MeMe's Helper

Josie and MeMe have so much fun together. MeMe lets Josie help in the kitchen which is one of Josie's favorite things in the world! She makes coffee, toast, and is very good at passing you a bowl.
Lately Josie has been calling MeMe "Grandma" - she heard us talking and joking about how before Josie was born my Mom said she wanted to be called Grandmother not some little "she-she, foo-foo" name....
Sometimes she is MeMe, sometimes Grandma (which sounds more like Grandmawer) and when Josie really wants something she is MeMe Grandma....
She has also started calling Pop Poppie when she really really wants something!

Kylie 2 months

Two months old and counting! Kylie has had a tough few months. She has had a cold and a terrible stomach virus, had to change to soy milk, and is on acid reflux medicine! Despite the struggle she is a now 13 pounds and 24 inches long. I am not one who wants to give a child medicine but I am a big fan of the acid reflux medicine. Kylie was never comfortable and most of the time she was screaming in pain. Now thanks to the combination of soy milk and medicine twice a day Kylie is a happy, comfortable sleeping angle! She smiles and coos and has discovered her hands. She loves her bouncy seat and spends lots of time in the pack-n-play with her toys. She sleeps from 9 to 5 and takes little cat naps during the day. She is drinking 6 ounces every 4 hours and still spits up but not half as bad as before the medicine.
Kylie is a real trooper who manages to sleep even when her big sister pulls on her hands, pokes her in the eye and tries to tickle her feet. It has been a challenge with two, but well worth it.

Driving

Josie and I went with Pop to the pasture behind his house to see the to see the cows. Of course Josie had to drive! There were about 25 cows in the field and a few walked up to the window of the truck. We were asked Josie what the cows says and she quietly said moo - moments later one of the cows threw its' head back and forcefully MOOOOOed in Dad's window and Josie's wide eyed expression turned to shock - for a moment I thought she was going to cry - but instead she looked right back at him and with all her mite MOOOOOOed back! It was hilarious!!! Now when you ask her what the cow says she throws her head back and gives you her loudest MOOO possible!

Later that same day Kevin and I took Josie to the rock corey behind Mom and Dad's house (and saw the cows again!) It is HUGE and surprisingly very beautiful.

Uncle JF

We love Uncle JF!

Kylie

My big girl

I have been doing a little spring cleaning by going through Josie and Kylie's clothes (and mine) and putting them in storage. Josie pulled out a pair of her 12 month jeans and tried to put them on....as you can see - they didn't fit!















FINALLY Josie wanted me to put her hair in ponytails! The teacher at Josie's daycare always puts one of the other little girls hair in ponytails so when I told Josie it was time to brush her hair and then we were going to go to daycare she ran over to the drawer where I keep her hair clips and ask for ponytails! I was trilled!









We are trying to transition Josie to the table since someone else is going to need the highchair soon!

Happy, Snowy Valentine's Day

Pop took Josie out to play in the snow this morning. She wasn't very excited about the snow until MeMe arrived and gave Josie her Valentine Bear.

Josie came in and deleivered her Valentine to MeMe

Kylie got a pretty little bear too!

Picture this

I decided to that we needed a few pics of the girls together so I ask Mom to come over and help me. Neither of us were prepared for what was to be the most intense 30 minutes ever! Who knew something so simple could be so hard. Josie loves to have HER picture taken but we soon discovered she didn't want to share the flash blub light! The first 15 seconds went well - the next 30 minutes left Mom and I in a cold sweat and both girls in tears! After 71 tries we got this photo - that's it - just one semi-cute photo.....I only wish we would have video taped it - it was so funny! My Mom told me that the next time I wanted to take pictures of the two of them I would need to pay someone! haha

All My Babies

I was trying to take some pictures of Josie and Kylie together and Josie decided she wanted to add a few new family members!

Peek-A-Boo

Kylie

sweet, sweet baby girl

Kylie One Month

As I did with Josie - I am going to try to take a picture of Kylie
each month on her "birthday" with the bears so you can watch her grow! I took Kylie to her one month appt and was doing well! She weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces and grew a half an inch to measure 21 and a half inches long.

What a Week

The Walker house has had a tough week! Here are the highlights:
Wed: 6 AM Kevin left for work and his first overnight trip since Kylie was born
4 pm - Josie threw-up and continued to throw-up every 20 minutes
My mom stayed the night and took care of Kylie while I tried to help Josie
Thurs: 6 AM Josie stopped throwing-up around and finally got some sleep
10:30 took Kylie to her one month doc appt - she is healthy - but might have colic...
Noon - Josie threw-up again
5PM Kevin came home
9PM Marie started throwing-up
Friday: 7 AM Kevin called work and told them he had to stay home - keep in mind that in the 15 years that Kevin has worked at IVC he has NEVER called in sick or missed a day of work due to illness - so he used his very first sick day to stay home and take care of us (I was literally unable to get out of bed and take care of my kids - I was SICK)
7:30 AM Barbara (MeMe)admitted to the hospital for a her planned gallbladder surgery
9 AM Marie stopped throwing-up
10 AM JF left the hospital to bring Gatorade and ginger ale (that he left outside on the back steps - haha)
Noon Barbara out of surgery and in recovery
4 PM Barbara home and doing well
9PM Kevin starts throwing up and Marie sleeps in Kylie's room
Saturday
2 AM Kylie starts throwing up
6 AM Kylie is weak and not eating
8 AM Call Kevin's Dad and he comes and gets Josie - Page the doctor to ask if we need to go to the hospital with Kylie- he says start her on pedialyte and call him in 2 hours
9 AM Kevin stops throwing up and starts with diarrhea
10 AM Kylie drinks 1 oz pedialyte and is a little better - Doctor tells us to take her off milk for 12 hours until the virus passes - lucky I had enough breast milk in the freezer to get her through
11 AM another 1 oz of pedialyte and the crying starts
Noon still crying and 2 oz of breast milk - crying stops
1 PM called to check on Josie - she threw-up at her Granddad's and had mild diarrhea (if there is such a thing)
2 PM called to check on MeMe- doing good
3 PM Kylie still crying
Sunday
3 AM Kylie still crying
8 AM Josie had a good night but still sick
10 AM Put Kylie back on formula - still crying
All morning - Marie washed clothes, bathrooms, floors and bleached the entire house!
Kevin still weak
Frank threw-up at some point - but only once (thank goodness)
3 PM Josie came home
4 PM things seem better but Kylie still crying
Monday
7 AM Kevin went to work - Kylie still crying
As far as the time frame from Monday until now - I have no idea...
what I do know is that Kylie cried A LOT - not just
crying - she was in pain and screaming!
Dad came over to help me take everyone to the
Doctor. We thought we were all better so we went to visit MeMe. Pop held Josie in his lap on the sofa beside MeMe so MeMe could love on Josie a little bit ..... MeMe looked at me and said she looks like she might throw-up.....and she did...Josie threw-up all over MeMe, Pop and the sofa- and when I grabbed her and ran to the bathroom with her she threw-up in the kitchen in front of the frig - and then in the bathroom - and all over me. Uncle JF found the patch in front of the frig when he stepped in it and almost fell....not the best visit.
I packed up the gang and headed home.
Josie got home and went to sleep - Kylie cried and
so did I. Kylie cried all night Monday night and I
prayed and cried with her.
Tuesday
After a very long night - we decided to change Kylie's formula - so Pop came over long enough for me to go to Food Lion and pick out a new formula (for the record - that's a lot of pressure AND they all looked the same to me). After rushing home, making the bottle and hoping for the best - she still cried. We thought Josie was good - but she threw-up again right after lunch and Kylie kept crying. While Josie was taking a nap and Kylie and I had been crying together for an hour - the phone rang....it was the lactation consultant from the hospital calling for the one month check-up to see how the breast feeding is going. The guilt kicked in since I stopped breast feeding after three weeks...and I broke down and told her everything that was going on (in an effort to make myself feel better about not breast feeding) and she told me to try changing her soy formula - that they had a lot of success with babies who showed signs of colic when they changed to soy. I hung up with her and called Pop and he came running with soy formula. Then our doctor called I told him and he agreed that the soy might help especially since the virus seems to really hate cow's milk.
After one bottle of soy - Kylie calmed down. After the second bottle she slept for 5 hours (and so did I) and today she is happy and smiling and seems to LOVE soy! So we are going cowless in the Walker home! No dairy of any kind for my girls for at least a week. Finally - things are getting better. Our prayers where answered...that one phone call made all the difference in the world. It was a terrible feeling to have both my girls sick and there was nothing I could do to make them better. Especially Kylie - she is so small and helpless. She was in so much pain and I didn't know what to do to make her better. Thank God they are both doing better. It has been a tough week - but I know it could have been a lot worse and I am grateful that we are all home - together, and getting better.
(None of the pics here were taken during the illness - they are all from the weekend before)

Kylie

Miss Kylie is doing well. Just over three weeks old now - she is growing and changing everyday. She is eating every four hours and spitting up every 5 minutes! I still don't understand how she is gaining weight - but she is. I take some comfort in knowing that Josie spit up all the time too and she is still growing! Though Kylie still looks like Josie did - she is beginning to look more and more like "herself." A day in her life is pretty normal for a three week old....she is a good eater - but not so good at keeping it all down. Josie entertains her by holding her hands and dancing with her and helping me burp her by gently patting her back. Kylie seems to like Josie - but she turns into a stiff little board when Josie gets to close,
to fast or when she gets a little to loud. Kylie enjoys
her time in the pack n play - especially when Josie
tries to show her all of her flashcards and throws
books in there for her to read.
Kylie is a great baby! Her schedule is pretty fixed - 9-1-5 feeding times (though every now and them she will sleep until 2 at night - God bless her little self) . For the most part she she is awake for about an hour and a half out of every four hours during the day - and sleeps solid after her 9 pm feed until the 1 and then out again until 5 - then again until 8.
We are going to the doc next week for the dreaded one month shots - and i am interested to see how much she weighs now. Will keep you posted.
We are so blessed to have two sweet little girls.

Our First Outing

We finally got out of the house! Our first family outing was to church. It was nice to get out of the house even if it was 22 degrees outside! We got to church a few minutes late - but we made it. Josie had the honor of introducing her little sister - when the preacher asked "Josie did you bring someone new to Church today?" - Josie (thanks to her Dad whispering in her

ear) announced "Kylie....Walker" It was the sweetest sound ever!

What's New With Josie?

Being a big sister is hard work! Josie is 18 months old now and is soaking up everything around her. She is learning new words everyday and she is putting words together and communicating with us - it is so fun! She sings ABCDEFG and Rain Rain Go Away. She can tell you her name is Josie Walker and that her sister is Kylie Walker. She knows that Lulu and Crickett (which sounds like Kickit) are her dogs and that any other dog in the yard is a "doggie."
She loves to look out the window and tell you what sees. Due to our remote location her vocabulary now includes tractor, trees, bird, airplane (when she sees the white streak in the sky), pond, pool, car, truck, swing, rain, sun, moon and thanks to this weekend weather - snow.
She still loves her books and flashcards but now she wants to "read" instead of being read to. She is going to daycare on Tues and Thurs and really seems to love it. She loves being around the other kids and gets so excited when I tell her she is going to daycare. She is learning a lot there - and when she comes home she tells us all about it. We don't understand a lot of what "she did" during the day - but she tells us anyway! She comes home and tells all of her baby dolls to "sit down" and then she "teaches." She also has learned how to "clean-up" - though the messes seem to get bigger and bigger. She loves to take everything out and them put most of it back. Especially clothes - the clothes basket and closet are her favorites right now. She also loves to "get ready to go" - she runs to her closet and says, "shoes, hat, coat, GO" and grabs her diaper bag and heads for the door! Another really cute- when we tell her that "someone is here..." she runs to the window, knocks on it, and waves - then she will announce who's home - then run to the door and wait for it to open. And when someone leaves she will run to the same window and knock and wave bye-bye. Seeing that little face smiling and waving makes coming home even better and gives me something to smile about even when I am leaving.
She still loves bath and bedtime - and still dances with her Dad every night. She is lots of fun to be around and keeps all of us laughing and wondering what she is going to do next!

The Second Time Around

WOW - three weeks and BOTH of my kids are still alive! As you can tell by this photo - I on the other hand - need some sun, sleep and about 2 days at the spa...but who cares about me, right? I have been doing a lot of thinking about how different it is "the second time around" - and I have decided that everyone should have their second child first. Of course Kylie is the "perfect baby" which makes it easier...but I am so much calmer this time around. Who knew it could be fun to have a newborn? Not to say that Josie wasn't a fun baby - it was me who was no fun the first time around. Who enjoys being around a stressed out, sleep deprived, and completely and totally overwhelmed crazy person? I can remember being so scared that I was going to do something "wrong"- something that would hurt Josie or worse, make her hate me. I cried every time Josie spit up (which you may recall was ALL the time), I couldn't sleep even though Josie was sleeping all the time. I insisted on doing it all myself because I wanted to be SUPERMOM! That evil little voice that kept telling me that I was failing - that I was a "bad" mother- that voice kept me running in circles. Not to mention the hormones that can convince you that you have multiple personalities - and none of them are a suitable parent for a newborn baby! This time is soooo different. I am soooo different. Kylie spits up just as much as Josie did, if not more - but there are no tears because I know she is going to be ok. I asked for and excepted help because I know I can do it all - but I don't have to. I enjoy the middle of the night feedings because it's the only quiet time that Kylie and I have and I know we wont have very many quiet moments. Now the hormones I can't control - but this time they have made me more sentimental than crazy. It hit me like a ton of bricks the other day - we celebrated every one of Josie's "first" - first bottle, first bath, first step - and though we will savor every one of Kylie's first - I realised that there will also be the "last" time too. This time just might have been the last time I am pregnant - the last time I feel those little kicks, the last time I become a mom. With each first, there will also be a last - and I want to remember and celebrate both! I don't want to miss a moment - not the first or the last. I now know how fast this time goes by and I want to make sure I enjoy it rather than hurring through it. I want to enjoy it - even when it's hard and overwhelming because this could be the last time....and I want to make sure that this time I remember I am the be the best Mom I can be to our two little girls - two sweet, beautiful little girls... and I am grateful.

Josie is a Big Sister!

We are proud to announce the arrival of Miss Kylie Reed Walker! Kylie was born on December 27th at 2:29 PM. She was 8 pounds and 5 ounces and 21 inches long. She has light brown (though Kevin keeps saying it's blonde) hair and sweet blue eyes.
Once again, Kevin played a major roll in the delivery. Dr. Van and Kevin were side-by-side and she let Kevin be the one to actually deliver her. Her Daddy's hands were the first she ever felt! It was a very special moment for all of us.

The top pic is Kylie waiting to meet her sister. The next 2 pics are Josie's reaction to seeing Kylie for the first time. Josie seems to really like having Kylie around.
Of course it's only been a week - but so far Josie
is very sweet and kissed Kylie all the time. She has
mastered saying "Kylie" but still likes to call her
baby.
The bottom pic is Kylie's first morning at home!

Pics of Kylie

Hanging out with my sister!

Nap time
Leaving the hospital

Getting ready to go home!

Santa

I had a doctor's appointment in Richmond last Friday so I decided it would be a great time to take Josie to see Santa. I talked my Mom into going with me so I would have backup in the event Josie had a meltdown. We decided to take Josie to the Richmond Children's Museum to see the "Legendary Santa" (the old Miller and Rhodes Santa). Once again - I was trying to overcome the Scrooge in me and get excited about this oh-so-festive time of the year. By taking Josie to see this Santa we would have an extra special picture because JF and I both sat in the Legendary Santa's lap when we were little - and Mom still has the pictures to prove it! This was going to be a sentimental moment - one that just ignite the Christmas spirit within me....
Filled with anticipation we arrived at the museum at 11:00 - waited in line for 30 minutes to discover that the Legendary Santa was not going to be there until 3:00 - but his buddy
Kris Kringle, who weighed a buck twenty-five and vaguely resembles the Lion form the Wizard of Oz, was our only choice. After recovering from the disappointment of not being able to see "my" Santa - we waited the additional 20 minutes for Josie to see the Cowardly Santa. She could not have cared less about Santa -she was much more interested in the 16-year-old "Snow Queen" the little girl who was coloring in the front row. So - all-in-all - it was an uneventful trip to see Santa. Next year we will call in advance for Santa's schedule....

My Favorite Hat!

Josie loves her little stocking cap! Francis Warren - a wonderful lady in our church made Josie a little pale pink hat when she was born and now has made this perfect pink hat for the winter - and Josie loves it! She can put it on herself though most of the time she pulls it all the way down. She even wears it while she is in the house - pulled all the way down! I think she likes looking through it.