A Busy Day!

We were too busy to take pictures today, so I looked up January 31st of last year and this is what I found....

little Kelseyboo...

After church (it was a Sunday)....

below: Haha sometimes I wish Kelsey would just sit in a boppy and suck on a rattle! ha

TODAY was such a busy day. I've spent the past hour laying on the couch recovering. (-: This morning the girls and I got up at 7:30 or so to head over to my friend Suzi's house. She is on bedrest and we volunteered to help her out with her 2-year old son, Eli, today. We haven't seen her in a while so it was fun to catch up. Eli is at church with his dad, but he isn't in the same classrooms as Calla or Kelsey so it was great for them to get to play!

I brought some games for Calla in case she got bored with Eli's toys (all boy toys!) but turns out we didn't need them! Eli got a trampoline for Christmas and the girls spent a lot of time arguing over who could go on it. Calla even got into Eli's train table, which is definitely new territory for her. (Kelsey didn't even seem to notice the trains!)

I fed the three kiddos some lunch. Getting lunch on the table for tots is a juggling act....as soon as Kelsey overhears the "lunch" word, she hightails it to the table whereupon she sits and hollars until her lunch appears. Children who were formally played contently are all the sudden ravenous, and I can never get the sandwiches/fruit/mac and cheese on their plates fast enough. Eli ate more than both of my girls put together.

Before we left, I had to take Suzi's dog out to relieve himself. That definitely took some manuevering, since Calla is so afraid of dogs! Henry, the dog, is a big enthusiastic puppy (who had been stuck in his cage all morning) and runs...not walks...wherever he goes. I knew it would take a master plan to get Henry out of his cage, up the back stairway, and out the kitchen deck without the girls having a breakdown. So I escorted the three kids downstairs and got them playing with something, and then ran upstairs and then back down the back stairway to Henry's cage to let him out. He sprinted up the stairs and I somehow forced him outside (I am no dog whisperer myself).

Thank goodness the girls didn't catch me in the act, because they were half-crying just watching him outside the patio door (he kept jumping up on the door). Calla was practically in a panic. She sat next to Suzi on the couch in the living room, while Kelsey kept venturing into the kitchen only to run out when Henry barked.

We left for home at around 2, and Kelsey immediately fell asleep in the car on the way home. She only napped an hour and a half and woke up crying...I think she would have slept much longer except she was rudely woken up by her own bowel movement. (This blog is full disclosure, I'm not kidding.)

Once Kelsey woke up, she and I got to work preparing a meal for my friend, Kris, who just had her 4th baby. Kelsey was not feeling helpful. I tried distracting her with snacks but she wasn't buying it. Finally I set her up at a stool at the sink...she made a huge water mess but it kept her busy while I baked and cooked.

We finally woke up Calla at 4:30. She is always a marathon-napper! Daddy got home and we ate a quick dinner before he headed to Best Buy to use up his Christmas gift card burning a hole in his pocket. The girls went with him (thank goodness!). I got to drop off the meal at my friend Kris' house and meet her baby, Ben. Her older kids, Jack, Annie and Molly were throwing the contents of a storage closet all over the front entryway when I arrived. Nice to see that chaos exists beyond the walls of my own house!

It felt so nice to hold a newborn! Like Kris said, there is something so refreshing about taking care of a kid at such an "easy" stage - sleep and eat, that's all he needs! (Although she mentioned later that he has his days and nights mixed up and is up most of the night....all the sudden that sleep/eat thing sounds rough!)

I put Kelsey to bed as soon as I got home while Calla and Daddy tried out Daddy's new game... the dance game! It's the one friends of ours has and Calla is a big fan. This one had some "current music" and before bed I told Daddy to pick "one nice song" for Calla to jump around to before bed. Calla turned to me and said, "There aren't any nice songs. They are all weird." Hahaha.

Callaism~

~ Calla told me that when the baby is born she is going to take care of her by holding her hand while at the grocery store and making sure she doesn't get lost. I wonder if Calla thinks I am going to birth someone Kelsey's age??

Kelseyism~

~ new word of the day: she took a day off

Outtakes

below: Calla doing Kelsey's nails...


TODAY Kelsey was the rooster crowing at dawn, and woke us up at 6am. The good news is that meant we were prompt for Sunday school today! Kelsey was really yawning by the time we picked her up from her Sunday school class. Fortunately for her, there was a stray chocolate munchkin in the van that kept her awake on our car ride home (she tends to savor those munchkins).

After lunch, Kelsey finally got her nap. Calla wasn't tired and so she laid in Mommy's bed and annoyed her for an hour or so. (-: When both girls were up and playing by 2pm, I knew it would be an early bedtime!

The girls played happily this afternoon, only to be interrupted by Calla complaining of mouth pain. I'm not real sure what's going in that little mouth of hers; Daddy and I examined it closely but saw nothing unusual. She cried off and on for a while, seemed relieved by Motrin, endured dinner and then an early bedtime...only to wake up a couple hours later crying again. I hope she can get through the night without too much discomfort. I'll probably take her to the doctor if the pain is bothering her as much tomorrow. She rarely complains when she isn't feeling well, so the fact that this was such a big deal for her is unusual.

In the meantime, it's fun to have my pregnancy news out of the bag! I guess this means I can complain about not feeling well and ooh always tired to anyone that will listen. Haha just kidding! Honestly I do hope I start to feel better soon - I have noticed I have much less patience for Calla and Kelsey, not to mention the fact that I spend way more time on the couch than I do tidying up the house.

Here are some "outtakes" from Calla's 'baby #3' song....






below: You can tell Calla is starting to get annoyed with the song in this one!


Calla had a couple requests from friends at church to sing the song and she was happy to perform. (-:

Callaism~

~ I asked Calla if she learned about God in her class and she said, "Oh no Mom I learned about Jesus and his disciples and the fish." I guess we need to go over the theology of the Trinity with that girl!

Kelseyism~

~ new word of the day: asleep

A Spanish Word

above: Calla and Kelsey playing UNDER the playland at Chick-fil-A! Haha. The only way I could get Calla to wear pants is to talk her into this daring leopard outfit compliments of Ellie's old clothes. (-: It took a few minutes, but finally she was sold!

TODAY was a relaxing Saturday! I didn't attempt a visit to the gym since my legs are still recovering from Thursday's class, and there is something nice about keeping the girls in their pajamas a little longer on a Saturday morning.

Daddy went and played basketball early before we got up, so we ate some breakfast and read books until he got back.

Kelsey has begun going to her baby doll's changing table and laying on it every time she wants a diaper change, which is every time she pees in her diaper. I told her that it was ridiculous so this morning I put panties on her. Lo and behold, that girl barely uses the bathroom! She wore them all day except for an hour after her nap when she was mad at me for taking her diaper off and.....never peed once (in the potty). She must have gone in her diaper the minute she woke up, and must have gone in her diaper over naptime. But other than that, she ran around dry. She did go poo in the potty. I figure if I have to tend to her diaper every time she uses it, I may as well tend to her on the potty! We'll see if it lasts.

Today we just worked on folding our laundry pile....Calla helped me for it least a half hour - she's really good at folding!.....and the girls played and colored. Both girls took naps, and then watched some of Uncle Ben's game with Daddy. Daddy gave them baths, and I put Kelsey to bed right after dinner. She fell asleep at around 6:45 (she took a really short nap).

It worked out great because Daddy and I left to go out to dinner with friends. Amy the sitter came again....fortunately Calla was in the mood to her this time! Amy said they read books and colored for about an hour until Calla's bedtime. And fortunately Kelsey did much better tonight. Second time's the charm! (She did wake up once but Amy said it was because Calla was having a horrible coughing fit....I think Calla has caught Kelsey's cough, although fortunately it's just a regular ol' cough and not a full-blown cold).

I think everybody (all 5 of you) who reads this blog has seen this video, but I wanted to post it just in case...


below: This is Calla singing a solo....in the background you will hear Kelsey fussing. I wish I could mute Kelsey out because I think this is Calla's best effort (there were 9 takes in all! - sometime I need to post the "outtakes" - they are pretty funny).


Callaism~

~ Calla picks her nose. I scold her and tell her to go get a tissue. She does. Fast forward several minutes. Calla picks her nose again. I scold her and tell her to go get another tissue. She says, "Oh I don't have to because it was a spinky." Me: "What is a spinky?" Calla pauses. Then spews out, "Just a Spanish word for a small, round, colorful boogie."

Kelseyism~

~ Daddy said his goal today was to teach Kelsey to say her name. He didn't get very far! Every time he pointed at her and said her name and prompted her to repeat it, she'd point to herself and say, "Me!" Ha

Sleep Woes

TODAY for some reason the Internet is not letting me post a picture! Every time I open the photo tab the Internet Explorer shuts down. I hope I am not having this effect on the Internet worldwide, but for now I will just let it be and skip the photo.

The girls and I had one item on our agenda today, and one item only: the laundry pile! We were to stay home and tend to the laundry all day. That was my response to Calla when she asked me what we were doing today. Fortunately I needed one item from the store (one item! there is nothing worse than a trip to the store for one item!), so Calla was looking forward to that. She and Kelsey love the grocery cart.

In between laundry shifts, we played Candyland. The girls played downstairs some, too. I thought about giving them a bath and then couldn't work up the energy. Lo and behold they decided to play with cups in the bathroom sink and ended up giving themselves a bath with all the water flying this way and that.

At 11:30 we headed to the store for our one item, then we swung by Chick-fil-A for lunch due to a promotion Jonathan saw online. Calla and I practiced during the drive over, and when we got to the counter she said, "Chick-fil-A rocks my socks off!" for a free chicken sandwich. We have some coupons from there for free kids entrees so eating at Chick-fil-A is pretty economical (until we run out of our coupons!). Calla turned her happy meal book in for an ice cream cone. Her book had a plastic cover which got ripped during our wait in line and so they actually let her keep it. Calla was thrilled (although when we got home and read the dumb story I decided the ice cream cone will always be a good trade in the future).

The girls played in the playland and got some of their energy out. They were literally running in circles in there. It's so fun that Kelsey is old enough to be Calla's little buddy. They climbed up the steps and went down the slide together countless times (well, I wasn't counting).

They took good naps and then we straightened the house, ate dinner and got ready for Amy the Baby-Sitter. Amy is the sweetest girl ever and does such an awesome job. She has a little nephew up in Michigan who is only 4 or 5 months old (AND was premature!) and sleeps 12 hours a night. I am hoping the sleepiness rubs off on Kelsey.

Calla was making me so uneasy about leaving her with the sitter because, prior to Amy's arrival, she decided she didn't want a sitter. She just wanted Mommy to stay home. This is so unusual from her, I really didn't even know how to respond. Usually she is thrilled with Amy coming and sets out lots of books/games/puzzles in anticipation for her arrival. I was bracing myself for an embarrassing scene of Amy walking in the door and Calla shouting "No!"

After Calla insisted for a solid ten or so minutes that she didn't want to see Amy, I decided just to ignore it. I think with toddlers sometimes talking about it just makes it worse. I didn't want to bribe her or discipline her into liking Amy. So I just didn't even mention Amy again until Amy was at the door. And, lo and behold, Calla was fine. Not as friendly as usual, but certainly not opposed to Amy's arrival and Amy said later that she did great.

Kelsey was not as receptive to Amy's arrival and cried a little when I left. She did badly at going to bed and woke up later, which is just embarrassing. In fact I told Amy flat-out when she gave me the lowdown: "I am embarrassed."

In fact, as soon as Amy left, I searched high and low for my "Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Toddler Problems" book. Unfortunately it must be the last place I left it, which right now is undisclosed. (Like, undisclosed to me. I can't find it.) I am hoping somehow in my subconsciousness the Baby Whisperer's advice will come back to me (I've probably read it 2 or 3 times) and I will wake up tomorrow with a tenfold strategy. Or maybe we can just have Amy's nephew Eli travel down here to give Kelsey a crash course on sleeping.

Callaism~

~ Poor little Calla had a bad night last night...and the night before....whereupon she woke up wailing in the night. I think she had nightmares - she was writhing around and kicking and yelling and wouldn't control herself until I picked her up. I knew she wasn't in pain or anything or else she wouldn't have relaxed when I picked her up. I held her for a couple minutes and put her back to bed and after a couple minutes of rubbing her back she fell asleep. This happened two times the first night and three times last night and I REALLY hope it doesn't happen again. Poor little boo. I am not sure why she'd have a nightmare; goodness knows she isn't exposed to anything beyond Barney (I read somewhere that most nightmares come from images toddlers see). She is scared of every Disney movie (well, she hasn't seen them but she is scared of the books so I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate the movies), scared of Toy Story 3 (she caught the opening couple scenes at a friend's house....with Daddy!), scared of Veggie Tales (so much for learning Bible stories on DVD!), scared of portions of Yo Gabba Gabba. Jonathan and I do not have the TV on while she is awake in case a commerical would scare her (occasionally he will have football on or basketball). Maybe she is having a nightmare about me not letting her sleep with her paci or something!

Kelseyism~

~ Lately Kelsey has taken to wearing dresses like Sissy. Usually I just say no (what is she going to do? stand on Calla's shoulders and pull the hanger down?) but today I gave in and she wore a Christmas dress. It was so long that a couple times she tripped and fell flat on her face. I kept explaining she should wear pants but Calla was twirling around in her "diamond dress" and I guess it was too tempting. (-:

Playdate Fun

I put up some pictures on facebook and here are my three favorites....

TODAY the girls and I got up, ate breakfast, got dressed and were driving away in the car when I told Calla we were going to the sports center. (I was afraid if I told her before we got in the car that she wouldn't want to go!) Jenny had already invited us over for lunch, so I told Calla if she went to the sports center happily that we could go to Norah's for lunch. She was game!

When I dropped Calla off, I told the ladies at the childcare desk that last time Calla had been teased and if they could keep an eye out on her. You would have thought I told them that kids had blindfolded her and were hazing her in a back alley. They were VERY concerned and said she would have an adult "assigned" to her for the hour to make sure she had a wonderful time. "We will make it her special day!" they said. Sure enough, when I picked her up she had all these stickers on her and was smiling from ear to ear. I don't think she will have a problem going back!

We came back home for a while before heading to Jenny's for our playdate. She was so sweet and had a delicious lunch prepared for the moms and the kiddos! Kelsey remembered the toy room from Sunday when we were there for the Bears game, and headed right in there. The kids had a fun time playing; Calla and Norah played numerous games of Hide and Seek. My friend Kate came over as well with her kids, Braden, Kelsey Ann and Maggie. Kelsey Ann and my Kelsey don't really interact too much but I hope that will change when they get older! Kelsey Ann is a sweetie.

After a couple hours, we came home for naptime. I was pretty sure Calla would skip her nap since she took such a long one yesterday, and set her up in her bed with crayons and her coloring book. She could color for hours. I've also noticed she whispers to herself constantly. I need to sneak in sometime to hear what she's whispering about (or to whom!).

Mema and Opa came over for dinner. Opa got here first and Kelsey was feeling very wild. She kept wanting him to wrestle/throw her around. She is a mess! When she gets excited, she likes to run in a "circle" that takes her through the kitchen, dining room, past the TV in the living room, and back into the kitchen. It's like having a little puppy sometimes! haha

Calla enjoyed showing her artwork to Mema and coloring with her. We got to catch up on some wedding talk! The girls were feeling very silly before bed; this is typical tired-sisters behavior! They definitely egg each other on!

Calla fell asleep almost the minute her head hit the pillow. I think Kelsey was still saying "Calla? Calla?" as big Sis began to snore.

Callaism~

~ Braden came up to me today and said, "Calla said I'm not allowed to play with this toy" (held up toy he had been playing with). I asked why and he said it was because she wanted him to play Hide and Seek. Oh Calla! You aren't going to win any boys over by bossing them around. (-:

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey is getting a pretty big independent streak which can be very inconvenient! She was having the hardest time with Mommy putting her lids on her cups today; only she could do it right!

Today Goes Much Better

below: looking a little (lot) disheveled...Calla and Kelsey in their fort....



TODAY went so much better...maybe it's the Bible Study in the morning that sets the tone for the rest of the day! Nonetheless, the girls were obedient getting out the door. Calla and I had a little debate about whether or not she should wear a dress (it was 17 degrees out) but lo and behold I just let her wear one. I wish she would have waited to get in the "I only want to wear dresses" phase until summertime. And it seems like such a shame for adorable pairs of pants to be sitting in her drawer, unworn! I guess that's the beauty of sisters - Kelsey will have almost new pants size 3T! (-: (Or it least "gently worn.")





It is really nice how much Calla and Kelsey enjoy their time there. At some points, I feel like "well who cares as long as they are healthy and contained" but it would make Bible Study rough if Kelsey was screaming when I dropped her off and Calla was crying that she didn't want to go. I remember last year when Kelsey was still an infant and I was trying to juggle her morning nap at church; it's nice not to worry about that!





This afternoon we got home and ate lunch. Yesterday Kelsey cried during lunch and today Calla cried. She wanted a donut hole. For lunch. I told her the only lunch she was permitted was the one on her plate and she sulked in her room for a while. I thought she may just go hungry but she did end up sheepishly returning to the table to eat.





We all (yes, me too) took looong naps this afternoon. The kind of nap that involves dreams and when you wake up you are not sure if it's morning or evening or what day it is. Somehow the nap through me off and I wasn't feeling so hot, so I laid on the sofa while the girls colored. Then I built a very half-hearted fort and so they played under there for a while.





Daddy got home and built a much better forts. Boys are better at these things. He had about a half hour at home because of his core groups at church, so we bid him farewell and then spent most of the evening playing in the basement.





It was definitely a low-key day! I am starting to get a bit of the winter blues....I miss just going outside (for longer than the walk from the door to the car). All the sudden the playground is sounding like Disney World. And all soo very far far away!





Oh well~ can't complain...Pennsylvania is buried under a foot of snow! Build a snowman for Calla! All our snow is old and dirty!





Callaism~





~ I always ask Calla what Bible story she learned about at church, and today she turned the tables on me. "What did you learn about at church, Mom?" she said. I said, "Oh the story of Ruth." Calla: "Oh, tell me about that one. I don't know it." I commenced in a very simplified version of the story. Calla, summing up: "Okay so Ruth is a little girl who has to live very far away without her mommy?" Me: "No?"





Kelseyism~





~ New phrase of the day: "you okay?" Anytime anybody coughs or sneezes, Kelsey turns to them and asks, "You okay?" I think that is so cute!





~ New trick: Pronouns! Kelsey will do anything to avoid saying her name! She even uses proper pronouns....when I ask who wants something, she will say "I! I!" (I guess proper would be "Me! Me!") And if Calla takes something of hers, she always clutches it and yells (everything is a yell): "Mine! Mine!"

Mommy has a Hard Day

TODAY was just one of those days that starts poorly (Calla woke up crying...still not sure why but she took awhile to recover) and never seems to get better. I should have really just counted my blessings - Kelsey is feeling better each day and the fact that no one else is sick is wonderful. I still didn't want to take her out to the gym today; I need her to be healthy tomorrow for Bible Study since I can't miss a week!

This morning the girls and I ate breakfast and played Candyland. I think Calla's idea of a "perfect day" would be to sit around and play board games all day long. We usually give a game piece to Kelsey to hold, but other than that she sort of ignores us.

Mid-morning we took our weekly trip to the grocery store. Kelsey was being such a pill (when she starts to understand that we are going to leave for somewhere, she positions herself at the front door and just squawks and shrieks until we actually leave) that I ended up loading the girls in the van and making my list (cookbooks and all!) in the store parking lot. I was about ten items in, when Calla complained she had to use the bathroom. She sat there holding herself while I tried to scribble in the rest of the list!

We love Kelsey, but she sure is a demanding girl. Today was just one of those demanding days. She is soo noisy....I think Calla and I are still getting used to it. Calla is talkative, but she has a very quiet talking voice and for the most point has a very even-tempered personality. Kelsey is super feisty and shrieks and yells from the grocery cart. She shouts "Cold! Cold! Cold!" the whole way home in the (cold) van. She yells "Mommy! Mommy!" from her seat as I scramble to run the grocery bags into the house. She shrieks, "Up! Up! Up" for me to pick her up as I empty the groceries. She climbs the booster and cries for her lunch when she spots me putting away lunchfood.....anyway, you get the picture!

At lunchtime today, she insisted on getting apple juice in a particular cup that always leaks. I don't usually throw away leaky cups, but I only let the girls have water in them in case they...well, leak. So I put my foot down with Kelsey and told her "No!" and gave her a new cup with juice. Well, you would have thought I dumped all the juice down the sink. She was LIVID! Her face got red and hot and she just wailed. I bet she wailed for a solid 20 minutes. First she stood in the kitchen and screamed, which worked out fine since it gave me a few minutes to get lunch on the table. Then I put her in front of her lunch and she sobbed into her lunch (without eating it). Poor Calla kept trying to (cheerfully) start her prayer, only to turn to me and say, "It's just too loud. I can't pray."

My ears were starting to ring. I picked Kelsey up and put her in her crib, with her leaky cup (with water in it) and a strawberry. She wailed and wailed. I didn't keep her in there too long, but when I brought her back out to her booster she buttoned up right away. Ahhh....silence. Needless to say, I put her down for her nap as soon as lunch was over.

Calla didn't nap. When I don't think she's going to sleep, I usually give her crayons and coloring books for her to take to her bed. She sometimes brings a snack in bed or books. An hour and a half is a long time to kill in bed but she's usually a good sport about it. She is very quiet and careful not to wake up Sissy.

This afternoon, the girls and I cleaned the toy room (not an easy task). I tried to make a phone call from the landline (my cell phone is still broken) and it became World War III between Kelsey and I. She thought I was calling Daddy, so as I held it in my hands she kept trying to rip it out (all while yelling "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"). By the time I made my phone call and then DID call Daddy, I was in tears. PLEASE SAVE ME FROM THIS 19-MONTH-OLD. SHE IS SUCKING ME OF MY SANITY.

I'm not sure if Kelsey has seen me cry before (I tend to be a pretty dry-eyed person) and she became very concerned. Which, after all, is pretty endearing. Calla was matter-of-fact about it. "Don't worry, Mom," she said. "I have rough days too. You can have a rough day. Everybody has rough days." Then she paused and said, "Would it make you feel better to read me a book?"

HAHAHAHA. Now we were laughing. Oh boy the life of a stay-at-home mom becomes an emotional roller-coaster.

In the meantime, Daddy graciously offered to take the crabby girls out for dinner to give me a chance to do some cleaning. Another reality of a stay-at-home mom....cleaning becomes a form of relaxation!

He took them to Red Robin for an hour, and they came back breathless with excitement over balloons and the "Bird" (I think a giant Robin in costume). Kelsey thought it was a duck, so she had a lot to say about it (mostly just "duck" over and over). The girls took a quick bath and were in bed by 7.

I am hoping tomorrow is less rough! (-:

Callaism~

~ Calla always feels winner's guilt when she's playing Candyland. Every time she won, she'd say, "Oh I'm sorry Mom, I'll let you win next time."

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey has always been an easy girl to read. Even as a baby, she was super predictable. Tonight reminded me of that....she woke up shortly after falling asleep and was clutching her teeth with her hands and shouting, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" over and over. A nicer way to say it would have been, "Mom, my teeth hurt. Please give me medicine." But ow! ow! ow! worked just as well.

Yesterday

TODAY I'm behind....first up, here are some pics from the Big Bears Loss....

Kelsey borrowed an outfit from baby Dane. (Dane did not fit in it and graciously gave it to her...she was thrilled. She loved it.)

belw: Kelsey and her gal-pal, Kenzie. Kenzie is absolutely adorable. She's 3 months younger than Kelsey. And, other than a dust-up over a Barbie doll, they got along very well...

below: Erik wanted in with the girls! Kenzie was less than thrilled.

MONDAY morning I was completely on the fence regarding going to Mom's Together. Mom's Together is an event at a church for moms of kids/tots/babies preschool-age and younger. They serve a hot breakfast and feature a speaker, and in the meantime the kids do a really cute "Kids Together" program.

But Kelsey woke up with the runny nose and cough, and although her cough is pretty half-hearted at this point, I didn't want to go if she was feeling unhealthy. She was in great spirits and looked fine (no red eyes) and so after some debating (and a call to Mimi and Daddy for their opinions), the girls and I headed to church. I decided to drive through Dunkin Donuts for some munchkins; surely a donut would keep that girl from coughing. Haha.

Calla was thrilled to be returning to church. When I dropped her off, the teacher had a craft already out on the table for her and she eagerly ran in to make a crown. (The theme was "heaven.") Kelsey said "Bye, bye Calla! Bye!" and followed me down the hall to her class. It really is so beneficial that she is in the exact same classroom each time we are at church (Calla rotates between three classrooms depending on the service or event at church). And Kelsey has a favorite helper, a young girl named Paige, who is in her class so she went right in to her.

The program was on health and fitness so of course I felt convicted. Our "hot breakfast" was replaced by a yogurt bar. It was interesting, although I wasn't near as enthusiastic as Calla was when I picked her up from her class. She had a couple crafts and had just ate an ice cream sandwich for snack (ironic since her mother was learning about health and fitness haha). We picked up Kelsey and went home.

below: Calla wearing her crown....Kelsey wearing her panties.

The girls napped and when we woke up we decided to Skype with Aunt Rin. For some reason, there was a delay on our end so whenever Calla held up a craft to Aunt Rin, I had to say, "Oh start acting excited Corinne! Calla is holding up a PURPLE picture of an ANGEL!" (Then of course Rin would see it about three minutes later ha.)

We ended up doing a full Skype conference with Aunt Kelly, Aunt Kim, Corinne, Mimi and even Pops. Aunt Katelyn was the only one missing out!

Daddy got home and was Chef for the evening. He made a stir-fry, which Kelsey loved. Then the girls took baths and I put Kelsey to bed while Daddy and Calla watched home videos. Daddy had pulled out some home videos over the weekend and Calla is hooked. She always acts to watch "The Calla Show" now. haha. Her favorite event (I think she's seen almost her entire life at this point) is her 1st birthday party. It's so funny how different she looks! I can barely remember when we only had one!

The only part of the home videos that Calla thought was very scary was video of Kelsey (AFTER her birth) on her first day of life when she is just crying and crying during her first bath. Calla was appalled and I feel bad I didn't anticipate that she would not like to see that. So when she asks to see videos, Calla always specifies, "But NOT the crying one."

Calla was very sad when we turned it off and put her bed. She says she is never tired. Going to bed is hard!

Callaism~

~ Calla learned a new song at church called "Angels are watching over me." She just sings that same line over and over. Anyone know of the song? I'd love to teach her more of the words!

Kelseyism~

~ new word of the day: donut

A Rough Day (Not Referring to Bears Loss)

TODAY was a rough day!!! Last night was icky, and usually bad nights mean bad days! Calla woke up a couple times to use the bathroom, after which she decided to make herself comfortable in my bed (my side). She usually lays there for about 30 seconds before deciding she is uncomfortable and returning to her bed. But last night she felt warm and said her forehead hurt. So I gave her some medicine and she slept well (in her bed). This morning I told Jonathan and he wondered if maybe she was just hot (since body temperature goes up at night). We debated back and forth about sending her to church or not. Do we? Do we not?

But Calla woke up happy and ate a record-breaking one and a half waffles (she usually only eats a half!) so I shrugged off her "fever" and Daddy took her to church. Kels and I stayed home because Kelsey's nose is running enough that I would feel bad putting her in her class with other kids (especially at her age, where kids are playing with all the same toys).

Kelsey had a horrible time when Daddy and Calla left. She was so crabby and I felt pretty crabby too. We are both suffering from a horrible case of cabin fever!

This afternoon, Luke and Jenny had a "Bears" party in honor of the Bears game and, after warning Jenny that Kelsey had a cold, we headed over. Despite a short nap, Kelsey was so happy there! I think she really did want to get out of the house! She was very busy playing and eating snacks and acting like herself.

Calla, on the other hand, kept saying she was cold and tired and I wondered if maybe last night's "warmth" wasn't a fluke. I thought it'd be best if I just take her and Kelsey home. If she really was coming down with something (maybe the virus Kelsey had), I didn't want to sit around watching her germs spread!

Well sleep is what I feel the girls needed most so after dinner, Jonathan and I put them to bed at 6:30. Kelsey is having a misreable night so far; her coughing keeps waking her up. I'm so relieved it's just a regular cough though; the tight, croupy cough was very scary sounding!

As for me, I am stuck in bed with an upset stomach myself (may have been too overzealous with the party food!) and so I am praying the three of us feel back to normal - or close to it! - tomorrow.

~ I apologize for the lack of pics...I don't feel up for finding the camera but I know Jonathan took some of Kelsey wearing a borrowed Bears outfit so we will post it tomorrow! ~

Callaism~

~ Calla, Norah and their friend Cade played "Memory" in Norah's play room. It was an adorable version that Norah's aunt had made for her - the Memory cards were all pictures of Norah's family (cousins/aunts/uncles/etc.). It was soo cute! I would love to do the same for Calla.

Kelseyism~

~ Today at the Moo's, Kelsey kept trying to wrestle Erik. She'd run right at his stomach. He could throw her to the ground one-handed so I kept having to pull her off of him. I told him that she was trying to tickle him! Haha.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Kim! Love, Calla and Kelsey

TODAY Kelsey was still feeling under the weather so I kept her home all day. Poor girl is getting very stir-crazy! Between Calla and I, we tried keeping her busy! I let her play with water in the bathroom sink for a while, she helped me do laundry (she likes carrying the laundry from the dryer to the basket...one item at a time), and she played with her toys. For the most part, though, she just did a lot of whinning. She didn't cough nearly as much but she still isn't back to herself! I think if I take her to church tomorrow I will just go for one service and keep her with me on my lap so I don't spread any of her germs to any kids in her class.

We knew something was "off" with Kelsey when she slept in until 9:15 this morning!! WORLD RECORD! I wish I could have joined her but Calla woke up at the normal time. (-: As a result, we ate a late breakfast and late lunch and then Kelsey went right to bed at 1. Instead of taking a nap, Calla read books in Mommy's bed.

At 3:30, Daddy took Calla to her friend Braden's 4th birthday party at a gymnastics place. They picked up Kyle and Ellie on their way....Calla was SO excited about riding in the minivan with her friends. I think she was looking forward to that as much as she was the party.

I had told Jonathan to watch Calla for a bit because I knew there'd be a lot of kids there and Calla tends to think she needs "help" sometimes with gymnastics. I could just picture her monopolizing Braden's mom's time! Daddy said some other dads were on drop-off duty, so he and five or so others decided just to stay and watch the craziness....

below: you can spot Calla easily by the bright pink headband that she wore with her red shirt (I gave her a long talk in matching and she could care less)

below: Calla standing next to a friend, David

below: her pants are a size 2T and I notice from this pic that maybe they should be handed down to little sister

below: Calla in the freestyle (haha jk)

above: Calla and her friend Jake (being aided by an employee) off a jump!

WEE! (Nice to have a father there to document her every move!)

trampoline time...

Weeeee

below: the party goers......Calla is in the center,,,,the birthday boy is wearing the Bears jersey

below: silly face time! Calla is sitting next to Braden's sister, Kelsey Ann

As you can imagine, Kelsey Mae was very upset that Daddy and Calla left without her. She put on her coat and then she and I headed downstairs to the basement to play. She ate five bites of scrambled eggs for supper (this was after eating two donut holes for lunch; don't ask). She was very crabby....I had to cheer her up with a pedicure. Works every time (for me too, coincidentially). She spent some time on the potty with nothing to show for it. Nonetheless, she always requests I wipe her.

When Calla got home she told Kelsey and I every detail about the party. She was too full of cake to eat any dinner, so we called and left a message for Kimberly (HAPPY BIIIIRTHDAY....we'll try again tomorrow!) and then I put them to bed.

Then, for the first time since Thursday MORNING, I left the house! Never before has 17 degrees felt so liberating! Haha. Daddy stayed home on baby-sitting duty while I went to a friends' for BUNCO night. ("Game night.") Bunco is my new favorite game! There were five other couples there and we had a fabulous time. My friend Emily who is due on Aunt Katelyn's due date was there and she and her hubby are torn between two girl names. Makes me wonder if Aunt Katelyn is set on her names???

I got home to find a tired Daddy. Kelsey's sleep has been very disrupted from all her coughing. I was surprised how much she was coughing since she barely coughed all day; I guess it catches up with you at nighttime!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT KIMBERLY! WE LOVE YOU & MISS YOU!

below: Aunt Kim and Calla last winter

below: aunt Kim & Kels last winter

spring.....

summer,,,,,,,,

fall.......

Christmas.........

below: gymnastics videos...

Kelsey's Cough

below: poor sick Kelsey )-:


below: Calla's new post for watching Barney

below: Kelsey watching videos of Calla!

below: Calla came home from "Family Fun Night" with face paint! She said she picked the "Cubs because Daddy likes them." We are not sure why she picked the frog for her hand.

TODAY was just a rough day! Poor Kelsey had a hard time sleeping with her awful cough. At around 1:30am, I found myself standing in the bathroom where the shower on full blast heat in an attempt to turn the place into a sauna and get some moist air into her! It did seem to help! We repeated the "treatment" five times today...needless to say, it added up to a lot of time sitting in the bathroom. Calla and Kelsey brought in books so we read and sang songs to make it seem normal! It's funny how "normal" stuff can seem to a 1 and 3-year old if you just act like it's what's on the day's agenda!

Our morning plans were to go to Jenny's for a playdate, but we cancelled that based on Kelsey's cough. She was down for her nap by noon, so Calla and I just colored in my bed (I knew she'd be too wide awake to go to sleep that early!). Calla never did nap!

This afternoon Kelsey seemed to get worse; she got a fever but nothing some medicine couldn't take care of. Calla helped cheer her up by playing a game of Memory. A game of Memory is Calla's cure for everything! We play multiple rounds a day.

Fortunately Daddy got home early so that cheered Kelsey up! And actually by dinner she seemed much better. She barely coughed this evening at all.

In the meantime, Daddy took Calla to the Family Fun Night at church. I was so bummed to miss it! I missed it last year too; I think they held it in the fall last year and Kelsey was still pretty little and very sensitive to noise. (This seems so ironic to me this year because she is the noisiest little thing!) Family Fun Night is held at church, and they set up multiple bouncey houses and slides and activities for kids.

Calla had the best time; Daddy reported she could have stayed there for hours! It was the perfect activity after being house-bound all day! Daddy said she saw several of her little friends (including her "Sunday school teacher!" she told me later).

It was tricky getting Calla and Daddy out of the house without upsetting Kelsey too much; Kelsey was standing at the door with her little coat and hat on. Poor girl she wanted to leave the house soo bad! I tried to explain to her that it was LITERALLY 4 degrees outside. She couldn't be persuaded. So I did what every reasonable mom would do; I lured her down into the basement with fruit snacks and played with her until she forgot about leaving (and even took her coat off).

below: Calla and Daddy did send two videos for Kelsey while we were gone...Kelsey watched them DOZENS of times! She knows how to push "play" so I just left her at the laptop while I did the dishes.

Calla and Daddy's fun time came to an abrupt halt when Calla told Daddy she needed to use the potty NOW. They were pretty far from the restroom, and according to Calla "Daddy did NOT run fast enough!" and she ended up peeing in her pants and all over Daddy on their trip to the restroom. Daddy said after they attempted to get cleaned up, he noticed a trail of her pee going from the door to the stall! Oh Calla!

She and Daddy were very cold riding home! I figured she must have been sad to have to leave but some candy on the way out helped soften the blow! She got home talking a mile a minute about how fun it was!

After dinner both girls went right to bed. Kelsey has woken up a couple times, and I ended up spending 15 minutes in the bathroom-sauna with her to help her! I think it worked because she's sleeping soundly now. Maybe tomorrow will be better. According to Internet sources (and we know how reliable those are! ha) the "mild croup" usually only lasts 2 days. Let's hope so!

Callaism~

~ I was reminded today of how fortunate I am that Calla is (for the most part) so good-natured. Today I was so tired after my rough night last night, and so I drifted in and out of sleep for about two hours while Calla laid/colored/read next to me on my bed. She is pretty chill. (-:

Kelseyism~

~ new word of the day: boots (actually she's known this one for a while but Daddy doesn't think I put it on the blog)

~ new phrase of the day: two toots! (she was imitating Calla, who was reliving her birthday! haha)

Chick-fil-A and a Croup Cough

above: Aunt Kim's birthday is tomorrow! I decided to post an early picture since I forgot to take any today!

TODAY I convinced Calla to go to the gym! I set her up for it last night by asking if we could please go. She said yes! Who knew I'd be asking my 3-year old for permission? But I really don't think working out is worth making her upset for going to a class, so I was pleased she was game!

We got up early and were there by 8:15. Kelsey was so excited! She walked right in and Calla followed her. I decided to skip showering at the gym so they wouldn't be there as long, and picked them up right at 9:30. Calla's area (they have areas segregated by ages) was packed! There are so many kids there since Ali's class (the one I'm in) is so popular. I felt a little bad for her, and I felt worse on the way home when she told me that some boys were making fun of her and laughing at her. Awww that's awful! She said they were laughing and calling her a baby and when she said she wasn't a baby they said Yes she was that she wore diapers and they wouldn't even stop when she told them she was 3.

We talked about it over the course of the day, but it didn't come out until this evening when I asked her who the boys were. Turns out they are sons of friends of mine! Well that made it a lot better actually; I can talk to the boys about it the next time I see them. (-: And it least they weren't strangers; she's actually in class with them at church too. I know the boys and they probably thought they were being silly (they are silly boys!); Calla tends to be pretty sensitive and take things very seriously. Especially something as insulting as being called a baby!

We were home for a couple hours before we headed out to lunch at Chick-fil-A. My friend Kate's son Braden turned 4 today, and we joined them at lunch in honor his big day. Calla had worked for it least an hour on a birthday card for him, and she was soo excited to give it to him! We had already ordered our food and were seated when they arrived, and Calla did not pick the best time to give it to him....Braden was just walking in and heading straight to the playland when Calla tried to make him turn around to see her card. He was very distracted and I think she was a little confused why he wasn't as excited over the card as her mother was. (-: Haha. His mom Kate gave a big reaction which probably pleased Calla more than anything Braden would have said anyway!

I wish we could say we had a wonderful time at Chick-fil-A but somewhere between eating the nuggets and playing in the playland, Calla got into a horrible crabby mood. I am not sure how you can be crabby in a playland, but she was! She got mad that I wouldn't carry her (me whose arms were barely recovering from the first workout class in weeks) and then started crying and wouldn't stop. I thought we were going to have to leave, but my friend Ali saved the day by giving Calla one of the kids' meal books that can be traded in for an ice cream cone. (We found this so funny - the kids meals came with books, but if you didn't want the book you could trade it in for a free ice cream cone. Now what kid wants a book over ice cream??) The ice cream cone kept Calla happy for a long time, which gave Kelsey a chance to play in the playland before Calla realized she was crabby again and we left.

Fortunately Calla took a looong nap when we got home. I had to wake her up at 4:30, and even then she laid in her bed for a while. She takes a while to wake up! Tonight Daddy went to uncle Ben's Wisconsin game, so it was a girls night here at home. We ate leftover lasagna, played Memory game, called Mimi (well Mommy did) and played in their bedroom. Kelsey decided at dinner that she wanted to strip all her clothes off, so she ran around naked for a couple hours. She spent every five minutes voluntarily sitting on the potty in the bathroom.

At one point I was on the phone (landline, mind you - my cell phone is still broken) and Calla called from the bathroom that Kelsey had taken a big boo on the potty. Oh and don't worry Mom, I wiped her! Oh boy. I went in to investigate and sure enough Kelsey had pooped and Calla had wiped her clean. I gave them both treats; Kelsey for the deposit and Calla for the clean-up.

Our success was short-lived when Kelsey peed all over Calla's bed a half hour later. She seems to have an easier time getting to the bathroom when #2 is involved! Fortunately it's not anything Calla's bed hasn't experienced before.

I gave the girls a bath before bed and noticed that Kelsey is starting to get a croup cough. It's really disrupting her sleep tonight. I hope as the night goes in and she gets into a deeper sleep that it won't bother her as much. Her breathing seems fine, she doesn't have a cold otherwise, and she was happy all day. So hopefully it doesn't get worse!

Callaism~

~ Calla's observation today as we pulled into the driveway, "Our neighbors live REALLY close to us, Mom."

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey is fanatical about Wisconsin's mascot, Bucky the Badger. I think she is excited about him because she sees a lot of him (Jonathan wears some form of Wisconsin gear on almost a daily basis). Mema gave Calla and Kelsey a "Wisconsin" book that has a picture of Bucky and Kelsey loves to look at it (well, the page with Bucky on it!). She always asks me, "What's this?" because she forgets his name. Tonight she insisted on propping the book up to the Bucky page so she could look at him while she fell asleep. HAHA she is so weird!

Can't Think of a Creative Title

below: all dressed for church! Calla is holding up her new purse from our friend Sharon:

below: Calla is singing and Kelsey is dancing

below: Kelsey's newest hobby: getting on and off the potty...

below: Calla, in the second dress of the day, entertaining her sister while on the potty:

below: Kelsey's new word of the day: buttons! (she means snaps!)

She didn't actually make a deposit into the potty....

below: Calla decides to join in on the fun...

(I gave up getting Kelsey to look up at me)

TODAY the girls and I braved the ice and snow to drive to church for Bible Study. Calla and Kelsey insisted on wearing dresses...I am positive they were the only girls in tiny little tights in such cold weather!

Calla and Kels had good mornings. When we got to Calla's class, Kelsey stood at the door and called, "bye, bye Calla! bye!" It was just the cutest thing. Unlike last Wednesday when she cried when I dropped her off, I put Kelsey down to put her name tag on and she completely ignored me and walked into her room. I had to follow her in! She was already halfway across the room towards a baby doll in a stroller, and after I put her name sticker on she gave me a hug and said, "Bye bye mommy!" When did she get so old? (-:

After the study ended, I got ready to pick up Calla....she saw me through the window...but there was such a crowd of moms at the door to get their kids that I thought I should rush down to Kelsey's class and pick her up first. (Kelsey's class always gets hairy when moms come to pick up their kids since the door is opening and closing and meanwhile the little tikes always try to make a run for it!) Kelsey was sitting on a helper's lap - Paige - and snuggling with a blanket! I asked where she got it and Paige said it was up high on a shelf and Kelsey insisted on holding it most of the morning. Hahaha. She was very sad that we had to leave it behind! I thought that was so funny since she's never been attached to a blanket at home!

Well when I went back to pick up Calla she was waiting poor girl. My friend Julie saw me in the hall and said that Calla had told her "to go find me." I didn't think through that it may be disconcerting to Calla to see me and then see me leave without her! Poor girl. She didn't mention it at all until we were in the car, almost home, when she said, "Next week Mommy can you make sure you pick me up first so I can go with you to Kelsey's class." Aww of course!

The girls napped this afternoon...finally, Calla fell asleep! Yay! Kelsey woke up first so we played in the playroom. Then she helped me make some lasagna, because we hosted my friend Andrea and her three boys for dinner. Her husband is traveling on business in Germany and so we arranged to get together.

Andrea's oldest son, David, is so sweet. He told his mom that Calla is his best friend! I hope Calla didn't scare him away; she was being very bossy tonight to his little brother, Jonathan. Calla is always very aware of the "age order/food chain" of her little group of friends!

Kelsey held her own with the boys. There was one point we heard her squawking and shrieking from the basement and I went downstairs to find her standing and pointing at her red Little Tikes car, which Jonathan was happily sitting in and honking the horn. Kelsey was standing six inches from his ears making a racket. He didn't seem affected! Fortunately Kelsey shows her displeasure in noise levels, not in hitting. (Yet)

Daddy was home and then had to leave for core groups, so we visited for a while until bedtime came around and Andrea and the boys went home. Calla and I read books before bed; Kelsey spent most of the time going to and from the little potty!

Before bed, I had to clarify a lot of the "noises of the night" for Calla. She has started being very sensitive to ANY noise....she attributes most of the sounds outside (traffic/snowplow/dog) to a "bird in a nest." I think that sounds like a pretty innocent thing to think of! She likes to come out of her bed and "tell me if it's getting too loud." Oh boy. She has also grown more sensitive about books; if I am reading a Disney book (or any book) and there's a scary picture, she makes me skip the page. She is becoming her Aunt Kelly! (-: (Not that I was very brave as a child either, let's be honest.)

Callaism~

~ Calla told me yesterday she was having a very hard AND rough day. I told her that life is like that and we always have hard and rough days. I said it will get better when we go to heaven. "I want to go to heaven," Calla said. "KC is in heaven and I really miss KC."

A Wintry Mix

TODAY we recovered from Kelsey's rough night with a leisurely breakfast. I had ambitious plans of headed to the gym, whereupon the girls would play nicely in childcare where I worked out - a work-out hard enough to make up for several consecutive days without exercising. Yikes. Then I was going to take Calla and Kelsey to the indoor swimming pool.

My prediction was that the excitement of the pool would be enough for Calla to overcome her whinning about going to the childcare. I really have no idea why Calla hasn't wanted to go to the gym lately. Perhaps it's because the last two or three times we've taken her, we have just gone to the pool. Now she thinks she's entitled to the swimming pool, and don't think about taking her to the childcare room instead. I am not sure. She has always enjoyed it in there and often I have to wait for her since she is so interested in a craft/game/toy when I go pick her up.

Well I had no energy to argue with her so I told Jonathan I would be going to the gym tonight. I wasn't about to volunteer myself time in a swimsuit in lukewarm pool water for an ungrateful child. (She insisted she didn't want to do the pool either.) So instead Calla and Kelsey played in the basement (with me accompanying them).

We were getting cabin fever by the time mid-morning rolled around (well Kelsey and I were... Calla seems to be quite the homebody lately), and so we headed out for our grocery shopping. I didn't have too much on the list, which I always prefer because I feel like I can take my time instead of rushing through like a wild woman. (It's always a race against the Kelsey clock - when the clock runs out, it means she is done with being in the car portion of the cart and I have to move her to the regular part of the cart, where she proceeds to try to rip food open and flatten groceries.)

We got home for lunch. I prepared some macaroni and cheese to go along with our hot dogs (not the healthiest I realize but don't worry there was fruit involved). I realized it smelled kind of funny as I was about to serve it, so I checked the date on the box. 2009! Yuck it must have been the cheese that smelled funny. I am not sure why it took so long to surface from the pantry. Which made me realize that it's been since 2009 since I've emptied and cleaned the pantry. Which made me feel like I needed to lay down somewhere. (-:

Calla woke up at 6:30 this morning so I just knew she'd take the nap of her life. I put the girls down at 12:30, thinking they could both get nice loong naps in. It's still icky and rainy and snowy and slushy out (a "wintry mix" is the technical term I believe) - the perfect day for napping.

Sidenote: I used to lay on the floor of the girls' room and read a magazine/book for the few minutes it took Kelsey to fall asleep because otherwise they'd mess around - lots of giggling, jumping on their beds, whispering - you know, girl stuff. But I reasoned that Calla is 3 and old enough to exercise some self-restraint so for the past week or so I've left them alone, telling Calla she is not permitted to mess around. In fact, she must pretend to be asleep so that Kelsey falls asleep quickly.

Well Kelsey's response has been to take FOREVER to fall asleep...we're talking 3 times the usual (she used to take about 10 minutes; now she's usually silly and rolling around in there for 30). And I think in the meantime, Calla is pretending to be asleep and by the time Kelsey finally is quiet and falls asleep, Calla is feeling refreshed and ready to be out of bed! This my hypothesis for the reason that Calla did not fall asleep today, nor has she slept the past 3 or so days at nap. I think tomorrow I will be back on the floor with a magazine to see if it makes a difference for Calla if Kelsey is quiet.

Yawn. Sorry this blog is starting to get boring even for me! Okay, moving on...

below: a picture of the girls. Calla is wearing another of Ellie's jumpers. Every day she wants a dress. I told her she could a dress to the store if she also wore her rain boots, so I wouldn't have to carry her. She thought it'd be worth it (she normally likes to wear dresses with her Sunday school shoes).

below: Cheese!!

below: She loves Calla's camera

Well the girls were out of their beds by 2pm, so we spent the afternoon playing Memory in the basement. I could have been productive, but we ended up having a lot of fun playing down there. So I called it "productive play." Haha.

Daddy got home and we ate an early dinner so that the girls could be bathed and in bed early. I asked Calla what she wants to wear tomorrow for church and she said, "A dress." Of course. Why did I even ask? I never met someone so willing to wear tights!

The girls were sleeping by 7:30, which means another early morning...which means...good night!

Callaism~

~ I was singing a worship song in Calla's room today which includes the line, "There's none like You" or something to that effect (I can't even think of the song now!). And Calla interrupted to say, "There's none like me either. I mean, there's big Calla but she's not me. And then there's Kelsey Baskin but that's not the same as my Kelsey." HAHA. This cracked me up for some reason. (Kelsey Baskin is Aunt Rin's best friend. And "big Calla" is my parents' neighbor, Calla Gibson.)

Kelseyism~

~ Kelsey loves her sister so much it is so cute to see. From the minute she wakes up in the morning or at nap, she says, "where's Calla? Where's Calla?" She follows her everywhere, imitates everything she does. It is just so adorable to see someone who has so much unconditional love for her big Sis.