Party, Party, Party

Here are a pictures from Kyra and Kyleigh's birthday party. They had a great time and we thank everyone who came to help them celebrate.

Kyleigh turned three on Saturday, the day of the party. It's so hard to believe that my baby is 3. Kyleigh will be going to preschool tomorrow to meet her teacher and classmates.

Kyleighisms

- Kyleigh has learned to put her two hands together like she's praying and say "Peas" (please). I haven't given in to her yet, but it's so cute that it's hard not to.

- Tonight Valynn and Mason were fighting in the back seat of the suburban and Kyleigh yells "Guys, hold on". I must do that when I'm trying to diffuse a fight.

- She is fixated on blues clues panties. As in throwing a fit if she can't were them. This also means she's doing very well with the potty training. She's averaging about one- two accidents a day.

- Miss pouty lips, if she doesn't get her way she sticks out her bottom lip, dips her head down, and looks up at you with her big brown eyes. She then gets her bottom lip to start quivering. It's hard not to laugh at her when she does this, but at least we've progressed passed the throw ourself down tantrum (most of the time).

Kyleigh is 2!

I know I'm a couple of days late posting this but our little baby is now two. And boy did she turn two with a bang. She is a nonstop tornado of activity. She is starting to talk more everyday. On Friday when we were in the suburban she said "Guys, guys, I want to go to!". She has figured out how to start her Dora movie on my Ipod touch. She also knows she's not supposed to watch it without my permission which is why I find her hiding when she gets ahold of it. She also loves playing with the kitten. I'm surprised Addie even lets her get close because Kyleigh doesn't always hold Addie the right way. When we were wishing her a Happy Birthday she started saying "Happy Day to you".

Mason had an appointment with the GI doctor on Friday. He has lost a few ounces in the last three months. We are to give him an Ensure before bed every night. Unfortunately, Mason isn't hungry so it's taken him 3 days to finish one. He is home again this morning from school. He woke up in the middle of the night complaining about his stomach and was still complaining about it this morning. I'm hoping to take him to school later this morning. As for his stomach trouble, we are going to keep an eye on it in case it is stress related. I'm thinking it probably isn't stress related since it's happening at night but we'll see, we go back in a month, sooner if his stomach keeps bothering him. Mason had his first football game on Saturday. He got his first flag and prevented a touchdown on 4th down and was really close to getting more. He had fun which is good.

This weekend we made 40 qts of applesauce from the apples on our tree. We should be set for winter. I still need to freeze some apples for pie, etc. Kyra and Kyleigh start gymnastics tomorrow, they should have fun. School is going good for Valynn, she is disappointed because she doesn't get to do a fall activity but the things she wants to do conflict with other activities and I can't be in two places at once.

I hope everyone has a good week.

Kyra is 4

I'm a little late in posting this but just haven't had the time. Kyra turned 4 on the 21st. She woke up that morning and asked if she was now 4. The next day she woke up and said, she was still 4. I love this age and their excitement. We had a joint birthday party for her and Kyleigh. Kyra had a unicorn birthday and Kyleigh had a whale birthday, so we incorporated the two into one cake. The leaning unicorn was my construction and we prayed it would stay upright until the party. The girls had a great birthday and we had a full house.

Kyra continues to amaze us with her vocabulary. She uses words we don't think she should know the meaning of. She loves to talk and sing. Just today she woke up and talked to Mark for a 1/2 hour in the bathroom while he was getting ready for work and then came out to the kitchen and talked nonstop for another 15 minutes to me. She is our social butterfly. She is excited to go back to school in a couple of weeks. She was a princess for her birthday and got all dressed up and completed the look with a tiara. She also loves to draw and color, anything to do with crafts. She is finally riding her bike with confidence, she got a bike helmet for her birthday.

Mark and I had a great anniversary. The Ingle's watched and fed the kids for us while Mark and I went out for supper. We then stayed for a couple of beers. It's hard to believe how far we've come in 10 years. Neither one of us would have said we would be celebrating 10 years with four kids and one of them turning 9. We are looking forward to the day when we will be done with diapers. Mark starts classes again this week and Mason has his first football game on Saturday.

Mason is home sick today. He's been running a fever off and on for about 10 days now. He is also complaining about his stomach hurting again. I am hoping it is nerves from school starting but this is exactly how his stomach problems started last year. He has an appointment on Friday.

Disappointing Kyleigh

I just broke my little girl's heart. I went out to the garden and when I came back I shut the door. Kyleigh starts saying, "Dad, dad, dad, dad". She sees me and gets a sad sad look on her face when I say it's just me, she then turns around with a pout and goes back to the living room.

20 months

Kyleigh turned 20 months yesterday. Time is definitely flying by fast. She is getting very vocal  now. She says something that sounds like "I want that", is sounds more like iwaat but we know what she's asking. She will say more and every once in a while throw in a ank you. Some other words she has started saying, down, baby, yeah, all done, and shoe. Did I mention the word "NO". Today she told me she went pee. She loves playing outside and it's even better if it involves water.

Kyra has two weeks left of school. She is loving being outside and has found a way to help Kyleigh climb up the slide on the playset.

Have a great week!

Exhausting...

That how we are describing the phase that Kyleigh is in right now. The only time we get to relax is when she's sleeping. She likes to stand on the chairs in the dining room and while up there will climb on the table. The other day she figured out how to pull the stool out from under the buffet, where we stored to keep her from playing with things on the counter, set it upright and push it to the counter to play with the computer. The stool is now stored in the sunroom. This morning she figured out how to open the sunroom door and was able to pull the stool into the kitchen, pushed it next to the stove and was going to help me make breakfast. After breakfast my goal was to clean out the freezer because water dispenser for the ice maker had become frozen. Kyleigh was a big help emptying the freezer and then she has spent the last 30 minutes putting things back in the freezer, taking them out and putting them back in the cooler. As you can see, she found my chocolate candy stash and proceeded to help herself to some chocolate but she was also nice enough to share with her siblings. Her favorite chore is to help unload the dishwasher, she hands me the silverware. The problem is she likes to do that whether the dishes are clean or dirty.

The last couple of days Kyleigh has really started jabbering. She seems like she is picking up a few new words but we'll see if she keeps using them or choses to forget them like in the past.

Valynn and Mason had a snow day on Thursday, close to 8 inches on new stuff, they did a little sledding and played around most of the day. Mason has his gastric emptying test on Monday. He had a fever on Thursday so he got to miss school on Friday. He seems to have lost his appetite again which worries us but he says his stomach still feels great. Valynn had a sleep over last night at the neighbors, she was invited to two so she had to turn one down.

We hope everyone stays warm and have a great weekend. You will be able to find me chasing after Kyleigh with a weary look on my face while I try to clean house and get ready for company coming for supper tonight.

And Mason scores.....and there was a party....and a new vehicle

It's been a whirlwind week. On Thursday we went to Naperville, IL to pick up the suburban we bought. So far we are liking it, I don't have any pictures so here's the link. On Friday Kyra and Kyleigh had their well child visits. Kyra is 30 pounds and 36 1/2 inches. Kyleigh weighed 18 # 4 oz (10%) and was 29 in (48%). Friday night we had Kyleigh's birthday party. Another bash held in the garage, we had a great visit with everyone and Kyleigh got a lot of nice gifts, that her siblings like to play with. As you can see, Kyleigh got wore out from her party and fell asleep on the floor. Kyleigh's cake was decorated after we got home from Naperville on Thursday, we decided the simpler the better with her. The top picture is Kyleigh and the neighbor boy Collin, he turned one on August 8th.

Today was Mason's first flag football game. He did a great job. He played outside lineman, inside lineman, and running back. He carried the ball three times as the running back, he scored two touchdowns one for 50 yards and one for 30 yards. His other run was for 25 yards. He did a great job. He got close to getting a couple of flags on defense. Mason is to the left of the coach on the right in the top picture and the kid on the left in the bottom picture after he scored his second touchdown.

This week the kids start going to school for full days, which is 45 minutes longer than what they have been. School is going better for Mason, he had a rough start, but is liking it now. Mason's birthday is coming up on Thursday.

How long would you cook this?

30 years give or take a decade? I've been in the kitchen most of the morning getting things ready for the meal prep night with the neighbors so I gave Kyleigh a frying pan to play with. She wasn't happy with just the frying pan she needed a little Brandy to go with it.

Things are going good here, I've been busy cleaning and sorting. As you can also see, I've been getting more help than I need in that department as well. I had just folded all those clothes. This is the first day Kyleigh hasn't been clingy and wanting to be held most of the time. She's finally learning to entertain herself. Each day she's taking more steps but still finds it quicker to scoot around.

Saturday night we had Brad and Chantel over for Chantel's birthday. Their three older kids were with Grandma so it was just the two little ones. It was so nice to be able to visit without kids interrupting us, etc. They were even able to stay later because Annika fell asleep in the pack n play. We played some games and relaxed.

Valynn, Mason, and Kyra are having fun in North Dakota. As of last night they still aren't ready to come home. They went camping this past weekend and were able to spend time with Dick and Linda, and Jerome, Monica, and kids. Brady and Jodi were home as well.

Last night I made my first attempt at canning pickles. I am happy to say all the jars sealed, next well have to see how they taste. After canning 11 quarts of dill pickles and a gallon of sweet pickles I still haven't made a dent in our cucumber crop and that's after giving away grocery bags full to the neighbors. I have broccoli I need to get frozen sometime this week as well.

Enjoy your week. I'm going to enjoy the quietness of the house.

Vacation!

Mark, Kyleigh, and I got back from vacation yesterday. We had a good time and put on A LOT of miles. The kids got to ride a go cart, mini motorcycle, and gator. The rode their bikes down the air strip, jumped/played on hay bales, and had a wiener roast. One day we went to the Minnesota Science museum. The kids had fun diagnosing illnesses, looking at the dinosaurs, and just taking all the exhibits in. We took the kids to the IMAX Omnitheatre show called Titantica. We met my college roommate Christy for supper after the museum.

Mark helped install a septic system, stain a deck, and lay foundation and a sidewalk on his vacation.

On Sunday we drove to Bismarck to see Brady and Jodi and meet my parents. On the way we stopped in Fargo and had lunch with our friend Donn. Monday Valynn, Mason, and Kyra went to the ND State Fair with Grandma and Grandpa Larson. They will be in ND for two weeks. Mark, Kyleigh, and I headed back to IL, we spent Monday night in Mankato with the Scheel's. We had a great visit with everyone. Kyleigh was glad to be back after three 8 hour days on the road. Mark and I are busy working on our to do lists, when Kyleigh lets us, I think she's missing her siblings.

Kyleigh turned 11 months on Monday. Last Saturday she pushed herself up to standing and took five steps. She didn't do much the following days which is probably due to being in the car most of the day, but today she is back to pushing herself to standing and taking 3-7 steps before falling down. She is getting braver with letting go and trying to keep her balance. I'm sure one of these days she is really going to take off.

Go Baby Go

I had to take a video of Kyleigh using her walker to get around. Just within the last couple of days she has had another physical development explosion. She will crawl over legs and siblings if they are on the floor. She loves playing around the kitchen table, her own little obstacle coarse. She will pull herself to standing on more things and has started cruising. Notice in the video how she has a constant stream of conversation going. She is getting very loud which gets to be annoying as we can't watch TV. Her other favorite activity is to take the books off of the shelf in the office.

I hope everyone is having a good week. We were going to go swimming today because the heat index is close to 110 but the kids weren't on their best behavior at home so we postponed it until tomorrow, behavior depending. Thursday we're meeting some friends at a Sprinkler park, should be fun and cool. Valynn and Mason are going to vacation bible school this week with the Bowdoin's. Bible school is a couple of hours in the evening. Stay cool everyone!

Thar she blows!

Our tent blew into the fence last night. We had two storms blow threw last night and both brought pea to marble size hail. We didn't have any damage, just a pile of rain, close to an inch.

Kyleigh's 9 month stats
Weight 16 # 12 oz (14%)
Length 28 in (64%)

We didn't make it to the museum today, we didn't have enough time. We met the Padilla's for lunch at McDonald's and had a nice visit. Bonnie and Jerald are coming for supper tonight.

Bringing home the bacon?

Actually it calculates out to a mere slice. On the last day of school I decided to work for a whopping two hours. Hey, I wouldn't want to tax myself. Valynn was excited because I subbed in the first grade classroom next to hers. Summer is officially here and we're starting it out with a trip to the museum tomorrow. I hope to visit 8 science places around Central Illinois with Valynn for the Academy of Science Scavenger hunt and we're beginning tomorrow.

Valynn's game on Friday didn't go very well, they got beaten pretty good. The girls from Hanna City could do one thing very well, field a ball, accurately throw it to first, and the first base girl could catch it. We keep getting better every game. Valynn had an off night and struck out twice. Yes, that is me as first base coach, don't you love the outfit?

Mason had his first game on Saturday. He got two awesome hits, they went into the outfield. Now he has to learn how to go after the ball when it's hit towards him.

We stayed busy at home this weekend. I worked in the garden and Mark worked on his garage. We picked strawberries yesterday and got about 3 cups worth. They got eaten for supper. The kids have been having fun in the tent, we set it up this weekend, so far no sleep overs planned in it. Tomorrow Kyleigh has her 9 month check up so I'll post her stats when we get home. Yesterday she learned how to push herself to sitting when she's on her stomach and how to pull herself up to a standing position.

Have a great week!

My babies are growing up, sniff sniff

Kyleigh is 9 months today. She is getting into so many things now, I want her immobile again (not really). Today is also Kindergarten registration for Mason.

Kyleigh is 8 months

Wow, who can believe how fast time flies by. Kyleigh is busy learning new things everyday. She has mama and dada down pat. She will also let out a string of gibberish because she has a voice just like the others. She gets so excited when she see one of her siblings. She can roll herself to where she wants to go. If she's sitting she can scoot herself around. She likes to stand up and can do it by herself if placed next to the couch. The last two weeks she has decided that she likes food. She will eat anything you put in front of her. She prefers to feed herself but will eat from a spoon as well.

This picture is of the kids showing Kyleigh the toad that they found in yard.

7 months

Just a quick little update as our little one turned 7 months yesterday. What a difference a week makes. A week ago Kyleigh wasn't rolling from her back to her stomach and with prodding she would go from her stomach to her back. She was perfectly content just sitting there. Now 6 days later not only is she rolling every where she has figured out how to scoot herself backwards when she is sitting on the floor. She will also go from sitting to laying on her stomach. It's almost like you could see the lightbulb go on in her head and she now has places to go.

It's so wonderful to see the other three kids still love her so much. They ask that we put her down so they can play with her. This morning Mason and Valynn watched Kyleigh while a took a shower and she is constantly inundated with hugs and kisses from the three of them. This morning she was the first one up and as soon as she saw the kids come out into the living room her face lit up in anticipation of play time.

Valynn and Mason were supposed to have soccer practice today but that is cancelled as we anticipate 3-7 inches of snow. Tomorrow is supposed to be their first games, we'll see. Today Valynn and I are doing a Mother Daughter Spa days with Girl Scouts. Should be fun.

Good news!!

We got our fridge fixed for less than $150. Oh, and Kyleigh finally rolled today at 6 1/2 months. I'm just a little excited since she decided to make me sweat on this milestone. She was so funny, once she realized she could get across the room there was no stopping her. I have a picture of Kyleigh with Buttons, I usually have to kick a cat out when I go to lay her down. I also have Kyleigh in a picture of how she came home from church. She had two dirty diaper explosions (moving up a diaper size didn't help) so the only option was to put her in one of Kyra's shirts.

I have a couple pictures of Kyra dress in her princess outfits. She has been our princess lately. Valynn and I went bowling yesterday with her Brownie troop. She had a great time. I also want everyone to know that "Valynn's mom has a very cool van". That's right a 7 year old thinks my '97 Suburban is AWESOME. One of the other Brownies that rode with us kept telling Valynn that.

I know I don't have pictures of the other two kids so I'll try to get some posted soon. If you have checked out the link to our family pictures, make sure you do that.

Remember When?

The two of you loved each other so much that you would sleep next to each other? I'm sure I'll be pulling this picture out in the future. They both ended up in our bed this morning and I couldn't resist taking a picture. I was going to take a better one but didn't want to risk waking them.

I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Tomorrow Valynn has basketball in the morning. Mark is going to help some friends cut down a tree and then we'll have some wood to burn next winter. I am going on a "Girls Day Out" with the neighbor ladies. Somehow Mark gets out of watching the kids again (the first time we did this the kids were in ND). The neighbor dad is going to watch my four on top of his three. He's a brave brave man, but he volunteered, he's watched the older three before and they were no problem so the only one that could cause any trouble would be Kyleigh.

Have a good weekend all.

4 month stats

Weight 13 lbs 4 oz. (34%)
Length 25 in. (71%)

Everything looked good. Kyleigh has rolled from her stomach to her back twice now. She's still as smiley as ever and is starting to laugh. She can sit supporting herself with her hands for about 10 seconds. Kyleigh has really started to reach and grab for things. I think her favorite is my hair. She still has everyone wrapped around her finger.

It's Begining to look a lot like Christmas!

We received our first snowfall of the year, about 5 wet and fluffy inches. The kids got outside and started playing as soon as we got home from church. They built a snow man and did some sledding. Kyra absolutely loved playing in the snow and went out a few times. Mark got a few decorations hung up and we put our old tree up in the sun room for the kids to decorate as "their" tree.

It looks like Kyleigh has someone to sleep with. As will all of the kids Snaps took her place in the crib to protect the baby. Snaps doesn't sleep in the bassinet, just the big crib, and always at the feet of the baby. We set up the big crib this weekend since Kyleigh started to turn sideways in the bassinet.