QUESTION & ANSWER

I was inspired by my friend who asks these questions to her kids. I didn't think I'd really get any real answered out of Reagan but she totally surprised me. Her vocabulary is above and beyond where Finley was at this age and it's amazing to see how much she really understands. They both answered without any prompting from me at all.

FINLEY - AGE 4

1. What's your favorite color? Pink, purple, & yellow
2. What's your favorite toy? babies
3. What's your favorite thing to do? To help
4. Who's your best friend? Lyla
5. What's your favorite movie? Rio 2 (she saw it for the first time yesterday)
6. What's your favorite food? Pizza
7. What's your favorite treat? Rice Krispie Treat
8. What's your favorite thing to do at preschool? Help people when they don’t know what to do and when they don’t remember what the teacher says (I think she's talking about church, because technically she's not in Preschool right now).
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? married
10. What's your favorite animal? Bianca (her stuffed dog)
11. What's your favorite thing to wear? Piggy pajamas
12. What 's your favorite song? The one about Heavenly God (A Child’s Prayer)
13. What's your favorite thing to do outside? Blow bubbles
14. What are you good at? dancing
15. What do you worry about? my new school (she starts preschool in a few months)
16. Who is the coolest person ever? Reagan, because she’s funny
17. What does your mom always say to you? "Don’t make bad choices."
18. What does your dad always say to you? "Don’t look over the edge by myself." (She’s talking about the half wall looking over our second floor into our living room. It's a big rule in our house that no one can look over the ledge or throw things over the ledge, and a few times lately she's snuck out of bed trying to look over and see what Brad and I are doing after her bedtime.)

And Finley wanted to add: “Those were funny questions, I like flowers too, and I love all of the things that I like!”

REAGAN - AGE 2

1. What's your favorite color? yellow
2. What's your favorite toy? puppy
3. What's your favorite thing to do? Play babies and say “pupize!” (surprise)
4. Who's your best friend? Logie (Logan)
5. What's your favorite movie? Ariel (Little Mermaid, obviously)
6. What's your favorite food? Pizza
7. What's your favorite treat? blueberries (this is false, she likes blueberries but her favorite treat is any kind of candy or dessert, she's a sugaraholic)
8. What's your favorite thing to do at preschool? n/a
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Because I’ll grow up! (don't think she understood this one)
10. What's your favorite animal? Kitty cats
11. What's your favorite thing to wear? Nighttime dress
12. What 's your favorite song? Twinkle (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)
13. What's your favorite thing to do outside? Wrestle (I'm not sure about what this means, or even if that's what she was saying, she likes to wrestle with daddy but I've never seen them do it outside?)
14. What are you good at? Joni’s house (I’m guessing she thought I was asking about how I always tell her to be good when we go to other people’s houses?)
15. What do you worry about? She didn’t understand this question
16. Who is the coolest person ever? Mommy!
17. What does your mom always say to you? “Bad choices”
18. What does your dad always say to you? “Quack, quack!” (I'm not sure about this one??)

SWIM SUIT SUMMER

I didn't realize this but when I started editing photos for this post they were all of Reagan! But it truly represents Finley's interest in posing for pictures. She can not handle looking at a camera. Reagan is starting to get that way, but no nearly as bad as Finley. Most pictures I have of Finley looking at the camera involve her making some very strange faces with her hands contorted weirdly. Hopefully she'll regret her non-compliance when she's older and realizes she has no normal pictures of herself at age 4 because it's so frustrating to me right now. Anyway, that was not the point of this post!

Lately we have spent every day in our swim suits, and I'm not complaining! It means a lot of sunscreen and washing of towels, but it's worth it. The girls love the water (Reagan even pushes us away when we try to hold her now - thank goodness for puddle jumpers!) and the water is hard to avoid when Birmingham has so many water options. We've got the lake, the pool, our own backyard, the splashpad... And all these places will become infinitely less crowded once school starts at the beginning of August.

About half the pictures I have of Reagan are of her eating. She's going to love that when she's older. She is a good snacker, she loves to graze like her mama.

 And here is the obligatory belly shot. This is me at 30 weeks. This little guy doesn't have a name that we can agree on. He moves so much I actually did an online search for, "is there such a thing as too much fetal movement." Turns out there isn't such a thing. But when I brought it up to my doctor he said over the years a few women have described movements as seizure like (exactly the words I used to describe them to Brad) and he said I shouldn't be concerned. So we'll see. It probably just means this little guy is going to be feisty and never sleep. Hooray. So my poor nameless third-born child, please get your wiggles out now.
 

OUR MISCHIEVOUS PAIR

 

These two have become really great friends and I could not be happier. They go to bed each night with dramatic hugs and wake up each morning excitedly running in to each others rooms. If they are apart I swear they are more happy to see each other again then they are to see me. But honestly I love it. My first thought when I found out I was having a second girl was relief that Finley would have a life long best friend. They don't always get along - believe me - but if it's just the two of them they are always by one another side.

Reagan is feisty and  opinionated about everything, but she usually wants to be doing whatever Finley is doing. She talks in full sentences which I'm assuming she did out of necessity so she could start bossing us all around. So far it's working and it's too late. We've definitely had to figure out a different method of parenting for this one. Finley has always been a dramatic child with lots of personality. Reagan doesn't always love to be the center of attention right away but once she warms up she likes to steal the spotlight from Finley. They both love to command our attention while repeating over and over, "Watch this!." Usually it's a dance or jumping from couch to couch.

Finley loves to make people laugh. If she says something (joke or not) that's funny, she WILL repeat the "joke" over and over for weeks hoping to get the same reaction. She also likes to retell funny stories from movies or recount the story of her saying something funny to someone else. On the same note she also has a hard time reacting to when people find her funny. She usually just awkwardly jerks her body around trying to hide her face in embarrassment. We are working on teaching her to be "in on the joke," and laugh along with everyone.

Even though Reagan is a little shyer she is very loving and once she likes you she will be your best friend. Which she shows in snuggles and hugs. Her favorite thing to say right now is, "Guess what?" before every statement or question she makes. It's hilarious. But not so hilarious when she says it over and over but doesn't have a follow up. Usually she does this while I'm driving until I distract her with something. KIDS.

Finley has gotten in to trouble more than once for secretly telling Reagan to do naughty things. This secret was about splashing me (five seconds prior I had explicitly told them not to splash when I was holding the camera.) They certainly are a mischievous pair but I wouldn't trade them for anything.

LATELY

Here is Finley in a classic sulk. These happen pretty much daily. She's really good at acting dejected, and she will definitely show you her disappointment.

So things have been flying by these past few months. Seriously! It's cliche because it's true. We are quickly approaching Finley's third (THIRD!!!) and Reagan's first (FIRST!!!) birthdays. We are all full of distinct personalities around these parts. Finley is still as sassy and independent as ever, Reagan is still a mama's girl who loves to be held. And a few other crazy milestones... I turned 30 last week! WHAT!? I know. I know. And also we have lived in Birmingham for almost a year now. This year has flown by. The first few months were rough, but since last August things have just been a blur. Here's to 5 more blurry years!

Finley and Reagan are becoming better friends. Mostly because Reagan is very forgiving of strangulation and blunt head trauma. She usually gets her just deserts because she's a very good slapper. Even though it appears here that she really doesn't do much damage. Yet.

This is Finley with her friend James hugging their baby siblings. Want to get a two-year-old to defend their brother/sister's personal space? Have another two-year-old try to interact with them. Suddenly they become fiercely possessive and loving, "THAT"S MY SISTER!"

One of Finley's favorite pastimes if collecting flowers (don't tell her this is a weed). It often makes walking outdoors very sloooow.

We take advantage of sunny Saturdays with Dad. They don't happen too often.

One of Reagan's besties is her giraffe Sophie, or as Finley calls it, Soapie.

And this is our snuggle monster. It's so strange having a snuggly child. She'll sit on my lap completely content. As soon as Finley was able to move on her own she spent most of her day trying to get away from me as quickly as possible. Even though Reagan is totally mobile most of her day is spent following me around the house. Poor thing. But she's building up some tough knees!

CLOTHES, POTTY, & YOGURT

I think it's accurate to say that these two munchkins keep me busy. These pictures were taken a few months ago when they both happened to being wearing clothes, which doesn't happen often. When it occurs I usually pull out the camera to document the occasion.

Since these pictures were taken Finley is now completely potty trained! Hooray! It's great for her to have a little more independence since previously she ALWAYS needed her diaper changed right when I sat down to feed Reagan. Now she can pretty much do everything on her own. I have to say that potty training was the one milestone that terrified me most about parenting. Everything else is a cake walk from here, right? Ha!

Reagan can almost crawl (so close!) and has finally gotten her third tooth (two on bottom, one on top). Her favorite food right now is yogurt. I was really hesitant to give it to her because she was really sensitive to my milk whenever I had dairy. I've been having almond milk in cereal and I've given up ice cream - oh the wondrous things you do for your children. Anytime I had more than a few bites of ice cream or spoonfulls of milk she would getting a "burn your skin off" diaper rash that would last forever. It didn't seem to affect her in any other way and my pediatrician wasn't worried enough to call it an allergy, she just told me to stay away from diary as much as possible. Anyway, so I fed her a few bites of yogurt one night to see if it would affect her and what do you know, no rash. But I found some soy yogurt that she loves just as well, so I'll just play is safe for now. That was a very long and boring explanation about yogurt and digestion. Sorry. Just so you know, Reagan loves yogurt.

Reagan does not let Finley get away with much, she protests if Finley takes her toys or food. And does not stand for being messed around with. It's probably a good thing because Finley is so feisty Reagan probably wouldn't stand a chance otherwise. She has definitely learned early on. You can tell though, that Reagan is so ready to be a big girl and get up and play with Finley. Sometimes she'll squirm out of my arms and bend over backwards trying to get on the ground to be with Finley. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to give up my baby yet, not even to her sister.

 

HAPPY 2013

So that was officially the longest blogging break I've ever taken. See I have this little problem, it's called iphone addiction. I got an iPhone and Brad got an iPad for Christmas and now with Instagram I'm finding that I'm getting lazier when it comes to jumping on our actual computer which is where I need to be to blog. Anyway. No excuses (except for the one I just gave), I'm committed to this blog so I want to keep it going. Posting just may be a little more sparse. For a daily update on the Carn Clan (mostly Finley and Reagan) then you can find us on Instagram at @bridgetcarn (or click on the link to view us in the Statigram viewer). So now here's a quick rundown of our haps:

Brad: Had a week off for Christmas. It was heavenly. Now the study marathon begins for boards. He'll get the month of March off to study and once his test is taken he'll have a little more time off and then Med School starts. Can't believe how these first 8 months have flown by so quickly.

Me: I got called to be Primary President at church (Primary is the children's Sunday School program for ages 18 months to 11 years old), which means I'm over about 70 kids every Sunday. We finally have all our teachers in place, which is a huge relief! Other than church, you can find me at lots of play groups for the girls. Luckily the other moms are awesome. I've found plenty of things to keep me and the girls entertained everyday. The house is about 90% put together (Reagan's nursery is not done, and two rooms still need to be painted), but I'm happy with how everything stands now. Of course all houses are a work in progress and I've learned to embrace that.

Finley: Talking up a storm! Sometimes she gets on a roll and starts saying every word she knows, every place and person and toy she's ever come in contact with. Which is pretty hilarious. She loves wearing her hair in pig tails. She loves "noodles and broccoli." She loves giving Reagan hugs and saying, "Nice to meet you Reagan!" She loves Peter Pan and Rio. She loves singing. She loves my phone and Brad's iPad. And most importantly she loves Daddy. The facetime feature on my phone has been used every night when Brad is on call, which really helps Finley.

Reagan: Also talking up a storm - just more babbling and less words. She loves jumping in her exersaucer. She loves chewing on her Sophie giraffe. She loves sweet potatoes. She loves smiling at strangers. She still loves the Baby Bjorn (thank goodness). She loves rolling everywhere (still not crawling, but she definitely moves around). She loves being held. She has two teeth on bottom and one on top peaking through. She also loves Daddy, but is still more of a Mama's girl.

 Hopefully this has us caught up so I can then catch up on all the pictures I have ready to go!

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'LL BE SNOW...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

LOVE, Brad, Bridget, Finley, & Reagan (& Santa)

Every time we ask Finley if she's been a good girl this year she tells us "no." Also, she calls Santa "Santahn" veeeeery close sounding to "Satan." Hmmmm. Between that and this photographic evidence it's easy to tell who's getting coal. I was a little nervous that Reagan would be upset but she was pretty much all smiles - she usually loves watching me make a fool of myself. Finley on the other hand had this exact look in every picture. She wasn't afraid of him she was just acting super grumpy. Oh well. I guess it makes for a funnier picture. Buck up kid! This guy brings you FREE candy and presents! He's kind of a big deal.

FINNERS AT TWO AND A HALF

Here is a little bit of what Finley has been up to. 

She still takes a bath every night. With lots of bubbles.

We cut out naps a few months ago, but she only recently got fully adjusted to a non-nap schedule. Occasionally she's just had too much fun and falls asleep in random places for a bit. The upside to no naps? She now goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at 8:00 or so the next morning. That makes me a happy mama! Now if only Reagan could follow suit.

Finley loves sitting in Reagan's things - which to be fair used to be her things so I can see how it's confusing. But a few weeks ago I found her sitting in Reagan's bouncer while Reagan was in it - Reagan was none too pleased. Plus she was forcing a binky in her mouth which is not how you go about making Reagan happy. (Notice Finley in a diaper. This was pre-potty training. As of two weeks ago there are no more diapers during the day! Hooray! Kinda of. It's still a work in progress.)

And this picture is to document her engineering mind. These are those bag clips from Ikea. I was cooking dinner and she was playing with them on the floor and all of sudden she says, "Mom, I'm making diamond shapes." And I looked down to this. Whaaaaaaat? I definitely did not teach her that - so thanks nursery, or Disney, or Sesame Street, or whatever/whoever taught her what diamonds are and how to make them. I'm clearly underestimating what she can learn. She must truly think my potty training dance is idiotic.

BIG PEOPLE FOOD

So Reagan started eating solids about a month ago. We started with the old stand by - rice cereal. She was NOT a fan.

Very skeptical.

Sure! The two-year-old can do the feeding! Now I can finally watch my stories and eat bon bons. Which is what Brad thinks I do anyway.

And here is what happened after the first few bites. You would think we were torturing her! And all cereals were a no go. We tried: rice, brown rice, and oatmeal. 

Finley's hotdog looked mighty appetizing!

Which gave me an idea! I'm a smart mamma. I figured out that this lady has a sophisticated palate. She just wanted the real stuff. So far she's eaten all sorts of veggies and fruits, but she's most partial to the bananas.

She's also figured out that bath time comes right after eating time. So now when I lift her out of the highchair after eating she starts shaking with excitement. I'm starting to smell a routine! Let's just hope this leads to her sleeping through the night again. I miss my 9 hour sleeper!