I did it, I did it, I did it - Yeah!

I finished NaBloPoMo or "National Blog Post Month." I posted every day. Some days it was a challenge, not because I could not think of anything to write about but because I am sometimes pretty busy and have a hard time finding the computer time. The thing that saved me some times was the fact that you can schedule a post for the future.

I really enjoy blogging (obviously). I have no idea if anyone other than the grandmothers enjoy reading it at the frequency at which I write but I enjoy it so it does not matter to me.

Norman Rockwell is not in my family!

My goal for this weekend was to decorate for Christmas. I love Christmas and am a sappy traditions person so I had images in my mind of this perfect event with the family "trimming the tree".

Saturday we planned to put up the tree while Katherine was napping so we could decorate it as a family when she woke up. We cued up the music, bought the egg nog and prepared. My parents were coming over for a late Thanksgiving weekend meal. We had a shrimp, chicken, artichoke casserole. We see them all the time and therefore decided not to do turkey.

Sam was not feeling well so after they left he went to bed and we did not decorate the tree. So, day 1, we get the decorations out of the attic and put up the tree.

Today we again had the goal of decorating the tree. After church we gave it another try. Sam was even more sick so he laid on the couch watching and taking pictures. Caroline watched from her swing. Katherine and I decorated.
She loved the "necklaces" that went on the tree. Her string was all clumped up on the bottom.
Katherine really enjoyed putting the ornaments on the tree. As we would unpack them I took the really special or breakable ones and put them up high and she put the other ones down low. There are a few places where there are groups of ornaments really close together.

She was so careful with the ornaments. Some had string and some had hooks. She had to really concentrate to hang some of them and some frustrated her. She actually said that one of them made her angry. It was pretty funny.

We only got up about half of the ornaments before she got bored. I was able to get her to hold Caroline for a photo. While she napped I completed the tree.
While she was asleep I also planned to set up our Jesse Tree. I will post much more on it later as we get into the devotions. When I opened the box of our new smaller tree I found that I had accidentally bought a neon green tinsel tree. It was quite hideous. In my defense, I did not actually pick it out. I was at Michael's and Caroline's car seat would not fit in the shopping cart so I had to take in my stroller. I could not push the stroller, carry my basket and carry a tree so I asked the checker to get me a 4 foot tree. I did not realize that some were neon tinsel or I would have been more specific. The good thing was that when I went to return it today the one I wanted had gone on sale so I got a refund.

Our first Jesse Tree night was not as perfect as I had envisioned either. Katherine wanted to read the Bible therefore I was not able to read our story and devotion. I am sure it will get better. It was new tonight.

Thanksgiving

We went to Sam's parent's house for Thanksgiving this year. There were 15 of us there, 6 of them kids ages 4 months-7.5 years. It was chaotic at times but it was fun. The older the kids get, the more fun it is. Katherine is sandwiched right between Ty and Hannah. Ty is 6 months older and Hannah is 5 months younger. That 5-6 months was a huge difference until recently. It was so fun to see Katherine and Hannah playing together. Katherine also has a fun time with Emily who is 5 years older.One goal of the weekend was to get a good picture of all of us. I think that we did a great job, especially considering that the photo was taken with a timer so you never know what kind of faces the kids are going to give. We also tried to take photos of just the kids. That was not as easy. Our camera had already been set up for the big family photo shoot so when Sam aimed at the kids we had a wonderful backdrop of the neighbor's trash cans. Hopefully someone else got a better picture of the kids.
As to be expected we did a lot of eating and a lot of hanging out - a perfect way to spend Thanksgiving.
Don't be fooled by the large amount of food on Katherine's plate. I think she ate the roll.
Caroline fell asleep on the floor in the same room as the chaos and slept through Thanksgiving lunch. It was kind of nice not to have to hold a baby while eating for once.
The kids had fun playing in the yard and playing video games (old school intelivision, no Wii for us).

And we finished off the evening with a bath. I like to call this photo "Rub a dub dub, three toddlers in a tub."

Zoo Day

Tuesday was dollar day at the zoo. Though it was cold in the morning, the weather was a perfect 70 degrees by mid-morning. We met our playgroup out there. Our group had 4 double strollers and we took up most of the patio where we ate lunch.

We started at the petting zoo where Katherine was able to pet a bunny rabbit. Janna and Robert with the giraffes.
It is quite a challenge to get a photo of all three of us. I was actually holding both girls. Caroline was asleep at this point.
The giraffes were eating. The baby kept trying to take the food from its mom.
Louis was cute in his red cowboy hat.
Katherine was being quite shy.
Jenny the elephant.
Since it was $1 admission we decided to splurge on the monorail. It is only $2 but we have never done it before. I am not excited about the fact that in February Katherine will no longer be free everywhere we go.


It was a very fun day before the holiday weekend. I could not have asked for better weather.

ABC's of Thanksgiving.

At our house right now we are obsessed with all things "ABC". So, when I saw Christy and Christie's ABC Thanksgiving posts, I knew I had to make it a "Christy" triple play and copy their idea. So, here is a list of things I am thankful for this year. Some are serious, some are funny. I tried to go with the first thing that came to mind.

A - airplanes - I am thankful that they make it so much easier to visit friends and family far away.
B - Books - I love to read and am thankful that I can read. I love that Katherine is also obsessed with books.
C - Caroline - My sweet, precious baby girl. We can't imagine life without her.
D - Dr. Pepper - Anyone who knows me knows that I am addicted. It is my "vice".
E - Emily and all of our cousins. They are precious and love to play together.
F - Family - I am so thankful that I have not only a great relationship with my family but also with my in-laws. Not everyone is so fortunate.
G - Grandparents - My girls are blessed with the best grandparents. One set is close and one is a few hours away. They love them both.
H - Hooligan - Our poor dog has been moved down a few notches with the arrival of kids but we love her.
I - Ice Cream - I am a plain vanilla girl and especially like it in milkshake form.
J - Jen, Janna and my other good girl friends (whose names don't start with "J")
K - Katherine - such a fun toddler whom we love and enjoy so much.
L - Life eternal, such a gift from God.
M - Mom - I am blessed with a wonderful relationship with my mom. We talk daily and see each other multiple times a week.
N - Northwest - We are lucky to have a wonderful church home, a place to worship, serve and fellowship
O - Opportunity - I feel lucky to live in a place where I have the opportunity and freedom to do so many things.
P - Playgroup - It started as moms needing support with new babies and has evolved into best friends for both me and my children. I am so thankful for these people.
Q - Quiet - I don't get a lot of quiet with a baby and a toddler so when I have moments of quiet, I really love it.
R - Running - I don't run a lot but I can. I am thankful for my health and physical abilities.
S - Saturday and Sunday - I live for the weekends when we have family time and I have help with the kids.
T - Tortillas and Mexican food - yummy, my favorite.
U - Unconditional love - from God, from family, from friends. I am blessed.
V - Vacation - One of my favorite things in the world is to travel. I love a vacation for it's time away from home, time with family and friends and time to learn about new places and experience new things.
W - Will - my brother is a great friend. I am thankful for our relationship.
X - extra sleep - I am thankful that Caroline is a baby who sleeps and therefore I am a mommy who sleeps. It makes for a much happier home.
Y - Yogurt - Katherine does not like milk so I am glad she will eat and drink yogurt
Z - Zoo - What a fun activity with the kids.

Babywearing toddler

Katherine loves to imitate mommy. She takes care of her baby doll while I take care of Caroline. She will sit on the couch with me and nurse her baby then burp her and tell her "it's ok" when she is fussing. Yesterday she wore her baby doll around the house in the sling that Grammy made her. It sure is cute.

Family Fun Night

Friday we were done with dinner earlier than usual, it was cold outside and we had nothing to do so we decided to do a spontaneous "Family Fun Night". We built a fire, changed into our "jammies", popped pop corn and watched "Snow White". It was the first time Katherine has seen this movie but we knew she would love it since she is currently obsessed with all things princess. It was a fun evening.

Katherine ready and excited about the evening.

Getting the fire ready.

Trying to get Caroline excited about the movie.

Popcorn!

Sisters

So, do you think they look alike? Some people say they do, others don't think so. I think they look very different but related. Here is Katherine at 3 months.Here is Caroline, in the same dress at 4 months.
Katherine at 2 months.
Caroline at 4 months in the same place.

Rollin'

It's official, Caroline is rolling over. She did it 2 times on Wednesday, once on Thursday and once on Friday. I am sure she would have rolled more if she spent more time on the floor on her tummy. Today she did it about 10 times in a row. She was so fast that it was hard to get on video. I would put her on her tummy and by the time I picked up the camera she was already over. Here is one of her slower times. So far she is only rolling tummy to back. I am sure soon she will be rolling across the room. This starts a new era of attentiveness as she may not remain where we put her.

33 months

Katherine, you are now 33 months old which means in 3 short months you will be 3. It is hard to believe how grown up you are. Just today I looked over at you and you were all little girl and no baby anymore. I actually teared up. You are so inquisitive. You are constantly asking questions and Daddy and I are explaining things to you nonstop. At dinner we talked about apple seeds in the core of the apple and you wanted to go plant them in the front yard so we could have an apple tree. Your mind is a sponge. Every time you go see Nana and Pops they are full of stories of all of the grown up things you are saying and doing.
You have really started to love school. You still would rather stay home with mommy some days but most days you are excited about going and run off down the hall to your class. You are learning so much at school. You know all of your letters and numbers and are starting to associate sounds with the letters. The other morning you were in bed practicing your sounds. Today I found out that you are also learning the letters and colors in sign language at school as well as the days of the week. I hear you practicing all of them. You are interested in words relating to time though it is still an abstract concept. You will ask me what time it is many times a day.
Speaking of time, you are very good at wasting time, especially when it is time to go to bed. So, we have begun using a timer at night. When we head back to your room I set the timer and tell you that you have 20 minutes to get ready for bed and read books. You know that if you waste time putting on your jammies and brushing your teeth you will not get to read books. It has worked really well and you don't argue when the timer goes off and I turn out the lights.
I am scared to type this but I think that you are finally fully potty trained. I am sure we will still have an accident from time to time but you have gone 4 days with no accidents at all. I think that buying you princess panties has been a big motivator.
Speaking of princesses, all of a sudden you are quite obsessed with them. You call them all Cinderella or Snow White but those are the only full movies you have seen so far. We watch a lot of princess clips on you tube since the movies are so long. I need to look for some videos of just the songs or something shorter. You have a princess sleeping bag that fits in your princess backpack to take with you to Nana's house (now that Caroline gets the crib). Over all I try not to buy character items, especially clothes but if I had to choose one item to obsess over I guess I would pick the Disney princesses over some of the other preschool obsessions of the purple dinosaur and blue puppy dog style.

One morning we were watching a movie of Beauty and the Beast on you tube. I asked you if you knew the name of the princess. You did not. I told you that her name is "Belle". You said, "Oh, like Pops." Pops real name is "Bill".
You are able to fully dress yourself. This morning you got ready for church with no assistance other than me getting your clothes out of the closet and dresser. This included shirt, jumper, tights and shoes. All I had to do was your hair. You actually let me put your hair in rubber bands and bows! In fact, I was just going to try to get one bow in and you requested not two but three!

Sometimes you are quite opinionated about what you wear. I will lay out a cute outfit and you will reach into your closet to find accessories. For example, you had on jeans and a primary color sweater. Then you added her black leather jacket, pink and white hat and green patten shoes. You wore this combination all day.We are working on manners. It is very important to say "please" and "thank you". I am also working on "yes, ma'am" or at least "yes" rather than "yeah" or "Uh huh". I am not proud to admit that I know where you have picked up some of those bad habits and I am working on my own manners too.

We are also working on sharing. It is a tough thing to share your toys when others are at your house and we have kids over a lot. One area where you have no problem sharing is at the dinner table. Here sharing is your way of giving away the food that you do not want and getting more of the food you do want. All in the name of sharing.
You have the concept of "rhyming" and "Spanish" mixed up. You will say that "cat" and "bat" are Spanish and that "banana" and "Nana" are Spanish. I think that probably Sesame Street talked about rhymes and Spanish and you got them confused.
You are a wonderful big sister. You love to play with Caroline. You love to hold her in your lap and you will cuddle with her to watch TV or read to her. If she fusses just a little bit you will call to me to tell me that she is starting to cry. I am so thankful that you have not exhibited any jealous attitudes or mean behavior towards her.
As sweet as you are, you are still two and capable of throwing some horrible tantrums. The photo above was when you were inconsolable because I would not give you a lollipop.


You say some pretty funny things.
If it is light outside you say it is "not late" and if it is dark then it is "late". You get confused when I say we are running late. You will say, "it's still light, it's not late". If you get tired of Hooligan, you say, "let's put Hoogan outside. It's a pretty weather and it's not late."

When it is time to get dressed, you say, "let's put my morning clothes on."
In the morning we listen to music in the kitchen. Usually you request "ABC's" which is your play list but several times recently you have requested John Lithgow or Jack Johnson.

You are quite the drama queen at times. If you fall and get a boo boo you want a band aid regardless of if there is blood. Usually a hug will take care of it.

When we pray each morning you always ask to pray that you would not fall down and get boo boos, that Caroline will not cry, that Daddy's tummy will feel better and that mommy's back will not hurt. I have learned that if we pray for something one time it is forever on the prayer request lit.
Katherine, you are growing up so quickly. I am loving every day with you.