Rylee {summertime}

Soaking up every minute of this summer with my sweet Rylee before she enters Kindergarten this fall. We have lots planned...swimming lessons, camps, VBS, trip to the beach for Father's Day, trip to the lake for July fourth, Rylee's 5th birthday, and lots of trips to the pool/splash pad! :)

Favorites: Horses, ponies, unicorns, swimming, going on the big water slides, hunting for 'treasures' outside, princesses, TLG camps, playing with her cousins and all her friends, board games (Sequence)

Favorite/funny things she says or does that I do not want to forget: 

• "It's going to be fine"
• "Oh come on!"
• "You know who knows everything? Jesus, God, and Santa knows a little bit too."
• "Once upon a time" - love listening to her tell stories
• "These are my kind of people!" with a big thumbs up lol!
• "It was just my pleasure!" when I told her thanks for helping me
• "Can't believe I am about to say this but I don't like swimming ALL the time." then went swimming for two hours straight lol
• "You're not smart, you're a genius!"
• "I hurt my foot's thumb" aka big toe lol
• "sausage" aka ostrich 
• "What's a 'nosei?" - while watching Frozen and they sang the part, 'Heaven knows I..."
• "fwee" aka three
• "I'm full all the way to the top!" (while eating and holding her hand above her head)
• "Deal!" with a big thumbs up :)
• "I love you 1050" <3
• "blanklet" aka blanket
• "Easy peazy, lemon squeezy!"
• "Slow and steady"
• "All of a sun" (all of a sudden) - LOVES telling and hearing stories (mostly consists of horses, unicorns, ponies, etc.)
• Doesn't have a very good memory at all! When I got home I asked how her day was and she of course said she did not remember. Then said, "I don't know, only Jesus knows everything!"
• "Everyone makes 'stakes' (mistakes)"
• "I'm a big girl! I don't cry, I don't lie, and I don't throw a fit!"
• Rayna coughed and Rylee immediately asked, "Are you ok?" I said "That is so sweet, Rylee!" Rylee said, "That's what best friends do!" <3<3<3
• Rylee- "Why do we say our prayers and read our bible every night?" Daddy- "To tell God how much we love him, thank him for each day, and pray for those who need it" Rylee- "...and so we don't shrink!" 
• Talking about Moana while watching the movie - "She's 4 1/2 and can swim without her floaties..." while crossing her arms and not looking amused lol. We are working on swimming without floaties.
• Rylee yelled from upstairs that she poo poo (lol-she still likes to tell me and needs help reaching the wet wipes). I said, "who did?" Rylee replied, "The girl with the curly hair!" :)
• "Mommy, I stayed in the lines without spilling it!" - when coloring
• "I need lipstick (aka chapstick) my lips are falling out"
• Calls Prince Charming from Beauty & the Beast 'Prince Blue Eyes' :)
• Went to her first waterpark and she LOVED all of it...slides, wave pool, and the 'lazy lizard'
• Rainbow is her favorite color
• Wants to marry Daddy
• Holds pencil correctly now
• Says her prayers a million miles an hour every night
• Gallops like a horse on all fours all over the house 
• STILL after three years HATES fireworks. 

Memorial Day Weekend

TLG Show Week! Rylee had so much fun this past year in her (mini flip) gymnastics class. She improved a lot, made sweet new friends, and had her aunt (KoKo) as her teacher!

First (official) day of summer and first trip to Bahama Bucks for snowcones with all her cousins!

End of the year soccer party! Rylee has improved so much this season and we lucked out with the best coaches and such a sweet team!

Proud of my girl!

Swim lessons with her big cousins! :)

Sweet Summertime!

Cousins <3 So much personality with these four!

 Fun at Harper's first Birthday party!

 Happy girl with her new horse puzzle! :)

Last day of swim lessons!

Father's Day Weekend at the beach!

First day of VBS!

Having a sweet sister moment when the 'Sister Time' song came on tv <3

Sleepover shenanigans!

Fun day at Splashway Waterpark!

Worn out!!!

Fun in the sun! At the end she says, "That was so much fun! Thank you everybody!" :)

Fourth of July weekend at the lake!

Celebrated Granna & Pop's 40th Anniversary!

Exploring Wimberly with Daddy

Little Besties

 Rylee had the time of her life at her friend's unicorn birthday party. Look at that smile! :) Can't believe she will be FIVE in just a few weeks.

 Sunday Funday with my sweet family! Pool days are the best!!

 Rough life for these two...

Girl's trip to Galveston! Pleasure Pier, swimming, horse drawn carriage ride, ice cream, and lots of memories made! Thanks Aunt Mera & Debbie!! <3

My little fish! Took off her floaties and after a few tries she was swimming on her own! Before she swims she says loud & proud, "Yes, I can!" and she did!! Super proud of my big girl and can't wait to continue practicing to get her swimming better & better! :)

Happy 5th Birthday to my little horse lover! Rylee has been counting down to turning FIVE and is excited to finally be a whole hand + start kindergarten this year! Her favorite thing in the world is still horses so we surprised her with an early birthday present - her very first riding lesson! She had the time of her life getting to meet 'Teddy', groom him, put his saddle on, walk him, ride him, and feed him. This face says it all and is a special memory I will never forget! Happy Birthday sweet girl! I love you more than you will ever know! <3

Sister Sister

Happy 5th Birthday to my sweet Rylee Lynn! We began the day by surprising her with chocolate chip pancakes, birthday presents, unicorn balloon (that she had been asking for), the birthday elf on the shelf, annual doctor visit for a check up (no shots!), eating lunch at CFA with her cousins, swimming 9without floaties), Freebirds for dinner, and a birthday cake! All of her favorites :)

Birthday surprises!

 FIVE!

 Her favorite present from mommy & daddy...a unicorn superhero outfit! Perfect for my girl!

 

 Five year old well check up

Height: 40.25 in (12%)

Weight: 38.8 lbs (42%)

 CFA lunch with her besties/cousins :)

Ending her special day with an ice cream birthday cake!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! Even though you are officially a big FIVE year old you will always be my baby <3

Rylee went to 'Camp Granna & Pops' for a few days! She had a blast spending some special time with them and the timing worked out perfectly since we were potty training Rayna the same week. While she was there they played dress up, went toy shopping, went out to lunch, got pedicures, helped Pops feed the fish, went horse riding at the neighbors, and found a special hand painted rock made just for her (unicorn with her name on it)!

Rylee & Kate's Birthday Party!

Playing dress up!

Birthday craft - painted horse/stable <3

Rayna {27 months}

Age: 27 months

Favorites: Princesses (she knows them all by name), Moana (still...), Minnie Mouse, swimming, chapstick, purses, coloring, watching Beauty and the Beast daily, tattoos (had her very first stick on one from a birthday party and cried when it starting disappearing lol), Anna & Elsa from Frozen (sleeps with them at night, sings Let it Go all day, and asks to watch it), swimming (asks daily to goto the pool with her swimsuit and sunscreen),

New favorite words/phrases: *Talking up a storm! She is a little sponge these days and repeats everything we say, asks soooo many questions, and talks in complete sentences!
A few of my favorites: 'bonjour!' and 'be our guest' (from the Beauty and the Beast movie), yogi (yogurt), Dr, Pepper (starting her early lol), "oh come on!" - always in the right context lol, Really? (after something falls or if she drops something lol), 'Mali, NOOOO couch!' when we leave the house lol, 'NO crying!' when we go to the gym...she went through a phase for about a month of crying at drop off and thank goodness she is over it, toetsies (toes - always asks to get them painted), netflithx (netflix), Mommy watch!, Lets go!, swimsoup (swimsuit), hold me tight!, what happened?, says prayers with Mommy and then says AMEN very loudly, unicorn, why?, what?, Happy Birthday Yayee (Rylee) - has a hard time pronouncing the R but I just love how she says her name,

This month:

• Went on a girl's trip to Galveston and got a little black eye in the pool...so clumsy! Rode rides, rode in a horse drawn carriage, swimming
• Got another bad ear infection
• Sleepover at Aunt Mera's and KoKo's
• Celebrated Rylee's 5th birthday
• Soooooo smart! Knows how old she is and holds up two fingers, can count to 10 but I have yet to get it on video but hopefully soon!, counts on fingers while naming family (mommy, daddy, Rylee, Mali, MEEEEE!, knows her colors, understands what we tell her and consequences
• Getting a lot braver in the pool (jumping in, going under, kicking feet)
• POTTY TRAINED!!!!

Monthly photo dump:

Little Besties! Rayna LOVES baby 'Harpy' <3

 Sunday Funday with my sweet family! Pool days are the best!!

 Rough life for these two...

Girl's trip to Galveston! Pleasure Pier, swimming, horse drawn carriage ride, ice cream, and lots of memories made! Thanks Aunt Mera & Debbie!! :)

This picture describes Rayna perfectly right now...her newest smile, wearing her favorite Minnie Mouse jammies, and always in princess shoes (Beauty & the Beast is her fav).

So much sass!

Sister Sister

Finally got a video of Rayna naming all the princesses on her purse :)

Always dressed up and always picking her nose lol...

Fun at Pump it Up!

Potty Training:

Rayna showed a lot of interest and readiness for this and it was all about us finding the right time to begin this potty training madness... On Sunday (the day before full on PT) I bought her a new little potty (pink ladybug) and had the M&Ms out to show her. She stayed in a diaper (as usual) but I began prepping her by reminding her to keep it dry and every time she wanted to go tee tee she was rewarded with one M&M. Well, it worked like a charm that day and she did wonderful! 

Day 1 PT: Got her up and we all were super excited to tell her today was the day to wear big girl panties and throw away her diapers!! She insisted on telling us to throw them away to Baby Harpy (Harper - my best friend's one year old) so we went with that. She out them in a bag and threw them outside. Next we showed her the new goodies to begin PT...lots of panties, books, M&Ms, nighttime panties (pull up diapers). Took off her diaper to pick out her first pair of panties (of course princess ones) and she started doing the 'potty dance" then tee tee right there on the floor so I picked her up and rushed her to the potty where she finished so she was rewarded. She did NOT like the accident on the floor at all. She picked out Anna/Elsa panties (her current fav) to start and was dry for the first few hours (!!!) making several trips to the potty to have little tee tees that she was rewarded for. 

 She loves the reward system! ;)

She did not have any accidents in them but was not wiping good enough so they were a little damp. Picked out new Beauty and the Beast panties next (her other fav). 

She kept telling us all day long, "I tee tee, Mommy or Daddy!" She was so proud of herself all day and so were we!!! There were two major accidents on day one...the first time was mentioned earlier right before she picked out her first panties and the other was when she was sitting in a little fold up chair watching a movie (she tee tee in chair then stood up and it got on floor...she said uh oh and then we rushed her to potty to finish). At nap time she was in a nighttime pull up and woke up with it dry which was great! She will be sleeping at nap and bedtime with pull up until her little bladder can make it all night long. Overall, the first day was very successful! Lots of being positive, lots of little tee tees (no poo poo yet), lots of M&Ms, lots of drinks, and lots of her wanting to do everything on her own (no big surprise) -  taking panties off to potty, getting paper, wiping, flushing, getting M&M, and putting panties back on...Little Miss Independent. Rylee was a big help too! A few of my favorite things she said today was..."Awe, you look so cute Rayna!", "Tell me if it is a big or little or white or yellow tee tee!", "I'm proud of you!", and "You want to see my panties, Rayna? Let me see which ones you are wearing!" <3 Hoping day two is even more successful...

Day 2 PT: Rayna woke up happy and excited to use the big girl potty but not dry. She immediately went to tee tee (little). At breakfast time she has a big accident in the chair (poo poo & tee tee). She did NOT like it at all! All morning she was doing great and telling me when she needed to go by saying..."I need to tee tee!" or "Mommy tee tee!" After a few hours she (and I) were getting bored inside watching movies, coloring, playing, and staying only downstairs so we went outside for some fresh air and a change of scenery. We brought the potty chair and she did great using it (at first wanted to tee tee in grass like she does when swimming lol but told her that we use the potty now). 

Day 2 has been good but a little more of a set back in the morning because I can tell she needs to go poo poo but she is scared to do it so she holds her bottom and a few times has refused to sit on the potty to tee tee because I think she is scared it will come out....so we have had several accidents on the floor. I am hoping she can learn to sit longer on the potty to get ALL the tee tee out and try to poo poo on the potty too. After nap time she woke up dry (again!!!) so that was great. She cried in the bathroom because she really needed to go potty and was holding it in then FINALLY I put her on the potty and she went BIG!!! It was definitely a page turner after the rough morning we had. All afternoon she did wonderful telling us when she had to go and having no more accidents. {Sidenote: this girl ALWAYS has a little wedgie and it is maybe the cutest thing ever! Her little booty and tan line lol...} It was a LONG morning BUT I am so very proud of her for knowing when to run to the potty, when to tell me, and still wearing panties instead of diapers! Slowly but surely we are getting there!! (fingers crossed sooner than later)

Day 3 PT: Rayna woke up wet but happy and went to the potty downstairs to tee tee. She is able to hold her bladder longer today and tells me, "I need to tee tee Mommy!" or just runs to the bathroom by herself to go! No accidents today except when she went to the potty to sit then stood up because she was scared to poo poo. The poo poo ended up on the floor and she did not like the looks of it. I am glad she was able to do it but with more practice I hope it ends up in the potty instead next time! Overall, today has been wonderful!!! I can see that Rayna is really understanding when she gets the feeling of when she needs to potty and she tells me every single time! She is also sitting longer on the potty instead of tee tee just a dribble. I have been singing songs or counting to help her sit and wait longer for all the tee tee to come out. *{side note} I was getting ready for a much needed GNO and Mike quickly went outside to move his truck while Rayna was inside. I heard her whinning so I went to check and she had NO panties on and looking for us. She ran to the potty to show me that she tee tee (big) all by herself!!! WOOHOO!!* I remind her often throughout the day to keep her panties dry and to tell me when she has to potty. Every time she tells me, "Ok Mommy Daddy!" and also she likes to remind me..."not on the table! not on the floor! not on the chair! not in the swimming pool!" She is such a smart little thing! I am so very proud of her progress over the last three days and how quickly she picked up on using the potty! We are excited to be diaper free forever (now if only I can just get brave enough to leave the house with her now)! It will never get old to see her so confident and proud of herself! After every single tee tee I tell her, "I'm so proud of you!" then she responds, "I'm proud of Rayna too!"

Her reward for a successful three day potty training was a Boss Baby doll! :)

Day 4: Poo Poo in potty and had first outing with no accidents!!!!