Keely and Frankie Lee 3 months old

Keely had a play date with Frankie last week.  Her mommy is my oldest and dearest friend!  Alex and I have been friends since we were 2!  I love old friends.  It seems like no matter how far you live away or how long you go in between visits, you will always have a special spot for them in your heart.  Alex is no different.  I love her!  I am so excited and we have baby girls that are 3 days apart!  We have so much fun taking our real life dolls around together;)  

Malia the Learner

Malia is at such a fun age!  She cracks me up all day long.  Sometimes the sentences she puts together make me stop and stare at her.  Where does she learn this stuff?  As her mom I feel so proud of everything she learns and is accomplishing and know she can't WAIT to go to preschool.  

 I work from home and most of what I do is on the computer.  Therefore, Malia will pony up to the table and tell me, "Mom, I have to go to work" and take out her "laptop."  She then proceeds to have imaginary conversations with her clients like she undoubtedly hears me having each day.  

 Toddlers are notorious for having "items of value" that they carry around or hold precious.  Malia's usually are pamphlets, magazines, books or in this case, a picture of the LA temple and Jesus that one of the sister missionaries gave her last time we were there.  It was very precious to her and she "read" it over and over the whole way home.

 We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints  and Malia gets to go to nursery where she learns to pray, develop good values and learn about Jesus.  She now LOVES Jesus and wants to read stories about him.  When she sees pictures of him at church she cutely smiles and says, "I love Jesus."

And Malia not only loves spiritual reading, but just about any picture book she can find.  Teaching her to read is going to be so much fun:)

Little Sushi Lover

A few weeks ago Kirk and I got take out from our local sushi place.  I requested a rainbow roll and a Dragon roll.  After getting everything set up I came back to my Rainbow roll and asked Kirk if he ordered me a California roll on accident.  Nope.  Our little bird (Malia) had eaten all of the sashimi off of my roll:)  I find this funny for a couple of reasons.  A) How sneaky of her. B) She doesn't like to eat period. C) Most people can't handle the texture of raw fish, let alone a toddler.

We were ecstatic.  What a healthy little habit she has found.  Only problem: do you know how expensive sashimi is if you have to order enough to feed her just that for dinner?  Yikes.

Hello Sunny Days

 "But mom, are you sure I can't go swimming yet? Oh fine.  I'll just sit under the umbrella and stay pastey white."

 Do you guys watch Yo Gabba Gabba?  Probably not.  Well, there's a song that we like that we sing quite a bit at our house called "It's summer it's summer time!  It's summer time summer time!"  We are dorks I know. 

 Pool days are welcomed when we actually want to swim (the ocean water is still a bit chilly for my liking)

 While at the beach with friends we have been known to find treasures and critters like these monster sand crabs.  As Malia says, "cooooool!!"

 And we like to dig and bury ourselves in the sand.

 And turn ourselves into mermaids with all of our other girlie friends

 We FLY down the big kid slides now with ease.

And we try to get our aunties and uncles to come with us to the beach while they are home from college as much as possible!

See you all next time! 

22 month old Malia Joy

Being a parent is rad because you always think your kid is the best thing in the world.  I am no different.  I am first to admit that I think my Malia girl is the most brilliant, most adorable and most fun person to be around.  And each parent thinks this I am sure.

Malia at 22 months old could not be any more fun to be around.  She is my best friend.  As tired as I am in the mornings, her getting up and playing with me is what I look forward to.  Our day starts with, "mommy!!"  She calls in her sweet and happy voice from her crib and we walk in to find her standing with a toothy smile waiting for us.  She likes her routine of warm milk and cartoons in the morning and then we spend the day creating memories.  

She is on the 1 definitely-needs-it-or-look-out nap a day and is down by 8 or 8:30.  

She just got her second set of molars (2 year old molars maybe?) and continues to grow long and lean.  She is a healthy eater for the most part but looooves her donuts (we live across the street from a donut shop) icecream and candy (thanks grandma;)

And boy does she talk!!  Her language skills blow me away.  She talks in sentences now and understands making some words past tense, etc.  She knows all her shapes and colors, can say her ABC's and can count to 12 (by omitting "5" for some reason) .  Right now she LOVES princesses and requests her "Princess Barbie" movie in the mornings.  She also still loves trains, trucks, tractors, firetrucks and cars. She also adores animals, balls, robots, sunglasses, princess anything, shoes and play dates. Her favorite places are: the car wash, the park, the beach, "Cos-co!" (Costco), and the mall.  She is scared of the water now:( and doesn't like swimming under the water anymore.  She loves tunnels and bridges, going on walks and pushing her shopping cart or stroller.  She loves taking care of her babies and feeding them (nurses them like mommy).  She reprimands Hobbs, "No Hobbs, naughty!" if he eats something of hers or does something bad.  She adores her daddy and is weary of strangers.  I can't hardly blame her, but she doesn't open up to most people unless she really knows them.  She'll usually shout, "No, stop!" if they get too close to her and doesn't give her smile out to just everyone. She is smart and I appreciate that.

She loves to color and draw and paint and is a puzzle master.  I can't believe the puzzles she is able to figure out.  She loves to "read" and sing and dance.  She is sorta ready to potty train and can go "shi-shi" and "poo poo" in the potty occasionally.  Malia is basically one happy and healthy toddler and she is sure loved by everyone:)  

Keely at 3 months

 My caption on Instagram (where I've been spending all my time nursing):
"Hey Keely.  Japan called.  They wanted to know when you were ready to begin your career Sumo Wrestling."  If you look closely, you may be able to find treasures that have been lost in those arms rolls of Keely:)  7 rolls and counting.  That's my girl!

 Keely at 3 months is an absolute joy to be around.  There has never been an easier baby.  Aside from her aversion to taking a bottle which has been a challenge with work, etc., she is so easy!  She sleep trained herself on her own, doesn't require much more than some love and attention from time to time and is smiley and happy and so patient with her older (and sometimes annoying) older sister.  She'll sleep 8 hours straight at night (sometimes longer) and likes to nurse every couple of hours during the day.  I'm guessing she weighs about 15 or 16 pounds by now and is already crazy tall.  She'll probably be tall like her sister.  I love her more than words can express.

And she loves the beach and being on the go which is so important too!

Disneyland!

 The Halvorsens came down a few weekends ago to visit Sky in the hospital and we all got to go to Disneyland!  Talk about a fun day!  We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful and awesome place that is so close to the beach and fun amusement parks!

 Malia is going through her "princess phase" and always wants to wear "tutu dresses" so she was in heaven being around the castles and princesses.  She also tried cotton candy for the 1st time that day and needless to say was hooked:)

I love these kids:)  I am so glad that she gets to see her cousins and play with them.  Nothing is more important than family and I hope she always remembers that.  Thanks for visiting guys!  Come back again real soon!

We love to see the temple!

Living next to the Newport Beach temple has been a blessing.  We are so close and get (need) to go often.  A few weeks ago, our niece Skyler had a scary thing happen to her.  She is 8 years old and is a healthy and happy little girl.  She told her mom one day that her heart felt like it was beating fast and long story short, had to be admitted to the emergency room asap because her heart was beating over 250 bpm.  They couldn't get it to slow down.  They ended up having to "restart" her heart and it was still struggling.  Her heart had a dangerous virus and Sky needed to be airlifted to UCLA medical center.  She ended up having to stay in an induced coma to protect her heart from stopping from working too hard.  Tests after tests and biopsies of her heart were taken.  Our family was scared and we prayed and prayed.  There is a good ending to this story however.  After weeks of being monitored and having ups and downs in the hospital, Skyler's strong heart was able to beat the virus and she was able to go home!  

While visiting her one of the days up in LA, we were blessed with the chance to go by the LA temple.  Kirk had never seen it and I wanted to see it again.  My parents and I were sealed there when I was a little girl and I wanted to take the girls by this special place.  Part of the fun of having a toddler is their zest for learning.  Malia impresses me with what she knows, says and remembers.  We took her there and explained that we were visiting the temple.  We talked about what we did in temples and who was at the top of the temple.  We visited some of the sister missionaries at the visitor center and she received a special picture of Jesus.  I had no idea what she would retain from this quick afternoon trip.

Now Malia will tell you: "I love Jesus."

me: "Malia, who's at the top of the temple."

Malia: "an angel.  Mowoni (Moroni)"

me:  "What do we do in the temple?"

Malia: "get mar-weed (married). I get mar-weed in temple"

Malia: "and den we have a party!"

Yes Malia, we will have a big party for you if you get married in the temple:)

Out of the mouth of babes.  I love that Malia girl so. 

Kiwi's Blessing Day May 6, 2012

I should explain the Kiwi reference.  Keely's big sister has been calling her Kiwi since she was inutero and the cute nickname has stuck.  But don't worry, she wasn't given that name, and her daddy did a good job giving her a name and a blessing on May 6, 2012.

Keely Yukiko Schilling

Some of the important blessings I remember Kirk giving:

"I bless you with happiness and health and to be a big helper to your mother.  I bless you to be smart and sensitive."  Of course while juggling a toddler in the stands and holding back tears, I wasn't able to remember everything that was said, but loved Kirk's sweet words.  Yes, Keely will be all of those things.  I already notice her sweet and sensitive spirit.  She is so easy going and kind hearted.  She's only a few months I realize, but she has a different personality than her big sis.  Malia has always been very commanding, assertive, confident and resilient.  I think our Keely is going to be more like my little sister Brooke- receptive to the spirit, compassionate and very loving.  That's my prediction at least:)
Her blessing day was beautiful.  We were able to share it with special family and friends.  A quick sad story: Grandpa Jim and Kathy made it all the way down here for her blessing and on the morning of her blessing got trapped in the elevator at their hotel!!!  We couldn't believe it.  It was terrible for them to miss for the 1st time one of their grandbabies blessings.  They were there in spirit and I let them know that they'll be there for our next baby I am sure:)

Keely's 2 month appointment

So did you guys get the memo that I have a really chubby baby this time around?  You know, it's funny to me how you do the same thing with each kid and they can turn out so different.  Take Malia and Keely:  Malia- always been skinny (nursed her), tall, blonde with green eyes.  Keely- a CHUNK (nursing her), brown eyes and brown hair.  I know they're sisters and it's going to be so fun to see how different (or one day the same) they turn out to be.

So our sweet baby Keely's stats:

Weight: 13 lbs. 13 ozs. (98th %)

Height: 23.25 inches (90th %)

Head: 15.75 inches (85th %)

To sum it up- we have a big baby on our hands folks!  Am I happy?  You bet I am!  I had silent anxiety over our skinny Malia (who was perfectly normal and healthy) and LOVE that Keely loves to eat so much!  Bring it on folks because I have something to share about that- KEELY SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!  Yeah for that!  I swear it's the extra calories, but at 2 months, she started sleeping through the night which made her mama a very happy (and more rested) camper!

Love you Kiwi!! XOXOXO

Mother's Day 2012

Aside from marrying the man of my dreams, these 2 princesses have been my greatest blessing. Becoming a mother not once but twice now has proven to be the most rewarding and most challenging adventure I have ever embarked on.  I've never been so tired, rundown, worried yet elated, happy and fulfilled in all my life.  It's quite amazing how so many emotions can be going on at once!

These 2 girls are my world and my life is complete with them.  I know we will one day have more children (one possibly 2 if the stars align), but for now my cup runneth over in joy and blessings.

I have to thank my gorgeous, tall, skinny, talkative, bright and opinionated girl Malia and my super easy going, chubby, happy, cuddly and beautiful baby Keely for making me the happiest girl to ever walk the earth!

Here's to many, many, many more Mother's Day and hope whoever reads this knows how special you/your spouse/future spouse/sister/mother/aunt/etc. is.  

One of my favorite quotes: "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother" 

Thank you, thank you, thank you Heavenly Father for my beautiful children.  They are the reason I breathe and my motivation to be good, succeed, and do the best at everything I do.  

And to commemorate the day, I have to give a big shout out to my wonderful husband.  Seeing how I have 2 babies under the age of 2, they weren't able to make me breakfast or elaborate gifts or cards.  But Kirk stepped in and made me banana pancakes with spam, got me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers (no roses since I don't like roses) and somehow managed to give me an amazing massage and a mini nap in the day.  It was a good day.  I am married to a great man that was raised by an amazing mother himself.  I don't like to think where I'd be without him since he is my better half and my whole universe.  

Well wasn't this post just warm and fuzzy?;) Hope you all had a good one yourself!

New Baby Sister Love

 In case you were wondering..

 we all love new baby Keely in the house with us!

 And Malia and her are destined to be best of friends I am sure.

 Keely is 1 month old here.  Man, I am SOO behind on this blogging!  Malia LOVES Keely!  She is such a good and sweet big sister.  She sings to her, plays with her and makes sure she has her blankie and binkie (even though Keely won't take one).  There have been a few casualties of Malia accidentally hurting Keely, but it's never been on purpose and Malia feels real bad about it afterwards.  Malia is such an empathetic girl!  She hates to see others sad or hurt.  Sweet girl.

 And here's sweet 1 month Keely with her doting Nana.  Looking at these pictures makes me want to cry because she's SO much bigger already!  I need to catch up big time with my blogging.  You will die.  Keely is HUGE! 

 A few weeks new and the BESTEST and SWEETEST baby that has ever lived.  I am patiently waiting for the fussy period to start, but it hasn't!  She never cries, is a good sleeper and nurser and is just smiley and happy all the time.  Only problem:  SHE DOESN'T TAKE A BOTTLE!!!  Ahh!!!  What am I going to do?!!  We have tried 6 different bottles and she fights them I tell you!  It's just a little challenging when I want to show property or work but luckily most people are okay with me bringing along my sidekick Keely with me.  At least she's a good and cute baby, right?

In the first few weeks I always felt like I had to have my eyes on both girls.  Malia has grown up already in the last couple of months since Keely has come and I trust her to do her thing when I take a shower or get ready for the day.  Malia is my old spirit.  We laugh about how we child proofed our whole house yet never once has Malia tried to get into the medicine or cleaner and just knows what stuff is yucky and not okay for her to play with.  I dunno, she is going to be raising me here before too long:)  

Lousy post I know.  I just gotta get these pictures posted before these babies of mine grow too big!!