Jon is 30

Today Jon celebrated his 30th birthday!! Last night we had a movie night with popcorn and extended bed times for everyone. We watched Tangled which was really funny, Riley had a massive spit up during the middle of the movie so we had to pause it to give a bath and wash clothes and Molly fell asleep before the end but all in all it was a successful night.
Today we went and served with Operation Inasmuch (which is like clean up day at Welcome Week) picking up trash in a neighborhood and cleaning up as church groups and contractors re roofed houses. Serving with 2 kids has a different look than when we were in college but it was great to be able to do this as a family. Riley hung out in her stroller most of the time and Molly helped pick up the little (non glass or too gross) trash around. After serving we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for some lunch followed by shopping for church then craft time and a nap for Jon and Riley. Molly and I played outside and then went to Sonic for happy hour and came back in time to make pizza for Jon to eat dinner on the SPECIAL DAY Plate!!! No cake but chocolate chocolate chip cookies, a happy birthday banner and his present - The Pacific collector's edition (with all his free time he will be able to watch that and his Band of Brothers all the time:) )

Too much to celebrate only one day - the night before party!
What cleaning up looks like with little kids.


Riley and Titus supervising
Molly helping her dad
Birthday crafts - Dora, Jon's favorite, peel and stick sand art
Dinner on the plate!

Happy Birthday Jon!!

Easter Egg Hunt

This was our first ever big Easter egg hunt as a family! The FRG (family readiness group) from Jon's unit put this on for the families (but it was mandatory for soldiers to attend) so yesterday we bundled up in the windy weather and hunted eggs. Yes it was April 1 and Easter is not until the 24th this year but between trainings and long weekends this was the only week it worked so we celebrated early. There were 2 bounces, an Easter bunny, tons of food, bubbles, a puppet show and lots of kids running around. We had a blast and it was nice to get to meet some more families in the unit and the soldiers Jon works with.

Riley loving the hunt. This was a rare moment where she wasn't covered up b/c it was windy!! As you can see she loved it so much she slept through all but the last 10 minutes when we rushed her to the car so I could get home and feed her instead of freezing us both.
Molly - styling and profiling (as her BertBurt would say). This is where Molly sat during Jon's prayer also b/c I was off talking with ladies and showing Riley off and forgot Jon had official duties at the event. Good thing she knows to bow her head and be quiet during prayer or else that could have been a fun scene.
And the hunt it on. They had separate areas for different age groups.
She loves getting those eggs!
The Easter bunny who Jon said Molly tormented. She kept walking up to him and acting like she wanted to see him and then would run screaming! We both felt bad for the poor soldier who got assigned that duty for the day.
Molly loves the bounce houses now!
A puppet show which was more like a puppet infomerical for the Army. Where else does the puppet talk about getting ID cards, what ACS can do for you and the youth center on post?
Jon and Molly going down the big bounce slide. They went down over and over until Jon got tired and Molly still wasn't ready to stop but she had to.
Enjoying one piece of candy this morning as I emptied the eggs so she could play with them.


Puppet show Army style.

Potty Training and SNOT

Molly has shown some interest in potty training so today* is d-day for us. Since Thursday is my stay home and clean day Jon and I decided today would be a good day to start. We will see how committed I am if there is an accident on my newly cleaned floors. Molly and I had a pep talk and then she got her Dora underwear and put it on all by herself. I think she is more excited about Dora than the whole bathroom thing but lets hope she motivates her.

Riley has had some snot the past few days and decided at midnight she didn't want to sleep in her bed anymore and at 2am she and I went to the couch for the rest of the night. Laying on my stomach helped her be able to breath better and I am sure she was glad b/c that meant I fell asleep and the sucker no longer entered her nose ripping out her snot. When she cries from the sucker she literally says whaaa which cracks me up but I don't think Jon was too happy about it from 12- 2am. Let's hope we are almost done with this snot attack!!
Molly with her new Dora underwear
Riley on the sick bed with nurse Molly about to aggravate her right before mommy comes to suck the snot and make her really mad!


*That was short lived - while nursing - Molly used the kitchen as her personal bathroom. Back to diapers I am not ready to be as persistent about her using the bathroom and I can't handle cleaning up pee all the time. My goal is to have her potty trained by 3 so we have 11 more months to get this down.

Monday Monday

Today was a dreary Monday - it was rainy and cold and both girls decided 6:30am was a great time to start the day. By about 9:30 I was at my wits end being in the house trying to keep Molly entertained and out of Riley's face while doing some random housework like laundry and cleaning. So at 10:30 we loaded up the car and headed out to story time at the library where Molly was the most excited I have ever seen her. She laughed and danced and ran around the room the entire 30 minutes. Seeing her happy and leaving Riley alone I knew we couldn't go back home just yet so we ventured to Monkey Joe's (a bounce house). The last 2 times we have gone to a bounce house for parties when Molly was one she cried and screamed but I figured at the most I am only out $5 so what the heck. Well today she LOVED IT!!! We were there for over 2 hours and Jon got to join us after he finished up some work on his day off. When it was just me and the girls I moved Riley about in her car seat - it was much easier with Jon there let me tell you!!! Well Monkey Joe's did its trick because Molly slept for 3 hours after we left.
After dinner we had to get some energy out of Molly and the weather had cleared up so Jon and Molly played some croquet. I think we finally have someone in our family who can beat Lisa Sealey and Molly is coming to get you!!!

Molly in the mini monkey area - this got her warmed up to the whole jumping around!
Molly coming out of Davey Jones' locker:)
What a kid looks like after 2 hours of running around non-stop and jumping, laughing and falling
The next master croquet player!

Sisters - same genes, different results!

So this week we took Molly for her 2 year check up and Riley for her 2 week. I bet you will never guess who is in the 90% and who is in the 2% for weight at their age. The girls both checked out well and it looks like we will have one petite and one healthy girl in this family. We have had some fun adjustments this week as Jon is back at work and Granny is gone but so far we have made it out of the house for one outing each day. We have gone to some story times and PWOC (bible study for military wives). My bible study threw Riley an impromptu baby shower which she loved so much she slept through it - but I loved the food and gifts! Riley got her first bath in a tub today and Molly really enjoyed helping wash her.
Both girls all clean
This is Molly in her first bath.
Riley getting ready for her first bath. Both girl seem to care less about the bath but getting out is a rude awakening!
Molly listening at story time.
On post they have a craft that relates to the book. It was about butterflies and insects so Molly is decorating her sticky ladybug with glitter.

Her first time using scissors - I would say a success but I won't be giving her a pair any time soon to run around the house with.
The finished lady bug. Afterward we went to the park that is right outside the library doors and then to Chick-fil-a for a little bit more play so she would take a nap!!
So much for the nap though I found her out of her bed having a tea party with her cups and the only liquid available at her level - toilet water. I guess I will be shutting the bathroom doors from now on!!

Riley continues to be an easy baby who loves to eat, poop and sleep. She has a few awake hours each day and goes on a feeding frenzy from 7-11 but then sleeps for 6-7 hours.

A book Jon and I got this week we recommend even if we have only read one chapter so far - The Strong Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson. We never new the power of Molly's will until she did not have our undivided attention and lets be honest complete spoiling!!

The past few days

We have been just hanging out having fun these past few days. Aunt Kaitlin came down for a photo session of Riley and hung out for the night. Molly and Granny have been doing lots of yard work and playing. Jon has been enjoying time off from work and time on with 4 women in the house. I have been enjoying napping, playing with both girls, talking with my mom and seeing Jon for more than an hour a day.

Riley and her rolls:)
Daddy holding a clean Riley!! After a week the new baby smell was starting to wear off so she got a good sponge bath since her belly button is still a booboo as Molly calls it.
Riley and I hanging out at the park.
Molly and Granny at the park - Molly will now go down most any slide!!
Running up to try and catch daddy on the way to the swings. It was a beautiful day and the temperature went up 8 degrees the one hour we were at the park.
Molly helping Granny rake - don't worry though she was still able to make a call on her cell phone while helping. Molly had to take many breaks to sit on the top step and talk on the phone. Her favorite people to pretend she is talking to are BertBurt and PaPa (her new name for her Grandad McPherson). She rotates between the two of them but if you ask she will let you know which one is on the phone:)
Granny and Molly looking at all their hard work. Too bad that night there was a rain /wind storm and more pine cones fell giving them more work for the next day.

The grandparents and Riley's first outing!

This weekend the McPherson's were able to drive down to meet Riley and bring Molly her birthday present (a train/lego table). Molly and Riley have loved having all 4 grandparents in their lives these past few days and I know will go into mourning but luckily we still have another week with Granny to help us out!!! On Sunday we went on our first outing as a family of 4 - to the Morkens!! Molly saw her favorite people in the world - Will and Spencer - and Riley got to meet the Sieg's some of our friends from AK. We had brunch and just played around with 4 kids and 3 grandparents around there was plenty of love to go around.
Molly loving on her sister - she likes to "hold" Riley for about 2.3 seconds
Molly and Grandmommy playing at her new table. Her other grandparents got her a sand/water table so we are now ready indoors and out for some hands on learning.
This is what Riley did most of the visit with the Morkens - snuggle from one person to the next.
Playing in the playroom!
Playing outside - definitely had to have a bath to get the sand out of the hair today!
Molly eating at the kid table with Will. Her first time to sit at a kid table by herself with no help.

Having 2 is a lot of fun so far and doesn't seem that bad but I do have Jon and my mom around along with having had BertBurt, Grandaddy and Grandmommy visit these past few days. I guess when I actually have to do laundry, cook, entertain Molly, do the mundane everyday tasks of life AND take care of Riley it might seem harder. But right now all I do is occasionally feed Riley the other things are magically taken care of (or maybe Granny takes care of a bunch who knows?).

Tomorrow we go for out "48" hour follow up to see how the little lady is doing - oh boy for setting an alarm and trying to get somewhere on time.