After pizza he could not wait to blow out his candles! One down, two to go.
Of course, he wanted the airplane slice:
Watching a little of the movie Cars to end the night ~ they only got to see the first 30 minutes because it was time to go to bed.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Calvin's 3rd birthday
We kept it super low key this year, just our little family had a pizza dinner, cake in the color of Calvin's choice (blue), and a few presents. He woke up to curly streamers over his bedroom door, and I referred to him as "birthday boy" today. He chuckled and thought it was hilarious. Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Rachel had a big colorful bouquet of balloons sent by a Flowerama delivery lady, and he carried them around the house with him the rest of the day. His presents were a bag of megabloks, the movie Cars, and some Cars toys. A couple pics from the day:
After pizza he could not wait to blow out his candles! One down, two to go.
Of course, he wanted the airplane slice:
Watching a little of the movie Cars to end the night ~ they only got to see the first 30 minutes because it was time to go to bed.
After pizza he could not wait to blow out his candles! One down, two to go.
Of course, he wanted the airplane slice:
Watching a little of the movie Cars to end the night ~ they only got to see the first 30 minutes because it was time to go to bed.
Calvin's lunch prayer on his birthday
"Dear Ge-gus, tank you por the pood, dat da cake is ready, for my pamily, and por dis nice day. Amen."
Whole White World
Violet has said this phrase about the "whole wide world" wrong for a long time, she says "whole white world". We've corrected her a few times and she knows how the saying goes but still says it wrong just to get a reaction out of people and us. Anyway...all this snow prompted her to think more clearly about what she says. We were driving somewhere and she excitedly looked at the white world outside the van window and said "Hey! NOW I can say 'whole WHITE world'!"
Monday, December 27, 2010
Calvin turns 3 tomorrow
Calvin's birthday always sneaks up on me. It is following two big holidays so it is easy to "forget" to plan anything special for him. It is really fun to see him anticipating his birthday, it is really the first of his birthdays that he is excited about. Violet keeps talking to him about being three years old, and that creates a lot of excitement for him. He holds up three fingers and says "Three is coming!!!"
It has been a big year for Calvin. At this time last year, he was barely saying any words, sucking on a pacifier a lot of the time, had very short blonde hair, wearing diapers and sleeping in a crib. He has ditched the pacifier (shortly after he turned 2), transitioned into a big boy bed, is now 100% potty trained (he is dry almost every night!), his hair grew out crazy curly and has had two significant hair cuts in the past year, he became a big brother, and speaks in full sentences. His imagination has run wild and he enjoys playing imagination games with his big sister. He loves airplanes, trains, dump trucks, cars, and still sleeps with his special blue blankie, "meow" (a little white kitty), and his latest obsession, his little red dump truck. The three items can not be separated at nap and bed time or he can't go to sleep. He is beginning to pronounce words more clearly saying "drink" instead of "dink". He can verbally communicate almost everything he is feeling and is also able to explain to us what is wrong if he is hurting or was upset by something that Violet did. This is especially helpful if she is being sneaky and he tells us what REALLY happened behind our backs. He doesn't say words that start with the letter "S" or "V"...he says "weeb" for "sleeve" and "Biolet" for "Violet", and "Calgin" for his name.
He is super ticklish. I can almost always turn a sour mood around just by tickling him til he is laughing like crazy. He loves watching Little Einstein videos, playing with playdoh, throwing balls, driving his trains on the train track set, and building tall towers with his megabloks.
He has the best smile, two adorable dimples in his left cheek when he grins really big, can run really fast, can land on his feet after jumping off anything, and is very snuggly and loving. He has to give us so many kisses and hugs at night it is irrestitable to say no to him. I am working on getting him to get out of his bed after his naps and bed time on his own to go to the bathroom, so if he does, he expects a treat. He woke up from his nap today and came down to the basement where Dave and I were working on something, and he gave me a huuuge hug and said "I want some chocolate for that." hahaha!! I gave him 3 chocolate chips. Sure beats him screaming until someone retrieves him from his bedroom. He still takes a nap every day, from 2 pm to about 3:30. He has gone a few days with out a nap but its not pretty. In the morning when he gets out of bed, he walks into our room and says "Can I wake up now?" and if we say yes, he goes downstairs and plays by himself. Once we go downstairs, he says "I'm weawwy, weawwy hungee." (I'm really really hungry.) He still loves to eat a big bowl of oatmeal for any meal, and his favorite cold cereal option is Cinnamon Toast Crunch (which he refers to as "Tinnmin Kunk"). The first big snowfall he says "Dere is a whole bunk of 'noe out-tide!" He calls his little sister "Buh-neh-tah!"
When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he requested a blue cake with blue frosting, so I'll do my best to create exactly the cake he wants (should be pretty easy with a white cake mix and blue food coloring!). Violet thinks he is going to be taller in the morning when he wakes up. :) It just dawned on me that he needs his 3 yr doctor check-up. I guess I'll schedule that tomorrow!
Here is a pic of Calvin a couple days ago when his cousins were visiting - this pic is of him and Emma (age 11).
It has been a big year for Calvin. At this time last year, he was barely saying any words, sucking on a pacifier a lot of the time, had very short blonde hair, wearing diapers and sleeping in a crib. He has ditched the pacifier (shortly after he turned 2), transitioned into a big boy bed, is now 100% potty trained (he is dry almost every night!), his hair grew out crazy curly and has had two significant hair cuts in the past year, he became a big brother, and speaks in full sentences. His imagination has run wild and he enjoys playing imagination games with his big sister. He loves airplanes, trains, dump trucks, cars, and still sleeps with his special blue blankie, "meow" (a little white kitty), and his latest obsession, his little red dump truck. The three items can not be separated at nap and bed time or he can't go to sleep. He is beginning to pronounce words more clearly saying "drink" instead of "dink". He can verbally communicate almost everything he is feeling and is also able to explain to us what is wrong if he is hurting or was upset by something that Violet did. This is especially helpful if she is being sneaky and he tells us what REALLY happened behind our backs. He doesn't say words that start with the letter "S" or "V"...he says "weeb" for "sleeve" and "Biolet" for "Violet", and "Calgin" for his name.
He is super ticklish. I can almost always turn a sour mood around just by tickling him til he is laughing like crazy. He loves watching Little Einstein videos, playing with playdoh, throwing balls, driving his trains on the train track set, and building tall towers with his megabloks.
He has the best smile, two adorable dimples in his left cheek when he grins really big, can run really fast, can land on his feet after jumping off anything, and is very snuggly and loving. He has to give us so many kisses and hugs at night it is irrestitable to say no to him. I am working on getting him to get out of his bed after his naps and bed time on his own to go to the bathroom, so if he does, he expects a treat. He woke up from his nap today and came down to the basement where Dave and I were working on something, and he gave me a huuuge hug and said "I want some chocolate for that." hahaha!! I gave him 3 chocolate chips. Sure beats him screaming until someone retrieves him from his bedroom. He still takes a nap every day, from 2 pm to about 3:30. He has gone a few days with out a nap but its not pretty. In the morning when he gets out of bed, he walks into our room and says "Can I wake up now?" and if we say yes, he goes downstairs and plays by himself. Once we go downstairs, he says "I'm weawwy, weawwy hungee." (I'm really really hungry.) He still loves to eat a big bowl of oatmeal for any meal, and his favorite cold cereal option is Cinnamon Toast Crunch (which he refers to as "Tinnmin Kunk"). The first big snowfall he says "Dere is a whole bunk of 'noe out-tide!" He calls his little sister "Buh-neh-tah!"
When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he requested a blue cake with blue frosting, so I'll do my best to create exactly the cake he wants (should be pretty easy with a white cake mix and blue food coloring!). Violet thinks he is going to be taller in the morning when he wakes up. :) It just dawned on me that he needs his 3 yr doctor check-up. I guess I'll schedule that tomorrow!
Here is a pic of Calvin a couple days ago when his cousins were visiting - this pic is of him and Emma (age 11).
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Christmas 2010
I will be adding to this post as the days go on here...so I don't forget what we did for this year's Christmas and only create one post instead of a bunch of little ones. Dave and I are hosting his family this year. Sean and April were unable to make the trip, so this year it is StenErik and Lisa Armitage and their girls, Kristina, Emma and Anja from Dallas, TX, and Josh and Carrie and their kids, Austin, Renee and Wesley, and Dave's mom, Martha. The Armitage family arrived Monday night around 5:30 pm. They drove half the trip Sunday and stayed in a hotel in Joplin, MO.
Violet was SO excited her cousins were coming!! I printed out a calendar for her at the beginning of December and marked on it which days everybody was arriving. She crossed off a day each night before going to bed and counted how long it would be before they arrived. Calvin and Violet anxiously waited at the door when we knew their van would be pulling up and they bolted to the door when they arrived. Calvin remembered Emma from last year's visit to Dallas. We all enjoyed pizza for supper and got the girls set up in Violet's room. Violet ended up sharing the queen size air mattress with Anja the first night, Emma got the twin mattress, and Kristina slept in Violet's bed.
Many people from our church offered winter gear for the girls to wear so they could play outside in the snow. They were outside playing before everybody was awake, even before breakfast! Violet and Anja wandered off and made plenty of snow angels. Violet came inside super hungry. Everybody ate eggs, cinnamon streusel muffins, and toast. Lisa and Sten brought up their fancy espresso maker and provided all of us caffeine-addicted java-loving coffee hounds delicious latte drinks. Yum!
I got out the funfusion beads (perler beads) and the girls went to town making tons of things - we glued magnets to all of them. I think each of us made at least 3 or 4 different ones. Even Dave and Sten got in the action making their own beaded melty creations. Lisa heated up some chili she brought for lunch, and then made some chicken noodle soup to eat for later.
The girls were in and out all day, spending time at the table making crafts or playing outside. Even Calvin went out for awhile and played in the snow.
After a taco supper, we all drove out to Holmes Elementary for "open swim" from 7-8:45. Everybody seemed to love that idea! All the kids enthusiastically got their swim suits on and we headed out to the pool. Everybody gravitated towards the shallow warm pool where it was nice and cozy - but we eventually bit the bullet and went in the big "cold" pool. Everybody had lots of fun, even Calvin, who was tall enough to navigate the little pool all by himself. I went off the diving board a couple times. Emma and Anja even got brave enough to jump off the high dive!
Vanessa even got in the water with us. She was really unsure and hesitant at first but I just held her close and let her get comfortable with the water at her pace. She stayed snuggled up to my shoulder most of the time, but started reaching out her hand and splashing the water over my shoulder and seemed to enjoy the warm water after 20 minutes or so.
We didn't get the kids to bed until around 10:30 that night. All the older girls wanted hot chocolate to warm up after walking back to the van with wet hair in the freezing weather. Those Texas girls aren't used to the "frigid" temps even though it isn't all that cold for an Iowa winter right now (32 degrees!). As we had hot chocolate the girls worked on more perler beads and Violet excitedly made one in the shape of a dog for Dave. It is so fun to see her light up when she gives something to him that she worked hard on. Nobody fought bed time, all the kids were exhausted. I'm heading there myself! So far this has been wonderful having the Armitage family here - we got some "alone" time with them before Josh and Carrie and Martha arrive tomorrow. Violet is absolutely LOVING having the girls here to play with and I barely even see her during the day, she is 100% occupied! Calvin jumps in where he can, I don't think he feels left out. The girls are so sweet and help out with chores, and play with him too.
Wednesday:
- wake up at 8 am, ate breakfast (cold cereal, poached eggs, english muffins)
- made more perler beads...I think Kristina counted 31 of them on the metal door
- Lisa made chicken noodle soup for lunch
- most of the kids went outside to play for awhile
- Calvin and Vanessa napped, Lisa and I went to grocery store to get rest of stuff for the rest of the week
- made spaghetti sauce for dinner, cooked noodles and heated up garlic bread
- went to BBC gym to play around for awhile, kids melting down, very tired, got them to bed right away.
- Josh and Carrie and family arrived at 10 pm, they got their kids to bed, stayed up and talked til midnight
- we anticipate Martha arriving around lunch time tomorrow.
that was the short version, i'm going to bed! Will write more later.
Ok, so there won't be a longer detailed version, the time is flying and all the days are melting together in the craziness of everyone being here.
Thursday, Josh and Carrie went to meet with our financial advisor...kids all just played around..made lots more perler bead designs. We also made another run to Hobby Lobby to get more beads and pallat designs. Some kids went outside to play...food was made...Martha arrived around 11 am bringing lots of stuff...we had a variety of things for lunch, some ate black bean chili, some ate chicken soup, some had leftover pizza. Martha brought a huge pot of soup for dinner, we heated that up (it had zucchini, sausage, noodles, etc...delicious soup!) when it was supper time.
After dinner we all went to the gym at BBC - Kristina and Emma minded the kids (we paid `em some babysitting money) while the adults played volleyball. We all quickly discovered how horrible we are at volleyball, but it was REALLY fun!
Violet, even though she was having an absolute BLAST playing with her cousins, was run ragged. She looked incredibly tired by the time the days were over.
Snow kept falling. I think we got 6 inches that night. Dave was out snowblowing right away Friday morning, and everybody was excited to get up and head to Lee Whitmore's gym. Lisa made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I think we got breakfast eaten, packed up, and in the vans by 11 am. It is an adventure to pack up and move this many people! We jumped and bounced ourselves silly for two hours, and finally came to an ending point when the kids started to get hungry. The snow was still falling, I think we got another 3 or 4 inches that morning. It was a challenge driving there and back, but we made it. We had to use a shovel to get out of the gym parking lot because Lisa's van got stuck in a pile of snow that a snow plow created on the edge of the road. Lunch was another "heat up whatever leftovers you want" - there was pizza, chicken noodle soup, Martha's soup, chili, sandwiches, etc.
Lisa got work making pizza crust dough and homemade sauce for "Chicago-style" pizzas. It smelled amazing in the house and the pizzas turned out really good!
The 6 younger kids took a nap that afternoon, and watched Renee's new Tinkerbell movie when they all woke up, so there were a few hours of down time. Violet has been napping in our bed because the room is dark and empty. Calvin napped in his own bed and Vanessa slept in the crib in my closet. At night though, Calvin has been sleeping on a twin air mattress on the floor in our room since Martha slept in Calvin's bed. It all worked out really nicely. Violet shared her room with Kristina, Emma and Anja, Sten and Lisa slept in the guest room with the queen bed, and Josh and Carrie and family camped out in the basement rooms.
Christmas Eve was "Christmas" for everybody. The kids ate pizza first, then watched Charlie Brown Christmas while the adults ate the pizza - then we had a massive clean up effort to pick up all the toys, vacuum the floors, and prepare for opening presents. Boy, the kids were motivated to clean up!! All were excited and patienty waited while Kristina played "Santa" and handed out presents. Violet's favorite gift was the Leapfrog Tag reading system from Martha, one Berenstain Bears book from the Armitage cousins, and a "paint your own" Hello Kitty "piggy" bank from Renee. She got out her painting smock and wanted to start painting right away, but when I told her there might be more presents she sat down and waited for her turn. Calvin got a bulldozer from Austin which he immediately started pushing around the house.
After all the excitement, we got the kids to bed, and turned on some relaxing music. Dave played some silly videos on his computer, and we hung out and talked. I think we got to bed somewhere around midnight or 1 am most nights. We're all pretty tired, but its so fun to be together.
Josh went to bed last night and started throwing up - he was up a lot of the night sick in the bathroom, poor guy. We are all praying nobody else gets it!
He seems to be feeling better today, he's relaxing in the basement dosed up with Theraflu and Immodim.
The Armitages left around lunch time today. Sad to see them go!
My favorite sayings this week:
Sten-Erik: (re: Vanessa) "She's not one bit ugly."
Austin: (while asking Dave what was on his crazy Santa shirt) "What did he kill?"
Calvin: (when daddy was telling him to go potty in the middle of the night while helping him get his pajamas down) "Wite here on the floor?"
Martha: "I feel like I've been washing dishes since 6:30 am!" .... she says this at 11 am.
Emma: (re: Martha saying she hadn't ever dealt with buying something on Ebay and prefers Amazon).. "Is it all the biddin' and gamblin'?"
Emma asks to Uncle Dave "Do you like my dad?"
Some pics:
Kids were anxiously awaiting their arrival! Their van pulled up shortly after I got a text from Lisa saying they were just 3 miles away.
Perler beads became the event of the week ~ SO many things were created!
Calvin and Emma:
Dave's sister Lisa with Emma, Grandma Martha with Kristina.
Carrie and I:
Josh and Carrie:
the whole gang...
and the rest of the gang. :)
StenErik and Vanessa.
Violet was SO excited her cousins were coming!! I printed out a calendar for her at the beginning of December and marked on it which days everybody was arriving. She crossed off a day each night before going to bed and counted how long it would be before they arrived. Calvin and Violet anxiously waited at the door when we knew their van would be pulling up and they bolted to the door when they arrived. Calvin remembered Emma from last year's visit to Dallas. We all enjoyed pizza for supper and got the girls set up in Violet's room. Violet ended up sharing the queen size air mattress with Anja the first night, Emma got the twin mattress, and Kristina slept in Violet's bed.
Many people from our church offered winter gear for the girls to wear so they could play outside in the snow. They were outside playing before everybody was awake, even before breakfast! Violet and Anja wandered off and made plenty of snow angels. Violet came inside super hungry. Everybody ate eggs, cinnamon streusel muffins, and toast. Lisa and Sten brought up their fancy espresso maker and provided all of us caffeine-addicted java-loving coffee hounds delicious latte drinks. Yum!
I got out the funfusion beads (perler beads) and the girls went to town making tons of things - we glued magnets to all of them. I think each of us made at least 3 or 4 different ones. Even Dave and Sten got in the action making their own beaded melty creations. Lisa heated up some chili she brought for lunch, and then made some chicken noodle soup to eat for later.
The girls were in and out all day, spending time at the table making crafts or playing outside. Even Calvin went out for awhile and played in the snow.
After a taco supper, we all drove out to Holmes Elementary for "open swim" from 7-8:45. Everybody seemed to love that idea! All the kids enthusiastically got their swim suits on and we headed out to the pool. Everybody gravitated towards the shallow warm pool where it was nice and cozy - but we eventually bit the bullet and went in the big "cold" pool. Everybody had lots of fun, even Calvin, who was tall enough to navigate the little pool all by himself. I went off the diving board a couple times. Emma and Anja even got brave enough to jump off the high dive!
Vanessa even got in the water with us. She was really unsure and hesitant at first but I just held her close and let her get comfortable with the water at her pace. She stayed snuggled up to my shoulder most of the time, but started reaching out her hand and splashing the water over my shoulder and seemed to enjoy the warm water after 20 minutes or so.
We didn't get the kids to bed until around 10:30 that night. All the older girls wanted hot chocolate to warm up after walking back to the van with wet hair in the freezing weather. Those Texas girls aren't used to the "frigid" temps even though it isn't all that cold for an Iowa winter right now (32 degrees!). As we had hot chocolate the girls worked on more perler beads and Violet excitedly made one in the shape of a dog for Dave. It is so fun to see her light up when she gives something to him that she worked hard on. Nobody fought bed time, all the kids were exhausted. I'm heading there myself! So far this has been wonderful having the Armitage family here - we got some "alone" time with them before Josh and Carrie and Martha arrive tomorrow. Violet is absolutely LOVING having the girls here to play with and I barely even see her during the day, she is 100% occupied! Calvin jumps in where he can, I don't think he feels left out. The girls are so sweet and help out with chores, and play with him too.
Wednesday:
- wake up at 8 am, ate breakfast (cold cereal, poached eggs, english muffins)
- made more perler beads...I think Kristina counted 31 of them on the metal door
- Lisa made chicken noodle soup for lunch
- most of the kids went outside to play for awhile
- Calvin and Vanessa napped, Lisa and I went to grocery store to get rest of stuff for the rest of the week
- made spaghetti sauce for dinner, cooked noodles and heated up garlic bread
- went to BBC gym to play around for awhile, kids melting down, very tired, got them to bed right away.
- Josh and Carrie and family arrived at 10 pm, they got their kids to bed, stayed up and talked til midnight
- we anticipate Martha arriving around lunch time tomorrow.
that was the short version, i'm going to bed! Will write more later.
Ok, so there won't be a longer detailed version, the time is flying and all the days are melting together in the craziness of everyone being here.
Thursday, Josh and Carrie went to meet with our financial advisor...kids all just played around..made lots more perler bead designs. We also made another run to Hobby Lobby to get more beads and pallat designs. Some kids went outside to play...food was made...Martha arrived around 11 am bringing lots of stuff...we had a variety of things for lunch, some ate black bean chili, some ate chicken soup, some had leftover pizza. Martha brought a huge pot of soup for dinner, we heated that up (it had zucchini, sausage, noodles, etc...delicious soup!) when it was supper time.
After dinner we all went to the gym at BBC - Kristina and Emma minded the kids (we paid `em some babysitting money) while the adults played volleyball. We all quickly discovered how horrible we are at volleyball, but it was REALLY fun!
Violet, even though she was having an absolute BLAST playing with her cousins, was run ragged. She looked incredibly tired by the time the days were over.
Snow kept falling. I think we got 6 inches that night. Dave was out snowblowing right away Friday morning, and everybody was excited to get up and head to Lee Whitmore's gym. Lisa made biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I think we got breakfast eaten, packed up, and in the vans by 11 am. It is an adventure to pack up and move this many people! We jumped and bounced ourselves silly for two hours, and finally came to an ending point when the kids started to get hungry. The snow was still falling, I think we got another 3 or 4 inches that morning. It was a challenge driving there and back, but we made it. We had to use a shovel to get out of the gym parking lot because Lisa's van got stuck in a pile of snow that a snow plow created on the edge of the road. Lunch was another "heat up whatever leftovers you want" - there was pizza, chicken noodle soup, Martha's soup, chili, sandwiches, etc.
Lisa got work making pizza crust dough and homemade sauce for "Chicago-style" pizzas. It smelled amazing in the house and the pizzas turned out really good!
The 6 younger kids took a nap that afternoon, and watched Renee's new Tinkerbell movie when they all woke up, so there were a few hours of down time. Violet has been napping in our bed because the room is dark and empty. Calvin napped in his own bed and Vanessa slept in the crib in my closet. At night though, Calvin has been sleeping on a twin air mattress on the floor in our room since Martha slept in Calvin's bed. It all worked out really nicely. Violet shared her room with Kristina, Emma and Anja, Sten and Lisa slept in the guest room with the queen bed, and Josh and Carrie and family camped out in the basement rooms.
Christmas Eve was "Christmas" for everybody. The kids ate pizza first, then watched Charlie Brown Christmas while the adults ate the pizza - then we had a massive clean up effort to pick up all the toys, vacuum the floors, and prepare for opening presents. Boy, the kids were motivated to clean up!! All were excited and patienty waited while Kristina played "Santa" and handed out presents. Violet's favorite gift was the Leapfrog Tag reading system from Martha, one Berenstain Bears book from the Armitage cousins, and a "paint your own" Hello Kitty "piggy" bank from Renee. She got out her painting smock and wanted to start painting right away, but when I told her there might be more presents she sat down and waited for her turn. Calvin got a bulldozer from Austin which he immediately started pushing around the house.
After all the excitement, we got the kids to bed, and turned on some relaxing music. Dave played some silly videos on his computer, and we hung out and talked. I think we got to bed somewhere around midnight or 1 am most nights. We're all pretty tired, but its so fun to be together.
Josh went to bed last night and started throwing up - he was up a lot of the night sick in the bathroom, poor guy. We are all praying nobody else gets it!
He seems to be feeling better today, he's relaxing in the basement dosed up with Theraflu and Immodim.
The Armitages left around lunch time today. Sad to see them go!
My favorite sayings this week:
Sten-Erik: (re: Vanessa) "She's not one bit ugly."
Austin: (while asking Dave what was on his crazy Santa shirt) "What did he kill?"
Calvin: (when daddy was telling him to go potty in the middle of the night while helping him get his pajamas down) "Wite here on the floor?"
Martha: "I feel like I've been washing dishes since 6:30 am!" .... she says this at 11 am.
Emma: (re: Martha saying she hadn't ever dealt with buying something on Ebay and prefers Amazon).. "Is it all the biddin' and gamblin'?"
Emma asks to Uncle Dave "Do you like my dad?"
Some pics:
Kids were anxiously awaiting their arrival! Their van pulled up shortly after I got a text from Lisa saying they were just 3 miles away.
Perler beads became the event of the week ~ SO many things were created!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Painted dining room
Dave and I get motivated by family coming, I guess...because the last major thing accomplished in this house was the completion of the little bathroom on the first floor which we finished the weekend prior to Dave's familiy coming in 2008. Two years later...we somehow got the dining room painted. We went with the same purple color that is on the walls in the front room where my computer is. The color went perfectly with the watercolor painting that my grandma Row gave me so we put that on the wall too, along with a cool clock we found at Hobby Lobby. Violet was REALLLLY excited to paint..so Dave let her help for a little bit, even though he was cringing the whole time. There are lots of things yet to be added to the room...but at least it got painted, that was a big step, and makes the room much more inviting.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
First bite of bananas for Vanessa
Vanessa tried a couple bites of mashed bananas in her cereal today, I think she liked it! I'm also helping her to drink water from a regular cup. She took a couple sips and swallowed.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Violet is learning how to whistle
Violet has wanted to figure out how to whistle for a very long time. She usually pretends to whistle by singing with her lips pursed...but she knows it isn't actually whistling. I was on the phone for awhile this afternoon and Violet was laying on the couch looking really bored...but I wasn't paying much attention to her. She suddenly sat up and said "MOM! I just whistled!" and she blew out of her mouth and at the end of her blow a whistle sound came out. She practiced for a little longer and said "oh this takes too much practice!! I'm going to work on it tomorrow!"
Second cereal feeding, and two firsts: a mum-mum cracker and a few cheerios
Today I tried feeding Vanessa the rice cereal again, and it went better this time. She successfully took a few baby spoonfuls, and didn't spit any of it out. I even gave her a Baby Mum-Mum rice cracker to munch on and she really liked that. She likes to chew on cardboard and crinkled up paper so this little treat was right her alley. She crunched and munched until each bite dissolved in her mouth - and soon she had finished a whole cracker and moved onto the second one. She kept banging it against the arm rests on her high chair so it broke off in a number of places, so I kept giving her the little pieces til they were all gone.
I also let her dissolve a few plain cheerios in her mouth too, she seemed to enjoy it.
I also let her dissolve a few plain cheerios in her mouth too, she seemed to enjoy it.
Snowman pancakes!
I made breakfast super fun this morning. Violet's preschool was cancelled due to extremely cold temperatures, so she requested pancakes and sausage. That idea led to asking if we could change the color of the pancakes, and of course, Calvin and Violet each wanted different colors. She wanted pink, he wanted blue, surprise surprise.
They were SO excited to hop up on their chairs and help me make the pancakes, taking turns scooping flour, leveling it off, dumping it in the bowl, cracking eggs, measuring oil...it was a huge mess but they loved it. Two chocolate chips were the snowman eyes.
They were SO excited to hop up on their chairs and help me make the pancakes, taking turns scooping flour, leveling it off, dumping it in the bowl, cracking eggs, measuring oil...it was a huge mess but they loved it. Two chocolate chips were the snowman eyes.
Vanessa's 6 month pics
She is learning how to sit up unassisted pretty well this past week so I tried taking Vanessa's 6 month pictures, and this is how they turned out:
These were my two favorites.
These were my two favorites.
Calvin got his second hair cut
His hair was just out of control, even if the curls were somewhat adorable. It was time...so I took him to get another hair cut (his first one was in June) and he looks much better. Now he tells me that his hair is too crazy again and he needs another hair cut!
Before:
Before:
After:
Vanessa tried her first bites of cereal...
last night...and she was NOT a fan. I got probably one bite in her mouth and she screeeeeamed and wouldn't accept any more bites. Her arms were flailing and knocked many attempted bites into the air. Maybe I'll try it again today.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
I pooped a star!
warning: poop mentioned!
Calvin finished his business tonight on the toilet, and looked at his production. He got all excited, and said "I pooped a star!" after seeing how the pieces were arranged in the toilet in a "sunshine" arrangement. Only a mom would think this is funny, however.
Calvin finished his business tonight on the toilet, and looked at his production. He got all excited, and said "I pooped a star!" after seeing how the pieces were arranged in the toilet in a "sunshine" arrangement. Only a mom would think this is funny, however.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Vanessa's 6 month check up
She is still 27" tall, but has gained a little weight since her last appointment a few weeks ago. She's 15 lbs 10 oz.
The doctor still sees a lot of fluid behind her right ear drum, but its not infected. She said this indicates she has poor drainage in her right ear and may be very prone to ear infections, especially during "sick season". So she'll check her ear in a month and if there is still fluid, we will be referred to an ENT doc and go from there. They'll probably recommend a tube be inserted so she has adequate drainage and avoids ear infections. Vanessa probably doesn't hear that well in her right ear (doc said it may feel and sound like she's underwater), but her left ear is perfect. Vanessa has never visibly seemed affected by her right ear, and is a very happy and sweet baby so its hard to tell anything is wrong.
Otherwise, she is doing great!
The doctor still sees a lot of fluid behind her right ear drum, but its not infected. She said this indicates she has poor drainage in her right ear and may be very prone to ear infections, especially during "sick season". So she'll check her ear in a month and if there is still fluid, we will be referred to an ENT doc and go from there. They'll probably recommend a tube be inserted so she has adequate drainage and avoids ear infections. Vanessa probably doesn't hear that well in her right ear (doc said it may feel and sound like she's underwater), but her left ear is perfect. Vanessa has never visibly seemed affected by her right ear, and is a very happy and sweet baby so its hard to tell anything is wrong.
Otherwise, she is doing great!
Thursday, December 02, 2010
"Her name is boy"
Calvin asked me to help him wrap up his little "meow" in his blanket just now. He offered the wrapped up kitty to Violet to hold and she said "Is it a boy or a girl?" He said "Her name is boy." :)
Snuggle time with Vanessa
I think Vanessa enjoys back scratches. This morning after I fed her (Dave heard her crying and brought her to me in bed), she rolled over onto her tummy and I gave her a little back scratch/rub. She fell back asleep right next to me and seemed to enjoy the physical contact. She is such a sweet baby. Today she is 6 months old! She goes to her 6 month check tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Vanessa's first tooth
I can feel the tip of one of her lower teeth poking through her gums this morning. It wasn't there last night! Maybe it has something to do with Grandpa Jon's visit last night. He sort of likes teeth. :)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Vanessa's first bath in the big kid's tub
Daddy was getting the kiddos ready for a bath last night and started filling the bath water. I decided to strip down Vanessa and give her a bath in the big tub. She hated it, however, and screamed the whole time. I can't wait til she is big enough to sit up on her own in the tub. It made for a quick bath though. The older two got a big kick out of seeing their baby sister in THEIR tub! :)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Violet learned how to tie her shoe laces
I sat down and taught Violet how to tie shoe laces last night. She was eager and ready to learn, focusing very intently and practicing with much diligence. She got frustrated a little bit with her initial attempts but after her first successful tie she was beaming. She found it easier to work with my shoe which had longer strings. She was so proud of herself! She has been tying the strings on my pants and every shoe she can find in the house.
Monday, November 22, 2010
A full night's sleep does wonders for mom
Well, Vanessa got the boot. She is almost 6 months old, and time to stop eating from mama at night. I was getting pretty tired and exhausted from waking up with her 3 times each night to feed her and get her back to sleep. I set up the crib that we are borrowing from a friend in the guest room - put dark towels and sheets over the windows so it is nice and dark in there, turned on a fan, and put Vanessa in bed in a comfortable crib (with a cozy flannet sheet! using Calvin's bedding. :D ) two nights ago. I KNEW she was going to wake up but also knew she did NOT need to eat at night. She eats plenty during the day and needs to learn to get herself back to sleep. Dave did wake up in the middle of the night to put Violet back in her bed and let the dog out, and he told me he did hear her crying, but we both agreed it was time to let her cry-it-out. I slept a solid 7 hours and it was amazing. I was in complete dreamland for the entire time...I dreampt about so many things, and now 2 days later I couldn't even name 1/3 of what went through my brain but I know it involved diving, shopping, and flying in an airplane. My milk supply was good and ready by the time 7 am rolled around so I got her out of bed and fed her. Last night she slept in the crib also, I know she woke up a few times, but it didn't wake me up. I was in dreamland again for the 2nd time in who knows how long. I honestly don't think I have had a dream since before she was born. I like to think she is much more comfortable in the crib too, because before she was in a pack and play in my closet, not the most comfortable thing compared to a softer crib mattress. She's also able to roll around every direction and scoot herself to a comfy position. Before she would flip over to her back and get stuck there but now she can roll back over and sleep comfortably on her tummy.
Anyway...I don't know if this will end her night wakings, but either way...its not affecting me so that is O.K. with me!
Anyway...I don't know if this will end her night wakings, but either way...its not affecting me so that is O.K. with me!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Calvin and his faces
Calvin has learned how to cross his eyes. Yeah...he thinks its hilarious....and proudly shows us each time he figures it out.
He drew a banana on the board:
He also can draw the letter C...I don't have a pic of it, but he says, "the C says 'kuh'!"
And his monster face:
Train track making obsession
Violet's toy of choice lately is the wooden train tracks. We bought a wooden train set from our dog trainer, Karen. Since we bought a few additional switch tracks and a mountain piece (and some male/female adapter pieces), she has discovered how fun it is to make new train tracks. She will barely play with one before ripping it apart and making a new one. I am constantly amazed how she creates the most interesting and creative tracks. She creates quite a few each day. I think she plays with it more than Calvin does!
A sample of her work:
A sample of her work:
Friday, November 12, 2010
The most delicious fish I think I've ever had
Yep, you read that right. FISH. I loved it. Generally I'm not the biggest seafood fan, but tonight something went right at dinner time. The Smith family gave us some fresh caught walleye and since it hadn't been frozen, we decided to cook some up for supper tonight. I looked up a few recipes not really knowing what to do with it....I even started cooking rice with no plan for the fish. I soaked it in milk for about an hour, made sure all the pinbones were out, and came across a recipe that looked good. It was a simple seasoned bread crumb coating with a few other spices thrown in there...onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper. I pan-fried it with a little bit of vegetable oil and steamed a bunch of broccoli in the microwave while it cooked.
Violet asked me as I was bustling around the kitchen, "What are you making for supper?" I told her, "Rice, broccoli, and fish." She wrinkled up her nose and waved her hand in front of her face and said "Yuck, I don't like fish." I said, "how do you know that? You've probably never had it like this." She shrugged and just went off to play. Calvin then came up to me a few minutes later and asked what I was making. I gave him the same answer. He said "Oh! Is dat the fish right dere?" pointing to the dish with the raw fish on it. I said "yep!" and he said "oh!" and ran off. Apparently he hadn't associated fish with yucky yet.
When supper was ready, I put the fish on the table, and we served it up on their plates. Calvin immediately started scooping up bites and shoveling them in his mouth, and in 30 seconds his section of the plate with the fish on it was cleared. I offered him more and I got an enthusiastic nod. He ate even more than his first serving. Violet was observing his behavior so she started eating hers, and with in seconds, the soft tender fish was gone from her plate too. She said to me "Mom, can I have more chicken please?" I said, "Sure! But its fish, remember?" She got a very puzzled look on her face, and said "I'm relieved because I thought you were making REAL fish!" Which made us all laugh. I told her "Violet, this IS real fish!" And I had to explain that we didn't eat the whole fish with the eyes, fins and tail, but everything else was cut off and we ate the meat, just like other animals. She lost interest in my explanation and thoroughly enjoyed her fish. Dave and I liked it too. I don't think I have ever eaten freshly caught fish like that before, it has always been frozen and thawed. Either way...it had been a LONG time since we served seafood for a family meal and tonight's result made me want to include it weekly!
Violet asked me as I was bustling around the kitchen, "What are you making for supper?" I told her, "Rice, broccoli, and fish." She wrinkled up her nose and waved her hand in front of her face and said "Yuck, I don't like fish." I said, "how do you know that? You've probably never had it like this." She shrugged and just went off to play. Calvin then came up to me a few minutes later and asked what I was making. I gave him the same answer. He said "Oh! Is dat the fish right dere?" pointing to the dish with the raw fish on it. I said "yep!" and he said "oh!" and ran off. Apparently he hadn't associated fish with yucky yet.
When supper was ready, I put the fish on the table, and we served it up on their plates. Calvin immediately started scooping up bites and shoveling them in his mouth, and in 30 seconds his section of the plate with the fish on it was cleared. I offered him more and I got an enthusiastic nod. He ate even more than his first serving. Violet was observing his behavior so she started eating hers, and with in seconds, the soft tender fish was gone from her plate too. She said to me "Mom, can I have more chicken please?" I said, "Sure! But its fish, remember?" She got a very puzzled look on her face, and said "I'm relieved because I thought you were making REAL fish!" Which made us all laugh. I told her "Violet, this IS real fish!" And I had to explain that we didn't eat the whole fish with the eyes, fins and tail, but everything else was cut off and we ate the meat, just like other animals. She lost interest in my explanation and thoroughly enjoyed her fish. Dave and I liked it too. I don't think I have ever eaten freshly caught fish like that before, it has always been frozen and thawed. Either way...it had been a LONG time since we served seafood for a family meal and tonight's result made me want to include it weekly!
Back to normal
Our house seems to be getting back to normal now that daddy is back. I appreciate him so much more because when he's gone for so long I realize how much he does around here to help. Tonight he put the kids to bed by himself with out me asking, he just decided it was bed time, and got everything done. I stayed on the couch, folded laundry, and kept Vanessa happy. I can definitely tell the older kids are SO much happier having him home. They are more cheerful and respond to him so well, they love their daddy so much. The dog is even back (he needs a bath something terrible) and loudly snoring happily on the floor.
Monday, November 08, 2010
Long stretch with out daddy
Its been a very different and busy stretch of days with out daddy around. Last week (Sun through Fri) he was in Chicago taking his PMP certification (project management professional). It was a tough and intense week for him. He studied hard each night and took the test on Friday, and passed. I am so proud of him! He is glad it is over too, and it is a big step in the right direction for his professional career. Calix also has an annual User Group Conference that his company hosts for all their customers (there are hundreds of customers, over 1000 people attending)...and the conference was scheduled for this past Saturday and all through this week in Las Vegas. He decided not to attend the entire conference, but just be there for the time he was required to be part of the project management team representing their services to the customers for a few days. He came home on Friday night, and left Saturday at noon. He will return Wednesday afternoon.
Violet and I created a paper chain to represent how long he was going to be gone, using orange for the days he would be gone, and blue for the days he would be here. She really enjoys ripping off one chain each night before bed and counting how many more days until daddy comes home. She talks to him when she can on the phone, and we try connect before bed so they can talk about their days together. She says she CAN'T go to bed with out daddy praying. Once we weren't able to get a hold of him but for the most part, she has done great. Calvin knows daddy isn't here, but his only question is "Daddy, are you coming back?" and isn't into counting days like Violet.
Friday night when he got home, we ordered pizza and had a nice night together as a family. The kids enjoyed every minute with him. Saturday morning I was tied up hosting a baby shower at the chapel, so I had a babysitter come and watch the kids there while the shower was going on ~ as Dave had to take off again before noon.
I have had some amazing help while Dave has been gone. My mom came to stay with me for 2 1/2 days last week, and my brother Jay came up to stay with me on Saturday night. He is a fantastic uncle!! He went right along with the kids' imaginary role play games, and entertained them for me Saturday night and helped me keep them in line while sitting in meeting Sunday morning. I wouldn't have gone with the 3 kids myself, so I'm so glad he was there.
Violet and I created a paper chain to represent how long he was going to be gone, using orange for the days he would be gone, and blue for the days he would be here. She really enjoys ripping off one chain each night before bed and counting how many more days until daddy comes home. She talks to him when she can on the phone, and we try connect before bed so they can talk about their days together. She says she CAN'T go to bed with out daddy praying. Once we weren't able to get a hold of him but for the most part, she has done great. Calvin knows daddy isn't here, but his only question is "Daddy, are you coming back?" and isn't into counting days like Violet.
Friday night when he got home, we ordered pizza and had a nice night together as a family. The kids enjoyed every minute with him. Saturday morning I was tied up hosting a baby shower at the chapel, so I had a babysitter come and watch the kids there while the shower was going on ~ as Dave had to take off again before noon.
I have had some amazing help while Dave has been gone. My mom came to stay with me for 2 1/2 days last week, and my brother Jay came up to stay with me on Saturday night. He is a fantastic uncle!! He went right along with the kids' imaginary role play games, and entertained them for me Saturday night and helped me keep them in line while sitting in meeting Sunday morning. I wouldn't have gone with the 3 kids myself, so I'm so glad he was there.
Funnies
Calvin tonight on the toilet: "Mom, I wub pooping."
I had an exchange with Violet that made me laugh. I don't even remember the context of the conversation or what we were talking about because it was last week but I wrote it down so I could blog it later. I told her "That's girly stuff" referring to some toys or something, and she said, "Yeah, its not boy-ly stuff."
I had an exchange with Violet that made me laugh. I don't even remember the context of the conversation or what we were talking about because it was last week but I wrote it down so I could blog it later. I told her "That's girly stuff" referring to some toys or something, and she said, "Yeah, its not boy-ly stuff."
Sunday, October 31, 2010
We managed to skip Halloween this year
We just didn't do anything for it. Didn't shop for costumes, didn't buy halloween candy, didn't turn the lights on and hand out candy...not for any particular reason other than just being too busy to deal with it. LOL
It did help that the kids had church activities planned the same time trick or treating was scheduled. Violet did get asked a few times here and there from random people what she was going to be for Halloween but she never had a good answer.
As we drove to the chapel tonight, she saw some kids walking on the sidewalk all dressed up. She said "Aww, I wish I could dress up." and that was it, no asking or discussion. I bet if I brought up the topic from last year she would remember but so much of me just didn't even want to deal with it and the fights and meltdowns from sugar overload and crashing. Calvin has no connection to Halloween and wouldn't really know what trick or treating is. I'm glad Violet didn't bombard me with questions ~ she seemed to have forgotten about it too. I bet this is the last year we get away with it. Maybe next year we'll have the energy to do Halloween.
I miss the chocolate treats around the house...but I don't really need those either. :D
It did help that the kids had church activities planned the same time trick or treating was scheduled. Violet did get asked a few times here and there from random people what she was going to be for Halloween but she never had a good answer.
As we drove to the chapel tonight, she saw some kids walking on the sidewalk all dressed up. She said "Aww, I wish I could dress up." and that was it, no asking or discussion. I bet if I brought up the topic from last year she would remember but so much of me just didn't even want to deal with it and the fights and meltdowns from sugar overload and crashing. Calvin has no connection to Halloween and wouldn't really know what trick or treating is. I'm glad Violet didn't bombard me with questions ~ she seemed to have forgotten about it too. I bet this is the last year we get away with it. Maybe next year we'll have the energy to do Halloween.
I miss the chocolate treats around the house...but I don't really need those either. :D
Friday, October 29, 2010
"I wiped it off!"
I do not know how this expression came about...but it is something I hear constantly from Violet and Calvin. If one makes the other mad, the one offended thinks they have the power to reverse the effect by saying "I wiped it off!" For example, if Calvin hits Violet, she will say "Calvin, I wiped it off!" as if to tell him he doesn't get the satisfaction of hitting her. And depending on the degree of offense, the word "wiped" will get louder and more intense. What gets me laughing though, is when I hear "Wipe! Wipe! Wipe!" over and over...
Babies at four months
I love seeing these comparison pictures.
Violet ~ 4 months:
Calvin ~ 4 months:
Violet ~ 4 months:
Calvin ~ 4 months:
Vanessa ~ 4 months:
All jumped out...
I dug up all my old pics on the computer downstairs and found this one of Violet sleeping in the jumperoo - pic was taken May 10, 2006, ten days before she turned four months old.
And this is Vanessa at 4 months doing the same thing.
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