Sister Love

Tonight Naomi had finally fallen asleep while at the same time Kimberlee woke up. Unfortunately, I HAD to take a shower. So Kimberlee was sitting quietly eating her cereal next to Naomi while I hurried to shower.

I get started and what do I hear, N crying on and off. i also hear K talking to her, trying to keep her quiet. I begin to really hurry and finish up my shower when I hear K say, "no N don't touch my cereal". I then jump out of the tub and peek out at the girls and I see K holding N on her lap and trying to sooth her. That touched my heart so much. N was being a true baby and tried to take K's bowl of cereal, but it was so beautiful to see how K just took it upon herself to help her sister while I was in the bathroom. That girl is a true gem of a daughter and sister.

Kimberlee's First Cake

Very many times when we go to the store with our children they add items to our final order not initially in our list. However, at a recent trip to Shop Rite Kimberlee saw this cute piggy spatula that she said she would make me a cake with.

How can I resist such cuteness? Well we finally got the chance to make the cake and she did quite well. We had a good time.

******Kimberlee you did a great job with the cake today! I'm so proud of all your enthusiasm and abilities. The cake was super delicious.

cheerleader

(this post is so old, but I thought I'd put it up anyway)

Kimberlee is the sweetest sister ever. The greatest  cheerleader. Recently she would break out into a loud round of applause when ever Daniel would sing or hum or stumble through the ABC song.  Such a supportive sister.

My own

I think since Kimberlee began to speak she has always said how she wanted her own things when she gets big. She is very expressive with get desires. Here is a list of things she wants when she gets big.

"When I get big I:
Want my own house"
Will have my own kids"
Will clean my own dishes"
Will drive my own car"
Will get my own makeup"
Will drink soda"
Will get my own husband"

And so on. You get the picture. Recently she came to me and said, "mommy can daddy be my husband?" I said, "no sweetly. Daddy is my husband but we are gonna ask God to lead us and get you your own husband".
"Ok. Can it be Daniel?"
"No mama, Daniel will have his own wife!"
"His own wife????!!!!!" (Almost with horror)
"And God will do that (with a bit of relief)
"Yes love"

I laughed so hard at this conversation.

Snack Time Heartbreak

I am pretty in tuned with the time frame I have in the mornings to get the kids fed and dressed in time for Kimani to take them to school when he gets home from work. To the point that I am a bit prideful about the fact that the kids 'are never late to school because of me'.

Well..... never say never.  Today not only did I "get up" and start my duties late, but I totally forgot to place a snack in Kimberlee's backpack and Nehemiah went to school with no backpack at all [I mean you can see this was a really bad morning for me]

Fast forward a few hours and, like I do everyday, I asked Kimberlee what she had for a snack.  She begins to tell me how she did not have a snack in her backpack because when she left I was in the bathroom and I forgot and she did not get a snack.  I said, 'I know I am sorry - so what did you eat?' and her eyes opened up so big and she exclaimed. NOTHING! it was like she was saying "what do you mean. I didn't have a snack what else was I gonna eat!" the tone in her voice broke my heart in pieces.

To top it off she told me all her friends were eating their snack and she just sat there with her water.  [poor girl didn't even get milk - it was just a sad story all around] Kimani had to hold me to his chest as I cried I felt so bad. I could just imagine her sitting there looking at everyone eat.  urgh!!!  I'm gonna cry again.
_________________________________________
UPDATE: (NOV. 21, 2012)
I contacted my daughter's wonderful teacher regarding our conversation about snack time and below is the response from her.

Mary Leslie via gmail.com	1:21 PM (2 hours ago)
to datneesmith

We gave her a snack yesterday... she had a cheese stick :)  You were still PLAYED!

Datnee Smith datneesmith@gmail.com	3:34 PM (3 minutes ago)
to Mary

oh! snap...  I want my tears back. LOL that is too stinking funny. 

Kimberlee says...

the other day Baby Naomi had been crying while I was seasoning some chicken for dinner and I asked Kimberlee to go talk to her little sister.

And suddenly I hear Kim's little feet running to her sister and she says, "Hi! I'm Kimberlee and I'm here to help you!" and she begins rocking her chair to quiet the baby down.  I laughed so hard.

Potty Training Follow up

It has been now a few weeks since we began to officially training Kimberlee on the potty. The last post regarding her potty training progress I was going to just go for it and let her sleep with no pampers overnight.

Well, she did pee on the bed, but it was only one time. She woke up wet that night and when I went to change her she was burning up with a fever that showed up out of nowhere. I gave her medicine and slept next to her over night to make sure she was all right. The next day she was still feverish so I did put a pamper on her to avoid any accidents. However, she woke up the next day with no fever and a clean diaper.

Now we don't even buy pampers for her anymore. She has been doing great. She used to announce when she had the urge to go so that I would go with her, but the past few days we have found her on the potty all by herself. She takes care of business and then asks to be cleaned. So proud.

Potty Training Kimberlee style

I am so blown away by Kimberlee's progress with potty training. Since I decided to actually follow through and leave her without diapers she has not gone #1 or #2 in her pamper. She has been going to the bathroom consistently. She has not peepeed on herself even during nap time, nor in the car (even as far as NYC).

I am gonna jump on and follow her lead and just let her sleep through the night without diapers. I have actually skipped over the pull up stage all together. So proud of my stinker. I told Kimani that it seems like she was totally ready to do it I just needed to stick to it.

Here we go with only undies to sleep. I hope to be back to give you the update.

The Puertorrican Duo - Kimberlee and Dora!

So our girl Kimberlee just recently discovered Dora, thanks to our Netflix account and she cannot be happier. She would even spontaneously sing, "Backpack, Backpack" or "I'm the map. I'm the map"... yes Kimberlee you are the map... She found her new best friend and nothing could make her happier than those few little notes at the beginning of each episode.

Lemme do it.

Kimberlee has been 'requesting' to use the spoon and feed herself for some time now. I have done little things to keep her from learning (like giving her a spoon while she eats) only because I really feared that there will be oatmeal in my ceiling and frankly, it seemed like too much to clean up. And doing all of that while pregnant it is just not fun, nor cute.

Well, Little Ms. Thing put her foot down Sunday night (3/28/2010) when she refused to eat dinner unless she fed herself. Honestly, it would have been fine with me, but we were at a dinner party with several other people and it just was not the place nor the time.

Monday morning I decided to let her go for it and have not fed her a meal since. She is doing really good. She is not throwing the food on the floor or the ceiling like I thought she would do, she is actually eating. I am blown away by this little girl.

I do not even know why Nemi is crying in the back ground. Really, when I checked on him he was totally fine. I jokingly said to him, do you want to be on the video... She wants to eat by herself like her big brother, and Nemi wants to be spoon fed like his little sister. They are funny.

I think I have a new friend

A year ago (almost to the day) TLC aired the delivery of Kimberlee. Today they re-aired the episode. I found out only because my friend send me a note via Facebook.

Well, some time later I got a beautiful note from a viewer and I think I just made a new friend. Below is our interaction via Facebook Email....

Kymmi Warner March 30 at 3:40pm

Okay so I was watching baby story which I usually catch in the morning, but anyway, I watched your family welcome Kimberlee Ann Smith into the family. I was so emotional as if you were my family. I cried and cried when you were in all that pain and when the baby finally came and I saw that you named her Kimberlee, I was totally a mess cuz thats my name and there arent many people that use that beautiful name anymore, but anyway, I just wanted to tell you that your story really touched me more than any other episode that I have seen and I hope that you, your hubby, son and daughter have a blessed, exciting and wonderful life...

Datnee Smith March 30 at 4:56pm

Oh! Kymmi, this is beautiful! I am crying over here as I read this. Thank you so much for reaching out to me. One never knows how our lives may touch others. Kimberlee has truly been a gift from God himself. We had so many trial and obstacles to get our little girl, and now she is on the constant move.

And what is best is that she is having a little brother in June. Crazy right?!

sincerely,
Datnee

Kymmi Warner March 30 at 8:41pm

Giiirl I am delighted for you! Now 2 boys and Princess Kimmee! I KNOW you are going to have medication. That pain hit you like crazy with Kim, I felt so sad and happy for you because I knew it would all be over soon and you would see your little girl. I taped the show when I saw it was coming on and my husband just watched it, he said "you know I dont watch that stuff but I liked that family, they are cool and their baby has a pretty name" lolol I just fell in love with your family. Hope we can keep in touch, oh by the way, are you puerto rican/dominican? My dad is puerto rican but sadly i dont know that side. Anyway I will type on and on and on. lol

Always, Kymmi

I was so touched by this note. It is so beautiful. I hope we keep in touch.

Dress for Kimberlee

My talented friend Leah made a dress for her little girl, Lily, from a pillowcase with a matching headband (http://blog.hestermania.com/2010/03/pillowcase-dress.html). It looks so cute. I got to thinking, 'Hey I could make a dress for Kimberlee too.'

Here it is:
Ok! so maybe I didn't really make one, just don't tell anyone this is an apron.

Sorry Kimberlee. I guess we'll borrow Lily's.

What a hairy mess?

So here is a picture of Kimberlee after I have washed her hair one day last week.

(yikes!)

But a few minutes with Mommy and it is all transformed to this.

(Much better.)

The Dentist with the gentle touch

Today was the kid's dental appointment. It went pretty smooth, Dr. Mann is awesome with Nehemiah and he just has a way to make him feel at ease. I really give it to him and how he gets work done in his little mouth without a mouth guard.

I was blown away when he told me Nehemiah's permanent molars are coming in... What!? my little boy is getting permanent teeth? Oh! no! he is getting so big. Soon his baby teeth will fall and then the rest of the perm teeth will come in, too big for his little mouth, and then he will be entering puberty. Oh! my goodness. I cannot believe it.

The dentist tells me Nemi will have to get sealants on the next visit to protect his molars from cavities and what not. Boy oh! boy. My baby is so big.

Kimberlee, who got out of the gate fast with her first teeth VERY EARLY (at four months), is now behind schedule on getting the rest of her teeth. Go figure!

I was a very proud Mama to report to the dentist that Kimberlee no longer used her pacifier. He commended me on it and told me that the pacifier is basically a crutch for the parents. Most kids learn to self sooth very early on, but the parents have a hard time with the transition. I said, "Yes, I know my nephew is 5 and still has his pacifier." He said, "yeah! that happens a lot."

******
But I think that it is easy for him to say that we should just remove the pacifier when the child is between 12 and 15 months, but he does not really know the situation in each home to say that. Like my brother had a second baby and it was not easy to remove the pacifier off the first child while the second depended on it. I think each family is different. Even my friend Marisol followed doctor's orders and took the pacifier away at one year old and now that her daughter is about to turn two she told me she would have kept it a bit longer if she could do it again. See, I think as parents we just choose to pick our battles.

As for me, it was a definite mental decision because I got to know my Kimberlee. And I saw that she did not use the pacifier to self soothe. She popped it in her mouth because it was there, not because she needed it. She would have one clipped on to her clothes and she would go find a second and she would swap them in and out like a little game. They were like toys. When I noticed that she was fine all day and even during nap/bed time) she would always spit it out of her mouth) then I knew she could totally live without it.

Living the Stories

I hate it when I do not write for a while and then all my wonderful stories get all put in the back burner.

Well, I am exhausted from nesting and doing way too much here in the house, but I am sitting here thinking about Nemi and Kimberlee and all their crazy ways. Here are some random stories I do not want to forget:

-On our recent Christmas trip to Florida we took a late flight (9pm departure - and it got delayed [the nerve]). Once we were up in the air Nemi looked out the window and saw the street lights of the city he said, "Wow! it's Christmas, it's beautiful!" right then and there my heart melted "Aww Nemi, It is Christmas!"

-Nehemiah loves for Kimberlee to chase him. Just a few days ago they were running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, but at one point Kimberlee took a detour and while Nemi was on the sofa waiting for her, she went to the room to say hi to Daddy. When Nemi noticed he said, "Wait a minute - Hold on." I cracked up as he stomped to the room to get Kimberlee to resume the game.

-We are trying hard to get Kimberlee to go to sleep by herself (instead of on my chest) and on her own (instead of me standing by her crib). So we are trying the Ferber method which tells you to allow your child to cry first for only one minute and then increase in increments as you see fit to allow the child to get used to putting themselves to sleep. Well, since Kimberlee and Nemi sleep in the same room he often gets up to give her the pacifier to help her quiet down. One night we found it funny that Nemi took on the Daddy roll and said in a 6-year-old stern voice, "No no no Kimberlee time to sleep." So funny

-Last weekend I had a 'family moment' like one of those times when you feel like you are doing exactly what a family should be doing. I was in the kitchen when Kimani announced he was taking Nemi down to the car with him to fix spark plugs or something. I stayed upstairs with Kimberlee preparing lunch. That moment took me back to the days when my Dad would fix cars with my brother in the garage and I would help my Mom fold laundry or clean the living room. As I peeked out the window to see them in the parking lot 'working so hard' it was nice to be in the past, but in the present at the same time.

- A few days after finding out we are having boy number 2 I said to Nehemiah,
"Hey Buddy! come say hi to your brother Samuel."
He responded, "Daniel?"
I said, "No Samuel."
Then he said, "Daniel!"
And of course I did what any mother who has had a name picked out prior to conception... I said, "Yes, Daniel"
We decided to change his name right then and there. We figured Nehemiah is a member of our family and he totally could contribute to the naming of his siblings. At least he did not say Bubba or Bofa or something like that. We cannot wait to meet Daniel in June.

This is all for now. Hope you enjoyed the stories as much as I loved living them.

A few things to catch up on.

I have a list of little stories I want to blog about on my iTouch. Every time something happens I make a note... So here goes the updates

1. At Kimberlee's last visit she weighed 18 lbs 10oz (dropped a few ounces from last time) and was 27 inches long (which seems to be where she has been for the past few visits).

2. At that same visit she surprised the doctor when I was putting on her shoes and she voluntarily said, Bye-Bye while waving her hands.

3. I am no longer nursing her. Last Saturday (10/17/09) I cut her off. I was tired of doing it and now I am pregnant, I am even more tired and Kimani has been wanting to help feed her so here it is... She did not like it, but I did it overnight. She woke up at midnight for some milk, unfortunately she encountered a bottle with formula. She finally gave in to the bottle at 4:30 am. It was a long night for all of us. Now she takes it pretty much without a fuss. Thank God.

4. Kimberlee is gonna walk soon. She has been taking steps here and there and yesterday she took three steps in a row. Very very proud of her.

Genius, well sort of...

Kimberlee is, as of this very moment (according to the MySpace tracker), 8 months, 3 weeks and 4 days old. She is doing all kinds of things, like getting ready to walk by standing and launching her little body every where. I see her practicing to wave by moving her fingers and wrist, she kneels while on the floor at times. She points with her little finger. Just recently I was feeding her an orange and she was trying to suck it, so I told her to bite and made the gesture myself... the very next moment she bit my finger. Duh! mommy.

Now these things are general, normal stages that all kids go through, even Nemi went through it. However, it would take Nehemiah so long to accomplish each and every single stage. We had to literally teach him to kneel. Literally. Also, to point and the list goes on and on.

The funny thing is that though I know Kimberlee is just learning the ways of the world the way all children do, I find myself thinking she is a genius, like every other mother in the world knows about their own child.

Carrots and Bananas

OK so Kimberlee had her first feeding last week Thursday. Back then she hardly ate her food since she didn't really know how to open her mouth and swallow.

Last night I was once again blown away by her when she ate an entire jar of carrots and 3/4 of a jar of bananas. She was going for it. I was seriously amazed. I could not believe she almost ate two jars of food. She was hungry.

I stopped the rice cereal all together now because she definitely hates it. She only had it once during her very first feeding and she never liked it after that. She literally locks her jaw and I was using the pacifier to get her to open her mouth and now she does not even go for that if it is rice cereal. So smart.

Four-month check up

During Kimberlee's four-month doctor's appointment last week here is what transpired:
*Kimberlee is now 14 lbs 23 inches.
*She is no longer in the petite range for length, she is nice and healthy.

Regarding her milestones:
*she is goo-gooing and noise-making as she should
*she is reaching and interacting right on par
*she is not however turning over. According to the doctor it is actually our fault because we are not giving her enough belly time and if she does not strengthen her upper body she will be delayed in flipping over and even crawling. So we have been giving her more belly time after Nemi goes to bed to avoid her getting unintentionally trampled.

Well, the good news is that on Sunday night (two nights ago) as Kimani and I were up late talking, Kimberlee got up to eat and decided to chill out with us for a while instead of going right back to bed and she actually turned over right there while hanging out with us. We were so excited and of course she did not do it again. It was fun that we got to witness it together.

Besides that we could start on the solids and at the next appointment she will get her ears pierced.

Sweet Sleep

my Kimberlee slept through the night two nights ago and again last night. She will be 3 months tomorrow and is doing great. I am so excited she slept all night. Though I woke up in pain and engorged, I did not mind. I had my sleep.

I love it, Nemi was a good sleeper as well. Love my kids - and my hubby. They are amazing.