Today the majority of the morning was spent playing at the park. We set out on an early morning walk, and ran into our friends while we were out and about. We all decided to head to the park where Hadley played with Dawson and Makai. Zoey hung out with us adults, but had a good time anyways.

By the time we returned it was time for lunch and naps.

Hadley woke up a little early so she and I spent some time together reading her new SpongeBob Square Pants book, finger painting, and coloring. Hadley has learned her ABC’s so we are moving on to teaching her colors.

Hadley had multiple baths today because of her multitude of accidents. I think she is revolting against any potty training we have accomplished. She has created two loads of laundry today alone.

Zoey also got a bath (singular) and enjoyed it very much. She really seems to find them relaxing. It was a busy day, and now I am exhausted.

Today Hadley helped me complete many tasks off of my very long to do list. We got the porch cleaned, the basement organized and cleaned and even swept up some of the leaves and gunk from the front walk. Hadley was very helpful, of course.

We had an early supper with Gerry and Joe, and then took baths.

In the evening Eric had softball for Church, so we headed off to those games. Hadley did a pretty good job of watching from her stroller and Zoey took a nice nap in the shade. The girls and I enjoyed the fresh air.

Today is Dawson’s birthday. We enjoyed a relaxing morning, where we pretty much just hung out at home. Hadley did go for a walk with Eric in the morning to get donuts.

Hadley and Zoey decided not to take naps today and Hadley just stayed in her room playing and yelling for mommy and daddy. This has become somewhat of a new ritual for her. She yells hoping that one of us will actually come to see what she wants. No such luck.

After “naptime”, it was time to head off to a BBQ birthday bash for Dawson. Hadley enjoyed swimming despite the brisk temperatures and breeze. We all had fun spending time with the Schwarz’.

Today was a pretty boring day. We went for a walk, and then finished up some chores at home. Tonight we decided to have some friends over to play games. We invited numerous different families over and the house was packed with our friends and Hadley’s little friends.

The kids went outside to swim for a little bit and then we all headed inside. We played some games and had a really fun night. Hadley went to bed WAY too late, but it was still a good time.

Last night Hadley went to the movies for the first time. Eric took her to see Kung Fu Panda. He had a rough day at work, and needed some special time with Hadley to cheer him up. They went with Lloyd and Emma, and had a wonderful time.

This morning Hadley had fun playing with her toys and making every mess known to man. Zoey was extra sleepy and spent her morning relaxing.

Lunch time was especially humorous today. I was making tacos and had shredded the cheese, which I left in a bowl on the counter top. I then turned to brown the meat and Hadley put nearly all the cheese into the coffee pot. When I went to assemble our tacos and couldn’t find the cheese I asked Hadley where it was. She said, “mommy, it goes in here.” and then pointed to the coffee pot. She is creative.

Later on, as we were eating, Hadley announced “watch your mouth!” Eric and I asked her where she heard that (believe it or not we have never had to say that to her yet) and we never did find out where that came from. It was highly entertaining.

It is nap time now, which means that Hadley is in her room laughing and yelling “daddy!!!????” and Zoey is staring up at me swaddled like a bug in a rug and smiling.

Tonight is the farmers market, and there is a sidewalk chalk drawing contest. I think I will let Hadley enter. Her abstract art is phenomenal. I don’t think that she can win though, seeing as how Eric is the judge of it.

I am wondering when Potty Training is officially over and when Hadley will enter into Potty Trained territory. That day is not today.

The better part of my day has been spent cleaning up “accidents” and doing laundry that has accumulated from said “accidents.” Thankfully one of these took place out in the garden so that minimized clean up.

I asked Hadley this morning what she wanted to wear and she went into her closet and came out with her princess dress that Nana bought her. Because I was already worn down from her messes, I complied. I am still amazed that she never had an accident in that dress. I am also amazed she didn’t have a mental breakdown when I told her to change because we were going outside. It is the small blessings in life that really do matter.

Zoey has spent the past few days cat napping, and it is making it more difficult to get things done while Hadley sleeps. She is however, extremely happy, and smiles and looks around at whatever I might be doing. At one point this morning, Zoey would burp and pass gas and then let out little giggles. Eric thinks he will need a man cave soon, but at this rate, I will need a place to retreat so I can soak up some femininity, because it won’t happen around Hadley or Zoey.

For a bit of quiet time this morning we read through part of Zoey’s story bible. Hadley asked me “why” about every 1.2 seconds and I tried to answer all of her questions. At one point, I resorted to telling her because “mommy doesn’t know everything” and I am wondering if I will regret this later.

This afternoon we have plans to walk to the library and then later on to go to Church. We will see if these things actually happen. Hadley and Zoey have a way of doing what they want to do, not necessarily doing what I have planned.

Last night there were some very loud storms that moved through. Eric and I expected Hadley to wake up and be upset, but she didn’t. When Eric and I asked her about it, she told us that the thunder went boom, boom, boom and she wasn’t scared because she had her Teddy Bear. We will eternally be grateful to Matt for buying Hadley that bear when we brought her home from the hospital.

Today was spent recuperating from all the paint fumes. We got the house put back together and Hadley gave some interesting input on where all the pictures should go.

The afternoon was much more eventful. We decided to brave the sweltering heat. We went out for a walk and then sat outside in the shade while Zoey slept. Hadley also rode her tricycle. Hadley wanted to ride it to meet Eric after work, but since I told her no, she settled for walking to his work instead. She did a great job looking for cars and holding my hand when we got to parking lots and crossing streets.

Since we had planned on Eric having softball games tonight, nothing was defrosted for supper. Eric let me know that games were canceled, so we were going to be left with the thrilling and tasty dinner of PB&J, but we decided instead that pizza sounded delicious. We also decided to invite Gerry over to eat.

Shortly after, Jenna called and asked to bring the kids over to play with Hadley. That is when the house the house got a little rowdy. Hadley and the Schwarz kids tend to get a little excited. They had lots of fun running in circles, screaming, slamming doors and doing pretty much anything that would cause destruction. I was so glad that I painted to create such a calming sanctuary for Eric to come home from work to rest in.

After a while, Hadley was losing patience with the boys and spent some time in time out. It was clearly bed time, so the Schwarz’ headed home and Hadley was off to bed.

Today was a day spent between Walmart and home. I decided to paint, which if I ever do again, will prove that I am a glutton for punishment. Hadley, Zoey and I started off with a lazy morning, and then we made the trip out to Walmart to purchase our supplies. Hadley and Zoey were excellent on the trip. This was great, considering it took up a large portion of our morning. Hadley busied herself digging through the contents of my purse and dropping things through the cart to the floor. This also could be why it took so long.

Once we were home I got started on the long process, and Hadley enjoyed some time with daddy before he had to hurry back to work.

Since the color “tan” I had chosen turned out to look like a dirty white, I didn’t get anything done during naptime. We had to make another trip out to Walmart to fix the color, so I asked Hadley if she wanted to go with me, or play at Emma’s house. Wonder what she picked…

After playing with Emma, Hadley had a complete mental breakdown when it was time to go. I asked her if she was done with her tantrum, and she told me “no!” So I requested that we carry on in the car, and Hadley complied, stomping her feet the whole way. Once in the car, it was a joyful chorus (which Zoey now joined) of wailing and I believe, some gnashing of teeth. My ears are still ringing.

Eric returned home shortly after and relieved me of the mommy duties so I could fully socumb to my OCD tendencies and finish what I had started.

Eric took Hadley to a softball game, and then to the park to play. Fun was had by all.

On a more sappy note, I realized today that I am becoming my mother. I used to make fun of her for only knowing how to paint walls tan or various colors of the sort, and now that is what I have done in my home. It is funny that I always thought I was very different from my mom, but now that I am turning into her, that is not a bad thing. I am hoping Hadley and Zoey feel the same way about me someday. ( I realize this will happen after their teen years when I sleep with the door locked for fear of retaliation after grounding them for whatever shenanigans they have gotten into.)

Hadley got up at 730, not nearly enough sleep.

We went to church and Zoey Belle did great. She cuddled with Mommy for a little while, and then spent the rest of the service with Grandma and Papa. Hadley, on the other hand, was a little wild. We took her out a couple of times to go to the bathroom. Last week she had an accident in class, so I’m trying to stay ahead of her. Overall, she was slightly naughty, but she wasn’t too bad.

After class, we all headed to Emily and Glenn’s new house. Lindsey hadn’t gotten to see it yet, so she was excited. I was excited because we were grilling out.

Hadley loved their house. The room with fire on the walls was a favorite, as she kept walking around saying, “It’s hot!”. She also enjoyed having Uncle Glenn take her down in the basement where all the computers were.

Zoey Belle just chilled out with Grandma for most of the time. When it was time to eat, Linds got her to sleep and she sat passed out for most of the meal. Hadley ate like a horse. She didn’t quite finish her hot dog, which is odd for her, but had multiple helpings of fruit salad and also had some chips.

Emily made a great ice cream dessert for us and everyone, including Hadley loved it. After eating, Hadley got to go outside to play with Piper, Emily and Glenn’s dog. Piper ran up to her and immediately knocked her to the ground. Hadley was a little scared, but got over it quickly and enjoyed throwing the tennis ball to the dog.

Zoey Belle got to spend some time cuddling with Papa, but that was cut short when she puked on him. Her vomiting is so much better lately, which has been a great blessing to all involved.

She was quite upset when it was time to go. Between leaving Papa and Grandma, Emily and Glenn, and Piper, she just wanted to stay all day. She cried when we left, but then fell asleep in her car seat. This was bad news, because we got home and she woke up and did not want to go back to sleep. I tried all the tricks in the book, but she was up for the rest of the day. Oh, well.

This evening, Jenna brought the kids over and they all spent some good time in the pool. I got back from working and then playing softball to bathe Hadley and get some cuddle time in before bed. She yelled for awhile before finally falling asleep. Not too bad of a day.

Today is Eric and my fifth anniversary.  Hadley proudly walked up to me and told me “happy fathers day” and then walked to Eric and said “happy birthday”.  She is an odd little girl.

Our day is going to be spent in Lincoln where Eric and I will go out to eat and to a movie, and the girls will be dropped off with Grandma and Papa.  It should be a fun day.

~ Linds
—–
Eric -
So we dropped off the girls and I immediately missed them. Lindsey and I got some shopping done and went to Olive Garden for dinner. It’s really weird to eat and not have kids around.

After dinner and shopping, we went and saw The Happening (a lovely anniversary film about everyone on the east coast committing suicide. Although last year we saw Zodiac…) Anyway, we really enjoyed our night out, but were ready to come home and see the girls.

I had forgotten to tell my mom that the clock in the living room hasn’t been working. So after pizza and playing with Grandma and Papa, Hadley didn’t get to bed until late. But, that’s ok, because she had been good. Zoey Belle was a little fussy, but I’m pretty sure she is just particular about how she is held/fed and everything else. Lindsey has it down to a science and Zoey knows what she wants. One of these days the rest of us will figure it out.

Hadley cried and cried until after 10 that she wanted Daddy to lay in bed with her. She was exhausted and eventually passed out. Now we’ll just see how late she sleeps in…

Hadley has been very independent lately.  Everything she wants to do she proudly proclaims, “Mine do it!!!”  I love that she wants to be a strong, independent woman, however, I do not love when that leads her to spilling an entire gallon of juice across my freshly scrubbed kitchen.

Hadley also has learned to say “I’m sad” when something doesn’t go her way.  This morning that was when I wouldn’t allow her to eat chocolate cake for breakfast.  When the guilt trip didn’t work, she cried and screamed, and then cried and screamed some more.  It was a lovely scene at 8am.

On a lighter note,  she is only asking about 999,000 times to watch tv.  (this is down from the 1,000,000 times she asked the day before.)  We did make another brave trip out to the garden.  It is one big tangled mess, and we may have to start a tomato store to sell all the fruits of our laziness.  It has also served to confuse Hadley on which of the green things are weeds and which are plants.  Especially since the majority of what we are pulling out are plants.

Zoey got her exercise in by spinning in circles.  She is able to rotate a full 360 degrees when laying on her back.  She really seems to like this because she laughs and coo’s the whole time.  Her amount of pleasure in this activity could also be measured by the sheer volume of drool that spills out of her mouth.

Our evening was spent over at Rusty’s apartment with the Armbrust family.  Emma and Hadley nearly tore the place apart and stopped just short of swinging from the chandeliers.  Eric took the girls outside to burn some steam and they threw sand on each other and laughed hysterically.  Eric told them to stop throwing sand at each other, and being the smart girls that they are, began to throw it on themselves.

After bathing both girls, it was bedtime.  The day was long and exhausting, but our time was spent much better than sitting inside all day.

Today we began the first day of our television/media ban.  It is not a full ban, but I have decided a half an hour is more than enough TV time for a two year old.  And I prefer it be Super WHY where she can practice her ABC’s and learn to solve problems ( I guess that is the therapist in me).     The day went well, and I only had to tell Hadley about one million times that we didn’t need the TV.  This did prove to be a difficult day to start this due to the bizarre weather.  Right when we would be getting ready to go outside, it would rain, and then when we found stuff to do inside, it would stop.  We opted for an early morning trip to Walmart where the girls helped me shop and Hadley arranged the cart just how she wanted it.  I secretly hope this is the start to her liking things organized…just like mom.

When we got home Hadley said she needed to go to the bathroom, and the best part was when she turned and said “oh yeah…and Mommy… Jesus loves me.”  She said this as if I doubted it, so I reassured her “yes He does Hadley. ”

We then went to meet Eric for lunch at McDonalds, and Hadley enjoyed eating, very slowly.

This evening we went to the local farmer’s market, and socialized with some of our friends.  The girls got some alone time with Eric, while I went for coffee with Jenna, and then it was off to bed.

***Hadley is in bed now singing Jesus loves me.  About two minutes ago she was singing the ABC’s.  ***

Zoey enjoyed helping me with chores today.  She sat in the clean laundry basket downstairs while I did some laundry, and she laughed and smiled a lot.  She also ate up all the attention Hadley showered her with.  I can’t wait for them to become friends.

Today Hadley was up earlier than she has been lately, and after going to bed late last night, this was a recipe for disaster. She has been really attached to the TV lately, and I am trying to break her of this.( T- 9 hours until I unplug the TV) So, when I attempted to turn off the TV this morning, she had mental breakdown number one.

Hadley bravely told me “mommy, I told you not to touch that!”

The morning continued on in this fashion, with Hadley wanting to do one thing, and me wanting her to do another. Eventually, she submitted, and gave in to the power of the sun shinning outdoors. This lasted maybe ten minutes before she declared, “I’ll be right back” and headed towards the door. When I asked her where she was going she told me “inside.” What is wrong with this child!!??? I decided to get her involved in gardening with me. Because I am new at gardening, I failed to clean out the garden last fall, and now we have to “weed” out the billions of tomato plants. Oops. Hadley and I were happily moving along and working hard when a nasty, hateful snake viciously attacked us. (Ok, so the snake just came out of its hole in the ground and moved quickly towards us). That was enough for me to call it a day out in the garden.

Right as we were coming inside Laura called to see if we could watch Emma for a while so she could get some work done. Hadley never turns down an opportunity to play with Emma, so soon the girls were off and playing having a wonderful time.

This afternoon Hadley got to go with Eric on a walk, and then it was off to church. Hadley loved going to her class and colored a wonderful picture. She was very good and even went to bed well.

Zoey’s day was less eventful. She took a few long naps, had some tummy time, read some books with mommy while Hadley slept, and smiled A LOT. She LOVES any attention she gets, and often will stop eating just to smile. Since figuring out her allergies, it has been like having a different baby in the house. We are re-learning what her cries mean and getting to know her all over again. She is much happier, and healthier overall, and I feel very blessed to have a baby that will just sit and cuddle with me without blood curdling screams. She is so sweet!!!

I’ve had so much to do lately and it seems like we are all running around without ever getting a chance to breathe.

Zoey is getting up at night and staying up for an hour or so. It’s really draining on Lindsey, but she’s been great about it and stayed really positive. Hadley has been sleeping well, but then she acts like she’s really crabby, so who knows.

Lindsey and the girls had a nice day. They tried taking a walk, but Zoey wasn’t having it, so after a lap around the block, they returned home.

I got home from work late, so as soon as I arrived, Hadley and I fired up the grill and began cooking filets. Lindsey brought Zoey out and the family all sat out in the nice weather while the food cooked. Hadley saw me wash my hands under the faucet and immediately declared, “Hands dirty!” She ran up and then spent 10 minutes washing her hands and drinking water.

After a delicious meal, we took a walk down to the carnival to get some cotton candy. Since it’s $3 to go on a ride (ridiculous) we just got the candy and walked around for a bit. Zoey was getting upset again, so home we went. It was probably good because Hadley kept saying she had to go to the bathroom, and she knows I’ll rarely call that bluff.

Lindsey was supposed to go swimming with Laura and Emma, but those plans got canceled, so Laura came over and the girls played for an hour instead. They sat on Hadley’s bed looking through books and screeching at the top of their lungs. Then Hadley came out of her room and the smell hit me like a ton of bricks. She had an accident and it wasn’t going to be pretty. After getting her cleaned up, 15 minutes or so passed and Emma decided to follow suit. Laura cleaned her up and the girls were back to their high pitched wails.

Zoey has been whining a lot and really wanting to be held. It’s hard to tell if she just wants attention or if she’s not feeling well. She did puke completely down my neck and it ran inside my shirt all over my chest. It was one of the most disturbing and disgusting things that has ever happened. I immediately felt myself dry heaving and Lindsey was nice enough to grab Zoey so that I could jump in the shower.

Finally, it was time for bed. The storms came in and I waited for Hadley to wake up from the thunder, but she stayed asleep.

The kids had a pretty good day. Minus Hadley’s new favorite thing to do, grit her teeth and yell. I asked if that was her angry face and she said yes.

Linds bought a little backyard pool and Hadley loves it. What I don’t love is getting home from work and then being asked by a cute little girl to sit in ice cold water. She kept asking, “Daddy gets in?” Finally I caved and got in. It was freezing, but we had a good time splashing and relaxing.

I had softball tonight, so Linds took the girls and met up with the Schwarz’s at the carnival. Garrett’s mom is in town helping out and she got tickets for Dawson, Makai and Hadley to go on some rides. They had a great time. After the rides, Hadley got to pick a duck from the pond and she won a soccer ball-guy-thing. I don’t know what it is, but she was pretty proud of it.

After the carnival, the kids got to play at the Schwarz’s for awhile before it was time to come home and pass out.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but we’ve been really busy the last week.

Lindsey has been cleaning to help out our friend who had surgery, so it’s been the girls and me most of the week. It is nice, though, to have some extra cash.

I was also preparing for another Mixed Martial Arts event on last Saturday night that I had to film, which kept me busy as well.

So, anyway, back to Father’s Day. We got up and went to church. Hadley did really well, but had to go to the bathroom several times. She started to get a little more excited and energetic, so I let her play for a bit to blow off some steam. I had to go film something, so I took Hadley to class and then Lindsey took Zoey with her. She said that Zoey did great and slept through class.

We got home and Lindsey made me my favorite Father’s Day meal, bacon double-cheeseburgers. We all sat and enjoyed them and then had french silk pie for dessert. Lindsey gave me a scavenger hunt to find my presents, but Hadley wanted to watch the movie Enchanted, so I did the hunt on my own. Her attention was momentarily diverted when she noticed that I got gummy bears as a gift and she asked, “Daddy share those?”

After a nice afternoon nap, we had Lael over. Dawson was sick and Jenna’s still recovering, so she stayed with us throughout the evening. Hadley loved the attention and they spent hours laughing and playing with toys.

Zoey had a decent afternoon, but wasn’t sleeping very well. Hadley went to bed and Zoey did as well, for a short period of time. Then she was up again. Then she went to bed again. Then she was up again. I don’t know what her deal was. Eventually, she went to sleep and so did we. Then she was up again.

Today we got a lot accomplished. We were up early and off to Walmart, first thing in the morning. After returning home, Hadley asked to play with Emma, approximately one million times within 2.5 minutes, so we got it arranged. Emma came over and the girls had all kinds of fun pushing babies in strollers and playing legos.

Naptime came quickly, and the girls went down without any problems. I was surprised because Emma went home minutes before naptime, so I was prepared for world war III.

We all took naps and when Hadley woke up, we headed outside to work in the garden. Working in the garden didn’t really work out. Hadley decided to spray Zoey in the face with a blast of cold water, leaving Zoey a little less than content. Once Zoey was calmed down, we moved on to washing the car. This gave Hadley a good outlet for her aggressive hose behaviors, and it kept everyone occupied.

When Hadley decided she was done, she climbed into the stroller demanding to go for a walk. It was too windy for that, and I was off the hook, because our friends had just arrived to grill out with us.

We spent the evening catching up with our friends (who we do not see often since they live in Alaska) and Hadley spent the evening showing them how funny and smart she is. Because it was a special occasion, we went out for ice cream, and let Hadley eat treats just a little too close to bedtime. Luckily, after the sugar rush passed, she went down to bed without any problems.

It is 10:45pm now, and Zoey is stirring. Why is it that she always wants to be awake when I want to go to sleep?

Today the girls were playing catch up…on sleep. Hadley slept in, and so did Zoey. After an uneventful morning (Hadley watched Cinderella) we had lunch, and the girls both went down for naps. They did not wake up until almost supper time! I got a lot of house work done, and baked some cookie bars for Jenna as a welcome home treat. By that time Eric was going to be on his way home, so we didn’t want to go too far. Hadley and I went outside to draw with some sidewalk chalk, and Hadley had fun making a game out of telling me when it was ok to draw and when to “wait.” Eric got home and it was time for me to leave. ( In the next few months I am taking over Jenna’s duties as a cleaning lady until she is recovered and ready to work again.)

While I was gone Eric reported that Hadley was well behaved, but Zoey was a little fussy, and was vomiting again. I got home after a few hours, and Hadley was tucked soundly into bed, and Zoey was hanging out with Daddy, Gerry and John. Zoey was all smiles and even talked with me for a little bit. Zoey fell asleep shortly after I got home. Those girls must have had fun this weekend, and hopefully will be more awake tomorrow. It is kind of boring hanging around at home without them to entertain me.

This morning Eric woke up with blood on his shirt, and Hadley had blood on her PJ’s. We knew this had to have come from her early morning spill, so we started to check her over. It turns out she had bitten through her tongue. She never mentioned having “owies” as she does any time she has the slightest ache or pain. When I asked why she didn’t say she was hurt, she replied “because.” It looks pretty bad, but it is already healing well.

Hadley had tons of fun at the Schmit reunion…we all did. The little ones were waiting at the door for Hadley to come in and play. She had tons of fun with Tristan, Hunter, Gavin, Peter, and especially Katherine and Madeline. Zoey also got some special attention from the kids, and seemed to like seeing some small faces other than Hadley’s. Zoey was still a little run down from the trip to the zoo, and was having trouble sleeping. After a lot of good food, and fun, we headed home to York.

We had just enough time to get home, get unpacked, and then we had to head out to Eric’s ball game. Hadley did a good job of playing with her buddy Ethan and Zoey was still fussy from the long weekend. We did get to see one of Eric’s old roommates at the games who is in town visiting from Alaska.

It was a very busy and hectic weekend, but well worth it because we got to see family!

Today we were all up and out of the house a little after 8am. We loaded up in the car and headed to Lincoln to see Jenna at the hospital. Hadley was a little wild, but she really loved the attention she got from Garrett. She especially loves the name he gave her (haddle-bags).

After our visit there, we headed to Omaha to the zoo. It was HOT. We were SWEATY.
Within minutes of arriving, Hadley threw a cup off her stroller into an exhibit. It was embarrassing. She went a little while longer and then attempted to throw a shoe overboard. Luckily I saw it happen and was able to remove any object within her reach that could be tossed to the animals. Zoey was very well behaved, although she was very sweaty also.

A few hours later, we left the zoo and headed to Papa and Grandma’s house. The girls loved being there, and Hadley even got to feed the kitties and go on a dune buggy ride.

We had a wonderful supper with dessert, and relaxed for the evening. Hadley got to cuddle with papa in bed, and fell into a peaceful sleep…until 4am.
We all awoke to Hadley’s blood curdling screams and all went running to see what was wrong. Hadley had fallen out of bed. So, she got to sleep the rest of the night with Mommy in bed, to keep her calm. It was a long night.

Today we cleaned the house from top to bottom. Hadley was a huge help, and mostly drank the water out of her spray bottle. The reason for the deep clean was that the lack of sleep is catching up with me, and if I sit still, I fall asleep. Hadley had all kinds of fun taking out her toys as I scrubbed down her room, and taking out Zoey’s toys as I cleaned Zoey’s room. She did want to help with mopping the floor in Zoey’s room, and did a pretty good job. I have also found that her little hands can reach back into corners easier than mine, and I am plotting the day that I sip my coffee as the children do the housework…OK, we all know I am too OCD for that. But it is a nice dream.

Zoey enjoyed the show, and sat in her bouncy seat. She was sure to encourage us with lots of smiles. She must have gotten bored though, because she kept dozing off.

Mid morning, we took a break to call Nana. Hadley told me, “I talk to Nana, right now!” She loves to talk to everyone on the phone, but hates to hang up. After a brief mental break down, she redirected. (Ok…so I offered her a piece of chocolate)

After Eric got home for a delicious meal of “if you can find it you can eat it” Hadley and Zoey took nice, long naps. Once the girls got up we headed out on a long walk, that included picking up Eric from work, feeding the fish at Garrett and Jenna’s, and getting ice cream at Java Hut.

Both girls went to bed easily, and that was a big blessing. Tomorrow we are off to the Zoo, and on Sunday the Schmit family reunion!

At 200am, I woke up to probably some of the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. I knew it was only a matter of time until Hadley got up.

She began to cry and Lindsey attempted to console her, but soon she wanted Daddy. I was exhausted, so I took my place next to her and tried to fall asleep. About an hour later, she was passed out, so I slowly made my way to the door. Just as I thought I had gotten away, I hear, “Daddy, lay down!” I followed my orders and slept terrible as El Pusho kicked and prodded all night. She’s worse than her mother.

That morning Hadley was ready to go. She kept asking, “Thunder nice?” We tried to tell her that it was nice and that she didn’t have to be afraid of it. I don’t think she bought it.

After I got home from work, Lindsey was off to clean, so it was the girls and me. Gerry came over and brought us some Valentino’s Pizza, which was basically awesome. Hadley didn’t eat much, though and Zoey cried a lot. She was definitely tired.

After I was done eating, I fed Zoey a little and then she fell asleep. Hadley was quite rambunctious and thought it would be fun to jump, climb, tickle and be generally abusive to Gerry and me. It was funny, as long as she was attacking him. She and Gerry had a pillow fight for awhile and that was amusing as well.

Zoey woke up eventually and ate. After that she was really well behaved and we just sat and enjoyed her smiles. Hadley on the other hand started jumping on me and nearly landing on Zoey. After being told to stop, she responded by swinging a bottle around, nearly clubbing Zoey in the head. Her refusal to say sorry got her a ticket to time-out, in which she decided it would be fun to wet herself.

I was fairly excited about these behaviors, so I cleaned her up and sent her to bed early. Surprisingly, she cried for awhile, but stayed in bed and went to sleep.

Zoey sat in the bouncy seat for awhile and then got to cuddle with Linds when she got home.

Here’s a video of Zoey dancing:

I got home from work and the girls had worn Lindsey down a bit. Hadley is her usual crazy self. The weather hadn’t looked good all day, so I wondered if my softball games were going to get canceled.

I played with the Hadley and Zoey for a bit, and then Lindsey got herself and Hadley some spaghetti for supper. Hadley loves spaghetti, you can tell by the amount on her body when she’s finished.

Zoey has been doing much better. She’s actually sitting by herself for extended periods of time and she is able to just look around and take everything in without crying all the time. I know this is nice for Lindsey.

Softball time came quick and the weather looked really bad. The girls decided they should probably stay home, which was a good call because it poured through the first two games we played. Lindsey said that both girls were good while I was gone and went to bed without any problems.

I’m pretty sure we are going to wear this sprinkler out.

It was another hot day and so I convinced Hadley that instead of going to the park, what she really wanted to do was play in the sprinkler. She finally agreed and we headed out.

After playing in the water for awhile, she decided that she would much rather just turn the water on and off. This wasn’t a big deal until Lindsey brought Zoey out to sit in a lawn chair and watch. Hadley turned the faucet on full blast and covered Linds and Zoey with ice cold water. It was funny, though.

Lindsey wanted to get some gardening done, so I took Zoey and watched Hadley and Mommy work pulling weeds in the garden together. I love how Hadley wants to do everything that Lindsey does. She’s a great helper, even though she doesn’t pay attention and steps on the plants all the time.

Suddenly a rush hit, with Lloyd, Emma, Chad, John and Gerry all stopping by at the same time. Lindsey took Zoey inside to eat and the rest of us stayed out and enjoyed the weather and playing catch. Hadley and Emma rolled around in the grass and laughed a lot. It’ll be too bad when Emma moves away, Hadley really enjoys playing with her and I’m sure with miss her a lot.

Today was another normal day. Hadley struggled through church, and we came home early, because Hadley clearly needed to nap. When we got home, Eric ended up being the tired one, and he slept on the couch.

Hadley on the other hand, had all kinds of energy. I decided to channel that energy into making monkey bread. Hadley helped, and did a great job. I did have to remind her not to lick the raw dough…but she did most the work. I only measured out the ingredients and warmed up the oven.

Eventually, all of us took naps, and when it was time to get up, Hadley went out with daddy and raked the lawn. She also played in the sprinkler.

After a light supper, we went on a family walk. It was getting hot, but it has been nice to be outside after all the rain!

Zoey is doing better. She doesn’t cry out in pain from her tummy hurting, and she is taking a bottle. She does have trouble falling asleep on her own, and that can be troublesome. I am just glad that she is feeling better.