We love preschool

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with preschool but I thought Matney helping HK drink from a straw was cute!

The first day of preschool was a little rough for all of us. Matney did cry, was exhausted, I was worried about her the entire time and HK was not impressed with my attempts to entertain her by myself. However, every day since her first day of school Matney has gotten up and asked to go back. The five days out of seven that she's stuck home with us don't always get met with enthusiasm. She loves preschool and, as much as it is hard to watch her grow up, I love that she loves it. So far she's made her name in glitter (which is now all over my house) and glue, painted an alligator and made her handprints, all of which she is very, very proud of.

By the end of the second day I called Jared to say "I LOVE PRESCHOOL!!!" too. Oh my! I have had the best time with HK. I hadn't thought about it before but I've never spent four hours with her one on one before. Every once in a while we're alone for an hour while Matney and Jared run an errand but most of the time all us girls are together. She is so funny and has totally loved all the attention. We've gone to the playground, the mall, the park, story time at the library, lots of other stores and we have had a great time. And can I just say that going places with one child, especially only getting one in and out of the car, is just an incredible thing! Our girls were so close together that by the time Matney was really old enough to go lots of places in a day HK was already born. Running around for hours with one child is SO MUCH EASIER than hauling two around. We have lots of friends about to have baby number two and I don't want to scare anyone but you should all get any errands done NOW that you need to run for the next year, especially before the heat hits again next summer. Or, just make sure your older one goes to preschool!

Paula Deen not black beans

During the summer we made Paula Deen's banana pudding from scratch, whipped cream and everything. While it was tasty no one in the house liked it nearly as much as Halle Kate. She LOVED IT. Normally it is a struggle to get her to eat anything other than black beans but not this time. She quickly ditched the spoon and just dove in!

Catch up posting

It is like blogging Christmas tonight! I've spent a lot of time today trying to play catch up with pictures from the summer. I figured out how to back date a post so there are new ones inserted at the correct date so that when I print the blog it will be correct. I've put the links below for those of you who are interested.

Backyard Water Fun

Splash Park

Summer Family Pictures

HK First Birthday Pictures

So proud!

I found this cup at a dollar store and saved it for a rainy summer day. Matney colored paper that we slipped down into a space around the cup. She colored animals and is beyond proud. Plus, it isn't a sippy cup, it is a "big girl cup" and Miss M thinks she is hot stuff!

Matney goes to preschool!

Matney started preschool Thursday at Creekside Christian Academy. The night before school started I finally decided not to be "that mom" that had Miss M all dressed up and looking just like I wanted but not how she wanted. She'd already picked out her own kitty cat lunch box and I returned the pretty pink one I planned to monogram. Then, an hour before they closed, we ran into Stride Rite and she picked out new tennis shoes (not her silver loafers she normally wears with dresses that are super cute but not playground friendly). And then as she got dressed for school I gave her several options, knowing she'd pick the elephant outfit and not the dress with ruffles that I wanted. Big sigh. Why is it at two I am already having to give up some control and let her grow up???? Isn't she still just a baby?
When we left for school that morning she loved her outfit and was very proud of her kitty cat lunchbox. She kind of reminded me of the "old people mall walkers" that wear their normal clothes with tennis shoes. HA! She was beautiful and excited!












The school has a camera system in the rooms (no audio) so we were able to peek in via the web and check on her a few times. We saw her color, play dolls and get rocked in the teacher's lap. She was crying when we picked her up but quickly calmed down in the car. I asked her what she did in preschool and she said, "I cried at preschool." (talk about breaking a parent's heart!). Then I asked her "why did you cry?". And after thinking hard for a minute she finally said, "I needed my Daddy.". SNIFF, SNIFF, SNOOOORT! Gracious, child, way to make your parents cry...and then wrap Daddy around your finger a little more. Pretty sure Jared would have stopped to buy her a pony on the way home had she asked for one!

She has been ready to go to school since we toured the school months ago so I haven't been too worried about how she'd do. Originally we were going to wait another year before thought about school but she loves other kids and loves learning so much. We watched her play with "big kids" one weekend, I don't remember where, and Jared brought preschool back up that night. We toured some schools and made the decision to send her two days a week from 9am-1pm. She will eat lunch at school and get home just in time for the girls to take a nap. Lovely! However, I don't know what I will do with HK for 8 hours a week. HK loves her sister, does not take a morning nap anymore and is not easy to handle by herself! If Matney was my only child I could only dream about all the things I could get done with eight hours alone. Instead, the three Heald girls have to figure out how to be out of the house, on time, before 8am for the first time ever. And then I have to occupy HK and learn a new routine. Not an easy task! In some ways this is not the easiest change we've ever made but we totally believe it is will be wonderful for Matney. Just look at these pictures. She is such a happy girl and growing up so quickly.

Itty Bitty Girl

With the girls passing sickness back and forth right after HK's birthday I didn't get her to her 12 month appointment until she was 14 months old. And now it has taken me another few weeks to get her info on the blog. Anyway, she's still a total itty bitty peanut. She weighed 18.8lbs (0-3%) and was 29.5" tall (25%) at 14 months. She should have 2-3 words at a year and we'd counted at least 25 that she normally uses at 14 months. I guess we've got another early talker in the house. Poor Jared, girls need to speak lots of words a day! The dr said she's tiny but very healthy.

These pictures were taken at exactly 14 months. The dress HK is wearing was Matney's and is a size 3-6 months. I remembered having pictures of Matney wearing it so I just went back through the blog to find them...and have been laughing ever since. Here are pictures of M in the dress from Aug 2008 when I posted her 5 month update. I checked back and Matney weighed over 17.5lb at 6 months. It is so funny to me that these sisters are so different. Poor Halle Kate is going to be close to two years old before she weighs the required 20lbs to face her carseat forward.

Up all night

For this first time since becoming a parent I brought one of the girls downstairs in the middle of the night, turned on the light and let her play at 2am. A week ago Halle Kate was up every night for several hours in the middle of the night. Normally I'll rock them as long as it takes but I won't turn on a light/play/talk. This night I could tell HK wasn't having it and I figured maybe she'd get tired enough playing that we could go back to bed. It eventually worked but she was hyper for a while. These pictures were taken from about 2:30-3:30am.
What puppy dogs and kitty cats are to Matney baby dolls are to Halle Kate. She LOVES baby dolls. When we walk in Target she starts screaming "baby, baby" and point toward the baby doll row. Seriously, I don't think we could have enough baby dolls in the house for her. Matney owned one baby and never played with it (at least not until HK wants to play with it now). Halle Kate carries one around everywhere. Other than their hair color Matney and HK are still proving to be total opposites!













We eventually put her babydoll to bed and HK took a little rest on the Elmo bed herself. Then she got a second wind and played with blocks, brushed her teeth, drew on the magnetic board and read a little Dora before we finally went back to bed around 4am. I am so so SO ready for an entire month of sleeping through the night!