on your E.R. visit and Dr. Steele wasn't impressed with the air that you were moving in your lungs. By Thursday morning I had to take you back in to the E.R.
I almost didn't take you. Daddy and Uncle Wade probably saved the day. The hospital had said you didn't need to come back until you had a temperature of 100.4.
You had a temp of 100.1. Daddy panicked and called Uncle Wade immediatly. It was five in the morning and Uncle Wade got to our house in record time. At 5:30 I was still sitting there debating over whether I should take you in or not. I was worried about being one of those paranoid parents that drives the hospital employees crazy. Uncle Wade said that since Daddy got him out of bed so early I had to take you.
I'm so glad I did because you were admitted and they began treatment immediatly for bacterial pneumonia. We had been hoping that you would get to go home in a few hours. They just wanted to make sure that you got a few doses of anitbiotic and some fluids. That didn't happen. You started to go downhill fast. They had to put you on oxygen and you needed it all night long. During the night you started wheezing and working harder to breathe. It was a long night. When the Pediatric Doctor made his rounds I confessed that I was begining to feel panicked because I didn't think you would get worse once you were admitted. He said that he completely understood and then went on to tell me how serious your situtation was becoming. He said although it was still a low risk I needed to be prepared that if you didn't make progress or if you got worse we would have to send you to another facility to be put on a CPAC machine. Suddenly I could see myself as the other Mommy from earlier in the week and it was the worst feeling in the world.
You did better today though. They even stopped the oxygen flow and you've been able to maintain 95% saturation which is good.
Even hookd up to all the machines you're the cutest little girl in the world. You don't smile much yet. You do give me some great ones periodically and you smile a ton in your sleep! I was lucky and got a picture today of a sleep smile.
I love you so much.  Get better soon sweetie.
Mommy

This is your..."Ugh, I don't feel good" face.

Sleep Smile. You are so beautiful.