The best days of our lives...

Oh goodness, where do I start? Koko Bean is growing up too fast. Every time I turn around, she has come up with something new. For instance, this evening, she said she had pooped, but apparently, before she had come to inform us, she had already stuck her hand in her diaper and smeared it on her baby's swing. Gross? Absolutely!! Surprising?? Nothing surprises anymore. She also gave her baby doll red hair, as well as colored her hands and feet with a red marker. 

She's also coming into her own little personality more and more everyday, making demands to us like, "I need Daddy!" and "Please, I need chocolate milk." Not only does she have a bright personality, but she's mischievously smart. The other day, she ran into the living room, snatched up Daddy's phone, then ran giggling  into her bedroom. That was her game for the night.... ALL NIGHT. After Daddy's phone, she took Mommy's, then the different remotes. I don't know what possessed her but we enjoyed chasing her all night and listening to her infectious laughter. 

 Then there are those mornings that we struggle. Some mornings, she doesn't want to put clothes on. She just wants her "GJs" on all day. There are times she won't eat her breakfast, but most of the struggling is on Mommy and Daddy's part. Among all the hustle and bustle in the morning, sometimes she just wants to be held, ask a million questions, or just for us to play with her. Then the harsh reality sets in that we can hold her, answer her questions, and play, but not for a long time. We have to get to work. She has to go to daycare. Bummer!! I have been able to have some days off with just Korbin and Mommy time and Daddy has had his days with her too. The bonding on those days spoils both of us. On my days with her, we did flash cards on a rainy day and Daddy took her to the park when it was nice. 

This little girl has truly changed our lives. We've never said "I love you" more, and she can't get enough hugs and kisses from us and can't give enough to us. We both just look at each other or go, "pssst" and point when she's doing something original. These really are the best days of our lives. 

Shake it All About

Korbin's new favorite past time is SINGING! She loves songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Mr. Sun," and "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

We've Hokie Pokied and shook it all about, we've danced all over the living room, and we've sung our little hearts out. We've even made paper airplanes, and watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II- Secret of the Ooze a million times. (Besides my brother and cousins when they were her age, I've never seen a kid love this movie more.) Other cool things the Korbster does is draw! She says, "I draw circle." And guess what, she's been drawing the best circles for the last few months. We're working on making a 'K' for Korbin now. She still says every color is "pink." Who can blame her? Pink is a fabulous color.The language keeps on growing too. She's very good at pronouncing her Rs, with no hint of a W. I know this because she says, "Sarah" very well!!! Even though we're not home as often as most parents, I feel this little smarty pants is a self-teacher. She is VERY independent, and really doesn't like help. The only time she does, she says, "Help you" in a very Oklahoman way. Many of her little sayings involve a tiny accent which is too cute for words.

Since Mommy and Daddy have Thursdays and Fridays off we've been able to take Koko Bean places and avoid all the weekend crowds. Last week, we took a trip out to Crown Center in downtown KC, MO. We got to go to the Crayola Store and check out the Sea Adventure.

Mommy and Daddy even had fun in the fun mirrors at the Sea Adventure.

All I can do is sit back and watch this little girl play and explore. I am speechless most of the time and instead of joining her, I can't help but stare in awe. She picks things up quickly. I can remember when she was five months old, picking her up from daycare and Mina asking where the baby doll's nose was. Korbin pointed it out right away. Mina tells me on a daily basis how smart she is, and I just smile and thank God for fish oil and good genes....:) Maybe one day, like Uncle Paul says, "she'll be President. Who would vote against her?"

Korbin Quotations

We all have those days where we think life sometimes stinks. Right now, it's like minus fifty degrees outside, and I can't get the car out of the parking lot because the dumb snow plow guys like to shovel all the snow behind the parked cars. Therefore, there's no going anywhere, no gym, nothing! To top it off, I get to see all my friends' statuses about making cookies, soups, stews, chili, and so many other "comfort foods" that I would love to eat right now. My idea of comfort food definitely isn't chicken, brown rice and broccoli, but I can make myself a hot chocolate....protein shake. Yay!  But this isn't about Mommy at all. This blog is for Korbin and how Korbin can make a really boring day turn into a super fabulous and funny day. And what Korbin says/does goes as follows....

Mommy: "Well good morning Princess Korbin." (As I lean down to give her a morning kiss.)

Korbin: (puts tiny hand up and says) "Go away Mommy! Where's Daddy??"

Mommy: "Would you like some oatmeal for breakfast?"

Korbin: "Yes, and chocolate...(referring to her chocolate protein shake.)"

Mommy: "Would you like to put some clothes on today?"

Korbin: "NO! I wear Korbin GJs and sleep!"

As Korbin plays with her babies this morning, she realized the bottle she was feeding one of them actually had no real liquid in it. She came up to me and said, "Need more water honey." HONEY?? I guess all this time I've been calling her "honey," she's decided to reciprocate. 

I gave Korbin a piece of string cheese a minute ago. I ate mine and then went for some almonds to complete the snack. Korbin wanted some too. 

Me: "Korbin, where's your cheese?" 

Korbin: "The baby ate it." (referring to the baby she's been pushing around in her stroller all morning.)

Stay tuned....

This girl has a lot to say and when she does, we love to listen. :)

K1 & K2

Ten days short of Korbin's 1st Birthday, on December 27, 2009,  Little Miss Kinslee Marie was born. Little did we know that Koko Bean and Kinslee were going to get to spend a lot more time together and even live in the same city!!

Kinslee's daddy, Shannon's nephew, got a job with our company. Soon after, he packed up the family and headed North from Oklahoma. 

It's great to have them up here and see the girls finally interested in each other. So far, Korbin and Kinslee haven't gotten into too much trouble together and haven't had any knock-down-dragouts yet.... time will tell. 

Korbin loves it when her cousin "Kinsees" comes over to play. 

Last night they shared a snack trap full of Cheerio's and watched Barney in Korbin's bed. 

Korbin saved Kinslee the trouble of having to dig for the cereal herself. 

 Kinslee usually eats whatever Korbin doesn't and Korbin will try to sneak Kinslee's binky when we aren't looking.

I can't wait to see this story of cousins develop. Hopefully they'll be best friends like Uncle Josh and Daddy were. These two, K1 and K2 are probably going to get into fights, mischief and cause many a gray hair, but one thing is for sure, they will always have each other.

WiDe AwAkE

Here I am wide awake at 1:08 am on a Sunday morning when I know I have to work soon. Koko Bean finally just went to sleep for the night (fingers crossed) after eating not one, but two bowls of Rice Krispies.
I just keep thinking to myself what is a mommy supposed to do?

Everyday, we wake up around 8am, shower, get ready, eat breakfast/take a protein shake, take our vitamins, rush rush rush, forget stuff, pack a lunch, forget something else, start the car, oh crap, I forgot to put Korbin's shoes on and my workout bag, and in a blur, we're out the door and off to daycare.

After dropping the Korbster off at her most wonderful and nurturing daycare, I take the long way to work, and think about how the day will go. I don't know if it's a bad thing or not that I don't even worry about how Korbin is going to be at daycare. Most moms worry if their kid will get hurt, fed enough, changed enough, and all I can think about it is getting to work on time (30 minutes before I need to be there.)

As the day goes by, every time I pick up my phone, I see that sweet face. As I help my customers, each and every one, they ask me how my "baby" is and I tell them she's no longer a baby. They ask about her new adventures and her new words she's saying. We laugh and I can only hope my customers know what I'm giving up to help them meet their goals. By around 3pm, I'm desperately missing my munchkin.

Finally 6pm rolls around, I take my preworkout, change into gym clothes, and head out to get my sweet Koko Bean. She runs to me, and sometimes away from me when I get there. I swear she is the only kid not sitting down EVER at daycare. That girl is always on the move, so full of energy. We thank our daycare lady, blow her kisses, push the button (the garage,) and find the moon. Sometimes, the moon is "nigh nigh" and sometimes he's shining ever so brightly on us.

We drive out to the gym where Korbin immediately exclaims, "PLAY!" and "STICKER!" She loves to play at the gym daycare, but I can't help but think that I may be being selfish. I haven't seen her all day long, and here I am taking her to the gym with me. I could wait until 8pm when Daddy gets off work, but I wouldn't get to the gym until around 9pm and by that time, I'm starving so my workout is a waste. This way I tell myself, I can get her home BY 8pm and have a routine where we bathe, play, eat, read and go to bed.

My workout lasts for about an hour and fifteen minutes, then I sign her back out and head home. Then it's eat or not eat depending on her mood, growth spurt, and if the dewpoint is just so. (Seriously, this kid is a picky picky eater!!)  Daddy usually arrives when we do, so we usually play for a bit and have a nice soothing bath. Then we read a book, pop in a movie and she goes to sleep...wait, no she's not asleep? It's 11pm. Seriously? Did you hear that? "DADDY! MOMMY!" And the battle is on....

We try to rock her, quench her thirst, change her diaper, give her gas drops, then melatonin. Finally she relaxes enough where we can put her in bedroom again. Usually the above happens at least three times, minus the gas drops and melatonin of course. Then she finally dozes off around 12am to 1am. Most nights, she'll sleep until 9am.

The struggle for me is that I'm hoping I am doing the right thing. Working out is for me, and for my job. No one wants to buy supplements or take advice from someone who doesn't appear to live the lifestyle they are trying to sell. It's also a great stress reliever. That brings me to work....I LOVE MY JOB! Seriously, I've never done anything for a paycheck before that I actually looked forward to everyday, even on my days off! But there are those days when I see posts from my SAHM (Stay at home Mommy) friends and I want to be them. How lovely would it be to spend all day with my baby girl. I think about the day that hopefully her daddy and I have our own business and maybe just maybe I'm able to stay at home more often with her. Until then, I will go to work, enjoy my work, and bring home a paycheck in order to give her at least the life I had. Growing up, I never wanted for anything. Not that my parents made a lot of money, but I learned from them that you work for what you want, and you are thankful for what you have. This drive they instilled in me will hopefully pass on to my Korbster. She's already got Grammy's OCD. :)

To all my friends, SAHM friends and working mommy friends, I guess we do what we have to do even if we are making sacrifices either way. I just hope I am doing the right thing.

Korbin Year 2

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TaNgLeD

We took Koko Bean to her first big screen movie today in honor of her birthday. But first, she insisted on putting on her scarf, her Tapout shirt, and her Nike sandals.  After donning her pink gear, she got into Mommy's fingernail polish tub and brought Daddy a nice pink color to paint on her nails.

I guess getting gussied up takes a toll on a toddler. While I was getting ready to go, I came into the living room to find my sleepyhead fast asleep on the floor. Notice, she was still in her sandals and scarf.

After letting her sleep for about 45 minutes, we got all bundled up, and headed to Quicktrip for some movie theater snacks we could sneak in with Koko Bean's red M & M bag. Mommy and Daddy's favorite movie snacks are RUNTS, so we had to bring them for Koko Bean's first movie.

Koko Bean was in awe as we walked into the theater. We showed up just in time to watch one preview, then drum roll please...

TANGLED... IN 3D!! 

After Mommy realized there were two sizes of 3D glasses and we finally got the right size for K, we were set. Tangled was a perfect movie for her. She was very still through the first half. Towards the second half, after a few Runts, we had to take a break to check the diaper and walk around a minute. She was beaming from ear to ear as we walked back into the theater to finish the movie. She ended up watching the ending in a standing position by the railing. (We like to sit behind the railing to put our feet up.)

After the movie, we went to Izumi for sushi and a some Japanese steakhouse yumminess. Koko Bean was all smiles when the chef came over to cook our food until he lit the grill on fire... :(

She soon got over the initial shock of the fire and turned back around to watch the end of the show, but with caution. 

When we got home, we finally broke out the birthday cake. I bought her a little one for her the day of her birthday, but next weekend, she will get the real thing. I can't wait to see what my friend Amy cooks up for her. She blew out the candle and got to eat a sliver of it. Of course, like Mommy, she only likes frosting so it didn't take long before the cake was on the floor. 

All in all we had a pretty fabulous day.