Our Chicken Coop

Mike built an awesome coop and run for the chickens. I thankful he is so talented so we don't have a junk pile of wood for a coop on the side yard. Here are some pics of the process and finished product

Walls about to be nailed together.

Kylee helping mike caulk... by the way, this is the picture of Mike showing me how to caulk. I caulked that WHOLE thing!! Not that fun!

I did a lot of research for the best litter methods and where the roosts should be and how big the nesting boxes should be. I told Mike all the info and then he created. Behind the boards on the right are three nesting boxes. We didn't want to have them dirty for nothing since they wont be laying for a couple more months.

Our big helper during this project.

Then coop all painted and run enclosed.

Mike made one side with a storage shelf on top,

access to the nesting boxes/eggs in the middle,

and a storage drawer on bottom.

The ladies enjoying the coop.

Laying in the shade.

Thank you Mike for your hard work. I am so lucky to have you and your talents in our home!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sisters & Best Friends

Kylee and Payton have really become the best of friends. Payton will do anything Kylee does and therefore Kylee is happy!

Feeding the Chickens with Daddy

Mike made a little mix to feed the chickens out of our hands and Payton loved it. Kylee took like an hour to finally get the guts to let the chickens eat out of her hands and the camera was put away so no pics of her. I was proud of her for at least trying it. Here are some cute pics of Payton and Daddy.

Chickens: 7 Weeks

Growing Growing Growing

The ladies settling in for the night!

Big Red Chicken almost all filled out.


Flower and Coco Sizing each other up.

Coco may be bigger but Flower has the spunk.

Matilda

Lucy still a little awkward in the face area


Gossiping around the water cooler!

more words

These last two days Payton added a couple more words to her vocabulary... "deet you" which is thank you and she sings "ee i ee i o" with the Einstein Mac Donald dvd. I am trying to get it on my phone video but she says it then starts to whine to get my phone. You don't need to see that sass. I love watching my children grow and learn. Kylee says the funniest stuff all the time... mostly cause she is talks ALL THE TIME. Her new thing is to tell me she "can handle it" when ever she is doing something she normally doesn't do. Love my girls!

Learn from my mistakes!

(that better not be my milk in a cup!)

So I took Payton's bottle away 2 weeks ago and all I can say is I waited too long! She hated life and mostly me for not giving her what she wanted. It took 4 days of seriously crying all the time to finally be ok with her cups. I took the bottle away from Kylee at 1 and had no problem so I really didn't think it would be so bad. Boy was I wrong. I am glad we are done with that. Now all i have to do is get rid of the pacifier at bedtime.... mistake #2. Man I have been lazy with this kid!

Here is my fav picture of Payton from those 4 days... totally yelling at me!

15 Months

Payton had her check up today and she is great. She is growing up so fast. She is now 23 lbs 14oz (50%) and 33 inches tall (95). She was very good. As usual she had a hard time with the shots and I of course forgot the Tylenol so that didn't help. Kylee was hoping this appointment Payton would be big enough to share a room with her but I told her she is gonna have to wait a little longer. I love my girls. Payton has tons of personality. She has finally gotten all 4 molars in and is now back to being her happy self. She likes to do anything the big kids are doing. She is my daring child, unlike Kylee. She loves animals and is never really scared of them, again unlike Kylee. I love how different children can be but the same also. Here are some words Payton says... or at least tries.

• hi
• bye
• daddy
• mam (mom)
• eyee (kylee with out the k and l)
• uh oh
• st (stinky-said when ever some one toots loud)
• ow (I don't know how to spell- said before or after she falls or thinks something will hurt)
• loogy hawking sound (animal sound, mostly for dogs)
• ha (hot and said as she blows)

She does the sign for more, please, and all done but that is it.

I am sure there are others I cant remember but those are the main ones. We love our girl and look forward to more learning and growing!

my hot handy husband

So before chicks are outside in the coop they are in a brooder, a box type cage with a light (heat). We were using a cardboard box but that was getting a little ridiculous to clean. Mike put this cage together in a day and mostly out of scrap wood. He is awesome. He has made it so easy to take care of the chickens... and they like it too.

Kylee likes being able to look at the chicks whenever she wants.
Here are the ladies (3 weeks old)....

Lucy my girl!

Flower sweet girl

Big Red Chicken She is growing so fast!

Coco... short for coconut!

Matilda, our new addition. Love her eyeliner!

So I know the chicken posts are boring to you all but it isn't like you comment anyways so I am going to keep on posting for me!

Mommy & Me

Kylee drew this picture of she and I and I just thought it was so good! She was so proud of herself... so was I!
She drew a house, clouds, the sun , grass, a flower, and she avoided my question of the random triangle in the sky so you can decide what that is!

I look forward to many more masterpieces!

Peeps!

On Christmas morning the girls and I were surprised with four baby chicks as our family gift! Though chicks have turned out to be a lot of work they have been a lot of fun too. I am loving being a mother hen to these cute girls. Chicks grow so fast. I cannot believe how fast they have grown. I am documenting the changes for me to see how fast they change... not just because I am a crazy animal lover( I am though).

Names are still being determined. Suggestions are appreciated. Kylee named the black and white one Flower, and then the lighter red one is Lucy. The white was named daisy but she is super dominate so I need to figure out a strong name.

Look at all those feathers that have already grown in! Crazy fast!

p.s. Why chickens? Fresh eggs I guess. I will take any excuse to have a pet.

Christmas Morning!

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year. We spent our morning opening presents and then went to be with family for the day at Mike's sister's home. The girls loved everything they were given. I have only picture of my girls that morning cause I didn't have my camera. I figure Nikki will blog all the events of the week anyways, and she is way better!! The night before we put out our cookies for Santa and Kylee told me what to say on the note we left for him. She was so concerned Santa was going to eat all the cookies.

Out of all the stuff Santa left Kylee she admires the cheap Dora book first!

Payton loves the Giraffe rocker... finally a good choice!

New glasses for Payton!

Kylee's cash "redrooster". I think she liked it.

Payton barley got the paper off before playing the music on her animal train. Kylee always sings along with it so it is one of the few noisy toys I like.

Mike acting excited about his stocking... he might as well have gotten coal this year!

I loved my stocking and couldn't ask for more. You will see my/family gift in the next post!

Pre-Christmas!

Sunday Christmas Dresses

My sad attempt at a picture of them together!

I thought my girls looked beautiful!


Christmas Eve at the Dilger's

Our little family!

The DiPadova Grand kids!

(minus Austin and Brice, we missed you!)

Christmas Eve we went to Mike's sisters house and had a delicious meal and spent time with the family. It is so much fun having the family together. We had Mike's sister Nikki and family here and brother Nick and my favorite mother and father in-law, Nick and Linda. We love family!

Haircut!

Here is a picture I took with my phone while I was driving ... smart right?

I got a haircut the other day and I am excited about it. My hair is always the same, just the length changes here and there. This time I got bangs and tons of layers... I am proud of myself for having the guts to do it. I feel like I have a style now. I think this cut lifted my spirits. I am lucky and was able to trade some vinyl lettering for it so it didn't cost me a thing... plus I found a new hair stylist I feel I can trust with my hair. Seriously, why is it so hard to find a hair stylist? I have been here for a year and a half and this is the first person I really like and can afford. My sister in-law Dannielle just got her hair cut too and liked it as well... so if you are here in AZ and need a cut call Michelle Love, she is the best!

p.s. in this pic all I did is blow dry... it looks cuter when I curl it.

A Pooh Anniversary

On Saturday Mike and I celebrated our 6Th anniversary. We started the day going to breakfast at Coco's, I think the only time we go to breakfast at a restaurant is when Mike's family is visiting, so it was special. Then we got to go see "A Winnie the Pooh Christmas" at the theater where our good friend works. It was a gift from Mike and Barb Christensen. The girls liked the show and Kylee loved giving hugs, getting autographs, and taking pictures with the actors after the show. After we got treated to lunch with the Christensen's. Yummy. After lunch Mike and Barb offered to take the girls home and watch them so we could have a kid free night. We doubled with Jess and Mark and enjoyed delicious treats and a movie. It was a great day.

Happy Payton with a full tummy.


Five minutes later....

Kylee is my sleeper... she doesn't last in the car.

A big thanks to the Christensen family for making our anniversary day special. A bigger thanks to Mike for putting up with all of me these past 6 years!