9/28/09

Kiersten's new big-girl bed was delivered on thursday! She has been loving sleeping in there all by herself. I was ready for a fight to get her to sleep in there, like we had with Kara, but so far, there hasn't been an issue. She is taking naps in there, and going to bed at night. Much better than the 3-4 months it took for Kara to get used to it. This is the look we get if Ben or I try to lay down on her bed. She is already very territorial about it.

she was also very excited about her new bedding.

Saturday, we went down to visit Ben's uncle Garlan and aunt Jill in Vancouver. His Grandma Hill was in town, as well as Jill's mother. and also his couisn Emily with her kids. His cousin Sara lives in Vancouver as well, so we got to see her family too, and Jason came over. It was fun hanging out together. We watched little Karen play soccer, and that was just too cute. I loved the kids kind of half-heartedly kicking the ball around. Then we all headed back to Garlan and Jill's for lunch and games. The kids all put on a little singing show for us, and that was so cute. Later I went to the mall with Emily and little Austin. That was a nice, relaxing break, and then we went a little while longer playing games, before heading home.

On sunday, we went up to Alder lake with some friends for lunch and s'mores. On the way up, Kara started saying she felt sick. I think she must have gotten car sick from all the winding roads, and also playing her leapster. So we had her turn it off, but about half a mile before we got there, she threw up all over herself and the seat. It was really terrible smelling, but we got her cleaned up, and she felt much better after, even though she had to sit pants-less in her wet carseat for the rest of the drive. Less than 10 minutes after we got to the lake, we were bringing everything from the car over to one of the firepits, and Kara suddenly started screaming hysterically. She had her hand cupped over her face and was screaming that a fly was on her. I pulled her hand away, and out it flew. At that moment, Kiersten started wandering off into the bushes, so I tried to calm Kara down, as I ran to rescue Kiersten. Kara was still crying and crying, and Ben and John were on their way back over, so I sent Kiersten over to daddy, while I tried to comfort Kara. I thought she was just scared, but I looked at her face and saw that it must have been a bee instead of a fly, because she had been stung. It started swelling, so we just put ice on it. It stopped bothering her after about 20 minutes, but it took her a while to get back into a happy mood. I feel so badly for her. This is her first bee sting. Ben tried to make her feel better by saying that the bee died because it stung her. Although, you can't really blame the bee, she did trap it on her face by covering it with her hand. As I was icing her wound, more bees kept landing on her, and I was having a difficult time shooing them away. That's when we noticed a huge underground nest right by the firepit. So we moved our stuff to the picnic area so nobody else would get stung. Lunch went well, and then the kids played together while Ben got a fire started. Here are the girls eating their s'mores. surprisingly, they were not as much of a hit with the kids as they were with the adults, but they did eat some.

Kiersten wanted to help roast marshmallows, but Kara was not at all interested in going anywhere near the fire.

Here's a picture of the sting. This is about an hour after it happened, and the swelling had already started to go down a bit. It's under her eye.

I'm glad she still had a good time despite the car sickness and bee sting. She was so sad to leave. She was crying as we drove away, and saying how much she missed Zack. Here they are hugging. He is sooo cute!

the kids playing ring-around-the-rosie. Kiersten always wants to play.

me and Kiersten baby, all marshmallowed out.

when we got home, the girls and I took a nap. Then Ben made dinner for the girls, and I made some cupcakes for Kara to take to school tomorrow. I was frustrated to find I didn't have a cake mix, so I had to make them from scratch, but it didn't really take too much longer. The girls were watching cartoons, downstairs and Ben and I went up to watch football for a bit. Suddenly we heard Kara say, "Oh my gosh! Kierssen! what did you do?!" that was enough to get us both to our feet and headed down to check it out. Kiersten had found a black sharpie and scribbled all over the kitchen floor with it. Ben started searching for the marker, and I started scrubbing. It took over an hour to get it all up. Since it was taking so long, it was apparent I wasn't going to have time to make frosting, so I sent Ben and Kara to walmart to buy some. I was still scrubbing when they got back, so Ben helped her get started on the cupcakes. I was able to help her finish them, and then I had to make lunches, and we all went to bed. Today is Kara's day to be classroom helper at school. That was why she needed to take the cupcakes. She also got to bring in a toy for show and tell. she chose her mickey mouse handy helpers she got at disneyland. She was extra excited to go to school today. she proudly walked into the classroom and announced, "hey everyone! look what I brought for snack time!" she was instantly surrounded, and that made her a little defensive of the cupcakes, so luckily the teacher took them, and they backed off a little. She gets to hold the flag during the pledge of allegiance, and be first in line to wash hands at lunch, and a bunch of other little things that she has been really excited about.

9/22/09

we had a really good weekend. On saturday we took the girls mini golfing at a course near our house. It was really fun for Kara, but Kiersten didn't like it as much. Kara won the game and even got a hole in one. Afterward, we went and bought a new bed for Kiersten. It will be here thursday. I think she will like that a lot better than the toddler bed. Then we went to lunch at our favorite mexican restaurant, La Palma. It was tasty. Ben ran into game stop before we left to get a new DS game that he wanted, but I haven't had a chance to get for him yet. The girls took naps when we got home, and since Ben was busy playing his game, I decided to read. There is a book I started before Kiersten was born called, A Feast in Exile. The beginning was a little boring, so I hadn't ever gotten past the second chapter. I ended up reading it the rest of the night and a good part of the next day until I finally finished it. It was a pretty good book, but I didn't love the ending. Anyway, if you're a fan of late 1300's historical fiction, you'll proably like it. The rest of the day was pretty laid back. We watched lots of football, and just stayed home with the girls. Ben even made lunch for them while I was reading. Monday was a typical day. I have switched Kara from going to school on tuesday, wednesday, friday, to going monday, wednesday, friday. I think it will be better, and this way she wont be missing out on all the monday field trips. Kiersten has figured out that when we take Kara to school, that means she will be gone all day. So she gets a little upset when we are leaving. hopefully she'll get used to it though. At the gym, there were 2 other little kids who usually have an older sibling with them, who is in school now instead. So the babysitter there was making sure to help them all adjust. She's really good with Kiersten. I got all of the laundry finished yesterday, while Kara was at school, and later while Ben was watching football. so today I just have to worry about grocery shopping. Ben had an appt. today to follow up on his throat issue. the doctor had thought this might be happening as a result of an allergy, so he was referred to another doctor for allergy testing. They tested him for 120 allergies! I guess they don't usually do that many, but since it's an internal reaction, it was hard for them to be able to narrow down the culprits. After all of the pokes in his arm, their computer went down, so he is going to have to go back for another appt. Some of the things they were able to determine he is most allergic to before he left are, spinach, (surprising, because we eat it a lot) sagebrush, (he said he had a huge welt on his arm from it) dogs a little, cats even more, and horses even more. So that explains a lot of his problems when we visit Idaho. He already knew he was allergic to something there, but now he has a better idea what to avoid. The dr. gave him an inhaler to use if he is going to be around those animals. They said he has asthma, but it is brought on by his allergies, so he doesn't need to treat the asthma, just the allergies. We will know more when he goes back in if there are other things he should avoid. Also, they may start giving him allergy shots, although who knows when he would have time to go in for them. He has been missing so much work this month, it's just gonna be hard to catch up. He will be staying late tonight, and probably lots of other nights in the future. He goes in the first week of october to get his throat enlarged, and they also might do a biopsy at that time. So that is what we are all up to lately. I have been terrible about taking pictures this week, so I don't have any new ones to share of the girls.

18 months

I can hardly believe Kiersten is already 18 months old! We took her to get pictures done on saturday. We got some really cute ones.We got a couple of both girls. I like this one the best.

The girl wanted to crop this one closer, but I wanted her little hands and her bum in the picture, so I begged her to leave it this way.

I really like this profile.

This is the one I got for our livingroom, but cropped in way closer on her face.

first day of preschool

Today is Karalee's first day of preschool. I have been so nervous, and driving Ben crazy with my worries. Kara has been getting so excited to go. She was up with Ben this morning, and when I woke up, she came in and said, "mommy! It's morning! do you know what that means?" I asked her what it meant, and she excidedly said, "Time to go to school now!" She was up earlier than I expected, so she was a little restless sitting around waiting for Kiersten and me to be ready. She ate her breakfast and then started asking if it was time to leave. So I had to keep thinking of things for her to do to help the time pass more quickly.
Here she is showing off her new school outfit, and one of her new necklaces she got last night as a first day of school surprise. It was a little rainy, so I made her wear a coat. She was worried that nobody could see her new clothes, so I had to promise she could take her coat off as soon as she got to school. On the drive over, she started to cry. I asked her what was wrong. I thought she might be getting nervous. She said she didn't like how I had done her hair, and she didn't want the other kids to see it. I told her it looked cute, and they would like her no matter how her hair was. She said, "I just want to look like me." I'm probably the only person who would know that is what she says when she wants to wear her hair down with all of her natural curl. So I told her we will do her hair that way tomorrow, and that she looked really nice for her first day. That cheered her up, and she asked, "do I look like a big girl with my hair?" I assured her that she did, and reminded her that she was going to have fun at school. When I looked back less than a minute later, she had fallen asleep. I guess she woke up too early this morning. So that made sense of the uncharacteristic crying. She always gets weepy when she's tired.

Her school is in Tacoma, but it's only a 15-20 minute drive. I wasn't sure how the traffic would be, so I left 45 minutes early, and stopped for gas, and we were still 20 minutes early. There were 3 other girls already there, so they got to play until the start of school. Kara was not shy at all, and made friends with them immediately. They were so cute showing each other their new backpacks, and complimenting each other's outfits. It was funny to see that 3 and 4 year olds have such similar social interactions to adults. But I guess it is us that they learn it from.

Here she is in the classroom. She was thrilled when Mrs. Wright showed her a cubby with her name on it. She asked if she could write her name on the chalkboard, and was satisfied to hear that her teacher would write it there once class began so all the kids who were there yesterday could meet her, and the other first-dayers. I forgot her lunch, so I had to come back to bring it in at 11:30. All the kids were lined up to wash their hands, and She jumped out of line when she saw me and announced, "my mommy brought my lunch!" But she got right back in line when told to do so. She was talking quietly with the girl standing behind her when I left. I am not concerned about her making friends or fitting in. All my weeks of worrying weren't neccesary after all. But there is still the issue of what if there is some sort of natural disaster or emergency, and I can't get to her. I guess I'll just have to deal with that situation if it comes up, and let Kara have fun at school. I was glad to find that there are very many ways to get to the school other than on the interstate, so that makes me feel better.

And here's a picture of Kiersten eating a nutella sandwich, just so I don't leave her out of the post. She has asked about Kara a few times, but she doesn't seem worried. She even did fine at the gym without Kara there. I was worried she would be upset, but she was perfectly happy, and the babysitter had no problem with her. I also have to say, we did a few errands today, and I am amazed at how quickly I got things done, just by being down one kid. But that doesn't mean I wont be happy when thursday gets here, and I get to keep my Kara bear home with me all day!

Labor Day weekend

Ben's sister Nancy, and her husband Vic came to spend labor day weekend with us. They arrived early friday morning, and I expected them to be sleeping in when the girls and I woke up. Instead, I woke up to find them playing candy land with a very excited Karalee. Kiersten slept in until I woke her up for breakfast an hour or two later. Ben had to work that day, but we had plenty of fun without him.
Kara got to ride her new bike outside for only the 2nd or 3rd time. (it's been rainy, and we've been busy.) And Kiersten got to try out her inherited trike. It was lots of fun, and also nice to have someone else there to go chasing after them once in a while. Kara is so brave to ride down the hill on our street. Kiersten is still a little hesitant, and needs help to stay on the sidewalk.

Of course Kiersten had to try out the new bike too. That's our little neighbor girl, Haley on the lawn. She loves riding bikes with Kara, and is glad Kara finally has a real bike to be able to keep up.

Later that afternoon, we decided to head to the beach. It was a bit cooler than we would have liked, but we did see some sun, and Kara had lots of fun collecting seashells. She isn't too fond of going in the water. Kiersten on the other hand, wanted to be in the water as much as possible, and kept trying to break away from me to get in there deeper, but I'm one of those "worried moms", so I wouldn't let go of her hand. She even saw a couple of small crabs that washed up, and she thought they were neat.

Here they are playing ball.

Victor loves baseball, so on saturday, we went to see a Tacoma Raniers game. I wan't expecting too much out of a minor league game, but I was surprised how exciting and fun it was. It was very similar to a mariners game, but with fewer people there (especially thanks to the rain) and I hadn't heard of any of the players. But I'm glad we went. This picture is after the downpour. Our section wasn't covered, so it really emptied out. That made it fun for the girls to run around and play. I think Kara's favorite part was getting snacks at the game that she normally doesn't get to have.

Here we are enjoying the game. I don't know what all those snacks in my lap were, but I swear I didn't eat all that myself! Doesn't Nancy make a cute pregnant mommy?

Kiersten got to meet Rhubarb, the moose. She was a little scared of him though. This is as close as she would get. Kara was not at all interested in meeting him, and was even scared when I took her to the bathroom, that he was lurking around the corner.

Sunday was a nice, relaxing day. We spent the morning playing wii, and the afternoon playing so many board, card, and dice games, that I couldn't even name them all. It was a fun day, even if I did snack a little more than I should have. Kara is still talking about uncle Bictor and aunt Nancy, and their fun visit. It's exciting to think the next time we'll see them, their little boy will be born!

girls update

Kiersten is talking so much lately. she has been saying new words every day. Some of them she says once, and then never again. Others, she keeps saying, but they all sound so cute. One of my favorite things about her learning to speak, is that she will sing songs. She totally sings the tune, but doesn't neccesarily say all the words. She sings ring around the rosie, the alphabet song, old MacDonald, and the wonderpets theme song. I love hearing the way she says, "ashy, ashy, all fall dowww!" so cute! She has also started putting words together into short phrases. She says, "let go", "I don't know", "thankyou", "bless you", "bum change", "I love you" and "where are you?" That one is my favorite. Here are some other words that she can say;
whoa!, help, mine, more, stinky, grapes, baby, beeby (binky), spongebob, tickle, kitty, diaper, yum, and drink.
today I painted my nails, and she looked at each one and said, "pretty". I loved that. she can also name body parts now. the ones she knows best are, nose, eye, ears, mouth, teeth, feet, belly, back, hair, and chubby cheeks. I can hardly believe she'll be 18 months in two more days! She seems to be growing up so much faster than Kara did, but I guess that's what happens when you have a big sister to look up to. She definitely has her own little personality. She loves to laugh and tease everyone. She loves to be sneaky and play games. She wants to do everything Kara can do, and you can tell she really loves her life.
Kara is turning into such a fun little girl. She's convinced that she knows everything, and has more confidence than anyone I've ever met. She likes being the older sister, and tries to boss Kiersten around. When Kiersten actually complies, it just makes Kara's day. She has started wanting to pick out her own outfits all the time. Sometimes she actually picks something out that I will take her out in public with. Most times, if we're going somewhere, she needs a little help. She is learning to rhyme words. She is actually getting the hang of it the last few days. She's so particular about how I do her hair, what shoes she wears, and what she will eat. That can be frustrating, but we're trying to let her come to her own decisions about the foods she likes. Her memory seems so sharp, she is always referencing things I expect her to have forgotten about, and she is also starting to come to conclusions about things on her own. She is so excited to start school on tuesday, and keeps telling me about all the friends she's going to make. She always asks how many girls will be there and how many kids. She is convinced that kid means the same as boy, and she wont hear anything to the contrary. She has gotten pretty upset a few times when Ben has tried to tell her that she and Kiersten are kids. So we are letting go of the subject for now, and we'll just let her figure it out on her own.
They are both so cute and happy, and although I miss certain things about them when they were younger, we are all excited to see what they are going to learn next, and what the future holds for them.