John's first Bike Race

According to Wikipedia:

The Little 500 (also known popularly as the "Little Five"), is a bicycle race held annually at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The race was founded in 1951... modelled after the Indianapolis 500.

Apparently The Little 500 is a BIG deal here in Bloomington, and involves LOTS of celebrating. Although John did not participate in this particular race (actually being held today) , he did race yesterday, in what I think was an even better race, the

Kelley Little 500 Trike Race

(aka full-grown adults racing on little tiny bikes complete with training-wheels).

Never one to shy away from a fun opportunity (even one with a high-potential to be embarrassing), John put together a team of 5 of his friends (all first-year LDS MBA Dads that live in our neighborhood) to compete. Being the loving, supportive wives that we are, we made sure that our team was outfitted in the best gear, which in this case included t-shirts with their team name, "Hoosier Daddies" on the front, and an embarrassing photo on the back with all of their faces photo shopped on an old, cheesy N'SYNC photo.

We also brought along all of the younger kids to form a cheering section for their dads.

John started the race off, and was followed by Bryan, Andy, Logan, and Joe. It was SO funny watching all of these "professional" MBAs racing around on such tiny little trikes.
Our Hoosier Daddies pretty much dominated the race, and WON!!!
Here is Joe doing a wheely at the finishline...how can anyone compete with that?
We are very proud of our Hoosier Daddies (5 Daddis with a combined 15 kids!), and are expecting a repeat title next year.

Daddy's a Big Boy!

We have started the process of introducing Makenna to Potty Training, by having her try to go potty every night as part of her bedtime routine. She has been doing really well, and after she goes potty, we always make a big deal about it and give her lots of praise such as,

"Good job Makenna!"

"You are such a big girl!"

"That makes Mommy and Daddy so happy when you go potty in the toilet!"

Well...yesterday while I was away, Makenna walked into the bathroom right when John was finishing (he forgot to lock the door) and said to him,

"Daddy potty big boy; makes Menna SO Happy!"

and then hugged his leg!

Oh how I love my funny little girl.

Big Girl Bed

John just informed me that aside from maybe his mom, no one else will find this post interesting, so feel free to skip this "journal" post about Makenna's transition to her "Big Girl Bed" but for the sake of record-keeping, here it is.

I ordered Makenna a "Big Girl Bed" about 6 months ago, but it sat in the box for a LONG time. Makenna was still sleeping great in her crib, and I wasn't ready to have her give up her naps, which I feared she would when we moved her out of her crib. Plus, John wasn't ready to give up his office, which would become Makenna's new room. We finally set the bed up at the end of February, but with a trip to Omaha scheduled for mid-March during spring break, we didn't move her into it just yet. She did however enjoy playing on it, and piling all of her books on it.

Makenna was VERY excited about her new bed, and wanted to sleep in it as soon as we got home from spending spring break in Omaha, but again I put her off, this time for fear of being up with 2 children in the night without John, who was still in Peru. I told her that we had to wait until Daddy came home, and then she could sleep in her new bed. John got home 3 days later, and Makenna again asked if she could sleep in her "Big Girl Bed," and so we went through her normal bedtime routine, and instead of putting her in her crib, just put her in her new bed.

I braced myself for a long night, and imagined her knocking on her door or the wall trying to get out of her room. To my great surprise, she slept ALL night long in her bed without any problem at all! When she woke up in the morning, she called for me, and I went in and found her still in her bed! I couldn't believe how great she did, considering I didn't even have the "you have to stay in your bed" talk with her. However, I still worried about how nap time would go. The next day, I made sure that we picked up all of her toys in her new room (I didn't want them out "tempting" her to get out of her bed) before I put her down for her nap, and she went down without a peep, AND, she stayed in her bed and called for me again once she woke up.

I was SO excited!

(Maybe this shouldn't be that exciting, and is normal, but I was definitely fearing the worst.)

She has now been in her "Big Girl Bed" for 3 1/2 weeks, and it has basically been smooth sailing. There have been a couple of times when she will cry for us a little while after putting her down at night, but after going back in to snuggle with her for a minute or two she goes to sleep just fine, and has NEVER gotten out of her bed in the middle of the night. She has also taken a nap EVERY day, and stays in her bed in the morning and after her naps when she wakes up and calls to me until I come in to her room, and then she climbs out of her bed. I have on occasion heard her playing before she goes down for her nap, but it sounds like she is just bouncing and playing in her bed.

I am SO grateful that Makenna has made such an easy transition to her new bed and room. Next on the list is getting rid of her binkies (which I again fear will be the end of her naps) and potty training. Any advice on either of those topics would be greatly appreciated!

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

We had a fun egg-filled Easter weekend here in Bloomington.

The festivities started on Friday afternoon with the MBAA egg hunt. One thing that has been SO wonderful about being back in school is all of the fun (and usually free) activities that are planned by all of the different MBA clubs as well as the Kelley Partner's Club and Kids Club. It has been great to go to a school that is so family-friendly.

Makenna had a blast running around and finding eggs.

She however did not enjoy it when her mean parents made her sit on the

Easter Bunny's knee.

John on the other hand was not afraid of the Easter Bunny.

(Poor Easter Bunny...luckily it was one of John's good friends.)

Hudson also fared better than his older sister.

Makenna with one of her friends from our neighborhood...so cute!

It was such a nice day, we took the chance to take some family photos.

Our second egg activity came on Saturday, when we dyed Easter eggs with Makenna. This was her first time dying eggs, and it didn't take her long to catch on, and take over the activity.
(The no-shirt look was on purpose.)

I found a cute little Sesame Street dye kit, that came with lots of stickers that Makenna loved using to decorate the eggs.

Our Sunday, was mostly egg-free, but so wonderful. We enjoyed a day filled with General Conference, and an Easter Pot luck lunch with lots of our neighbors and other MBA families. The weekend was also nice in that I saw a lot more of John than normal...always a plus.

Our last egg activity came on Monday evening, when the Kelley Kids Club hosted a dinner and Easter egg hunt. There was a section of eggs set aside for the kids 2 and under with lots of eggs, so Makenna was able to completely fill her basket which suited her just fine.

A picture of just some of the Kelley Kids.

Business school is sometimes really hard, but we feel so blessed to have made such wonderful friends while here in Bloomington, and to have such fun activites to attend. Easter weekend was a fun and very welcome break for all of us.

The Little Guy

I've been meaning to post about a lot of things lately, but my days just seem to go by too quickly. However, I just have to post a little bit about my

favorite little man.

(Not to be confused with his daddy, my favorite big man.)

Hudson reached the 4 month mark at the beginning of this month, and he is turning into such a cute, fun, and very chubby baby. I took him in for his check up last week,

and at 4 months & 2 weeks, he was

27.5 inches long (off the chart)

and 18 lbs. (95%).

(You should see the biceps this kid is giving me!)

I think I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, Hudson really has been such a good baby. John and I joke (but are kinda serious) that we think someone must have had a talk with Hudson before he joined our family. He came a little earlier than we planned, so we think he must have been told,

"Okay, you can go now (the middle of Daddy's hardest semester of school), but only if you are REALLY good for your mommy."

He must have agreed.

Hudson is doing all kinds of fun new things. He has definitely found his voice, and spends most of the time either happily squealing, or blowing bubbles. He is grabbing and playing with toys, and has started to chew on them as well. He is just discovering his feet, and is starting to try to sit up. Hudson is also SO ticklish. He laughs when we tickle his chunky thighs, belly, or chin, and even when I'm not trying to tickle him. Every time I take off his onesies he smiles and laughs because his armpits are so ticklish. It is the cutest.

Hudson absolutely ADORES Makenna.

Whenever she is around, he is so happy. He smiles and laughs for her quicker than for anyone else, and is so entertained by just observing her. Of course, she gives him plenty of hugs, kisses, and other attention, which he just eats up. I really hope that these two will continue to become the best of friends.

Toddler's rules of Engagement

While I was in Omaha, there was an article in the paper that listed the

"Toddler's rules of Engagement"

I had never seen them before, and thought they were pretty funny. If you haven't had a 2 year old yet, you might not recognize these rules, but you soon will!

Toddler's rules of Engagement

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.

3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.

4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in any way.

6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.

7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.

8. If I saw it first, it's mine.

9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.

10. If it's broken, it's yours.

Sometimes

it pays to be indecisive.

Thanks for all of the stroller advice. After lots of research, I found the stroller that I REALLY, REALLY wanted, but sadly decided we couldn't afford. :(

It is the Bumbleride Indie Twin

So, my next task was to find a cheaper stroller that would still work for what I wanted. 1-Good for walks, and jogs this spring/summer 2-Individually operated reclining seats/sun canopies 3-narrow enough to fit through a standard door 4-snack trays and cup holders for kids and me

Here's where my indecisiveness paid off. The stroller that I ended up purchasing wasn't available when I first started looking. It is the new model of the Instep - Safari Swivel Wheel Double Jogging Stroller, which has everything I wanted. The old model did not have snack trays for the kids, or individually operating sun canopies. So, here is what I ended up with, and although I've only had it two days, I love it! (Mine is Blue and Grey)

I think that this stroller will be perfect for the warm weather seasons, when we are going to be outside a lot. I know that it won't be great for travelling, or shopping, so I may end up trying to find another stroller for those purposes come Fall/Winter, but for now I am very happy.

In other news, John spent his 2 week spring break in Peru, and so the kids and I went to Omaha and stayed with my parents for a portion of that time. We had a lot of fun with "Papa and Grandma", but since my camera was in Peru with John, I don't have any pics to show for it. John got home yesterday afternoon, and it has been SO nice to be back together as a family.