Pulling up to stand!

Kaarin pulled herself up to stand twice yesterday, so she is well on her way to being fully mobile! It really is cute to watch her crawling, she looks so little! And definitely way too little to be standing at the table.

Today Kellen had school & Annika, Kaarin & I went to the Play2Learn at the library. It is put on by the Tacoma Children's Museum. It is always fun -- they have lots of activities, art, etc., & then a circle time/story time, then another project. It is a little overwhelming for Annika, as today there were 100 people! She usually gets comfortable right as it's time to leave to go get Kellen. Today we recognized a gal from church, & it turns out that she has a 2 yr. old daughter (2 in Oct., so just a month older than Annika - though Annika is about 6" taller!!) & a 4 month old daughter! It's always fun to find people with kids the same age. Hopefully we'll connect again.:)

Annika is doing awesome with her colors. She is really into telling me what they are right now, especially with M&Ms.:)

Some more funnies:
*This morning at breakfast Kellen was singing & then had a burp. He said to me, "I was singing in my burp!"

That's all I can think of right now...;)

A few more funnies

Here are a couple more funny things:

*We were driving the other day & got behind a red van. Kellen said, "That van is like ours but red instead of white." I said that I wished we had gotten a red van because red is my favorite color. Kellen responded by saying, "Red vans cost LOTS of money but not white vans." Hmmmm...:)

*Kellen typically naps in Kaarin's room on an inflatable Cars bed (trust me, it's a long story...). The other day we were getting ready for nap & he said he wanted to sleep in his own room. I asked him why he wanted to sleep there (Annika sleeps there, yes, I know...) & he said, "Because it's MY room!" Yes, it is...

*Annika was in Kaarin's room tonight while Kaarin was playing, & we were talking about babies. She ran out of the room & brought her baby back in, along with its blanket. She proceeded to wrap it up. I commented on how her baby was all snug. Annika then left the room. I came out a few minutes later to find Annika, sitting on the couch with the boppy on her lap, her shirt up, feeding her baby.:) I did get a picture so I'll post it later.:)

*Kellen asks me a lot if certain people have been born yet (I think it comes from Finding Nemo at the very beginning when Nemo is still an egg...). So usually I explain that if he can see the person, that means they are born, & then I remind him of when Kaarin was in mommy's tummy & how it was so big & we couldn't see her yet, but now she is born so we can. He then has been saying, "Your tummy is not big anymore, mommy! It was, but now it's small." The camouflage is working!!

Kaarin is 100% crawling now, & is enjoying her newfound freedom...she is also pulling herself up to her knees any chance she gets! Kellen & Annika are not nearly as pleased with her accomplishment as she is, since now she can go after all of their stuff a lot more quickly. And yes, she wants WHATEVER they have!! She ate banana chunks today (fed them to herself), & this was the first time she has actually ingested them.:) Usually they come back out. She also tried some yogurt melts & was about 50% spitting vs. eating.:) She is officially in 6-9 month clothing!! Hooray! I have removed almost all of her 3-6 month stuff from her drawer. There are a few things that still fit fine that are fairly new, so I will keep those for now. But I was getting tired of some of the clothes, she's been wearing them for so long!!

Jan. pics

"Hello, Amy!"

Reading together.:)

Such a happy girl!!

Crawling!!

And crunches...don't want flabby abs. Also, check out her cute shoes -- they were Kellen's, but I thought they went well with her outfit.:)

Funnies

Some funny sayings:

*Kellen was looking through his train paper (which he does frequently) & picking out all the trains that he wants. He mentioned that he wants Emily's coaches. I said that we hadn't seen them anywhere, but we would have to keep looking. Kellen said, "I will ask Santa if he can make them for me." :)

*Kellen woke up wet this a.m. Later in the day he got on his bed (I hadn't changed the sheet yet) & he said that the sheet wasn't wet anymore. I said that I would change it anyway. He asked why, & I said that we don't really want to sleep on dry pee-pee & that I needed to change my sheets anyway. He paused, then said, "Did you go pee-pee in your bed too?" :)

*Any time Annika picks up a phone (usually a play phone) she holds it up to her ear & says, "Hello, Amy!" (Amy is my sister) :)

New Year's Goals

I really want to write some goals (o.k., they are already written in my head) for me (& the kids, & a few for hubby too...) & I really feel like once I write them down that I need to share them publicly so that I will be held more accountable...which is the reason that I am hesitating to write them down. I am already failing at the ones in my head, so if I don't write them down, they're not official, right? But now you can hold me accountable to actually writing them down...
Next post...

Growing up!

Kaarin is getting big so fast. She is now 8 months old, has started crawling (though she still scoots a lot of the time, so she's not super-fast), broke through her 2nd tooth (on the bottom), is eating so much better, is waving, & is so happy anytime she sees Kellen, Annika, or Mookie.:) She has been doing really well with smooth textured foods, so we have actually been using more jar food than anything because they are the smoothest. She is just like her siblings & refuses cereal. She still spits out puffs & cheerios, though she is doing great at getting them to her mouth. I have given her banana chunks & she spits those out too. The good news is that since she is eating better I have not really had to give her any bottles (sometimes I still try but she will usually refuse it). I am happy that nursing + solids is enough for her. She is getting downright pudgy.:) She will go to the Dr. in a month for her 9 month check, so we'll see what she weighs then. I did pull out some her 6-9 month clothes -- some of them look like they'll be o.k., others she will swim in. But I am getting a little bored with her 3-6 month stuff since she's been in it for 5 months!!

Annika is really saying a lot more words lately, & is trying to say words when she hears them. She usually gets pretty close.:) I love hearing her talk more & put more & more words together. She gets excited too, when we understand her better! She is still her independent self, but now at least can help us understand what she wants to do. She is learning her colors & can tell us purple, red, blue & green. She still loves her binky, but is good about leaving it in the car when we go places.:) She now initiates that on her own. She gets so excited when we go get Kellen at pre-school.:) But not so excited to go to church (for MOPS) without him.
A funny Annika saying: (the first, I think!) When I leave her room at bedtime, we blow kisses & say "night-night" while waving. Then I say, "I love you." And she says, "Oh-tay!" Really cute.

Kellen is the special helper at pre-school on Thurs. to celebrate his 1/2 birthday, since his falls during the summer. We went to the store last night to pick out his snack. We were able to get ice cream cups (on sale) so he was excited about that.:) He had several things picked out along the way, but ice cream won. While we were at the store, Kellen asked me if he could have some broccoli (!?!). I said o.k. & broke him off a piece, & he told me he wanted a bigger one!!!:) I found him a bigger one & he ended up eating both of them (raw, of course)! He did ask for a cookie later too, but unfortunately we were at the store too late & the bakery was closed. Kellen is doing awesome at school & now even sits on a shape at circle time without being asked!:)
Funny Kellen saying: the other day we were going to Target (the big-red-ball store, as he calls it), & he saw the bank. He said, "That's the way to the money store, where we go to get money."

Charlie's Safari

Charlie's Safari

Oops! A crocodile!

Swing, Kellen-Tarzan!

Knocked down.:)

Single parenting is not for me

We are surviving our week of Erik being gone to California. It's going pretty well. We have been busy, so that helps. Monday we went to Charlie's Safari with a friend, & the kids had a blast! We typically go when they first open, & it is great -- when we got there Monday there were 2 other kids! Even by the time we left there were only 10 or so kids. I'll try to post some pictures of it. Yesterday Kellen had school, & today we went to the library's play & learn activity time with our friend. Tomorrow Kellen has school again.:) And then the week is almost over! It is a little bit nice to have the evening time all to myself -- I have been reading, cleaning, etc. I have a project that I want to make some progress on as well, so I need to reserve some evening time for that as well.

Sweet Pea

Kaarin is at such a sweet stage. She is so happy, especially with her newfound skills! She loves that she can sit up, almost crawl, & get the things that she sees & wants. I have loved this stage in all of my kids. You can see the wheels turning as they process things, trying to figure them out. I want to freeze time a little bit, which obviously isn't possible. I am trying to be a good documentor, pictures, video, & writing snippets in the kids' calendars.

Ready to move!

Kaarin is getting ready to go. She is up on her hands & knees, & can move her hands but hasn't figured out the knee part yet.:) She kind of hops with her knees, then ends up lunging forward. Today she also sat up from lying down all by herself for the first time. This girl is growing up too fast! (though not as fast as Annika...but Annika wasn't the last baby!)

Shaving cream fun!

Smiles!!

Oops -- this isn't the one I meant to upload...!

Kaarin loves her tongue these days.:)

I am still getting the hang of this new site. I uploaded the *big* pictures earlier & it wouldn't let me choose the size...now I found where to add pics & choose the size (note: smaller!).

A little update on Kaarin tonight -- I gave her some yogurt (I had tried it before, & she made faces at me) & she LOVED it! She was smacking her lips & just ate & ate it! First food she's really 'enjoyed.'

Growing up!

I took Kaarin to her appt. with the dietician today: she is up to 14 lbs. 8 oz. & is 26.5 inches. She hasn't gone up the chart too much, but she hasn't fallen off of it either (except in height-for-weight, but all 3 of the kids are like that). The dietician feels like she is doing really well, though would like to see her have some "catch up" weight. The plan (not sure I care for this plan, so we'll see how much I utilize it!) is to add 1/4 t. of olive oil to each of her food meals. This is just to add some fat to her diet. I'm not real concerned with her catching up in weight, since she has been healthy all along & her development has been great. So I probably won't add it to every meal.:) She is doing a little better with the spoon. She is not really feeding herself anything yet, puffs or other chunks. She'll pick them up but doesn't put them in her mouth. She is so much like Kellen was. She'll get the hang of it. It just might take awhile. Anyway, she is scheduled to go back in on March 4th for a final check up. The dietician is a mom, which helps, & she seems to have a good grasp on normal eating patterns when nursing, etc. So she has been un-concerned for the most part as well.

Kellen started back to school this week, & is doing well. His teacher said he has pretty much picked up right where he left off. We weren't sure if he was going to "backslide" & not want to participate in some of the things he had started doing.

Grandma babysat Annika today while I took Kaarin to the dietician & Kellen was at school -- they went to the play to learn at the library. Annika turns into an observer while there, but I think because there are so many people. She does participate, but wants more help than usual.

First weekend of the new year

Happy New Year again! We have had a good weekend to start the new year.:) Kellen & Erik went to the model train expo Sat. at the WA St. History Museum. Kellen loved it, of course. They they also took a trip to the UW book store & got a new Husky football & a book...hmmm. I may have to minimize these father-son trips if that's the kind of contraband they're going to come home with!;) Today Erik & I went to the Seahawks game, courtesy of my friend Eric.:) The game was fairly boring, & the Seahawks lost, but we still had fun. Grandma & grandpa babysat all 3 kids for really the first time (they've done it before, but not for nearly this long!) & everyone survived! In fact, they did great!!:) Kaarin was happy & took her bottle, all 3 kids napped, so grandma & grandpa got a break. Yay! It was nice to have a break from all 3 at the same time.

Annika has gone pee-pee on the potty for 3 straight mornings!!! She has been sitting on the potty for awhile, since she watches Kellen do it, but nothing has ever come out until now. The first day I thought it was a fluke, but now with 3 in a row I think she is starting to catch on a little! I will just let her initiate at this point, but I certainly anticipate her being trained at a much earlier age than Kellen! Oh, to be back down to 1 in diapers...!! Amazing. Kellen is doing awesome, though he is still too embarrassed (?) or something to go when people are at our house or when we are somewhere other than home. But usually he holds it until it is "safe" to go. Kellen starts back to school on Tuesday. That is also grandma's birthday! Kaarin goes back to see the dietician on Thurs. I imagine this will be our last visit with her, since Kaarin is taking a bottle now & is starting to eat more baby food. I am sure that her weight has held steady. It will be interesting to see what she is up to now.

Fire trucks & more

Why is it that everytime I have to call the fire dept. to come out, it is when the house is an absolute pit?? (maybe because it is like that most of the time??) A year ago, when our oven caught on fire, we had just gotten home from Hawaii & our stuff was everywhere. When we had to call when Annika had croup, we had just gotten home (late) from Chelan. And yesterday...all the mess from Christmas is still needing to be put away. Ugh. I am sure the firefighters have more to worry about, but still, how embarrassing.
Our latest call to the fire dept. came yesterday afternoon, around 4 something. I had just turned on our outside porch lights/Christmas lights & went into the kitchen to get some water. I was about to get Kellen up from "nap" (he wasn't sleeping) when I smelled something, like something burning on the stove. I went looking to see what it was, & in our entry way smoke was pouring out of the light switch & the wall was turning black!! I quickly turned off the switch, grabbed the phone, called 911, & got Kellen up. Then we went & got Annika up & I put them in the van. I ran back to get Kaarin & we all waited in the van. The fire trucks (2 of them), aid car, fire chief, etc. (not sure all that arrived, but there were 5 vehicles) came with lights AND sirens going! Kellen, of course, thought it was so exciting! Fortunately the "fire" (there were actually no flames since I turned the switch off) was contained to one spot & the firemen were able to remove part of the switch & cap the wires, so we ended up not really having any damage that can't be easily repaired. We are so thankful, though -- if we had been gone it would have been a very different story!!

Anyway, after that we just went out for Indian food for dinner.:) It is so yummy. We tried a new dish, Saag Lamb, which was great!! A new favorite for the list. Then we came home, had ice cream, put the kids to bed, & watched Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year or whatever it's called. By the way, Dick Clark looked SCARY!! He looked like he was wearing some mask as a bank robber in some movie. Weird. We stayed up until midnight & then went to bed. Happy New Year! Our goal is fewer 911 calls in 2010...;)