Presents - Day 2.5

They are all still being enjoyed!  Whew.  Some more than others, but all of them are getting their use.  Makena's favorite has been her LeapPad.  She exchanged one of duplicate gifts for the "Tangled" Explorer game (which also works in the LeapPad) and I have trouble tearing her away from the thing.  I now get putting a time limit on electronic gaming!!  Matthew's faves have been ... all of them.  He's so busy that he just keeps going between everything.

These birthday presents made me purge the toys we already had too.  Be prepared for return Auntie Jenn.  I don't have room for this much big stuff! I'm also going to have to put a toy chest on Matthew's Christmas wish list from Grandpa Steinke.  :D Cars and trucks don't stack on shelves well. I am procrastinating the inevitable craigslist prep for all the other toys as well. I like making money, but it takes time and effort to do it right.

Now, let's talk clothes.  HOLY COW Noah was one dude that had too many clothes.  Now Matthew is that dude.  I LOVE it. Thanks for the closet refresh Jake and Stacey! Now I have to find the time away from the kids to sort and put away all these wonderful items.  Makena was also spoiled rotten for her b-day as far as clothes. Dresses, tutus, sparkles galore.  What else would a girly girl such as her want?  Noting, that's what!

Well, I am being nagged by children wanting my attention.  I must go play with toys work now!! ;)

It's almost PARTY TIME!

It's almost time for Matthew's first birthday party!!  I'm actually getting excited.  I think it's because I picked a simple, yet fun theme.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It fits because my little guy eats a lot and is also growing so fast!  The menu is easy as well.  Read the book and you have the menu.  Love it.

I also have a bunch of crafts set up for the kids that are attending.  There is a chance for rain and I don't want them to get bored inside.  If they don't do any of the crafts, no big loss.  Mk and I will do them throughout the week.  Jared and I did an example craft of each one the other night and even we had fun!

The morning will consist of us prepping food and doing some last minute cleaning (vacuuming and kitchen floor).  Then before we know it, it will be party time.

My little man is getting into a new stage of exploring as well.  Yesterday he started copying what his sister does in his rocking chair.  It was REALLY cute, but I pretended to not be impressed.  It didn't stop him from doing it since he wasn't doing anything to get hurt. He had a blast for over a half hour kinking around in the chair.  Crazy kid.

O.M.G.

Oh My Gosh, a whole year has passed since I've had my little boy? Time sure went fast now that I have two kids.  I remember planning Mk's first birthday since she was 6 months old.  Mw's didn't go into the works until about 11 1/2 months old?  Okay, earlier than that, more like 10 months, but STILL, I can't believe how that snuck up on me.

My goal for his first birthday. To be back at pre-pregnancy weight.  I didn't want to be fat like I was for Mk's first b-day.  Did I succeed? YES! I give credit to my will power and the love of the Y. I REALLY like getting to "get rid" of my children for an hour a day. It makes me love them that much more!

Things going on in our world and things Mw likes to do:

• Play with the chalkboard on the easel (doing that as I type). You would probably like the painting and markers too, but I'm not brave enough to let you try just yet.  You don't really like to color with crayons.
• You like to chase people around (crawling, but that's okay)
• NO interest in walking.  I think you think it takes you too long to walk.  You like to try if we make you "run", but otherwise you go limp noodle on us.
• You do love to walk behind things though, walkers, push cars, anything that will hold you up. You just don't like being held up.
• Not a fan of signing.  You'll do it for milk every now and then, but not consistently.  We aren't consistent with teaching it to you either.  Our bad!
• You cry a lot.  Mainly when you are mad at me.  I don't let you do everything you want and that makes you angry. I can't let you eat chalk and my shoes and I'm not sorry about that rule!
• Speaking of shoes, you know where they go.  When you see one you try to get it on your foot.
• You hate to wear socks, as soon as they're on, they're off.  Actually you're like that with all clothes.  You always have been a fan of being naked
• We still use cloth diapers.
• You can't drink cow's milk yet because of your casein sensitivity
• You love using us as tackling dummies.  If anyone even thinks of laying on the floor you and your slobbery love are all over that.  Literally.
• You LOVE to see your sister.  She is the one person that makes you smile no matter what is wrong.  If you're in the middle of a fit and she gives you a hug you smile, laugh and then continue to cry when she's done.
• When I pick you up from the Y you actually try to fly out of their arms to get to me and your face lights up.  Up until a month ago you didn't seem to care if I was there or not.
• I would say your favorite toy a caterpillar that Grandma has at her house.  You love that thing. You push it back and forth and it's head wiggles.  I tried to put batteries in it and you hated it, I'll admit the song it played was annoying and loud. Don't worry, I removed the batteries again so you would like it.
• You sleep though the night and take two naps a day.
• When daddy comes home you say "Hi dad".  He LOVES it, he'd never admit it, but it melts his heart!
• You like any touch and feel book.
• You like to chew on Barbie hair.  I think it's the "boy" in you trying to destroy your sister's dolls
• I know I said the caterpillar was your favorite toy, but "ball" (you say it) is a CLOSE second.  You really enjoy playing catch and everyone that's around is more than happy to play it with you!

Things we did today for your big day:

• Went to the Y
• Brought your big sister to dance
• While she was at dance you and I went to Target to get part of your present
• We went to Sam's club to buy food for your party on Saturday
• We stopped at Toys-r-Us and bought the rest of your present
• After nap you played with your toys and balloon (that the toy store gave you because it was your b-day)
• We had pizza for supper and you got your first taste of sweets (a cupcake)
• You dug right into that cupcake like you've had one every day of your life.  You even kept saying "yum" I guess you like cupcakes.  You are definitely your daddy's son.

Here are some pictures of you on your big day!!

I'm bored ....

AHHHH YEAH!!

Family picture

Mk was VERY excited for him to open his present

shake, shake, shake

this went straight to the mouth

more?

There IS more!!

Whew - take a breath

After yesterday and this morning I need to sit and take a breather!

Yesterday's agenda:
8 - 9:40 - Y
10 - home to change Makena and myself into different clothing and out the door
10:15 - Gymnastics
11:15 - home for lunch
12 - off to Rosedale for more returns. I returned "the Christmas dress" and that had all kinds of drama with it.  She had tears rolling and everything.  I felt so bad for her
2:30 - kids home to nap. I washed the kitchen floor, reposted my expired craigslist postings, and did random picking up
4 - short notice craigslist sale.  Who can turn down easy money?
5 - home for supper
6 - bedtime routine
7 - Mw to bed and play with Mk
7:30 - Mk to bed time for me to start my other chores (laundry, dishes, blah blah blah)
9:45 - bed for me!

Today we started with the Y of course, and then we rushed home for me to shower and change and off to dance we went.  While Mk was at dance I tried to get Mw's hair cut.  The wait was too long so we had to pass. Instead I headed to the diaper store (All Things Diapers) and got some more detergent for the dipes.  Wednesdays are "coffee mornings" there so Mw was able to crawl around and I got some mommy chat time in.  There were only 2 other moms there today, but one was Karla, and it's been FOREVER since I've seen her!  It was nice to chat, even though it was a very short time since I had to buy my detergent and pack back up to go get Mk from dance.

In a little while I have another CL sale and then we'll head back home for nap times. During that time I hope to get some packing done.  We're headed up north (yes, again) for the weekend.  This time we have a wedding.  It's bad timing for Jared's exam, but he's been planning for it and been studying accordingly.  The big exam day is quickly approaching. In fact it's one week away.  Then we will have Jared back!  It always hard at first when he's around again.  It takes time for me to adjust to not having to do everything and to not have everything done my way.

Anyway, I don't have too much planned for the weekend for myself, just the groom's dinner and the wedding. Jared, however, has a full Friday and Saturday planned since he's in the wedding.  I'm glad he'll get to do fun things like golf and hang with our college friends.

Well, the kids are done eating and I have to get them clean and ready to head out to our CL sale.  Don't worry, I always meet in a VERY public place that I know has cameras.  It's usually inside of a Target.  I also make sure that I'm not being followed.  However, some of those moms are super creepy.  Like yesterday's. Oh gosh, I'll write about that later  ....

Okay, it's later:
I had a sale for all of my swaddle blankets.  I figured they would sell soon since it's getting chilly out. Anyway, I met the parents and both of them inside of Target and they have "meth user" teeth and just look like total dirt balls.  I felt SO bad for the baby.  At least they were buying her some nice things, but STILL, the parents were clearly users. Dirty nasty users. My heart breaks for children that are born into that kind of situation. It's not their fault, however there is always that nurture (or lack thereof) over nature aspect when getting raised. It won't be their fault when they act out in school because they're staving for attention. No, I don't know for SURE if they were actual users and maybe they are excellent parents.  I truly hope so and I keep telling myself those kinds of things whenever I see parents like that. It helps me sleep at night. Anyway, they bought the swaddlers and everybody went on their marry way.  I DID check my mirrors a lot on that drive home.  It's they ones that are kind of sketchy that I worry the most about.  The moms with 3 kids in tow and clearly being smart with their money are the ones that I don't  worry too much about!

Ahhh fooey

So when the kids and I haven't been playing outside these past couple of weeks we've been spending our time shopping. Well, all that just came to a screeching hault. The GMC insurance, county taxes, and credit card bill (which had the stroller on it and that we pay off in full every month) are all due at the same time. OUCH! So today the kids and I went returning.  The hardest things to return were the clothes for the kids that I just got from The Children's Place.  Their "picture perfect" line and other lines in the girls' section are SO cute. Being responsible sucks sometimes. I also have some clothes for next summer that I got from Gymboree for AWESOME deals that I should return but am trying to talk myself into keeping.

I also realized that paying off my Kohls charge at the time of purchase has backfired.  Now I have money sitting in that account and I have to wait for the statement to come so I can call and ask for a check to be sent so it doesn't sit on there. I also purchased things with Kohls cash and the only way not to lose that was to get store credit.  Jared and I talked about that last night (because I had figured that would be the case) and we agreed that store credit would be fine and we would save it until we needed something.

Now I need to figure out what to do this weekend so I don't spend money but yet we have fun.  I see a grandparent's house in our future!  The downfall to that is that the kids sleep like crap, so I do too. I like that they get to visit and have quality time, but I like sleep. Yes, I'm being selfish, but I can't be a good mom if I'm walking around like a zombie.  Maybe I could convince myself to take pictures of the kids for our house.  I take all these pics, but I never print any off because I don't like them.

Anywho, the moral of my post: "being responsible sucks". The End.

The 'tude is fading

The screaming/yelling at me, the massive fits, the overall loudness are finally starting to fade. They're not gone, but they're fading.  It's about time that Jared grew up. HA, I'm so funny.  Anyway, Makena is starting to get better about understanding that she needs to ask nice for things instead of throwing fits.  She doesn't quite get that even if you ask nice it doesn't mean you get it, but I can't expect everything right away. She only had one fit today, even though it was a BIG one, it was only one. She woke up from her nap in a mood. She came downstairs and I looked at her, yep just looked at her, and she fell on the floor, flailed like a fish, and started screaming and crying. After I asked her to help me with supper she calmed down and we had a great evening.

This past weekend: we went to my dad's. Makena did some fishing, playing, walking, and overall enjoying the outdoors!

I'm not in much of a typing mood, thus a short post.

The Lion King

The weekend was spent up north celebrating Grandpa's birthday. It was such beautiful weather!

On a mission to get to the swingset

LEAVES!!

Running the rows of corn

Hey girlie! 

Hey - she's on a log

The morning started off with an outdoor run for me and a nice stroller ride/nap for the kids.  I was cruising along and not even feeling tired 25 minutes into it when my knee started to tinge with pain.  Not too big of an issue so I kept going. BAD idea. I ended up HAVING to walk home and that took a LONG time. Once home I iced the heck out of my knee and I hope it's fine tomorrow.  I still don't know what causes it to happen when I run, but it does, EVERY time.  Always my left knee.  I think it has something to do with the slope of the roads, but I can't be certain.

The day also consisted of a LOT of outside time.  Mw is finally getting to the point where he doesn't put everything in his mouth right away.  He ended up chasing a ball around the backyard. Mk was trying to keep it from him out of jealousy and he thought it was a game she was playing.  It worked out nicely for me. I spent this time sitting in a chair with an ice pack on my knee, haha.

We went out shopping this evening and I was able to get us a copy of "The Lion King". I used a $5 off coupon on the already discounted price and we got a free poster ($19.99 value).  It's a pretty cool poster, it's not paper and it's one of those that "moves" when you do. Sometimes toys-r-us can have some good deals.  Not often, but sometimes! I'll be saving the movie until Christmas rolls around. I also purchased my niece's birthday presents. I love checking things like that off my list. I purchased Mk's Halloween costume too. It was the last Rapunzel with a wig that they had. Good think I got it, she's been insistent on the Rapunzel costume for 2 weeks, so I figured she REALLY wanted it.

Now, let's talk about all the things I want for x-mas for myself MK. The princess aisle is amazing, they have piggy paint on clearance in the kids' makeup section, they have a Disney dance accessories section (bags, slippers, tutus, leg warmers), and they also had really cute cable knit leg warmers in the makeup aisle.  I was SO tempted to get some for Makena.  They are SO cute!  It's really hard to resist buying that kind of stuff. I wanted to crazy getting things for Mk's birthday and Christmas, but I didn't get anything for her besides the costume.  I was kind of proud of myself.

Nothing else to report for the day.

Boredom Cure

My boredom cure lately has been shopping. And for someone that hates shopping, that's saying something.  I basically do it to get out of the house when the kids are close to nap time but it's still too early.  It keeps them awake and I don't have to deal with fits because the environment entertains them.

Today I went to spend my Kohl's cash and ended up going home with MORE Kohl's cash. Oops. I ended up buying Makena 2 pairs of boots, a fall outfit for Mw and a pair of giraffe print leggings for Mk from the clearance section. I used "cash", coupons, and in store deals.  I STILL spent almost $50.  Close enough in fact that I earned another $10 Kohl's cash.

Here are Mk's boots:

These looked so cute with the dress she had on today that we ended up changing into them right after we bought them.  She got compliments everywhere else we went today!

We also hit up Party City, had lunch, and went to DSW. I purchased myself a pair of shoes too:

The morning started off a little different for us today so that was fun.  We did breakfast like normal, but instead of rushing to the Y for an 8:20 class I went to a 9:30.  We chilled for a while this morning and took it slow.  It was nice. I also packed up everything for cleaning up at the Y so I wouldn't have to go home before shopping. Right after my class I heard a page that involved the women's locker room and saw staff running downstairs. I figured it was some type of medical issue and thought to myself "it's going to be right in front of my locker, I KNOW it." Sure enough. There was a small herd of staff surrounding an older woman who had passed out. I waited about 10 minutes and was able to sneak into my locker and grab my stuff.  I showered and mid shower I hear, "there is going to be ambulance staff coming in and they are male, we just wanted you to know".  Personally, I didn't care, they're EMTs they've seen it all. I still rushed and got dressed quickly before the emts actually got in there.  I didn't see what was going on since I was about 4 rows away trying to give them privacy.  By this point in time they had stopped letting people into the locker room so there were only 3 or 4 of us in there besides the staff and EMTs. I finished up and grabbed the kids. On my way out they were loading the lady into the ambulance.  I had overheard her say something about having several medical conditions and she wanted to go in ambulance. Good for her for owning it.  I hear so many stories about people trying to save face and turn down care.

Anyway, this was the first time I had showered at the Y and of course it had to be eventful!

Super Saturday!

These pictures are from this Monday:

Not cool mom, just put the camera down and play!

Today (Saturday) was a really fun day for us! Well, three of us.  Jared was studying all day so I’m sure he didn’t have any fun.

The day started with a family pile on our bed.  After playing a bit we got up had our usual breakfast and the kids and I headed to the Y.  I go five days a week, but I didn’t got yesterday so I had to go today.  It was enjoyable.  Super sweaty and lots of energy was exerted! 

After the Y I rushed home, took a shower while Jared got the kids some snacks.  Then I packed them back up and we headed to cousin Braden’s football game. Makena was really excited to go see him.  She was even more excited to see Grandma and Grandpa there. I didn’t tell her that they were going to be there so it was a total surprise for her. She got bored with the actual game quickly and played cars with some other kids and even played some tag. I even let Grandma buy her some chips. She loved them. I also bought her a hotdog about an hour past her lunch time because she was having a hunger meltdown.  She loved the bun and ketchup.  I ate a couple bites of the hotdog and it was terrible, so basically I paid for a bun.  Awesome.

Getting dirty

After the game we went to Costco so I could use my mother-in-laws membership to get some organic milk, fruit, and veggies. I did pretty good getting only healthy items. The biggest splurge was a bag of popchips and they really aren’t that bad as far as healthy.

After that shopping trip Makena was hitting a wall and needed to get home to sleep. We were 3 minutes from home and she was out. The transfer to her bed went smoothly and I was able to get some fun play time in with Matthew.  After another half hour or so Matthew was acting tired so I put him down. They ended up sleeping until 5. WOWZA!

Since the kids slept so late they woke up to supper instead of snacks.  I used all the new wonderfulness I bought and had a great supper.  Spinach/cheese ravioli with sauce, fresh salad, blueberries, and grapes. Yummmmm!

After supper I once again packed up the kids and headed out so Jared could be home alone to study.  We went to Anoka County Farms and played with the bunnies, ducks, pumpkins, wagons, trikes, and other stuff we came across. I took a lot of pictures and didn’t buy a thing. I was going to get a pony ride for Makena, but she just wanted to say “hi” to the pony instead of ride it. OKAY, saves me money! After the farm we went to the park and exerted more energy. Play play play!

Look at this big trike!

Park fun:

Hi

Once home I got the kids their evening snacks, did jammies, and wound down. It was already an hour past their bedtime. Since they slept so late I didn’t mind that they were still awake. They both went to bed easily and now I am getting ready to go to bed myself.  I’m kind of tired!

Results are in!

Well Matthew's test results have come back, for the most part. Allergy? Well, a VERY small one to a bi-product of milk, Casein.

As far as what made him really sick last time? E Coli.  His stool sample is currently at the Dept. of Health getting tested to see if it's the 0157 strain.  If so - then he had the NASTY e coli but didn't really get too sick.  Some kids get hospitalized from it.  Also, if that is the strain he has. How did he get it and the rest of us didn't? I don't undercook meat and anything he ate, Makena did too. And for the most part, so did I. The ONLY thing that I can think of is a sausage I made him (this strain of ecoli is usually in raw veggies or undercooked meat).  I didn't eat my half right away so I re-heated it in the microwave.  If that is what caused it, me cooking my part more explains why I didn't get it. I just don't know.  I'm sure there was something else that I'm not thinking of.

Solution - no cheeses, yogurts, etc. until he's older (6-9 more months). The e coli worked itself out for the most part so I can start adding in other foods to expand his diet again.  The poor kid has been eating only toast, rice, applesauce, and bananas. He did get puffs while waiting for Makena at dance today. I also made mashed potatoes today, so I will give him some of those tomorrow! yum yum.

Another flipping sucker

I am SO sick of my (almost) 3 year old getting a sucker after every dance class.  Seriously, can't they come up with something better to hand out?  Perhaps stickers, erasers, ANYTHING other than sugar.  I know I said it before, but I will say it again, it wouldn't be so bad if our class didn't end right before lunch time. She is hungry so when I tell her she can't have it right away I get a full on tantrum. WONDERFUL!

When I asked her what she did at dance today she didn't really answer me, then when we were changing clothes she said, "Look, I can walking on my tippy toes, just like at dance". So she DOES learn something when she's there. Whew!

On to happier things:
I was reading some online forums and moms were talking about their babies clapping. Well, Matthew doesn't do that and I guess I didn't think anything of it.  Since clapping is a taught behavior I decided to see how long it would take him to learn.  I worked with him in his car seat after the Y this morning and after showing him one time he had it. Whew.  He's no longer behind.  hahaha We did it some more after lunch too. I tried to get Makena to join in on the fun, but she thought it was boring and decided to play with her Barbies instead.

Makena had a fun time at the Y this morning too!  I also had a bit of a revelation.  When we leave the Y, Makena asks where people are, example: "Where is Jake?". Uhhhh, well he's at work.  I always thought it was a bit weird that she would ask about Jake almost daily. We don't see him that often and he really only talks to Jared on the phone and via e-mail, so why the obsession with HIM? (No offense Jake) Then today another mom came up to me and said, "My son loves your daughter SO much.  All he ever talks about is Makena." After chatting a bit I found out that her son's name was Jake. Oooohhhhhh, so Makena wasn't asking about Noah's daddy, she was asking about her friend at the Y. I felt a bit silly not realizing it earlier, but what was I supposed to think, I know only one Jake.

Another tidbit of our lives: my phone is completely broken.  It was sitting on the end table yesterday and Matthew pulled himself up on it and when he was reaching for my phone everything tumbled down.  My phone ended up under the table and Matthew's butt.  I didn't think much of it until I saw my screen.  It was completely white with a few touches of black streaking through it.  Think broken windshield look. The screen itself isn't cracked, but it's all busted on the inside.  It was so bad that Verizon couldn't even sync it to get my numbers and pictures off of it.  I was very sad.  I guess it's a good way to clean out my contact list. Our new phones should be here tomorrow. Yes, I said "our".  Jared wanted a new phone too, so we both upgraded since it was free.  We didn't really upgrade, more of a lateral move, but a new phone is a new phone.  Jared has to swap all of his contacts himself this time.  I did it for him last time and it was a pain in the butt.  I won't be doing that again.  Let's see how long he keeps going with two phones - one for contacts and one for calling. My bet is a month.

I don't really have any fun pics this time, I posted all the new ones to facebook and don't feel like waiting for the Blogger upload at this moment, so go to my fb page if you want pics!  :)

My poor baby boy ...

He had to get stuck with a needle today and have a blood draw from his arm.  He's had intestinal issues for almost his whole life, but especially the last 3-4 days. Today I said, "enough is enough" and brought him in.  The doc is doing a few different stool tests and I asked for an allergen test for dairy (thus the blood draw). So, the pain was entirely my fault.  I am just hoping to figure out what's wrong with him. So why was this time worse than others? Well, it led to another TERRIBLE diaper rash.  His poor little butt is bleeding.  I try to catch the poos as soon as they happen, but I don't always notice and they are in there for a bit. I've noticed that they make his butt raw even if it's against his skin for only 5 minutes.  That just doesn't seem right.  Poor kid.

On a positive note I got to really test drive my stroller today!  It isn't as easy to push with both kids in it as the BOB, but it is nicer because it fits through doorways. It is also hard to turn the kids when I'm used the the turning radius of the BOB.  It will be nice to go to a mall and REALLY give it a test drive.  Perhaps when Matthew is all better so I don't have a change a screaming baby's diaper every 2 hours.

Makena had her second dance class today.  She seemed to enjoy it. I just wish they would stop giving them suckers at the end of class.  I am not a fan of them handing my kid sugar right before lunch. She finishes class at 11:30. I guess there are worse things.

As I type my crazy girl is literally running around the basement trying to get daddy's attention (he's on the phone) and Matthew is sound asleep for the night. Ahhh. I'm going to go and enjoy my evening. I'm sure there is laundry to do. That's always fun.

My Precious

If you haven't seen Lord of the Rings, then you are missing out and don't REALLY grasp the title!

I have my stroller now.  It was a MESS to get it right though. Go figure.  It was for me, why would it go smoothly? I went to pick it up in Hopkins and when I walked in, everything was by the counter waiting.  Makena had to use the bathroom and the manager asked if I wanted her to pop the wheels on and throw it together so I could take the kids back out using the stroller.  HECK YEAH!! So when I came back out she was putting the seats on and she lowered the top seat foot rest all the way and then pulled the basket cloth up over the foot bar.  Weird, but okay.  I know nothing about this new stroller, maybe that's "normal".  Then she popped on the second seat and out we went.

I loaded up the kids and stroller and went home.  After I got the kids eating lunch I went out to get my new toy.  THAT'S when I noticed I had been screwed.  Okay, not really, but the bar on the foot rest was all scuffed, had blue scraps on it, and was chipped. I tried to magic eraser it, but no deal.  I called the store and the girl that answered said she'd have to talk to the manager.  Well, an hour had passed so I called the St. Paul store and told them the deal and asked if they had a new seat for me.  It took a while for them to call me back, but she had called the owner and worked everything out and I was able to go to their store (to save miles) and get the new seat that I was supposed to get. WHEW.  Yes, annoyed that I had to drive again, but I wanted to check out their store anyway.

I didn't really get to check out their store since Makena was sleeping in the stroller so I had to keep her on the sidewalk of the HOUSE that the store is in (very common in St. Paul) and had the ladies help me while I held Matthew and Makena slept (she never left my sight). They did an excellent job making me happy and even sold me on a cup holder.  I was looking for one and was very pleased to find out that the accessories from another brand of stroller fit on this one.  They are cheaper and more user friendly.  The one I bought pops on and off. The brand that "goes" with my stroller needs a screw driver and isn't easy to get on/off.

Here are some pictures of my precious:

Both forward facing

Facing each other. They both think this is hilarious!

Facing me.  Makena doesn't love this one, but Matthew thought it was pretty great!