Ticklish

Grant giggled for the first time tonight while I was giving him a bath. I was sliding the washcloth under his chin when I heard the wonderful little sound, and then we laughed together for the rest of his bath time.

In the kitchen

Here is evidence that we're coming out of newborn "survival." I made pumpkin and bat sugar cookies and frosted them with the kids this week.


















Greg spearheaded tonight's pizza-making while I took a little snooze on the couch (ok, so we're not quite out of newborn survival).
Watching their creations bake, a new and exciting experience for them, as our old oven had no light. Simple joys.

Sweet moment

I was down the hall for a few minutes doing some laundry this morning and came back to this delightful little scene. She had given him "Andy" the monkey to hold so she could read to them both. I thought it a rather appropriate photo to follow yesterday's post. Start 'em out young. Thanks, Aubs!

"Take a look, it's in a book, it's..."

As part of her first grade homework, Kari is supposed to be reading aloud 15-20 minutes a day. She is really taking off in her reading and is quickly going through the books we have at home, so we've been trying to make it to the library each week once again (Grant threw a hitch in our library routine for a while). I love to read and want to foster a love for books and reading in my kids, so we go to the library often. I like to go online and reserve quality children's books (books I enjoyed as a kid, Caldecott award winners, etc.) so that I end up with some really good books along with the not so good ones or boring (to me) character books (Disney princess, Dora, Power Ranger...) that the kids seem to be drawn to. Every so often, though, we stumble upon a delightful book in our library bag, a great story that I have not hand-picked but would have if I'd known about it. Our most recent such discovery is That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell. Such a cute story. We've read it over and over again. It's Aubrey's favorite right now, maybe because it's about a little girl and her used-to-be-pink-but-is-now-grey bunny. (Anyone seen Aubrey's Bunny lately? It's not looking so good.) I love it when kids are totally engaged in a book, laugh with delight while reading, and go around quoting lines from a story. It makes me smile when I hear Kari laughing as she's reading in her room. I can't wait until she can read "chapter" books, and I will get to share some of my favorites from when I was younger. I have a whole box waiting for her up in the rafters.

Anyone have a favorite children's book or author for us to check out at the library? I'm always on the look-out for new ones!

Two Months Old

The two month milestone with Grant finds us seeing more and more smiles, hearing a little less crying, and getting a little bit more sleep. I'm still getting up an average of three times a night, but that's WAY better than 4 or more times. I'll take what I can get! At his doctor appointment today he was 12 lbs 8 oz and 23 1/2 in (75th percentile in both). I am so thankful for a healthy baby.

Grant is interacting with us a lot more and loves it when people talk to him. His arms and legs start going, his face gets more animated, and he makes cute baby sounds. He also loves having his diaper changed. That's when I get the best grins. There have been times he's gone from screaming to grinning when we have taken off his diaper, so after we've exhausted all our other ideas and tried all our other tricks, that's what we do. It often works and has only backfired a couple times. :)
He's looking like a regular baby now, as opposed to a newborn. Here he is in his "man" outfit that he wore to church on Sunday. He definitely has the old man look going on, complete with mini comb-over. He's a cute little old man, though. I was looking at two-month photos of the other kids, and they all had more hair than he has right now. Boy's don't need hair, right?



I can't get enough of this smile.

Preschool Days

Joel is still loving preschool. He eagerly anticipates every Thursday and Friday when he gets to go again. Here he is with his first homework assignment, an All-About-Me Robot poster. We discovered he is like me in that he has a difficult time narrowing down "favorites." Here are his responses.





When I grow up I want to be: a fireman, a zoo keeper, and a daddy
Something I like to do at school: centers (especially the bean table)
Something I like to do at home: play outside, play in the little pool, swing, play soccer
Favorite Food: corndog and pizza
Favorite Color: blue and red
Favorite Animal: dog
Favorite Book: Can I Bring My Pterodactyl to School, Ms. Johnson?
I Help Others By: sharing, by bringing things when people need them, helping them up if they fall down, cleaning up, setting the table
I Am Special Because: Mommy and Daddy love me. God loves me. I'm a good big brother. I am nice to other people.

It was Crazy Hat day today, so yesterday we created a crazy hat for him to wear. I love that he still thinks my ideas are great, no matter what they are. He got so excited and had so much fun finding things around the house to glue onto his hat. He colored paper with crayons and cut pieces with zig-zag scissors to glue on between the snakes, glow-in-the-dark bugs, wiggle eyes, and puff balls. He wore his Crazy Hat with pride.  



Two soccer players

The kids had their first official soccer game last Saturday, and they did great! Kari is an old pro now, of course, with a year of soccer under her belt. She is doing really well on defense (she doesn't want the other team to score). She's into it and "gets" it this year. Watching 4-6 year olds play is so entertaining. At one point Joel was on the field pointing and looking up at the sky, watching an airplane fly overhead while the rest of his team chased after the ball. He's not a very competitive little guy, so it's ok with him if the other team scores. :) He has a smile on his face when he's playing, so he's having fun, which is what matters at this level, or at any level, really.












I was trying to capture the high five they were giving each other, but obviously, I missed it.

Look at what I caught

Smiles from our six-week old (6 weeks tomorrow)! He's just starting to interact. He knows we're here, and he likes us! A precious smile from your baby goes a long way and does a lot for your morale when you're exhausted and weary of crying. Looking at these photos, it's difficult to believe he's ever unhappy, isn't it? :) He is getting happier, though. Tummy troubles seem to be the primary cause of his fussiness, so hopefully once his little digestive system matures a bit, he'll do even better. I am loving having a little baby around again (my last one! sniff, sniff)--snuggling with him as he sleeps, his little head nestled on my shoulder, his soft hair against my cheek--but I also love my sleep and look forward to the days when I get more than 3 hours at a time. Know what I mean?








This third photo makes me wonder, "What kind of kid are you going to be, little mister?" Looks a little mischievous to me! :)

Which antibiotic do you want to use this time?

That's what the doctor asked me when I took her in on Friday. Poor baby has another sinus infection and fell asleep like this, still clutching "Bunny" at 6:30pm.

Left Behind

Before I forget, my baby smiled, as in really smiled, at me today! He is 5 1/2 weeks old, and this morning he was happy to see me and gave me a big grin. The chances of catching a smile with the camera are slim at this point, though, so no photo yet. I don't really want to take pictures of him now anyway as his face and head are still all rashy. It's looking a little better, but it's still pretty bad. I want my smooth, kissable baby cheeks back! His nose has been the only place on his head that has been rash-free.

It felt very strange to just have two kids at home yesterday morning after we dropped Joel off at school. Grant was sleeping, so it was just Aubrey and I. Our house felt empty, and so much quieter! I had been worried that Aubrey might make a scene that first day of preschool because she was convinced she was going to school, too, but she must have realized the truth at some point because there was no scene--just one sad little girl. I perked her up as we were leaving by mentioning a tea party. It's amazing how a little "tea" (apple juice), some cheerios and marshmallows, and Mommy's undivided attention can change a little girl's mood. We played a game of Candyland, too, so it was pretty much the ideal morning in Aubrey's eyes. :)

First day of preschool

Joel has been waiting for this day for what seems like an eternity to him. He finally gets to go to school like Kari, have a teacher like Kari, carry a backpack like Kari... you get the idea. He even drew a picture of an apple (all his idea) to give to his teacher. He was so cute. When I walked him in to his class he put his stuff away, found his seat, and got right to work. He knows how this school thing works.

The big smile I got when I peaked my head around the door to pick him up made my day. And unlike his big sister, he told me all about everything that went on this morning at school--such a wealth of information! (We know practically nothing about Kari's school days, and I may never know, because this year I am not able to volunteer regularly in the classroom like I did last year.) Joel is still remembering new things to tell me about throughout the day. I'm eating it up. :) I asked him if there were a lot of kids that he knew (there are) and he said, "Mom, I know ALL the kids in the class, but...I don't know their names."

I am so happy that he is already loving preschool. I am already impressed with his teacher, too. Mrs. Mitchell, or "Mitch-wull" as Joel says it, started off well. I think it's going to be a good experience for our Joel-boy.

First day of school--1st grade

Our first grader was up and ready for school before her alarm this morning. She actually was ready last night for this first day to come and go, I think. She wanted to shower and get ready for bed at 6pm.  I drove her to school this morning and walked her to her classroom. She put her things away, and we helped her find her table. I knew for certain that she was nervous when a little boy at her table said, "Hi! What's your name?" and there was absolutely no response from Kari. She wouldn't say a word, but that's what she does when she's in a new situation or is scared. As my dad put it, Kari is an enigma. She has a strong personality but is an introvert. I've been praying that she has a good first day and starts to feel more comfortable soon. I only shed a few tears as I drove away from the school this time. She's riding the bus home (for the first time) with a neighbor girl from across the street, and we'll go meet her at the bus stop in about an hour.


Even though she was nervous, I think she really was excited to go back to school and start first grade. She smiled for my photo and happily hugged her brothers and sister good-bye.

Optimus and Bumblebee

Joel has recently enjoyed roping Aubrey into his Transformer play. (Thanks, Wilsons, for the second outfit!) He has her convinced that she's going to be Optimus Prime for Halloween. :)

(See the laundry basket in the background? Just some evidence that laundry is indeed piling up around here.)

Girls in curls

Did your mom do this to your hair when you were little? Mine did.

The girls were so excited to do it. Kari's hair was super curly when she was little, and now it's still pretty curly in the back but more straight in the front. She wanted to make her hair ALL curly everywhere, and Aubrey wanted to be like Kari. I didn't think my 2-year-old would leave them in all night, but she did. This was our practice round.





















After we took the rollers out (we eventually did pigtails but I never got a photo)

















Shirley Temple, anyone?

Almost one month

Grant is 4 weeks old, will be a month old tomorrow. Four weeks finds us tired, as he is up multiple times in the night, sometimes for an hour or more. The good news is that he has been happier during the day, which has been nice. Four weeks finds Grant no longer shedding his skin but with a terrible case of baby acne and, thanks to his sister's cold, a stuffy nose. Poor little guy. Hopefully it'll all clear up soon.

In these first four weeks of his life, Grant has been held and loved by many. Here is a collage of all the grandparents who have come to visit and have held him--grandparents, great grandparents, and even a great-great grandma. Our kids are blessed to have so many grandparents and so many of them close by. My Grandma and Grandpa Arnold were down from Alaska for my cousin's wedding a couple weeks ago. It was fun to be able to intoduce them to Grant and for the kids to get to see them again.